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allochtoon / autochtoon

English translation: person of foreign heritage / person of native Dutch heritage

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)

Dutch term or phrase:	allochtoon / autochtoon
English translation:	person of foreign heritage / person of native Dutch heritage
Entered by:	noamla

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15:17 May 16, 2009

Dutch to English translations [Non-PRO]
Social Sciences - Social Science, Sociology, Ethics, etc.

Dutch term or phrase: allochtoon / autochtoon

I've seen 'allochton' and 'authochton', but for me it sounds weird. Does it have the same meaning the way we use it (to refer to immigrants)?

noamla KudoZ activity Questions: 44 (none open) (8 closed without grading) Answers: 20 Netherlands
Local time: 05:02

person of foreign heritage/person of native Dutch heritage

Explanation:
These are the 'official' translations used in the current IND glossary. I have always been very uncomfortable with them, even though I've translated dozens of IND documents using these phrases, at their insistence. IND certainly does not like 'foreigner' for 'allochtoon', or 'native' for 'autochtoon', and rejected my early attempts to introduce these terms to their documentation.
I think that 'autochthonous', even if it can be found in an English dictionary, is a horrible word and should be avoided.
The bottom line is that I would presonally use 'foreigner' and 'native', but these are technical terms of art in Dutch immigration legislation, and the IND is extremely particular about how they are dealt with.

Selected response from:

Bruce Gordon
United Kingdom
Local time: 04:02

Grading comment

thank you!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

Summary of answers provided

3 +4

person of foreign heritage/person of native Dutch heritage

Bruce Gordon

5 +1

foreign / autochthonous

solejnicz

foreigner / local (native)

amulder

Summary of reference entries provided

writeaway

There is (much) more than meets the eye contained in these two Dutch words...

Michael J.W. Beijer

Answers

17 mins confidence:

foreigner / local (native)

Explanation:
This is another possibility.

amulder
Netherlands
Local time: 05:02
Native speaker of:

Dutch

58 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +1

foreign / autochthonous

Explanation:
"Allochtoon" is geen gebruikelijk Engels woord, "autochtoon" wel. Staat ook gewoon in de woordenboeken, trouwens !!!

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Note added at 1 uur (2009-05-16 16:21:01 GMT)
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Excuse me, I should have commented in English. Only "autochthonous" is a common English term. "Allochthonous" also exists, but is is highly formal.

solejnicz
Netherlands
Local time: 05:02
Native speaker of:

French,

Dutch

18 hrs confidence:

peer agreement (net): +4

person of foreign heritage/person of native Dutch heritage

Bruce Gordon
United Kingdom
Local time: 04:02
Native speaker of:

English

Grading comment

thank you!

Reference comments

51 mins peer agreement (net): +2

Reference

Reference information:
Allochtoon (plural: allochtonen) is a Dutch word (derived from Greek ἀλλος (allos), other, and χθον (chthon) earth/land), literally meaning "originating from another country". It is the opposite of the word autochtoon (in English, "autochthonous" or "autochthone"; derived from Greek αυτο (auto), self) literally meaning "originating from this country".

In the Netherlands (and Flanders), the term "allochtoon" is widely used to refer to immigrants and their descendants. Officially the term allochtoon is much more specific and refers to anyone of whom one or both of his/her parents was not born in the Netherlands.[1] Hence, third generation immigrants, are no longer considered allochtoon (if both their parents were born in the Netherlands), though this does not automatically make them ethnically Dutch. The corresponding antonym autochtoon is less widely used, but it roughly corresponds to ethnic Dutch. Among a number of immigrant groups living in the Netherlands, a "Dutch" person (though they are themselves Dutch citizens) usually refers to the ethnic Dutch.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allochtoon

writeaway
Belgium
Specializes in field
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 16

4 hrs peer agreement (net): +3

Reference: There is (much) more than meets the eye contained in these two Dutch words...

Reference information:
1. 'Why the Dutch word ‘allochtoon’ should be abandoned.'
(by Robert van Krieken)

2. 'What’s in a Name: The Classification of Non-Native Dutch People.'
(by Ebone Bishop and Kenza Tarqaat)

Reference: http://robertvankrieken.net/weblog/?p=22
Reference: http://www.humanityinaction.org/docs/Bishop__Tarqaat.pdf

Michael J.W. Beijer
Spain
Specializes in field
Native speaker of:

English,

Dutch