University Facebook page fully in English
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Photo: Creative Commons, Simon
In the near future, probably even next week already, the university Facebook page will be updated exclusively in English. Some other social media channels will stay a combination of Dutch and English. 'Facebook is a community and we want to show that our community is international.'
Right now, the page is predominantly in Dutch, apart from the occasional English translation after a Dutch text. The communication staff has been thinking long and hard about what to do with the main language on social media, says Anja van Kessel, editor corporate communication. ‘We received comments from international students, who feel left out by the use of Dutch. They cannot join in the conversation at our university.’
With the new English bachelors coming up in September, the Marketing & Communication department decided it is time to change the language of the corporate Facebook page. On Twitter, a combination of Dutch and English will still be the norm, Instagram will be fully English. Van Kessel is not too scared that Dutch Facebook users will stop following the page. ‘Maybe we lose some, I hope not, but that could happen’, she says. ‘Facebook is a community and we want to show that our community is international. I hope we get a lot of new, international followers.’
Austin Howard wrote on 23 augustus 2016 at 10:37
Recently, the university Facebook page took the decision to switch from Dutch to English. This was heralded as a way to make the Facebook page more inclusive of international students. This is but one of many such steps taken by universities the world over to promote the use of English as a medium of communication not only with and amongst international students, but within universities as a whole. However, this seemingly inclusive measure actually creates far more alienation. This alienation comes in two parts. Alienation of international students from Dutch culture and alienation of Dutch people from their own culture. This response focuses mainly on the former, but the latter is far more important.
The first point seems counter-intuitive: why would the use of English, the world’s language, actually estrange non-Dutch students? The first point to pick up on is that English is only the world’s language if we choose to make it so. However, it is also the native language of millions of people around the world (myself included). This is a symptom of a vast power imbalance in the world. The United States, above all other anglophone countries, dominates in military power, monetary power, and media power.
Though there are many similarities with past common languages (Classical Chinese in East Asia, Latin in Europe), we must note some key differences. English is not a regional lingua franca, but is being touted as a world language. As previously mentioned, it is a world language for those who do not speak it natively, but it is a native language for those who grew up with it. They (we) have a distinct advantage.
So, by using English, we ensure that some international students are automatically better-placed than others to navigate an English-speaking university environment. However, all international students are disadvantaged by the over-use of English. This is because the Netherlands is not an English-speaking country per se. Functionally, the level of English is very high here. However, this is the Netherlands and people do speak Dutch. Far from promoting integration, this continues to shut internationals out of Dutch life. Students studying in the Netherlands therefore are getting increasingly less of a Dutch experience and more and more of a generalised, “international” experience. You can get that anywhere nowadays.
Rather, the university should be promoting Dutch language and culture. Radboud in’to Languages is great, but it is not enough. If we as internationals are surrounding by English, how can we immerse ourselves in Dutch? The Netherlands should make a more concerted effort to promote Dutch. The French, Germans, British, the Spanish, and especially the Chinese are active in promoting their languages and larger cultures. It was very difficult to learn any Dutch before coming here, even with the myriad medium-quality learning programmes podcasts youtube videos, etc. To give internationals a truly uniquely Dutch experience, to allow them to feel integrated in Dutch society, and to keep the linguistic traditions of the Netherlands, more Dutch should be used and more Dutch should be taught, not more English and not at the expense of Dutch. Translations are fine, education is better.