If you know about Belgium, you know that there are predominantly three languages spoken here: Flemish, Dutch, and French. What you might not know is that the language divide is still a source of tension. The north half of the country speaks mostly Flemish while the south speaks mostly French, and in Luxembourg you’ll hear Dutch. While the city of Brussels is situated in the north, it’s one of few places in the north where you’ll mostly hear French (and a whole lot of English) walking through the streets.
Now that you have some background, let me just say that this language divide is no joke. Take a train a town or two outside of Brussels and the French slowly disappears until everything turns to Flemish.
Friendly tip: Try to pick up bits and pieces of every language.
A lot of the Flemish/Dutch people may actually be offended if you only try to speak French with them. The reason being that the French speaking population used to be known as the upper class. The rich spoke French while Flemish was the language of the poor, working class community. In fact, the French were incredibly oppressive of the Flemish community for centuries, forcing the Flemish to speak French, when in fact most of Belgium spoke Flemish. What I think we often forget is how much culture is really rooted in the language that one speaks. Language controls how we think, how we comprehend, and how we communicate, and to take that away from a population would be detrimental to that community. Because of this, the Flemish people are quite adamant about preserving their language and culture, and rightfully so.
So moral of the story, when in Flanders, try to learn some polite Flemish words or phrases:
- Please – alstublieft
- Thank you – dank u
- Do you speak English? – spreekt u Engels?
- Hello – hallo
Also:
- Don’t say French fries… Belgians are pretty serious about their Belgian fries (and waffles)
- Try not to just assume everyone speaks English or French… Even though yes, most people do, it’s considered rude not to ask first.
Mack's Compass 