‘Bonjour’ Sets Off a Linguistic Dispute on a Belgian Train - The New York Times
‘Bonjour’ Sets Off a Linguistic Dispute on a Belgian Train The New York Times
July 17, 2025
As a result of being in between Latin and Germanic Europe, and historically being split between different principalities, the nation has multiple official languages. The Kingdom of Belgium has three official languages: Dutch, French, and German. A number of non-official, minority languages and dialects are spoken as well.
‘Bonjour’ Sets Off a Linguistic Dispute on a Belgian Train The New York Times
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July 21, 2025Train conductor’s ‘bonjour’ causes a political ‘war of words’ in language-divided Belgium Fortune
December 20, 2024Letter: Chewing over Belgium’s language landscape Financial Times
February 28, 2025Another Belgian government has just collapsed because of a dispute over language. The coalition headed by Prime Minister Yves Leterme lasted just five months. The break-up comes only a few weeks before Belgium is due to take over the rotating EU presidency.The long-simmering spat centers around Francophone Belgians living in the Dutch-speaking suburbs around the capital. Some French speakers there continue to refuse to learn Dutch. But Flemish politicians insist that Dutch is the only official language in those areas. Francophone mayors who sent out election notices in French have not been confirmed in office. And soon anyone wishing to buy a house in the suburbs around Brussels may have to prove that they can speak Dutch fluently. The gulf between French-speaking Walloons and the Dutch-speaking Flemish continues to grow.
This year's foreign film Oscar contenders make a truly international short list.<br/> Among the hopefuls is Belgium Michael R. Roskam's directorial debut "Bullhead", a film depicting the world of the Belgian meat industry, where illegal growth hormones are injected into cattle.<br/> "Bullhead" is deeply rooted in Belgium's Flanders region, but with an Academy Award honour in sight, it stands a good chance at reaching a more international audience.<br/> SOUNDBITE: Michael R. Roskam, Bullhead Film Director, saying (English)<br/> "What I tried to do is making a movie as authentic as I could make it, in a real Belgian soil, a real Belgian story, ... and I think the way also that I'm kind of influence a lot by American cinema has made this movie at the same time quite exotic maybe and familiar at the same time for the, let's say, the U.S. audience."<br/> Roskam now hopes the nomination will make it easier to secure financing for future projects and perhaps even allow him to take a shot at Hollywood himself.<br/> SOUNDBITE: Michael R. Roskam, Bullhead Film Director, saying (English)<br/> "Scorsese or the Coen Brothers and Orson Wells, John Ford, John Hughes and all those guys, you know. They all did it that way and hopefully I would just love to step in that tradition you know as the new kid of the family that could do something like those guys, my grandfathers and uncles and all this, I'm the little cousin coming up like 'Can I make a movie too?'"<br/> "Bullhead" has already enjoyed some awards success, with wins for Best Film, Best Director and Best Actor at the Austin Fantastic Festival.<br/> For leading actor Matthias Schoenarts it's the first feature film.<br/> SOUNDBITE: Matthias Schoenaerts, leading actor, saying (English)<br/> "An Oscar nomination, it's just, it's just crazy stuff. It's, it's the most prestigious award you can get as a moviemaker and, and, and to get that as a, with your first film is just mind-blowing."<br/> "Bullhead" is only the sixth Belgian film to be nominated for an Oscar and would have to beat the odds on February 26 to win over stiff competition from Iran, Israel, Canada and Poland.<br/> Kathi Urban, Reuters
The far right in Belgium won an unprecedented absolute majority in the town of Ninove in October's municipal election. Guy D'haeseleer, who takes over as mayor on 5 December, says all residents and newcomers must learn Flemish to get "access to social benefits."
SEO OR "digital marketing"SEO AND auditdefine:semanticssite:example.com SEO tipsintitle:"on-page SEO"filetype:pdf SEO checklistrelated:moz.com"technical SEO guide"SEO audit -paid"best * practices"SEO trends after:2024SEO AROUND(3) auditinurl:"keyword research"intext:"link building"As a result of being in between Latin and Germanic Europe, and historically being split between different principalities, the nation has multiple official languages. The Kingdom of Belgium has three official languages: Dutch, French, and German. A number of non-official, minority languages and dialects are spoken as well.
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“The source of a true smile is an awakened mind.”
Why did the tomato blush?
Because it saw the salad dressing.