40-Minute Dutch

Dutch () is a West Germanic language spoken by over 22 million people as a native language, and over 5 million people as a second language."1% of the EU population claims to speak Dutch well enough in order to have a conversation." (page 153) Outside the European Union the number of second language speakers of Dutch is relatively small. Most native speakers live in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, with smaller groups of speakers in parts of France, Germany and several former Dutch colonies. It is closely related to other West Germanic languages (e.g., English, West Frisian and German) and somewhat more remotely to the North Germanic languages.

From a perspective of political correctness, to avoid national bias or chauvinism, there is a modern or more or less progressive tendency to consider "Nederlands Nederlands" ("Dutch Dutch"), "Surinaams Nederlands" ("Surinam Dutch") and "Vlaams Nederlands" ("Flemish Dutch") as three equal natiolects.

Dutch is the parent language of several creole languages as well as of Afrikaans, one of the official languages of South Africa and the most widely understood in Namibia. Dutch and Afrikaans are to a very large extent mutually intelligible, although they have separate spelling standards and dictionaries and have separate language regulators. The Dutch Language Union coordinates actions of the Dutch, Flemish and Surinamese authorities in linguistic issues, language policy, language teaching and literature.The Nederlandse Taalunie

The Dutch East India Company (' or VOC' in Dutch, literally "United East Indian Company") was a chartered company established in 1602, when the States-General of the Netherlands granted it a 21-year monopoly to carry out colonial activities in Asia. It was the first multinational corporation in the world and the first company to issue stock. Mondo Visione web site: Chambers, Clem. "Who needs stock exchanges?" Exchanges Handbook. -- retrieved 1 February 2008. It was also arguably the worlds first megacorporation, possessing quasi-governmental powers, including the ability to wage war, negotiate treaties, coin money, and establish colonies.

The Dutch East India Company remained an important trading concern for almost two centuries, paying an 18% annual dividend for almost 200 years. In its declining years in the late 18th century it was referred to as Vergaan Onder Corruptie (referring to the acronym VOC) which translates as 'Perished By Corruption'. The VOC became bankrupt and was formally dissolved in 1800, its possessions and the debt being taken over by the government of the Dutch Batavian Republic. The VOC's territories became the Dutch East Indies and were expanded over the course of the 19th century to include the whole of the Indonesian archipelago, and in the 20th century would form Indonesia.