Resources from Pearl Linguistics

BELGIAN Facts & Figures

Size: 11,787 square miles

Population: 11,007,020

Capital: Brussels

Currency: Euro

Weather / Climate:

The Belgian climate, like most of northwest Europe, is maritime temperate, with significant precipitation in all seasons (Köppen climate classification: Cfb; the average temperature is 3 °C (37.4 °F) in January, and 18 °C (64.4 °F) in July; the average precipitation is 65 mm (2.6 in) in January, and 78 mm (3.1 in) in July). Belgium has mild winters and cool summers and is rainy, humid and cloudy.

Taken from: www.wikipedia.com

BELGIAN languages

Belgium has three official languages, which are in order of native speaker population in Belgium: Dutch, French and German. A number of non-official minority languages are spoken as well.^[105] As no census exists, there are no official statistical data regarding the distribution or usage of Belgium's three official languages or their dialects.^[106] However, various criteria, including the language(s) of parents, of education, or the second-language status of foreign born, may provide suggested figures. An estimated 59% of the Belgian population speaks Dutch (often colloquially referred to as "Flemish"), and French is spoken by 40% of the population.^{[nb 4]}

Total Dutch speakers are 6.23 million, concentrated in the northern Flanders region, while French speakers comprise 3.32 million in Wallonia and an estimated 0.87 million or 85% of the officially bilingual Brussels-Capital Region.^{[nb 5][107]} The German-speaking Community is made up of 73,000 people in the east of the Walloon Region; around 10,000 German and 60,000 Belgian nationals are speakers of German. Roughly 23,000 more German speakers live in municipalities near the official Community.^[4][1]

Both Belgian Dutch and Belgian French have minor differences in vocabulary and semantic nuances from the varieties spoken respectively in the Netherlands and France. Many Flemish people still speak dialects of Dutch in their local environment. Walloon, once the main regional language of Wallonia, is now only understood and spoken occasionally, mostly by elderly people. Wallonia's dialects, along with those of Picard,^[108] are not used in public life.

Taken from:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgium#Languages

BELGIAN culture

Compact enough to be covered in a week and spirited enough to count as one of Europe's most under-rated destinations, Belgium does many things well, not least winning over sceptical visitors. If all that comes to mind is waffles and EU bureaucracy, then the reality - with its frothing beer, medieval steeples and simmering cultural mix - will be a pleasant wake-up call.

Brussels does have more than its share of faceless political buildings, but take a closer look and you'll find a dynamic city big on café living and Art Nouveau, while Antwerp and Bruges are both custom-made for picture postcards, the pair of them rich with finely crafted Middle Ages architecture. The country itself is split into two sections - Flanders (the predominantly Dutch-speaking north) and Wallonia (the predominantly French-speaking south) - which, when taken together, add up to a visitor package far greater in scope than Belgium is generally given credit for. Belgium is noted for its strong culinary traditions and is particularly famous for its fine chocolate and array of beers.

For such a small country, Belgium has been a major European battleground over the centuries. Occupied by Germany during World Wars I and II, it has experienced an economic boom in the last 50 years to become a model Western European liberal democracy. However, there has also been a growing divide between the north and the south, with some even speculating that the country could break up. Tensions between the two main language communities sometimes run high, and the issue has brought down several governments, creating frequent political instability. Opinion polls suggest most Belgians want to maintain the federation, but separatist parties often score well in Flanders. The country stretches from the dunes of the northern coastline through the Flemish lowlands and on to the forests of the rolling Ardennes hills in the south. Belgium reconciles regional and cultural identities in a single federal structure. Belgium also has a small colonial legacy in Africa: in Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo - once Zaire.

It attracted international attention following the US-led war on Iraq in 2003 because of a controversial law allowing Belgian courts to try foreigners for war and human rights crimes, regardless of where the crimes were committed. The law led to suits against numerous high-profile international figures before undergoing radical revision.

