>>>>>>>>But I'm not blaming Naomi. She's naive at times. That's what I like about her most. Don't you?
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>This seems like an odd comment from someone who has written extensively about online etiquette. Maybe PdV's account has been cracked or hijacked, and Michel should take steps to verify your identity?
>>>>>>
>>>>>>Is there a translation problem? I'm not aware of having been offensive towards Naomi.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>And I don't mind being called by Michel. As long as I do not have to call back (although international phone calls are indeed really cheap these days and yes, I do have voip nowadays).
>>>>>
>>>>>A lot of people would take offense at being called naive, which is only your opinion, you don't qualify it as such. Saying that you like that trait, sounds sarcastic or patronizing, especially to someone who may not know anything of the history between you and Naomi.
>>>>
>>>>Well, then there may indeed be a difference between the American 'naive' and the Dutch 'naief'. In Dutch it is not merely a negative connotation. It is the further context that should make clear whether it is meant negative or positive. When meant in a positive sense it is another word for 'not feeling suspicion', '(probably overly) trusting people'.
>>>
>>>It's my understanding that the word gullible is more appropriate, since it has the same meaning as we Europeans use the word naive.
>>
>>I tend to think it is in the person listening. To me, naive is not a negative term at all, but typically used for the innocent and 'gullible' :o) Usually for young adults who haven't had sufficient experience in the 'real world' to become pecimistic yet....
>
>If you are right, then there is actually no difference between the Dutch and English usage. And as Tony Nascimento said (Message #1389062), it's probably a culture thing. If an American would use the word naive in Amsterdam and he'd expect that it was interpreted as negative - no matter what the rest of the context is - he'd probably be surprised when finding out that his audience didn't grip the negative tone at all.

A whole race can be naive, as in the reason why so many native Americans (N & S) died of European diseases (such as 'flu), when the 1st settlers came, because their bodies were naive to the viruses/bacteria which insulted them.