Belgian French - Vocabulary

Vocabulary

Words which are unique to Belgian French are called "Belgicisms" (French: belgicismes). This term is also used for Dutch words used in Belgium and not in the Netherlands. As expressed in the article related to phonological differences, upper-middle-class Belgian Francophones can understand the meaning and use of words in standard French, but can also use standard French when speaking with a speaker using standard French, as hinted by his or her accent). Overall, lexical differences between standard French and Belgian French are minor (akin to the differences that might exist between a Canadian English and British English speaker, for instance). Even so, there are too many to try to form any complete list in this article. Some of the better-known usages include:

• The use of septante for "seventy" and nonante for "ninety", in contrast to Standard French soixante-dix (literally "sixty-ten") and quatre-vingt-dix ("four-twenty-ten"). These words are also used in Swiss French. Unlike the Swiss, however, Belgians never use huitante in the place of quatre-vingts ("four twenties"). Although considered a Belgicism/Helveticism, septante and nonante were common in France as well until around the 16th century, when the composite forms began to dominate.
• The words for meals vary, as described in the table below. The usage in Belgian, Swiss, and Canadian French accords with the etymology—déjeuner comes from a verb meaning "to break the fast". In Standard French, however, breakfast is rendered by petit déjeuner. Souper is instead used in France to refer to a meal taken around midnight, after going to the opera, the theatre, or a similar night-time event.

English	Belgian, Swiss, and Canadian French	Standard French
breakfast	déjeuner	petit déjeuner
lunch	dîner/diner	déjeuner
dinner	souper	dîner/diner
late-evening meal	N/A	souper

• Many Walloon words and expressions have crept into Belgian French, especially in eastern regions of Wallonia. Examples include Qu'à torate (similar to à bientôt, "see you soon"), pèkèt ("jenever"), barakî (similar to the word chav in British English).
• Germanic influences are also visible:
  • Crolle ("curl") reflects the Brabantic pronunciation of the Dutch word krul.
  • S'il vous plait is used to mean "here" (when handing someone something) as well as "please", whereas in France the meaning is limited to "please" - and "voilà" is used for "here". This is comparable to the use of alstublieft in Dutch.
  • Sûr (from Dutch zuur) means "sour", while in France, the word acide is used.
  • Dringuelle, standard French "pourboire", "tip", from the Dutch word drinkgeld. Although this is less commonly used in Brussels.
  • Kot (student room in a dormitory) from Dutch "kot".
  • Ring (ring road) from Dutch "ring". In Standard French: "une ceinture périphérique".
  • Savoir (to know) is often used in the place of pouvoir (to be able ).
  • Blinquer (to blink), instead of briller, has a German origin, through walloon.