Today, Belgium is at the crossroads of Europe, bordering France, Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Due to this, the languages of Belgium are some of the most diverse in Europe (and that’s saying something!)
Currently, there literally thousands of languages spoken in Belgium, ranging from some of the world’s most spoken languages, to small languages you’ve never heard of, which are spoken by only a handful of people in a small Belgian village…
Official Languages of Belgium
According to the Belgian Constitution, there are three official languages of Belgium, which most Belgian citizen are able to speak at least two of. These languages include…
Dutch
By far the most spoken of Belgium’s three official languages is Dutch. Currently, Dutch is the official language of the Flanders region (basically all of northern Belgium) as well as enjoying co-official status with French in the Brussels Capital Region (basically the Brussels metropolitan area).
Officially, this Dutch is Belgian Dutch, which differs slightly from the Dutch spoken in the Netherlands. However, in reality, outside of school and work (or any other formal environment), most people speak one of several Dutch dialects spoken in the country.
Currently, the most prevalent of these Dutch dialects are West Flemish, East Flemish, Brabantian and Limburgish, with the two Flemish dialects being by far the two most spoken dialects.
With that being said, due to its close proximity to France and other romance language-speaking people, Belgian Dutch has acquired several “Belgicisms“, that is to say Dutch words that have been replaced by their French counterparts (a process that also happened to English after 1066).
Today, the Belgian government estimates that roughly 60% of the Belgian population (6.5 million people) speak Dutch as a first language, almost exclusively in the northern Flanders region of Belgium and Brussels.
With that being said, recent years have seen French displace Dutch as the everyday working language in much of Brussels and the surrounding areas, mostly due to the increase in French-speaking delegates there for the EU.
French
When you think of French-speaking countries in Europe, your mind probably goes straight to France. And you’d be forgiven for thinking that France was the only country in Europe where French was the official language, even if that’s not strictly true.
Historically, much of modern-day Belgium was a part of France. Over the centuries, France lost this territory to the Austrian/Spanish Habsburgs who merged it into modern-day Netherlands. Over time, however, these former-French lands gained their own independence, forming modern Belgium.
Despite being under Habsburg control for several hundred years, these lands never stopped speaking French. In fact, its what defined them for so long, and was ultimately what caused them to seek independence from the Netherlands in the early 19th century.
Today, according to the Belgian Constitution, French is the official language the Wallonia region (basically all of southern Belgium). The language also enjoys co-official status in the Brussels Capital Region alongside Flemish.
According to the most recent Belgian government surveys, French is the second most prevalent first language in Belgium, being spoken by roughly 50% of the population, mostly in the south.
German
By far the least spoken of Belgium’s three official languages is German. Whilst not particularly well spoken as a first language, German is quite well spoken as a second in Belgium.
This is mostly in Wallonia, where many believe it’s a more useful language than Dutch (in terms of number of the number of countries that use it in Europe, as well as the fact that German has more speakers than Dutch does!)
For the most part, Belgium’s native German speakers are a holdout from the Treaty of Versailles. During the war, Germany had illegally invaded Belgium and occupied it, whilst destroying the countryside fighting against the Entente.
After the war, Germany was stripped of much of its land by the Treaty of Versailles. Whilst most of this land went to the British and French, a small part on the Belgian-German border went to Belgium.
Over 100 years later, even after be re-annexed by Nazi Germany (and then returned after WWII) these former German lands still speak German. To keep these German-speaking Belgians happy, German was made an official language of Belgium in 1990.
Currently, the Belgian government estimates that there are roughly 75,000 to 77,000 native German speakers in Belgium, most of whom are in the areas of Belgium that once belonged to the German Empire.
With that being said, a further 1-2 million Walloons speak German to a fairly high standard as a second language. Mostly, these people learned it at school, with many of them still using German due to the nature of their job.
Regional Languages of Belgium
Whilst there are three official languages of Belgium, there are many more regional languages, which are native to the various different Belgian provinces…
Walloon
Do you remember earlier when I said that Wallonia spoke French? Whilst that’s true, it’s not the same French as you’d hear in France, although they are quite similar. Instead, Belgian French has a lot of Walloon influence in it.
Traditionally, all of Wallonia (the southern part of Belgium) spoke Walloon. In fact, the whole reason why Belgium is a country is because the Walloon-speaking Walloons didn’t have representation in the Netherlands.
