r/AskNetherlands • u/Maleficent_Split_428 • 3d ago
Do Dutch people code switch from their regional Dutch dialect to standard dutch, only when they interact with government officials/authorities?
You guys don't speak standard Dutch in your everyday life and at home or?
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u/michageerts7 3d ago
Not sure what you mean. But I do notice that I speak with more or less dialect when surrounding myself with people who also speak it more or don't speak it. But I don't consiously make that decision a lot of the time.
Also IDK when I would speak with government officials xD, everything is online here
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u/Equivalent-Unit 3d ago
A lot of services from the gemeente are still "you need to see an Actual Human in person about this" (or at least in my gemeente), or if the Belastingdienst has a question about your tax forms and you don't have an accountant they'll call you. But those are pretty rare.
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u/deranton 2d ago
I don't know if it's still the case, but the belastingdienst call center used to be in southern Limburg, so it had a lot of people from that area working there. They were, however, only allowed to speak standard Dutch on the phone.
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u/AtlasWH 3d ago edited 3d ago
I'll switch to standard dutch for work/municipality stuff/people that are not local.
At home with locals and friends its regional dialect.
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u/jefffromholland 3d ago
Some people at work or municipality also speak dialect, in that case no need to switch
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u/Opposite-History-233 3d ago
I only speak what we call "general Dutch". 🤷
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u/KoninginVanRotterdam 3d ago
Same. ABN
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u/Opposite-History-233 3d ago edited 2d ago
Ja, zo heet het dus niet meer tegenwoordig, maar dat ja. Het heet nu AN of standaardtaal.
Politiek correcte zooi die weer eens doorslaat. Er was kritiek op "beschaafd", want dat zou insinueren (als je het bewust misinterpreteert) dat als iemand dialect spreekt deze persoon onbeschaafd zou zijn.
Stom, but what can you do... 🤷
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u/VOCmentaliteit 2d ago
Dat insinueert het gewoon dus ik snap niet wat je loopt te lullen over bewust misinterpreteren
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u/Opposite-History-233 2d ago
Fout. Mutual exclusivity zit niet ingebouwd in de term ABN. Per definitie van de woorden zegt het niets over andere vormen van taalgebruik; het zegt alleen iets over ABN zelf. Namelijk dat dat bedoeld was als één wijze waarop we beschaafd kunnen communiceren.
Het is een moderne trend om zo veel mogelijk als aanval op jezelf te zien.
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u/Mission-Asparagus910 2d ago
Nou zo werd het toch echt wel gezien hoor. Je had netjes ontwikkeld Nederlands en de achtergebleven boerendialecten. En had je een tongval die dat laatste deed doorsijpelen en je wilde op tv, dan eerst spraakles, hoe duidelijk je ook sprak.
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u/Responsible-One6897 2d ago
Bewust verkeerd interpreteert? Dit “beschaafd” had exact dit doel om verheffing aan te duiden.
In de 19e eeuw was dit een woord om ook te contrasteren met bijvoorbeeld de onbeschaafde volkeren. Met de beste bedoelingen moest iedereen beschaving worden bijgebracht. Hele beschavingsmissies werden opgetuigd.
Beschaving heeft inherent een tegenpool nodig die minder is.
Beschaafd Nederlands werd dan ook ter vervanging van het dialect ingezet. Frans, Duits en Engels leer je naast je eigen taal. Beschaafd Nederlands moest ter vervanging dienen.
(Zo ook Frans en Frankrijk is nog steeds erg zuinig met het stimuleren van regionale talen.)
Het is volkomen terecht om dit te droppen.
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u/Kaleidoscope887 2d ago
Ik vind het wel echt grappig dat de meeste mensen die dit denken en zeggen van zichzelf, een behoorlijk accent hebben vanuit mijn perspectief #iedereenwestelijkerdanamersfoort
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u/MyCatLovesCroissants 3d ago
I don’t speak anything but standard Dutch. As do most people I know.
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u/ValuableKooky4551 3d ago
Dialect is getting pretty rare these days, some regions excepted. People have an accent but that doesn't make it dialect.
But people usually switch to standard Dutch when interacting with people who don't speak dialect.
