Why did the Belgian army speak French?

After 1830 the Flemish language was ostracized, but in the fifty years before the Great War it had gained a position of equality with French as the official language of Belgium. The Front Movement and Activism were more expressions of Flemish frustration than a desire to aid the Germans.

Why does the Congo speak French and not Dutch?

French is the official language of the country since its colonial period under Belgian rule. Therefore, the variety of French used in the DRC has many similarities with Belgian French. The Democratic Republic of the Congo currently has the largest French-speaking population of any country outside France.

Why are there French speakers in Belgium?

The freedom of language in Belgium was used by the government as the right to use French. However, the federal government of the Kingdom of Belgium actually ignored the cultural pattern of its Dutch-speaking inhabitants, who lived mainly in the northern part of the country and formed a majority in the country.

How is Belgian French different?

The French language spoken in Belgium differs very little from that of France or Switzerland. It is characterized by the use of some terms that are considered archaic in France, as well as loanwords from languages such as Walloon, Picard and Dutch.

When did Congo start speaking French?

French became a popular language in the Democratic Republic of Congo when it was colonized by Belgium in 1885. Folk languages were very popular for indigenous groups before colonization, as seen in the 211 languages that exist in the country.

Can Belgians speak Dutch and French?

The Kingdom of Belgium has three official languages: Dutch, French, and German. A number of non-official, minority languages and dialects are spoken as well.

Are Belgians German or French?

Belgians are made up of two main linguistic and ethnic groups; the Dutch-speakers (called the Flemish) and the French-speakers (mostly Walloons), as well as a third tiny but constitutionally recognized group from two small German-speaking areas.

Can Belgians understand French?

The primary language in Belgium is Dutch, spoken by approximately 60\% of the population. Many Flemish people can also speak French as a second language.

Why was French such a prominent language in the Belgian Revolution?

The revolution in Belgium was against the occupying Dutch, which probably contributes also to make french the prominent language at the time. The educated classes were speaking french, like most of Europe up to the WWI. The workers were speaking the local languages.

What was the name of Belgium’s colonial empire?

Belgian colonial empire. Roughly 98\% of Belgium’s overseas territory was just one colony (about 76 times larger than Belgium itself) — known as the Belgian Congo. This had originated as the personal property of the country’s king, Leopold II, rather than being gained through the political or military action of the Belgian state.

What is the official language of the Netherlands?

Dutch (Nederlands (help·info)) is a West Germanic language spoken by about 24 million people as a first language and 5 million people as a second language, constituting most of the population of the Netherlands (where it is the only official language countrywide) and more than half of the population of Belgium (as one of three official languages).

Did the French colonize the Congo and keep the French language?

On the other hand, many neighbours of the Belgian colonial bloc (Congo-Kinshasa, Rwanda, Burundi) were colonised by the French, and retain French as their official language. [FN 2] [FN 1] I knew a guy who grew up in Elisabethville, Belgian Congo (now Lubumbashi), in the 1950s. At school, there actually were a few Dutch lessons per week.