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Immigration minister wants to get rid of that word: allochtoonTuesday 31 January 2012 The word allochtoon, literally meaning non-native, should no longer be applied to people born in the Netherlands, immigration minister Gerd Leers told a meeting on Monday night, according to the Telegraaf. 'I want people born in the Netherlands to be called Dutch, plain and simple, not non-native,' Leers told the readers of women's magazine Libelle. 'I can understand why people who give themselves 100% to society ask themselves why they are being dismissed in such a derogatory way.' Dictionary Government departments and institutions have different definitions of the word, which However, in popular usage, allochtoon is mainly used to describe non-western immigrants and their children. The third generation of Turkish and Moroccan immigrants are still known as allochtoon despite being born and brought up in Holland. The Telegraaf says Leers' standpoint is notable because the anti-Islam PVV, which has an alliance with the minority cabinet, wants to make use of the word broader. © DutchNews.nl
According to my somewhat older Van Dale, allochtoon, with its root in Duits (German), means 'all colors', or in English vernacular, colored folk, as in non-white. By Puck | January 31, 2012 9:48 AM I have a different opinion completely; I do not think people born in the Netherlands with a Dutch passport should have ever been called allochtonen. This should have never ever happened; it's just plain discrimination and clearly wrong. By Bill | January 31, 2012 10:49 AM Then, they should also give citizenship to Dutch people born in The Netherlands. If you want to solve a problem, solve it completely! By Can Chur | January 31, 2012 12:10 PM Born in the Netherlands doesn't make you ethnic dutch, the same way born in Turkey doesn't make you turk (you can be kurd, greek, etc.), although the turks tried to call the kurds "mountain turks". By Passer by | January 31, 2012 9:56 PM @passer but seriously, in case you weren't joking... dropping the use of word that is used depending on the colour of your skin is not quite the same as physically murdering a race of people. not even close... By bunny | February 1, 2012 7:58 PM
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It's about time this word is dropped completely, because it is racist stereotyping. It’s obvious that the word allochtoon is mainly used to describe dark skinned non-western immigrants and their descendants. I’ve had many disagreements about this with Dutch people who insist that as a white westerner I am not allochtoon. This is despite the fact that by personal choice I am not a citizen and avoid speaking the language or following Dutch “normen en waarden”.
By Quest | January 31, 2012 9:42 AM