FrenchLesson 2 of 2 in the course French varieties

Belgian French: Regional History, Pronunciation, and Vocabulary

5 flashcards · 5 quiz questions · 5 match pairs · 5 fill-in sentences · English

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Summary

Belgian French is a regional variety of French shaped by Belgium’s multilingual history and its neighboring languages. This lesson introduces where it is spoken, how it relates to Belgium’s official languages, and how local languages influenced its development.

Belgian French, or français de Belgique, is spoken mainly by members of Belgium’s French Community. French is one of the country’s three official languages, alongside Dutch and German. Around 40% of Belgium’s population speaks French natively, primarily in Wallonia and Brussels.

All flashcards

What is a Belgicism?
A word or usage associated with Belgian French.
What are *septante* and *nonante* in Belgian French?
Regional words for seventy and ninety, respectively.
What vowel distinction do many Belgian French speakers maintain in *brin* and *brun*?
They keep the words’ nasal vowels distinct.
How is the letter *w* commonly pronounced in Belgian French *wagon*?
It is pronounced /w/, rather than /v/.
What is final-stop devoicing in some Belgian French speech?
Pronouncing final /d/, /b/, and /g/ as /t/, /p/, and /k/.

Quiz questions

  1. In Belgian usage, what does *souper* commonly refer to?Answer: An evening meal.
  2. What vowel distinction can Belgian French preserve in final open syllables, as in *peau* and *pot*?Answer: A distinction between /o/ and /ɔ/.
  3. Why does French in Brussels show influence from Dutch?Answer: The city was historically largely Dutch-speaking, and French became dominant gradually.
  4. In Belgian French, what does *ça me goûte* mean when talking about food?Answer: I like it.
  5. What grammatical feature is illustrated by Belgian French *jouer poker* instead of standard French *jouer au poker*?Answer: The omission of *au* before *poker*.

Based on the Wikipedia article Belgian French, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Adapted into a summary, flashcards and quizzes.

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