Living in Translation Living in Translation
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Ten questions from expats about the language use in the Vlaamse Rand TRANSLATION LIVING IN TRANSLATION Michaël Van Droogenbroeck COLOPHON Responsible editor Eddy Frans, director npo ‘de Rand’ Kaasmarkt 75 1780 Wemmel Editing Michaël Van Droogenbroeck Composition Marijke Verboven Content-based advice Derek Blyth, former editor-in-chief of, among other things.The Bulletin en Flanders Today Hendrik Vuye, Professor of Constitutional Law at the University of Namur Thomas Leys, lawyer, ‘Steunpunt Taalwetwijzer’ (Flemish Support Centre on language laws) Jan De Bock, Unit Vlaamse Rand Coordination Layout Sylvie Van de Waeter, Agency for Local and Provincial Government Illustrations ilah Printed by Flemish authorities, digital printing office Registration number D/2011/3241/068 www.livingintranslation.be This booklet was published in March 2011 by vzw ‘de Rand’, with the logistic support of the Agency for Local and Provincial Government of the Flemish authorities. INTRODUCTION Belgium is a complex country. This no doubt has its charms, but it also raises a lot of questions for outsiders who come and live here. Although the structure, operation and composition of our country may seem precarious and arbitrary, they are not. It is quite a job for political journalists to explain this. And yet. The Belgian state structure may be complicated, but it is also the result of a democratic process that has been going on for years. The unitary Belgium, established in 1831, has grown into a fully-fledged federal state today. Belgium has just under 11 million inhabitants who live in four different language areas. Our country has no fewer than nine parliaments, each with its own competen- ces. The result is a complicated jumble of rules, laws and agree- ments which sometimes lack any logic. Yet, the Belgian legisla- tion is indeed the result of years of negotiation and contains many subtle balances. In practice, this multitude of rules and regulations can be con- fusing. The language legislation, for instance, is complex due to the different language rules that apply in the Flemish Region (the Dutch language area) and the Brussels-Capital Region. This brochure will provide you with answers to the questions you may be asking yourself as an outsider. Although it describes the rules that are applicable in Flanders, these same principles often also apply in the other language areas of our country. 3 Which languAgE is spoken in Belgium? In Belgium you can speak any language you want. For contacts with the authorities three official languages can be used: Dutch, French and German. These languages are not spoken everywhere, because Belgium is subdivided into federated states. Each federated state has its own official language. Only the Brussels-Capital Region is bilingual. However, more and more residents in our country are multilingual and speak the two most important national languages. WHICH LANGUAGES MAY BE SPOKEN HERE? In Belgium, people can speak any language they want. This language freedom is embedded in the Constitution. It implies that you can decide yourself which language you use in your household, among friends, in the media, and in the cultural, economic, commercial and religious fields. Like any other country, Belgium also has official languages. These are Dutch, French and German. These three languages are spoken in areas that are more or less delineated. In the middle of the last century, language areas were delineated on the basis of language use. The prevailing language spoken in a specific area also became the language of administration for that area. Belgium is composed of four language areas: the Dutch language area, the French language area, the German language area (nine municipalities in the east of Belgium) and the bilingual Brussels-Capital area. This subdivision into language areas and official languages by no means detracts from the language freedom. The use of one (or several) of these official languages is compulsory in a limited number of situations, especially in contacts with the authorities. Sometimes this obligation only applies to the official body, at other times to the citizens as well. 4 …The Germanic-Latin language border probably came into being during the fifth century. During this period the Roman Empire disintegrated into chaos, and large numbers of German Franks settled in our region. At that time, it was inhabited by the Gauls and Celts, both of whom had assimilated Roman culture. The north was mainly inhabited by the German Franks, who in the south were in the minority. The establishment of a border between the Germans in the north and the Romans in the south was a fact. … the Dutch language area the bilingual Brussels-Capital area the French language area the German language area 5 HOW MANY PEOPLE SPEAK WHICH LANGUAGE? Belgium has 10,839,905 inhabitants: 6.25 million in the Flemish Region (Dutch langu- age area), 3.5 million in the Walloon Region (French language