LL-L "Language policies" 2003.08.04 (03) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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L O W L A N D S - L * 04.AUG.2003 (03) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
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A=Afrikaans Ap=Appalachian B=Brabantish D=Dutch E=English F=Frisian
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From: Roger Thijs, Euro-Support, Inc. <roger.thijs at euro-support.be>
Subject: Language policies

When the Belgian kingdom was split up languagewise in 1962-1963 some
language islands were created, what gave quite some political commotion.
One of these cases is the municipality of Voeren.
2 or 3 Belgian governments fell on Voeren issues..
Voeren was a municipality in the Walloon province of Liège, with Limburgish
dialects spoken though, and on that ground moved to the Belgian province of
Limburg in 1962.
The majority of the population though didn't want their municipalities (6
before they merged into "Voeren", with a total population of about 4000.)
being transferred from Liège/Luik/Lüttich to Belgian Limburg and becoming a
distant enclave.
The anti-Flemish municipal majority was reversed recently, since the
immigrants from the Netherlands got municipal voting rights.

Geographical borders:

- South & West: province of Liège,
South: land of "Herve"
West: valley of the river Maas
(dialect walloon, cultural language: French)

- North: Netherlands, province of Limburg
(Limburgish & Dutch speaking)

- Extreme North West, separated by the walloon town of Visé and some wallon
villages at the West river bank of the river Maas:
Belgian Limburg; closest municipality Riemst at about 10 miles.

- East: Sippenaeken & Homburg, now part of Plombières, Limburgish dialects,
church languages before WW2 German and Dutch,
official language French,
annexed by Germany in 1940-44, since then French only.

- Voeren itself:
--  before 1962: Limburgish dialects, Dutch as church language, French and
Dutch as municipal language;
-- since the transfer to Belgian Limburg in 1962: quite some families
started educating their children in "French"-only.

When I was a kid (late fifties), some youngster of Voeren came to middle
school in Tongeren (Belgian Limburg), most though went to the walloon town
of Visé.
Though Voeren has only 4000 inhabitants, the province of Belgian Limburg
started with a local middle school in Voeren in the late sixties.

The "Belang van Limburg" has a tradition of publishing graduated of
Limburgish middle schools, and the name list for the school of Voeren allows
us to do some statistics for that school (BvL 18-7-2003)

Provinciale Secundaire School Voeren
number of students graduated (about 18 yrs old)

Economie - moderne talen :
- Enclave of Voeren: 1 ;
- Mainland Belgian Limburg: 5   (all from Riermst) ;
- Netherlands Limburg 0 ;
- Liège, (walloon) West & South 2    (1 Dalhem, 1 Julémont) ;
- Liège, (hidden Limburgish) East: 1  Plombières ;

Moderne talen - wetenschappen :
- Enclave of Voeren: 4 ;
- Mainland Belgian Limburg: 8   (all from Riermst) ;
- Netherlands Limburg 5 ( 3 Eijsden, 1 Slenaken, 1 Mheer) ;
- Liège, walloon West & South 0 ;
- Liège, (hidden Limburgish) East: 0 ;

Secretariaat Talen :
- Enclave of Voeren: 6 ;
- Mainland Belgian Limburg: 6   (all from Riermst) ;
- Netherlands Limburg 5  ( 1 Slenaken, 1 Mheer; 3 Eijsden) ;
- Liège, walloon West & South 1   (1 Eben-Emael) ;
- Liège, (hidden Limburgish) East: 0 ;

So the school survives mainly on an external population.
(The provincial schools is fully subsidized by the (Flemish regional)
government, except for some infrastructual issues, which are subsidized by
the Province of Belgian Limburg)

Regards,

Roger

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