Walloon language

Uncommon card · No. 145358

Walloon (; natively walon; French: wallon, Belgian French pronunciation: [walõ] ) is a Romance language that is spoken in much of Wallonia and, to a very small extent, in Brussels, Belgium; some villages near Givet, northern France; and a clutch of communities in northeastern Wisconsin, United States. It belongs to the langues d'oïl dialect continuum, the most prominent member of which is French. The historical background of its formation was the territorial extension since 980 of the Principality of Liège to the south and west. Walloon is classified as "definitely endangered" by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger. Despite its rich literature, beginning anonymously in the 16th century and with well-known authors since 1756, the use of Walloon has decreased markedly since France's annexation of Wallonia in 1794. This period definitely established French as the language of social promotion, far more than it was before. After World War I, public schools provided French-speaking...

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