area + German langu- age area) and 1.09 million in the Brussels-Capital Region (bilingual area). It is difficult to verify the number of Dutch speakers and French speakers in Belgium. The Walloon Region, for instance, is also home to Dutch speakers, and the Flemish Region to French speakers. The Brussels-Capital Region has French speakers, Dutch speakers and foreign speakers among its inhabitants. The number of speakers of each language is not registered. The German-speaking Community (which is a part of the Walloon Region) has about 75,000 inhabitants. WHICH LANGUAGES DO THE INHABITANTS OF BELGIUM SPEAK? An increasing number of Flemish people and French speakers in Belgium speak at least a second and even a third language. These days, there is little chance that you will meet anyone here who does not speak English. A lot of Flemish people speak French and it has been some time now that more and more French speakers are learning Dutch. The knowledge of German is less widespread. Most people start to learn an additional language in school. In Dutch-language education French lessons start at the age of 10. At the age of 14, pupils are also taught English. This may be followed by German and Spanish. Flemish people frequently come into contact with the English language through the media. Foreign films and TV series, for instance, are not dubbed, but subtitled. As a result, you can often also speak English in informal situations throughout Belgium. However, this does not change anything about the use of the official languages of administration in each language area. It is therefore recommended that you also learn the language of that area 6 . 7 IN which languAgE can I contact the authorities? In principle, any contacts with the authorities take place in the language of the area where they are located. In Flanders, this is Dutch; in Wallonia, French or German; and in Brussels, Dutch or French. This rule usually only applies to the authorities themselves. You are therefore not always obliged to use the official language when addressing the authorities. In most cases, civil servants will only answer and documents will only be drawn up in the official language. Due to its state structure, Belgium has many different levels of government. These include the federal (central) authorities, the Communities and Regi- ons, which partially overlap, the provinces and the municipalities. You will probably come into contact with some authorities more often than others. In principle, the language of each authority is that of the language area where it is located. In other words: the language of that area is the language of administration. This rule always applies to the authorities. Therefore, you cannot just assume that civil servants will understand your language. In fact, in most cases the authorities are only allowed to reply in the official langu- age. In addition, the documents of the authorities are only drawn up in the official language. 8 THE MUNICIPAL LEVEL The municipality is the level of government that is closest to the people. This is where you collect your identity card, receive information about domestic waste collection, submit a change of address, register a birth, marriage, etc. Each muni- cipality belongs to a specific language area and communicates in the language of that language area. A municipality in the Dutch language area only communicates in Dutch and a municipality in the French language area only in French. In Brussels, municipal civil servants must be able to help residents both in Dutch and in French. The same language regulation applies to the openbare centra voor maatschap- pelijk welzijn or OCMWs (public centres for social welfare) which are associated with the municipality. OCMWs are responsible, among other things, for providing affordable housing and sufficient means to people with financial difficulties. LanguAgE facilities: Exception A special regulation applies in the municipalities with facilities. These municipalities are situated in a monolingual language area, but offer ‘facilities’ to foreign-speaking inhabitants. Around Brussels there are six municipalities with facilities in the Dutch language area where facilities are provided to French-speaking residents. In Drogen- bos, Kraainem, Linkebeek, Sint-Genesius-Rode, Wemmel and Wezembeek-Oppem residents may ask to receive a specific document in French. These municipalities are not bilingual like the municipalities in the Brussels-Capi- tal Region. Here, official messages and communications must be both in Dutch and French, whereas individual communication normally takes place in Dutch. However, exceptionally this is also allowed in French. From the very start there has been disagreement about the idea behind the facilities. French-speaking politicians consider them to be permanent language rights. To Flemish politicians, these facilities are a temporary privilege for newcomers from another language area who have not yet mastered the language. The legislation itself con- tinues to be vague about the objectives.