Holidays

· 01 January – New Year's Day

· April – Easter Monday

· 01 May – Labour Day

· May/June – Ascension Day

· May/June – Whit Monday

· 11 July – Flemish Community Holiday

· 21 July – Independence Day

· 15 August – Assumption

· 27 September – French Community Holiday

· 01 November – All Saints’ Day

· 11 November – Armistice Day

· 15 November – German Community Holiday

· 25 December – Christmas Day

· 26 December – Boxing Day

Taken from:

www.bbc.co.uk

www.worldtravelguide.net

BELGIAN people

In the beginning of 2007, nearly 92% of the population had Belgian citizenship, and other European Union member citizens account for around 6%. The prevalent foreign nationals were Italian (171,918), French (125,061), Dutch (116,970), Moroccan (80,579), Spanish (42,765), Turkish (39,419) and German (37,621).^[98][99] Immigrants since 1945 and their descendents are estimated by 2008 to have formed 22% of the total population.^[100] Of these 'New Belgians', 1,313,000 (56%) are of European ancestry and the 950,000 others originated from the rest of the world.^[100]Almost all of the Belgian population is urban—97% in 2004.^[101] The population density of Belgium is 342 per square kilometre (886 per square mile). The most densely inhabited area is Flanders,^[102] and in particular the Flemish Diamond, outlined by the Antwerp–Leuven–Brussels–Ghent agglomerations.^[103]The Ardennes have the lowest density. As of 2006, the Flemish Region had a population of about 6,078,600, with Antwerp (457,749), Ghent (230,951) and Bruges (117,251) its most populous cities; Wallonia had 3,413,978, with Charleroi (201,373), Liège (185,574) and Namur (107,178) its most populous. Brussels houses 1,018,804 in the Capital Region's 19 municipalities, two of which have over 100,000 residents.^[104

Taken from:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgium#Demographics

BELGIAN food

Belgium has been called a nation of gourmands rather than gourmets: a country, in other words, where "big cuisine" comes before "fine cuisine". It has been said that Belgium serves food of French quality in German quantities.

Frieten or frites

Deep-fried chipped potatoes ("fries" in American English; "chips" in British English) are a very popular food item – and one which the Belgians often claim to have invented.

The Belgian journalist Jo Gérard recounts that potatoes were fried in 1680 in the Spanish Netherlands, in the area of "the Meuse valley between Dinant and Liège, Belgium. The poor inhabitants of this region allegedly had the custom of accompanying their meals with small fried fish, but when the river was frozen and they were unable to fish, they cut potatoes lengthwise and fried them in oil to accompany their meals."

They are called frieten in Dutch and frites in French. However, unlike the 6–10 mm thick "French fries" (known as pommes allumettes (French: matchstick potatoes) in Belgium) which are normally served in American fast-food restaurants, Belgian fries are more substantial (12–15 mm thick, akin to those served with Fish and Chips in the UK) and are typically fried in animal fat. One of the best places to enjoy them is at one of the often temporary or mobile establishments known in French as a friterie, in Dutch as a frituur or, more informally, a frietkot. These are typically to be found strategically placed in town squares or alongside busy highways, and also offer a variety of typically Belgian prepared meats, including frikandel.

Sauces

Friteries and other fast-food establishments tend to offer a number of different sauces for the fries and meats. In addition to ketchup and mayonnaise, it is common to offer many others, with popular options including aioli, américaine, andalouse, Brazil, cocktail sauce, curry ketchup, piccalilli, samouraï sauce or tartar sauce. These sauces are generally also available in supermarkets.

Occasionally more exotic (or traditional) sauces are offered by friteries for use on fries, including hollandaise sauce, sauce provençale, Béarnaise sauce or even a heavy carbonade flamande stew.

Beer

A selection of Oude Kriek, a style of artisanal and unsweetened beer flavoured with cherries.

Another Belgian speciality is beer. For a comparatively small country, Belgium produces a very large number of beers in a range of different styles – in fact, it has more distinct types of beer per head than anywhere else in the world. Almost every style of beer has its own particular, uniquely shaped glass or other drinking-vessel.

A number of traditional Belgian dishes use beer as an ingredient. One is Carbonade (French: the Flemish term is stoofvlees or stoverij), a stew of beef cooked in beer, similar to Boeuf bourguignon. The beer used is typically the regional speciality — lambic in Brussels, De Koninck in Antwerp, and so on — so that the taste of the dish varies. Another is rabbit in gueuze. In't Spinnekopke, Brussels, and Den Dyver, Bruges are famed for their beer cookery.

