Challenges for medium sized language communities: a multilingual cities perspective

An overview of the situation of Dutch in Brussels

Philippe HambyeCentre de recherche Valibel – Discours et Variation

Institut Langage & CommunicationUniversité de Louvain

Barcelona, 30th septembre 2010

The linguistic repertoire:facts and figures

Use of languages in Brussels

Figures from a 2005 survey amongst 2500 speakers (Janssens 2007, 2008)

Declared knowledge of languages (good or perfect)

Use of languages in Brussels

French 96% Portuguese 2%

English 35% Turkish 1%

Dutch 28% Lingala 1%

  Greek 1%

Spanish 7% Russian 0,5%

German 6% Amazigh 0,3%

Italian 6%    

Arabic 6%    

Demolinguistic balance in Brussels

Language spoken at home

Demolinguistic balance in Brussels

French 57%

Dutch 7%

French + Dutch 9%

French + other 11%

Other 16%

Social distribution of languages in Brussels

French as a lingua franca in Brussels

Weak position of Dutch in Brussels (60% of Dutch-speakers in Belgium)

The demolinguistic ratio do not reflect the importance of Dutch

- due to its official status

- due to its major role in the workplace

Social distribution of languages in Brussels

English gaining ground ?

Migration movements

Increasing number of languages (1999 > 2005)

95% of newcomers learn French rather than Dutch

Municipalities with a high rate of immigrants in Brussels have the highest birthrate in Belgium

Migration movements

Foreigners in Brussels in 2008

Migration movements

France 46006 Roumanie 8741

Maroc 39101 Royaume-Uni 8607

Italie 26695 Congo-Kinshasa 7955

Espagne 19210 Grèce 7780

Pologne 15697 Pays-Bas 6750

Turquie 10667 Japon 3129

Allemagne 8886 États-Unis 3083

Migration movements

Bulgarie 2452

Algérie 2338

Suède 2336

Chine 2071

Cameroun 2049

Serbie/Mont. 1990

Integration policies

Houses of Dutch

Non Dutch-speakers as a priority group in primary schools

Some initiatives to use/promote immigrant languages

No political measures on the Francophone side

Attitudes

Multilingualism as a richness, bilingualism as a necessity

Negative attitudes towards the Flemish community, esp. amongst newcomers

Linguistic landscape and services

Linguistic landscapeBrussels is officially bilingual, mainly French-speaking, and largely multilingual

No regulation of signage in the private sector

- French only- Official bilingualism

- English with/without French/French-Dutch- + immigrant languages- « non languages »

BOZAR (beaux-arts/schone kunsten)

Linguistic landscapeBrussels is officially bilingual, mainly French-speaking, and largely multilingual

No regulation of signage in the private sector

- French only- Official bilingualism

- English with/without French/French-Dutch- + immigrant languages- « non languages »

CINEMATEK (cinémathèque/cinemateek)

Linguistic landscapeBrussels is officially bilingual, mainly French-speaking, and largely multilingual

No regulation of signage in the private sector

- French only- Official bilingualism

- English with/without French/French-Dutch- + immigrant languages- « non languages »

KIOSK (kiosque/kiosk)

Linguistic landscapeBrussels is officially bilingual, mainly French-speaking, and largely multilingual

No regulation of signage in the private sector

- French only- Official bilingualism

- English with/without French/French-Dutch- + immigrant languages- « non languages »

BOOTIK (boutique/boetiek)

Public services

All public services in both official languages

Compulsory : not a political choice

Double monolingualism

Ratio at the advantage of Dutch speakers

Private services

Language use highly variable (// signage)

Dutch more present in services provided to Flemish workers (ex. restaurants)

English for international services (hotels, tourism, airport)

Brussels within Belgium:a microcosm ?

Brussels a microcosm ?

Coexistence of two monolingual communities

One of the few place where people experience bilingualism

The only place where an bicultural identity emerges

Political debate concerning this exceptional status of Brussels

Education and multilingualism

50% of Dutch speakers in Brussels learned it at school

Quality of language learning still matters

Reluctance on the Flemish side to promote bilingual education