Language Information

Flemish is one of the two languages of Belgium, the other being French. it is spoken in the northern half of the country by about five and one-half million people, or slightly more than half the population. Flemish is actually the same language as Dutch, spoken in the Netherlands, but cultural and religious distinctions over the centuries have led to the use of separate terms for one and the same language. Historically, Flemish was spoken in the region known as Flanders, whose people are called Flemings.

Family: Indo-European
Subgroup: Germanic
Branch: Western

Writing Sample

Translation

He went out of doors, set open the dovecotes and the fowl house, and scattered maize, rice, oats, and corn. There was a flutter, cluttering, cackling, and flapping of wings; all sorts of fowls were there-pouter pigeons and fantails, cocks and hens, geese, turkeys, and a splendid peacock. Greedily they snapped up the food; they pushed and crowded and spread themselves out and pecked at the sparrows that swooped down on the heaving mass in flocks.

—FELIX TIMMERMANS, Pallieter