The German-speaking Community of Belgium (German: Deutschsprachige Gemeinschaft Belgiens, short DGB) is one of the three federal communities in Belgium. It is the main part of the so-called East Cantons (German: Ost-Kantone) of Belgium.
German is the language used in the civil service, in schools, and in courts. The DG lies in the eastern part of Belgium, covering an area of 854 km² along the nation’s borders with Germany, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg.
How does the German-speaking community of Belgium work?
Within Belgium, the German-speaking Community exercises its political powers on the German-speaking territory, which comprises nine municipalities. Eupen is the seat of the government, the parliament and the administrative centre. The municipalities of Malmedy and Weismes belong to the territorial community of the French Community of Belgium.
What percentage of the population of Belgium speak a foreign language?
Of the inhabitants of Belgium, roughly 59% belong to the Flemish Community, 40% to the French Community and 1% to the German-speaking Community, though these figures relating to official Belgian languages include unknown numbers of immigrants and their children speaking a foreign language as primary language,
What languages are spoken in the Kingdom of Belgium?
The Kingdom of Belgium has three official languages: Dutch, French, and German. A number of non-official, minority languages and dialects are spoken as well.
What region of Belgium speaks German?
History. The area known today as the East Cantons consists of the German-speaking Community and the municipalities of Malmedy and Waimes (German: Weismes), which belong to the French Community of Belgium.
Is German spoken in Belgium?
Like any other country, Belgium also has official languages. These are Dutch, French and German. These three languages are spoken in areas that are more or less delineated.
Which cities speak German in Belgium?
These are predominantly German-speaking Belgian nationals, but also Walloon, Flemish and foreign citizens. The area consists of the municipalities of Amel, Büllingen, Burg-Reuland, Bütgenbach, Eupen, Kelmis, Lontzen, Raeren and St. Vith.
Is German spoken in Brussels?
Brussels capital region is officially bilingual so all road sides and documents are written in French and Dutch. German is only spoken in the Ardennes area by 1% of the population. Currently around 80% of the population in Brussels speak French as their first language.
Why do people in Belgium speak German?
The German-speaking part of Belgium only became part of the Kingdom as a result of the Treaty of Versailles, at the end of World War I, when it was ceded to Belgium by the former German Empire. Germany took it back during World War II, but it was subsequently returned to Belgium.
What is the dialect of Alsace called?
Alsatian is a Germanic dialect spoken in Alsace. Even though the French government forbade the use of Germanic languages in schools in 1945, the dialect saw something of a revival in the 1970s when a number of independent movements fought against the state’s crackdown on regional languages.
Is Belgium more French or Dutch?
Belgium’s Linguistic Makeup
Technically, they speak Belgian-Dutch, which is usually referred to as Flemish. Flemish is pretty close to the Dutch spoken in the Netherlands. In Brussels and the south — what’s called the Wallonia region — you’ll mostly hear French.
Is Flemish same as Dutch?
Belgium has three official languages: Dutch, French and German. In Flanders, the northern part of Belgium, people speak Dutch. Most of the time, this variant of Dutch is called Flemish.
How do you say hello in Belgium?
Most people in Belgium speak French, with a small portion of the Belgian population speaking Dutch (Flemish).
Belgian Phrases.
| Hello: Salut | Pronounced: Sal oo |
|---|---|
| Good Evening: Bonsoir | Pronounced: Bon swar |
| Good Morning/Afternoon: Bonjor | Pronounced: Bon jor |
| Thank You: Merci | Pronounced: Mer see |
Is Belgium Germanic or French?
Use
| Distribution of languages of Belgium | |
|---|---|
| Dutch (Flemish) | 55% |
| French | 39% |
| German | 1% |
What percent of people speak German in Belgium?
Of Belgium’s total population, 59 per cent lives in the Flemish region and speaks Dutch language. Another 40 per cent people live in the Wallonia region and speak French. Remaining 1 per cent of the Belgians speak German.
What is the first language in Belgium?
The primary language in Belgium is Dutch, spoken by approximately 60% of the population. The Flemish dialect is almost identical to the Dutch spoken across the border in the Netherlands, but some differences in vocabulary have led some to refer to the language colloquially as ‘Flemish’.
What do they speak in Ghent?
In Ghent, people speak “flemish” which is basically dutch but with a bit different pronunciation and some other words here and there.
Is Brussels more French or Flemish?
Brussels is bilingual: French and Dutch are the official languages there. Yet Brussels is home to only a minority of Flemish people. This may sound strange, but the reason is simple. For centuries, Brussels was a Dutch-speaking city and today it is still the capital of Flanders.
What language do they speak in Bruges?
The Bruges dialect (Standard Dutch and West Flemish: Brugs) is a West Flemish dialect used in Bruges.
What parts of Belgium speak Dutch?
Dutch is the mother tongue of about 60% of the population in Belgium, spoken by approximately 6.5 million out of a population of 11 million people. It is the only official language in Flanders, that is to say the provinces of Antwerp, Flemish Brabant, Limburg, and East Flanders and West Flanders.
What language do the Walloons speak?
The Walloons, who make up about one-third of the Belgian population, speak dialects of French and live chiefly in the south and east. The religion of the vast majority of both groups is Roman Catholicism. Originally, the area of Belgium was a part of Gaul in Roman times and was inhabited by Romanized Celts.
Is German spoken in Belgium?
German is the least prevalent official language in Belgium, spoken natively by less than 1% of the population. The German-speaking Community of Belgium numbers 77,000, residing in an area of Belgium that was ceded by the former German Empire as part of the Treaty of Versailles, which concluded World War I.
What is the German-speaking community of Belgium?
Bordering the Netherlands, Germany and Luxembourg, the area has its own parliament and government at Eupen. The German-speaking Community of Belgium is composed of the German-speaking parts of the lands that were annexed in 1920 from Germany.
What is the German minority in Belgium called?
The German minority has its own rights there. Occasionally, the nine German-speaking communities, together with the communities of Malmedy and Weismes, are historically called East Belgium or East Cantons because of their common political past, formerly also as Eupen-Malmedy-St. Vith.
What language do they speak in Brussels?
Marols, also known as Brusseleir, is a nearly extinct dialect spoken in Brussels, and used primarily in informal contexts. It is mostly a mixture of French and Dutch influences. Marols originated from the Brabantian dialect and gained greater French influences after the Kingdom of Belgium was established in 1830 following the Belgian Revolution.