If you must know, I am not Dutch
A funny extract from a book which is part of this installation project at the NAC office I work in. It is about the Dutch. How timely! Since my proposed Honours thesis next year is going to be about the Dutch. Never too late to get a whiff of fjords, Calvinism and erm... what else's Dutch?
'The colonial expanse of the Dutch empire stretched far across the blue yonder. They founded New York; they traded in African slaves; they liberated Malaka from the Portuguese. Spices and trade from their colonies were a major source of income. Their reputation as shrewd traders was cemented by the British statesman, George Canning who said:
"In matters of commerce the fault of the Dutch is offering too little and asking too much."
The multiple pejoratives that the word "Dutch" were invented in the seventeenth century by the English in their struggle for economic supremacy, such as:
Dutch courage is the kind that comes out of a brandy bottle.
Dutch treat is an invitation to a dinner you have to pay for.
Dutch auction is an auction where the asking price begins high and goes down.
A Dutch nightingale is a croaking frog.
And many more which have fallen into disuse. I am sure the Dutch coined as many inventive insults, but since English is the default language, we will not speak or hear of those.'
Hahahahaha so funny! I like this guy's humour. And upon reading this slender book, I also found out that tulips came from a Turkish word for turban. Wow! I love it when people talk about words, play on words and misappropriate words. Sometimes you get rather lame puns in the Life! section of Singapore's English daily. Sometimes a friend gets all witty on you and you wish that this would happen a bit more frequently.
[Extract taken from Mr & Mrs K. by Alan Oei, 2006, project for the National Arts Council of Singapore]
'The colonial expanse of the Dutch empire stretched far across the blue yonder. They founded New York; they traded in African slaves; they liberated Malaka from the Portuguese. Spices and trade from their colonies were a major source of income. Their reputation as shrewd traders was cemented by the British statesman, George Canning who said:
"In matters of commerce the fault of the Dutch is offering too little and asking too much."
The multiple pejoratives that the word "Dutch" were invented in the seventeenth century by the English in their struggle for economic supremacy, such as:
Dutch courage is the kind that comes out of a brandy bottle.
Dutch treat is an invitation to a dinner you have to pay for.
Dutch auction is an auction where the asking price begins high and goes down.
A Dutch nightingale is a croaking frog.
And many more which have fallen into disuse. I am sure the Dutch coined as many inventive insults, but since English is the default language, we will not speak or hear of those.'
Hahahahaha so funny! I like this guy's humour. And upon reading this slender book, I also found out that tulips came from a Turkish word for turban. Wow! I love it when people talk about words, play on words and misappropriate words. Sometimes you get rather lame puns in the Life! section of Singapore's English daily. Sometimes a friend gets all witty on you and you wish that this would happen a bit more frequently.
[Extract taken from Mr & Mrs K. by Alan Oei, 2006, project for the National Arts Council of Singapore]
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