Westhoek (; ;

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

for "west corner") or Maritime

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...

(french: Flandre maritime) is a region in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

and France and includes the following areas: #Belgian Westhoek ( nl, Belgische Westhoek, link=no) including the

West Flanders ) , settlement_type = Province of Belgium , image_flag = Flag of West Flanders.svg , flag_size = , image_shield = Wapen van West-Vlaanderen.svg , shield_size = , image_map ...

Diksmuide (; french: Dixmude, ; vls, Diksmude) is a Belgian city and municipality in the Flemish province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of proper and the former communes of Beerst, Esen, Kaaskerke, Keiem, Lampernisse, Leke, N ...

Ypres Ypres ( , ; nl, Ieper ; vls, Yper; german: Ypern ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality co ...

, and

Veurne Veurne (; french: Furnes, italic=no, ) is a city and municipality in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the town of Veurne proper and the settlements of , , , , , Houtem, , , Wulveringem, and . History Origins up ...

including the cities of

Poperinge Poperinge (; french: Poperinghe, ； vls, Poperienge) is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders, Flemish Region, and has a history going back to medieval times. The municipality comprises the town of Poperinge pr ...

Wervik Wervik (; french: Wervicq, ; vls, Wervik; la, Viroviacum) is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Wervik and the town of Geluwe. On January 1, 2014, Wervik had a total p ...

, De Panne,

Langemark-Poelkapelle Langemark-Poelkapelle () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. Geography Other places in the municipality include Bikschote, Langemark and Poelkapelle. On January 1, 2006, Langemark-Poelkapelle had a total populati ...

and

Koekelare Koekelare (; vls, Kookloare) is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the towns of Bovekerke, Koekelare proper and Zande. On 1 January 2006 Koekelare had a total population of 8,291. The tota ...

. However, the three Belgian coast municipalities of De Panne,

Koksijde Koksijde (; french: Coxyde ; vls, Koksyde) is a town and a municipality in Belgium. It is located on the North Sea coast in the southwest of the Flemish province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises apart from Koksijde, the villages of O ...

, and Nieuwpoort are frequently considered a separate region known as the Belgian or Flemish West Coast (). #French Westhoek (french: Westhoek français, link=no; nl, Franse Westhoek, link=no), roughly the of

Dunkirk Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.Dunkirk Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.Gravelines Gravelines (, ; ; ) is a commune in the Nord department in Northern France. It lies at the mouth of the river Aa southwest of Dunkirk. It was formed in the 12th century around the mouth of a canal built to connect Saint-Omer with the sea. As ...

, and

Hazebrouck Hazebrouck (, nl, Hazebroek, , vls, Oazebroeke) is a commune in the Nord department, Hauts-de-France. It was a small market town in Flanders until it became an important railway junction in the 1860s. West Flemish was the usual language until 1 ...

, itself part of a larger area known as

French Flanders French Flanders (french: La Flandre française) is a part of the historical County of Flanders in present-day France where a dialect of Dutch was or still is traditionally spoken. The region lies in the modern-day region of Hauts-de-France and r ...

. Outside Dutch-language sources, Westhoek sometimes refers only to French Westhoek.

French Westhoek

Geography

French Westhoek is the northern part of

, lying between the river Lys and the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...

on the Franco-Belgian border. It nearly corresponds with the ''Arrondissement'' of

Dunkirk Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.Department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

of Nord) but with the some areas of the arrondissement falling outside Westhoek while some areas of traditional Westhoek lie in the neighbouring Department of

Pas-de-Calais Pas-de-Calais (, " strait of Calais"; pcd, Pas-Calés; also nl, Nauw van Kales) is a department in northern France named after the French designation of the Strait of Dover, which it borders. It has the most communes of all the departments ...

. French Westhoek consists of three natural regions: # Blootland (Dutch for "naked land") or the Maritime Plain (French: ''Plaine maritime'') including Dunkirk,

Bourbourg Bourbourg (; ) is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It is situated in the maritime plain of northern France, in the middle of a triangle formed by Dunkirk, Calais, and Saint-Omer. Population In 1945 Bourbourg absorbed the for ...

