How multilingual are Dutch speakers?
Met welke talen praat ik met wie?
A2 Dutch listening practice · Dutch · Picked for people who know a little
Meertaligheid (“multilingualism”) is one of the Netherlands' most-quoted national characteristics. Dutch primary education starts English in groep 7, German and French come into middelbare school, and many Dutch adults pick up a fourth language through Frisian, Spanish, Swedish, or migration heritage. EU surveys consistently put Dutch adults in the top three for English fluency in non-English Europe (~93%). The country’s meertaligheid shapes business culture (English at most multinationals), media (untranslated Anglophone TV), academia (English-taught masters programs are now the majority), and youth culture (Dutch teens code-switch into English mid-sentence).
In this clip, a Dutch speaker rattles off her language map: “Ik spreek Nederlands met familie en studenten, ik spreek Noors met vrienden, en ik spreek Fins met de buren.”
How common are the words?
How common are the words in this A2 Dutch listening practice video?
How common in written Dutch
How common in spoken Dutch
Harder words in this video
These words are harder than A2. Here is what they mean.
Source: wordfreq 3.1.1 (general) · SUBTLEX-NL 2014 (spoken). These numbers are close, not perfect.
- ▸In Dutch language-policy writing (Onze Taal, Taalunie, Trouw)
- ▸In Dutch English-fluency and education journalism (NRC, De Volkskrant, De Correspondent)
- ▸In Dutch Frisian-language writing (Omrop Fryslân, Tresoar, Fryske Akademy)
- ▸In Dutch primary-school multilingualism content (Het Klokhuis, Schooltv, Talenacademie)