The varied nature of Belgian beers makes it possible to match them against each course of a meal, for instance:

Wheat beer with seafood or fish.
Blonde beers or tripel with chicken or white meat
Dubbel or other dark beers with dark meat
Fruit lambics with dessert

Chocolate

Belgiumis commonly known for its chocolate. Belgian chocolate is considered to be the gourmet standard by which all other chocolate confections are measured. Even the Swiss, known for their own high quality chocolate, imported the basic recipe from French and Belgian chocolatiers. What makes Belgian chocolate unique is the quality of ingredients (many aspects of its composition are regulated by law) and an almost adherence to Old World manufacturing techniques. Even in today's world of automation and mass production, most Belgian chocolate is still made by hand in small shops using original equipment. In fact, these small chocolate outlets are a popular draw for tourists visiting Belgium today.

Seafood pralines are popular with tourists and are sold all over Belgium. Chocolaterie Guylian for instance, makes the pralines according to the recipe from the company’s founding father Guy Foubert who created it in the Sixties. Today the praliné is still made to this same secret recipe, in the age-old traditional manner. This is a clear example that is typical for Belgian Chocolates.

Typical dishes:

Moules-frites or Mosselen-friet: mussels and chips.

Konijn in geuze/lapin à la gueuze: rabbit in geuze, which is a spontaneously fermented, sour beer from the area around Brussels.
Stoemp: potato mashed with other vegetables, often served with sausages.
Salade Liégeoise / Luikse salade: a salad with green beans, pieces of bacon, onions and vinegar, associated with Liège.
Vlaamse stoofkarbonaden: a Flemish beef stew, similar to the French Beef Bourguignon, but made with beer instead of red wine.
Waterzooi: a rich stew/soup of chicken (or sometimes fish), vegetables, cream and eggs, associated with Ghent.
Paling in 't groen/anguilles au vert: Eel in a green sauce of mixed herbs.
Gegratineerd witloof/chicons au gratin: a gratin of chicory in béchamel sauce with cheese.
Boterhammen/Tartines: Slices of rustic bread and an uncovered spread, often pâté or soft cheese, served on a board and eaten with knife and fork. A typical variety is a slice of bread with quark and sliced radishes, typically accompanied by a glass of gueuze.
Tomate-crevette / tomaat-garnaal: a snack or starter of grey shrimp in mayonnaise stuffed into a hollowed-out raw tomato
Pêches au thon / perziken met tonijn: halved canned or fresh peaches stuffed with a mix of tuna and mayonnaise, i.e. tuna salad
Pensen or Boudins: a type of sausage in which the meat (or blood) content is mixed with fine breadcrumbs. Often eaten with potatoes and apple sauce, sometimes eaten raw or barbequeued.
The Ardennes is notable for Charcuterie, or cold meat products, particularly smoked ham (Jambon d'Ardenne) and paté, which may be made of game such as wild boar.
Waffles, sometimes eaten as a street snack. There are two main styles, Brussels and Liège

Chocolate, particularly pralines (filled chocolates): see also among others Leonidas, Neuhaus, Godiva.
Kip met frieten en appelmoes (chicken, french fries and apple sauce)

Taken from Wikipedia

Places to go in BELGIUM

As you'd expect from one of the continent's major capitals, Brussels has an active and varied nightlife, ranging from highbrow theatre and opera to the more hedonistic world of bars and clubs. The city's ten theatres produce plays in both Dutch and French, while its key musical venues welcome a broad mixture of local and international acts. Most of the post-sundown action tends to be focused on two main areas: the uptown Porte Louise area and the downtown area between Place Roger and Place de la Bourse. Elsewhere, the nightlife choices reflect the size of the town - but there is no shortage of fun to be had in any of the major cities. Bruges, one of the major visitor destinations, offers a good range of evening options, while Antwerp has a lively club scene. For the serious clubbers, though, Ostend is the place to be. The Belgians are keen on their food, and the country is very well supplied with excellent restaurants to suit all budgets - the perfect evening out here involves a gourmet meal. From mussels in Flanders to fine freshwater fish in Wallonia, you won't go hungry, and the eateries are busy at all times of the week.

Shopping in Belgium is straightforward and full of diverse options, although goods aren't always renowned for being cheap. For those in search of souvenirs, special purchases include ceramics and hand-beaten copperware from Dinant; Belgian chocolates; crystals from Val Saint Lambert; diamonds; jewellery from Antwerp; lace from Bruges, Brussels and Mechelen (Malines), woodcarvings from Spa and bandes dessinées (comic-strip books) by a number of talented Belgian cartoon artists from Brussels. Hergé, the celebrated creator of Tintin, was Belgian. The main shopping centres are located in Antwerp, Bruges, Brussels, Ghent, Liège, Mechelen, Mons, Namur and Ostend. Belgian lace is one of the country's most famous products, with trade in intricately patterned pieces dating back to the Renaissance. Hundreds of craftswomen still work with lace in Bruges and Brussels - the Kantcentrum in Bruges gives regular demonstrations.

