The Francization ( Francisation ) from Brussels (French: Francisation de Bruxelles , Dutch: Verfransing van Brussel ) refers to the transformation of Brussels, Belgium, from a Dutch-speaking city to a bilingual city or even multilingual, with French as both a majority language and a lingua franca. Initially, the dominant aspect of this transition was a shift from Dutch to French among the local nations in Brussels. This shift occurs for one or more generations, reflecting the progress of French elsewhere as a prestige language; thereafter, France's dominance in Brussels has been further consolidated through the internal migration of Francophone Walloons to the national capital, as well as by non-Belgian immigration, who either spoke French or adopted him upon arrival.
Simultaneous shifts from Walloon and Picard to French Belgium have occurred in Wallonia. The historical shift to France among the urban elite in Leuven and Ghent has been reversed due to the re-use of Dutch prestige.
The transition began very slowly in the 18th century, but accelerated after the Belgian Revolution, with Brussels as the newly independent Belgian capital. Apart from the majority speaking in Dutch, French is the only official language, and French is the language of government, court, culture, media and education. Dutch had a low social prestige in Belgium at the time, and French knowledge was deemed necessary for social progress, and Dutch speakers suffered discrimination. The massive shift from Dutch to French began in the late 19th century. At first there was a spike in the number of bilingual residents, mostly native speakers who had learned to speak French, at the expense of monolingual Dutch speakers. Because the Dutch are often not passed down from one generation to another, the number of monolingual Francophones in Brussels is growing rapidly. In the mid-20th century, the number of monolingual French speakers exceeded the number of native French/Dutch speakers.
In the 1960s the Belgian border was fixed, limiting the official bilingualism to 19 municipalities of Brussels. When Flanders became economically prosperous and the Dutch regained its prestige, the Dutch-speaking Francis effectively stopped. Nevertheless, during the second half of the 20th century, Brussels became an increasingly prosperous and international city, and this internationalization led to the entry of foreign immigrants who favored French or foreign languages ​​rather than Dutch. At the same time, as the urban area of ​​Brussels flourished, a number of previously Dutch-speaking towns around Flanders became dominant in French. This phenomenon, along with the future of Brussels, is one of the most controversial topics in all of Belgian politics.
Video Francization of Brussels
Historical origin
Medieval
Around 1000, County of Brussels became part of the Duchy of Brabant (and hence the Holy Roman Empire) with Brussels as one of the four capitals of the Duchy, together with Leuven, Antwerpen, and 's-Hertogenbosch. Dutch is the only language in Brussels, as it is in the other three cities. But not all Brabants speak Dutch. The area south of Brussels, around the town of Nivelles, is a French-speaking area roughly the same as the modern province of Walloon Brabant.
Originally in Brussels as well as other parts of Europe, Latin was used as the official language. From the end of the 13th century, people began to divert their use to everyday language. This incident took place in Brussels and later in other Brabantian cities, all of which eventually changed in the 16th century. The official orders and proclamations of the city were gradually written in Central Netherlands. By the end of the 18th century, the Netherlands remained the administrative language of the Brussels Brabant region in Brussels. As part of the Holy Roman Empire, Brabantian cities enjoy many freedoms, including language choices. Before 1500, there were hardly any French documents in the Brussels city archives. By comparing cities in neighboring Flanders such as Bruges, Ghent, Kortrijk and Ypres the percentage of French documents in city archives fluctuated between 30% and 60%. Such a high level of French influence has not yet developed in the Dutch-speaking regions of the Brabant Duchy, including Brussels.
After the death of Joanna, Duchess of Brabant, in 1406, the Duchy of Brabant became part of the Duchy of Burgundy and the use of French language gradually increased in the region. In 1477, the Duke of Burgundy Charles Bold was killed in the Battle of Nancy. Through the marriage of his daughter Mary of Burgundy to the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I, the Low Countries fell under the sovereignty of Habsburg. Brussels became the capital of the Dutch Burgundians, also known as the Province of Seventeen. After Mary's death in 1482 her son Philip the Handsome succeeded as Duke of Brabant. In 1506 he became king of Castile, and hence the Spanish period of Spain began.
Spanish Rules
After 1531, Brussels became known as the Capital of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. After the division of the Netherlands due to the Eighty Years' War and in particular from the fall of Antwerp to the Spanish forces, the economic and cultural centers of the Netherlands migrated to the northern Dutch Republic. About 150,000 people, especially those from intellectual and economic elites, fled north. Brabant and Flanders were hit by Counter-Reformation, and Catholic priests continued to perform liturgy in Latin.
The Dutch were seen as Calvinist and thus considered anti-Catholic. In the context of Counter-Reformation, many scholars from the Low Countries should be educated at the French-language Douai University. However, the Dutch were not completely isolated in the religious domain. For example, Ferdinand Brunot reported that, in 1638 in Brussels, the Jesuits "preached three times a week in Flemish and twice in French". While the Netherlands became standard by the Dutch Republic, dialects continued to be spoken in the south. Like elsewhere in Europe during the 17th century, French grew as a language of nobility and upper class society. The language used in central administration during this period is French and, to a lesser extent, Spanish. Some French-speaking nobility stands in the hills of Brussels (in the Coudenberg and Zavel areas), bringing with them mainly French-speaking Walloon personnel. This drew a number of other Walloons to Brussels who came to look for work. This Walloon presence leads to the adoption of Walloon's words in Dutch Brabantian, but the presence of the Walloon is still too small to prevent them assimilating into the majority of Dutch-speaking.
