A tricky part of being a language teacher: When you hear a certain error often enough, your brain gets used to it, and it becomes more difficult to flag. When I teach German students, by now I have to think for a second to know that the sentence "I became a present for my birthday" is wrong.

The slopocalypse is coming for my niche.

A new Dutch word to describe the group of people who walk along with a stopping train so that they can position themselves right by the doors when it stops. perronprocessie platform procession

Trying something new with an "English language tip" and a "Dutch language tip". I'd be happy to hear any feedback!

Harry Styles & Pommelien Thijs ❤️, Strawberry or strooi-berry🍓😮, New York Dutchness 🗽

English and the Dutch Newsletter #42

open.substack.com

In the book I am using to teach Dutch, the differences between Belgian and Dutch Dutch are introduced from the start, and mentioned throughout. When I teach English, the books are either in American or British English, but the differences are rarely noted. What's it like for your language?

What an argument on Threads taught me about the “straw” in “strawberry”.

What an argument on Threads taught me about the "straw" in "strawberry". - English and the Dutch

I write about language, and I like being on Threads. It’s text-based social media with an algorithm that does a pretty good job at showing me stuff I am interested in. Recently, somebody appeared on m...

englishandthedutch.com

Veel respect voor de mensen van het Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal @ivdnt.bsky.social die na een grote hack stapsgewijs alle websites weer online aan het zetten zijn. En een klein cadeautje vind ik de mooie lijst aan websites die daarbij naar boven komt. Wat veel! Een leuke ontdekkingsreis!

My latest newsletter includes the untranslatable Dutch word "hulpvraag"; I'm still hoping some healthcare workers might weigh in. I also discuss some fun Dutch proverbs, and there's a quiz to test your English! open.substack.com/pub/englisha...

Did I get a whack from a windmill? 😵It's a mental health edition!

English and the Dutch #41

open.substack.com

I've just realised English doesn't have good words for scholars who study specific languages or language groups. In Dutch: Neerlandicus/ Neerlandica (Dutch) Germanist (German) Anglist (English) Scandinavist (Scandinavian languages) Arabist (Arabic) Sinoloog (Chinees) Any more?

Talkie is a chatbot trained only on texts from before 1931. It’s not just playing a character from that time – it literally has no knowledge of anything that happened after 1930. And it’s wonderfully eloquent!

With Dutch King's Day coming up, it's time to repost this classic, which is ONLY funny to a small subset of people, namely people who know about the Dutch Brabants dialect and who have also watched Game of Thrones. I'll explain it in the comments, but it won't be worth it 🙈

It's World English Day! A good moment to highlight that English isn't the same all over the world. Here are my favourite differences between British and American English that can actually lead to miscommunications, with full credit to @lynneguist.bsky.social who is the leading authority here!

Ever wonder why many Dutch people call their wheelie bin a kliko? It’s a "syllabic abbreviation" of Klinkenberg Koster, a waste disposal company. It’s the same linguistic trick that gave us "pixel" (picture element) and "wifi" (wireless fidelity).

Queen Máxima shares her confusion about sandwiches Martha Stewart quotes a proverb that is not Dutch (but I manage to write a whole article about it anyway) Old-timey sexism gets put right by a Flemish lady for a Flemish lady

First Dutch-language act ever on Coachella (the lyrics are… interesting) 🎤 and more languagy goodness

English and the Dutch Newsletter #40

englishandthedutch.substack.com

Perhaps someone with knowledge of Chinese can weigh in here: there's a proverb that goes (more or less): If you want to be happy for a day, get drunk; for a year, get married; for the rest of your life, start a garden. It's being attributed as Dutch, but I think it is Chinese. Am I right?

