German-speaking community of Belgium
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German-speaking Community Deutschsprachige Gemeinschaft (German) Communauté germanophone (French) Duitstalige Gemeenschap (Dutch) |
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| Community of Belgium | ||
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| Country | Belgium | |
| Established | 1984 | |
| Capital | Eupen | |
| Government | ||
| • Executive | Government of the German-speaking Community | |
| • Governing parties (2014–2019) | ProDG, PS, PFF | |
| • Minister-President | Oliver Paasch (ProDG) | |
| • Legislature | Parliament of the German-speaking Community | |
| • Speaker | Karl-Heinz Lambertz (PS) | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 854 km2 (330 sq mi) | |
| Population (2016) | ||
| • Total | 76,645 | |
| Day of the German-speaking Community | 15 November | |
| Language | German | |
| Website | www |
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The German-speaking Community of Belgium (German: Deutschsprachige Gemeinschaft Belgiens [ˈdɔʏ̯tʃˌʃpʁaːxɪɡə ɡəˈmaɪ̯nʃaft ˈbɛlɡi̯əns], DG; French: Communauté germanophone de Belgique; Dutch: Duitstalige Gemeenschap België [ˈdœy̯tsˌtaːlɪɣə ɣəˈmeːnˌsxɑp ˈbɛlɣijə]) is one of the three federal communities of Belgium. Covering an area of 854 km2 (330 sq mi) within the province of Liège (German: Lüttich) in Wallonia, it includes nine of the eleven municipalities of the so-called East Cantons (German: Ost-Kantone). Traditionally speakers of Low Dietsch, Ripuarian and Moselle Franconian varieties, the local population numbers over 75,000—about 0.70% of the national total.
Bordering the Netherlands, Germany and Luxembourg, the area has its own parliament and government at Eupen. Although in the Belgian province of Luxembourg many of the inhabitants in the border region next to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg speak Luxembourgish, a West Central German language, they are not considered part of the German-speaking Community. The German-speaking Community of Belgium is composed of the German-speaking parts of the lands that were annexed in 1920 from Germany. In addition, in contemporary Belgium there are also some other areas where Germanic languages are or have been spoken (the difference line between German, Dutch, Luxembourgish and Limburgish is very slight since they are all part of the same dialect continuum) that belonged to Belgium even before 1920, but they are not currently officially considered part of the German-speaking Community of Belgium: Bleiberg-Welkenraedt-Baelen in northeastern province of Liège and Arelerland (city of Arlon and some of its nearby villages in southeastern province of Belgian Luxembourg). However, in these localities, the German language is declining due to the expansion of French.
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Wikipedia