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Dutch Situation in St. Maarten | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Specific Languages |  | |
| tracker465 Senior Member United States Joined 5355 days ago 355 posts - 496 votes  Speaks: English* Studies: German, Spanish, Dutch | Message 1 of 9 18 April 2010 at 7:59am | IP Logged | |||||
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This summer I am (hopefully, health-permitting) taking a cruise to the Caribbean, and will spend about two days in Puerto Rico, a day in Sint Maarten, as well as a few other places where English creoles and possibly Spanish are spoken. My dilemma stems from the fact that I am taking this cruise at the end of May, and do not finish my university classes until the beginning of May. I am too busy to really study any language at the moment, though once I finish my classes, I figure that I will have enough time to either improve my Spanish, or my Dutch, before setting sail, though I doubt I have enough time to work on both. Which language should I concentrate my studies on?
Pro Spanish: I have taken three university Spanish classes, so I feel that I understand enough of the structure that I could get around on the Spanish-speaking islands. My problem, however, is that I have a limited amount of vocabulary. If I really studied my Spanish vocabulary, I think that I could make use of the opportunity and would enjoy the time in Puerto Rico more. Cons: In my area, there are many Mexican and Puerto Rican families. If I worked hard, I am sure that somehow I could “infiltrate” into this circle of people, and would thus be able to practice my Spanish daily at home, something which I would not be able to do with Dutch. Pro Dutch: Unlike Spanish, there are very few people in my area which speak Dutch, and it has been a very daunting task trying to seek these people out. If I went to Sint Maarten and spoke Dutch, although I would only be there for one day, it would be one more day of practice than I would have if I did not study it before the cruise. Last summer I studied Dutch, but I have forgotten much of what I had learned, but I think that some of the words might come back to me. Having studied German and English being my native tongue, I think that to pick up Dutch again would be doable before the cruise. Cons: My usage of Dutch would be for only one day. Also, although I will be staying on the Dutch side of St. Maarten, I am not sure as to how many people there readily speak Dutch these days. Hmm, decisions, decisions. At the moment I am leaning towards focusing my attention on Dutch, though I am just not sure if that would be the better route. Edited by tracker465 on 31 May 2010 at 7:48am 2 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| Smart Tetraglot Senior Member United States Joined 5342 days ago 352 posts - 398 votes Speaks: Spanish, English*, Latin, French Studies: German | Message 2 of 9 18 April 2010 at 8:02am | IP Logged | |||||
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Of course being that I love Dutch I want to say Dutch.
But having been to St. Maarten myself, English is used and perhaps even preferred. So unless you have a passion for Dutch like I do. Just learn espanol! :) 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| tracker465 Senior Member United States Joined 5355 days ago 355 posts - 496 votes Speaks: English* Studies: German, Spanish, Dutch | Message 3 of 9 18 April 2010 at 8:20am | IP Logged | |||||
Well I have always been more interested in Dutch than Spanish, but at the end of the day, I want to learn both to a reasonable level, so whichever tongue becomes slighted in May, won't be slighted in the future :) What you mentioned, however, has been my fear about choosing Dutch. Is English really so much more prevelant in St. Maarten than Dutch? Are the majority of newspapers in Dutch? If I was to walk into a store, and did not look like a tourist, would I be greeted in Dutch or English? What if someone asked me a question on the street? I guess that is a question I have, is whether Dutch is often spoken in St. Maarten, or if I will have to seek it out. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| Smart Tetraglot Senior Member United States Joined 5342 days ago 352 posts - 398 votes Speaks: Spanish, English*, Latin, French Studies: German | Message 4 of 9 18 April 2010 at 9:21am | IP Logged | |||||
Well I have not been to St. Maarten since I was 8 years old. So I am not an expert on whether or not English has completely taken over. However when I was there, all I heard was English. Nothing that I could identify as Dutch (I have always been able to tell the difference between languages, so don't think I was unaware of what Dutch sounded like). So again, it all depends on the individuals you see, however I guarantee the default will be English because the people living there are amazing at spotting tourists. As are most people who live on popular islands. So I hope that helps. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| tracker465 Senior Member United States Joined 5355 days ago 355 posts - 496 votes Speaks: English* Studies: German, Spanish, Dutch | Message 5 of 9 31 May 2010 at 7:47am | IP Logged | |||||
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Okay, so tonight I have returned from my trip to the Carribbean. I was a little saddened by what I experienced in Sint Maarten, so I thought I would share my thoughts for anyone who is curious.