Austrian Rules
After the Treaty of Utrecht, Spain's sovereignty over the South of Holland was transferred to the House of Habsburg branch in Austria. This event started the Dutch era of Austria.
By the 18th century, there had been complaints about the reduced use of the Dutch language in Brussels, which had been reduced to a "street language" status. There are various reasons for this. The repressive policies of the Habsburg after the division of the Low Countries and the exodus of the intellectual elite towards the Dutch Republic left Flanders who lost their social upper classes. After the end of the seventeenth-century Dutch Golden Age and the Dutch Republic suffered a setback, the Netherlands lost its prestige as a language for politics, culture, and business. Meanwhile, French culture is spreading rapidly. For example, Theater La Monnaie showed 95% of the game in France in the mid-18th century. During the War of Succession of Austria, between 1745 and 1749, Brussels was under French rule. In this situation, especially after 1780, French became the language adopted from most of the Flemish bourgeoisie, which was then cruelly labeled
The percentage of Brussels residents using France in public life was between 5 and 10 per cent in 1760, rising to 15 per cent in 1780. According to authenticized archives and official documents, it appears that a fifth of the city's declarations and official orders were written in French. Twenty years later, this rises to a quarter; however, more than half of the official documents in French come from the French-speaking bourgeoisie, which make up only one tenth of the population. In 1760 small businesses and craftsmen only wrote 4 percent of their documents in French; in 1780 this has increased to 13 percent. However, in private life, Dutch is still the most used language. For the Austrian Habsburg administration, French is the language of communication, although the communiques of Habsburg are rarely seen by ordinary people in Brussels.
French Rules
After the 1794 campaign in the French Revolutionary War, the Low Countries were annexed by the French Republic, ending the Habsburg government in the region. Catholics are deeply pressured by France, and France institutes a harsh policy that completely paralyzes the economy. In this period of systematic exploitation, some 800,000 people fled South Holland, and Brussels's population declined from 74,000 in 1792 to 66,000 in 1799. The French occupation caused further suppression of the Netherlands across the country, including its abolition as an administrative language. With the motto "one nation, one language", French becomes the only language accepted in public life, as well as in economic, political, and social affairs. The steps of the French government in succession and in particular 1798 massive military conscription into the French army were extremely unpopular within the Flemish population segment and led to the Peasant War. Peasant War is often seen as the starting point of the modern Flemish movement. From this period until the 20th century, the Netherlands was seen in Belgium as a language of the poor and illiterate. In Flanders, as well as other regions of Europe, the aristocracy was quickly adopted by France. The French occupation laid the foundation for the Flemish middle-class Francisation aided by a superb French language education system.
In the early 19th century, Napoleon's Statistical Office found that Dutch is still the most commonly spoken language in the Brussels and Leuven arrondissements. Exceptions include a number of districts in the city of Brussels, where French has become the most used language. In Nivelles, Walloon is the most widely spoken language. Inside the small circle of Brussels, pentagon, France is the main language of street markets and districts such as Coudenberg and Sablon, while the Dutch dominate in ports, Schaarbeeksoort and Leuvensepoort areas. The first city walls were gradually dismantled during the fifteenth to the seventeenth centuries, and the second outer wall (where the Little Ring is now standing), was destroyed between 1810 and 1840, so the city could grow and incorporate the surrounding settlements.
Immediately after the French invasion, Dutch use was banned in Brussels city hall. The rules of the Francis, instituted to unite the state, are directed to citizens who take over the power of the nobility as it did in the French Revolution. However, the French conquerors quickly understood that it was impossible to force locals, speaking a language very different from French, suddenly using French. Therefore, the Franconization of the Low Countries in Dutch-speaking languages ​​remains limited to a higher level of local administration and upper-class society. Its effect on lower social class, 60% of them are illiterate, small. Life on the streets is severely affected because, by law, all notices, street names, etc. It should be written in French, and official documents should be written only in French, although "where necessary", non-legally - binding translations may be permitted. At the same time, businesses from rural areas are told not to continue operations if they are not proficient in French. In addition, the law states that all court requests, penalties, and other legal materials must be written only in French, except for practical considerations that make this impossible. These measures increase the percentage of official documents written in French from 60% in the early 19th century to 80% in 1813. Although mainly used by higher social circles, a more appropriate measure of actual language usage may include a written examination of the testament, three quarters of which was written in Dutch in 1804, indicates that the upper classes still used much Dutch in the early nineteenth century.
