- This article is about the geographic term. For other uses, see Wallonia (disambiguation).
Wallonia (French: Wallonie, Walloon: Walonreye, German: Wallonien, Dutch: Wallonië) is the territory governed by the Walloon Region, one of the three autonomous Regions of federal Belgium. French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people Walloon ( Walon) is a Romance language spoken as a second language by some in Wallonia, Belgium. The German language (de ''Deutsch'') is a West Germanic language and one of the world's major languages. Dutch ( is a West Germanic language spoken by around 24 million people 22 million of which are from the Netherlands, Belgium and Suriname The Walloon Region, commonly called Wallonia, is one of the three Regions of Belgium. The Kingdom of Belgium is a Country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters as well as those
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Demographics and language
Wallonia occupies the southern part of Belgium.
It has an area of 16 844 km² (55. 18% of Belgium) and comprises the following provinces (see map right):
It has a population of 3,395,942 [1]. Belgium is divided into three regions two of them are subdivided into five Provinces each Walloon Brabant ( French: Brabant-Wallon, Dutch: Waals-Brabant; Roman Payis is a province of Wallonia in Belgium Hainaut ( French; English traditionally Hainault, Dutch: Henegouwen, German: Hennegau, Walloon List of Governors 1830 - 1831 Etienne de Sauvage (Liberal 1831 - 1832 Jean-François Tielemans (Liberal List of governors Jean-Baptiste Thorn (1830 – 1836 Victorin de Steenhault (1836 – 1841 Joseph de Riquet List of Governors 1830 - 1834 Goswin de Stassart (Liberal 1834 - 1840 Joseph Lebeau (Liberal 1840 - 1847 Edouard
Its major cities and towns include Liège, Namur, Charleroi, Mons, La Louvière, Tournai, Verviers, Arlon, Bastogne, Wavre, Dinant, Peruwelz and Eupen. A city is an Urban area with a large Population and a particular Administrative, Legal, or Historical status A town is a type of settlement ranging from a few to several thousand (occasionally hundreds of thousands inhabitants although it may be applied loosely even to huge metropolitan Liège (ljɛːʒ Older English: Luick, Walloon: Lidje, German: Lüttich; Latin: Leodium, Dutch Namur ( Namen in Dutch, Nameur in Walloon, Namurcum in Latin) is a City and municipality in Charleroi (Tchålerwè is the largest city and municipality of Wallonia, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. Mons ( Dutch: Bergen, Picard: Mont) is a Walloon City and municipality located in the Belgian La Louvière is a Walloon City and municipality located in the Belgian province of Hainaut. Tournai (in Dutch Doornik, in Latin: Tornacum) is a Walloon City and municipality of Belgium Verviers is a Walloon City and municipality located in the Belgian province of Liège. Arlon (Arel Aarlen is a Belgian municipality located in the Walloon province Bastogne ( Dutch: Bastenaken, German: Bastenach, Luxembourgish: Baaschtnech) is a Belgian municipality Wavre ( Walloon: Wåve, Dutch: Waver) is a Walloon City and municipality located in the Belgian ||-||-||} Dinant is a Walloon City and municipality located on the River Meuse in the Belgian province of Namur Péruwelz is a Walloon Municipality located in the Belgian province of Hainaut. Eupen is a Municipality located in the Belgian province of Liège, 15 km from the German border ( Aachen) from the Dutch Wallonia's backbone is the sillon industriel, which runs from Mons in the west to Verviers in the east, and is home to about two thirds of its population. The Wallonian sillon industriel or dorsale wallonne ( French for industrial valley or Wallonian backbone, respectively was an area
French is the official language in most municipalities. French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people German (with facilities for speakers of French) is the official language in nine eastern municipalities which belonged to Germany until 1918 and now form the German-speaking Community of Belgium. The German language (de ''Deutsch'') is a West Germanic language and one of the world's major languages. The municipalities with language facilities, occasionally called municipalities with linguistic facilities or shortly municipalities with facilities ( Dutch Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. The German-speaking Community of Belgium (Deutschsprachige Gemeinschaft Belgiens DGB) is one of the three federal communities in Belgium. Several French-speaking municipalities have facilities in Dutch or German (or both). The municipalities with language facilities, occasionally called municipalities with linguistic facilities or shortly municipalities with facilities ( Dutch Dutch ( is a West Germanic language spoken by around 24 million people 22 million of which are from the Netherlands, Belgium and Suriname The German language (de ''Deutsch'') is a West Germanic language and one of the world's major languages.