Bergues Bergues (; nl, Sint-Winoksbergen; vls, Bergn) is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It is situated to the south of Dunkirk and from the Belgian border. Locally it is referred to as "the other Bruges in Flanders". Bergues ...

, and

Hondschoote Hondschoote (; from Dutch; ''Hondschote'' in the modern Dutch spelling) is a commune of the Nord ''département'', in northern France. Heraldry Geography Hondschoote borders Flanders, the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium. It lies 12 km f ...

# Houtland (Dutch for "woodland"), including

Wormhout Wormhout (; before 1975: ''Wormhoudt''; vls, Wormout) is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Several people in Wormhout still speak West Flemish, a local dialect of Dutch and the traditional language of the region, while French ...

Cassel Cassel may refer to: People * Cassel (surname) Places ;France * Cassel, Nord, a town and commune in northern France ** Battle of Cassel (1071) ** Battle of Cassel (1328) ** Battle of Cassel (1677) ;Germany * Cassel, Germany, a city in Hesse renam ...

, Hazebrouck, and part of Bailleul #The Lys Valley (French: ''Vallée de la Lys'' or ''Plaine de la Lys''; Dutch: ''Leiedal'') including Merville,

Steenwerck Steenwerck (; Dutch: ''Steenwerk'') is a commune, in French Flanders, in the Nord department in northern France. It is located about north of Lille and in 2013 had a population of 3519. People from Steenwerck are known as ''Steenwerckois''. I ...

, and part of Bailleul

Language

The traditional language of French Westhoek is a

Dutch dialect Dutch dialects are primarily the dialects that are both cognate with the Dutch language and are spoken in the same language area as the Dutch standard language. Dutch dialects are remarkably diverse and are found in the Netherlands and northern ...

called

West Flemish West Flemish (''West-Vlams'' or ''West-Vloams'' or ''Vlaemsch'' (in French-Flanders), nl, West-Vlaams, french: link=no, flamand occidental) is a collection of Dutch dialects spoken in western Belgium and the neighbouring areas of France and t ...

, the French subdialect of which is known as

French Flemish French Flemish (French Flemish: , Standard Dutch: , french: flamand français) is a West Flemish dialect spoken in the north of contemporary France. Place names attest to Flemish having been spoken since the 8th century in the part of Fland ...

. It was once the dominant language of the region, but a long-time policy of

Francization Francization (in American English, Canadian English, and Oxford English) or Francisation (in other British English), Frenchification, or Gallicization is the expansion of French language use—either through willful adoption or coercion—by more ...

, starting with the introduction of French as the language of education in 1853, has led to the replacement of Dutch with French in the region. Of the population of the approximately 380,000 inhabitants of French Westhoek, there are now between 10,000 and 20,000 daily speakers of West Flemish, many of whom live in the arrondissement and city of Dunkirk, and twice as many who occasionally use the dialect. Flemish was recently recognised as a regional language of France but there are no bilingual street signs and French remains the only official language in the area. File:Blootland localization.jpg, Blootland country localization in France viewed by NASA Shuttle radar-imaging File:France Flanders language-en.svg, Westhoek map with historical language divisions and Dutch toponyms File:Picquendal.JPG, A street sign in

Merck-Saint-Liévin Merck-Saint-Liévin (; pcd, Merck-Saint-Lévin; vls, Sint-Lievens-Merk) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. Geography Merck-Saint-Liévin lies about 10 miles (16 km) southwest of Saint-Om ...

, showing Germanic influence in local toponyms. The name Picquendal corresponds to the modern Dutch ''Piekendal''. The French Flemish dialect has had significant influence on local

toponym Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of '' toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage and types. Toponym is the general term for a proper name of ...

s. For example, the French Westhoek towns of Robecq and Dunkirk are derived from the Flemish names of ''Robeke'' and ''Duinkerke''.

Sources and references

Ethnologue Report for West Flemish
detailed overview {{coord, 50, 54, N, 2, 36, E, region:FR, display=title Geography of Nord (French department) Geography of West Flanders Regions of Flanders Areas of Belgium Geographical, historical and cultural regions of France French Flanders