How Brussels, Belgium Operates as a Trilingual City

Worrying about one language when traveling abroad is stressful enough, but what about when a country speaks multiple?! Follow Emily as she explains the trilingualism of Brussels. Learn more about Bright Trip at www.brighttrip.com/courses?ut...
You might know Brussels as the capital of Belgium, or the home of many European institutions… but did you know it has two official languages that the region needs to operate in? Or that more residents actually speak a third unofficial language than one of the official ones?
It’s almost as confusing as it sounds, but in this video Emily takes you through Brussels’ past and present so you can understand how to get by in this multilingual city today.
Leave a comment with any questions you have and we’ll make sure to include it in a future video.
Make sure to subscribe to the channel to learn how to travel smarter.
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Bright Trip creates video-based travel courses to help you travel smarter. From our location courses that visually demystify places like Tokyo, London, Costa Rica, or Cape Town to our skills courses that cover how to travel solo, with kids, or how to document your travels more effectively and efficiently - each course is created by real travelers, like you, and aims to create a community of curious travelers that are eager to travel smarter.
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[@caitlinbrown7597]

In Brussels when you walk into a museum the staff will greet you with "Bonjour, hallo, hello" and you can respond in whichever language you choose

[@BrightTripTravel]

So cool!

[@pwp8737]

reminds me of Montreal; the hostesses in restaurants greet you with bonjour-hello and wait for your response to decide which language to continue in.

[@djspqr1427]

Strange, as a Flemish person worked a long periode in Brussels, if I entered a museum, warehouse I'm greeted with a simple Bonjour..... If I order something in Dutch I get the responds excuse-moi, en francais svp..... (and then I'm being polite... SVP is a dirty word sometimes...) I'd probably get a faster respond if I'd talk Arabic....

[@caitlinbrown7597]

@@djspqr1427 that's interesting. I got this a few times, the first was in the comic museum. Perhaps it's not as wide spread as my personal experience suggested.

[@laminebah9374]

@@djspqr1427 So funny 😐.if you're not happy stay in flanders .Brussels will stay french speaking 👏🏽

[@geralddemeulemeester4961]

A little correction, the higher classes everywhere in Belgium spoke French, the middle classes in big cities learned a bit of French because it was "chic" but the majority of the people spoke their local dialects from town to town (flemishes or walloons). There was no "standard" language anywhere. Walloon languages maybe closer to French so the switch by the time was easier and most of the walloons don't speak walloon anymore even if they remind some words.

[@illmatic7752]

Yeah not really true, you're exaggerating to make it look like a natural evolvement which is just not the case. It's still a fact that Flemish weren't allowed to speak their own language. There is a clear story of oppression there. The standard language was for thousand years Flemish in Brussels. 95% of people spoke up up until 1830. Only aristocracy spoke French but that was the case in literally every European country.

[@geralddemeulemeester4961]

@@illmatic7752 There was no "standard Flemish language" at that time as there was no "standard walloon language". All official documents were in Dutch when Belgium was part of the Dutch Kingdom from 1815 till 1830, after that everything switched to French. People could speak what language they wanted, poor people didn't go to school till they were able to work ! The only oppression was those from the upper classes toward the working classes who couldn't vote. Not only Brussels but also in other big Flemish and Walloon cities was the French the upper class language.

[@HowNoNow]

One little correction: Kids (including mine) do get taught in both languages. It's called immersion and it's offered from 3eme (around 5yrs old). It's not available in all schools nor to all children in the schools that do offer it, but the opportunity to be taught 50/50% in FR/NL is available.

[@alozzzy1213]

I had a chance to travel to Brussels for a school trip (uni). You did a really good job at captivating my attention and explaining the concepts about this strange but amazing city. I thoroughly enjoyed your delivery.

[@BrightTripTravel]

Thank you so much!

[@nellisnellas]

To make things in Brussels even more complicated: there are Dutch speaking schools and they are very popular as they are considered of better quality than FR ones (I'm talking about the image). Many try to subscribe their children in them. So young people are becoming a little more familiar with Dutch which pushes Brussels a little back in the other direction 💁

[@epinoke4168]

Without forgetting that many Belgians enrolled their children in schools where foreigners were not in the majority. It is a reality even if it displeases.

[@reinavenegas2018]

Most of people I know do that so the children can speak both language, the kid learns dutch at school and speaks french at home...But Brussels will still always majorly French speaking.

[@Yochemm]

@@reinavenegas2018 But Brussels will always be a Flemish City.

[@reinavenegas2018]

@@Yochemm it is in the flemish side of Belgian,but it is mostly French speaking, I work in administration there ,and I barely use flemish...

[@Yochemm]

@@reinavenegas2018 So, When they spoke Italian, it would be part of Italia?? It's not the language, it is the boundary that determines an area that part of Brabant is Flemish...

[@edipires15]

“How does Brussels operate as an trilingual city?” ( Spoiler) “Actually it doesn’t” Luxembourg-City: “Amateurs…” Seriously now: I studied 3 years in Brussels and I have to say, you can get by easily with French and English. I was never in a situation where someone didn’t speak or didn’t want to speak those languages. However, most job providers require or prefer someone who can speak Dutch as well as the other two.

[@flitsertheo]

You can get by without Dutch because Dutch speaking people will almost always be able to speak to you in your language. For French and English speaking people this is much less obvious.

[@edipires15]

@@flitsertheo very true. I find it sad that in the French part of Belgium most aren’t fluent in Dutch while in the Flemish and German parts most are fluent in French.

[@lindamaes6454]

@@edipires15 In the Wallonian educational system other languages are optional and not a requirement like in Flanders. The option is given by the age of 14, way to late and they also dub everything on TV and movies to French. When you're not used to hear other languages it's harder to learn one.

[@edipires15]

@@lindamaes6454 that’s the sad truth. It is strange that they do not impose Dutch since it’s one of the official languages. In Luxembourg you’re required to study all the official languages used in the country (Luxembourgish at preschool, German starts at 1st grade, French at 3rd grade and English in secondary school).

[@lindamaes6454]

@@edipires15 Luxembourgish is really a special language, it's like an ancient language combining German, French and Wallonian.

[@IzHarris]

Great job Emily!

[@Ok-lu8gx]

ok

[@EmilyStoker]

Thanks, Iz!

[@flux202]

@@EmilyStoker oh you have a channel... uhmm yes I will watch your videos.