I expected that native speakers would recognize my family as tourists and address us in English, however, I was surprised that for all intents and purposes, Dutch has dropped out of use on the island. I entered into a store and muttered a simple "Goedemorgen" and received the response "What did you say?" I was a bit nervous, as it was my first time speaking Dutch to a presumeably Dutch speaker, and I thought that maybe I had a terrible accent or something. I repeated my greeting, and then followed it with a "Praat U nederlands?" and he answered back, "Oh, I don't speak Dutch." This was a common pattern among the people with whom I spoke. I also wanted to buy a book/magazine/newspaper/something in Dutch, and was sent on a wild goosechase to even find anything Dutch related. I visited several stores and every publication was in English! I then visited a Catholic bookshop, and the lady told me that she did not have any religious works in Dutch either, and that Dutch is hardly ever spoken in St. Maarten anymore, something which she believes is due to the large amount of foreigners moving to the Dutch side of the island, whereas she also claimed that the French side of the island still populated with primarily, French speakers. This women then suggested another store which she thought sold Dutch books, yet when I arrived there, it had nothing in Dutch. I felt pretty fed up that no one seemed to speak Dutch in St. Maarten, and so when I went for a ride with a taxi driver, I asked him if he knew where I could find a Dutch book, and he happed to speak Dutch! We talked for a bit in Dutch, and he told me that Dutch is still spoken frequently in Aruba, but that it is not really spoken much in St. Maarten anymore. On the way back from a few sights, the nice taxi driver went out of his way and stopped at a bookstore called "Van Dorp" which sold a nice selection of Dutch books, though no magazines or newspapers. The owner told me that there used to be a Dutch newspaper, but that it stopped being published for quite some time. The owner of this store also spoke Dutch, so we had quite the pleasant time talking a bit in Dutch and discussing the language a bit. The store owner was not a native Dutch speaker, but said it took him 14 years to master the language, and was quite impressed with what I spoke, despite my lack of practice or formal training. So sadly, for those who are wondering, Dutch is still spoken on St Maarten, though there is only a very small number of speakers, apparently. Now everywhere I went, I heard Spanish however... 2 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| tommus Senior Member CanadaRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5869 days ago 979 posts - 1688 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Dutch, French, Esperanto, German, Spanish | Message 6 of 9 31 May 2010 at 10:37pm | IP Logged | |||||
I share your thoughts on Sint Maarten. I was there in January on a cruise for one day. I did manage to find a shopkeeper that understood my Dutch perfectly well but he refused to speak any. So I spoke in Dutch and he spoke in English. English seems to be everywhere in the tourist areas. We heard no Dutch. I was able to speak some Dutch on the ship with another passenger. Also the small shipboard newspapers were available in Dutch. We stopped in Aruba and Curacao. The Dutch situation is much better there. Our tour guide on a walking tour of Willemstad was Dutch-speaking and we chatted quite a bit on the side in Dutch. The Maritime Museum is very Dutch. In Aruba, the captain on a little tourist boat spoke good Dutch but his first language was Papiamento and his Dutch had an interesting accent. But he was quite happy to speak Dutch. There were quite a few bookstores in Aruba and Curacao with Dutch books. And the staff all spoke Dutch. The best one for Dutch books is probably Bruna Bookstore in the Zuikertuin Mall in Willemstad but it is a bit out of the downtown and I didn't get there. Here is a list of the bookstores I made before the cruise. Maybe some people who know Aruba and Curacao