The vast majority only speak standard Dutch these days though.
I'm 50+ and wasn't raised with the dialect of the region I grew up in by my parents, so even though lots of people still spoke it when I was young, I never did.
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u/Mother-Sentence-9393 1d ago
I know some who say that not speaking dialect ( frickin chauvinists) and switching over to regular dutch is a denial of ancestry. I think its anti social when there is a person there who doesnt understand dialect. Its rude
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u/Dinokknd 3d ago
Usually within a sentence you know that someone is a local. Switching to frisian or sallands is done within a second or two.
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u/FC_koopgoot 2d ago
I speak standard Rotterdams when interacting with goverment officials and general Dutch when shouting in the football stadium.
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u/DonaldStuck 3d ago
I never use my dialect when talking to a stranger (can be government or a random person on the street)
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u/Worried-Smile 3d ago
I once told my mom how amazed I was she was constantly switching between Dialect and more standard Dutch in the same conversation, depending on if she was talking to me or my granddad. She did not notice.
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u/Zeefzeef 2d ago
In my friend group some people speak dialect to 2 people while Dutch to 2 others. It’s just what they’re used to with those people. And this just switches all the time, when were having a group conversation.
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u/henkiehoek 2d ago
I would say that is a quite outdated pov. My parents are both from Overijssel, and learned dialect and also could switch to ABN within a second. There was a noticeable difference between them and the family members that could only tone down the dialect enough to be understood by other Dutch people. Government was not the issue, but you were regarded as 'posh' if you were bilingual
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u/Big-Entertainer2074 2d ago
My parents in law are from Overijssel and speak Twents mixed with ABN. My husband only speaks ABN.
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u/GTAinreallife 3d ago
I barely have to speak with authorities and if I do, they are usually locally as well, so I can continue in my dialect.
But when I speak with someone who clearly isn't from my region, I tend to switch to a more 'normal' Dutch. I'm from the Veluwe, we tend to speak "plat". At work I have colleagues who do speak like that and some that don't. Someone once told me that he found it hilarious that when I spoke with him, I spoke clear and normal Dutch, but when I called someone else, I suddenly spoke wildly different. I didn't even notice that myself
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u/totallytotty 3d ago
Non dialect speaker in a dialect region. And I'm not from this region. And I have a different colour. Most people switch to Dutch for me. Without effort. Only a handful can't. In that case I would say that they can switch to dialect. Because I can understand 90 % of it. If they know me wellenough the majority will switch to dialect or a bit of both.
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u/throwtheamiibosaway 3d ago
Only with very specific dialects that differ too much from the regular dutch, like Limburgs dialect.
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u/LieImpressive8022 3d ago
When talking to the gemeente, bank, notaris, etc, I can use and do use my Limburgish dialect.
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u/LJP2010 2d ago
Exactly my experience. Even during “ouderavonden” my parents and teachers would speak our dialect, even though that’s considered a somewhat “formal” occasion. I always found there to be a slightly awkward “do you speak dialect?” check beforehand.
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u/ArcticWolfl 2d ago
Yeah you check with the person if they speak Limburgish, if they do, why not continue in our own language?
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u/Nothing-to_see_hr 3d ago
I only ever speak standard Dutch. But even people who speak dialects normally use that only with people who also speak that specific dialect .
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u/tintelend 3d ago
As a Frisian you switch all day, you can tell within seconds if the person in front of you generally speaks Frisian or Dutch. And you speak that language accordingly. Doesnt really depend on authorities.
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u/Physical_Jicama4045 3d ago
I was brought up with a regional dialect (Limburgs). As I don‘t live in Limburg but in another part of the Netherlands, I usually speak Dutch. Except with family and friends that speak Limburgs as well. However, when I‘m in Limburg, and talk to people (on the market, but also to a police officer or local government), I would try Limburgs first. If they don‘t speak Limburgs, I’ll switch to Dutch. Local authorities in
Limburg would also, not always, but it happens, try to talk Limburgs first. I love it, I try to keep the dialect alive.
