PLEASE SPEAK DUTCH AFTER THE TONE

From 1 March this year, people from outside the European Union hoping to come and live in the Netherlands will have to take a Dutch language test… over the telephone. The exam will be carried out using an automatic speech recognition system and has just been approved by the Dutch Parliament, but the idea also has plenty of critics.

The computer decides whether the potential migrant speaks fluently enough and can use everyday language, but if they make mistakes in pronouncing their Dutch (and the language is notoriously difficult to pronounce) the application can be refused.

Minister of Immigration and Integration Rita Verdonk described parliament's approval of her plans as 'an historic moment'. Around 14000 people are expected to undergo the test each year and the majority of those want to join their families or marry partners already living in the Netherlands.

Immigration and Integration Minister Rita Verdonk is one of the most controversial figures in the Dutch Government. Along with the language tests, her most recent proposal is that everyone in the Netherlands speak Dutch when they’re in public. The move has left the youth-wing of her own party the VVD literally ‘speechless’ and they’ve lodged a written complaint with a Dutch anti-discrimination body. They believe that it’s everyone’s right to speak in their mother tongue wherever they may be.

According to Ms Verdonk the test, which lasts around 20 minutes and costs 350 euros, is a good way of rejecting people who are not yet prepared for life here. She also believes that because would-be immigrants have to pay for the exam, only people who are really determined to settle in the Netherlands will bother taking it.

In fact, the test should have been introduced six months earlier, but parliament blocked the plans because of concerns about the speech recognition software. The computer was unable to deal with different accents, stammering or expressions like '…erm'. Critics also pointed out that no other country in the world uses technology like this, and there were some suggestions that the test contravened the European Convention on Human Rights.

Criticism from left-wing MPs remains, but a majority of conservative liberals and Christian Democrats have pushed the plans through parliament. Minister Verdonk has promised to check that the system is reliable once its introduced, and the results of the first 500 people who take the test will be double-checked by real examiners to avoid mistakes. If there are technical problems, the test can be taken again free of charge.

Rita Verdonk insists the exam is legally watertight, but the door is still open for failed applicants to bring a case against the government. There's been criticism from Morocco, too, that the language test obstructs reunification of families; thousands of Moroccans have already settled in the Netherlands, many having come here for work in the 1960s. Even if potential migrants pass the language test, there's another, even tougher 'integration' exam once they arrive in the country. more features

February 14, 2006