BRIO language barometer 4: Languages in Brussels

1. Background

The latest language census dates back to 1947, while the language barometer (LB) is the first scientific survey study to attempt to provide a representative picture of the language situation in Brussels. Based on a face-to-face survey of a representative sample of 2,500 inhabitants in Brussels, the LB examines language knowledge, use of language and the attitude people living in the Brussels-Capital Region have towards a number of language-related social developments. Presented in 2018, the results of this fourth LB follow on from the earlier surveys carried out in 2001, 2007 and 2013.

2. Language knowledge in Brussels

Language use in the Brussels-Capital Region is linked to the socio-demographic profile of its population. As a migration region, Brussels is known for the wide variety of languages spoken at home. Figure 1 provides an overview of the 8 most significant languages appearing in the top 10 in all surveys. As a result of the free movement of persons within the EU, Turkish and Berber dropped from top place, while Romanian, Bulgarian and Polish moved higher up in the ranking. This illustrates the impact of international decision-making on language use and demographic developments, with the Brussels population increasing by more than 20% between the completion of TB1 and TB4, based on a positive external migratory balance.

Figure 1. Comparison of language knowledge changes (good / excellent speaking ability)

French remains by far the most well-known language, although its rating dropped by almost 9% over the entire research period. The size of the Brussels-Capital Region is growing owing to the pressure of external migration, with the majority of these new Brussels inhabitants not being able to speak French when they migrated, while the second generation picked French as a second family language. It is dominant in education and has the highest competence score among the younger generation of Brussels inhabitants. Knowledge of Dutch has consistently declined, down 50% during the period in question. Both internal and external migration play a role in this respect and it is especially among Belgians who are not of Dutch-speaking origin and who have been taught in French that the level of knowledge shows a significant decline. English is ranked second and, unlike the official languages, it has not fallen to any great extent since 2001. Continuing to be a language spoken at school, English has slightly gained some ground as the second language used by families, it is still highly valued on the labour market, just like Dutch, and is the most popular language among the younger generation Arabic has experienced a more erratic development but is seen to be declining according to the trend during the entire research period. It is a highly diversified language, which is an official language in about 30 countries, but differs considerably from one another. The sharp increase in LB3 is mainly attributed to young people among Brussels residents of Arab origin who define their own language as Arabic, while others learn the language passively in their experience of religion without actually using it. It is among these young people that the self-reporting of their knowledge of Arabic shows a considerable decline in LB4.

Figure 2 provides an overview, based on the official languages, of languages spoken in the home environments in which the current inhabitants of Brussels grew up.

Figure 2. Original home language of Brussels inhabitants

The shifts shown above mainly reflect the impact of population changes, age and intergenerational language acquisition. There is a striking increase in the number of Brussels inhabitants from monolingual French-speaking households compared with LB3. This is explained to some extent by the significant growth in the number of French people settling in Brussels and the pattern of Frenchification among traditional migrant groups whose children are becoming less and less interested in seeking a partner in their countries of origin and speaking French with a Brussels partner in the second, third or fourth generation category. The number of Brussels citizens from monolingual Dutch-speaking families remains stable compared to LB3, with the share of people living with a partner in Brussels increasing compared to the number of single persons. The great unknown in the aforementioned developments is the link between language and migration.

Between the LB1 sampling period and LB4 some 1.9 million people from abroad came to live in Brussels, temporarily or otherwise, and some 950,000 left to live abroad. Within Belgium itself, the 'urban exodus' has continued, with 380,000 people from Flanders and Wallonia choosing to live in Brussels, while some 570,000 people from Brussels moved in the opposite direction. The net impact on language knowledge and on the composition of the home language groups is not known.