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Is Belgian French different from France French?
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.
Does Belgian French sound different?
The Belgian accent is influenced by Dutch, which, along with German, is an official language. Belgian French accents tend to be a little more nasal, and they distinguish between certain sounds that the French pronounce the same way.
What do you call a French speaking Belgian?
7 letter answer(s) to french-speaking belgian WALLOON. a dialect of French spoken in Belgium and adjacent parts of France. a member of the French-speaking people living in Belgium.
Are Belgians German or French?
Belgians are made up of two main linguistic and ethnic groups; the Dutch-speakers (called the Flemish) and the French-speakers (mostly Walloons), as well as a third tiny but constitutionally recognized group from two small German-speaking areas.
Can French understand Belgium?
So, the second question: do the French and Belgians understand each other? Do we understand each other well? B : Yes, we understand each other very well. Obviously, between French-speaking Belgians of course, because with the Dutch-speaking ones, well, there’s the language barrier.
Do Belgians speak French accents?
Accent. As we learned in the introduction, and as you likely expected, the accent is somewhat different in Belgian French as well. The two languages sound similar for the most part, but there are a couple of differences that are likely to stand out.
Why did Belgium start speaking French?
When Belgium became independent, the political elite felt that a new nation had to be built and to do so, the adoption of a common language was necessary. They decided to adopt French as the only official language because it was the language spoken by the upper class across the new country.
What language does Belgium not speak?
German is the language which is not spoken by most of the people in Belgium.
Is French pronunciation difficult to learn?
When you’re learning French, French pronunciation can seem pretty intimidating. The sounds are tricky. And letters that look familiar to English can sound entirely different. While French is definitely very different from English, it’s not that much harder.
Are there silent final consonants in French?
In French pronunciation (not in writing), final consonants are usually silent. As in English, in plural most French words add an S, but the last S in a word is not pronounced. (i.e., enfant and its plural form enfants sound the same).
What are the different vowel sounds in French?
French has two kinds of vowel sounds; Oral and Nasal. For now, we will start with the Oral vowels. A Sounds – chat, moi, là, pâte This sound is similar to the A-sound we would use in English words like cat, pat, that.
Why do French speakers say “one” instead of two?
Some sounds, like the common “th” sound in English, don’t even exist in other languages, which explains why French speakers learning English often say “one,” “two,” “tree”. For English speakers learning French as a second language, things are no different.