The countries'd lose identity in globalization

[Jaga]

I believe that the generation of my nephews and nieces in Poland speak very good English, is very confident, very open just like their American peers! They travel all around the world, know computer, internet - the world is changing very fast!

Some countries would probably lose their identity earlier than later...

this is one of the reason we need to keep Polish Culture site and forum going!

[Jaga]

I received a very interesting e-mail from Pieter about Holland and the situation there. We both believe that Holland may be one of the countries that lose the idenity earlier rather than later. Here are the fragments:

So, yes I totally aggree with you, "the Duch lose their identity soon since their
country is becomming so multi-national, and that their language may
not survive a couple of more generations".
We adobt Italian cuisine and so expressions, Spanish Tapas, French cuisine
(which boosted up the Duch cuisine), the exellent Belgian cuisine and beers,
Chinese, Indonesian, Thai and the explosive growth of the Turkish and Arab
kitchens. We love Kebab, Shoarma, Fallafel, Couscous and the North-African
kitchen (Maroccan and Tunesian restaurants).
I live in a neighbourhood with a lot of Turkish and Kurd Coffeehouses, shops,
travel agencies, bakeries, butchers, vegetable shops and Restaurants.
Turks are not a major problem in Holland, because they are often secular
Muslims, with fairly Western lifestiles (comparable with let's say Israeli's
or Spanjards/Portugese). I have a Turkish hairdresser, go to Turkish restaurants
every now and then, but buy my food in Duch supermarkets.
The real problems come from some extremist or criminal segements of the
differant ethnic minorities and the white Duch underclass.
You have converted Duch Muslims, like you have converted Brits, Americans,
French and Germans. I don't like it, but you can't stop that devellopement
in a secular, Democratic and free society.

[Jaga]

Here Pieter writes how after many years of indifference the immigrants are finally forced to learn Dutch language and culture (I agree with him completely on this issue):

After 35 years people are forced now to learn Duch, new- and old commers,
and new immigrants must learn Duch in the countries where they come from,
before they are allowed to enter Holland. We have a very Duch oriented
policymaking now, and the Duch language cooperation between Holland
and the Duch speaking part of Belgium has increased in the last decade.
The major Duch dictionary (Van Dale) is a cooperation of Duch and Flemish
language expert. We have language programs with Duch and Flemish
teams, and often the Felmish team wins. Besides that we have the
National spelling competition on television where well known Duch and
Flemish people and unknown people together make sentences, and than
they check how many faults the people made. Also here the Flemish people
often win. There has been a renaissance of Duch in the Duch and Flemish
societies. Duch language music is popular in the Netherlands, Belgium
and under the Afrikaans speaking people in South-Africa.
I use Duch a lot in my work, social life, family life, in reading, writing,
listening, watching tv. It is a language used by approximately 25 million people
(Afrikaans excluded, because it is a differant language, spoken buy a few
million people in South-Africa and Namibia).

[pieter]