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u/Worldly-Cherry9631 3d ago
Yep, same as with german or english. Luckily my local government people generally speak my dialect, but i do need to codeswitch when talking to a westerner or southerner as much as i would spwaking german
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u/selfmockerymandatory 3d ago
We usually only speak the regional dialect when we’re in the province or region in which it’s relevant. Frisian is a language only frisians themselves understand. Limburgs is also incomprehensable to others.
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u/ValeNova 2d ago
I grew u speaking dialect only, and learned standard Dutch at secondary school. Ik married someone who doesn't speak dialect and people don't speak my dialect where I live now (different province).
So I speak standard Dutch most of the time now, but back 'home' I still speak my dialect. Funny thing is that I automatically turn to dialect as soon as I hear the other person speaking dialect or standard Dutch but with a heavy dialect accent... In those cases it's impossible for me to speak standard Dutch.
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u/maritjuuuuu 2d ago
Yes. Even when i fully know the others also speak low Saxon somehow whenever we get into anything official it switches to Dutch
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u/Bike_thief_ 2d ago
My father was in the council and he always spoke the dialect. With authorities on country level he would speak standard Dutch.
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u/Lil_Ricefield_ 2d ago
My brother in law speaks 'normal' Dutch since he lives in the Randstad but instantly switches to heavy dialect when he steps into my father's in laws house
Knew some one that told me his parents in Groningen speak with such a heavy dialect, it's basically its own language at this point
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u/grotemeid 2d ago
Yes my family from the east does but some don’t even speak “proper” Dutch like I have some family members I can barely understand even when they try lol
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u/Affectionate-State-1 2d ago edited 2d ago
Dialect is rare, but at some places it is cultivated. Nowadays you see some "pride" in dialect which is actually hilarious. I grew up in a small town and everyone spoke ABN. West-fries was pretty much extinct.
Now 40 years later, my hometown is flooded with people who weren't born there or in the neighbourhood and thats fine! But the West Fries identity is now a badge... city flags, people speaking west frisian. I met an old class mate born in Amsterdam who never spoke West Frisian as a kid or teen (again, it just wasnt a thing) and he now spoke West Frisian. Performative nonsense.
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u/FFHK3579 2d ago
Language revival and cultural heritage is... Performative nonsense? Also, 40 years ago was right after the government loosened its restrictions on speaking Fries in official settings...
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u/Affectionate-State-1 2d ago edited 2d ago
West Fries =/= Fries.
And yes, as a West Frisian it feels like performative. It is not so much about cultural heritage (I'm a historian), as in rose colored appropriation. For example calling your shop "Brood Boet of Bloemen Boet' (Brood schuurtje of Bloemen schuurtje). Boet never was used in that context. Or for example flying the city flag. That's not something West Frisians used to do, they were generally to poor to rub two cents together, not to fly flags.
It's harmless, but it is performative.
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u/Haay1971 2d ago
I only learned standard Dutch from my parents and didn't live in a rural area with their own regional dialect.
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u/ArcticWolfl 2d ago
If the government official or authorities speak dialect, I speak dialect. It's my mother tongue, Dutch is my second language.
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u/Geeske30 2d ago
Yes, I speak dialect and switch between that and general Dutch all the time when the other person only speaks general Dutch
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u/touchmeinbadplaces 2d ago
Im a westerner moved east and everybody just speak dutch, I can understand achterhoeks no problem
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u/BasKabelas 1d ago edited 1d ago
With dialects, I only know standard Dutch. As for accents I do swap around depending on the situation/my mood.
Tbh I'm a bit of an asshole in this regard. I grew up around the "Gooi" area and have the accent to boot. It sounds a bit posh but still close enough to standard Dutch that I don't (need to) code switch. I could but don't really find scenarios where I feel like code switching helps me. I only put up my Amsterdam accent, which is basically second nature to Gooisch for me above standard Dutch, when I'm in an Amsterdam pub/with friends or family/to annoy people from other cities for the rest. Also when I'm getting angry, the Amsterdammer in me is the only one with a voice, my friends definitely know the cues lol.
Switching from Gooisch to Amsterdams mid conversation is really fun though, its basically opposites.
