| This article is a part of the Dutch dialects series. |
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Low Franconian
Low Franconian/Ripuarian
Low Saxon |
| West Flemish | ||
|---|---|---|
| Westvlams, Vlaemsch | ||
| Spoken in |  Belgium Netherlands France |
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| Region | West Flanders | |
| Total speakers | ~1.06 million speakers | |
| Language family | Indo-European
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| Language codes | ||
| ISO 639-1 | None | |
| ISO 639-2 | gem | |
| ISO 639-3 | vls | |
| Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. | ||
West Flemish (West Flemish: Westvlams, Dutch: West-Vlaams, French: flamand occidental) is a group of Dutch dialects spoken in parts of the Netherlands, Belgium, and France.
West Flemish is spoken by around 1.05 million people in West Flanders (in Belgium), 90,000 in the neighbouring Dutch coastal district of Zeelandic Flanders, and approximately 20,000 in the northern part of the French département of Nord where it is classified, as a recognized dialect of Dutch, as one of the languages of France. Some of the main cities where West Flemish is widely spoken include Bruges, Kortrijk, Ostend, Roeselare and Ypres.
The dialects of the Dutch province of Zeeland, Zeelandic, are sometimes also included in West Flemish although this classification is controversial. The dialects of Zeelandic Flanders however do count as West Flemish variants. In fact, both dialects are linked by a dialect continuum which proceeds further north into Hollandic.
See also
- French Flemish
- Dutch dialects
- Flemish people - i.e. Flemings
- Westhoek
External links
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