The Features, Roles and Functions of Dunglish in Modern Dutch Society

Abstract

The aim of this thesis was to research the concept of Dunglish in the Netherlands. Edwards (2016) studied the roles and functions of the potentially valid Dutch English variety. However, the phenomenon of Dunglish was not investigated in any detail. This concept can be defined as “a more or less ‘flawed’ English as used by Dutch speakers; coined in analogy with other common hybrid names such as Chinglish and Franglais” (Edwards, 2016). First, the features of Dunglish and Dutch English were compared to each other with a corpus study. Edwards (2010) and Ridder (1995) have listed features of Dutch English. These lists were employed to discover similar features of Dunglish and Dutch English. Most features which were discovered in this particular Dunglish corpus could be sorted into two categories: ‘grammar and syntax’ and ‘vocabulary and idiom’. This differed from Dutch English, as features of this variety could also be categorised as ‘discourse style’. The most prominent feature of Dunglish was found to be the literal translation of idioms and vocabulary from Dutch into English. One possible explanation for this finding could be that these literal translations are easily recognisable as non-standard Dutch English usage. Other, more obscure non-standard features are not exclusively used in Dutch English but in other New Englishes as well and will therefore not be recognised as Dunglish. Second, users’ approaches and attitudes to Dunglish were investigated. These attitudes could provide information about the role and use of English in modern Dutch society. To test this, a small-scale study amongst students was performed. The participants reacted to Dunglish content from Make That The Cat Wise. The responses indicated a division between Dunglish users: some participants felt positive or affectionate towards the use of Dunglish; however, there were negative responses and ashamed reactions as well. Functions of Dunglish that were discovered are: Dunglish as a means of identification, as entertainment, as a didactic device and some users have financial goals when using Dunglish.