Belgitude

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Not to be confused with Belgicism.
National Flag of Belgium

Belgitude (

Belgian culture
.

Context

Gallia Belgica at the time of Julius Caesar's conquest of Gaul in 54 BCE

Contrary to most other countries,

Philippe the Good, Charles V, etc., whilst these characters were unaware of the very notion of the entity of Belgium.[4]

Another aspect contributing to belgitude is the fact that many Belgians identify more with being

federal state, and repeated governmental crises.[8][9][10]

For all these reasons, the Belgian identity is seen as a "hollow" identity: it is defined mostly by what it is not. For example, the Belgian is neither

francophone Belgium specificity [that emerged] in the 1970s and 1980s".[1] It involved the extent of the questioning identity of Belgians, often with a so-called keen sense of self-mockery that characterises them.[1]

History of the Belgian feeling of identity

federal state
in 1993. Baudouin died the same year the law came into effect, further symbolising his belgitude status.

During his conquest of

Celtic tribes that inhabited the country, namely the Aquitani in the southwest, the Gauls of the biggest central part, who in their own language were called Celtae, and the Belgae in the north. Caesar famously wrote that the Belgae were "the bravest of the three peoples, being farthest removed from the highly developed civilization of the Roman Province, least often visited by merchants with enervating luxuries for sale, and nearest to the Germans across the Rhine, with whom they are continually at war".[11]
Despite Caesar referring to the Celtic tribe the Belgae and not modern day Belgium the quote was used a lot in Belgian history books from the 1830s on while the new independent state searched for its own identity.

The most famous quote about the Belgian identity was said by the Walloon

federal state
.

Etymology

Singer-songwriter Jacques Brel is an example of belgitude due to his international fame and the fact he was raised perfectly bilingual.

The

Leopold Sedar Senghor.[3] The term caught on quick enough to be referred to in Belgian singer Jacques Brel's song "Mai 1940" (May 1940), which was left off his final album Les Marquises in 1977, but made available in 2003. In the song, Brel refers to German soldiers who occupied Belgium during World War II
and wiped out his belgitude:

D'un ciel plus bleu qu'à l'habitude (Translation: "With a heaven bluer than usual")

Ce mai 40 a salué (Translation: "That May 1940 greeted")

Quelques Allemands disciplinés (Translation: "Several disciplined Germans")

Qui écrasaient ma belgitude (Translation: "Crushing out my belgitude".)[13]

In 2011, the word belgitude was listed in the French encyclopedic dictionary the Petit Larousse,[14] and one year later, in the Robert.[15]

Examples of belgitude

Belgitude is primarily characterised today by subject matters and symbols that are typical or unique to

Belgian Dutch and Belgian French. The Dutch in Belgium has many gallicisms and the French in Belgium many hollandisms, both in terms of words as well as grammar. For instance, the word "plezant" ("amusing") in Flanders is derived from the French word "plaisant" and is hardly used in the Netherlands.[16]

Typical foods and drinks, such as

Sois Belge et tais-toi, the films of Jan Bucquoy[17] and the comedy team Les Snuls
are all loving and mocking tributes to the Belgian identity.

  • Moules-frites or mosselen met friet is a representative dish of Belgium.
    Moules-frites or mosselen met friet is a representative dish of Belgium.
  • The statue of Manneken Pis in Brussels is an example of a cultural belgitude.
    The statue of Manneken Pis in Brussels is an example of a cultural belgitude.
  • Tintin and Snowy are international cultural symbols of belgitude.
    Tintin and Snowy are international cultural symbols of belgitude.

See also

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 978-3-03-911382-8
    . Retrieved 14 December 2011.
  2. ^ a b c Jeanine Treffers-Daller, Mixing Two Languages: French-Dutch Contact in a Comparative Perspective (Walter de Gruyter, 1994), 25.
  3. ^
    doi:10.3917/presa.078.0003
    .
  4. ^ a b Anne Morelli, Les grands mythes de l'histoire de Belgique, de Flandre et de Wallonie, Evo-histoire, 1995, Bruxelles, p. 10
  5. ISBN 978-2-8710-6545-6
    .
  6. ISBN 978-0-19-822108-1
    .
  7. ISBN 2-87027-940-X
    .
  8. ISBN 2-8044-0525-7
    .
  9. ISBN 2950935680
    . Retrieved 2013-04-26.
  10. ISBN 9782804117818
    . Retrieved 2013-04-26.
  11. ^ Julius Caesar, The Conquest of Gaul Gallico, trans. S. A. Handford, revised with a new introduction by Jane F. Gardner (Penguin Books 1982), I.1.
  12. ^ (in French) J'ai lu la lettre de Destrée qui, sans conteste, est un littérateur de grand talent. Tout ce qu'il dit est absolument vrai, mais il est non moins vrai que la séparation administrative serait un mal entraînant plus d'inconvénients et de dangers de tout genre que la situation actuelle. Landro, 30 août, A Jules Ingebleek, secrétaire privé du Roi et de la Reine, lettre reproduite in extenso in M-R Thielemans et E. Vandewoude, Le Roi Albert au travers de ses lettres inédites, Office international de librairie, Bruxelles, 1982, pp. 435-436.
  13. ^ DBNL. "Ons Erfdeel. Jaargang 46 · dbnl". DBNL.
  14. ^ «Belgitude» in le Petit Larousse illustré, 27 June 2011
  15. ^ «Belgitude fait son entrée au Robert » in Le Soir, 22 June 2012.
  16. ^ "VlaamseTaal.be - Franse invloed". www.vlaamsetaal.be. Archived from the original on 2014-04-06. Retrieved 2015-11-16.
  17. ^ "Jan Bucquoy".
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