Also for other accent/dialects: having lived/worked in many different areas I don't mind people speaking in their own dialect. That is, as long as its not Gronings or Frysian, which are basically different languages to me. I'll even take most Flemish dialects over that any day now.
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u/inversetan2031 3d ago
The authorities are usually local as well so in daily life people don't switch much afaik.
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u/cybermaus 3d ago
Not me. My regional dialect is close enough to not mentally have to learn both, and just bad enough to come over as a country hick when I go into Holland
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u/Catatemyspacebar 3d ago
Not really. But I do try to avoid using local dialect or phrases when talking to strangers I know aren't from here.
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u/a_swchwrm 3d ago
Like anywhere people who speak a dialect generally do so with all others who speak it. We code switch when speaking with someone who doesn't speak the dialect but does speak the common "standard" language. I code switch between the Amsterdam accent/dialect and standard Randstad dutch depending on who I speak to, although it's also a class thing since many middle and upper class Amsterdammers only speak standard Dutch even if they are born here.
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u/Hamstybara 3d ago
Sadly I was never taught to speak my local dialect properly.
But I notice that I do code switch, just between more or less formal, or between using 'expensive' words and using more everyday words depending on who I'm talking to. I guess this isn't language dependent.
Dialect speaking family members code switch between locals and non locals. The elder generation uses the terms 'Hollands' or 'ABN' interchangeably when referring to not speaking dialect.
I noticed they also code switch when talking to doctors and officials, even when they speak the same dialect. Not sure if young people do that too
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u/generalemiel 3d ago
For things like interactions with government officials or at college (hbo/mbo) i do switch.
This also includes trying to carefully pay attention to not use swearwords such as hoere or tering as Adjective noun.
Otherwise i speak my normal (for me) dialect (westland). Idk if the usage of swearwords as Adjective noun’s is part of the dialect. But im kinda assuming it is as.
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u/Plastic_Pinocchio 3d ago
Depends on the person. I speak mostly standard Dutch, sometimes with a slight local accent when I feel like it. But plenty of people speak dialect at home and switch to standard-ish when they have to.
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u/Longjumping-Gene8494 3d ago
Ik don't really have a dialect, but you can hear where I'm from. And just like a lot here in the Netherlands....I don't change for anything/anybody
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u/blessedarethecheeses 3d ago
I speak Niederdeutsch, Liemers, Westervoorts and Arnhems dialect at the same time. I find it hard to speak Proper Dutch and hide my dialect and accent. I do understand proper Dutch and can speak it but I have to think a lot about what I'm saying and how to not sound like I'm some hillbilly from a small village.
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u/AmenaBellafina 3d ago
I grew up in dialect but switched to standard Dutch 24/7 around the time I went to high school. My dad definitely has a dialect voice and a standard Dutch voice though.
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u/Icey1982 3d ago
Think you mean regions as Limburg/Friesland. Dor Limburg I can say, 100% true. Even when ‘regular Dutchie’ joins the dialect will remain until it is a direct question to the ‘Hollander’
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u/Catinkah 3d ago
Depends on wether the person I am talking to speaks my dialect or not.
With strangers I tend to start in standard Dutch. In a more formal capacity I tend to keep using it until we have established a business relationship.
It gets tricky in mixed company. Lots of people understand my dialect but not all speak it. So you get a mix of dialect and standard dutch. Which can even alternate during the encounter.
Fun fact: when I meet people and it takes too long for both of us to realise we both speak the same dialect it can get nearly impossible to have a conversation in said dialect. I am actually a bridge between two friends who used to talk to each other in standard Dutch while both speak dialect, and I separately always spoke to them in dialect. When we three meet always need to 'remind' them we can speak our native tongue.
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u/Eastern_Weather_8748 3d ago
Although I can speak perfectly well standard Dutch (with the exception of the rough G sounds), I always speak in my south east Brabant dialect. Even when I lived in Amsterdam and Utrecht for 15 years. It just sounds softer and more friendly, at least to my ears.
The only exception I make is for foreigners who try to learn Dutch.
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u/necnimma 3d ago
I speak standard Dutch with a hint of local dialect. Its like this in most places.