[@pawion]

2:32 The explanation of Belgium's turbulent linguistic history is unfortunately misleading. This is often the case since the subject is quite complex. In short, in the south of Belgium that would later become Wallonia, the majority of the population spoke Walloon. Nowadays it is considered a language in its own right, but at the time it was regarded as an improper dialect of French. Note that the difference between a language and a dialect is very vague, for example French and Walloon could both be considered Langue d'Oïl dialects. In the north of the country, what would later become Flanders (even though the historical eponym county covered only a fraction of the region), the population spoke a set of Dutch dialects (Flemish, Brabantian, Limburgish and so on). Abusively, we would tend to call them "Flemish" today by association. In fact, French wasn't really a native language in Belgium. At the time, it established itself as a lingua franca in Europe, and a prestige language within the Belgian upper class. Thus the Belgian bourgeoisie (i.e. from Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels, independently from current regional borders) was Francophile. It is to be pointed out that Wallonia underwent a massive francization after WW1 when French became the language of mandatory education while Walloon was banned from schools. Unaware of that, it's easy to think that the Belgian bourgeoisie was Walloon when in fact the opposite was truer; the overwhelming majority of the French-speaking ruling class came from Brussels and the north of the country. Most Belgian cities had a powerful minority of French-speakers, pejoratively known as Franskiljoens in Dutch or Franskilons in Walloon. One can easily see the considerable influence of French in today's Flemish society. Precisely the Flemish Movement was born out that struggle to free Flemings from the Francophile rule. It resulted in Dutch being officially recognized, unlike their dialects, for the new-founded Flemish Community in Flanders and Brussels. Here a map of Benelux's languages and dialects: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_the_Netherlands#/media/File:Languages_Benelux.PNG

[@adambarfi]

Finally a competent explanation!

[@barryjm]

It's all napoleon's fault kzbin.info/www/bejne/h53aeaKqpdFseqM

[@cedric3320]

Amen!

[@3506Dodge]

You wrote all of that in English. That speaks volumes.

[@Nautiliam]

​@@3506DodgeWe are on KZbin, addressing a potentially global audience, and on an English-speaking video. It seems quite logical to use English to write their comment.

[@TravelingisFREEDOM]

This seems to be a very charming place, I hope I can visit sometime in the future. Seeing and sharing places like this is why I love traveling and make videos so much! And please keep up the great job! Subscribed!!

[@thatotau7478]

Insane quality. Well done. Thank you!

[@BrightTripTravel]

Thanks a ton!

[@SeminoleMoments]

Fascinating. I love these Bright Trip videos. More please lol

[@BrightTripTravel]

Every Tuesday and Thursday 😉

[@jordymcneill]

Emily you killed this video !!! LOVED IT

[@guldklimp]

I'm swedish but live in France so french comes quite natural to me. The few times I've been to Brussels i haven't needed to use anything other than french, and if I remember correctly they've all approched me in French. But my english speaking friend had no problem getting by in english. I haven't heard a lot of dutch in the city...

[@tomvanlint6694]

Very likely, many of those people that address you in french or english are in fact dutch speakers. How would you know?

[@guldklimp]

@@tomvanlint6694 Exactly, that seems very probable. My comment was just a reflection of the languages I used and heard during my short visits in Brussels 😊

[@zengseng1234]

Yeah in Brussels I used mostly French, which I don’t speak very well. Spanish is my first language, but I learned American English from school. When I asked for something in French at the Christmas market, I apparently must’ve had a Dutch accent, because he answered me back in Dutch. When it was clear I didn’t understand, he spoke English.

[@tamaraaelbrecht1718]

@guldklimp In Brussels 90% is in French. They don't even know Dutch. However in Belgium in total 60% has Flemish/Dutch as a native language (living mainly in Flanders). 38% has French as a native language (Brussels and Wallonia) and about 2% has German as a native language. All living in Ostbelgien, next to the border with Germany. Education in Flanders is better than the other parts in Belgium. In Flanders you have to learn French at school from the age of 10 years and English from the age of 13. German from the age of 16 and optional at the end of high school Spanish. In Wallonia they don't even have to learn Dutch in school. They can choose between Dutch and English. 🤷‍♀️🤦‍♀️ Btw you should visit West-Flanders. The regional dialect resembles to Swedish. 😉 Some phrases are exactly the same. I've been watching Swedish crime shows on the tv (with subtitles) so I hear the actors talk.

[@Edodod]

Try using Dutch, then you can see how "trilingual" the city really is..

[@midgearea]

Fascinating! Thanks, Emily.

[@BrightTripTravel]

So fascinating!

[@BoonBreyne]

Reminds me of this funny situation I once had in a pizzeria... So imagine you're a native Dutch speaker recently moved to Brussels, but you know the city operates mostly in French outside of the European quarter, but you also know that many pizzeria owners are Italian... So, in this case I was mildly panicking when I entered and a waitress approached me. She says "Bonsoir, hello!", so I'm like "ouf, thanks for clearing that up already, you speak French and English" and I continue in French. I notice her French wasn't super fluent though, so I doubt whether I should switch to English instead, she might be an English native speaker... Anyway I went to sit down at a table, read the menu, which is in Italian of course. And in the background I hear the waitress speak perfect Dutch with a colleague and I'm like "HANG ON!" "We picked the wrong language to start off with!" :D It can be so funny. Another time I had a conversation in a shop with another Dutch native speaker in French until he noticed the system to pay by debit card turned to Dutch when I held my card next to it. Then we switched to Dutch. Ah, Brussels!

[@PVMe1967]

It's not surprising that English can't be used in the administration as it is not an official language in Brussels (nor in Belgium, though). Knowing that they're gonna live here, expats should make the effort to learn French and/or Dutch before moving to the country.

[@williamdfr1715]

totally agree with you. I also think we should end this discrimination that says when you are white you are an expat and when you are a different colour you are an immigrant

[@PVMe1967]

@@williamdfr1715 It would be just fair, but I'm afraid it won't happen before long.

[@masbel7709]

Dat is echt een rare gedachte...heel closed minded. Als Nederlandse woon ik nu in Brussel. Op mijn vorige adres woonde ik in het Waalse op 1 km van Oost-Vlaanderen en ik werkte ook in Vlaanderen. Toen ik mij wilde inschrijven in de gemeente die dus op een steenworp afstand van Vlaanderen ligt wilde of kon niemand mij helpen in het Nederlands of Engels aangezien ik geen Frans spreek. Dat is toch gek? Ik spreekt Nederlands en Nederlands is één van de officiële talen maar daar mee naar een gemeente of andere instantie gaan lukt niet. Dat is toch wel heel krom.

