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Flemish people also emigrated at the end of the fifteenth century, when Flemish traders conducted intensive trade with Spain and Portugal, and from there moved to colonies in America and Africa. [28] The newly discovered Azores were populated by 2,000 Flemish people from 1460 onwards, making these volcanic islands known as the "Flemish Islands".
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.
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.
Dutch is one of the official languages in all four of the constituent countries of the Kingdom, [5] however English and a Portuguese-based creole-language, called Papiamento, are the most spoken languages on the Dutch Caribbean. [6] The Dutch dialects in the Dutch Caribbean differ from island to island. World map of Dutch-speaking countries:
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.
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 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.
Kingdom of Belgium; Language areas: 4 Dutch bilingual French German Communities: 3 Flemish Community French Community German-speaking Com. Regions: 3 Flemish Region Brussels Capital Region Walloon Region: Provinces: 10 West Flanders East Flanders Antwerp Limburg Flemish Brabant: None Walloon Brabant Hainaut Luxembourg Namur Liège/Lüttich