I voted that I have a differant opinion, because in major European countries such as Germany, France,
Italy and also Poland the society is very oriented on the National culture and languages.
I think however that more European countries will become bilingual.
Why do I say that? Whel, because when you look at France, Germany and Italy on television American
and British movies and series are shown with French, German and Italian voices. You don't hear the
actual, original American or English language, which is spoken.
That irritates me, and that is why I will never watch movies as Dirty Harry or Basic Instinct on German
or French television, because I want to hear the original sounds and voices, like I see it on the Duch
or Flemish-Belgian tv, or the British BBC. I hate voice overs.
Smaller Northern countries in Western Europe, like Belgium, the Nehterlands and the Scandinavian
countries are countries where people traditionally were oriented on the Brittish culture, and so English,
and that's why they easily dadabted the American culture that came to them after the second
world war with Hollywood, Jazz, Blues, Rock'n roll, Pop culture, Walt Disney, Coca Cola, Mc Donalds,
IBM, Microsoft, the Internet, MTV and computergames.
France was and is the country that resisted the American hegemony the strongest, because of it's
century long rivalry with the Brits (England), where they consider America to be an offspring of.
And France have their own movie industry, fine arts, architecture, succesful car industry, aviation
and military industries, oilcompanies, Nuclear power, Political, economical and military influence
in Africa, the Middle East and Asia, where there are a lot of former French colonies.
Marocco, Algeria, Tunesia, Syria, Lebanon, large parts of Africa, (French) Indochine (Vietnam, Laos, Cambodja),
Quebec (Canada) and parts of the USA (the French colonists in Louisiana, the Cajun kitchen and music).
The French language is spoken in many countries in the world because of that and so stil is a diplomatic,
political (in the European Union, North Africa and Middle Africa), economical, cultural language and communication
tool for many people of differant nationality, etnicity and culture.
The French are very fond of their language, literature, poetry, Music (song culture, chançon), scientific achievements,
philosophers, wines, cheeses, cuisine, fashion, history, cars, cinema (a large tradition) and economy.
Italians have a double feeling towards America, because from one side it is the second fatherland
for many Italians (the 16,6 million Americans of Italian descent who live in the USA).
Italians also feel connected to Southern-America, where they share latin ties with, and where
many compatriots live. For Spain that fgeeling is stronger, because they are linked to their former
colonies by language, culture, history and politics. A significant of the Americans speak Spanish now.
Lot's of Europeans have the idea that America is a very new country without a real culture,
and fear the Americanisation of Europe (Read the Disneyfication topic in Philosophy, art and Culture
of Estelle) with Walt Disney (tsateless), Mcdonalds (Fastfood culture, bad food according to manny
Europeans. Destroys city centres with the McDonalds occupation of space), the Monopoly of
Microsoft, the presence of Coca Cola everywhere (stories about a pollutive production), and ofcourse
the American military superpower, which many Europeans, Southern-Americans and other worldcitizens
see as a new sort of economical Colonialism or Imperialism.
What the reality is does not matter, people have those ideas and visions, and because of that America
is maybe less popular in the world as ever. It's politics, not the country itself, which will continue to
be the promised land, the land of the dream of poor and opressed people.
While Europe, America, Canada, Russia, China, Japan and India all are part of the development of Globalisation
most people in the world and especially the Anti-Global movement see America as the try-your strength
machine. The Globalisation in the near future will not be an exclusive Western affair anymore if the
Asians will develop their own Asian market or Asian Union after the European Union, and India will
be a new player in the International market with it's own huge internal market with a Middle class
of hundreds of Million of people, huge Industrial sector and financial markets due to it's trade with the
surrounding Middle east, Asia, Africa and the Ship- and plane transport sectors with the West.
European and American companies will have their headquarters in India and China, and a lot of
work will be transfered to India and China, more than already is taking place.
And Russia will continue to be an important growing market, due to it's oil, gas and mineral reserves.

[pieter]

Charles,

As a stubborn Duch I love my Duch or Flemish fries with Majonaise and Curry, and cut onions on it,
or with peanutbuttersause, they call it Fries war here. And the typical Duch meat snacks "Frikandel",
"Korket", "Berehap" (Bearfood), Haring with Unions, and Hollandse Stamppot (hotchpotch) dishes
(Mashed patatoes and Cabbage). You have really refined versions of hotchpotch.
Hotchpotch was the Duch version of the Italian Pizza, which was the poormansfood in the beginning
and popular by people of all classes later. Next to that you have the tradition of tea at four 'oc clock
in the afternoon in weekenddays with the family, and drinking a "Borrel" = a glas of genever on
5 'o clock on saturdays and sundays. Sinterklaas (Duch Santaclaus, the Bishop of Spain with his
black Morish helpers, who rides on a white horse on the roofs of houses, throwing presents at
chimneys to children who lay their shoes next to the chimney, and sing Sinterklaas songs
and lay carrots for the white horse next to their shows. Little children in Holland and Belgium
are real believers in this strict Children friend, who can punish children for their bad behavior,
and slap them with some a rod, and put them in a gunnysack. It is a Duch tradition to celebrate
the anniversary of Sinterklaas at 5 december, and in november in many Duch cities Sinterklaas
and his Zwarte pieten [Black Pete's] arive in Duch cities with their boat where they are welcomed
by the mayor and hundreds or thousands of singing and shouting kids exited kids accompanied by their parents.
The Black Petes, who behave like clowns and jokers, wave, smile with their red lips, and jump and dance
around throwing sweets and they carry around in big gunnysacks.
It is a really family party, but adults continue this game with eachother in a sort of party like gatherings,
in which everybody brings presents for somebodies name they got or in anonimous rounds.
Images: www.pac-atletiek.nl/fotos/20051222/
www.sintintochtzutphen.nl/Foto's%202005%20intocht/index2.html

Other typical Duch events are the Elfstedentocht (eleven cities skating tour in the Frisoan area);
www.cybercomm.nl/~pwouda/elfsteden.html
Skutsjesjielen (Typical Frisian boatrace); www.skutsjesilen.nl/pagina/verslag98.html

