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German is the least prevalent official language in Belgium, spoken natively by less than 1% of the population. The German-speaking Community of Belgium numbers 77,000, residing in an area of Belgium that was ceded by the former German Empire as part of the Treaty of Versailles , which concluded World War I .
The primary language of the community is German, making this one of the three official languages in Belgium. Traditionally the community and the wider area around it forms an intersection of various local languages and/or dialects, namely Limburgish , Ripuarian and Moselle Franconian varieties.
These countries (with the addition of South Tyrol of Italy) also form the Council for German Orthography and are referred to as the German Sprachraum (German language area). Since 2004, Meetings of German-speaking countries have been held annually with six participants: Germany, Austria, Belgium, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, and Switzerland: [ 1 ]
The official languages are French and, only in the nine eastern municipalities that form the German-speaking Community near the German border, German. Dutch however, may be used for administrative purposes in the four municipalities with language facilities at the border with Flanders, and German in two such municipalities near the German ...
Belgium has three official languages: Dutch, French and German. A number of non-official minority languages are spoken as well. [167] As no census exists, there are no official statistical data regarding the distribution or usage of Belgium's three official languages or their dialects. [168]
State official languages of Belgium: Dutch, French, and German. Brussels is a bilingual area where both Dutch and French have an official status.. Flemish (Vlaams ⓘ) [2] [3] [4] is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language.
Official language A language designated as having a unique legal status in the state: typically, the language used in a nation's legislative bodies, and often, official government business. Regional language A language designated as having official status limited to a specific area, administrative division, or territory of the state.
French (see also List of countries where French is an official language): Belgium (official language with Dutch and German) sole official language in: Wallonia (except for the Canton of Eupen and the Canton of Sankt Vith, where German is the official language) co-official language in: Brussels (with Dutch)