The capital has some knock-out sights of its own, most notably the spectacularly gothic Grand Place in the heart of town. Nearby, the not so impressive but somehow equally well known Mannaken Pis - a statue of a boy caught in an eternal pee - also draws tourists in droves. From its breathtaking medieval centre to its 21st-century temple to Surrealism, the new Magritte Museum, Brussels offers the visitor a great deal more than just beer and chocolate. Brussels’ compact city centre is clustered with bars, restaurants and museums set along cobbled streets which open suddenly into the Grand-Place. With its ornate guild houses, impressive Town Hall and buzzing atmosphere, it would be difficult to find a more beautiful square in the whole of Europe. Léopold II's Parisian-style boulevards (Belliard and La Loi) are lined with embassies, banks and grand apartment buildings, while Sainte Cathérine, the Art Nouveau district of St-Gilles and Ixelles draw an arty crowd with their cool shops and restaurants. The Bruxellois take pride in their self-effacing, intellectual sense of humour, underpinned by a strong appreciation of the bizarre. The city has a long-running love affair with the Surrealist art movement, pioneered by René Magritte, and with classic comic strips, epitomised by Hergé's boy hero, Tintin. There's a telling irony in the fact that the city's best-known landmark is the Manneken-Pis, a tiny statuette of a urinating boy.

The UNESCO World Heritage City of Bruges is perhaps the one destination in Belgium that - in terms of sheer beauty - transcends all others. Key attractions include the 14th-century town hall, the belfry tower and the Cathedral of the Holy Saviour. Bruges (Brugge) is without doubt one of the gems of northwest Europe, offering the visitor a rich combination of history and Flemish architectural splendours in a compact city centre, which was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2000. The city followed this up by becoming a European Capital of Culture two years later. There is no doubt that a visit to Bruges is a rewarding experience. The city is a sheer pleasure just to wander around, discovering street after street of pretty Flemish buildings, delightful restaurants and bars, and more than its fair share of imposing historic monuments. The climb to the top of the Belfry tower is not to be missed neither is a boat ride along the picturesque waterways of the old city. The city's name is believed to derive from the Old Norse bryggja, meaning landing stage or wharf, and Bruges' fortunes reached their zenith in the 13th and early 14th centuries, when the city was the most important trading centre in northwestern Europe. Things went downhill until the late 19th century, when Bruges once more came 'back to life', ironically almost entirely due to Georges Rodenbach's novel Bruges la Morte, which awakened international interest in what had become a sleepy backwater. Modern Bruges is a dynamic, friendly, place, with a strong arts culture and all the ingredients of a successful tourist centre. Bruges is rightly reputed as one of the continent's most aesthetically pleasing cities, and taking a canal boat along its waterways is an endlessly enjoyable way to take in some of its main historical sights at leisure.

Visitors to Antwerp can discover the city's prominence at the Diamant Museum. The venue features gem cutters and polishers at work, as well as outlining 400 years of history. There's more to Antwerp than its diamonds. The city is home to the second largest harbour in Europe and - more importantly - an array of 16th and 17th century architectural marvels. Artist Peter Paul Rubens also lived in the city. With its handsome squares, cobbled alleyways, excellent restaurants and smart shops, Antwerp is a buzzing, stylish town, famous for its diamonds, arts and fashion. Belgium's second city has been the diamond capital of the world for centuries. Armed guards and traders with handcuffed briefcases announce that you are in the Diamond Quarter, while dozens of shops sell discounted 'rocks'. Antwerp, home of the Flemish Baroque master Peter Paul Rubens, also has a wealth of outstanding museums and galleries. Antwerp's port is Europe's second (after Rotterdam), one of the 10 largest in the world, and principal source of the city's wealth. The importance of Antwerp's maritime heritage will be celebrated with the opening of the new MAS museum in late 2010. Antwerp gained fame during the 1980s through the efforts of the 'Antwerp Six'. These six avant-garde designers' legacy is very much alive today, not just in the Fashion Museum, or in the Antwerp Fashion Academy school, but on many streets, where it seems that every other shop window is a designer statement.

Despite its age (and its glorious medieval buildings), Ghent holds a window up to contemporary Belgium - it's somewhere where cutting-edge design and ultra-modern technology coexist among the cobbles and spires. Come to enjoy the meeting of old and new.

