English speakers: do you refer to the Netherlands as "Netherlands" or "Holland"?

**Creoda** · 10-15-2018, 04:41 PM

I get the feeling Holland was more common in the past in the English speaking world. I seem to recall hearing it a lot 15-20 years ago, not so much anymore.

Pedantry has had a revival with the internet.

**Mingle** · 10-15-2018, 04:41 PM

Originally Posted by The Lawspeaker

I wonder what changed (for English-speakers) ?

Due to geography, the English had more contact with Netherlanders (wars, trade, migration, rivalry, etc.) than they did with "other Dutch people" (i.e. Germans), so the term Dutch came to be specifically applied to Netherlanders over time. The Latin term German was then used for people from Germany.

**The Lawspeaker** · 10-15-2018, 04:44 PM

Originally Posted by Mingle

Due to geography, the English had more contact with Netherlanders (wars, trade, migration, rivalry, etc.) than they did with "other Dutch people" (i.e. Germans), so the term Dutch came to be specifically applied to Netherlanders over time. The Latin term German was then used for people from Germany.

That makes sense, when you think about it...