Belgium is a small country with three official languages, a capital that is officially bilingual, and a long argument about who speaks what. For outsiders the most confusing part is Flemish. Is it a language? A dialect? Just Dutch with a different accent?
Here is the short version.
Watch: Belgian Dutch: Why Did Flanders Import Its Own Standard? · More videos
Is Flemish a separate language?
No, not as a standard language. The official language of Flanders is Dutch, the same standard language used in the Netherlands. Since 1980 both countries have run a joint body, the Dutch Language Union (Nederlandse Taalunie), that governs spelling and grammar together.
“Flemish” is what people call the Dutch spoken in Flanders, with its own accents, words and dialects. The West Flemish dialects in particular can be hard to follow even for other Dutch speakers.
How is Belgian Dutch different?
Belgian speakers use the soft g instead of the throaty northern one, and their vowels sound different. Vocabulary differs too: a Fleming calls a mobile phone a gsm, while a Dutch person says mobiel. And in everyday life many Flemings speak tussentaal, “in-between language”, a relaxed mix of standard Dutch and regional dialect.
Book tip
A History of the Low Countries by Paul Arblaster
A readable history of Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg as one region. It explains how the borders and language lines ended up where they are today.
What are the three official languages of Belgium?
Dutch, spoken by roughly 60 percent of Belgians, mainly in Flanders. French, spoken by most of the rest, mainly in Wallonia and by the majority in Brussels. And German, spoken by a small community of around 80,000 people in the east, near the German border. Brussels is officially bilingual, French and Dutch.
Why is Belgium not part of the Netherlands?
The southern provinces were part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands from 1815. In 1830 they revolted and Belgium became independent. Religion, politics and language all played a role, and the video above tells that story in full.
What does this have to do with Frisian?
The Netherlands has its own language story, in the north. In Friesland, many people speak Frisian, a separate language with its own history. It is not a dialect of Dutch the way Flemish is a variety of Dutch. Frisian is legally recognised, and a national law on its use in Friesland took effect in 2014.
Read why and how Frisian is different from Dutch, or start learning with our free beginner lessons.
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