Oranje gekte (Duch football nationalism, when we don't go Duch);
www.ekoranje.nl/hoofdframe.htm
www.nu.nl/rubriek.jsp?n=330324&c=700

Holland in pictures: www.studiokoning.nl/Fotoindex16.htm

And finaly Queensday, when everybody is free, and there is a gigantic
free market in Amsterdam were people sell and buy second hand
things, and many people find the record they were looking for,
a nice dress, a coffee machine or a plastic boat, and during which
streetartists, acrobats, clowns, musicians and children perform
their plays, arts and acts. Performances and happenings everywhere,
and food and drinks everywhere available. A nice friendly sort
of anarchy for one day, in which people party.
The night before Queensday is called Queensnight, when people
go out on the streets, and occupy places for the Queensday to
sell their products, food or drinks.
For foreigners visiting Amsterdam it looks like a sort of chaotic
Carnaval without low and order. www.photoart.nl/Local042/Koninginnedagc.htm

In the Catholic Southern provinces Brabant and Limburg there they have the Carnaval
tradition: home.versatel.nl/Boskoop-NL/Carnaval2005/
These Southerners (Brabanders and Limburgers) are a little bit more easy going people,
less serious than the Calvinist North. Relaxed farmers. As the Duch saying goes next to the Catholic
Chruch there is always a nice pub. The arrogant North often considered these Southerners as
stupid, small minded peasents, because they have a sort of dialect.
There was a protestant domination and discrimination of the Catholics. That has gone now,
and the Brabant people and Limburg people went to the North and studied and work there.
Holland is a big mix now, with people of all regions living all over the Netherlands.
When you are not an orignal from the region you live in you are called "Import".
In the region I lived in my child and youth years I was a Import kid, because I did not
spoke the local Duch but General Sophisticated Duch (Algemeen Beschaafd Nederlands),
which is something like Hoch Deutsch in German. In Arnhem/Gelderland I am import to!

[Jaga]

+++That irritates me, and that is why I will never watch movies as Dirty Harry or Basic Instinct on German
or French television, because I want to hear the original sounds and voices,+++

In Polish TV you also have a chance to hear the natural voices and then there is a speaker translating it Polish on the top of it.

[Jaga]

More about globalization:

Judt argues that Hitler and Stalin destroyed European civilisation, with its pockets of cosmopolitanism, in the vanished imperial capitals and big cities. The Western half (including northern Italy) rose from the ashes, courtesy of American largesse and the nuclear umbrella that many people resented, while the Eastern half sank from view under Moscow’s brutal and corrupt local rulers. Whereas Western Europe was amnesiac about the immediate past, preferring to concentrate upon the goals of growth and prosperity, Eastern Europe was flooded with the creed of “anti-fascism” to legitimise the rule of a single totalitarian party.

After 1989 the two halves coalesced again, and a new civilisation, based on state welfare, shorter working hours and softer moral values than in the Republican-dominated United States, shimmers on the horizon. The future, Judt says, is “multicultural”, clearly unaware that for many Europeans this has become a highly contestable objective. Neither the prospect of “Eurabia”, which exercises numerous commentators, nor Europe as the twenty-first-century equivalent of Venice for rich Chinese honeymooning couples, figure in Judt’s overly optimistic reading of Europe’s medium- to long-term future.

Judt is an excellent guide to the macro-economic policies of post-war Europe, managing the considerable feat of making the ERM or Euro entertaining, and he devotes equal space to Eastern as well as Western Europe, and to the smaller nations – Belgium and the Netherlands – and those of Scandinavia.

from the book review:
www.thetablet.co.uk/cgi-bin/book_review.cgi?past-00268

[suzanne]

This question is tough to answer. People use the term "globalization" a lot, but what exactly constitutes globalization? Loss of a language? Loss of a culture? How much of a culture needs to disappear before the culture itself is considered to be lost?

I think that many (namely Western) countries/cultures will continue to become more and more homogenous, but I don't think any languages will be lost. At least, I sincerely hope not! There will still be some differences between countries and cultures - my gut feeling is that as long as people are geographically separated, at least some differences will exist and not all of them will be completely cancelled out by said people all using the Internet, drinking the same soda, listening to the same music and watching the same movies, etc. I hope human culture is stronger than all that.

Then again, maybe I'm overly optimistic here....

[Pawian]

pieter said:

You have converted Duch Muslims, like you have converted Brits, Americans,
French and Germans. I don't like it, but you can't stop that devellopement
in a secular, Democratic and free society.