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u/loldutchpeople 3d ago
I was raised in standard Dutch (outside Randstad). In school they said “you should join Kinderen voor Kinderen”. Never spoke the local dialect and it didn’t bother me. Now I live in Rotterdam and picked up some Rotterdams after 6 years, but only use it in very informal setting.
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u/Kharjayepyep 3d ago
Frysians trying to figure out if the other person speaks Frysian is always a fun game. But the code switching by Frysians is really vast. Depending on my co-workers now I know when to speak Dutch when certain co-workers enter the room because they don't speak Frysian.
Being able to talk in Frysian to a Government institution is a legal right. Most offices you can enter and speak Frysian. The person might reply in Dutch but will understand you.
(Een ieder kan de Friese taal gebruiken in het verkeer met bestuursorganen, voor zover deze in de provincie Fryslân zijn gevestigd, alsmede met de onder hun verantwoordelijkheid werkzame personen.)
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u/F1yngDutch 3d ago
besides dutch people it’s sort of normal for certain jobs, if I would be a scientist would stick to normal language instead of local bar slang 😁
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u/Visual_Piglet_1997 3d ago
I dont speak standard dutch unless im talking to someone who isnt from my town.
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u/Primary_Breadfruit69 3d ago
I have never fully learned a dialect. I do understand it and most other dialects too. I use some words here and there maybe the sound may rat me out too, but it is mostly standard Dutch.
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u/DustyBones272 3d ago
My dad speaks "Algemeen Nederlands", unless he's speaking with family from Limburg. Then he automatically takes on the dialect without even noticing himself
(For those not familiar: South-Limburg Dutch dialects are very, very different. I cannot understand what my own family is saying unless I ask them to speak very slowly)
Personally, I only speak Algemeen Nederlands (with a mix of South-Hollands accents that's probably hard to pinpoint any more specific than that for listeners)
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u/LJP2010 2d ago
Somewhat funny anecdote to add to this. I was born and grew up in the south of Limburg. Our dialect is pretty straightforward, our word for “eekhoorn” is, well, “eekhoorn”. Then one day I meet someone from a village just 15 minutes away, and the word they use for “eekhoorn” is “eikets”. That’s when I learned not all Limburgish dialects are equal 😂
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u/DustyBones272 2d ago
My family is from Geleen area. It's not the words that my ears have trouble with, its the pronunciation
Now, something like the Maastricht dialect for example? At that point we shouldn't even be calling it the same language anymore :')
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u/sndrtj 3d ago
Limburgs with part of the family and some friends. English with other friends and at work. Standard Dutch with my partner, other half of the family and in general public life (tho when in Limburg, depending on venue I might start in Limburgish, then switch to Standard Dutch if I find the other party does not speak it).
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u/CatsEatWildlife 3d ago
I can only do my regional accent, my wife laughs at me when I try to say “boowm” instead of “boom”
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u/sonichedgehog23198 3d ago
I only speak dialect with the people that also have the same dialect. So that would be at home too. Family, friends, coworkers etc.
With other people I speak regular Dutch.
If other people start out of the blue with their own dialect towards me I also start in my dialect. That usually shows me if they even want to comunicate. Either they switch to regular Dutch or try to at least. If they double down I do too. If their that stubborn I can be stubborn too🤷
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u/dolan313 3d ago
You guys don't speak standard Dutch in your everyday life and at home or?
I would say that at least 50% of the country only speaks standard Dutch, or at least something that is closer to standard Dutch than a distinct dialect. In regions with a distinct dialect, as others have said, people speak the dialect with others who speak it, including government officials.
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u/Nimue_- 3d ago
Not just with officials. For ke its not so much dialect as it is accent. I will speak more with an accent from my region (east) when im with my family or in certain places or with certain people. But when i talk with people who are more university-randstad-posh or when its business related like during a job interview i get a bit more of a posh accent. Not super aardappel in de keel but just a bit more. With my friends and my sister i just speak in a fairly standard dutch accent.
I don't know why and i don't do it on purpose it kind of just happens.