Dutch Rules
In 1815, after Napoleon's last defeat, the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Great Britain was formed by the Vienna Congress, joining the South of Holland with the former Dutch Republic. Shortly after the formation of a new empire, at the request of the Brussels business, the Netherlands once again became the official language of Brussels. However, Dutch and Belgian unions did little to diminish France's political and economic power in Flanders, where it remained an aristocratic language. Brussels and The Hague are the dual capitals of the Kingdom, and in parliament the Belgian delegates speak only French. King William I wanted to develop present-day Flanders to the North Holland level, and institutionalize a wide school network in the local language of society. He made Dutch the official language in Flemish province, and this is also applied in the bilingual Brabant and Brussels. Walloon province remains French monoling. The King hopes to make Dutch the only language of the country, but French-speaking citizens, the Catholic Church, and the Walloon reject this move. French-speaking residents fear that their chances of participating in government are threatened, and that they will become unnecessary elements of the new Kingdom. Under pressure from these groups, in 1830 King William I reintroduced the policy of free language throughout Belgium today. It canceled the monolingual status of Brussels and Flemish province.
Important for the development of Dutch later was that Flemish residents had contact with the Northern Dutch Standard during the short reign of the reign. The Catholic Church views the Netherlands as an elemental representation threatening Protestantism, while the Francophone aristocracy still views the Netherlands as a language that is subject to French. These views helped contribute to the Belgian Revolution and the establishment of an independent and officially monolingual Belgian Francophone, founded in 1830. This strong preference for French will have a profound influence on the use of language in Brussels.
Belgian Revolution
After the Belgian revolution, the bourgeoisie in Brussels began to use French more and more. Many French immigrants and Walloon moved to Brussels, and for the first time in large numbers the Flemish people began to turn to France.
On October 16, 1830, King William I had canceled a policy called the Netherlands as the official language of Brussels. The only official language of the newly created centralized state is France, although the majority of the population is Flemish. French became the language of courts, administration, the army, the media, and culture and education. With more French spoken, social progress, culture, and universalism gave him an aura of "honor". In contrast, the Netherlands collected little consideration and was considered a language for peasants, peasants, and working poor. In addition to the geographical language border between Flanders and Wallonia, there is also a real social language boundary between Dutch speakers and French speakers. French is a political and economic language and a symbol of upward social mobility. The French poet Charles Baudelaire, during his brief visit in Brussels, complained about the hypocrisy of the bourgeoisie at the time:
In Brussels, people do not really speak French, but pretend they do not speak Flemish. For them it shows good taste. The proof that they actually speak with the good Flemish is that they are shouting orders to their servants in the Flemish.
The new Belgian capital remains a largely Dutch-speaking city, where residents speak in local Brabantian local dialect. A small percentage of French-speaking people, especially those who immigrated from France over the past decades, constitute 15% of the population. Nevertheless, the first mayor of Brussels after the revolution, Nicolas-Jean Rouppe, declared France as the only administrative language. The political center of Brussels attracted the economic elite, and Brussels soon gained the French middle and middle class. In 1846, 38% of the cities declared themselves French-speaking, while this percentage was 5% in Ghent and 2% in Antwerp. Many suspect that the French speakers are actually the Flemish bourgeoisie with Dutch roots. In 1860, 95% of the Flemish population spoke Dutch, although these men had almost no economic and political power and considered good French knowledge necessary to attain higher social status and wealth.
Maps Francization of Brussels
Educational role
Brussels attracted many immigrants from Flanders, where economic strife and famine expanded. The native Flemish of Brussels harbored a sense of superiority over other Flemish immigrants from the impoverished countryside, who manifested itself in the decision to speak "superior" French.
In two or three generations, new immigrants began to speak French. A typical family may have Dutch-speaking grandparents, bilingual parents, and children who speak French. France's exclusive education system plays an important role in this changing language landscape. The Netherlands is largely ignored as a school subject. From 1842, the Netherlands was removed from the first four years of boys' school, though in later schools the grades could be learned. In Dutch schools and Dutch Catholic schools are taught even less, although Dutch is still the native language of most students.
Right after the inauguration of the mayor Charles Buls in 1881, the primary school that taught Dutch was reopened in 1883. In these schools, the first two years of classes were given in Dutch, soon afterwards the students turned to French classes. Proposals by Buls were initially less accepted by local councils, although they were later accepted when the study showed that when students have gained a good understanding of the Dutch language, they are more likely to acquire French language skills. The French dominance in education is not affected, as most schools in later years are still in French. Due to the authoritative position enjoyed by France in Belgium and the misunderstanding of the Buls plan, many Flemish children were still sent to French schools to master the language better. This is made possible by the idea of ​​"freedom of the head of the household", which stipulates that parents are permitted to send their children to whatever school they wish, regardless of the child's mother tongue. Since most students were sent to French schools rather than Dutch schools, after the end of the First World War there was not a single Dutch class left in the center of Brussels. In 13 municipalities that are the metropolitan area of ​​Brussels, there are 441 Dutch classes and 1592 French classes, although the French-speaking population accounts for only a third of the total.
As a result of the spread of the bilingual education system, the Dutch are no longer handed down by many Flemish parents to their children. French began to be used more and more as the primary language spoken at home by many Flemings. In Flanders, education plays a lacking role in the Francis because most schools continue to teach in the Netherlands.
