Dunglish

As the English language has spread to all over the world, it is only natural that there will be formed dialects and variants of English. The dialects and variants are a result of grammar and pronunciation mistakes. Dunglish is a good example of this, as it has been formed by a collision of Dutch and English.

Dunglish first occurred as "Coal English" early in the 20th century as the Dutch had to communicate with the English traders who came with supplies to Netherland. "Coal English" is today known as the poorest variety of English in the country. The Dutch have a tendency to translate words and sentences directly form Dutch to English, without taking word order and meaning of words to consideration. This can cause misunderstandings like the one the former Dutch ambassador and prime minister Dries van Agt did. He supposedly once said: “I can stand my little man”, when he actually meant to say “I can stand up for my self.” The reason for this error was that Dries van Agt directly translated the German proverb “Ik kan mijn mannetje staan”, a Dutch idiom meaning roughly “I can stand up for my self”.

The reason why the Dutch speak English today, is because they have to communicate on a international level. A very important reason as well, is that a lot of students study abroad nowadays, not only in Netherland, but in the entire world. And I think that you will have more opportunities in life if you know English well.