Liegedoesn't have the immediate classic beauty of some of its compatriots, but look closer at this Ardennes city and you'll find some charming historic quarters and a wealth of heritage buildings. Great as a day-trip from Brussels.

Tournai is Belgium's second oldest city, and has all the charm and character that this fact would suggest. Make time to take in the oldest belfry in the country and the 12th century Cathedral of Our Lady, both of which are heritage-listed by UNESCO.

Sometimes referred to as the Pearl of the Ardennes, Spa is the town from which all spas take their name and, as such, makes for an essential stop-off for those who like their pampering. As well as offering a range of different treatments, it's also an attractive town in its own right.

Belgium has a colourful roster of yearly festivals and celebrations, including the mid-Lent Carnival in Stavelot and the three-day Carnival de Binche. Arguably the most unmissable, however, is the pageantry-heavy Ommegang Festival in Brussels, which transports visitors back 500 years.

Belgiumdraws a huge number of modern history buffs and the site of the Battle of the Bulge (a World War II conflict), situated close to the Luxembourg border, is a further reason why. The Bastogne Historical Centre has a strong collection of memorabilia. Some of the most important - and most tragic - conflicts of World War I took place in Belgium. Today it's possible to revisit some of the erstwhile battlefields. The town of Ypres, close to the coast, is synonymous with the era and plays host to a memorial museum. Waterloo is the site of the battle where, in June 1815, Napoleon was famously outmanoeuvred by the Duke of Wellington and Marshal Blucher, sits just 18km (11 miles) to the south of Brussels.

It's said that Belgium has a higher density of castles per square mile than anywhere else. The castles themselves, which range from manor houses to mighty fortresses, are found across the entire country, but it's in Wallonia that the most attractive constructions are found.

No trip to the country is even remotely complete without getting your fingers sticky with mussel juice. Moules frites is one of Belgium's greatest gifts to the culinary world, and is usually reasonably priced. Belgium's brewing history reaches back to the Middle Ages, so it would be downright rude not to sample some of its famous ales. There are still well over 100 breweries in the country, producing everything from pale lager to Flemish Red. Visitors with a sweet tooth will already be well aware of Belgium's lip-smacking prowess when it comes to creating chocolates, and it provides ample opportunity to pay homage to the brown stuff. Educate yourself before indulging by visiting Bruges' Chocolate Museum.

Taken from: www.worldtravelguide.net

Doing business in BELGIUM

A certain degree of business formality is expected in Belgium. It is wise for business visitors to confirm meetings in writing and arrive punctually, armed with business cards and wearing a suit - with a tie for men. Companies are hierarchical, and as many managing directors do not delegate, it is advisable to go straight to the top.

On introduction, you should address colleagues with their surname, respecting any professional or academic qualifications. English and French are the standard languages of business in Belgium. Personal relationships are important, so relaxed lunch meetings help develop trust - a stage that must be reached before decisions are made. It is common for business colleagues to be invited for an apéritif, followed by dinner at a nice restaurant, although usually not at the first meeting.

The economies of Belgium and Luxembourg have been unified since 1921, when the two governments signed a Convention of Economic Union; this is distinct from the Benelux Union (which includes The Netherlands) and the EU (Belgium being a founder member of both).

For its size, Belgium is one of the most heavily industrialised countries in Europe, but here like elsewhere, the scale of the worldwide banking crisis had a profound effect. GDP growth was negative in 2009.

Belgiumstill imports huge quantities of raw materials, largely to be reworked for export, and manufactured goods and machinery remain a vital part of the economy. Exports are equivalent to roughly two-thirds of gross national product.

Coal mining, previously a major industry, ceased when the last mine was closed in 1992. Nuclear power accounts for almost two-thirds of Belgium's energy consumption; the remainder is generated from imported fuel products.

There is an extensive range of meeting venues throughout the country. In 2007, Belgium occupied 17th place in the International Congress and Convention Association rankings for numbers of association meetings staged worldwide, while Brussels was joint 19th most popular city for such gatherings, along with Kuala Lumpur and Istanbul.

Main exports: Manufactured goods, chemicals, finished diamonds, metal, and food.Main imports: Machinery and equipment, chemicals, vehicles, metals, raw diamonds.Main trading partners: Main trade partners: Germany, The Netherlands, France, the UK and the USA.

Taken from: www.worldtraveguide.net