French Immigration
During the 19th century, many political asylum seekers sought refuge in Brussels, especially those from France. The first wave came in 1815 with Jacobin and Bonapartis; the second wave came in 1848 carrying the French republics and Orlà © anis, the third coming after the French coup of 1851, and the fourth coming in 1871 after the Franco-Prussian War. Asylum seekers and other immigrants also come from other parts of Europe such as Italy, Poland, Germany, and Russia. They prefer to speak French rather than Dutch when they arrive, which further increases the Francis.
As the capital of the new empire, Brussels also attracted a large number of Walloon migrants. In contrast to Flemish residents in Brussels, who mainly came from lower social classes, Walloon's newcomers came mainly from the middle class. Walloon and French immigrant residents live in the Marollen district of Brussels, where Marol, a mixture of Dutch, French, and Walloon Brabantian, is spoken. Despite the fact that many lower-class Walloon also went to Brussels, France's perception as an intellectual and elite language has not changed. In addition, Brussels received quite a number of French-speaking members of the Flemish bourgeoisie.
Between 1830 and 1875 the population of the city of Brussels grew from about 100,000 to 180,000; the metropolitan area population jumped to 750,000 in 1910.
Initial Flemish Movement in Brussels
In contrast to other areas in Flanders, France in Brussels is seen less as a means of oppression but rather as a tool for social progress. In the first decade after Belgian independence, the abandonment of Dutch language and culture gradually caused greater discontent in the Flemish community. In 1856, the "Grievance Commission" was established to investigate the Fleming problem. It is devoted to making the administration, military, educational system and bilingual court system, but politically ignored. Another group to criticize the Fleming problem is "Vlamingen Vooruit" ("Flemings Forward"), founded in 1858 in Saint-Josse-ten-Noode. Members include Charles Buls, the mayor of Brussels, and LÃÆ' Â © on Vanderkindere, the mayor of Uccle. Although Brussels was 57 percent Dutch-speaking in 1880, Flemish primary schools were banned until 1883. In 1884, the city authorities decided to allow births, deaths, and marriages written in Dutch. However, only a tenth of the population takes advantage of this opportunity, showing that in the minds of Brussels citizens, France is the normal way of doing these things. In 1889 the Dutch were once again permitted in the courtroom, but only for use in oral testimony.
At the end of the 19th century, the Flemish movement gained a greater power and demanded that Belgium be bilingual. This proposal was rejected by French speakers, who feared the "Flemishification" of Wallonia and the prospect of having to learn Dutch to get a job in civil service. The Flemings adapted their purpose to the reality of the situation, and devoted themselves to the monolingual Flanders, which socially Brussels is still part of. The Flemings wish to limit the spread of French in Flanders by limiting the area in which French is the official language. In 1873 in the Sint-Jans-Molenbeek district of Brussels, Flemish worker Jozef Schoep refused to accept a French-speaking birth certificate. He was ordered to pay a fine of 50 francs. His case caused much controversy and soon afterwards Coremans Law was introduced, allowing the Dutch to be used by Dutch speakers in court.
In general, the Flemish movement in Brussels did not garner much support for his plans on Dutch usage. Any attempt to promote the Netherlands and limit the expansion of French influence as a symbol of social status is seen as a means to impede social mobility rather than as a protective measure as seen throughout Flanders. Whereas in other Flemish cities like Ghent where the Flemish workers are dominated by French-speaking upper classes, in Brussels it is not easy to make such a difference because so many Walloons make up the majority of the working class. Linguistic heterogeneity, combined with the fact that most of the upper working class speak French, means that the class struggle for the majority of workers in Brussels is not seen as a language struggle as well. From the beginning of the 20th century, the workers' movement in Brussels defended bilingualism, thus having the means of emancipation for the local working class. This, together with the education system, facilitates the Francisation of thousands of Brussels residents.
Initial language law
In the 1870s, most municipalities were managed in French. Under De Laet's law in 1878, gradual changes began to occur. Since then, in the provinces of Limburg, Antwerpen, West Flanders, and East Flanders, and in the Leuven arrondissement, all public communications are given in Dutch or in both languages. For the Brussels arrondissement, documents can be requested in Dutch. Nevertheless, in 1900 most of the Flemish towns, cities along the language border, and municipalities of the Brussels metropolitan area were still managed in French.
In 1921, the principle of territoriality was recognized, which strengthened the Belgian border line. The Flemings hoped that such language borders would help curb the entry of the French in Flanders. Belgium is divided into three language areas: the monolingual Dutch-speaking region of the north (Flanders), the monolingual French-speaking area in the south (Wallonia), and the bilingual (Brussels) area, although the majority of Brussels's population speak mainly Dutch. Municipalities in the metropolitan area of ​​Brussels, Belgium's bilingual region, can freely choose the language to be used in administrative purposes. The city government of Sint-Stevens-Woluwe, located in the current Flemish Brabant, is the only one who selects the Netherlands rather than the French.