could comment on which would be the best. ARUBA Aruba Boekhandel Address: Caya G.F. Betico Croes 94 Phone: (297) 582-1273 / (297) 584-5019 Boekhandel de Wit Gifts & Books Address: L.G. Smith Boulevard 110 Phone: (297) 582-3500 Fax: (297) 582-1575 Boekhandel Mariska Address: Middenweg 24-25 Phone: (297) 582-0796 / (297) 582-1093 Boekhandel Plaza Address: Fergusonstraat 47 Phone: (297) 582-1821 De Wit Stores N.V. Address: L.G. Smith Boulevard 110 Mailing Address: P.O. Box 386 Phone: (297) 582-3500 Fax: (297) 582-1575 Eagle Wings Address: Caya G.F. Betico Croes 85 Phone: (297) 583-2969 Fax: (297) 583-2989 Holiday Inn Book & Drugstore Address: L.G. Smith Boulevard 230 Phone: (297) 586-3769 Fax: (297) 586-3769 Island Periodicals Aruba N.V. Address: De La Sallestraat 71-A Phone: (297) 582-0198 Fax: (297) 582-0738 Organizacion Educar Ofra N.V. Address: Mieveld 3A Phone: (297) 583-2569 Fax: (297) 582-9276 Plaza Book Shop Address: Fergusonstraat 47 Phone: (297) 583-5437 / (297) 586-1047 Fax: (297) 582-6037 Plaza Bookshop Somers/ Kock Address: Fergusonstraat 47 Phone: (297) 583-2658 Fax: (297) 586-4266 Restoration Book Store Address: B. v/d Zeppenfeldstraat 25, San Nicolas Phone: (297) 584-4319 Fax: (297) 584-4319 Samsum Bookstore Address: L.G. Smith Boulevard 126 Phone: (297) 582-3434 Fax: (297) 583-3006 Trinity Gift & Bible Address: Hendrikstraat 7 Phone: (297) 582-7027 / (297) 582-6767 ---------------------- Bookstores Curacao Boekhandel Boek Plus Kaya Salas 48 P: (+5999) 461-0492 F: (+5999) 461-0475 E: boekplus@cura.net Boekhandel Evangelico Goudsmidsweg 3 P: (+5999) 461-2751 Boekhandel Muizenberg Muizenberg z/n P: (+5999) 869-5188 Console Catholic Books & Gift Store Puebloweg 1 P: (+5999) 737-8981 F: (+5999) 737-8981 Dayen`s Book & Giftshop Winkelcentrum Colon 130 P:(+5999) 462-7713 Kas di Beibel (Bible Society) Gaitoweg 3 P:(+5999) 737-6711 F: (+5999) 737-2387 E: beibelna@attglobal.net Mensing`s Caminada Solange Nijdam Schottegatweg Oost z/n P: (+5999) 737-0222 F: (+5999) 737-1270 E: info@mensings.com Niesten Schoolservices Curaçao Snipweg 70 P: (+5999) 738-8822 F: (+5999) 738-8824 E: info@niesten-schoolart.com Samsom Book Store & Photo Center Colon Shopping Center Colon P: (+5999) 462-3151 F: (+5999) 462-9915 E: info@samsom.com Samsom Curaçao N.V. Jan Noorduynweg z/n P: (+5999) 869-1433 F: (+5999) 868-3200 E: info@samsom.com Samsom Curaçao N.V. Kaminda Elekrishen 32 P: (+5999) 461-1522 F: (+5999) 461-7396 E: info@samsom.com Samsom Curaçao N.V. Schottegatweg Oost 215 P: (+5999) 465-4677 F: (+5999) 465-4449 E: info@samsom.com The True Vine Jongbloedweg 102 P: (+5999) 737-8157 Vandorp Eddine N.V. Nijmegenstraat 41 P: (+5999) 461-8133 F: (+5999) 461-8147 E: info@vandorp-eddine.com British American Books Ltd. Address: Kernkampweg 11 Phone: (599-9) 736-0000 Fax: (599-9) 747-0077 Mensing's Caminada Address: Schottegatweg Oost z/n Phone: (599-9) 737-0222 Fax: (599-9) 737-1270 Bruna Bookstore Address: Zuikertuin Mall Phone: (599-9) 738-8394 Fax: (599-9) 738-8395 VanDorp-Eddine N.V. (Promenade Patio) Address: Salinja 147 Phone: (599-9) 461-8133 Fax: (599-9) 461-8147 boekhandel espresso Voorstraat 53, 4797 BE Willemstad Boekhandel Espresso Landpoortstraat 37, 4797 AM Willemstad 2 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| Smart Tetraglot Senior Member United States Joined 5342 days ago 352 posts - 398 votes Speaks: Spanish, English*, Latin, French Studies: German | Message 7 of 9 02 June 2010 at 4:51am | IP Logged | |||||
Ah. Seems I gave accurate information (8 years a LONG time [since i went there] but I see nothing has changed.) It's very unfortunate Dutch has almost completely died in the New World. Perhaps you should try Suriname ? 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| boisjolie Newbie United States Joined 5296 days ago 26 posts - 40 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish, French | Message 8 of 9 03 June 2010 at 8:38am | IP Logged | |||||
How is this a con? Seems a HUGE advantage to me... 1 person has voted this message useful |
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