West Flemish

Germanic language West FlemishWest-VlaamsNative toBelgium, Netherlands, FranceRegionWest Flanders, French Flanders, Zeelandic FlandersNative speakers(1.4 million cited 1998)Language familyIndo-European GermanicWest GermanicWeser–Rhine GermanicLow FranconianDutchWest FlemishDialects Zeelandic French Flemish Language codesISO 639-3Either:vls – (West) Vlaamszea – Zeelandic (Zeeuws)Glottologsout3292 Southwestern Dutchvlaa1240 Western FlemishLinguasphere52-ACB-agWest Flemish is classified as Vulnerable by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger. West-Flemish (West-Vlams or West-Vloams or Vlaemsch (in French Flanders), Dutch: West-Vlaams, French: flamand occidental) is a Low Franconian language spoken in western Belgium and the neighbouring areas of France and the Netherlands. Vlaemsch, or West-Flemish, despite minor regional differences, is classified by many linguistic authorities, including the country of France, UNESCO, Glottolog and Ethnologue, as a distinct language (ISO 639-3: vls) within the Low Franconian branch of the West-Germanic family, rather than a dialect of Dutch. It is recognized as a separate entity due to its significant phonological, lexical, and gr