Stijn Dekker

English, sorry

A lot of what I read, listen to, and watch for my work is in English. A lot of what I read for my political activism is in Dutch. I used to write about both, so it has always been a difficult choice deciding in which language to jot down my 'public personal notes.' Writing them in English feels a bit pretentious, especially for someone who has always lived in a polder. But my Dutch translations of the things I've discovered in English often feel cringe — as my Gen Alpha daughter would call it.

So, I'm giving English (or Dunglish) a try for a couple of posts. Maybe it will be easier for me to find the right words and write more often. And that's one of my goals for this year, because I've read that writing regularly is a good habit.