No textbook needed
“Every time I try to speak Dutch, they just switch to (insert any other language here).” For many who have tried their hand at learning a bit of the local language in Belgium, this scenario sounds all too familiar. Although ‘any other language’ is an exaggeration, it is meant as a ‘hats off’ to the incomparable language skills of most native Dutch speakers. What they don’t realise, though, while accommodating others by showing off their polyglottism, is that they are in fact discouraging people who might otherwise be willing to learn to speak Dutch with fluency.
A new initiative by Brussels’ House of Dutch reminds us that learning a language doesn’t always have to be so formal
The irony is that this is happening in a country so adamant about people learning and using the official languages. “I don’t know why Dutch speakers tend to reply in French or English [when they hear you are a non-native speaker trying to speak Dutch],” admits Geralda De Vos of the House of Dutch in Brussels. “Maybe it is meant to be polite, although it comes across as anything but. Imagine if I went to London this weekend and started talking to people, just to have them reply to me in Dutch because they hear that I am Dutch-speaking.”
De Vos suggests that a new initiative called Patati Patata (which loosely translates as ‘blablabla’) could lead to an eventual change in mentality on the part of native Dutch speakers – a willingness to break what has essentially become a bad habit. Non-Dutch speakers, in return, tend too easily to revert back into the comfort zone of their own language instead of firmly stating their desire to continue in Dutch. Plus, they figure, “What’s the point? Everybody speaks my language anyway.”
By launching Patati Patata, the House of Dutch hopes to break this cycle. With the support of Bert Anciaux, Flemish minister of Culture, Youth, Sports and Brussels, the project’s intention is to have native Dutch speakers form language tandems with speakers of other languages, thereby helping them feel more confident practising their Dutch in a relaxed and informal setting.
The engine behind the initiative is the colourful and dynamic website, www.patati.be. Here speakers of French, English and other languages can sign up for the opportunity to meet with a native Dutch speaker over lunch, for a drink, at the gym, or whatever. The site is full of suggested activities, whether in your free time, at the workplace or even during your daily train commute. The idea is that tandem partners get together and brush up on their foreign language skills without additional time or money investments.
The tandem idea is by no means exclusive. Group activities are also encouraged, as evidenced by the laid-back Dutch conversation meetings already taking place every fortnight at Café Monk in Brussels. There is also a calendar of events planned such as round tables, concerts, theatre performances, workshops and bike rides.
In addition to its role as a meeting place, www.patati.be is also chock full of language tips, exercises and suggestions aimed at getting people to practise Dutch through small changes in their daily lives, such as listening to a different radio station or picking up a Dutch language newspaper instead of their familiar daily.
One of the biggest challenges behind such an initiative, of course, is informing the public of its existence and getting eager Dutch learners involved. That is why the House of Dutch, the brains behind Patati Patata, is currently carrying out a marketing campaign around the initiative, and in particular the website. Don’t be surprised then if you see posters and random publicity stunts in transport hubs around Brussels this month. Still, even before active promotion of Patati Patata began, the site received over 120 registrations, mostly by word of mouth.
Drawing people to the site is the first step. Once registered, non-Dutch speakers can start using the integrated search engine to find new and fun ways to improve their basic knowledge of Dutch, or at least raise their confidence when placing an order at the sandwich shop. Native Dutch speakers are also encouraged to register. In return, they will get to know people with similar interests while spreading knowledge of their mother tongue.
www.patati.be
