Volume: 29  Number: 2  Page: 154–169  doi:10.2167/jmmd564.0

Multilingualism in Brussels: ‘I'd Rather Speak English’

Paul O'Donnell and Annemarie Toebosch College of Arts and Sciences, University of Michigan-Flint, Flint, MI, USA

Language is both a divisive and a unifying force in Brussels. Historically predominantly Dutch-speaking, surrounded by the officially Dutch-speaking federal state of Flanders, located in a majority Dutch-speaking nation-state, and with the majority of its Belgian citizens Francophone, Brussels has officially been bilingual Dutch–French since 1962. This paper reports the results of a survey undertaken to uncover the actual language usage and preferences in the Belgian capital. It shows that in a society where old divisions and sensitivities between French and Dutch speakers persist, English has emerged as the ‘neutral third party’.

Keywords: language planning, Dutch, French, German, English, Belgium

© 2008 P. O'Donnell & A. Toebosch

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