Some time ago there was a diplomatic scandal on the Polish border. Polish customs officers were going through a coach with schoolchildren from Holland, checking their passports. Some suspicious looks and then comments were thrown at children with dark skin and Muslim-sounding family names. Polish officers were suspicious because they probably couldn`t believe that children from a European country can be so dark.

The Dutch Foreign Minister and ambassadors were very indignant at the incident. Polish officers were called racists etc. I suppose our minister had to apologise or something.

Now, was the indignation of Dutch authorities a result of political correctness which imposes certain rules of behaviour which we hypocritically approve of?

Or they really felt that DUTCH children were offended by suspicious officers?

[pieter]

suzannem said:

This question is tough to answer. People use the term "globalization" a lot, but what exactly constitutes globalization? Loss of a language? Loss of a culture? How much of a culture needs to disappear before the culture itself is considered to be lost?

I think that many (namely Western) countries/cultures will continue to become more and more homogenous, but I don't think any languages will be lost. At least, I sincerely hope not! There will still be some differences between countries and cultures - my gut feeling is that as long as people are geographically separated, at least some differences will exist and not all of them will be completely cancelled out by said people all using the Internet, drinking the same soda, listening to the same music and watching the same movies, etc. I hope human culture is stronger than all that.

Then again, maybe I'm overly optimistic here....

I aggree with you Suzanne, on the fact that in Europe there is a growing Western Mono-culture, and that some of the differances will stay.
That the borders are open does not say that the language and cultural borders dissapear. In Border regions often people like to live over the border
in the neighbouring countries, because the prises of real estate, food and petrol are lower and sometimes healthcare is better. Some German and Belgian border regions with Holland have a lot of Duch living there.
I don't know how the situation is at the Polish-German, and Czech-Polish borders, I only heard that East Germany was popular to Rich Poles who like
the Prussian cleanness, order, and available houses and appartments in empty East-Germany (where a lot of youngsters left to live and work in West-Germany). In France you have not only a lot of Algerians, but also huge Spanish and Italian communities, who have lived there for longer times (19th and 20th century), and many Russians and Armenians (Charles Aznavour) came there after the Russian revolution, they were called white Russians (because they were on the white side in the civil war between the reds and whites between 1918 and 1921, many of them were Russian aristocrats, part of the Russian nobility). Paris was always popular under dissidents and that's why there live a lot of scientists, writers, students,
political activists and intellectuals from all over the world.
Paris was a centre of American literature and art, because of the lot of American Gi's, journalists, writers and artists that stayed there after the first world war, during the Interbellum years (twenties and thirties), and after the second world war. German, French and Russian artist had a significant influence on the American art during the second world war, and on Hollywood. The homogenous culture in Europe grows because the American culture came back to Europe in the fourties, fiftees, sixtees, seventees, ninetees and the beginning of this century, because of the huge influence of American cinema (both Hollywood and New York), Walt Disney and American Modern art on the European masses, artists and intellectuals.
A European writer could be a Communist and in the same time a great fan of America, because of its ideals of Democracy, equal oppurtunities for all
and liberty. Actually most Western-European socialists felt more connected to the American liberals of the progressive wing of the Democrats, than the Othodox and Conservative Bolsjewist Sovjets.
50% of my cultural heritage is European and 50% is American!
I consider it as an Transatlantic cultural identity, a mix of the best elements
of the ancient European culture and history and the new vibrant and exiting American culture (which in the same time gets a lot of admiration and critisizem from the European side. Often Americans see only the Critisizm,
because these sounds are often the most loud).
Idon't fear the loss of Duch language and culture, because citizens, teachers, professors and politicians fight for it's survival, and have left the path of the suicidal overtolerant political correct ideology of "Live and let live", and say now we live in this country with this language, culture,
customs, values and history. Newcommers have to adabt to that culture,
integrate into it. If you don't want to do that, than your life becomes difficult in this country, because when you do not speak the language and now the social codes it is hard to get a job, good living conditions, good education and healthcare for your children. If you want to live in the Isolation of your own group, you can leave the country and go back to where you came from.
The Duch tolerance has gone, the Duch voted No against the European constitution, because they don't want Turkey as part of the EU.
So they actually voted not about the subject, but against their National politicians, and the European expansion.

[george]

Like it or not , never underestimate the power of American culture. It seems to bulldose thru Europeon countries and i don't think it can be stopped.

[pieter]

pawian said:

pieter said:

You have converted Duch Muslims, like you have converted Brits, Americans,
French and Germans. I don't like it, but you can't stop that devellopement
in a secular, Democratic and free society.