[@williamdfr1715]

@@masbel7709 I don't think the reception would have been different for a French person going to the Flanders side of the border. Only Brussels is officially bilingual

[@jakeryan4545]

To be fair, as an American who works in the government funded housing field, I am surprised. But this is due to my experience in my job, my own views, and my stereotype of Europeans. In the US government agencies are supposed to provide translators / services for people with Limited English Profeciency. I tend to have liberal views and in the US, it tends to be liberals who advocate for the statutes, executive orders, and regulatory rulings that force / encourage administrative officials to provide services in languages other than English, whereas I know plenty of US conservatives who would say "expats / immigrants in the US should make the effort to learn English before moving to the country". I stereotype that Europeans (including Belgians) are more liberal than Americans, (obviously you shouldn't stereotype, and this is a perfect example of why).

[@jakeevara]

In your hypothetical day in Brussels, you mention a coffee shop. Almost anywhere in Brussels, the service industry *hypothetically* works in both languages, but in practice works in French. You'll never fail to get served in French, but may very well fail to get served in Dutch, depending on where in the city you are.

[@crush42mash6]

So fun explaining a confusing city I’ll be there in June can’t wait. Love from 🇨🇦

[@Edodod]

You did a good job of research. What I like about your video is that you contrast the actual situation and how it compares to the idealized "hypothetical" trilinguality, which doesn't exist. There are other people who make videos about this, and remain stuck in the "hypothetical" situation, without any knowledge about the actual situation. There's also cases of people who speak only Dutch, for example elderly people, but also foreigners, and they can't get Dutch help in a hospital or police station.

[@dansanger5340]

From your stats, it seems like Brussels is overwhelmingly French, with English spoken for the benefit of foreigners, and Dutch spoken by a relatively tiny minority.

[@adrianrocha]

english is actually also spoken for the benefit between flemish speaking and french speaking citizens

[@andyschryvers7407]

Actually Flemish is spoken as a first language by a lot of people who work in Brussels. We just don't live there. Most older Flemisch people are fluent in French because they grew up on french tv but some of the younger ones aren't so we often try english since both halfs of the country know that.

[@tomvanlint6694]

Those stats are about the "reach" of those languages: the languages people can speak - not about their main language (what they talk at home, their motherlanguage). And of course there are big overlaps: most dutch speakers also account for french and english speakers, for example.,, while the inverse is not so often the case. What is not shown either are the other big languages in Brussels : arabic, spanish, turkish, italian, polish, german Those are the main languages of many Belgians AND expatriates that live in Brussels, but most of them will communicate in french, dutch and/or english as well.

[@jandron94]

@@tomvanlint6694 Why is the Flanders celebration day concert never taking place in Brussels?

[@jandron94]

@@adrianrocha French is so much more convenient in that case. And it's actually the case.

[@justawir]

Ive been living in Brussels for 6 years now and this still helped me understand things ! Brussels is confusing but incredible !

[@BrightTripTravel]

Yay, we're glad we could help! 🙌

[@robertalexanderho5268]

Here here, I loved this city so much I managed to buy an apartment to do my art. Everything is walkableand the everything is just 30 minutes walk away..... From my apartment. Food is fabulous.

[@craighobbs3708]

Great video!

[@adrienrenaux6211]

Great video! One thing that wouldn't be as true is that English is a lingua franca for everyone. It is within the rich expat community and in the contacts this community has with the rest of the people, but I feel like in the majority of Brussels, french is the most common language, and that's the one spoken in stores, the street, and everything. The Flemish speakers are kind of concentrated in some neighborhoods

[@MikeC_BE_2870]

Also, the fact she showed an example in the video where a Romanian and a Portuguese person in Brussels would probably use English as a lingua franca made me kind of chuckle... I'm pretty shure these two people would use French since French is also a Romance language which has ties to Portuguese and Romanian.

[@Diana-d]

@@MikeC_BE_2870 true haha, i am romanian and we would even understand ourselves even if we spoke our languages

[@hannofranz7973]

@@MikeC_BE_2870 That's right but only to a certain degree. French is by far the most distant Roman language for Portuguese, Spanish and Italian speakers with no command of French. A lot of the older Spaniards had French at school not English. They might find French easier. But as English has turned into lingua franca, I'd expect most Italians and Spanish to get by better in English than French. Apart from that, France is rather unpopular in both countries, that's different with Portugal and possibly Romania.

[@verlan3293]

@@hannofranz7973 English is not the only lingua franca. And particularly when you're in a city where almost all the jobs require French and not only that it is by far the most spoken language in Brussels, it is the lingua franca of Brussels. Just because you have a few diplomat foreign workers or British/American expats in Brussels suddenly does not make English Brussel's lingua franca.

[@angelh1743]

thank you

[@JhowieNitnek]

I can confirm everything about this I live in Brussels and yeah the city is chaotic but that is what I love about it

[@tahirrizwan6759]

I’ve been to Brussels 2 years ago and I constantly had to ask if they spoke “Français or Nederlands” because I’m from Holland and speak French as well. I find Brussels overwhelmingly French with small pockets of Dutch (Vlaams) it’s fascinating how the Walen(Walloons) are viewed. They almost never want to speak Dutch, but the Vlamingen(Flemish) have to learn French. It’s an odd situation that can be compared to the sizeable expat community in Amsterdam. They never learn Dutch, and always force people to speak English whereas the old immigrant pop. from Turkish and Moroccan origin always did learn Dutch. It’s quite annoying. haha

[@BrightTripTravel]

That's interesting!

[@masbel7709]

Precies. Helemaal met je eens. Ik kom ook uit Nederland en woon nu al tijdje in Brussel.

[@severmiu9097]

"They never learn dutch", well, I met a Romanian expat, living in Amsterdam since 17 years ago, that had learned Dutch.

[@tahirrizwan6759]

@@severmiu9097 Let me clarify. I referred to present-day expats/immigrants. This is becoming more common as these people from countries like England and the US buy up property in big cities in Holland. I’ve had countless encounters in Amsterdam (where most western expats are concentrated) with them where they don’t or even attempt to speak Dutch even though they operate businesses or work in customer service. This is because English is widely spoken and understood, so they feel like they don’t have the need to learn it. On the other hand , I met older immigrants from western and eastern countries and younger refugees from Syria that did speak amazing Dutch in a year or so. Learning a foreign language is just a neccessity if you want to participate in society.

