West Flemish

West Flemish
West Flemish
Westvlams, Vlaemsch
Native to	Belgium ; Netherlands ; France
Region	West Flanders
Native speakers	1.16 million[citation needed]
Language family	Indo-European Germanic West Germanic Low Franconian Dutch West Flemish; ; ; ; ;
Language codes
ISO 639-3	vls
Linguasphere	52-ACB-ag

West Flemish (West-Vlams), Dutch: West-Vlaams, French: flamand occidental, Fransch vlaemsch in French Flemish) is a group of dialects or regional language related to Dutch spoken in parts of the Netherlands, Belgium, and France.

West Flemish is spoken by around 1.05 million people in West Flanders (in Belgium), 90,000 in the neighbouring Dutch coastal district of Zeelandic Flanders, and approximately 20,000 in the northern part of the French département of Nord where it is classified, as a recognized dialect of Dutch, as one of the languages of France. Some of the main cities where West Flemish is widely spoken include Bruges, Kortrijk, Ostend, Roeselare and Ypres.

The dialects of the rest of the Dutch province of Zeeland, Zeelandic, are sometimes also included in West Flemish although this classification is controversial. The dialects of Zeelandic Flanders however do count as West and East Flemish variants. In fact, both dialects are linked by a dialect continuum which proceeds further north into Hollandic.

West Flemish is listed as a "vulnerable" language in UNESCO's online Red Book of Endangered Languages.^[1]