| Belgian French | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Français de Belgique | ||||
| Spoken in | Belgium, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, northern France | |||
| Native speakers | total speakers 6.3 million (Belgium)[1] 24.3 million (DRC)[2] 624,000 (Burundi)[3] 783,000 (Rwanda)[4] (date missing) |
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| Language family | ||||
| Official status | ||||
| Official language in | Belgium, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Burundi (as French) | |||
| Regulated by | No official regulation | |||
| Language codes | ||||
| ISO 639-3 | – | |||
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The French spoken in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Burundi, which were formerly Belgian colonies, can also be considered an offshoot of Belgian French (red on the map). Pink: Other French-speaking countries, see African French.
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Belgian French (French: français de Belgique) is the variety of French spoken mainly in the French Community of Belgium, alongside related minority regional languages such as Walloon, Picard, Champenois and Gaumais. The French spoken in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Burundi, which were formerly Belgian colonies, can also be considered an offshoot of Belgian French. French was earlier extensively used also in Flanders, especially by the region's Francophone upper classes, and its usage has decreased primarily because of the efforts of the Flemish Movement and the rise of English as a popular alternative. The role of French remains a controversial topic in Flanders, especially concerning the municipalities with language facilities. French is nonetheless a commonly known second language in Flanders. Belgian French and the French of northern France are almost identical, but there are a few distinct phonological and lexical differences.
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Historically, French-speaking Belgium was never a single political entity until being unified under French rule during the French Revolution and Napoleonic rule. Prior to that, the region had never belonged to France. It was composed of the County of Hainaut (half of which was annexed by France under Louis XIV), the County of Namur, the Prince-Bishopric of Liège, the Principality of Stavelot-Malmedy, the southern part of the Duchy of Brabant and the western part of the Duchy of Luxembourg.
Clovis's capital, Tournai (in modern Wallonia), was a Roman-founded city, and Latin was thus spoken there more than in other parts of the Low Countries. Two centuries later, the Carolingian dynasty progressively took over the power from the Merovingian kings. They were based in Aachen near Liege, at the opposite end of Wallonia. Tournai and Liège still mark the western and eastern limits of French-speaking Belgium. French is not an official language north of the notional geographic line above these two cities, though there are many Francophone families in Flanders, especially Gent, Antwerp and Kortrijk.
The Merovingian and Carolingian courts thus had a vital importance in spreading Latin to the otherwise Germanic Low Countries. Latin evolved into the Oïl dialects, and thence into modern French (and Walloon, in Wallonia) over the centuries, even though these territories historically had never belonged to France.
The proximity with northern France, the numerous intermarriages (as attested by the presence of surnames of both origins on either side of the border), the close economic relations, the French occupation between 1792 and 1815, the standarisation of French in education, as well as modern media, have all contributed in making modern Belgian French almost identical to its Gallic counterpart. In fact, the French spoken in the southern half of France is more different from standard French in both accent and usage than the one spoken in current-day Belgium.
Until the beginning of the 20th century, most residents of what is now Wallonia, the French-speaking part Belgium south of the country, spoke Walloon. Many speakers were bilingual in both French and Walloon; Walloon thus had a large influence on the development of Belgian French.
The proximity of Dutch-speaking Flanders and the Netherlands has led to a sizable lexical contribution from various Dutch dialects. To a lesser extent, the proximity of Germany and the inclusion of German speaking communities within Belgium's borders since World War I have led to some borrowings from German.
There are a few consistent phonological differences between the French spoken in France and Belgian French, but usually no more than the differences between regional dialects within France. Not everybody speaks with the same accent in French-speaking Belgium. Regional accents can vary from city to city (e.g. the famous Liège accent), but on the whole they vary more according to one's social class and education. Stronger accents are more typical of working-class people. On the other hand, many upper-middle-class Belgian Francophones speak with a neutral accent.
Major phonological differences include:
Certain accents, such as certain urban accents (notably those of Brussels and Liège), as well as the accents of older speakers, display greater deviation from Standard French pronunciation. For example, in the dialect spoken in and around Liège, particularly among older speakers, the letter "h" is pronounced in certain positions, whereas it is never pronounced in Standard French. That dialect is also known for its slow, slightly singing intonation, a feature that is even stronger further east in the Verviers area.
Words which are unique to Belgian French are called "Belgicisms" (French: belgicismes). This term is also used for Dutch words used in Belgium and not in the Netherlands. As expressed in the article related to phonological differences, upper-middle-class Belgian Francophones can understand the meaning and use of words in standard French, but can also use standard French when speaking with a speaker using standard French, as hinted by his or her accent). Overall, lexical differences between standard French and Belgian French are minor (akin to the differences that might exist between a Canadian English and British English speaker, for instance). Even so, there are too many to try to form any complete list in this article. Some of the better-known usages include:
| English | Belgian, Swiss, and Canadian French | Standard French |
|---|---|---|
| morning meal | déjeuner | petit déjeuner |
| midday meal | dîner/diner | déjeuner |
| evening meal (before going out) | souper | dîner/diner |
| late-evening meal (after going out) | N/A | souper |
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