The Frontiers of Language and Nationality in Europe. Leon Dominian
This is also true of one-half the population of Roubaix. In each of the cities of Lille and Armentières, the ratio falls to one-quarter. Outside of the Flemish-tainted communes of the arrondissement of Lille, the boundary of this language is indicated by the course of the Aa, the canal of Neuffossé and the Lys.
The progress of French, in the Flemish-speaking districts of France, may be followed through the growing invasion of French words in the local vernaculars. The Flemish spoken in Dunkirk or Hazebrouck is an archaic dialect which is growing further and further away from the Flemish of Belgium, as this language tends to identify itself with Dutch in order to acquire literary form. As a rule, French is gradually replacing the Germanic idiom throughout the line of linguistic contact. The Frenchifying of the communes between the Aa and Dunkirk has taken place within the last fifty years. In the same period, Flemish has almost entirely disappeared from the suburbs of St. Omer, and the progress of French towards Cassel and Hazebrouck becomes yearly more apparent. The bilingual aptitude of the inhabitants in all of these localities is on the increase in the sense that many of the Flemings are acquiring proficiency in French. Business requirements in a large degree account for the change.
The only opposition to the advance of French is found in the Flemish immigration which brings fresh linguistic energy in its train. Fortunately for the Romance language, the tide of this immigration is weak and the newcomers are easily assimilated by the French-speaking element. A locality in which the decline of French is noticeable is found in the vicinity of Menin on the Lys river. The number of Flemish immigrants is particularly heavy in this region. Communes which have been French since immemorial times are fast becoming Flemish. Everywhere else, however, French is steadily encroaching upon the domain of Germanic speech.
Fig. 12 is a view of the low-lying plain of Flanders in the vicinity of Waterloo.
Fig. 13—Shows the environs of Chaudfontaine and gives an excellent glimpse of the hilly country in which Walloon language has held its own. These two photographs show the contrast between the areas of Walloon and Flemish in Belgium.
Brussels typifies the bilingual character of the country of which it is the capital. French and Flemish are spoken both in its precincts and suburbs. The distribution of inhabitants, according to communes or wards, showed French predominance on December 31, 1910, as follows:
| Speaking | ||||
| Communes | Number of | French- | Flemish- | French and |
| (wards) | inhabitants | speaking | speaking | Flemish |
| Bruxelles | 177,078 | 47,385 | 29,081 | 85,414 |
| Anderlecht | 64,157 | 11,211 | 24,320 | 23,486 |
| Etterbeck | 33,227 | 11,107 | 6,596 | 13,166 |
| Forest | 24,228 | 7,975 | 5,247 | 8,756 |
| Ixelles | 72,991 | 39,473 | 6,733 | 19,799 |
| Jette | 14,782 | 1,811 | 7,775 | 4,191 |
| Koekelberg | 12,750 | 1,770 | 5,702 | 4,378 |
| Laeken | 35,024 | 4,720 | 12,702 | 15,230 |
| Molenbeek-St. Jean | 72,783 | 11,663 | 24,910 | 31,331 |
| Saint-Gilles | 63,140 | 24,376 | 5,928 | 27,497 |
| Saint-Josseten-Noode | 31,865 | 10,547 | 3,349 | 14,859 |
| Schaerbeek | 82,480 | 20,975 | 13,677 | 40,525 |
| Uccle | 26,979 | 5,818 | 9,074 | 10,169 |
| Woluwe—St.-Lambert | 8,883 | 2,035 | 3,839 | 2,262 |
| ——— | ——— | ——— | ——— | |
| Totals | 720,367 | 200,866 | 158,933 | 301,063 |
Although Brussels is generally placed on the Flemish side of the linguistic divide, it is interesting to note that the city may appropriately be considered as the northernmost extension of the area of Romance languages in Belgium. Only two villages of Flemish speech intervene between the capital and the Walloon area. They are Rhode-Saint-Genèse and Hoeylaert. Were it not for these two small communities, Brussels would not be an enclave of French speech in Flemish territory. But the two villages are separated by the forest of Soignes which extends in an elongated band, all the way south of Uccle and Boitsfort, to within reach of Waterloo. This wooded area acts as a link which connects Brussels with the ancient area of Romance speech. It tends to restrict Flemish in this section to the lowland to which it really belongs.
Within the city limits the canal, which now replaces the natural water course flowing on the site, divides Brussels into Flemish-speaking quarters and districts entirely given up to French language. West of the waterway, the native vernacular prevails predominantly. This section of the Belgian capital is the site of its industries. Its population consists mainly of laborers. As early as the twelfth century, the members of the city’s guilds found it convenient to reside along the banks of the stream which watered the heart of their settlement. In our day, this part of Brussels presents similar advantages to factory owners and operators of industrial