[@onikamaraj1239]

People from Brussels are not walloons and if no one here is willing to learn Dutch it’s for a simple reason it’s hard to learn and pretty much useless for Brussels natives

[@globalhealingprayermission1656]

Very nice message Good time

[@italixgaming915]

I spent a few days in Brussels and I was able to communicate with everyone I met in French. I haven't been in a situation where I needed to switch to English.

[@BrightTripTravel]

That's great!

[@dodgermartin4895]

I am an American who lived in Wallonia for 3 years. I learned French!!! I had to. But I lived about 10km from the border with Flanders. 100% of all Flemish people could speak English as well as I could, but not in Wallonia. And what was really strange was some cities have different names in the two languages... I lived close to Mons in French Wallonia but on a Flemish sign in Flanders, the city was called "Bergen." I had to take my dog to a vet in Courtrai in Flanders, but when I crossed into Flanders, the name in Dutch was Kortijk. Yeah, and the French spoken in Belgium was slightly different than in nearby France!! In France French the number 90 is Quatre-vingt-dix. In Belgian French its Nonante. C'est la vie.

[@dyamoy]

Interesting! Good job!!!

[@BrightTripTravel]

Thanks!

[@DanielsimsSteiner]

This is so good

[@BrightTripTravel]

Thanks! 🙌

[@EmilyStoker]

Thanks, Daniel! 😄

[@callmeswivelhips8229]

This video really reinforces the value of learning French...it's spoken in so many countries!!!

[@BrightTripTravel]

True! And we have to perfect course to help with that 😊 Our language learning guide: brighttrip.com/course/language/

[@mardiffv.8775]

Is French spoken is so many countries? Yes and no, most French speakers live in former French and Belgium African countries in West and Central Africa. But I doubt you will visit one of those. In Europe in France, Southern Belgium, Luxemburg and Western tip of Switzerland. The Ardennes are very beautiful, many castles and speaking French is a must. Few locals speak English. In the Americas Quebec, Saint Martin and Martinique are nice to visit. Haiti and French Guyana are not so interesting. In the Pacific Tahiti is the French Hawaii.

[@onikamaraj1239]

@@mardiffv.8775 obviously French is a must in Quebec and French dependencies like Martinique since French is the official language there though in Quebec I tend to agree even though if you want to work in Quebec you need to speak French

[@garfieldt]

English seems to be much more useful these days. French appears to be on the way out

[@mysticmind7392]

@@garfieldt English is the lingua franca of the world these days, but French is not on its way out anytime soon. It's the second most studied language in the world after English.

[@hariprakashk]

👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽.. very good explanation ..

[@BrightTripTravel]

Glad you think so!

[@arronk09]

I had the same challenging language experience when I moved to Zaventem from Ireland for work. I went to the town hall to register as a non-Belgian resident and the particular staff member I was dealing with wouldn't speak to me in English and of course I couldn't speak Flemish at the time. After I made a new appointment to take a Flemish colleague with me to translate, I ended up with the same person as before who then decided to speak English! Either way I ended up learning Flemish and haven't looked back since. I enjoyed the three years I spent in Belgium and I'll be back again for weekend breaks in the future, it's a lovely country.

[@corradox11]

That is because by law they’re only aloud to talk Dutch, French or German depending on the region you live….it has nothing to do with not wanting to…..even if they can and want to…. You have to bring an interpreter…Don’t get me wrong but I don’t think they will help me in Dutch or French in Dublin or whatever foreign city… In 90% of the cases I can’t be helped in my own mother tongue in Brussels.

[@Diana-d]

I had the same experience when i first moved, i had to speak in a very broken french. I remember once i needed a document from the police and i had an example in flemish (but i wanted it in french) but the police officer didn’t know what that paper said :’) belgium is complicated

[@mahf_mahf]

@@corradox11 If that's true (I have no idea, I don't leave there), why are there so many anglo unilingual speakers complaining that they can get no service in English from Belgian French speakers, at any local administration such as Brussels' communes ? Some are taking this as a personal attack or some sort of discrimination while it might be that the civil servant does not feel comfortable enough with English ... or even they'er just not allowed to work in English.

[@sammexp]

When I travelled to Brussels. I was only speaking French in the city and it strikes me as being really French speaking with belgian accent and words. I only spoke English with some foreigners that I met there. Sometime you had signs in English only but in Shop I was served in French all the time.

[@masbel7709]

Very well explained👌🏻. As a Dutch 🇳🇱 I love to live in Brussels. ♥️🇧🇪 .

[@BrightTripTravel]

Amazing!

[@Frahamen]

In adition, the train comunication will be in English if and only if the line happens to end at the International Airport in Zaventem.

[@BrightTripTravel]

Good to know!

[@koopalibrary]

I remember the first time I was in Brussels. Most of the ppl on the counter did not understand flemish. Something of a surprise after being taught Brussels was bilingual in school. False advertisement if you ask me.

[@wimhey]

I had the same experience on the counter of the Hilton hotel. They are supposed to be professional en they are supposed to speak more then two languages (English and French). This is a shame!

[@lindamaes6454]

I'm Flemish and Brussels still confuses me, even when you speak 4 languages, the 3 official and English, I still managed to ask directions at 4 people who spoke none of those 4.

[@Benzebuth18]

Administratively speaking, it is bilingual. In practice there are more english, morocan and turkish speakers in Brussels than flemish speakers

[@xlappart]

In Brussels i spaeak automaticly french (97% of Brussels people speaking )

[@nightraven7904]

Been here since 1984 (ominous start). You can pretty much use either English or French virtually anywhere in the city, even though there are pockets where Flemish is predominant.. Even if you speak to a native Belgian in either French or English (or less so in Flemish), they will often respond in English if they detect an Anglophone accent. A difficult or very easy English conversation may ensue (I have had many where the native Belgian will speak to me in English while I respond in French or Flemish). Flemish is a bit rarer since many francophones do not speak it.

[@BrightTripTravel]

That's so interesting!

[@barrodexteriit.9301]

Brussels is a beautiful city indeed, although it may be difficult to live there with so many languages. It can be confusing! lol

[@BrightTripTravel]

Haha, true!

[@sherlocknessmonster9345]

Does Switzerland run into similar issues with their multiple national languages? Either locally, nationally, or at the canton level? Would love a Bright Trip vid on this! Looking at you, Johnny Harris 👀

[@BrightTripTravel]

✍video✍about✍Switzerland✍

[@marcodiepold8620]

I think they have clearer borders between the languages

[@danielliu9616]

@@marcodiepold8620 Biel/Bienne, Fribourg/Freiburg, Sierre/Siders are bilingual cities, wondering how they operate

[@antoinemozart243]

No , the romands refuse to speak the Schwitzertush. They only speak French.

