Has there ever been a Walloon prime minister (since the 19th century) who spoke both fluent French and Dutch?
I don't know if they spoke fluent Dutch :-s
Does the King speak both Dutch and French?
Yes he does
Are there classes in Dutch in Walloon universities?
Ask Pierre , for as far I know their aren't
Are there classes in French in the Flemish universities?
Yes there are, in Leuven , Dutch-French (is getting to his end because the Walloons can learn at their own universities!) -English
Is it compulsory for Walloon children to learn Dutch at school?
No, not that I know
Is it compulsory for Flemish children to learn French at school?
YES, 8 years from your 10th (some schools earlier! ) to your 18th (depends on your studies)
Jordi,
We've tried many times to help the Flemish people in France . One problem : they only want their local Dutch dialect as the standard-language ! Standard Dutch is out of the question for them...
There are French classes in Flemish universities , we have all the proper facilities for that ! Too bad the Walloons can't say that.
Yes, we do get along with our Dutch neighbours ! 200 000 flemish people live in Holland ( believe me, that's a lot ). I occasionally watch Dutch tv : ned1 , ned2 , ned3 , Mtv holland...
The King can speak both Dutch and French ( however, the King is raised in french ).
AHA ! ANOTHER THING ,
When the Belgian government passed out money for speedflashes ( or what are is the proper term ? ) Flemish placed 500 , while Wallonia only placed 3 ( That's right , 3!) . Where did the money go ?????????
Have we already had it about the suspended unemployed citizens?
Flanders : 496 last year
Wallonia: all-in-all just 1
I think this says enought about the control on unemployed inhabitants in both Flanders & Wallonia!!!!
belgian Economy :
Flemish & Walloon economy:
* productivity is +/- 20% higher per inhabitant in Flanders then in Wallonia (difference per person employed being lower as the percentage of persons employed is lower in Wallonia, see also further below);
* Flanders managed to attract more, and more diversified investments from multinationals while Walloon economy relied more on heavy industry, and suffered more from the worldwide move away from it;
* Wallonia has roughly 3/4 as much public servants per 1000 employees, compared with European union averages; Flanders sits roughly 1/4 above EU average;
* unionisation is stronger in Wallonia, and more confrontationalist, left-leaning (socialist FGTB) whereas in Flanders the more conciliatory Christian-Democratic unions dominate;
* Flemish economy has a higher spending in research & development, mainly trough a higher private R&D spending, also thanks to higher public R&D spending by the Flemish authorities;
* unemployment remained consistently twice as high in Wallonia as in Flanders during most of the last 20 years;
* language skills and general education level are considerably better in Flanders; recent international studies position Flemish education in OECD or EU top quarter, versus bottom quarter for education in the French-speaking community (education being a community competence and not a regional competence);
* many areas in Flanders, and especially Antwerp and Brussels, have persistent shortages for many skilled or highly skilled functions.
This is an OFFICIAL DOCUMENT
found another official statement:
...
Brussels, the capital, is mostly French speaking, but officially French/Dutch bilingual as it evolved from a Dutch-speaking place when the Belgian state became independent in 1830 to its current dominantly French character being the capital of the central administration of the federal country that for a long time massively favoured French...
Does this answer any questions ?
Is the local Brussel dialect in Dutch still alive? I once met a guy in his 60s who told me he spoke the local Brussel Dutch dialect and that it was influenced with French words. Is that true? How do the other Flemish people react when they hear the local Brussel Dutch dialect? Is that local dialect mainly spoken in a quarter of Brussel? Is it in the historical centre? If there is such an "original" Dutch colony in Brussel (not Flemish people from other places living in Brussel) do they feel a "special pride"?
The "original" dialect isn't so widely spoken anymore ! Some elderly still speak it . It will probably be gone in 15 years or so ... I can understand the brussels-flemish without any troubles.
I however use a dialect of Dutch which people from other provinces can't understand. It's called West-Flemish ( West-Vlôams ), the oldest dialect spoken in Belgium ( It shares a great deal of Middle-Dutch words and terms ). For almost every Dutch word, we have are own. This dialect is also used in Nothern France ( or whatever speakers there are left ( some 50'000 ) ). I think it should be recognized as a regional language , too bad no one ever takes action.
Yes, they are pride, but that feeling is beeing treathend by the hughe amount of Francophones.
We french don't like the Walloons,
We not want them to join France !!!!!
Yes luc...
Hum, Could you just write anything in French, please???
Hum, Because I have some doubts about your french nationality.
You know, nobody in France is named Tèssier with "è". I think only a foreigner could make such a gross mistake!!HEHE!! I like the troll like you.
So thanks for your support, but I can go without it!! I have a lot of friends in northern france and I've studied in Paris, and I can assure that the french like us (even if they make some jokes about us...hehe we do the same about them).
Hey Luc "Tèssier",
Next time, before choosing a "typical french name", try to check its spelling (LOL)!!!
You troll!!
Yes Jordi,
The Bruxelles dialect, is a flemish dialect with a strong influence of the french language (a lot of words, expressions...). However it tends to be less and less spoken today, because people speak either french or dutch.
Dear Pierre:
I also have the feeling that French spoken by people from Brussels often sounds a bit "Flemish". I mean it's like French spoken with a Flemish accent. Are there also Flemish words in the French spoken in Brussels (apart from manneken piss, of course). People from Wallonia have much more a French accent than people from Brussels, even if they speak excellent French. As Walloon French dialects alive? Do young people use a lot of Walloon words, which are not usual in France?
" Luc Tessier " or who ever you are , don't lie about your nationality , I want REAL statements