ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on both legally enshrined and pragmatic accommodations that are designed to meet the linguistic challenges in administrative interactions in Belgium’s Dutch language area. It first addresses the relevant legal provisions regarding the use of languages other than the administrative language in interactions between authorities and resident non-majoritarian language speakers. It considers the ‘Belgian language model’, which is based on the general principle that ‘the language of the area is the administrative language’ as well as the exceptions to this principle embedded in the advisory practice of the Belgian Standing Commission for Linguistic Supervision and in certain local language policies. Fieldwork data on current practices in some municipalities in the Dutch language area are then analysed. Empirical accounts of interactions between administrative authorities and resident non-majoritarian language speakers illustrate the significance of de facto discretion for the use of languages other than the administrative language. In conclusion, the chapter argues that the identified types of pragmatic accommodations cannot be regarded as entirely sustainable, given the shortcomings in light of legal certainty and legal equality as well as the limits of the recognition of these practices.
