geography_geek_ukMe and my partner are looking at moving to either the netherlands or belgium for work but we cant decide. we are trying to figure out if the language thing is a big deal for daily life or if it's basically the same thing? what is the actual difference between netherlands dutch and belgium dutch
Accepted answer
wallonia_mom_lifeBasically, they use the same official standard for writing and school but the speaking part is different. You will notice the 'g' sounds much softer here in belgium compared to the netherlands. Also, the social vibes change because:
It is mostly just about the accent and how polite you are being
PunsAndBeerIt can be tricky because some of my Dutch friends come here and think we are being too vague. That bluntness from the netherlands often feels a bit rude to us in belgium.
map_readerTrue, and i always see our news and politicians comparing our success to the netherlands alot. It is a strange thing to watch sometimes. cheers
the_pro_guide2I see it more like the relationship between Canada and America ! We tease each other a lot but we are definitely on the same team 🤝
logistics_and_lagerJust keep in mind that Belgians tend to be much more agreeable (even when we actually disagree) compared to the dutch way of speaking. It makes things a bit smoother in social settings (at least in my opinion) 🧇
flower_power_beActually it feels like they are almost separate languages because of how much our identity is tied to the local way of speaking. The dialects in places like West Flanders are so strong that it feels like a completely different world compared to the netherlands