Dutch

Wooden shoes, cheese, windmills the Dutch are famous for these things. But we are also very famous for the many languages we speak.

Dutch as a mother tongue is spoken by at least 21 million people worldwide. Dutch is spoken of course in the Netherlands, but also in Belgium (the Flamish part) in South Africa, Suriname, the Dutch Caribbean, Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao and St. Maarten. Also in Indonesia every year at least 20.000 students choose to learn Dutch. Dutch influences are many in America. Especially New York which was called New Amsterdam for quite some time. Brooklyn, Haarlem, the Bronx, Staten Island, Long Island all Dutch names.