Some time ago there was a diplomatic scandal on the Polish border. Polish customs officers were going through a coach with schoolchildren from Holland, checking their passports. Some suspicious looks and then comments were thrown at children with dark skin and Muslim-sounding family names. Polish officers were suspicious because they probably couldn`t believe that children from a European country can be so dark.

The Dutch Foreign Minister and ambassadors were very indignant at the incident. Polish officers were called racists etc. I suppose our minister had to apologise or something.

Now, was the indignation of Dutch authorities a result of political correctness which imposes certain rules of behaviour which we hypocritically approve of?

Or they really felt that DUTCH children were offended by suspicious officers?

Pawain,

For me it is a dangerous field this subject, because since a violent robery
in Amsterdam in a dreadful night in 1991, which could have costed my life
(I was saved by my own relaxed attitude in that moment, gining in or giving myself over to that terrible situation -knife on my throat-) I have not much empathy with North-Africans, Berbers or Arabs, who cause traubles all over Western Europe, and always complain about discrimination and racism, while they themselves behave like anti-semites and racists (against a black
Duch Antilian friend of mine). Yes, I heard of the incident, and it were not only Polish customs officers, but also German customs officers, because since may 2004 they have Polish-German border units.
Teachers, pupils and Duch journalists and politicians were offended by the incident, but I am sure that it was an isolated case, by unexperianced young officers. Young Maroccans face police brutality and dark skinned youth are
treated racist by Duch, Belgian, French and British police too.
But because the incident was at the Polish border, the press focussed on the case and the schoolteachers made a big riot out of that.
I don't know what really happened, but I think the Polish and german border guards have treated the youngster inproperly, and the Polish government investigated that very seriously, and the Polish embassy in the Nehterlands reacted professionally. The school was offered a new trip.
What was painful was the fact that the trip was an educational trip to Auschwitz to learn the pupils the result of intolerance and discrimination.
A few years back there was a scam in Holland about young Maroccans in Amsterdam disturbing the remembrance celebration commermorating the
death of the Second world war. Every year on the fourth of may, on 20.00 hourse people are silent for two minutes. The youths broke that silence
and footballed with wreaths which were layed at a war memorial.
People became really fed up by the behaviour of these Maroccan street gangs in Amsterdam. So I look at the incident from my subjective perspective. I am sorry for the colored youth which were offended.

[Pawian]

pieter said:

Teachers, pupils and Duch journalists and politicians were offended by the incident,

Yes, I wanted to know if their indignation was real, i.e. did they really feel that DUTCH children, and not some Moroccan or Berberi emigrants` children, were offended.
if it was real, then it means the process od assimilation of these dark-skinned children into a Dutch society has really taken place and they are considered Dutch, not alien.

I don't know what really happened, but I think the Polish and german border guards have treated the youngster inproperly,

The coach was detained at the border for 4 hours, the time needed to check all passports very thoroughly. Especially the passports of coloured children. Besides, Polish custom officers allegedly were rude to one
Filipino girl, and finally they asked the Dutch teacher: "Do you have any normal children here?" (Normal means white Europeans).
The teacher`s comment was that Polish customs officers seemed to have never seen coloured people before.

[suzanne]

pieter said:

I don't fear the loss of Duch language and culture, because citizens, teachers, professors and politicians fight for it's survival, and have left the path of the suicidal overtolerant political correct ideology of "Live and let live", and say now we live in this country with this language, culture,
customs, values and history. Newcommers have to adabt to that culture,
integrate into it. If you don't want to do that, than your life becomes difficult in this country, because when you do not speak the language and now the social codes it is hard to get a job, good living conditions, good education and healthcare for your children. If you want to live in the Isolation of your own group, you can leave the country and go back to where you came from.
The Duch tolerance has gone, the Duch voted No against the European constitution, because they don't want Turkey as part of the EU.

Pieter,
I was glad to hear you say that you don't fear the loss of the Dutch language. It is so close to English and every Dutch person I have ever met has spoken nearly perfect English that I feared Dutch could be a language that disappears or at least becomes marginalized, i.e. a provincial language that is spoken at home but not really used in any kind of international, business, or literary way. That is what bothers me about the idea of languages disappearing, especially the loss of a literary tradition. The great novels, plays, poems of the world that express a culture can only exist in the language in which they were written, since language is culture.

Some people make fun of the French in their defense of the French language and how threatened they feel by the English language, and while this all sometimes gets ludicrous, I really do have to basically agree with their feelings and admire their stance.

