Westhoek

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Belgian part of the Westhoek in the province of West Flanders
Bilingual place names and development of the language border in the Westhoek
Speakers of Flemish or French in the Dunkirk arrondissement in 1874 and 1972. Since then, the number of Flemish speakers has continued to decrease significantly.
The Arrondissement of Dunkirk corresponds roughly to the area known as the French Westhoek .
A street sign in Merck-Saint-Liévin , Pas-de-Calais department , showing an influence of Germanic languages ​​on local idioms. The name Picquendal corresponds to the Dutch word Piekendal .

The Westhoek ( Dutch for Westecke , French Le Westhoek ) is a region in Belgium and France . It was part of the county of Flanders . Since the Peace of Utrecht (1713), the western part of the Westhoek has belonged to France. Today the region in the Belgian province of West Flanders includes the arrondissements of Diksmuide , Ypres and Veurne . In the French department of North , the arrondissement of Dunkerque belongs to the region also known as the French Westhoek . French Westhoek forms the northern part of French Flanders in France , the Leie river forms the border to its southern part with the arrondissements of Lille and Douai .

The Flemish municipalities De Panne , Koksijde and Nieuwpoort are sometimes also as a tourist region Belgian west coast ( Dutch Westkust called).

The Belgian-French border that divides the region is popularly called the line (West Flemish de Schreve ) to emphasize that it is not a linguistic or cultural border.

Belgian Westhoek

The Belgian part of the Westhoek is located on the north-western tip of Belgium. The arrondissements of Diksmuide , Ypres and Veurne with the municipalities of Veurne , Poperinge , Wervik , Ypres , De Panne , Langemark-Poelkapelle and Diksmuide form the political structure. The IJzer flows across the region.

The primary (agriculture) economic sector accounts for a large part of economic output.

French Westhoek

Geographical location

French Westhoek is the northern part of the larger region of French Flanders , it lies between the Leie River and the North Sea on the Franco-Belgian border. In the northwestern part of the Nord department, it roughly corresponds to the French arrondissement Dunkerque , but some parts of this arrondissement do not belong to Westhoek, parts of Westhoek are also in the area of ​​the neighboring department Pas-de-Calais . In the French Westhoek are the cities of Dunkirk , Gravelines and Hazebrouck .

French Westhoek consists of the following regions with different landscapes:

  1. BlootlandBlootland ( Dutch for "bare land" ) or with the French name Plaine maritime (for sea ​​level ) with the places Dunkirk, Bourbourg , Bergues and Hondschoote
  2. HoutlandHoutland ( Dutch for "Holzland" ) with the places Wormhout , Cassel , Hazebrouck and parts of Bailleul
  3. LeietalThe Leietal (French: Vallée de la Lys or Plaine de la Lys ; Dutch : Leiedal ) with the towns of Merville , Steenwerck and parts of Bailleul

language

The traditional language of the French Westhoek is West Flemish , a Dutch dialect also known as French-Flemish (nld .: Frans-Vlaams ). At the time, the language was the most widely spoken in the region, but with the advancement of the French language, which began with the introduction of French as the language of instruction in schools in 1853, Dutch became increasingly popular in the region displaced by French. Of around 380,000 inhabitants in the French Westhoek region, between 10,000 and 20,000 people still use West Flemish every day, most of them live in the Dunkirk region, around twice as many people still use this dialect occasionally. West Flemish has now been recognized as a regional French language . However, there are no bilingual street signs, and French remains the only official language. The French-Flemish dialect has a greater influence on the local idiom ( toponym ). For example, the names of the cities of Robecq and Dunkerque in the French Westhoek are derived from the Flemish names Robeke and Duinkerke .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ethnological overview for West Flemish , on ethnologue.com, viewed on June 13, 2009 (English)

See also