Writing a Reply to a Dutch Host Family
You are writing an email in Dutch to a host family in Utrecht, the Bakkers, who have offered to host you for a two-week exchange. Their message says they live 20 minutes by bike from the school, have a dog, and eat dinner at 18:00 sharp. You must reply covering three points: (1) thank them and confirm you are coming; (2) explain that you are allergic to dogs and ask whether the dog sleeps indoors; (3) explain that your flight lands at 20:30, so you cannot arrive before dinner on the first night. You have 120-180 words and must use an appropriate register for a first contact with adults you have not met.
1. Draft the structure and key language choices for this email, explaining the register decisions.
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A suitable structure: subject line (e.g. 'Bevestiging van mijn komst'), formal greeting ('Beste meneer en mevrouw Bakker,'), opening thanks and confirmation, the allergy question, the arrival-time problem, closing ('Met vriendelijke groet,' plus your name). Register decisions matter: because this is a first contact with adults, use 'u' throughout, not 'jij'; use 'meneer en mevrouw Bakker' rather than first names; soften requests with modal verbs ('Zou u mij kunnen vertellen of...'). The allergy point must be polite but clear - state the allergy as fact, then ask a specific question about where the dog sleeps, rather than demanding the dog be removed. The arrival point should apologise briefly and offer a solution (e.g. asking whether they can leave a key or whether a late meal is possible). Avoid over-familiar phrasing and avoid blunt imperatives.
2. Why is it risky to translate an English email word-for-word into Dutch here? Give examples of what could go wrong.
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Word-for-word translation imports English politeness patterns and idioms that do not transfer cleanly. Examples: (1) English 'I am allergic to dogs' translated mechanically can sound abrupt; Dutch convention often softens with 'Ik ben helaas allergisch voor honden' and a follow-up question. (2) English 'Can you tell me...' maps to 'Kunt u mij vertellen...', which is fine, but 'Can you...' used as a bare request can read as a command if the modal is dropped. (3) Address forms: English 'you' hides the 'u'/'jij' distinction, so a translator may accidentally use informal forms with strangers. (4) Time expressions: 'I land at 20:30' should be expressed naturally, and 'before dinner' needs to be tied to their stated 18:00 dinner time to make sense. The writer should compose in Dutch with the reader's expectations in mind, not convert English sentence by sentence.