Suchergebnisse

In October-November 2010, more than 5000 Belgian students from both side of the linguistic border have been asked to "draw Belgium" – no other guidelines were given. In addition to this rather unusual question, the students were surveyed on their political interest, political knowledge, identities, political perceptions and preferences as well as their attitudes towards Belgium and her future. The drawings show that half of the students drew Belgium with the language border and half did not. What explains this difference is not the language one speaks (so there was no difference between Dutch-speakers and French-speakers) but the level of political knowledge and the identity of the respondents (students who feel Belgian only draw Belgium without the language border and students who feel Flemish only are more likely to draw the language border). One further dimension needs to be explored (when applicable): the size of Flanders and of Wallonia. Does the size tell us anything about the political attitudes of the students towards Belgium? Does it relate anyhow to their identities? Or is rather a matter of political knowledge? Or is it even simply due to the shape of Belgium where Wallonia – the largest in size – region is more easily cut down when quickly drawn? Above all, with this research we can indirectly explore the processes – of socialization – behind the formation of political preferences and more specifically how socio-demographics, political knowledge, political interest, voting behaviour interact with the students' representations and attitudes vis-à-vis their country and its future.

This chapter explains the sociolinguistic differences between the two regions are important and have led to significantly contrasting language policies a contrast that can be observed at the level of specific political measures set up in each case, and also at the level of principles underlying state action regarding linguistic matters. Conversely, in Belgium, French has never been a low-status language, predominant in low-paid jobs, socially stigmatised as a patois or as a mixture of English and French typical of uneducated people as it was in Quebec from the end of the eighteenth century onwards. Progressively, the Flemish movement demanded political autonomy for cultural political matters, while the Walloon regionalist movement was interested in obtaining more autonomy in economic matters in times when Wallonia was still the most prosperous region of the country. The importance of French in the website presentations of each region for foreigners is very indicative of the role language plays in Quebec and in Wallonia.