[kazinator]

Dikjstra had very good command of English for a Dutchman; far better than the average American. It seems he could easily have taught first year English. Look at the way he nicely incorporates quotes and the diction and sentence variety.

From this we can tell where he placed his efforts; if you want to troll computer science on an international level, you better beef up your English!

He would have made a great asset to any software team, as a documenter; I wouldn't have had him write much code, though.

[morty16]

My understanding is that English is a natural second language for the Dutch and is taught extensively in schools (i.e. learned by everyone). Also, they are close enough to the U.K. to receive broadcast television, etc. so they also have that level of immersion.

Every Dutch person I've met has had a terrific command of the language, much better than average native speakers. I suspect that at least some of this is due to the fact that as second-language students they actually take time to learn the rules of grammar, etc. Most native speakers pick it up "on the street", so the Dutch (that I've met) tend to sound more formal and educated, especially when there's no discernible accent.

[mcguire]

"Dikjstra had very good command of English for a Dutchman; far better than the average American."

Once upon a time, I read a thriller of the Cussler style where a Russian translator for the CIA or something goes to a conference and gets to exchange knowing glances with two colleagues over some mistake that only they recognized. Then I realized that there would have likely been more than a few native Russian speakers in the room.

You realize your statement is ridiculous, right?