{"id":23093,"date":"2016-03-23T14:36:53","date_gmt":"2016-03-23T13:36:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/?p=23093"},"modified":"2017-10-24T15:55:47","modified_gmt":"2017-10-24T13:55:47","slug":"trilingual-belgium-what-language-do-they-speak","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/trilingual-belgium-what-language-do-they-speak\/","title":{"rendered":"Trilingual Belgium – What Language Do They Speak?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Flag<\/a>
\nDrapeau de la Belgique (Belgian Flag)<\/p>\n

De tous les peuples de la Gaule, les Belges sont les plus braves<\/strong>
\n Of all the people of Gaul, the Belgians are the bravest.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

– Jules C\u00e9sar (Julius Cesar)<\/p>\n

After les attentats hier matin<\/strong> (the attacks yesterday morning), all our hearts are with la Belgique<\/a><\/strong> (Belgium). La capitale<\/strong> (the capital) is known as le Coeur de l\u2019Europe<\/strong> (the heart of Europe), with many of the most important parts of l\u2019Union europ\u00e9enne<\/strong> (the European Union) finding their home in Bruxelles<\/strong> (Brussels).<\/p>\n

La Belgique<\/strong> is also an important part of la francophonie<\/a><\/strong> and contributes many of the most famous chanteurs<\/strong> (singers) like Jacques Brel<\/a><\/em> and Stromae<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

However, not all of le pays<\/strong> (the country) speaks French, and that can lead to some confusion as to what language you should speak en Belgique<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The country is split between les Flamands et les Wallons<\/strong> (the Flemish and the Walloons). Les Flamands<\/strong> speak Dutch and live in the Northern half of the country while les Wallons<\/strong> speak French and live in the Southern half. There is also a small part of la Belgique<\/strong> that speaks German!<\/p>\n

En fait<\/strong> (in fact), le pays<\/strong> is officially trilingual and le fran\u00e7ais, le n\u00e9erlandais et l’allemand <\/strong>(French, Dutch, and German) are all official languages!<\/p>\n

\"Image<\/a>
\nLanguages of Belgium by Vascer<\/a>, Knorck<\/a> \u2014 CC BY-SA 3.0.<\/a>
\nGold: Flemish Community<\/a> (Dutch language) Red: French Community<\/a> Blue: German-speaking Community<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Pourquoi parle-t-on<\/a> fran\u00e7ais en Belgique alors ?<\/strong>
\nThen why do they speak French in Belgium?<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

La Belgique<\/strong> entered written history in the year -57 with the Roman conquest of Gaul by Jules C\u00e9sar<\/em>. Les Romains<\/strong> <\/a>(the Romans) divided Gaul into different provinces, including Gallia Belgica<\/em>, an area in Northeastern Gaul populated by the Belgae<\/em>, which is where la Belgique<\/strong> gets its name.<\/p>\n

Les Romains<\/strong> brought their language and culture, which had a huge impact on the history of le pays<\/strong>, and led to une partie de la Belgique<\/strong> (a part of Belgium) speaking French today.<\/p>\n

Mais les Flamands ne parlent pas fran\u00e7ais ?<\/strong>
\n But the the Flemish do not speak French?<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

After the fall of l\u2019empire romain<\/strong> (the Roman Empire) la Belgique<\/strong> passed between many different kingdoms and empires falling under the influence of both their French neighbors in the West and their Germanic neighbors in the East.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t until 1830 that la Belgique<\/strong> gained independence after passing under French and Dutch control a few more times. All that had a lasting impact and gave la Belgique<\/strong> the trilingual status that it has today.<\/p>\n

En plus de cela<\/strong> (on top of that), Bruxelles<\/strong> is a French speaking city, but is located in the Dutch speaking part of le pays<\/strong>!<\/p>\n

While there are often many fun things to say about les Belges<\/a><\/strong> (Belgians), they are an important part of la francophonie<\/a>, l\u2019Europe et le monde<\/strong> (the francophonie, Europe, and the world). Les attentats <\/strong>have everyone looking at la Belgique<\/strong>, and it’s a good moment to learn more about ce pays formidable<\/a><\/strong> (this wonderful country).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

Drapeau de la Belgique (Belgian Flag) De tous les peuples de la Gaule, les Belges sont les plus braves Of all the people of Gaul, the Belgians are the bravest. – Jules C\u00e9sar (Julius Cesar) After les attentats hier matin (the attacks yesterday morning), all our hearts are with la Belgique (Belgium). La capitale (the…<\/p>\n

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