How many languages are spoken in Belgium?
67307#20
Belgium's three official languages are Dutch, spoken by 59% of the population, French, spoken by 40%, and German, spoken by less than 1%. The vast majority of Belgium's population, 99%, is literate as defined by the Belgian government, i.e. capable of reading and writing in an official language by the time a citizen has reached the age of 15.
Demographics of Belgium
2499086#0
Because Belgium is a multilingual country, Belgian literature is divided into two main linguistic branches following the two most prominently spoken languages in the country - Dutch and French. German is the third language in Belgium and is spoken by a small community of about 70,000 German-speakers of the German-speaking Community of Belgium bordering on Germany.
Belgian literature
8236468#3
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. The main Dutch dialects spoken in Belgium are Brabantian, West Flemish, East Flemish and Limburgish. All these are spoken across the border in the Netherlands as well, and West Flemish is also spoken in French Flanders. Much like English, Flemish dialects have adopted much more French and other Romance vocabulary through mutual cultural exchange throughout history when compared with other Dutch dialects and as such they are not always readily intelligible for Dutch speakers outside Flanders. Words which are unique to Belgian Dutch are called "belgicisms" (as are words used primarily in Belgian French). The original Brabantian dialect of Brussels has been very much influenced by French. It is now spoken by a minority in the Capital region since the language of most inhabitants shifted during the Frenchification of Brussels.
Languages of Belgium
8236468#0
The Kingdom of Belgium has three official languages: Dutch, French, and German. A number of non-official, minority languages and dialects are spoken as well.
Languages of Belgium
3343#57
Belgium has three official languages: Dutch, French and German. A number of non-official minority languages are spoken as well.
As no census exists, there are no official statistical data regarding the distribution or usage of Belgium's three official languages or their dialects. However, various criteria, including the language(s) of parents, of education, or the second-language status of foreign born, may provide suggested figures. An estimated 60% of the Belgian population are native speakers of Dutch (often referred to as Flemish), and 40% of the population speaks French natively. French-speaking Belgians are often referred to as Walloons, although the French speakers in Brussels are not Walloons.
Belgium
8236468#11
In addition to the three official languages, others are spoken in Belgium, like in Wallonia, where French became dominant only relatively recently. Sometimes seen as dialects, the varieties related to French have been recognized by the French Community as separate languages ("", ‘regional native languages’) since 1990, without, however, taking any further significant measures to support those varieties.
Languages of Belgium
8236468#2
Before the federal structure and the language legislation gradually introduced in the 20th century, French was generally the only language used by public authorities. For example, the Dutch version of the Constitution has enjoyed equal status to the original French one only since 1967, and the German version only since 1991.
Of the inhabitants of Belgium, roughly 59% belong to the Flemish Community, 40% to the French Community and 1% to the German-speaking Community, though these figures relating to official Belgian languages include unknown numbers of immigrants and their children speaking a foreign language as primary language, and of Belgian regional migrants which may be assumed to largely balance one another for natively French and Dutch speakers. Though the standard form of Dutch used in Belgium is almost identical to that spoken in the Netherlands and the different dialects spread across the border, it is often colloquially called "Flemish".
Languages of Belgium
8236468#5
German is the least prevalent official language in Belgium, spoken natively by less than 1% of the population. The German-speaking Community of Belgium numbers 77,000, residing in an area of Belgium that was ceded by the former German Empire as part of the Treaty of Versailles, which concluded World War I. In 1940, Nazi Germany re-annexed the region following its invasion of Belgium during World War II; after the war it was returned to Belgium.
Languages of Belgium
48382449#2
The position of Dutch in Belgium has improved considerably over the past 50 years at the expense of French, which once dominated strongly in political, economic and cultural life. The main reasons for this are the strengthened economic position of Flanders and the problematic situation of heavy industry in Wallonia since the 1960s. The position of Standard Dutch as a general language has been reinforced at the expense of the previously almost exclusive use of the dialects as spoken languages. Incidentally, the status of the spoken Dutch standard is floating, which means that they are used at the socially higher level according to the rules that are also applicable in the Netherlands, but at the lower levels and especially in the local communication in many gradations to a dialect . For a long time a Flemish standard has existed as a close variant of Standard Dutch existence, the so-called "Schoonvlaams". The spoken standard was also under the influence of Antwerp for a long time as a dialect with high status, which also applied outside this city.
Dutch in Belgium
8236468#21
Yiddish is spoken by many among the 20,000 Ashkenazi Jews living in Antwerp. The Yiddish community there is among the strongest in Europe, and one of the few Jewish communities worldwide in which Yiddish remains the dominant language (others include Kiryas Joel, New York, and similar Ashkenazi neighborhoods in the United States, London, Paris, Montreal and Israel).
Languages of Belgium
8236468#4
The second-most spoken primary (Belgian) language, used natively by almost 40% of the population, is French. 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. Almost all of the inhabitants of the Capital region speak French as either their primary language (50%) or as a lingua franca (45%). There are also many Flemish people who speak French as a second language. Belgian French is in most respects identical to standard, Parisian French, but differs in some points of vocabulary, pronunciation, and semantics.
Languages of Belgium