Census language
The 1921 language law was spelled out by further legislation in 1932. The Netherlands was made official language in the central government, four Flemish provinces, as well as the Leuven and Brussels arrondissements (excluding the metropolitan area of ​​Brussels as all). The law also provides that municipalities at the border of the language or near Brussels will be required to provide services in both languages ​​when minorities exceed 30%, and municipal administrative languages ​​will be changed if the language minority grows to more than 50%. This should be governed by a language census every ten years, although the validity of results from Flanders is often questioned. In 1932, Sint-Stevens-Woluwe, now part of the municipality of Zaventem, became the first municipality in Belgian history to break away from the Brussels bilingual metro area as the percentage of French-speaking minorities fell below 30%. It does not sit well with some French speakers in Brussels, some of whom form a group called "Ligue Contre la Flamandisation de Bruxelles", which campaigns against what they see as the "Flemish of injustice". Before the introduction of French as the official language of Ganshoren and Sint-Agatha-Berchem, the group also objected to the bilingual status of Ixelles. This group also strongly defends the "freedom of the head of the household", a major factor in the process of Francisation.
Evolution in Brussels City exactly
While the metropolitan area of ​​Brussels is growing rapidly, Brussels City's population is declining considerably. In 1910, Brussels had 185,000 inhabitants; in 1925 this number dropped to 142,000. The reason for this depopulation is manifold. First, the stench of the disease-infested Senne River has left many people out of the city. Second, cholera broke out in 1832 and 1848, which caused Senne to be completely closed. Third, the rise in property and rental prices has led many residents to look for affordable living situations elsewhere. Higher taxes for patents, which are up to 30% higher than taxes in neighboring municipalities, hamper economic development and increase city living costs. This higher patent price was abandoned in 1860. Finally, industrialization that took place in the surrounding area drew workers out of the city. This social change helped to accelerate the process of Francisation in the city center. In 1920, three adjacent municipalities, each with a large number of Dutch-speaking population, were merged into the City of Brussels.
According to the language census in 1846, 61% of Brussels residents speak Dutch and 39% speak French. The 1866 census allowed citizens to answer "both languages", although it did not say whether this meant "knowledge of both languages" or "the use of both languages", or whether the mother tongue of the population was not. In any case, 39% answered the Netherlands, 20% French, and 38% "both languages". In 1900, the percentage of monolingual French speakers took over the percentage of monolingual Dutch speakers, though this is most likely due to the increasing number of bilingual speakers. Between 1880 and 1890, the percentage of bilingual speakers rose from 30% to 50%, and the number of monolingual Dutch speakers decreased from 36% in 1880 to 17% in 1910. Although the term "bilingual" was abused by the government to display a large number of language speakers France, it is clear that France received a good reception in the public and private life of the Dutch-speaking Brussels population.
Expansion of metropolitan area
Outside the city of Brussels, the municipalities of Ixelles, Saint-Gilles, Etterbeek, Forests, Watermael-Boitsfort and Saint-Josse saw the most widespread French adoption over the next century. In Ixelles, the Dutch monolingual proportion fell from 54% to 3% between 1846 and 1947, while at the same time the proportion of monolingual Francophones grew from 45% to 60%. While in 1846 Saint-Gilles was still 83% Dutch-speaking, a hundred years later half of the population spoke only French, and 39% were bilingual. Similarly, Etterbeek evolved from 97% of Dutch-speaking villages to urban environments where half of the population spoke only French. The same phenomenon applies to the Forest and Watermael-Boitsfort, where they go from full Dutch to semi-monolingual French and half bilingual, with monolingual Dutch speakers of only 6%. In Saint-Josse-ten-Noode, the proportion of Dutch monolingual speakers is equivalent to French speakers in 1846, but in 1947 only 6% were monolingual Dutch speakers, and 40% were monolingual French speakers.
In 1921, the metropolitan area expanded further. The municipalities of Laken, Neder-Over-Heembeek, and Haren are incorporated into the Brussels municipality, while Sint-Pieters-Woluwe becomes part of a bilingual agglomeration by law. After the 1947 census, Evere, Ganshoren, and Sint-Agatha-Berchem were added to bilingual agglomeration, although the implementation of this change was postponed until 1954 due to Flemish pressure. This is the last extension of agglomeration, bringing the municipalities in Brussels to 19. In the municipality of Kraainem suburbs, Linkebeek, Drogenbos, and Wemmel, where a French-speaking minority of more than 30% exists, the language facility is set up, although the municipality is officially fixed in the Dutch language area.
The census of language use in the municipality of Brussels Capital shows that in 1947, French became the most widely spoken language. However, in 1947, the percentage of people who claimed to be bilingual was 45%, the percentage of Dutch monolingual speakers was 9% and the percentage of French speakers was 38%. In practice, bilingual citizens are most of the time bilingual Fleming. They remain listed as bilingual and not as Dutch speakers.
Language border formation
After the two boycotted the Flemish from the 1960s language census and two large Flemish protest marches in Brussels, the language border was solidified in 1962 and the recently taken census language was aborted. Various municipalities shifted from one language region to another, such as Voeren, which became part of Flanders, and Comines-Warneton and Mouscron were part of Wallonia. Both at Wezembeek-Oppem and Sint-Genesius-Rode, a language facility was established for French speakers, who accounted for less than 30% of the population when the last census of language was taken in 1947. Brussels is set in 19 municipalities, thus creating a bilingual enclave area in monolingual Flanders.
