Today historical linguist Nicoline van der Sijs will present the first copy of her book Cookies, Coleslaw and Stoops on the influence of the Dutch language on American English and the languages of the Native Americans.

The book will be presented in New York City as part of the celebrations of New York's 400 years existence.

"From Santa Claus (after the Dutch folklore saint Sinterklaas) and his sleigh (the pronunciation of the Dutch slee is almost identical) to a dumbhead talking poppycock, the contributions of the Dutch language to American English are indelibly embedded to some of our most vernacular terms and expressions."

The Dutch title is Yankees, Cookies en Dollars -- it's interesting that different words were selected for the Dutch title than for the American title (Cookies, Coleslaw, and Stoops).