Dutch Students Told to Avoid Louis Van Gaal's 'Stereotypical' Accent
It may not be immediately apparent to native English speakers, but Louis Van Gaal's accent is viewed with dismay by linguists in the Netherlands.
According to Dutch newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws (via Who Ate All The Pies), Van Gaal's English is spoken with an accent that is comically "stereotypical" of Dutch folks getting to grips with the language.
His pronunciation contains “all the classic Dutch pronunciation mistakes,” such as saying "shink" instead of "think" and, well, any other linguistic stereotype one sees in Goldmember or the Dutch police in Harry Enfield and Chums.
Says Who Ate All The Pies:
"Kalsbeek [College, near Utrecht] 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!'
"
The Manchester United manager's linguistic traits are so well known in his home country that they have even become the subject of a Dutch comedy show sketch:
.jpg?w=600 "Maxx Crosby's Cryptic Post 🤔")
