Belgian French

Belgian French (French: français de Belgique) is the variety of French spoken mainly among the French Community of Belgium, alongside related Oïl languages of the region such as Walloon, Picard, Champenois and Lorrain (Gaumais). 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.

French is one of the three official languages of Belgium alongside Dutch and German. It is spoken natively by around 39% of the population, primarily in the southern region of Wallonia and the Brussels-Capital Region.

While a number of Oïl languages have traditionally been spoken in different areas of Wallonia, French emerged as the regional language of literature in the 13th century. This was a result of heavy French cultural influence on the region over the past few centuries. Owing to the diversity of local languages, the French language in Wallonia was influenced by them, with words from Walloon, Picard, Champenois and Lorrain making their way into the local variant. Until the 20th century, Walloon was the majority language of Wallonia, and most speakers were bilingual in both French and Walloon.

While the French spoken in Wallonia was influenced by local languages, the variant spoken in Brussels was influenced by Dutch, specifically the local Brabantian dialect. The city, geographically located within the Flanders region, was originally just a Dutch-speaking city. However, a gradual Frenchification took place beginning in the 19th century and intensifying towards the end of that and continuing throughout the next (20th) century. Today, many Dutch idioms or expressions have been translated into French and are used as such in the Brussels area.

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