ABSTRACT
The language issue has been prominent in Belgium since its foundation as an independent state in 1830. From the beginning, the country was composed of two language communities. In the north the region of Flanders was predominantly Flemish-speaking, Flemish being a dialect of Dutch. Flanders shared the Dutch language with its neighbours the Netherlands to the north but was Catholic rather than Protestant. In the south, the region of Wallonia bordering on France was overwhelmingly French-speaking.
