The German-speaking community of Belgium.

[Melki]

There is not only Brussels, the Flemish and the Walloon Region in Belgiium, the German minority also has its own community. The East Cantons (Eupen, Malmedy and Waimes) border Germany, and belong to Belgium since 1920, a consequence of IInd Reich's defeat in WW1.

To me, it's a very secretive community. What do German-Belgians generally think about Belgium? Are they patriots or would they like Belgium to collapse and split in two parts? Do they feel closer to the French Walloons or to the Flemish Dutch? How are relations between German-Belgians and Germans from the Federal Republic?

[Dandelion]

They probably feel closer to Walloons than to Flemish as they have more contacts with them. However, even though they belong to Wallonia, they probably wouldn't like to be called Walloon. Hard to tell. There are only about 80,000 of them and I rarely if ever read about them.

[Melki]

They probably feel closer to Walloons than to Flemish as they have more contacts with them. However, even though they belong to Wallonia, they probably wouldn't like to be called Walloon. Hard to tell. There are only about 80,000 of them and I rarely if ever read about them.

Yes, it seems they're strangely secretive, more than the German-Italians from Südtirol or the French-Italians from Valle d'Aosta.

[Melki]

Any other Belgian would like to tell someting about the German-speaking community? Gold-Shekel, Mraz, Newman, Septentrion, Tchek?

[Óttar]

To me, it's a very secretive community. What do German-Belgians generally think about Belgium? Are they patriots or would they like Belgium to collapse and split in two parts? Do they feel closer to the French Walloons or to the Flemish Dutch? How are relations between German-Belgians and Germans from the Federal Republic?

It would puzzle me if they feel closer to the French Walloons considering that Dutch and German are so close linguistically. Then again, Kazimiera claims that German South-Africans and Boers don't socialize with one another often.

[Dandelion]

It would puzzle me if they feel closer to the French Walloons considering that Dutch and German are so close linguistically. Then again, Kazimiera claims that German South-Africans and Boers don't socialize with one another often.

Well, Belgium isn't a multilingual country where all linguistic communities live scattered amongst each other. Rather a country with linguistic zones with only individual interaction across the linguistic borders. Roughly speaking of course. Along the linguistic border there are minorities.

Germanophone Belgians live in Wallonia and don't border Dutch speakers.

Dutch-speaking Belgians also have a low proficiency for the German language. Most just don't ever learn it. There are more of us who speak French fluently than there are who speak German. My knowledge of French is 'meh', my vocabulary could need expanding. Same could be said about German for that matter.

[Melki]

What about Newman? Isn't he a German from Belgium?

[Óttar]

Germanophone Belgians live in Wallonia and don't border Dutch speakers.

Dutch-speaking Belgians also have a low proficiency for the German language. Most just don't ever learn it. There are more of us who speak French fluently than there are who speak German.

I completed the Dutch course on Duolingo and it's frustrating because I don't know when to come up with a Dutch-ified German word, or when Dutch has its own vocabulary. They are so closely related that the only way to get good at Dutch with a German background is through...reading? Maybe I am just more motivated to learn languages. I am currently working to improve my French.

So, there is no Esprit de Revache between the German and Walloon Belgians?

[Dandelion]

What about Newman? Isn't he a German from Belgium?

He claims to be a Limburger. However, I also seen him claim to be Ripuarian who speak a similar dialect to Limburgish, but live in Germany (Rhinelanders). Rhinelanders have a high cultural affinity with Limburg and by extension the Low Countries (Northern France as well I guess, unless you count that to the Low Countries).

I also have the impression Limburgers have the highest affinity with Walloon people in the Flemish Region.

[Dandelion]

I completed the Dutch course on Duolingo and it's frustrating because I don't know when to come up with a Dutch-ified German word, or when Dutch has its own vocabulary. They are so closely related that the only way to get good at Dutch with a German background is through...reading? Maybe I am just more motivated to learn languages. I am currently working to improve my French.

So, there is no Esprit de Revache between the German and Walloon Belgians?

False friends everywhere. Sometimes one doesn't know whether one is speaking Dutch or translated German. A common problem.

I think Germanophones and Francophones tend to get along with each other. Germanophones cross the German border often, and many also know French as their second language, but they don't feel threatened culturally by living in the Walloon Region.

They are at the border between the Germanic and Romance languages for a long time already. Malmédy and Weismes had a French-speaking (Walloon-speaking) majority when it belonged to Prussia/Germany already for instance, whereas Eupen and Sankt-Vith a German-speaking (more Ripuarisch and Limburgish) majority.