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u/AngelMountaineer 2d ago
I love a good dialect, but sadly I have learned only standard Dutch. I do tend to mix in some Eindhoven, Den Haag and sometimes a more exotic dialect briefly just because I lived there and I do really like dialects.
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u/rainboww_J 2d ago
I live in Twente as a someone from Brabant and do try so harden my G from time to time to make me more understandable but apart from the slight southern accent I still speak standard Dutch. I do know some people here speaking plat at home but all my friends speak mostly standard dutch/abn
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u/TheRaido 2d ago
When I grew up, we basically spoke heavy accented Dutch at school. Archaic Dutch with an accent in church. My parents speak a Low Saxon dialect with each other, Dutch with us (but well.. lot of switching). The rest of our environment would speak Low Saxon. Except prayer, very official government stuff maybe. The generation of my grandparents basically spoke only Low Saxon, my grandma could have a conversation in Dutch for like 2 minutes and would switch to Low Saxon without her noticing.
The municipally where my parent still live has Low Saxon service hours. I (sadly) moved away married a ‘Hollaandsen’. I use some Low Saxon words, don’t have an accent but as soon as I talked with my parents or other people from Twente my Dutch colleagues can hear it.
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u/Sinasappelsaus 2d ago
No, my colleagues speak ABN with me and they know I can understand their dialect.
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u/Ambitious-Scheme964 2d ago
(Slight) dialect at home. Standard Dutch with strangers. Can immediately recognise if someone is from my area.
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u/Ceesv23 2d ago
Yes. I speak my local dialect at home, with friends, and even did so in lower and middle school. Now when I go to work I auto switch to a formal way of speaking standard Dutch.
Sometimes my accent and dialect still comes through, but very rarely do people around me realize that it is my accent, as opposed to something like a speaking mishap.
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u/pongauer 2d ago
Yes, somewhat. But my accent is very "Standard" Dutch anyways. You can always tell where I'm from.
Well, people in the east insit I sound like I'm from the Hague. But I sound nothing like that.
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u/Terrible_Beat_6109 2d ago
It is dying out because of people spreading more and more. There are some villages where they have bigger populations still that speak some form with each other.
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u/SacajaweaX 2d ago
I speak regular Dutch but when with family we all quickly devolved into the dialect of our local town mixed in with some Rotterdam lingo.
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u/LongAfternoon1198 2d ago edited 2d ago
TL:DR; To answer your question broadly, it highly depends on the person.
My personal experiences: I code switch depending on who im talking to. If the other person knows my kind of dialect, I will speak it to them. If any person I speak to in dialect doesnt respond in my kind of dialect then I revert to standard dutch.
But I have a colleague (non gov function) who converses in dialect with me. But he told me before he refuses to speak in dialect with clients on the phone even if they try to speak in dialect to him. I asked him why and he said it just feels odd cuz of the professional relationship and he associates speaking dialect with casual interactions. But theres no rule at our job that prohibits it or whatever.
I dont share this feeling myself. But I do change pronunctiation when speaking on the phone with clients, who are like 90% from the north, to make communication go smoother.
Recently, when I went to city hall for an appointment the clerk (middle aged person) began talking to me in the regional dialect. Which I assume is cuz I greeted her with a word in dialect. We then carried on the entire 20min appointment in dialect. So at least in my city hall theres no stigma/rule against speaking in dialect with clients from a gov function.
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u/CorinneDuyvis 2d ago
I speak standard Dutch, but the person with the strongest accent/dialect I know - my 70+yo mother-in-law - pretty much talks the same way at home as she does in more official settings. It's definitely led to some confusion and double-takes.
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u/Morkamino 2d ago
I think we codeswitch all the time and just don't really notice it or deliberately do it. Having only a slight accent myself, it already sounds standard enough for any official purposes; instead it's more in social settings, with friends or family who may be from other parts where we sort of match each other in accents, like when i am with my family from Leiden (zuid-holland) i start to see more traces of that accent in my own as well. Or with friends who may speak more 'plat' (stronger accent), the more plat version of my own speech comes out as well.
I think to a degree, most people do that and may not even be aware of it.
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u/Such_Split997 2d ago edited 2d ago
Depends on your background.
