Do people in Belgium speak French or Dutch
Planning to do a masters here and move for good soon but I only have A2 French and zero Dutch 😅
flanders_buildsDo people in Belgium speak French or Dutch
flanders_buildsAccepted answer
euro_tripperBasically there are three official languages which are Dutch, French and German. Dutch is the most spoke primary language in the country and the place is split into four linguistic areas covering Dutch, French, German and the bilingual Brussels-Capital region. I work in Antwerp so I mostly use Dutch but I have seen that if you try to speak French in the Flemish periphery around Brussels people can get quite annoyed or even hostile about it.
Cheers
Replies
wafflelover882Agreed... A really angry look was what I got when I tried asking for help in French at a shop in Zaventem once...
bruges_chroniclesDifficult to speak Dutch to people in Brussels.
wallonia_mom_lifeLanguage barrier is a massive political issue here because of how people feel about the lack of effort from French speakers to learn Dutch.
antwerp_sales_proHonestly learning Dutch is a 'game changer' for getting those high-paying jobs 📈. Most 'lucrative' positions in the business sector require it. It makes a huge difference for your career path.
newbie_notes2There are also tons of other languages like Arabic, Turkish or Spanish spoken by immigrants - very multicultural place 🇧🇪
practical_peteI always start with English before offering to speak French when I am in the Flemish parts to be safe
flanders_buildsThanks for the info