A Guide to the Languages and Dialect of Belgium

If you are moving abroad to live and maybe end take up employment in Belgium you will want to make sure that you are able to communicate effectively with the locals in the country. This is especially important if you will be taking up employment in the country as you will be expected to be fluent in at least one of the official languages of the country. You will also want to familiarize your self with the languages spoken by the locals because any official documents that you have to sign such as an employment contract or rental agreement will be in the official language. Granted you will be able to get a copy of the document in your native tongue but the legally binding document and the one that you will have to sign is the one that is in the official language as opposed to your native language.

In Belgium there are many languages spoken throughout the country but there are only three official languages. French, Flemish and German are the official languages of Belgium. It depends on where you are in the country as to what language you will hear the most of being spoken.

Flemish is a language that is quite similar to Dutch. There are a few noticeable differences that are mostly local expressions and terms. For the most part though if you know Dutch then you will be able to communicate with the Flemish speaking population of Belgium. The majority of people in Belgium speak Flemish with about 60 percent of the population claiming it to be their first language.

When you hear French spoken in Belgium you will see that it is like the French you will hear spoken in France or Switzerland except that it has its own little accent. There are also a few word differences in the French spoken in Belgium. For instance in Belgium they do not use the same words for the numbers 70 and 90 that the French in France use. There are also some local expressions and terms that are unique to the French in Belgium. Close to 40 percent of the people in Belgium claim French as their first language.

Only about two percent of the population in Belgium speaks German. It is mostly restricted to the eastern part of the country along the border of Germany. If you are in the areas of Brussels or Antwerp you will find that a lot of people there actually speak English, even though it is considered a bilingual town of Flemish and French.