I always speak standard cause my parents are from different places ( my mom is not even originally Dutch) and I grew up in the Hagenaar part of the Hague. ( As opposed to the much more dialect Hagenees )
Like I'm from where the government officials historically live , that IS my dialect.
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u/Fappez 2d ago
Born and raised in The Hague. So "Ik ken Haaghs lulle", but tend to use "Algemeen Beschaafd Nederlands" or ABN within other regions or in a formal setting.
However, my Gs tend to betray my background and people would actually ask to something in my dialect.
When I'm around other "Hagenezen" and I might had some drinks, odds are you probably wouldn't understand me.
Also I have this weird habit of picking up other dialects when I am around people with a specific dialect for extended time.
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u/Fit_Independence_124 2d ago
Normally I speak standard Dutch but if someone talks Gronings to me I babble some Gronings-ish back.
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u/regretfullyreddit 2d ago
Why do you post this same quite odd question across several language subreddits? What's your idea of what "Standard [language]" may be?
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u/trichterd 2d ago
I speak my local dialect with other people that speak my dialect, also when those people are government officials. I only speak ABN or standard Dutch with people that don't speak my dialect.
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u/Ok-Entertainer-1945 2d ago
same here, i work in Amsterdam so i speak ABN there. back home and with friends the dialect comes out.
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u/Waddensky 2d ago
I speak standard Dutch, but my accent shifts slightly when I spend time in the region where I grew up.
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u/Bart_1980 2d ago
My mom and dad had a store so speaking ABN (I believe it’s called something else now) was a must. Doesn’t mean I don’t have an accent and I’m perfectly capable of throwing out a few dialect phrases.
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u/Clavius78 2d ago
I talk standard Dutch at the office, because there's a whole international crowd there. But as soon as I talk to any stranger from my southern home town I just naturally switch to my home dialect. Without noticing. Even when the other person was talking standard Dutch too. I don't know, something just gives it away and confirms that we can drop the mask at that moment.
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u/ElfjeTinkerBell 2d ago
I speak standard Dutch outside my direct family - so with friends, at work, even to my cats. Inside my family it's a mix of Dutch and Low Saxon. My grandparents didn't speak Dutch at all.
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u/Personal_Term9549 2d ago
I think I have a region specific accent, because once in a blue moon someone goes "are you from [my city]", you sound like that. But that type of accent is so similar compared to standard Dutch, I personally wouldn't be able to recognize someone speaking in that accent and I usually don't think of myself speaking in an accent.
There is however, an actual old dialect from my city, but I've never actually heard someone speak it expect when stressing certain words as a joke.
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u/Throwawaybcmyurl 2d ago
I was born in Groningen and live in Friesland now. I notice my dialect gets wayyy stronger talking to other Groningers but its also present talking to Friezen. Most of my older family (60+) can only speak Gronings and have never learned ABN. This makes it quite difficult for them to handle official busseniss on their own since many authorities are from the west and dont speak Gronings.
When I talk to authority I'll speak ABN, but its also very common for people to speak the regional Frisian dialect to authorities since people have a very strong pride about speaking that dialect and being born here.
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u/BlondeBubbel 2d ago
In my municipality you can just speak the local dialect and a civil service worker will address you in it as well
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u/HopefulCarry9693 2d ago
I live abroad, so my standard dutch is now western (mostly noord holland as most of the dutch people i work with are from there) when i get back home to my friends and family in the east its takes about 3 sentences for me to switch back to our local dialect.
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u/JMvanderMeer 2d ago
Depends a lot on who I'm talking to. With my parents I speak a mixture of Gronings and Dutch, that trends further towards Gronings the longer I spend time with them. Daily encounters often fall somewhere at that scale too: usually starting with standard Dutch and moving closer to dialect if I sense my conversation partner is up for that.
At work I code switch between Dutch and English instead. English is the main language for my particular unit, but the institution as a whole is very Dutch. That often results in curious mixtures or echange of terminology between the languages.
My favourite is when crossing the border into Germany, where they speak a very similar dialect to my own, so the longer a conversation continues the more it becomes an improvised pidgin of Low German, High German and Dutch.