[@kevinwang4261]

So, to help you guys with that Switzerland-Question: Yes, there is a rather "hard" division between the language regions, but so does Belgium have a rather clear divide (as far as I understand). Biel/Bienne is probably the most interesting example, as this is the only city where both languages are somewhat on par: I believe Swiss-German natives are at about 55-60% with French-natives at about 40-45%. In short: Both are fine. Most people living there do know the other language at least a bit and at the offices, they are pretty much obliged to provide you with someone who speaks your language (German or French). So even though not everyone is perfectly bilingual, the city officials as a total are pretty much bilingual. And that does also translate into the everyday life: Bilingual street signs, bilingual city name (yes: the legal name of that city is "Biel/Bienne", as opposed to e.g. "Fribourg" or "Freiburg", which is legally named either of the two on its own, but not the combination of both). To dig even deeper into the "everyday life" situation: I believe, the shops there also either are bilingual or kinda imply by an either French or German name, that they are not. As for schools: I don't know, but I believe there are two separate school "systems" under the same regulations (under the regulations of the canton of Berne), but being separate schools (i.e. one public German speaking school and one public French speaking school). But any further information would just be a speculation, as I have only been there for one day (live in the german speaking part of Switzerland though and have been to the French speeking part several times, so I should still know a bit about that topic. Fun Fact: Train announcements are also multilingual: While reginal trains usually change language depending on their operation region but stay monolingual, cross-country and international services all announce stops in all languages, this train is passing through (so i.e. German and French, German Italian or French Italian (as far as I know, there are no intercity lines connecting all three major language regions), with the one they are currently in being the first announced and the other being the second one) followed by english. So yeah, being on an intercity train right before Zurich en route to the French speaking region means announcements on all possible transfer connections (usually about 5-10 trains intercity trains with 2-3 big stations announced per train) in three languages, usually taking up 3-5 minutes in total ^^

[@iulian9072]

I want to move to Brussels from Amsterdam. End of the year I'm going

[@BrightTripTravel]

Cool!

[@Robin-xz2db]

Don't expect to get by with just Dutch, coming from a flemish guy living in Brussels ^^

[@Eugensson]

@@Robin-xz2db Depends on the part of the city. I have noticed that in some places people will do their best to communicate in Dutch, especially the younger ones.

[@alexanderibar1606]

This reminds me a lot of where im from (Miami) where everything is in english and spanish and most people speak both but official court and government documents come in Haitain Creole as well as thats more widely spoken in some areas (Little Haiti).

[@BrightTripTravel]

That's so interesting!

[@e1123581321345589144]

8:12 wait! weren't you in Ghent by this time? or did you already return to Bruxelles? Must have been a really short trip.

[@eduardpuiggarcia6584]

Well I am from Barcelona so I ain't surprised.

[@roelantverhoeven371]

book shops in antwerp are multillangual too actually, I love living in Belgium

[@wrestlingterrier8366]

I grew up in Montreal, Canada, another bilingual city but to really live and work in Montreal, you need to know French unless you want to be limited to the Western part of the Island where most anglophones live. All in all I have the feeling that Montreal and Brussels have a similar vibe, with Brussels most likely having MUCH milder winters.

[@BrightTripTravel]

Haha, for sure!

[@BrandonLeeBrown]

When I was growing up in the US, my family would vacation in Montreal, mainly because it was the nearest city in Canada. Before the Quebec language laws, Montreal was the largest city in Canada. English was much more common in Montreal back then. I remember dual language road signs. The early language laws were so strict that a Chinese restaurant couldn't have any Chinese on display and an Italian restaurant couldn't have any Italian. later the laws were relaxed slightly, allowing smaller characters in languages other than French. I remember ate in a small place in New Brunswick and nobody spoke English, only French. I remember we went to Expo '67 in Montreal in the Summer of 1967. I still have a guide book from Expo '67. I was in Montreal during an earthquake in November 1988.

[@wrestlingterrier8366]

@@BrandonLeeBrown Thanks so much for sharing your firsr hand experiences! I was born in 1977 and when I was a child, there were many more anglophones in Montreal. There were no issues really. Things started to change up to the point many English-Speaking families started leaving the city and the province. The worst time was right before and during the referendum in 1995. My family and I left and settled in Vancouver. I ended up leaving Canada for different reasons. Things have improved a bit but the damage was done as many Montrealers left for good. The English Speaking community keeps dwindling but still there, with its strong Jewish presence. Newer generations are more bilingual though. It's a very unique city and its bilingualism was its main strength. It will always have special place in my heart as it's my hometown. My brother grew up in Vancouver and loves it there but the city lacks the history and character Montreal has. All in all the fading away of English speaking Montreal is an ache that I carry inside and it saddens me despite the fact I'm bilingual.

[@DA-dw5zn]

I visited Brussels & the coach from Charleroi airport seemed to pass between French & Flemish areas. Once I was in Brussels if I tried to ask questions in French the reply was can you speak English.

[@renewynants5655]

I think that a lot of people go in to this video with the American or English idea that you know one language. Back here it’s expected to know 2, weird to know 1 and quite normal to know 3 enough to communicate, I’m 18 knowing 2 languages as if it where my mother languages and 2 where I know the basics quite well. That’s quite a difference with just knowing one

[@raffaelecorradini2007]

(local) In Brussels, the main language is french and you never hear any dutch

[@synkaan2167]

Do you know how the language distribution in Belgium is evolving ? I think there is no more poll done and the distribution was like 60% Flemish 38% French and 2% Germans but I'd like to know if Dutch or French is slowly taking over lol.

[@silvestours3560]

Essential information missing in the explanation is that even without the international influence... there are many more french than flemmish native speakers. This is why there are more English than Flemmish speakers, more because of the lack of Flemmish speakers in the city to start with than because of the (admittedly very large) international influence.

[@Ainception]

I didn't even notice this on my trip, seemed like everything was in french

[@BrightTripTravel]

That's so interesting!

[@Robin-xz2db]

The frenchies can't speak dutch, therefore most flemish speak French which has led to Brussels becoming french while historically speaking it is a flemish city.

[@nicolasblume1046]

@@Robin-xz2db that's so typical for French speakers. They never want to learn another language properly (most of them, of course there are exceptions)

[@Eugensson]

@@Robin-xz2db Brussels is turning English speaking really fast, though.

