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Dutch is the most spoken primary language of Belgium and the official language of the Flemish Community and the Flemish Region (merged to Flanders). Along with French, it is an official language of the Brussels-Capital Region. The main Dutch dialects spoken in Belgium are Brabantian, West Flemish, East Flemish, and Limburgish.
The term Flemish itself has become ambiguous. Nowadays, it is used in at least five ways, depending on the context. These include: An indication of Dutch written and spoken in Flanders including the Dutch standard language as well as the non-standardized dialects, including intermediate forms between vernacular dialects and the standard.
Flemish people make up the majority of Belgians, at about 60%. Flemish was historically a geographical term, as all inhabitants of the medieval County of Flanders in modern-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands were referred to as "Flemings" irrespective of their ethnicity or language. [5]
The official language of the Flemish Region is Dutch. [9] The dialect cluster spoken in the region is sometimes colloquially referred to as Flemish (Vlaams), [10] [11] [12] Flemish Dutch (Vlaams-Nederlands), Belgian Dutch (Belgisch-Nederlands), or Southern Dutch (Zuid-Nederlands).
The term "Flemish" came to be a term for the language Dutch, and during the 19th and 20th centuries, it became increasingly common to refer exclusively to the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium as "Flanders". Belgium divided itself into official French- and Dutch-speaking parts starting in the early '60s.
Flemish may refer to: Flemish, adjective for Flanders, Belgium; Flemish region, one of the three regions of Belgium; Flemish Community, one of the three constitutionally defined language communities of Belgium; Flemish dialects, a Dutch dialect cluster spoken in Flanders; Flemish people or Flemings, inhabitants of Flanders
This is a list of countries by number of languages according to the 22nd ... Papua New Guinea has the largest number of languages in the world. [2 ... Belgium: 12 24 ...
The Dutch language used in Belgium can also be referred to as Flemish Dutch or Belgian Dutch (Dutch: Vlaams Nederlands, Belgisch Nederlands).Dutch is the mother tongue of about 60% of the population in Belgium, spoken by approximately 6.5 million out of a population of 11 million people.