The Flemish Example
Abstract
Although Flemish, like Basque, is a language of limited diffusion, there are several differences between the two. Certain similarities, however, can he pinpointed. Both, for instance, have achieved official status after a long struggle, and both have a close relationship with languages from a totally different group.
While the linguistic struggle of the Flemish can generally be considered to have been successful, that success has been only a partial one. French predominates, for example, in the French zone, and it is perfectly legitimate to affirm that there is still a long way to go before official bilingualism can he said to have been achieved.
In Belgium, however, things have occurred differently. When Belgium became an independent state in the early nineteenth century, attempts were immediately made to grant Flemish the recognition it deserved . These attempts were supported by King Leopold I and by the minor clergy. In fact, the Flemish church was in the vanguard of the linguistic struggle, Flemish being the only language used . In the period between the two world wars, a law decreed Flemish the sole official language. This was done not without some difficulty and outcry, and since the law has been modified.
As regards higher education, the University of Louvaine became totallyFlemish. After many years of struggle against opposition from those sectors of Belgian society which considered French the only acceptable vehicle of culture, Flemish also achieved recognition at the University of Brussels.
The efforts made in transforming Flemish into a literary language had, needless to say, begun long before. In the seventeenth century, for instance, Flemish neologisms had been created using etymological sources in the science and technical fields. These efforts continue today in the fields of the new sciences. The prime difficulty resides not in creating new words, but in avoiding Gallicisms and Anglicisms. Unsurprisingly, in Flemish, as in all languages of limited diffusion, there is a lack of technical dictionaries.
As occurs in any language, if the level of consciousness increases, the fruits borne are continuous . This is what has happened, and what continues to happen in Flanders today.