[@jandron94]

@@nicolasblume1046 What about Brits, US American or Australians ? Are they better in languages ?

[@InsecureCreator]

When you order something it's common to great the person in every relevant language you know, they will often do the same and you both know what language to proceed in.

[@BrightTripTravel]

That's so nice!

[@patriciabristow-johnson5951]

The thing with the train operators changing the language of the announcements based on the region that the train is in is so mind-boggling :O

[@yagi3925]

It's a legal obligation. As trains are a public service, making announcements is ruled by the legislation on languages.

[@beaumontpat82]

I don't know where you live in brussels, i imagine européen district but when Roumanian meet portuguese most of time they speak french

[@kuchojoe500]

You got a beautiful smile

[@TootlinGeoff]

I was in Brussels a few years ago and needed some indigestion tablets. I speak a little French and can usually cope. Therecwas a pharmacy next to my hotel and I had a struglgle because I didn't know the French for indigestion. After a mix of gesture and some of my limited French he produced some Rennies. Fine. A couple of days I was talking to a Lady at tbe meeting I was there for. She was Swedish and had been behind me in the pharmacy and she told me the pharmacist actually spoke English! Grrr! A couple of days later, affer our meeting was over I went down into the centre and went into a choclatier's to buy something to take home. I started asking in French and almost bfore I had finished got a reply in English! That's Brussels for you.

[@jonaslambrechts5303]

I think this might be the first video on KZbin about this subject that's pretty much on point. Although I always get this gnawing feeling when EU expats complain about the fact that everything in Brussels is in Dutch or French. Just learn one. It's not that difficult. When you go to another country to live and work in, learn a bit of the local language(s). Brussels isn't in a vacuum, it's in Belgium :p

[@hicetnuncmonamour]

Totally agree, when in Rome do as Romans do.

[@Marc42]

Just that Dutch sadly won't get you very far in Brussels, so one has that daily struggle with bad highschool experiences in that other language I once wanted to forget all about... ;)

[@pascaleheesterbeek4612]

Belgian, Flemish, bilingual since early childhood lived in Switzerland, US and Spain, now working in Brussel, I don't really care....learning and coping with languages is a part of who we are, and we're quite good at it. My kids already know 4 of them ...it just makes your life so much richer.

[@pianist5000]

Does anyone know what that book shop is? 8:09 ?

[@violettabicycletta331]

I loved your video however as à French Belgian when I go to Brussels I have always only spoken French without problems I don' t know if I was to go to the northern suburbs of Brussels ( the Flemish part of Brussels) . To me Brussels is French speaking. English speakers have no problems due to the European common market . I enjoyed your video as it's interesting to see how foreigners see Brussels. Thank you !

[@Alaedious]

You would miss out of a lot in Bruxelles if you only speak English; you miss out on almost nothing if you speak French.

[@kushsoni6429]

Welcome to India!

[@BrightTripTravel]

We should def do a video on India 😍

[@alexcrushofficial]

Can you talk about Luxembourg ? Awesome place that has also 4 native languages ( French, Luxembourgish, German and English )and has a large Italian and Portuguese community. The state does mostly paperwork in all these languages. 😌

[@BrightTripTravel]

That's so interesting, we'll look into it 😊

[@Hugo-cn9no]

72% luxembourgish natives 17% french natives 1% german natives But 99% french speaking people 76% luxembourgish speaking people And 72% german speaking people. French is really takikg more place there with a huge rise from 6 to 17% french natives in 20 years according to Wiki. Even if i dont know for english.

[@jandron94]

English is a foreign language in Luxembourg. English language natives are close to 1%. English has no official status in Luxembourg.

[@robbuelens]

I have heard that Arabic is actually the most shared lingua franca in Brussels but mainly as a second or tertiary language. I could be wrong though. But off course it's always a personal language and not something you would speak to a government worker or a cop.

[@hannofranz7973]

Belgium is a country that runs very much on the consensus that it doesn't run on a consensus.

[@BrightTripTravel]

Haha, the accuracy!

[@Frahamen]

also under the mantra "if you can make it overly complicated, always do so"

[@kamptanguy9541]

6:52 There are many schools teaching kids in both Dutch & French in Brussels !

[@BrightTripTravel]

That's cool!

[@jojanv]

Well done. One remark, Ostbelgien isn’t a region but the German speaking community

[@hannofranz7973]

You are absolutely right but ... Ik wil het in nederlands verzoeken te zeggen. Dat is ook een van de vele ungelukkige zaken in België. Geografisch is Leuk ( Liège/ Lüttich - ce que nous preferons ) ook in the oost zoals Verviers, Malmedy ... Deutschsprachige Gemeinschaft ist sicherlich immernoch der passendste Begriff.

[@reinhardlowen2032]

@@hannofranz7973 wij zeggen altijd de oost kantons

[@Marc42]

@@hannofranz7973 Gefeliciteerd for this enjoyableand on-point quatrilingual comment! :)) Trés bien, weiter so! ;))))

[@hannofranz7973]

@@Marc42 Merci beaucoup. C'est génial se débruiller dans ce petit pays magnifique en tous les langues.

[@matthewgellar1442]

Grew up in Flanders, right outside of the Brussels region. Parents are american but my dad can speak danish and has a pretty good handle on german so he can understand flemish. The people working in the government offices had to speak flemish but could understand english so they just spoke their own languages and had full conversation with complete mutual understanding. Wild stuff you wouldn't see outside of Belgium

[@BrightTripTravel]

Wow, that's fascinating!

[@novart9230]

I studied in Brussels and learned english and flamish as second langages. I sucked in both but after 4 years of working in retails in Brussels, I became fluent in english but still sucked in flamish. For ten clients, 4 were speaking french, 5 english and only 1 flamish (and the shop wasn't in a touristy area). I know that flamish people didn't like that but when you work and live in Brussels, it's a lot easier to learn to speak english than flamish :p When you walk in the street, people will ask you directions in english without asking if you can speak it because they always assume that you have some basic level of english.

[@BrightTripTravel]

So interesting!

[@mardiffv.8775]

Thanks, nice to know when I will visit Brussels as a Dutchman.

[@holygooff]

English isn't an official language in Brussels. The government speaks Dutch or French. If they want to talk to you in English, that's a favour. Also, French is by far the main lingua franca. Not English. Expats (or rather let's call them immigrants) can speak the language they want, but it would be polite to try to learn one of the country's languages and try to communicate to people in it. For some reason many immigrants like to stay in their bubble. Why live in another country if you're not really interested in it?

