What language(s) do they speak in Belgium?

One of my joke choices in polls has been "What language do they speak in Belgium?" It is a legitimate question as I've never different answers through the years.

I just returned from 12 days in Europe, including three in Belgium. Let me say that unequivocally say that the vast majority of residents there speak FRENCH. I'm sure that any guidebook would mention Flemish (the Belgian version of Dutch) as an additional official language. Street signs have two names, one in French and one Dutch. My hotel map of Belgium was in Dutch. However, in three days there I never once knowingly heard anybody speaking Dutch/Flemish. Not that I know either Dutch or Flemish but I can tell French when I hear it and that is all that I heard coming from the locals.

My lack of French proved to be a problem in some communications. I always asked in French if they knew English and if they didn't about Spanish. I was often met with a "no" to both. It seemed to me that the most common second languages there were English first and then Italian. My Spanish never helped at all there. Never once saw a license plate from Spain either, and I am a habitual license plate checker. It wouldn't surprise me if few knew Dutch there as I didn't get the impression the Dutch and Flemish (if that also a term for citizens of Belgium) especially liked each other.

The question for the poll is what is your understanding of which languages are commonly spoken by residents of Belgium?

Trivia -- What is the pictured statue?



Next, I'll have to get to the bottom of the language situation in Switzerland.

In Belgium, the Communauté française refers to one of the three constituent constitutional linguistic communities.

If you were in the red portion of Belgium, then they speak French


Little boy has been urinating for 4 centuries.

Back in 1985 I attended language school (English) in Cambridge, England for 4 weeks (I already spoke fluent English then, but that's another story). Among the people I hung around with were two Belgians. FWIW Both spoke Flemish but only one spoke French.

Quote: Pacomartin

Little boy has been urinating for 4 centuries.

In public. You try that and they'll arrest
you.

Quote: Nareed

FWIW Both spoke Flemish but only one spoke French.

As I understand it , "Flemish" is a colloquial word for Belgian Dutch.

However, it differs only in intonation and pronunciation, and minor differences in vocabulary, possibly by much less variation than that between Australian-English, American-English, British-English, and Canadian-English.

Quote: Pacomartin

In Belgium, the Communauté française refers to one of the three constituent constitutional linguistic communities.

Strange such a fairly small country would have three different language regions. I never made it out of Brussels so can't comment on anywhere but there.

Quote: Wizard

Strange such a fairly small country would have three different language regions.

I've always regarded the lowlands as a bargaining chip in Europe. Part of the Spanish Netherlands, a portion of the Hapsburg Empire, and it's present form as an outgrowth of the Napoleonic political wars.

Perhaps even more remarkable than a tiny country having three language regions, is that there is no true Belgian language, just languages from three neighbors spoken with a local accent

Quote: Wizard

I never made it out of Brussels so can't comment on anywhere but there.

It seems that Brussels has an even more unique history than the rest of Belgium, in what is referred to as the Francisation de Bruxelles .



Since Brussels is only 1/4 of your trip, are you posting a complete blog. Were you gambling?

Quote: Pacomartin

Since Brussels is only 1/4 of your trip, are you posting a complete blog. Were you gambling?

I don't know that I'm going to write a full trip report, as the reader probably wouldn't find it that interesting. I will write reports on the casinos I visited in Brussels and Amsterdam.

Quote: Wizard

I don't know that I'm going to write a full trip report, as the reader probably wouldn't find it that interesting. I will write reports on the casinos I visited in Brussels and Amsterdam.

Did you take the Las Vegas nonstop: Eurowings to Cologne/Bonn (CGN), or Condor to Frankfurt, or did you take a connection?

Quote: Pacomartin

Did you take the Las Vegas nonstop: Eurowings to Cologne/Bonn (CGN), or Condor to Frankfurt, or did you take a connection?

I took Condor. Same airline as my previous European trip to Germany.

On the way there I made a connection in Manchester onto Amsterdam. The flight between Manchester and Amsterdam was some economy airline I never heard of in a plane with only about 100 seats.

On the way back I took Lufthansa to Frankfurt, Condor to Minneapolis, and Sun Country to Vegas. There was an enormous line in Amsterdam for Lufthansa and it seemed to be moving very slowly. Fortunately, I was in business class on the way home and got to stand in a shorter line but it was still about an hour. Inside the terminal in the Lufthansa customer service area there were at least 100 angry people who I presume missed flights due to the long time at check in. Some of them were just livid. I relay this story as a warning about that airline.

Sun Country was a total economy nickle and dime airline. I was dead tired on that leg and slept the whole way.