The Kingdom of Belgium has three official languages: Dutch, French, and German. It developed from Old Belgian Sign Language, which developed as a result of contact between Lyons Sign Language and LSF. Dutch (Flemish) is spoken in the Flemish communities, while French is spoken in Wallonia. Brussels Capital … Dutch is the official language of the Flemish Community and the Flemish Region (merged to Flanders) and, along with French, an official language of the Brussels-Capital Region. Unlike other Flemish dialects, the one spoken in Belgium adopted much more French vocabulary … Belgium has three official languages: French, Dutch and German. Belgium is composed of four language areas: the Dutch language area, the French language area, the German language area (nine municipalities in the east of Belgium) and the bilingual Brussels-Capital area. In addition to the three official languages, others are spoken in Belgium, for instance in Wallonia, where French became dominant only relatively recently. It is neither a part of Flanders nor Wallonia, although the vast majority of locals speak French. Another language related to French, and also a historic language of the region, Picard, was recognized in 1990 by the government of the French Community. Flemish Dutch is the most spoken of Belgium’s three official languages and is enshrined in law, along with French and German, though the country’s constitution does not explicitly mention specific languages. Percentage of people in Belgium who speak the languages below as a mother tongue or foreign language. 59% of inhabitants belonging to the Flemish community, Dutch is the most spoken primary language. It is mainly spoken in Gaume, a part of Belgian Lorraine. The language legislation of Belgium has changed over the years. In each region, Belgium's third official language, German, is notably less known than those.[4][7][8]. For example, the Dutch version of the Constitution has enjoyed equal status to the original French one only since 1967, and the German version since 1991. In fact it has three: Dutch, French and German. Sometimes seen as dialects, the varieties related to French have been recognized by the French Community as separate languages (langues régionales endogènes, lit. It is used mainly by the German-speaking Community, which numbers 77,000. [3] It is the official language of the French Community (which, like the Flemish Community, is a political entity), the dominant language in Wallonia (having also a small German-speaking Community), as well as the Brussels-Capital Region. They and their descendants speak languages including Berber (Riffian), Arabic (Maghrebi), Spanish, Turkish, Portuguese, Italian, Greek, Polish, and English. Also all official correspondence and communication with the government (e.g. Belgium is composed of four language areas: the Dutch language area, the French language area, the German language area (9 municipalities in the east of Belgium) and the bilingual Brussels-Capital area. Some sub-dialects may be quite distant from standard Dutch and not be readily … The measures advocated by the Marshall Plan are heading towards the proper direction, but are doubtlessly quite insufficient to fully overcome the lag. Bilingual education was introduced in 1883. All these are spoken across the border in the Netherlands as well. In the south the French-speaking Walloons make up about one-third of the country’s population. The different definition is due to the fact that the German-speaking region was annexed by Belgium in 1919, whereas the "Low Dietsch" area has been part of Belgium since 1830. As such, they are not always readily intelligible for Dutch speakers outside Flanders. A number of non-official, minority languages and dialects are spoken as well. See language lists, maps, statistics, and more. Click any language to explore how widely it is spoken in each country or click a country to explore which languages are most spoken within in. Ancient Belgian is a hypothetical extinct Indo-European language, spoken in Belgica (northern Gaul) in late prehistory.It is often identified with the hypothetical Nordwestblock. Inhabitants of a few municipalities are granted an exception to these rules. The remaining parts of Belgium are divided into language areas providing different rules for the language usage. Although the country is gradually progressing towards unison but even today there is prevalence of three distinct cultures illustrated by Flanders in the northern region that incorporates mainly Dutch, Wallonia towards the south primarily comprising of the French and finally the northeast that is under the influence of the German community. The Belgian Constitution guarantees, since the country's independence, freedom of language in the private sphere. Dutch is the most spoken primary language of Belgium and the official language of the Flemish Community and the Flemish Region (merged to Flanders). Article 4 divides the country into linguistic areas, which form the basis of the federal structure: "Belgium has four linguistic areas: The French-speaking area, the Dutch-speaking area, the bilingual area of Brussels Capital, and the German-speaking area.". This language is similar to the German spoken in the German-speaking Region. These figures relating to official Belgian languages include unknown numbers of immigrants and their children, who may speak a foreign language as primary language, and of Belgian regional migrants, who likely largely balance one another for native French and Dutch speakers. It is spoken in towns and villages such as Plombières (Bleiberg), Gemmenich, Hombourg, Montzen and Welkenraedt. Some of the most common foreign languages include Berber, Arabic, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Turkish, Greek, Polish, and English. In the north the Flemings, who constitute more than half of Belgium’s population, speak Flemish, which is equivalent to Dutch (sometimes called Netherlandic). Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium, "SPECIAL EUROBAROMETER 386 Europeans and their Languages", "Slechts 19 procent van de Walen spreekt Nederlands". Picard has been historically based in France, with speakers also in the western part of Wallonia. ][6], Within the report, professors in economics Ginsburgh and Weber further show that of the Brussels' residents, 95% declared they can speak French, 59% Dutch, and 41% know the non-local English. In 1962, this legislation was further clarified by defining the language to be used in each municipality. Of these, English is widely spoken. However, when Belgium became part of the Burgundy duchy, French became the language of the ruling classes, which then penetrated into the lower classes. Walloon is the historical language of southern Belgium, and most of the areas where French is now spoken were Walloon-speaking. Disputes over language continue today because the freedom of language extends only to the private home. The residents of Belgium enjoy the freedom of language in their private lives. There is dialectal variation between men and women speakers due to historical developments of the language. Instruction in other languages is prohibited in government-funded schools except for foreign language subjects. It is mainly spoken in Champagne, France, and a small part of Wallonia. The language and people are often called "Gypsies" by outsiders, a term considered to be pejorative due to its connotations of illegality and irregularity. Yiddish is spoken by many among the 20,000 Ashkenazi Jews living in Antwerp. It is one of the few Jewish communities worldwide in which Yiddish remains the dominant language[citation needed] (others include Kiryas Joel, New York, and predominately Orthodox Ashkenazi neighborhoods in the United States, Montreal, London, Paris, and Israel). What Are The Major Natural Resources Of Belgium? Yiddish is spoken by the Ashkenazi Jews, a population of around 20,000 in Antwerp. A number of non-official, minority languages and dialects exist as well. A profile of the languages in Belgium. What Languages Do They Speak In Belgium? Like any other country, It is now spoken by a minority in the Capital region, since the primary language of most inhabitants shifted during the Frenchification of Brussels. It has been defined as either varieties of Dutch or of German. It implies that you can decide yourself which language you use in your household, among friends, in the media, and in the cultural, economic, commercial and religious fields. Unlike VGT and LSFB, DGS, or German Sign Language, is unrelated to LSF and comprises its own language family. must be in the official language of the region or community. In 2006, the Université catholique de Louvain, the country's largest French-speaking university, published a report Laguages spoken in Brussels. All these are spoken across the border in the Netherlands as well, and West Flemish is also spoken in French Flanders. The Dutch and French spoken in Belgium have minor differences in vocabulary and semantic nuances from the varieties spoken in the Netherlands and France. tax papers, local politics, ID/passport requests, building permits etc.) In 1970, these language regions were established in the Constitution. ‘regional native languages’) since 1990. But there have been no significant measures to support usage of those varieties. The Flemish movement began in an attempt to make the official language Dutch; it was somewhat successful in Flanders in 1873. 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