French - Flanders
#traveling
#history
When I go on vacation, I am such a person who would also like to know a little more about the history of a region.
So when I was on vacation in Wissant, that was no different either.
I already knew that the closer to the Belgian Flemish border, the more influences still
of our clean language. All the hamlets that end there on -kercke and the almost elevated 'potjesvleesch' to culture, were really a giveaway in that area. But also older people (over 70 years) who recognize a Flemish word here and there, because they remembered it from their grandparents who spoke a kind of Flemish dialect. But especially the coffee that is poured with chiccorei, called Flemish coffee there, reminded me of my own grandmother who did it that way. So I bought a game of chiccorei there on the spot, in her honor.
But to how deep in France people spoke earlier than Flemish. Well, at least much further than I thought. The whole region up to Calais and Wissant was part of the County of Flanders in earlier times. Even the names of the rock formations cape blanc-nez and cape gris-nez have a Flemish origin. It has nothing to do with a white and grey nose sticking out into the sea, as I thought wrongly. It is a French bastardization of the Flemish 'white nest' and 'gray nest'. And Wissant himself is also a corruption of 'Witsand', as the village had already been published since the 10th.
The precise boundaries are still difficult to identify and are also open to interpretation. You could argue that French Flanders are all the areas that used to belong to the Netherlands. In practice, it is therefore about the current Nord pas de Calais department, but a map indicates that it extended to Lille, Bethude and Etaples in the 7th and 8th centuries.
Today you can hardly hear spoken Flemish in France. This is because the authorities have gradually started to consider Flemish as a minority language. In the early 2nd century, villagers (especially in the border region) still spoke a kind of Flemish dialect, but after WW2 that also fell into unused use.
But apart from the history lesson, it remains a very nice region to go on vacation. As a Fleming you feel at home pretty quickly, how would that be again LOL. It also carries with it a war history, of course from the recent WW2 but also from the further past. It is a beautiful hiking region and the beaches of Dunkirk, among others, are beautiful, although I personally prefer Wissant. The oysters and mussels are delicious. And last but not least. this year, the Tour also travels through this region.
Fun fact, in Wissant, the distance with British art is so small that you regularly get the message 'Welcome to the United Kingdom' on your phone.
The story witch,
Photo source: Wikipedia for the map and own photos
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The many villages with Flemish names still indicate a little where the roots of that part of France lay. By the other hand, there is high demand in French Flanders for bilingual teaching staff for primary schools and the Lycee. This is because there is virtually no future for young people in the area, which means that young people who want to work must cross the border to Kortrijk and even to Ghent to earn a sandwich. So Flemish or Dutch is on the rise again in that part of France due to the youth. Last year, there was even a penetrating story about this social problem in Dutch newspapers.