Linguistic situation of Wallonia

The Wallonia, although with strong prevalence of French language, shelters a series of others regional, Romance and Germanic languages.

The origin of the word " Wallonie" is itself linguistic, indicating the part of Belgium where languages resulting from the Romance are quasi exclusively used.

Strong prevalence of French, distribution of the endogenous languages

The French is the official language of Wallonia, at the side of German. On 262 communes, 253 are French-speaking and 9 German-speaking (cantons of Eupen and Saint-Vith, in white on the chart).

French is thus the most used language and has a statute almost identical to the statute of French in France, French-speaking Switzerland or with the Quebec. He is spoken in all the coloured parts of Wallonia (see chart hereafter), where he coexists with various Romance speeches (especially) and Germanic (a little).

The prevalence of French on these endogenous languages is not without endangering them.

Romance regional languages

• the Wallon is the prevalent regional language of Wallonia (in yellow on the chart). The other Romance languages are related as well to the Wallonia as with the Picardy, the Lorraine and the Champagne. The Walloon language is spoken on most of the territory, covering approximately 80% of the population (what does not mean necessarily speakers of the Walloon), and in France in the area of Givet (the zone of the Walloon in Luxembourg is not indicated).

• the Picard is located at the west of a line Rebecq - Beaumont - Chimay (including/understanding the towns of Mons, Ath, Tournai) and is spoken on part of the territory covering approximately 20% of the Walloon population.

• the Lorrain is spoken in the district about Virton (the Gaume, from where its local name: the Gaumais) and includes/understands approximately: 40000 people (either a little more one pourcent of the Walloon population).

• the Champagne , him, is spoken in Province about Namur, in the south of the Semois, in a restricted zone of the area of Bohan.

All the historians were struck by the fact that the surface of the Walloon itself coincides with the Romance part of the old diocese of Liege with to its limits:

• the zone of Lorraine seeming to be given by the old archdiocese of Trier,
• that of Champagne with the archdiocese of Rheims
• and that of Picardy by the Romance parts of the old dioceses of Cambric and Turned.

Germanic regional languages

Moreover, also presented on the chart, of the Germanic languages are used in margin of the Walloon territory.

• the Luxembourg is spoken in the administrative Arrondissement about Arlon (district French-speaking sometimes called Arelerland ) and in the canton about Saint-Vith (German-speaking canton). Let us not forget that at the time of the Belgian Révolution, Luxembourg formed integral part of the country (the Grand Duchy will separate any only in 1839).

• the Francique ripuaire is spoken in the canton about Eupen and the communes about Plombières, Welkenraedt and Baelen.

The Dutch, although official language of Belgium, does not have an official statute in Wallonia. He is however still spoken (or at least in dialectal form), in some francized communes close to the linguistic border. Enghien is the example more striking, but also Mouscron and Comines in certain connections. But in these two cities, more important, the inhabitants speak the Picardy one whereas in the middle same of the town of Enghien, there is no collective use of Picardy or the Walloon, only about one dialect of Dutch.

To be complete, the Limbourgeois must also be specified: it is one of the languages endogenous of old the Duché of Limbourg, which recovered a small portion of the current province of Liege (see Limbourg (city). To note that the province of Belgian Limbourg (in Flanders) is resulting from the dismemberment of the Principauté of Liege (it east was roughly speaking the part Thiois E).

Distinctions inside the field of the Walloon language

Inside the Walloon field, there exist several varieties of Walloon: the be-Walloon around Liege ( Lidje ), the center-Walloon around Namur ( Nameur ), the west-Walloon, around Charleroi, ( Tcharlerwè ). There exist also wallo-Lorraine zones between Neufchâteau and the Gaume for example, the borders between Romance languages (regional endogenous) being less distinct than divisions between zones of Germanic language and Romance language. It is estimated for example that the Borinage is an area which, because of immigration of other Walloon regions, has a speech mixed . The endogenous regional languages are truffées Flemish words, for example in Charleroi.

The differences between Picardy and Walloon can hold with the suffixes ( iau into Picardy, ia as a Walloon), or with the beginning of the words (tchapia as a Walloon, capiau into Picardy). Intermediate fomes exist, like Tchapiau for example. But the distinction is sliced to indicate the squirrel, Spirou as a Walloon, bosquètia into Picardy.

There do not exist unfortunately true studies on the role of the endogenous regional languages in Wallonia by comparison with that of the endogenous languages in Flanders. One knows only that the regional languages were longer used in Flanders than in Wallonia, where however they remain alive.

The Walloon cultural Union estimates at: 200000 the number of spectators of the theater in the various endogenous regional languages.

Wallonia in French-speaking Europe

The third chart on the external bond (whose reference below), makes it possible to see which is the place of Wallonia in the world Romance (and francized) of Europe and compared to the Germanic countries of speeches.

Criticisms

It should however be stressed that this vision is prone to guarantee from a historical point of view because of teleological type: this territorial presentation does not take account of the fundamental historical differences which exist between the various parts of the territory now named “Wallonia”. For example, this territory recovers part of the historical Comté of Flanders where one speaks Picardy and which one names Romance Flanders (of Latin Gallo Flandria ). In the same way, until the end of the 18th century existed two distinct States: the Netherlands of the South and the Principality of Liege.

Moreover, the Walloon region does not have any linguistic ability or cultural (if these are not those from which the exercise was transferred to him by the French Communauté in 1993). Indeed, the Belgian component determined that the Régions were qualified in the fields touching with the territory while the Communautés are in load of competences known as personnalisables (i.e. competences relating to the people). Thus, they are the Communities and not the Areas which are responsible for the defense of the endogenous regional languages. The French Communauté of Belgium adopted a decree besides on December 24th, 1990 when she recognizes and intends at present to defend the various endogenous languages present on her territory without to have applied it.