[@IC.XC.NI.KA.]

How does English fair in Belgium?

[@zhuofanzhang9974]

I think I got recommended this video because of Johnny Harris. Definitely seeing some similarities in editing. Including that we don't see the title in action halfway through the video... but it's alright. Any video for a topic like this is likely to become a gross simplification if the video length didn't even reach 10 minutes.

[@satanshameer690]

Is darija spoken in Brussels?

[@Sakeandpurpose]

honestly guys, it's great to have a country that has different official languages anchored in the culture. I may recline to say that, you should have districts where they put a sign in their lot of streets : Here Flemish is the first language spoken. And, have it vice versa for a French district ! it enriches the city and everybody knows where to stand. And yes, if you don't know well speaking English comes second.

[@adrianrocha]

nah flemish/walloon already creates a huge devide, if we start deciding Brussels there is no going back. Plus the newer generation of youth can speak all 3 of them so we are grasping a more rich understanding in languages

[@AMPProf]

I'd be more inclined to know the local Mixed Hybrid vs any standard

[@SimonS44]

Sometimes those language laws seem overblown to me. For example Brussels city buses STIB/MIVB aren't allowed to announce in French anymore when they run over the border to Flanders. Like why do you need to make that illegal...

[@r.v.b.4153]

The reasoning is pretty simple; to preserve the native Dutch speaking character of the area from the potential (or actual) expansion of French. This is how it works in all of Belgium where the official language borders are crossed (>though communes a facilité/faciliteitengemeenten are probably an exception).

[@yagi3925]

It's simply the principle of territoriality.

[@ShahYT.Official]

and french friend is actually from Belgium

[@BengalGuy77]

I was there yesterday. Other than the airport, I only heard French and English

[@agustinarcusa7696]

i dont understand why people dont learn the basics of the local language... understanding french or flemish is not that difficult.

[@Marc42]

Well, Belgium has a few unconventional administrative policies beside the linguistic one in place, and coming to terms with that is somewhat of an additional complication. That said, most of the (official) documentation of said policies which is available online is faily extensive and helpful even in English.

[@panghulan6340]

is host of this video is British or Belgium?

[@m.p.baldnessdyslexic88]

Even in Montréal the english school-boards now have a 50/50 option 50% French 50% english even if there a many parts of west Montréal that are English speaking , after time the english speaking community realised that they where in a French Province of Québec and fluent french speaking skills where an asset but this took a long time to happen. I have a real question is there not one public or private school in Brussels that offers a real 50/50 , 50% Dutch and 50% French school???

[@jandron94]

No I don't think. Usually they are separated and there are very few Dutch schools in Brussels and they are 100% Dutch (with a couple French second language classes like in Flanders). It's the same issue that if some Francophone schools in Montreal would decide to be 50/50, it would not make any sense.

[@m.p.baldnessdyslexic88]

@@jandron94 Well French is a minority language in Canada , but in the Province of Québec English is the minority language. In way in Bruxelles the French schools should be the ones doing the 50/50 in Brussels and the Dutch schools should do 100% Dutch schools. Because Brussels in in the Dutch part of the country , even if they say the capital is different it still is in the dutch part of the country. The same way west end english speaking Montrealers are still in the French part of Canada .

[@jandron94]

@@m.p.baldnessdyslexic88 Brussels is 3km North of Wallonia... separated by a forest. Francophones are not interested in a language they are not culturally and mediatically exposed to. French culture has quite a big surface but the Dutch one not a lot... (not even by the Flemings themselves...). Can you tell me the name of a Dutch singer or of a Dutch song? The Francophones (including in Brussels) generally speaking have no interest in the Dutch culture, like they have no interest in the cultures of Norway, Finland, Slovania, etc. WHY FORCING THEM ? So let's let it up to individuals. Strasbourg is no longer a German speaking city and Germans no longer complain about it. New-Orleans is no longer a French-speaking city and the French do not complain about it. Etc.

[@m.p.baldnessdyslexic88]

@@jandron94 My original point was is if there are no 50/50 language schools not even one.Then they are forcing familles to decide. I sure many families would love there kids to learn 2 languages fluently instead of one , but if not even school in the city offers it how can they actually see how many families have interest in it or not . :)

[@m.p.baldnessdyslexic88]

@@jandron94I am not saying anything should be forced . I am saying there should be on option to do 50/50 schools , there are still 100% english schools in Montreal , Its that the english school boards that where loosing students to the french schools but when they started teaching 50/50 they got many of there students back :) I know allot of Parents that are not from Belgium that live in Brussels that would much prefer to teach 2 languages to there kids. If I lived in Brussels and I had kids and there was 1 50/50 language school I would get in waiting list to make sure my kids got in that school instead one that only teaches French or Dutch .

[@naveencan7612]

Being trilingual is hard!? Ever gone to india or indonesia or ethiopia!?

[@rickhall8119]

I love Brussels.

[@BrightTripTravel]

Same 😊

[@IzHarris]

Still v worried about your hypothetical child 🤣

[@EmilyStoker]

We all are 😐😂

[@danielemarchetilli5890]

for me, as a european, is so frustrating to see a town and then the country where the city is. If the city is big and famous as brussels i think you don't need to specify the country because in Europe there is only one city with that name and we all know where it is

[@filipgerits]

You kind of missed the concept of regions and communities. There's 3 of each and not 4 "language regions". Also pitty that you didn't mention that a lot of people are native arabic speakers.

[@nyftn]

i speak dutch , french , german and english . because i'm belgian. and i don't consider it a bad thing.

[@achmadiid8644]

Is she from the Netherlands?

[@adriamasero996]

It might look a little bit messy but I prefer that than what happens in Spain where language sometimes becomes a political tool to fight one another. In Spain, Castilian or Spanish is the oficial language but Catalan, Euskera and Galician are also spoken in Catalonia, Euskadi and Galicia and although they are co-oficial languages alledgedly protected by the constitution there is sometimes a strive to belittle them or even suppress them. For example, the Catalan language is spoken not only in Catalonia but also in the Balearic Islands and the Valencian Community but there is people saying that it is not the same language while defending that the language that is spoken from Mexico to Chile is the same language. It's totally ridiculous. Overall, the multilingualism and multiculturalism of a country should be celebrated and not a reason to be ashamed of as they enrich it in so many ways.

