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The term Double Dutch has several different meanings.
English slang
In English slang, talking double-dutch or Double Dutch means talking apparent nonsense or in a confusing and contradictory way. The term may be used to describe a speech or policy statement so inconsistent or difficult to follow that a hearer/reader might say "it's all double-dutch to me". The Netherlands used to be a rival to England and the Dutch phrases were a form of contempt.
Language game (I)
Double-Dutch is also a language game, akin to Pig Latin or Opish. Another name for it is Tutnese. In it, vowels are pronounced normally, but each consonant is replaced with a syllable from the following table:
| b - bub | k - kuk | s - sus |
| c - cash | l - lul | t - tut |
| d - dud | m - mum | v - vuv |
| f - fuf | n - nun | w - wash |
| g - gug | p - pub | x - xux |
| h - hutch | q - quack | y - yub |
| j - jug | r - rug | z - zub |
Example: "Mary had a little lamb" becomes Mumarugyub hutchadud a lulituttutlule lulamumbub.
- See also: Tutnese
There is, however, another language game referred to as "double Dutch," though it is sometimes called "jibberish". In this version, the speaker places the sounds "th" and "g" into syllables. It is easiest to teach using one syllable words. For example, the word "cat" would be "cathagat" and "wall" would be "wathagall". For multisyllabic words, the speaker would treat each syllable as its own word. For example, "open" would be "othagopethegen". The sounds of the vowels remain the same. Writing it makes less sense than speaking it. The only source for this information is the fact that it can be spoken this way in various parts of the country and be understood by other speakers.
Language game (II)
The Dutch poet Jan van der Meulen (born in 1915) published many nonsense poems under the pseudonym John O'Mill (a literal translation of his real name), which are characterised not only by perfect rhythm, but also by his highly creative use of what he called "Double Dutch": English based on the literal translation of Dutch idioms into English, the similarity in sound of certain words and expressions, etc. O'Mill, who was a teacher of English, was inspired to this by the clumsy English used by his pupils.
Jump rope
Double Dutch also means playing jump rope with two ropes and two people jumping simultaneously; this involves four people total: two jumping and two turning the ropes. While the jump-roping is going on, the two persons turning the ropes often recite rhymes. An example: "Helicopter, helicopter/Please come down/if you don't/I'll shoot you down/Bang, bang!"
During the very early years of hip hop culture, double-dutch was an element of the culture, and young people, usually girls, would have double-dutch competitions at block parties. After hip hop began moving towards the mainstream in the early 1980s, double-dutch fell out of favor as a recognized element of hip hop, although it remains popular with schoolchildren to this day. It is now growing into the Junior and Senior High Schools as a way to pass notes.
Double Dutch has seen a resurrengence in popularity as of late. The National Double Dutch League holds yearly camps and a Holiday Classic, in which teams from all over the world compete. Double Dutch is still a prominent part of the hip hop culture in some areas, and is becoming more and more prevalent in cities such as San Francisco and Seattle.
"Going double Dutch"
The phrase "going double Dutch" means using two types of contraceptive: at the same time the man wears a condom, the woman swallows an oral contraceptive. This is supposed to be the safest type of sex, because it simultaneously protects against pregnancy and venereal diseases (like AIDS). It is not recommended to use two condoms (either two male condoms or one male condom and one female condom) at the same time, as this will increase the failure rate of both.
A mathematical analysis of the use of two contraceptives at once shows this to be a more effective practice. In theory, the reliability of the best contraceptives approaches or exceeds 99%. In practice, the reliability is usually much less. It is estimated that for most people who carefully use them, quality contraception has a failure rate of about 3%.
Given a failure rate of 3%, or 3 in 100, using dual contraception provides virtually certain contraceptive protection. If two forms of contraception each have failure rates of 3%, then the failure rate of the pair used in unison is the product of the failure rates of the methods used separately, or 9 in 10,000. Thus the rate of pregnancy drops from 300 in 10,000 to 9 in 10,000 (0.09%).
See also
External links
"Double dutch"