Brussels is limited to 19 municipalities today. Many French speakers complain that this is incompatible with social reality, since language borders are based on the results of the 1947 language census and not in 1960. French sources claim that in that year, the French-speaking minority had exceeded the 30% threshold in Alsemberg, Beersel, Sint-Pieters-Leeuw, Dilbeek, Strombeek-Bever, Sterrebeek, and Sint-Stevens-Woluwe, in which case a French-speaking facility should be established under the previous law. The political rift evolved because French speakers regarded language facilities as an essential right, while Fleming saw the facility as a transitional, temporary measure to allow the time of the French-speaking minority to adapt to their Flemish environment.
The division of the state into the territory of the language has serious consequences for education, and the "freedom of the head of the family" is abolished. Therefore, Dutch-speaking children are required to be educated in Dutch and French in French. This managed to stem the wave of further Francisation in Brussels. Some of the more radical French speakers such as the Francophone Democratic Front opposed this change and advocated the restoration of freedom of education.
Criticism of FDF
The Democratic Front Francophones (French: Front dÃÆ' Â © mocratique des francophone , FDF) was founded in 1964 as a reaction to the fixation of language borders. FDF denounces Brussels restrictions to 19 municipalities. They demanded free language choice in the educational system, the freedom for the metropolitan area of ​​Brussels to grow beyond language boundaries and into unfolded Flanders, and economic opportunities for the metropolitan region which would then form the Capital Region of Brussels. The Front accepts that the governing institutions in Brussels will be bilingual, but not all civil servants working in these institutions are bilingual. The party is experiencing increasing popularity and sees the election success in the elections of the 1960s and 1970s.
The FDF objected to the permanent representation of the language group in the institution, considering it was not democratic. In the preliminary Parliament of the Capital Territory of Brussels, for example, a large number of seats are reserved for Dutch speakers. A number of French speakers denied this by claiming to be Dutch speakers, and more than a third of the seats reserved for Dutch speakers were taken by the so-called "fake Flemish".
With the mix of Belgian municipalities in 1976, some mainly French-speaking towns joined the larger municipality with the majority of the Flemish tribe, reducing the number of French-speaking municipalities. Zellik joined Asse, Sint-Stevens-Woluwe and Sterrebeek joined Zaventem, and Strombeek-Bever joined Grimbergen. In addition, some larger cities with heavy Flemish residents were created, such as Sint-Pieters-Leeuw, Dilbeek, Beersel and Tervuren. The FDF sees this as a motive for municipal fusion, not the result of it.
Dutch review
In the midst of tension throughout the country, the sociolinguistic neglect of the Dutch began to fade. The recognition of the Netherlands as the single language of Flanders, the expansion of the well-functioning Flemish education system, the Flemish economic development, and the popularization of the Dutch Standard are responsible for revitalization. The Flemish community sees that if the Dutch want to have a prominent place in Brussels, they need to invest in Dutch education as their primary concern.
Dutch integration into the education system
In 1971, the FDF succeeded in securing the right for individuals to return to choose their language of education, and the FDF expects that the Francis will continue as before. Initially, the effect was a reduction in the number of students enrolled in Flemish schools, falling from 6000 students in primary school and 16,000 in secondary schools from 1966-1967 to 5,000 and 12,000 nine years later. But at that point, the Flemish Education Center, created in 1967, has started a campaign to promote education in the Netherlands, with the initial target being a Dutch-speaking family. In 1976, this task was taken by a predecessor to the Flemish Community Commission (VGC) today, which invested heavily in improving the quality of the Dutch language school. Starting the academic year 1978-1979, the strategy began to bear fruit, and the number of children enrolled in Flemish daycares began to increase. This translates to an increase in enrollment in primary school a few years later. As a result, all Dutch-speaking young people born after the mid-1970s only went to Flemish schools. Dutch-speaking colonialization becomes increasingly scarce as time passes. Nonetheless, foreign immigration continues to bend the balance in favor of France.
In the 1980s, VGC began to focus efforts on bilingual families, although the increase in Flemish schools had an unexpected effect; Monolingual French speaking families also began sending their children to Flemish schools. This effect increases little by little, because bilingualism begins to be considered normal. Even today, the Flemish education system continues to attract those with a first language other than Dutch; in 2005, 20% of students went to Dutch secondary school, and for daycares, that figure reached 23%. In fact, it has come to the point where the people with Dutch as the first language are now a minority in Flemish schools, and as a result, steps must be taken to maintain the quality of education.
Socio-economic development of Flanders
The economic decline of Wallonia and the use of France by new immigrants did little to help French prestige against the Dutch. After World War II, the Flemish economy experienced significant growth. Flanders developed a prosperous middle class, and Dutch prestige was on the rise.
Those born in monolingual Dutch families in Brussels always had lower-average education than average for Brussels. In contrast, 30% of Flemings who moved to Brussels from elsewhere had university degrees or other post-secondary education, and were highly qualified. For example, since 1970 in Belgium as a whole, there are more students enrolled in Dutch universities than universities in France. To be called a Dutch-speakers no longer evoke the image of lower-class workers, as they have long ago. Bilingualism is increasingly a prerequisite for jobs with good salaries, and the prestige of what the current Dutch language in Brussels is primarily for economic reasons. It should be noted that the Dutch economic interests in Brussels have nothing to do with the proportion of the Dutch-speaking Brussels. On the contrary, it is primarily the relationship between business in Brussels and the Flemish business, or more generally, with Dutch-speaking business as a whole that ensures the importance of the Dutch economy in Brussels.