As such, they revolted and started their own country. For diplomatic reasons, French was established as the official language, whilst Walloon was the everyday language of the Walloon people.
For most the part, the Walloons would speak both French and Walloon due to how mutually intelligible they are.
However, recent years have seen many Walloons begin to prefer French over their ancestral tongue due to French being more useful for careers and everyday life. Due to this, Walloon has become an endangered language.
With that being said, some more traditional young Walloons are lobbying the Walloon government to revitalize the language by making it so that it taught in schools, much like Welsh is in Wales or Cornish in Cornwall (both in the neighboring UK).
Seeing this, the Walloon regional government made it an official language in 1990 alongside many of the other regional languages of Belgium.
According to the Walloon government, there are roughly 600,000 people in Belgium speak the language as either a first or second language.
Picard
However, Walloon isn’t the only regional language spoken in Wallonia. On top of Walloon, there’s also Picard, a closely related romance language, also spoken in Belgian Wallonia.
Currently, it is estimated that there are around 700,000 native Picard speakers mostly in France and Belgium. Of those 700,000 Picard speakers, it’s estimated that roughly 300,000 of them are located in Belgian Wallonia.
Historically speaking, much of the Franco-Belgian border was its own semi-independent state known as Picardy, where one of their defining traits was the Picard language which differentiated them from other groups around them.
Over time, Picardy was broken up between France and modern-day Belgium. Despite this, many of the modern-day Picards have continued to speak the language their families have spoken for generations.
With that being said, many young Picards have chosen to stop learning the language in favor of French, much like their Walloon cousins have. Due to this, the language has become severely endangered, with most of its speakers being over the age of 65.
Unlike Walloon, however, there doesn’t seem to be any person/organization/political party looking to revitalize the language. From what I’ve found, there’s a few Facebook groups with a handful of “activists” that mainly posts angry Facebook messages about how it should be more widely spoken!
Luxembourgish
Looking at the history of Belgium, you’ll that much of it is intertwined with that of its southern neighbor, Luxembourg. Indeed, the Belgian province of Luxembourg (also known as Belgian Luxembourg) used to belong to Luxembourg!
For the most part, Belgian Luxembourg speaks French, much like the rest of the Wallonia region. However, along the border of Belgian Luxembourg and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, there are a large number of people who speak Luxembourgish alongside Walloon/French.
However, the Belgian Luxembourgers speak a dialect of Luxembourgish that sounds somewhat strange to Luxembourg Luxembourgers, is that Belgian Luxembourgers speak a dialect of Luxembourgish called Areler (named for the city of Arlon which has the most Areler speakers).
Despite it being spoken by a large minority in Wallonia, the Walloon government only formally recognized the language in 1990. However, they didn’t recognize it as either Areler or Luxembourgish, but rather Franconian (as it’s a blanket term used to describe several related languages).
According to the most recent surveys, there are roughly 50,000 native Areler speakers mostly in Arlon as well as many villages on the Belgian Luxembourg-Luxembourg border.
Sadly, as with many regional languages, Areler is dying out due to the fact that younger generations simply aren’t learning the language as many of them believe it’s a waste of time, as it’s not one of Belgium’s official languages.
Yiddish
Today, the Belgian city of Antwerp is home to one of the strongest Ashkenazi Jewish communities in the world. Whilst most other Jewish communities have assimilated, beginning to use the local language, Antwerp’s Jews haven’t.
Instead, they’ve continued to speak Yiddish, a language spoken for centuries by Europe’s Ashkenazi Jews (essentially a combination of Biblical Hebrew and German, written in the Hebrew script).
For the most part, Antwerp’s Jews live in the Antwerp city center, with the highest concentration being a stone’s throw away from the Antwerp Railway Station.
Many of them work in the jewelry quarter, where the Jewish community have worked for centuries, often operating most of Antwerp’s diamond cutters and dealers.
With that being said, many younger generations have moved away from Antwerp’s city center instead choosing to live in the suburbs around Antwerp, most of which were built specifically for (and by) the Ashkenazi Jewish community.
As of the time of writing, Antwerp’s Ashkenazi Jewish community numbers around 20,000, all of whom can speak Yiddish to either a native or near native level.
Immigrant Languages of Belgium
Beyond just Belgium’s official and regional languages, there are also hundreds of immigrant languages spoken in the country. Whilst not an exhaustive list by any means, by far the most spoken are…
English
Over the course of the 1960’s, successive British prime ministers raised taxes heavily. Due to this, many wealthier Brits, mostly international businessmen, chose to leave the country in favor of European countries, mostly Switzerland, France and Belgium.
