Belgian French
Belgian French (French: français de Belgique), also known as Walloon French (French: français Wallon), is the variety of French spoken mainly among the French Community of Belgium, alongside related Oïl languages of the region such as Walloon, Picard, Champenois, and Lorrain (Gaumais). The French language spoken in Belgium differs very little from that of France or Switzerland. It is characterized by the use of some terms that are considered archaic in France, as well as loanwords from languages such as Walloon, Picard, and Dutch. The variety is also an official language in the former Belgian colonies of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Burundi, with the latter two being co-official with English.
| Belgian French | |
|---|---|
| French of Belgium | |
| français de Belgique (French) | |
| Native to | Belgium |
Indo-European
| |
Early forms | Old Latin
|
Writing system | Latin (French alphabet) French Braille |
| Official status | |
Official language in | Belgium DR Congo Rwanda Burundi |
| Regulated by | Académie royale de langue et de littérature françaises de Belgique |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | – |
| Linguasphere | 51-AAA-i |
| IETF | fr-BE |
French is one of the three official languages of Belgium alongside Dutch and German. It is spoken natively by around 40% of the population, primarily in the southern region of Wallonia and the Brussels-Capital Region.