The variety of French spoken in Wallonia is Belgian French, which differs from the standard French of France to various degrees depending on the speaker. Belgian French (français de Belgique is the variety of French spoken mainly in the French Community of Belgium, alongside related minority Regional languages The French language used in the administration and in the media is very similar in Belgium and in France. One notable difference is the use of the words septante (70) and nonante (90) in Belgium, as opposed to soixante-dix and quatre-vingt-dix in France.
In 1990, Belgium also officially recognised Champenois, Gaumais, Picard, and Walloon as regional languages. Champenois is a language spoken by a minority of people in Champagne in France and in Wallonia in Belgium. Lorrain is a language spoken by a minority of people in Lorraine in France and in Gaume in Belgium Picard is a Language closely related to French, and as such is one of the larger group of Romance languages. Walloon ( Walon) is a Romance language spoken as a second language by some in Wallonia, Belgium. All are langues d'oïl - closely related, but not identical, to French. Langues d'oïl is the linguistic and historical designation of the Gallo-Romance languages originating from the northern territories of Roman Gaul,
Walloon and Picard dialects were the predominant languages of the Walloon people until the beginning of the 20th century; French was the language of the upper class. The twentieth century of the Common Era began on With the development of education in French, these dialects have been in continual decline. There is currently an effort to revive Walloon dialects: some schools offer language courses in Walloon, which is also spoken in some radio programmes, but this effort remains very limited.
Some 70,000 people live in the German-speaking community of Belgium, which has been presented as the best-protected minority in Europe. The German-speaking Community of Belgium (Deutschsprachige Gemeinschaft Belgiens DGB) is one of the three federal communities in Belgium. Nevertheless, there is a drive in the German-speaking community towards gaining more autonomy from the Walloon Region. The current president of the executive of the German-speaking community, Karl-Heinz Lambertz, wants his community to obtain regional autonomy, thus cutting it completely off from Wallonia. Karl-Heinz Lambertz (born June 4 1952 at Amel, Belgium) is a Jurist and politician currently the leader ( Minister-President
Etymology
There are theories about the derivation of the name "Wallonia". It may have come from the Gaulish vellaunos meaning "valorous". Its root vella gave the Cymric wallon as in the famous hero's name Caswallon. Vella is a municipality in the district of Surselva in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland. Cassivellaunus was a historical British chieftain who led the defence against Julius Caesar 's second expedition to Britain in 54 BC.
It is also one of many Germanic placenames containing the root Gal or Wal which referred to a speaker of Celtic or Latin. Wal/Gal Many region names (and some place names in Europe derive from the original Germanic word for stranger or foreigner rendered as "wal" or "gal" (and variations [2] However this is very improbable since Wallonia was home to Celto-Germanic tribes before Julius Caesar's conquest of Gaul, then to other Germanic tribes from across the Rhine, and finally the Franks (Wallonia was part of the Roman province of Germania Inferior). The Franks or Frankish people (Franci or gens Francorum) were West Germanic tribes first identified in the 3rd century as an Ethnic group Germania Inferior was a Roman province located on the left bank of the Rhine, in today's southern and western Netherlands, parts of In fact, the Frankish Merovingian Dynasty came from Tournai in Wallonia, and the subsequent Carolingian Dynasty had its roots in the region of Liege, at the other end of Wallonia. The Merovingians (also Merovings) were a Salian Frankish dynasty that came to rule the Franks in a region (known as Francia in Latin Tournai (in Dutch Doornik, in Latin: Tornacum) is a Walloon City and municipality of Belgium The Carolingian dynasty (known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolings, or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family with its origins in the Liège (ljɛːʒ Older English: Luick, Walloon: Lidje, German: Lüttich; Latin: Leodium, Dutch French language is thought to have originated in Wallonia (and Northern France), as the Latin of the Frankish court.
