Challenges for medium sized language communities: a multilingual cities perspective An overview of the situation of Dutch in Brussels

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Challenges for medium sized language
communities a multilingual cities
perspectiveAn overview of the situation of Dutch
in Brussels
Philippe Hambye Centre de recherche Valibel
Discours et Variation Institut Langage
Communication Université de Louvain
Barcelona, 30th septembre 2010
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• The linguistic repertoirefacts and figures

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Use of languages in Brussels
Figures from a 2005 survey amongst 2500 speakers
(Janssens 2007, 2008)
Declared knowledge of languages (good or perfect)
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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    
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Demolinguistic balance in Brussels
Language spoken at home
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Demolinguistic balance in Brussels
French 57
Dutch 7
French Dutch 9
French other 11
Other 16
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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
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Social distribution of languages in Brussels
English gaining ground ?
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Migration movements
Increasing number of languages (1999 gt 2005)
95 of newcomers learn French rather than Dutch
Municipalities with a high rate of immigrants in
Brussels have the highest birthrate in Belgium
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Migration movements
Foreigners in Brussels in 2008
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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
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Migration movements
Bulgarie 2452
Algérie 2338
Suède 2336
Chine 2071
Cameroun 2049
Serbie/Mont. 1990
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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
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Attitudes
Multilingualism as a richness, bilingualism as a
necessity
Negative attitudes towards the Flemish community,
esp. amongst newcomers
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• Linguistic landscape and services

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Linguistic landscape
Brussels 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)
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Linguistic landscape
Brussels 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)
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Linguistic landscape
Brussels 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)
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Linguistic landscape
Brussels 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)
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(No Transcript)
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Public services
All public services in both official languages
Compulsory not a political choice
Double monolingualism
Ratio at the advantage of Dutch speakers
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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)
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• Brussels within Belgiuma microcosm ?

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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
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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