[@yvescallaert7923]

This is a foreigners Brussels centric view. I'm not saying it's incorrect or wrong. However, what it does miss out on is that not only was Belgium as a territory that had been passed around among European countries, but in essence it also was mostly a conglomeration of regions who shared the same fate and faith. And next to a part of Belgium not sharing the same language with the Dutch, the upper classes in the Flanders region also spoke French, but the whole of Belgium was Catholic as well. And all of those interwoven differences and historic trauma clashed with the Protestant dominated Netherlands. However.... soon after Belgium was formed there also was a fast moving industrial revolution taking place. This made that a place with such interwoven differences and historic trauma was also changing fast when it came to workers grievances and rights. None of this went smoothly. Flanders' linguistic struggle often was synonymous with a class struggle. The upper classes spoke French, but the common people in Flanders spoke their regional dialects which were variations of Dutch. The common people in Wallonia spoke their own Walloon dialects as well, these were often stemming from French but they also had Germanisms in them. Of course it was easier for Walloons to adapt to 'official French' compared to Flanders where the upper classes were reluctant and obstructive to instituting (Flemish) Ducht as the official language for the region. This language struggle wasn't something banal either because it was about the language of law and official papers, right in a moment in time where the social struggle for workers rights and even rights of soldiers was just as crucial. Yet once things were starting to move in the right direction a little bit, this region also got hit hard by two subsequent world wars. So yes, Belgium can be seen as some or other 'odd case', but in essence it's always been a conglomeration of provinces that have been coveted and passed on by many other nations. And the inhabitants of the region may have been resilient and quick to rebuild their regions, in essence they never really had the time to properly heal from ages of occupation nor to really structurally adapt to the needs of nowadays. This doesn't mean they're 'behind' or 'stupid' but rather that there are still a lot of 'collective old ghosts' that are hampering an easy and smooth moving forward. It's easy to laugh at Belgium's complexities as a foreigner (or even as a local) who doesn't grasp the complicated full scope of the history of what the territory of Belgium and its inhabitants went trough. All in all one can see that so much of these 'complexities' came into existence because of diplomatic agreements in order to maintain peace. And yes, while making things maybe more complicated, they have succeeded in maintaining peace, stability and self governance in a region that has many inherent differences. However... despite that it sometimes on the surface appears more logical to straighten out these differences by dismanteling the country and adding parts onto other countries. But in reality this is an illusion. What makes Belgium great is often a result of the dynamics that stem from those differences and fault lines. It combines the Franco-Germanic cultures, a lot of its best products are magnificent because they combine influences from Northern Europe with those of Southern Europe. And exactly that is an extremely Belgian thing to do: those combined influences with a very own; often local, twist. And that to the point where it effectively becomes something else. What many tend to overlook is that Belgium as a conglomeration of regions and as a country is basically 'doomed' to stay together as a country. It might not be the easiest of conglomerations to fit together, but the reality is that they eventually have more in common with each other than they have with any other country or region.

[@92delano]

Singapore: "HOLD MY BEER"

[@jakeevara]

I think your conclusion is roughly right. Brussels doesn't really operate as a trilingual city, it instead operates as 3 separate monolingual cities. If you work in the expat community, your exposure to either local community is often limited to service industry and government offices, but your day to day life will take place in English. If you're a working class French-speaker, you'll likely rarely ever speak to anyone in any other language than French. If you're a Dutch-speaker, your family and friends might well be Dutch-speakers too, but most of your day-to-day business will take place in either English or (more likely) French. Exceptions come when you're a natural multilingual - I'm English-born, but have lived in Brussels my whole life, and have always been to French-language schools, so I essentially operate as a Belgian, with Belgian friends, hobbies and daily operations. However, most of my work is in English, so strangely, I usually feel like a Belgian operating in a British world, despite officially being a Brit living in Brussels.

[@BrightTripTravel]

That's so interesting!

[@jandron94]

From my own experience there are 4 kinds of expats: - Short term (couple of months, a year max) expats who never in their life had learned nor spoken the local language. They usually commute back home on weekends (by train or plane) and don't have a strong need nor will to learn the local language. They usually work for a European/international institution/company or a univeristy/school that has English has a main teaching language (in mainly scientific or economical domains). They usually do not mix with locals but just stay within all English-speaking expat/workmates circles. They could almost be classified has "visitors" who don't consider learning the local language and discovering the local culture has a great opportunity. - Long term (several years) expats, who don't go back to their homeland that very often (on hollydays at best) and who will eventually integrate in the city by learning the local language and mixing with locals. They don't have too much time nor will to attend all-English-speaking expat circles. Some will have their family to come over and integrate in the city. Learning the local language eventually enables them to integrate well into the local culture and feel "at home". - Short term (couple of weeks, months) committed expats who though they don't have any strict necessity to learn the local language will take the most of their short stay in the city to improve their local language skills by avoiding the all-English circles and prefering local circles. Because they are more open and civilised they will have anticipated their stay in the city by studying to some extent the language. They do see their stay as a great "cultural" opportunity. Some manage eventually to turn their short stay into a long term one. - Odd expats who after ten years of an expat life in the city can't even say more than 2 words in the local language that they consider at best useless and at worst obnoxious. To them speaking another language than the "all-important" English (in addition to their own native language if they have one) is a somewhat traumatic debasing experience.

[@alejandroojeda1572]

Love the final answer: ... arguably IT DOESN'T

[@DikWhite]

Many years ago I was staying with a girlfriend in Antwerp and we drove to Brussels to spend the day there. On the way she made me promise that I would only speak Dutch there. I told her speaking Dutch or French were both fine for me. Anyway, we popped into a shop in Brussels city centre and I asked, "Een pakje Marlboro Light als 't u blieft." His reply, "Je ne comprends pas." I thought it was hilarious but my gitlfriend was livid. A similar thing happened to me a few years later in Vipiteno or Sterzing in north-eastern Italy. I thought I'd practise my elementary Italian in a shop only to be told, "Hier spricht man Deutsch." Another funny situation for me. By the way, I'm half British half Dutch.

[@pierre9694]

Very dumb move by the girlfriend there. She knows damn well over 90% of the population speaks French in Brussels.

[@BrightTripTravel]

Haha, thanks for sharing that story!

[@DikWhite]

@@pierre9694 She was making a point. According to her everyone in Brussels should be bilingual. I couldn't really give a damn.... ha ha!

[@towaritch]

Montreal operates also in 2 languages

[@jandron94]

Indeed : French and Québécois

[@leventculhan4469]

"trilingual city" bruh 92% speak french