German: Belgium's One of the Official Language
German is one of the three officially recognized languages in Belgium along with Dutch and French. There are some 100,000 German speakers in Belgium today; 69,000 living in the areas where German is officially recognized around St Vith and Eupen, and some 20,000-25,000 in the unrecognized areas which include Montzen and Arel.
Author:Paolo ReynaReviewer:James PierceMar 11, 202123.6K Shares526K Views
Overview Of The Language
German is one of the three officially recognized languages in Belgium along with Dutch and French.
There are some 100,000 German speakers in Belgium today; 69,000 living in the areas where German is officially recognized around St Vith and Eupen, and some 20,000-25,000 in the unrecognized areas which include Montzen and Arel. The German-speaking region comprises 9 municipalities in the eastern part of the province of Liège, which is within the French-speaking area of Belgium.
The official German language community, die Deutschsprachige Gemeinschaft Belgiens has an elected cultural parliament, the "Rat der Deutschsprachigen Gemeinschaft" and a regional government, the "Exekutive der Deutschsprachigen Gemeinschaft". These two bodies administer the autonomous authority given to the German-speaking community, which, since 1988, includes almost complete responsibility for education.
Overview Of The Media
The German-speaking community in Belgium has an official state-owned radio station, the BRF - Belgischer Rundfunk der Deutschsprachigen Gemeinschaft- which broadcasts entirely in German for 16 hours a day and can technically reach a potential audience of 1 million German-speaking listeners. In addition, there are 9 private radio stations that Care officially recognized and given frequencies by the government of the German-speaking community - Ministerium der Deutschsprachigen Gemeinschaft. They broadcast almost entirely in German for up to 24 hours a day on various wavelengths in certain localities and regions. These include Radio Aktivität and Radio Fantasy.
The Medienzentrum in Eupen which is the main central library in Eastern Belgium and the main center for documenting videos, cassettes, and CDs, is responsible for coordinating German language programs broadcast on television via the satellite channel Télévesdre.
There is one German daily newspaper, "Grenz-Echo" which is prepared, published, and distributed by "Grenz-Echo Verlag" situated in Eupen. The paper covers international and regional news, current affairs, and regional culture and has a circulation of around 13 500. The publishing house is also responsible for a monthly German magazine published in Brussels "Der Kontakt" and annually produces a selection of books that range from cultural, political, and regional interests to novels. A total of 10 books were published in 1994.
Paolo Reyna
Author
James Pierce
Reviewer
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