Using present-tense verbs to refer to past events is a device that’s been around since the Romans at least (praesens historicum). It can be done in both English and Dutch too, for drawing the reader in and adding impact. In English, though, it risks sounding childish or ungrammatical if not handled with care.
In English, it’s more of a literary device (in the broadest sense: a bloke in the pub narrating an anecdote or bad joke to his mates may use it too). Dutch uses it much more widely and the effect can grate quite badly if translated literally. As can skipping between tenses from one sentence to the next; this is usually also worth avoiding in English. We often find ourselves changing the tense from present to past during translation. Examples:
- minutes of meetings
- reports of medical procedures
- reports of work done in scientific theses
- brief descriptions of historical events (particularly in museum audio tours, which we do a lot of)
Awareness of this issue is relatively low, as evidenced by the fact that we always have to state clearly on delivering a translation that this is what we’ve done and why. Otherwise, you can bet your bottom dollar that our text will come back from the end client with a complaint that we’ve changed the tenses…
Prevalence: low. Low because it only affects certain kinds of text.
Frequency: endemic. In the type of text where this device gets used at all, Dutch authors will hardly ever think of changing the tense away from what’s in their head.
Native: no. Not for formal texts such as the above.