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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 various Dutch dialects spoken in Belgium contain a number of lexical and grammatical features that distinguish them from the standard Dutch. Standard Dutch words can have a completely different meaning in Flemish or imply different context, [ 15 ] comparable to the differences between the British and North American variants of English .
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.
Covering the northern portion of the country, the Flemish Region is primarily Dutch-speaking. With an area of 13,626 km 2 (5,261 sq mi), it accounts for only 45% of Belgium's territory, but 58% of its population.
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.
East Flemish (Oostvlaams) is spoken in East Flanders (Belgium) and the eastern part of Zeelandic Flanders (Netherlands). Limburgish (Limburgish: Limburgs or Lèmburgs; Dutch: Limburgs) is spoken in Limburg (Belgium) as well as in Limburg (Netherlands) and extends across the German border. It is however not a Dutch dialect but a separate related ...
The Flemish Region or Flanders (Dutch: Vlaams Gewest or Vlaanderen) occupies the northern part of Belgium. It has a surface area of 13,626 km 2 (5,261 sq mi), or 44.4% of Belgium, and is divided into 5 provinces which contain a total of 300 municipalities. The official language is Dutch.
French Flemish (Fransch vlaemsch, Standard Dutch: Frans-Vlaams, French: flamand français) is a West Flemish dialect spoken in the north of contemporary France.. Place names attest to Flemish having been spoken since the 8th century in the part of Flanders that was ceded to France at the 1659 Treaty of the Pyrenees, and which hence became known as French Flanders.