>Nederlands = the dutch languange

Ah, like Afrikans = the S. African lang.

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>It is very interesting though that we have quite a few expressions to refer to The netherlands. Our country is called The netherlands (In dutch Nederland), but often referred as Holland as well (Holland more correctly refers to the tradiationally most economical part of the netherlands: Noord-Holland en Zuid-Holland which are only two provinces out of 12 in the netherlands).

We're aware of the distinction but not really of the bounds.

>Thereby we speak Dutch (where the hell came that word from?) which sound a bit like "Duits" which in fact is german, though in other languages Hollandisch is said. In the past (16th, 17th century), we refered to as the United provinces (at that time together with what now is Belgium).

I assume that you don't call it that yourselves. I'd always assumed it to be like a corruption of "Deutch" or "Duits" as a British mistake about what the strange language is.

>The french refer to us as Pay bays (or something like that. I have no clue on what that means).

It means "the Low Country". More antiquated English has the Netherlands as "The Low Countries" (not not just Holland). "Nether" in English means "Hidden" or "far away", "in the distance". We refer politely to the "nether regions" of the body.
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>The netherlands actually means the lowlands as about a large percentage of it is lying beneath sea level.
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>Walter,