Fri, 10 February 2012
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In the first instalment of this column, some Dutch words are examined under the magnifying glass.Are words safe from their users? Personally I think a couple of words are not being treated well. And I love words.
The Dutch have some bad habits; a deep-rooted one being prejudging others. Unfortunate as it is, and as much as I like the Dutch (I even married one), they do have a tendency to make assumptions. 
They themselves have even coined the term: in a 'hokje plaatsen' (to put in a box). It reminds me of my schooldays when I had to stand in a corner at elementary school because I had just told the substitute teacher that she knew nothing about how to make a Halloween mask. It evokes this kind of creepy feeling.
I have not yet been able to find a description of this Dutch habit in a dictionary; but this behaviour is rampant and widespread throughout Dutch society. If you haven’t encountered it, count your blessings. However, if you haven't and have lived here for a number of years, I want to know where your hiding place is.
Not only people but words are victims of Dutch assumption. The Dutch word 'buitenlander' ('foreigner') has become prey as has his relative 'allochtoon'.
I get the heebie-jeebies when the Dutch use the word 'buitenlander'. It sends shivers down my spine. It reminds me of another word which sounds like an exotic country and begins with an ‘x’. Obviously not a land where you would want to live, that is, if you are a foreigner. Sadly enough, the former meaning of 'buitenlander' just up and left. We can reminisce, but how far will that take us?
I don't know if we even want to go into how 'allochtoon' is being treated.
As someone who has come 'from far way' (one definition of allochtoon), an immigrant, foreigner (Van Dale Dictionary), and a person '…who has at least one parent who was born abroad' (StatLine definition), it is hard to believe that this word is mostly used to describe peoples, having a culturally rich background, who are actually born and raised in the Netherlands and speak Dutch fluently.
According to the definition from StatLine, even Queen Beatrix and Prince Willem Alexander fall under 'allochtoon', although you would think given their positions in Dutch society that they are actually 'autochtoon' (Van Dale: indigenous, native), the exact opposite of 'allochtoon'.
You guessed right, this is all very confusing. Obviously much more is involved than you would think in 'a word'. More like what does a word have to put up with?
'x' = xenophobia
StatLine = Statistics Netherlands (CBS)
[Copyright Expatica 2006]
Subject: Dutch words, Lesley Thomas
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