WLAN or WiFi ? Thread poster: ritz mollema
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The (German) end client of an agency I work for since many years claimed that for the user manuals of their music/radio devices in Dutch language the term 'WLAN' has to be used for wireless networks. In Germany everybody uses WLAN (WéLAN) for wireless networks, however, in the Netherlands (and Belgium?) I believe people rather say 'WiFi' (or even 'wiefie'), as in English speaking countries.
Even after discussion client insists that WLAN is being used for Dutch instruction manuals,... See more The (German) end client of an agency I work for since many years claimed that for the user manuals of their music/radio devices in Dutch language the term 'WLAN' has to be used for wireless networks. In Germany everybody uses WLAN (WéLAN) for wireless networks, however, in the Netherlands (and Belgium?) I believe people rather say 'WiFi' (or even 'wiefie'), as in English speaking countries.
Even after discussion client insists that WLAN is being used for Dutch instruction manuals, since it would be the international standard and WiFi only a particular version. As far as I know, nobody in the Netherlands would say/use WLAN, but only 'WiFi' or 'Wireless'. Target group of the devices are mainly young people, I would say.
Is WLAN really understandable for anyone in the Netherlands and Belgium?
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I’ve lived in Belgium for 30 years (in the francophone part), I’m obviously quite familiar with Wifi and I’ve very occasionally heard people talk about Wireless LAN. For what I’ve researched it seems that in Flanders it’s more common to say... See more I’ve lived in Belgium for 30 years (in the francophone part), I’m obviously quite familiar with Wifi and I’ve very occasionally heard people talk about Wireless LAN. For what I’ve researched it seems that in Flanders it’s more common to say wifi-systeem than WLAN (please check https://www.zuidwege.be/nl/ and https://www.zuidwege.be/de/).
P.S. I’m just trying to be helpful, German, Flemish and/or Dutch are not my working languages… ▲ Collapse
| | | | Samuel Murray 
Netherlands
Local time: 21:38
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
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ritz mollema wrote:
However, in the Netherlands (and Belgium?) I believe people rather say 'WiFi' (or even 'wiefie'), as in English speaking countries.
1. Everyone here uses and knows the term "Wi-Fi" (pronounced vee-fee, often written as "wifi").
2. Far fewer people will know what a "WLAN" is.
3. Note that, if you want to split hairs, not all WLANs use Wi-Fi technology. WLAN means "wireless LAN", and it includes any LAN that has a wireless component at the local level. Theoretically, a WLAN can use Bluetooth instead of Wi-Fi. Infrared is another option for the wireless component of a WLAN.
This brings us to the question: do the Germans really mean "WLAN" when they say "WLAN", or is this just the word that they use when they actually mean Wi-Fi?
| | | | Erik Freitag
Germany
Local time: 21:38
Member (2006)
Dutch to German
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Samuel Murray wrote:
Do the Germans really mean "WLAN" when they say "WLAN", or is this just the word that they use when they actually mean Wi-Fi?
We exclusively use WLAN when we mean Wi-Fi.
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| The real difference | Jun 24, 2021 |
The two terms are not the same: WiFi is the most popular type of WLAN today, but certainly not the only one.
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