So I was glad to see your positive opinion about the Dutch language.

Tolerance is obviously a good thing, but it's more complicated than people realize. When two cultures are side by side, it's hard to find a middle ground wherein they can coexist and retain uniqueness and separate identities without there being mass intolerance and hatred of each other, on the other hand.

[pieter]

suzannem said:

pieter said:

I don't fear the loss of Duch language and culture, because citizens, teachers, professors and politicians fight for it's survival, and have left the path of the suicidal overtolerant political correct ideology of "Live and let live", and say now we live in this country with this language, culture,
customs, values and history. Newcommers have to adabt to that culture,
integrate into it. If you don't want to do that, than your life becomes difficult in this country, because when you do not speak the language and now the social codes it is hard to get a job, good living conditions, good education and healthcare for your children. If you want to live in the Isolation of your own group, you can leave the country and go back to where you came from.
The Duch tolerance has gone, the Duch voted No against the European constitution, because they don't want Turkey as part of the EU.

Pieter,
I was glad to hear you say that you don't fear the loss of the Dutch language. It is so close to English and every Dutch person I have ever met has spoken nearly perfect English that I feared Dutch could be a language that disappears or at least becomes marginalized, i.e. a provincial language that is spoken at home but not really used in any kind of international, business, or literary way. That is what bothers me about the idea of languages disappearing, especially the loss of a literary tradition. The great novels, plays, poems of the world that express a culture can only exist in the language in which they were written, since language is culture.

Some people make fun of the French in their defense of the French language and how threatened they feel by the English language, and while this all sometimes gets ludicrous, I really do have to basically agree with their feelings and admire their stance.

So I was glad to see your positive opinion about the Dutch language.

Tolerance is obviously a good thing, but it's more complicated than people realize. When two cultures are side by side, it's hard to find a middle ground wherein they can coexist and retain uniqueness and separate identities without there being mass intolerance and hatred of each other, on the other hand.

Suzanne,

Duch is very differant than English, because the very fact that I am writing to you in English means that I go to antother part of my brain (cortex),
because for me going to the English language means making a switch in my head. My English memories are often related to things outside Holland,
and my international connections. My daily Duch life (family, friends, colleages, fellow Duch compatriots in the society I live in) is differant from my time spend in English. While writing this in English, reading your and Pawains statements, having German television in my background in my Duch room, makes me living a three language environment.
In my opinion Duch will survive when the Duch will take their language more seriously, like their Southern Flemish brothers, who have a sort of
language Patriotism in their century long language struggle whith the French and Wallons (French speaking Belgians).
Important to is the fact that Duch is spoken and learnt by Germans and other people abroad. We Duch people are totally suprised that all over the world people are learning Duch. We don't understand that from a pragmatic,
practic and greographical point of view. We are a tiny country, and English,
Spanish, Chinese, German and French are seen as world languages here.
The positive thing I can say about Duch is that it made me possible to speak to Belgians (Flemish people) and Afrikaander (South-african) people,
and besides that made it possible for me to communicate with all German speaking people (Germans, Austrians, Swiss and other Europeans who speak German), and after a little bit of study to understand and speak English.
I am thankful to my parents that they let me go to an English summercourse, when in was a teenager in my highschool period, and that my father inspired and helped me with English and German literature, due to his literary collection, my cultural upbringing, and the fact that my parents were British oriented. Seeing British detectives, movies, theatrical plays, comedies and documentries on Duch television in the original English version, with Duch subtitles. The same thing with French and German.
In that way I had both a propper, traditional Duch upbringing (my father was very strict in his supervision on his children using Duch properly).
Also via my Duch grandmother, aunts and teachers I was connected to the Duch culture of youth literature, plays, history (our century long struggle with water from the North sea), colonial past and etc.
The Duch are English oriented and speak English well, because they have strong trade ties with Great-Britain and the USA, and grew up with American and British culture on TV.
I admire and even support the French in their struggle for their language,
culture and cuisine. The French have a wonderful language, history and culture and they are often misunderstood.
The French are very fond of their way of life, the quality of life, and in protecting traditions, their stile(s) and Republican political structure.
France is very differant from the Netherlands, Germany and Great Brittian,
because it is very centralisitic, while the Netherlands and Germany have more decentralised systems, a structure of provinces and a Federal states
structure. France is very centralistic, the power of Paris is strong, and France
is a solist political, economical and military power.
Like America, France is military active in many parts of the world with its
foreign legion, army and special forces.