The term Walloon' was also used in the late 18th and the 19th century to refer to French-speakers who migrated to the Netherlands, e. The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands g. 'Walloon parishes' in Dutch province of Dutch-Limburg. Limburg ( Dutch: (Nederlands Limburg is the southern-most of the twelve provinces of the Netherlands.
To many modern Walloons, Wallonia means "land of the valleys". This could be the real etymology of the word, as the part of Wallonia where Walloon language is traditionally spoken (the provinces of Liege, Namur and Luxembourg) is one of the hilliest region of Europe, and contrasts sharply with the flatness of Flanders. Flanders (Vlaanderen Flandre Flandern is a geographical region located in parts of present day Belgium, France, and the Netherlands. The Walloon Tourism Office supports this etymology, and now indicates "land of the valleys" (pays des vallées) on many touristic road signs.
Cinema
Walloon films are often characterized by social realism, like those by the Dardenne brothers or Benoît Mariage, and the social documentaries by Patric Jean. Social Realism, also known as Socio-Realism, is an Artistic movement, expressed in the visual and other realist arts, which depicts Working class Jean-Pierre Dardenne (born April 21 1951 in Liège Belgium) and his younger brother Luc Dardenne (born March 10, 1954 Benoît Mariage (born July 19, 1961 in Virton, Belgium) is a Belgian Film director. At the opposite, the side completely shifted of Thierry Zéno's "Vase de noces" (1974), "Mireille in the life of the others" by Jean-Marie Buchet (1979), "C'est arrivé près de chez vous" (English title: Man bites dog) by Rémy Belvaux and André Bonzel (1992) and of extravagant Noël Godin and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Thierry Zéno (born April 22, 1950 in Namur) is a Belgian Author - Filmmaker Vase de Noces ( 1974) is a Belgian Arthouse film directed by Thierry Zéno and stars Dominique Garny Jean-Marie Buchet is a Belgian Author - Filmmaker, born on February 24 1938 in Jemappes, Belgium, near Mons. Man Bites Dog is a satirical Belgian, Black comedy Mockumentary starring Benoît Poelvoorde. Rémy Nicolas Lucien Belvaux ( 10 November 1966, was a Belgian actor director producer and screenwriter Noël Godin (born September 13, 1945) is a Belgian writer Critic, Actor and notorious Cream pie flinger or ‘ Jean-Jacques Rousseau is a Belgian Absurdist film director He was born in Souvret ( Courcelles) after the Second World War. Wallonia does not shelter any Anthology Film Archive Museum. No theater projects pointed cinema (experimental cinema, underground, or simply different, unusual test in the content or the form. ) There is however the network of the theater known as "Art and essai" but, in practice, they diffuse only cinema subsidized "general public".
References
- ^ Géographie - Portail de la Région wallonne
- ^ English and Welsh by J. R. R. Tolkien. As an adjective "English and Welsh" refers to England and Wales. Excerpt is available online here
See also
External links
Walloon ( Walon) is a Romance language spoken as a second language by some in Wallonia, Belgium. Science and technology in Wallonia, the southern region of Belgium ( Europe) is well developed with the presence of several universities and research institutesDictionary
Wallonia
-proper noun
- Federal Region of southern Belgium where French and German are the official languages, and where Lorrain, Luxembourgish, Picard, Franconian and Walloon languages are also spoken.
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