Foreign Immigration
In 1958 Brussels became the center of the European Economic Community, which later became the European Union, while the North Atlantic Treaty Organization was established in 1967 with its headquarters in Evere. This, combined with economic immigration from southern Europe and then from Turkey, Morocco (former French colonies), and Congo (former Belgian colonies), changed the Brussels population. Between 1961 and 2006, the non-Belgian population grew from 7% to 56%. Newcomers adopt and speak French in large numbers, mainly because of the french-speaking African origin of many who come, with many Moroccans and Congolese already having proficiency in French upon their arrival.
In general, foreign immigration has further reduced the percentage of Dutch speakers and led to further francization of the city. This is different from the first half of the twentieth century, however, when the change was the Francis of the Flemish population in Brussels.
Immigrant and expatriate Francisans
Of all the immigrant groups, Moroccan immigrants use the most French, increasingly important as the Berber and Moroccan Arabic languages ​​in their bilingual community. The Turks maintain their own language, although French is also important in their community. The Dutch are struggling to take control of both groups of migrants. Children from this community attend (and often continue to attend) French language education, and use French in their circle of friends and at home. This evolution is also seen in Portuguese, Spanish, and Italian migrants, who easily adopted French because of its similarity to other widely spoken Roman languages. The northerners of northern Europe, who were not numerous, came mainly after the 1980s, using their own language, such as English and German. When these northern Europeans married French speakers, the language used at home often became French. In these groups, long-term effects and trends in language shift are difficult to determine.
Brussels's multicultural and multi-ethnic characters have expanded the language situation beyond just considering the Netherlands and France. The Netherlands is clearly underrepresented rather than French in the alophone population. Of the 74 selected Dutch speakers, only two were found as allophones, approximately nine times less than in the French-speaking population. Out of the population of the Brussels-Capital region with foreign citizenship, in 2000 3% spoke exclusively Dutch at home, compared to 9% who spoke exclusively French. In addition, 16% speak a language other than French at home.
The Japanese living in Brussels generally face French and English at work. All the school choices for Japanese national children provide French education, and Marie Conte-Helm, author of The Japanese and Europe: Economic and Cultural Encounters , writes that "French education becomes so, bigger. or lower level, normal part "of daily life in Japanese expatriates.
Internationalization and the rise of English
As the EU grows, and more foreign diplomats and other international personnel are transferred to Brussels, French speakers fear that English will become the new lingua franca in the city. This anglicization is different from the earlier Francis where there is no repression or obligation associated with it. The Dutch language, which only serves as the official language spoken by some at home, is not expected to experience an increase in the use of English. By contrast, the French-speaking nature of Brussels is seen as a bulwark against France's deteriorating position as used in the European Union. Now (in 2008) more Brussels residents claim to speak fluent English than fluent Dutch, 35% to 28%, respectively.
In 2000, both reached 33%. Thus, Dutch knowledge has declined, although knowledge of the Netherlands is more desirable in the labor market than is knowledge of English. The Dutch language has not been pressured by the inclusion of English, as only 3% of English speakers in Brussels are native speakers. English as a lingua franca around the world fulfills an increasingly important role in economic and cultural spheres, and in this sense is more of a threat to the French position than the Netherlands. Now, most of them who speak Dutch, even as a second language, are usually trilingual. Foreign immigration coincided with the urban dwindling of the urban population around Brussels, leading to a growing French-speaking presence in the Brussels Capital Region itself.
Conte-Helm writes that in the business sector and "at various levels, in everyday life" the English "serves [Japan] well" as it is understood and can be used in different parts of Belgium.
Brussels Capital Region Creation
19 municipalities Brussels is the only official Belgian bilingual section. The creation of a bilingual, full-fledged Brussels region, with its own competence and jurisdiction, has long been hampered by a different vision of Belgian federalism. Initially, the Flemish political parties demanded that Flanders be given jurisdiction over cultural matters, due to the dominance of the French language in the federal government. Similarly, when Wallonia suffered an economic downturn, the French political party was very interested in obtaining economic autonomy for the French-speaking regions to resolve the situation. The Flemings are also afraid of being in the minority, faced with two other French-speaking regions. They see the creation of a separate region of Brussels as definitively cutting Brussels from Flanders, recognizing the loss of Brussels against Francis. Basically, Fleming has a Belgian vision with two parts: the Dutch-speaking section and the French-speaking section, while Francophones has a vision with three parts: Flanders, Brussels, and Wallonia.
In 1989, a compromise between these conceptions gave rise to the official creation of the Capital-Brussels Region, and affected the jurisdiction given. It was given its own government, including its own parliament, with 11 seats out of a total of 75 reserved for Dutch speakers. This increased in 2004 to 17 from 89 seats, about one fifth of the total. As a concession to Fleming, of the four Brussels-Capital region ministers, half must be Flemish, and from three younger Secretary of State, at least one must be Flemish. Minister-President in practice has always been a francophone, so the Cabinet in the Region has 5 members who speak French and 3 speak Dutch.
