Oops, I forgot to answer on this question....:o
Yes, it is Dutch! Belgium has 3 official languages: Dutch, French & German!
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Is there another language, Flemish? (Or is that a version of Dutch?)
Do you and your family, Lut, speak all those languages? Do Belgians in general? Do official publications need to be published in all three languages?
Thanks, Lut! You live in a very interesting country.
Pat, who speaks only one language
We have received so many lovely cards!
Thank you Barbara, Bonny, Casper, Maya & Inka's Mommy, Phesina, and Ramanth!
Just 5 more from this swap, to come!
Flemish is based on Dutch, it can be a bit different from region to region. There are really a lot of dialects, but we can all understand each other!
The Dutch spoken in the Netherlands and the Dutch spoken in Belgium is almost equal, only the accent is a bit different.
Then have the 3 languages spoken in Belgium. Nearly half the Belgians has Dutch as mother tongue. They all live in the north and western part of the country. This known as "Flanders".
The eastern and southern part of Belgium speaks French, the region is called "Wallonia".
Then there is a small region in the east of Belgium where German is spoken. This is a leftover from the 2nd world war; Germany was forced to give a small part of their country to Belgium as payment for the war.
You are right about official papers. They all have to be in 3 languages!
Because of this diversity of language, we already start with learning a second language at the age of 10. In Flanders that second language is French, and in Wallonia it is Dutch.
As from age 13 we all start to learn a 3rd language. But that is NOT German, but English. Students want to learn German too, can do that by following German in highschool, starting at age 15.
Of course most people are not fluent in all languages, but most people speak at least 2 languages, and most people understand a bit of German because German has the same roots as Dutch.
I can speak all 4 languages fluently, and I also speak enough Spanish to make myself understandable in Spain!
I hope I made myself clear!?
Thank you Sandra and Candace- your cards arrived :) :)
I mailed all our cards this morning, so I know they will not arrive in time for Christmas, but hopefully by Epiphany! My apologies, folks!
Pinot Noir Cooper, we got your card! :love:
Today I received cards from Richard, and from Karen and Paul. Thank you!
Orion and Kiri say thank you to Pinot!
Court and Kim-your cards arrived too:)
Such fun seeing when the cards arrive everywhere and getting cards still!
Thank you so much for the lovely cards, Sandie, Kim, Court, Pinot, and Karen!
They are all beautiful, and it has been such joy to receive them.
A wonderful, peaceful, prosperous 2014 to you all!
Love from Pat and cats :love::love::love::love::love::love::love::love:
I just wanted to say thanks again to all those who participated. I know the swap took place a little bit last minute, but I think we pulled it off just fine! I have really enjoyed each and every card from you guys and look forward to doing it all again next year. :)
We have so enjoyed getting the cards, and hope ours are arriving okay!
Thank you everyone for the wonderful Christmas Card Greetings, & cute pictures of humans & their pets. I have them hanging on a long gold garland in the living room. I love this time of year. :D
It looks as if the last cards arrived- Karen usually is late- but it was worth waiting for little Miss Hoppy and her halo.
I have participated in so many of these exchanges and it really makes this time of the year special:)