Usually the answer to this is, "Yes, a little." Then they go on to speak perfect English with you. On the flip side, if you try to speak a little bit of Dutch, they tend to answer you in English, or look at you like you are speaking some unintelligible language. The language is very gutteral and doesn't flow off your tounge; at least not my tounge.
The girls take Dutch at school and are very helpful if I need to know what season it is or the names of school supplies. We have found that not understanding every conversation that goes on around you isn't all that bad. Especially when we are out on our patio and can hear conversations of our neighbors or at a restaurant.
A few words/phrases we tend to like:
slaap lekker (slap lecker) - good night
underbrook - underwear
ik ook (ick oak) - me too
varkenslaapen - pork chops
knee (kuhnee) - knee
Mag ik een kopje koffie? (magh ik ain cupya koffee) - May I have a cup of coffee?
Hoe heet je? (Who hate yuh?) - How are you?
Ik hou van je (Ik how fayn yuh) - I love you
Pronouncing words incorrectly can drastically change the meaning ie. pronouncing 'very good' slightly wrong, means 'yellow hat.' No wonder the waiters kept smiling at us in restaurants...
One of the strangest things about the Dutch language is they have many 'English' words/phrases that they consider Dutch words. So, when you listen to the radio or hear someone speaking, they will all of the sudden throw in an English word like 'Friday Night Beach Party' or 'wild' or 'success.'
There are exceptions to people speaking English; yesterday I was calling a company that was trying to collect on a bill I have already paid, and when I uttered the phrase above, he said, in perfect english, "No, my English is terrible. Let me get you someone who can speak better English." He then proceded to hang up on me. This brings me to another point. When you call a service company ie. phone, tv, electric, etc., they charge you per minute for the call. So let me get this straight. I'm having a problem with the service you are providing and in order to tell you about that problem I have to pay to call you. Yep, makes perfect Dutch sense. I don't have time to tackle that one in this post. More to come later.
Chris and I had great intentions of learning Dutch, but after living here awhile, yada, yada, yada....I'm now in a Spanish conversation group at the girls' school. Adios, amigos!
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