Source
r/belgium•
Obsillius

Moving to Belgium for 6 months, question about the languages.

Hi, I'm taking a foreign exchange to Leuven next September and will be staying their at least till late February. My University provides free language courses for these exchanges and I've been asked whether I want to learn Dutch or French.

I, of course, will be spending by far most of my time in the city of Leuven, but I do intend to buy a bike and travel a lot in my free time to nearby locations and towns as I'm huge into biking and exploring.

What language would I get most use out of learning and do natives in Leuven generally know French or do they just speak Flemish? Also, if only Flemish; will Dutch be good enough for me to interact with people or is it more different then I'm lead to believe? (Keep in mind I'll most likely only have very basic understanding of the language by September).

Posted May 4, 2017, 10:41 AM UTC

513
HallitsijanFlanders•

Leuven is Flemish. The French and Dutch language here are divided by a geographical border. I'm surprised they would even offer you French since you'll get more use out of English than French nowadays in Leuven.

And yes Dutch and Flemish are similar enough. It's like English (British) vs English (American) pretty much.

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ObsilliusOP•

Alright cheers! And regarding the offer, I just assume the instructers at the offices aren't fully informed of how the language barriers in Belgium are. They offer foreign exchange to I think around 80-90 countries. Also Erasmus is providing the language courses so maybe there was some miscommunication there, who knows. Thanks a bunch though. You have all been very informative and helpfull! :)

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Krasnwin•

yes Dutch and Flemish are similar enough. It's like English (British) vs English (American) pretty much.

It's more like Texas English vs Northen Ireland English, in my opinion. Or France French and Canadian French.

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[deleted]•

or like Occitan and an Acadian dialect that's been confined within a single community in a dense forest in northern quebec.

1
SnokhengstWorld•

Most of the people in Leuven will be able to understand at least a bit of French, but expect conversations to be awkward and short, especially when you both are not fluent in French.

Dutch is extremely similar to Flemish, nobody will have trouble understanding you, and you'll be able to understand most people without any trouble at all.

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ObsilliusOP•

Fantastic thanks! I think French might be more practical in the long run but Dutch fascinates me more so I think I'll rather learn Dutch. Also it sounds similar to Icelandic (my language) even though the grammar rules and actual words are of course miles apart. Oh, and the R-sounding pronunciation of Dutch of course.

6
Orcwin•

Icelandic and Dutch are both Germanic languages, so Dutch might be a little easier to you than French. But yeah, internationally you will probably get a lot more mileage out of learning French.

I'd say go for whichever you think is more fun. Most people speak English anyway, so Dutch and French are of lesser concern.

3
ObsilliusOP•

Haha yeah, I've decided on Dutch. Look forward to it. Seems like a unique language to know here back home, might even end up being more of an advantage then french (fairly popular) but who knows. Veel dank vriend!

2
MissingFucksFlanders•

Everyone speaks English anyways.

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InquatitisFlanders•

I'd say it depends on why you would want to gain proficiency in the language. If it's for professional purposes I think it'd be better to learn French. But Leuven is a monolingual Dutch city, though most residents will be able to help you in English. If you'd want to learn the language to be able to speak in the local language, the only correct choice is Dutch.

Flemish is merely a Dutch dialect.

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ObsilliusOP•

Yeah that's basically my thought process. I'll eventually want to learn French for school and work reasons, but I am currently more interested in interacting with the people I'll be meeting from day to day, so Dutch should be the correct choice! Cheers!

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AventurijnCrivens!•

Leuven is Flemish (i.e. Dutch-speaking). As an international student, I would advise you to learn Dutch, not French. French may be better for a profesional purpose, but in general, your time in Leuven will be much better if you at least learn a little basic Dutch (most people speak English too, don't worry, language skills here are similar to Iceland - you could perfectly well survive on English alone). I would very, very strongly recommend you to take Dutch classes while you are studying in Leuven too, possibly even to a Dutch language course during the summer if you have the time for it. Check out the ILT regular courses and the summer course. Especially the summer course is a recommendation (I know a few of the teachers there...), as a way to meet new people and find friends in a strange city. If you arrive in September, be sure to register for the KU Leuven Orientation Days, ask for a buddy, go the the information meetings (they usually provide information on language courses too), and stuff like that. If you check meetup.com, you'll find a few hiking groups in Leuven too.

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wisi_eu•

r/Francophonie

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