English is on the rise in Brussels as new data shows that almost half of the Capital Region's citizens speak the language fluently – confirming that the capital is no longer dominated by French.
"This year, we registered 104 different languages spoken in the region – and this is most likely an underestimation of the effective language reality in Brussels," Mathis Saeys, a VUB researcher who worked on the Language Barometer, told The Brussels Times.
Remarkably, in the 2001 Barometer, just 74 languages were recorded; in just over 20 years, at least 30 languages were added to the Brussels' mix. This is not surprising, as more than one in three people currently living in Brussels (36.9%) are non-Belgian, and around a quarter of residents are EU citizens.
Multilingualism is therefore not just a nice party trick for people, but rather a necessity if they want to communicate with those around them. "As so many languages are spoken, Brussels residents have to use different languages in their everyday interactions."
Here, English is coming in handy – particularly among younger generations. While it is primarily a school language and less of a family language, English is spoken increasingly among international residents and Belgians alike.
This has led to a debate about weaving it into the administrative fabric of the region, with Brussels Minister for Multilingualism Sven Gatz repeatedly arguing that the non-official third language should become an official one in Brussels, alongside French and Dutch.
"It is clear English can and should have a place in the legal, administrative and institutional framework of Brussels."
Want to find out more? Read the full article by my colleague @LaurenWalkerH. What do you think? Let @Maajtee know.
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