This region is placed parallel to the Flemish and Walloon Territories. However, Brussels does not have its own community; The Flemish Community and the French Community both have jurisdiction in Brussels. The Flemish Community Commission (VGC) and the French Community Commission (COCOF) act on behalf of their respective Communities in Brussels. Brussels split its funding for Communities between them, with 20% going to VGC, and 80% to COCOF.
Brussels Suburb
In Drogenbos, Kraainem, Linkebeek, Sint-Genesius-Rode, Wemmel and Wezembeek-Oppem, six cities with suburban language facilities around Brussels, the proportion of French-speaking population also grew in the second half of the 20th century. century, and they are now the majority. In the administrative terraces of Halle-Vilvoorde, which are six municipalities and 29 other Flemish municipalities, about 25% of families speak French at home. The Flemish government sees this as an alarming trend, and sets policies designed to keep the fringes of the Dutch-speaking Brussels. One effect of this policy is a very literal interpretation of the linguistic facility laws, including the Peeters directive. This circulaire specifies, inter alia, that when French speakers in six municipalities with language facilities deal with government, they may request versions of French documents or publications but need to do so whenever they want one; governments are not allowed to register their preferences.
Current situation
In the northwestern city of Brussels, the proportion of Dutch speakers is high compared to other cities in Brussels. In this same municipality the highest proportion of native Dutch speakers speak Dutch, generally more than 20%. At two extremes is Ganshoren, where 25% of native speakers speak Dutch, and Saint-Gilles, where Dutch as the language used at home practically disappears.
The younger the generation, the poorer the knowledge of the Netherlands. Demographic people who grew up only speak Dutch at home, and at lower levels they are bilingual-raised, significantly older than the average Brussels. Between 2000 and 2006, the proportion of monolingual Dutch families shrank from 9.5% to 7.0%, while bilingual families shrank from 9.9% to 8.6%. On the other hand, in the same period, the number of non-native Dutch speakers with good Dutch knowledge upgraded very well. Half of them in Brussels with good knowledge of Dutch language learning languages ​​outside of their families, and this figure is expected to increase. In 2001, 70% of the city had knowledge of the Dutch that was "at least passable". In 2006, 28% of those living in Brussels had excellent and excellent knowledge of the Dutch language, while 96% had good knowledge of French to excellent, and 35% of English. French was found spoken at home in 77% of households in Brussels, the Netherlands in 16% of households, and no official language was spoken in 16% of households. French is the most recognized language in Brussels, and remains a lingua franca city.
Of businesses based in Brussels, 50% speak French for internal business, while 32% use French and Dutch, others use different languages. More than a third of job vacancies require bilingualism, and a fifth of job vacancies require knowledge of English. Therefore, it is argued that increasing Dutch knowledge in Brussels and Wallonia will significantly increase the prospects of job seekers in these areas. Of the advertising campaigns in Brussels, 42% are bilingual French and Dutch, while 33% are French only, 10% in French and English and 7% in English, French and Dutch. By day, the percentage of Dutch speakers in Brussels increased significantly, with 230,000 passengers coming from the Flemish Region, significantly more than 130,000 people coming from the Walloon Territory. Many of those from the Flemish Region, however, especially from very close to Brussels, are French speakers.
National political concerns
Francophones living in Flanders want Flanders to ratify the Framework Convention for National Minority Protection, which has been signed by almost every country in Europe, although in Belgium, has been signed but not ratified (also the case of a few others). This framework will allow Francophones to claim the right to use their own language when dealing with authorities, bilingual street names, schools in French, etc. This framework, however, does not specify what is meant by "National Minorities", and Fleming does not see Francophones in Flanders as one of them. Flanders is not inclined to approve this Framework, despite frequent calls by the Council of Europe to do so.
Within the Flemish, there is continuing concern that the status of the Netherlands in Brussels will continue to deteriorate, and that the surrounding region will experience more Francis. At the political level, Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde (BHV) election and judicial district elections led to many linguistic disputes. The district consists of 19 municipalities of the Capital City of Brussels in addition to the 35 municipalities of the Flemish administrative arrondissement of Halle-Vilvoorde. For the selection of the Belgian Senate and the European Parliament, organized by the linguistic region, residents from anywhere in the arrondissement may elect French-speaking parties in Wallonia and Brussels. For the selection of Belgian Chamber of Commerce, which is usually done by the province, voters from Halle-Vilvoorde can vote for the party in Brussels, and vice versa. It is feared that, if BHV is divided, francophones living in Halle-Vilvoorde will no longer be able to vote for candidates in Brussels, and they will lose the right to judicial proceedings in France. If a division would take place, the francophone political party would demand that the Capital Region of Brussels be expanded, a proposal not acceptable to the Flemish parties. This issue is one of the main reasons for the deadlock to 200 days in the formation of the Belgian government in 2007, and it remains a contested issue among Community linguistic warmly, until this issue is resolved mid-2012.
References
Further reading
- Schaepdrijver, Sophie de (1990). Elite to the Capital?: Foreign Migration to Brussels mid-nineteenth century . Amsterdam: Thesis Publishers. ISBN: 9789051700688.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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