By the late 1970’s, Britain had joined the EU, thus sending delegates to the EU’s capital, Brussels (which also happens to be the capital of Belgium too!) Due to this, many of these delegates have become residents of Belgium.
As a member of the EU, British citizens are entitled to live and work in the EU. Thanks to this, many British citizens have chosen to move to Belgium, owing to how connected it is to the rest of Europe, as well as Brussels being a major business center too.
Owing largely to these latter reasons, a number of American, Canadian and Australian businessmen have all moved to the country too, especially those involved in the diamond/jewelry business (although this has been to Antwerp, for the jewelry/diamond industry there!)
According to the most recent Belgian government surveys, there are roughly 100,000 native English speakers in Belgium, mostly in and around the Antwerp and Brussels metropolitan areas.
On top of this, a large majority of Belgian children learn English at school, due to English’s role as the world’s de facto lingua franca. Thanks to this, roughly 38% of the Belgian population (4.4 million people) speak English as a second language.
Arabic
Over the last twenty years or so, high-skilled professionals in Arabic-speaking countries have chosen to leave their birth country in search of a better life for themselves and their children.
For the most part, these Arabic-speaking immigrants have moved to places like the UK, US and Canada. However, much of western Europe has become quite popular destinations for these immigrants.
Whilst it by no means has the largest Arabic-speaking community in Europe, Belgium is home to around 450,000 native Arabic speakers, most of whom live in the city centers, with the largest groups being in Antwerp and Brussels (but to a lesser extent places like Bruges, Ghent and Leuven).
For the most part, these Arabic-speaking immigrants do high-skilled jobs mostly in the engineering and medical fields. In some areas, almost all engineers and medical professionals are native Arabic-speakers.
Whilst by no means the only area these immigrants come from, most of Belgium’s Arabic-speaking immigrants come from North African countries, particularly former French colonies of Morocco and Algeria, many of whom are also native Berber speakers too.
Due to this, most of Belgium’s Arabic speakers speak the Maghrebi Arabic dialect. With that being said, there are also small numbers of Arabic-speaking immigrants from places like the UAE, who mostly live in Antwerp and are connected to the diamond/jewelry industry there.
Turkish
However, it hasn’t just been Arabic-speaking immigrants from places like the UAE, which have come to Antwerp for its diamond/jewelry industry. So have many Turkish immigrants.
For the most part, these Turkish immigrants have become diamond dealers/jewelers. As a result, many of them have set up shops in the quarter, catering to other dealers, or the general public (or both!)
Due to this, almost all of these Turkish immigrants live in and around the city center, usually a stone’s throw away from Antwerp’s famed jewelry quarter (with many living above their shops).
With that being said, many Turkish immigrants who’ve immigrated in recent years, Antwerp has gotten quite crowded. Instead, many of them have chosen to move to Brussels, where they’ve successfully opened several independent, high-end jewelers there!
According to the Belgian government, they estimate that there are around 150,000 native Turkish speakers spread throughout the country, with most being in Antwerp.
Italian
Over the course of the late 19th century, people all across modern-day Italy rose up in what we now call the Wars of Italian Unification. Whilst a noble goal that ultimately succeeded, these wars ravaged large parts of modern-day Italy, creating millions of refugees.
Whilst the overwhelming majority of these Italians fled to the United States, many merchants and businessmen chose to move to Belgium owing to its long history as a center of European trade, moving particularly to places like Brussels and Antwerp.
In more recent history, Italy has joined the EU, which has allowed Italian citizens to live and work in other EU countries. Thanks to this, many Italians have chosen to leave the economically weaker south in search of a better life, with many moving to Belgium.
Here, these Italian do various jobs, which often dictates where they end up living. For many highly educated Italians, they’ve taken up high-skilled office jobs in most industries, which sees them living in major Belgian cities such as Brussels, Antwerp and Ghent.
For many of the more entrepreneurial Italian immigrants, they’ve chosen to bring a piece of home with them to Belgium by opening up Italian-style cafes, or pizzerias, or even general Italian restaurants!
According to the Belgian government, they estimate that there are roughly 110,000 native Italian speakers spread throughout the country. Depending on where you live, some Belgian school children do learn Italian at school, although this isn’t particularly common…
What do you think of the languages of Belgium? Do you speak any of them? Tell me in the comments!