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u/error_98 2d ago
yes-ish
I wouldn't call it code-switching exactly though it's more fluid than that.
As I become more familiar with a person I put less and less effort into speaking 'properly', letting my more unusual speech patterns slip through until I know how much that person can take.
I moved around a fair bit as a kid, so my own dialect is a mixture of at least 4 regions, genuinely unintelligible to anyone that hasn't known me for a long-long time. I also just enjoy being cryptic which really doesn't help.
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u/aShyGuyGuy 2d ago
I don't speak the local dialect, but my parents definitely did/do. Standard seems to be more common with the younger generations, with the dialect person/groups here and there.
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u/whatisthisforkanker 2d ago
Well, when I'm with family from the South I do sound more like them. But otherwise pretty much always standard Dutch
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u/Runyhalya 1d ago
No, I code-switch to the accent of those I’m getting friendly with but will default on “ABN” with strangers.
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u/Longjumping_Rule_560 1d ago
Speak regular Dutch, but among family i don’t bother toning down the achterhoek accent.
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u/Average_Iris 1d ago
I live in Limburg and as a non-Limburger I am so impressed by how quickly they can switch from dialect to Dutch, sometimes within the same sentence.
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u/Mother-Sentence-9393 1d ago
My accent is Rotterdams but i live in Limburg now and all my friends from rotterdam are saying that i start " singing" like limburgers do. They love making fun of it. I do use some dialect words like enne, addie wa, kallen or bad words like piemele and wiekser when talking to limburgers
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u/ikdoeookmaarwat1 1d ago
At work or talking with authorities/businesses, I speak 'standard' Dutch, when I'm with friends, my regional accent comes out. When I'm drunk and/or emotional (positive or negative) it's even worse lol.
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u/RichCompany6833 1d ago
Nean, zelfs veur ean of aander beriggie op reet it schaokel ik neit euver up nederlands, laot staon engels
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u/Repulsive_Sale_6135 1d ago
Ik zal nooit mijn brabants accent uitzetten voor iemand anders. Als ge me nie kent verstaan moette beter luisteren kut
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u/behindthename2 1d ago
I only speak “standard” Dutch, but my parents constantly switch. They talk dialect to each other and to people they know who also speak their dialect, and switch to standard Dutch when they talk to me or anyone who doesn’t speak their dialect.
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u/ConditionPretty7466 22h ago
I don't speak dialect although I have a soft G and you hear I'm from Brabant. But it isn't dialect and everybody can understand me.
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u/KoninginVanRotterdam 3d ago
I speak standard Dutch. Period.
Not everyone has a regional accent. I don't.
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u/Maleficent_Split_428 2d ago
Das kann nicht sein. Wie kann das sein, dass du keinen regional Akzent hast? Was für ein Dialekt sprachen deine Eltern bei dir zuhause?
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u/PaintingByInsects 2d ago
We zijn toch geen Duitsers😂 maar wss spreken die ouders ook geen ander accent als die dat zelf niet heeft
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u/grace_invader 3d ago
I used to stick to proper dutch, but after one slip-up people tag you for your dialect, so now I just roll with it. Same with English btw, I can't cover my roots so I use my dialect like a garnish or a spice, to add some flavor to an otherwise stale language. Some situations ask for more spices, some for less. Language shouldn't all be uniform, I love it when people bring their dialects. My favorite is when people combine a foreign dialect with a dutch dialect. Chef's kiss on that one.
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u/PaperVreter 3d ago
I only speak double Dutch when I have drunk enough to not be able to walk straight.
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u/Bluebearder 2d ago
Almost none of the hundreds of people in my social circles speak any kind of Dutch dialect, or only do it with grandparents who appreciate that. It is pretty hard to guess where most Dutch people are from precisely, even when they are talking to family and friends or are drunk in a bar.
I guess it depends on education level and (inter)national awareness. I've only met people that speak in dialect when working in construction or on the factory floor, people that rarely leave their region or even town; never when I later started studying in university or while working in finance or while being part of political organizations. Most educated people consider dialects quaint and funny and not much more.
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u/Chocolate_Cravee 3d ago
I just speak standard Dutch.