Dutch College Use Louis Van Gaal’s ‘Stereotypical Accent’ As Example Of How Not To Speak English

Chris Wright

10th, October 2014

9 Comments

By Chris Wright

Britain Soccer Manchester Utd

“You can tell by the way I ushe my walk, I’m a womansh man”

We can’t say it’s ever registered with us, but apparently Louis van Gaal’s grasp of English is so hilariously bad that a Dutch college are using the Manchester United manager as an example to their students of how NOT to speak the language.

Lecturers at the Kalsbeek College in Woerden (near Utrecht) apparently reckon that Van Gaal’s broken English, complete with “stereotypical” Dutch accent is almost cartoonishly bad and, as such, are using clips of the United coach’s press conferences to steer their students clear of falling into all of the common pitfalls.

According to a report in Dutch paper Het Laatste Nieuws, Van Gaal makes “all the classic Dutch pronunciation mistakes” – for example: saying “sink” instead of “think” and pronouncing the English word “but” in the same way that the Dutch pronounce their word for “arse”.

Kalsbeek professor Bram van Welie has reportedly even taken to taping up photos of Van Gaal in the college’s exam hall to remind his students not to fall into the trap of speaking like the United boss during their oral exams.

“He’s really stereotypical,” Van Welie told HLN. “Which is why he is such a huge fun example!”

Apparently, Van Gaal’s slapstick English is fairly well documented in the Netherlands, with Dutch comedy show “Cojones” even broaching the subject in a sketch of theirs…

Sounds pretty spot on to us!

Posted in Man Utd, Newsnow

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9 Comments

  1. Anonymous says:

    this is not the right video..

  2. Suzanne says:

    This is not the right video..

  3. Chris says:

    @Suzanne: Errm, yes it is.

  4. Mascha says:

    The class which is used in this article also made a video to teach Louis how to improve his English. This is the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjjpR_o2n2U

  5. Joe says:

    Pedant note: Het Laatste Nieuws is a Belgian newspaper.

    I think Louis should be applauded for having the courage to try and speak most any language, even if he’s not very good at any of them. Yes, the results are often comedy gold but at least he tries (and hey, comedy gold). Pochettino still doesn’t speak English as far as I know. Holland has the third highest percentage of people who can hold a conversation in English in the EU – only marginally behind numbers 1 and 2 (UK and Ireland, obviously). For that reason, I think we can be a bit overcritical at those of us who struggle a bit with the language, like Louis. Bit OTT of the college, really.

  6. Jarren says:

    I agree that it’s quite harsh of the college.

    I have never had a problem when van Gaal speaks in English. Sure, he’s limited a bit (and has to think about what words to use), but considering the fact he also speaks Spanish & German I think we can cut him some slack.

    How many of us would even consider learning Dutch? I tried when I was 18, but broke down in tears after a day.

    @Joe: Pochettino speaks very acceptable English now, as demonstrated on MOTD broadcasts since the start of the season. In fact, he spoke publicly in English as far back as last season, only not to the media.

  7. Montezuma says:

    Het Laatste Nieuws is a Belgian newspaper, not a Dutch one.

  8. Klaas says:

    According to online sources there is no difference in the pronunciation but or butt. If you critisize someone over their comprehension of your language, check your facts, or take an english course first yourself.

    He who bounces can the ball expect, I think van Gaal would say :-).

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