Martha Stewart quoted a nice proverb about gardening, but it isn't Dutch... so where did it come from? - English and the Dutch

As someone who writes professionally about the Dutch language in English, I’m pretty versed in Dutch proverbs. So when I see someone quoting a “Dutch proverb” that isn’t actually a Dutch proverb, I’m ...

englishandthedutch.com

Gefeliciteerd Yoīn. Wat tof! Keigoed gedaan 😉

Yoïn van Spijk@yvanspijk.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Dubbel goed nieuws! 🥳 Vandaag heb ik twee boekcontracten getekend bij Ambo/Anthos - een daarvan met Frans van der Vleuten als schrijfcompagnon. Dit najaar verschijnt er een soloboek van mij vol met wetenswaardigheden over winterse woorden. Wist je bijvoorbeeld dat ... 1/

It's World Art Day! The word "easel" comes from the Dutch word "ezel", which means "donkey". It was (and still is!) so called because it carries a burden. The English took it from the Dutch in the 17th century, when I guess Dutch art was a bit of a thing ;-)

@nrc.nl "Correlation does not equal causation" zou ik vertalen als "een correlatie betekent niet automatisch dat er ook een oorzakelijk verband is". De eerste zin hieronder vind ik maar raar. (Uit "de geneeskunde transformeert: hoe artsen ziektes steeds beter kunnen voorspellen"(10-04-26))

Though now known in Dutch as "narcis", this spring flower actually used to be known as an "affodil" in both English and Dutch; from the Latin "affodillus". It is quite likely (though it cannot be proven) that the English "daffodil" gained its "d" from the Dutch:"de affodil".

Miriam Lancewood is an adventurer and author who grew up in the Netherlands, married a New Zealander and spent a lot of her life in New Zealand. She has a new book out, but honestly I'm more interested in her accent, which is still recognisably Dutch but with heavy New Zealand influence. Lovely!

"You might have to disappoint the people you love the most"

YouTube video by Miriam Lancewood

youtube.com

Someone was teaching Dutch and giving examples of diminutives, one of them being "boompje". "Hmmm," says the student, "I know that "boom" is tree, and "je" is diminutive, but where did the "p" come from?" Teacher: "Probably a dog." (From reddit/r/dutch)

Someone was teaching Dutch and giving examples of diminutives, one of them being "boompje". "Hmmm," says the student, "I know that "boom" is tree, and "je" is diminutive, but where did the "p" come from?" Teacher: "Probably a dog." (From reddit/r/dutch)

Audrey Hepburn’s new biography comes out in a few days, written by her son, who manages her estate as his full-time job. Not many people know that Hepburn spoke Dutch. She had a Dutch mother, was born in Brussels, and later lived in Arnhem. (1/2)

In some languages, "chocolate" has a "d" at the end. It's because of Dutch! After their arrival in Mexico, Spanish gained the word "chocolate" from the local language Nahuatl and spread it to other languages. (1/2)

There is a popular myth in the south of the Netherlands that the parting phrase "houdoe" comes from WWII paratroopers saying "How do you do?". It’s a great story, but that's all it is... It actually comes from the older Dutch phrase "Houdt oe eigen goed", meaning "Keep yourself well"

Oldie but goodie: Here's bike rental shop Tuut-tuut in Castricum (NL) in 2023. Take a look at their slogan in the window. (1/2)

Als je 'kind noch kraai' hebt, is er niemand voor wie je moet zorgen, en is er ook niemand die voor jóú kan zorgen. Nieuwsgierig naar hoe de uitdrukking is ontstaan (en waarom hij eigenlijk niets met de zwarte vogel te maken heeft)? Lees het hier: onzetaal.nl/schatkamer/leze...

‘If you have butter on your head, you shouldn’t walk in the sun’ (wie boter op zijn hoofd heeft, moet niet in de zon gaan lopen). If you have a guilty conscience, you shouldn't draw too much attention to yourself. (1/2)

De Vragenlijstenbank is niet meer vrij toegankelijk vanwege angst voor mogelijke consequenties m.b.t. privacy. Zo zonde, én onnodig!

Neerlandistiek@neerlandistiek.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Nicoline van der Sijs met een zeer verontrustend bericht over het geruisloos verdwijnen van een databank waar alles bij elkaar tientallen jaren aan is gewerkt. neerlandistiek.nl/2026/03/een-...

I asked a question about "cloying" here yesterday, so I could finish my article about "weeïg". Conclusion: they mean almost the same, but when it comes to food, "cloying" food is sticky, where "weeïg" food is slimy. (I think.)

Hoe zeg je "weeïg" in het Engels? - Hoe zeg je in het Engels

Weer een mooie vraag in mijn inbox: “Ik heb even gezocht, maar wat ik nog niet op je site kon vinden is een Engelse vertaling voor ‘weeïg’. Het is ook weer typisch zo’n woord dat je op veel manieren k...

hoezegjeinhetengels.nl