I recently heard that “Dutch” is a derogatory term for someone from the neterlands, and the correct term is “Netherlandish”. Can anyone tell me if this is true?
Also, are Holland and The Netherlands the same thing? I always thought that Holland was just a small part of the country.
Holland is a section of the Netherlands. There are two provinces (? is that the correct term) called North Holland and South Holland (translated into English). There are a lot of other administrative areas, like Limburg and Zeeland
I been wonering too: why does ‘Dutch’ refer to something of Netherlandian origin, when “German” is used to refer to something or someone from Deutschland.
Simple enough to settle it.
HEY! COLDFIRE! Whaddaya wanna be called?
My family is dutch (my mom was born in Den Haag) … they call themselves dutch so I doubt it is derogatory
I’ve heard black folks refer to themselves as Ni…
and Polish folk refer to themselves as pollocks, Irishmen refer to themselves as micks, etc. Maybe the Dutch just don’t realize they are degrading themselves.
Of course some people call themselves Dutch - they are Dutch. The point is that not everyone in the Netherlands considers themselves to be Dutch. To call one of them Dutch could be considered derogatory.
It may not make sense to the overwhelmingly American audience here, but this happens a lot. Many Scots are happy to be called British - which we are - but are unhappy to be called English - which we are not. To outsiders, the difference may be minimal, but it is important.
If you are a proud Texan, you may or may not want to be called American, but you are unlikely to be happy being referred to as Californian.
Russell
…and another thing. This is not a racist issue. Nationality is not the same as race. Such as it is, this is a Nationalist issue.
Russell
So who are the Dutch? The residents of the Hollands?
Correct.
“Dutch” is not a derogatory term at all. Let’s list some facts.
The country is officially called The Netherlands, or “Nederland” (popular version, Nederland = singular, Dutch), or “Koninkrijk der Nederlanden” (Kingdom of the Netherlands, official version, Nederlanden = plural, Dutch).
The two provinces quoted above make up Holland. However, Holland is also used as a generic term for the entire country, especially abroad. Some people do not appreciate this (especialy those from Limburg and Friesland, provinces with a strong culture and own dialect/language), and wish to be called “Nederlander” instead of “Hollander”. People from Limburg, to make matters complicated, use the term “Hollander” (or rather, the dialect version, “Hollènder”) as a derogatory term for everything that is not Limburg. Which is dumb, because they too are missing the point when they do so, unless someone is really from South- or North Holland.
The word “Dutch” has nothing to do with the German word for German, “Deutsch”. In middel-Dutch, the word “Duitsch” or “Duytsch” meant “common”, “of the people”. The first line of our national anthem is:
“Wilhelmus van Nassaue, ben ick van Duytschen bloedt”. This means: “William of Orange (our first king, late 16th century), am I, of common blood”. He was basically saying he was your average John Doe 
This is most likely the word that got bastardised to the English word “Dutch”. Sure, “Netherlandish” would be more accurate, but why change it now? “Dutch” is shorter anyway.
In short, we are all Dutch, we are all from the Netherlands, and some of us are from Holland (I live in Holland, but was not born there, yet I am Dutch :D). However, some people will correct you when you say they’re from Holland. They’ll tell you they’re from The Netherlands. Nothing to worry about though, it’s not a major insult. Who cares about those hicks, anyway
Also, don’t worry about thinking “Dutch” has something to do with “Deutsch”. Most Dutch people even think that the aforementioned middle-Dutch word “Duytsch” means the same as our modern word “Duits” (German).
Ignorance is a worldwide phenomenon
My conversations with Dutch business colleagues agree absolutely with Coldfire’s comments.
In English, of course, the word “Dutch” has been used in a somewhat derogatory fashion, as in “Dutch treat”, but that’s different from simply calling someone “Dutch.”
You gotta admire a people for whom Anne Franke is a national hero.
It’s Anne Frank, by the way. And ironically, we call a BYOB party an “Amerikaans Feest”, American Party. Go figure
Thanks for the excellent explanation. I always wondered about that bit in the national anthenem quote .“Wilhelmus van Nassaue, ben ick van Duytschen bloedt”. endquote,I always figured he had been born a german prince (like Claus & Bernard) and never questioned the assumption. Now another question: Was that the same “William of Orange” who caused so much trouble for the Irish that they are still protesting the “Orangeman” day march today, or was that a later decendent? I have never been able to figure that one out.
Nope, that was William the Third (of Orange), the grandson of William of Orange. He merily sailed up the Thames and took over Britain
After a long break in the tradition, our crown prince Willem Alexander has announced that he shall assume the name Willem IV, or William IV, when he becomes the King. Also, this will be our first king in 150 years. Damn wimmin
A side note: father Claus (German) and grandfather Bernhard (German) make Willem Alexander 75% German. King of the Netherlands… sort of.
Nope, that was William the Third (of Orange and of Great Britain), the great-grandson of the aforementioned William of Orange a.k.a William the Silent. He didn’t sail up the Thames.
Great-grandson, you’re right.
Thanks. I always get it confused as well.
I wandered into a bookstore looking for a translating dictionary and asked for a “Nederlanse-English” wordbook (after apologizing for speaking only English).
The clerk coldly corrected me that I wanted a “Dutch-English” book.
(Most folks were a lot friendlier.)
Dutch is out. The preferred term now is Inuit.
A very strange point here…
Irish people love the Dutch. our supporters get on great with each other (In Orlando the Nederlanders and the Irish had a HUGE street party).
I do technical support for the Nederlands, and they dont mind being called Dutch.
As for the William the Third issue, we dont hate him, its the Bigots that parade to celebrate a meaningless 300 yr old battle held in Boyne Co. Meath between the Orangeites, supporters of William III (protestant), and Jacobites (catholic).
I dont mind the parades, as long as they dont parade where they are not wanted. This is the issue of contention at the moment.
The orangemen insist they have a “God Given Right” to march their “traditional route”. The Nationalist communities do not want the parades to go through their areas.
however, this is not the thread to discuss this issue. If anyone wants a further explination. open a new thread and I’d be happy to answer any questions you might have.