Welcome to the latest instalment of English and the Dutch, the newsletter with tips and tricks, fun facts, new translations and other good stuff about how Dutch speakers speak English.
Fun newsletter! I'm a Brit, now living in the US. I lived in Den Bosch 79-85. At the time, I was fluent in Dutch and almost in Brabants. My Dutch friends and I would play language games all the time. A favorite was to speak in literal translations of Dutch idioms, especially in meetings with American visitors, who expected Europeans to understand "behind the 8 ball" and so on. "It doesn't make me out".
This “off by heart” thing is interesting. That is /not/ how we say it in the US. We would just say “by heart”, as in “I know that piece by heart”.
FWIW when I hear “I know the piece out of my head,” that doesn’t really connect to the English idiom for me—it’s too weird. Of course, I know enough Dutch to know what is intended, but I think I would have just thought it was a bit rare…. :)
Thanks Ted, I'm always happy to hear an American point of view! I'll amend the article on my website to note that "off by heart" is British and Americans say "by heart".
I agree that in the example sentence the "out of my head" mostly just sounds strange. I tried to make the hyphen show that; poor little hyphen, too much responsibility!
Geweldige nieuwsbrief! Gelijk doorgestuurd naar mijn partner, docent Engels op een middelbare school 😃
Fun newsletter! I'm a Brit, now living in the US. I lived in Den Bosch 79-85. At the time, I was fluent in Dutch and almost in Brabants. My Dutch friends and I would play language games all the time. A favorite was to speak in literal translations of Dutch idioms, especially in meetings with American visitors, who expected Europeans to understand "behind the 8 ball" and so on. "It doesn't make me out".
Thank you for giving me another chance to play.
This “off by heart” thing is interesting. That is /not/ how we say it in the US. We would just say “by heart”, as in “I know that piece by heart”.
FWIW when I hear “I know the piece out of my head,” that doesn’t really connect to the English idiom for me—it’s too weird. Of course, I know enough Dutch to know what is intended, but I think I would have just thought it was a bit rare…. :)
Thanks Ted, I'm always happy to hear an American point of view! I'll amend the article on my website to note that "off by heart" is British and Americans say "by heart".
I agree that in the example sentence the "out of my head" mostly just sounds strange. I tried to make the hyphen show that; poor little hyphen, too much responsibility!