Walloon language
In 980, the Principality of Liège began extending its territory south and west. This historical expansion created the conditions for a distinct Romance language to emerge from Vulgar Latin. The resulting speech form belongs to the langues d'oïl dialect continuum. French remains the most prominent member of this family today. Linguists have long debated whether Walloon is merely a dialect or a separate language. Jules Feller argued between 1859 and 1940 that it possessed an original superior unity. He insisted that a French speaker could not easily understand Walloon, especially in its eastern forms. Louis Remacle later showed that typical developments appeared between the 8th and 12th centuries. By the beginning of the 13th century, the language had a clearly defined identity. Scribes in the region called it Roman until the early 16th century. Jean Lemaire de Belges made the connection between Roman and Walloon around 1510 or 1511. The word Walloon thus came closer to its current meaning as the vernacular of the Roman part of the Low Countries. The eleventh edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica identified Walloon as the northernmost Romance language.
Walloon is spoken in much of Wallonia and to a very small extent in Brussels. Some villages near Givet in northern France also use the language. A clutch of communities exists in northeastern Wisconsin, United States. Immigration from Belgium occurred on a fairly large scale during the 19th century. Four dialects developed in four distinct zones of Wallia. Central Walloon is spoken in Namur, Wavre, and Dinant. Eastern Walloon covers Liège, Verviers, Malmedy, Huy, and Waremme. This eastern form is often considered the most conservative and idiosyncratic. Western Walloon appears in Charleroi, Nivelles, and Philippeville. It remains the dialect closest to French proper with strong Picard influence. Southern Walloon is found in Bastogne, Marche-en-Famenne, and Neufchâteau. These southern areas lie within the Ardennes region and are close to Lorrain and Champenois languages. E.B. Atwood defined the precise geographical repartition of these four chief dialects in 1955. He distinguished them against the dialects of Picard, Lorrain, and Champenois. Despite local phonetic differences, a regional movement now adopts a common spelling called Rifondou walon.
France annexed Wallonia in 1794, marking a turning point for the language. The revolutionaries established French as the language of social promotion far more than before. Public schools provided French-speaking education to all children after World War I. Official orders in 1952 punished the use of Walloon in schools. Generational transmission has decreased since the middle of the 20th century. Today only about 15% of the Walloon population speaks their ancestral language. Those born since the 1970s usually know little more than a few idiomatic expressions. About 70 to 80% of the population aged over 60 speak Walloon. Only about 10% of those under 30 do so. In 2007, the number of people with knowledge of the language was estimated at 600,000. UNESCO classifies Walloon as definitely endangered. Laurent Hendschel estimates there are 1,300,000 bilingual people in Wallonia. The vast majority of native speakers are elderly and aged 65 and over. Walloon society and culture have shifted dramatically from monoglot areas to bilingual realities.
Walloon phonetics stayed fairly close to the form it took during the High Middle Ages. Latin before certain sounds gave Walloon affricate phonemes spelled tch and dj. Final obstruent devoicing means red is pronounced exactly as rock. Nasal vowels may be followed by nasal consonants in words like young or cream. Vowel length has a phonological value that distinguishes arse from cooked. The plural feminine adjectives before the noun take an unstressed ending except in the Ardenne dialect. There is no gender difference in definite articles and possessives outside the Ardenne region. Walloon contains significant borrowing from Germanic languages including Dutch and German dialects. Common borrowings include tip, curl, to spatter, and starling. The adjective is often placed before the noun unlike standard French. A construction meaning what kind of flower is this can be compared word for word to German and Dutch. The language retains few Latin remnants that have disappeared from neighboring Romance languages. These features distinguish Walloon from other languages in the langue d'oïl family.
Walloon-language literature has been printed since the 16th century or at least the beginning of the 17th century. Four dialogues were printed between 1631 and 1636 according to Maurice Piron. The golden age occurred during the peak of Flemish immigration to Wallonia in the 19th century. Publications reached a peak of sixty-nine in 1903 after rising gradually year by year. Yves Quairiaux counted 4,800 plays for the period 1860 to 1914 published or not. Plays were almost the only popular entertainment in Wallonia during that era. Charles Duvivier adapted versions of Aesop's Fables in 1842 using racy speech. Joseph Lamaye followed with adaptations in 1845. Jean-Joseph Dehin and François Bailleux covered books one through six between 1847 and 1866. Léon Bernus published some hundred imitations of La Fontaine in the dialect of Charleroi in 1872. Joseph Dufrane wrote in the Borinage dialect under the pen-name Bosquètia during the 1880s. The New York Public Library holds a large collection of literary works in Walloon quite possibly the largest outside Belgium.
Walloon was formally recognized as an indigenous regional language of Belgium since 1990. The Décret Valmy Féaux dated the 14th of December 1990 established this legal status. Numerous associations work to keep the language alive including theatre companies. The Union Culturelle Wallonne is an organization of over 200 amateur theatre circles. About a dozen Walloon magazines publish regularly. The Feller system from 1900 regularized transcription of the different accents. Since the 1990s, a common orthography called Unified Walloon has been established. Large-scale publications like the Walloon Wikipedia appeared officially in 2003. A Walloon translation of a Tintin comic was released under the name L'èmerôde d'al Castafiore in 2004. An album consisting of Gaston Lagaffe comic strips was published in Walloon in 2007. The Walloon cultural movement promotes literature and the study of regional Roman languages. William Dunker remains the best-known singer in Walloon in present-day Wallonia born on the 15th of March 1959. Theatre flourishes with more than 200 non-professional companies playing for an audience of over 200,000 each year.
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Common questions
When did the Walloon language begin to emerge from Vulgar Latin?
The Walloon language began to emerge from Vulgar Latin during the historical expansion of the Principality of Liège in 980. By the beginning of the 13th century, the language had a clearly defined identity.
Where is the Walloon language spoken today and how many people speak it?
Walloon is spoken in much of Wallonia, Brussels, villages near Givet in northern France, and communities in northeastern Wisconsin. In 2007, the number of people with knowledge of the language was estimated at 600,000.
Why has the use of Walloon decreased since the middle of the 20th century?
Generational transmission has decreased since the middle of the 20th century due to public schools providing French-speaking education after World War I and official orders punishing its use in 1952. Today only about 15% of the Walloon population speaks their ancestral language.
What are the four main dialects of Walloon and where are they located?
Central Walloon is spoken in Namur, Wavre, and Dinant while Eastern Walloon covers Liège, Verviers, Malmedy, Huy, and Waremme. Western Walloon appears in Charleroi, Nivelles, and Philippeville and Southern Walloon is found in Bastogne, Marche-en-Famenne, and Neufchâteau.
When did Walloon literature begin to be printed and when did it reach a peak?
Walloon-language literature has been printed since the 16th century or at least the beginning of the 17th century. Publications reached a peak of sixty-nine in 1903 after rising gradually year by year.
When was Walloon formally recognized as an indigenous regional language of Belgium?
Walloon was formally recognized as an indigenous regional language of Belgium on the 14th of December 1990 through the Décret Valmy Féaux. Large-scale publications like the Walloon Wikipedia appeared officially in 2003 following this recognition.