What is the difference between the Flemish and the Walloons?
As concerns the attitude towards foreigners, Flemings are more concerned about maintaining their own culture, while the Walloons are more concerned about the alleged economic and social threat. Other differences with regard to values exist, but are relatively small from a comparative perspective.
How long does it take to learn Flemish?
Germanic languages
| Afrikaans | about 575 hours or 23 weeks |
|---|---|
| Danish | about 575 hours or 23 weeks |
| Dutch | about 575 hours or 23 weeks |
| Norwegian | about 575 hours or 23 weeks |
| Swedish | about 575 hours or 23 weeks |
Why do Walloons speak French?
Because of long Spanish and minor French rule, French became the sole official language. After a brief period with Dutch as the official language while the region was part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, the people reinstated French after achieving independence in 1830.
What is Walloon culture?
The Walloons, who live in Belgium’s southern provinces, are the country’s French-speaking inhabitants. Their culture contrasts with that of the Flemings, who inhabit the northern part of the country and speak Flemish, a language similar to Dutch.
Is Flemish same as Dutch?
After all, Flemish is defined in the Oxford Dictionary as the “Dutch language spoken in Northern Belgium”. So, the terms ‘Flemish’ and ‘Belgian Dutch’ actually refer to the same language. Whatever you do with this new-found knowledge, please do not head to Flanders to tell the locals they speak a dialect of Dutch.
Is Walloon a Germanic language?
Language family Walloon is distinguished from other languages in the langue d’oïl family both by archaism coming from Latin and by its significant borrowing from Germanic languages, as expressed in its phonetics, its lexicon, and its grammar.
What language do Walloons speak?
French
The Walloons, who make up about one-third of the Belgian population, speak dialects of French and live chiefly in the south and east.
Where do the Flemings and Walloons speak?
The language frontier between northern Flemings and southern Walloons has remained virtually unchanged ever since, although there are Dutch speakers in the south and French speakers in the north.
What is the Walloon language?
Legally, Walloon has been recognized since 1990 by the French Community of Belgium, the cultural authority of Wallonia, as an “indigenous regional language” which must be studied in schools and encouraged.
Why did the Walloons create a language barrier?
With its economic growth rapidly moving past that of Wallonia, whose mining industries were faltering, the Walloons now agreed on the creation of a language barrier over fear of being overpowered and turning Flemish.
How did the French language develop in Wallonia?
When the Franks finally pushed through to take over most of Gaul, the area now described as Wallonia was already steeped in the Roman language that would later evolve into French.