2006-11-23 15:35:48 · 13 answers · asked by evelyn o 1 in Society & Culture ➔ Languages
Official languages are:
1. Dutch
2. French
3. German
Straddling the cultural boundary between Germanic and Romance Europe, Belgium is linguistically divided.
It has two main languages: 59% of the whole Belgian population, being 6.18 million people in the north, mainly in the region Flanders, speak Dutch (while Belgians of both major languages often refer to it as Flemish)
French is spoken by 40% of the entire Belgian population, about 4.17 million people
3.29 million in the southern region Wallonia and an estimated 0.88 million in the officially bilingual Brussels-Capital Region or 85-90% of its residents – thus a minority there speaks Dutch.
Less than 1% of the Belgian people, around 70,000 citizens, live in the German-speaking Community in the east of Wallonia. This linguistic diversity often leads to political and cultural conflict and is reflected in Belgium's complex system of government and political history.
2006-11-23 15:48:51 · answer #1 · answered by Hafiz 7 · 4⤊ 0⤋
Even though I think it was stupid how he went about expressing it in the European Parliament, I think Nigel Farage has a point about Belgium being a non-country. The division between the Flemish and the Wollons is so great, that Belgium struggles to function as a united country.
2016-05-22 21:35:00 · answer #2 · answered by Elaine 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
hi, i'm a belgian citizen. we speak dutch in the north, french in the south and german on the border with germany and luxemburg. Most people have a decent english (learnt at school, although it's not an official language like the three other ones). Enjoy your trip if you do visit Belgium (and don't forget we have 400 types of beer, an other good reason to go).
2006-11-23 16:00:54 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Flemish & French are the official languages
2006-11-24 04:53:46 · answer #4 · answered by ImAssyrian 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Flemish, Dutch and French.
2006-11-23 17:11:14 · answer #5 · answered by Icing 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's not Dutch, it's Flemish.
2016-05-08 10:28:45 · answer #6 · answered by Felix 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Mostly Flemish & French
2006-11-23 15:41:16 · answer #7 · answered by blackbird 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Flemish and French
2006-11-23 17:42:32 · answer #8 · answered by SkinnyJeff 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
French, German, Dutch and Flemish
2006-11-23 15:36:35 · answer #9 · answered by tulip70707 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Dutch and French, but they are great at accomodating English speakers. I was very impressed.
2006-11-23 15:49:49 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