[mudshark]

[quoteost_uid0="catalina_marina"][color=#000000ost_uid0]So you don't consider Dutch a foreign language? [/colorost_uid0][/quoteost_uid0]
[color=#000000ost_uid0]I suppose [iost_uid0]I[/iost_uid0] would, personally, but I was speaking from the North German perspective, there -- I've known for a long time that they consider the Bavarians difficult to understand and the Austrians pretty well incomprehensible (and then there are the Swiss! :eyeroll: )
[quoteost_uid0]Most Dutch people speak better English than the average North American, I've found.[/quoteost_uid0]Also write it better (true as well for most of the other non-English-speaking countries in Europe.) Some days, I get the impression most Americans and many Brits learned the language from MTV or some equally reputable source, and picked up such writing skills as they possess entirely by accident.

My youngest brother studied at the Conservatory of Music in Rotterdam for two years and had a bit of trouble at first trying to pick up Dutch -- all the locals insisted on practicing their English on him. Eventually, it settled out that he would speak Dutch to them, they'd answer him in English and business more or less got taken care of. :lol:

[bost_uid0]cat:[/bost_uid0] which word? Just curious.[/colorost_uid0]