Languages

One country, three languages. Belgium is officially divided into three language regions.

Dutch is the official language of Flanders, French is the language of Wallonia and German is spoken in the small Ostkantone region of the eastern Ardennes. Brussels, the capital, is a bilingual enclave within Flanders, with both French and Dutch given equal status. The language map dates from the fall of the Roman Empire, when Germanic tribes poured across the low-lying land of Flanders, but failed to drive out the Romanised Celts in the forested uplands in the south. As result, the country straddles the dividing line between German and Latin civilisations. For some, this is one of the country’s strengths, while for others it is seen as a fatal weakness. Inspired by the civil rights movements in America, Dutch speakers began to assert their language rights in the 1960s, leading in 1962 to the creation of a language frontier dividing the country into different linguistic regions. Further reforms came in 1980, when a new constitution created the three autonomous regions of Brussels, Flanders and Wallonia. As a result of these creeping reforms, Belgium is now a deeply divided country, where Flanders and Wallonia have separate television stations, newspapers, schools and libraries. Most readers of Dutch newspapers know little about events in Wallonia, while those who get their news from French language papers are only vaguely aware of anything that happens north of Brussels. Belgium is officially divided into three language regions.

Talking Brussels

For many centuries, Brussels was a Dutch speaking city, located just to the north of the language watershed. The French-speaking population began to dominate the city administration in the 15th century and grew significantly after 1830, when many Walloons moved to Brussels to work in the new French-speaking administration. The Dutch speakers gradually became a minority, mainly concentrated in the poorer quarters of the city. The Flemish government is now trying to persuade Dutch speakers to move into Brussels, but the results so far have been disappointing and the Dutch-speaking population continues to decline. According to the most recent figures, 150,000 Flemish people live in Brussels out of a total population of about one million.

Flemish suburbs

Living in the Brabant countryside outside Brussels might seem idyllic, but there can be serious language problems. Most of the suburban belt is Dutch-speaking, apart from Waterloo, Lasne and La Hulpe. You find the same style of houses and the same rents on both sides of the language divide, yet the two regions have different languages and cultures. Anyone who seriously wants to use French as their everyday language should look for a house in the French-speaking communes of Walloon Brabant. Someone who decides to settle in the Flemish Region should make an effort to learn Dutch. The original population of the Flemish belt was Dutch-speaking, but the population has been transformed over the past fifty years by French-speakers and international expatriates. In six of the Flemish towns, French speakers now have some language rights (Drogenbos, Linkebeek, Sint-Genesius Rode, Kraainem, Wezembeek-Oppem and Wemmel). Here, French speakers have been granted the right to administrative services and education in French. The Flemish Government recently argued that these rights were only granted for a limited period, leading to fresh tensions. In other Flemish towns, all official documents are in Dutch only.

Language problems

While the language dispute provides material for regular newspaper editorials, it barely ruffles the lives of expatriates (or many Belgians, for that matter). For most foreigners living in Belgium, it merely provides occasional cultural confusion, as when someone fails to realise that Braine-le-Comte and ‘s-Gravenbrakel are the same place. Yet there are occasional unpleasant incidents. Someone who chooses to speak Dutch in a Brussels café can get a chilly reception. And it is not a good idea to speak French in a local café in Overijse if you want to get along with the locals. The language issue is far from simple and many Belgians have a complex identity, composed of different cultural influences.