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status in Belgium and the language's development in history have been edited
==Status in Belgium==
==Status in Belgium==
Belgium has three official languages: Dutch, French and German. Only in the five northern provinces, collectively known as the "Flemish Region" (''Vlaams Gewest''), is Dutch the official language where it is also unofficially labelled as ''Vlaams'' meaning Flemish.
Belgium has three official languages: Dutch, French and German. Only in the five northern provinces, collectively known as the "Flemish Region" (''Vlaams Gewest''), is Dutch the official language where it is also unofficially labeled as ''Vlaams'' meaning Flemish. Until the 19th century, the majority of the population in [[Brussels]], the Belgian capital, still had Dutch as its native language. However due to favored position of French following the establishment of the Belgian Kingdom, many Flemings were forced to speak French in order to achieve a higher status in society. This lead to the increase of French speaker in the city and its surroundings. Today, only a small portion of Brussels' inhabitants speak Dutch as a native language.
==History==
The development of the Dutch language is divided into three periods: Old Dutch, Middle Dutch, and Modern Dutch. Old Dutch developed mainly from a group of West Germanic dialects called Istvaeonic. Next to that, the language also contained North Sea Germanic influences due to its proximity to the North Sea and influences from the nearby Frisians who in some areas lived together with the Low Frankish tribes (ancestors of the Dutch-speaking people). During the Middle Ages, Dutch underwent some influence from French but this never extended to the same degree as with the English language.
Old Dutch started to distinguish itself from Old German dialects by the lengthening of vowels between to consonants and the realization of -ks- to -ss-. Although most literature in these times was Latin, some sources written in Old Dutch have been preserved like short sentences written or psalmbooks.
==See Also==
==See Also==
The [[Afrikaans|Afrikaans language]]
The [[Afrikaans|Afrikaans language]]