45-467: Binche ( French pronunciation: [bɛ̃ʃ] ; Walloon : Bince ; Dutch : Bing ) is a city and municipality of Wallonia , in the province of Hainaut , Belgium. Since 1977, the municipality consists of Binche, Bray , Buvrinnes, Épinois, Leval-Trahegnies, Péronnes-lez-Binche , Ressaix, and Waudrez districts. According to the surveys from 2021, Binche had a total population of 33,416, approximately 550 inhabitants per km. The motto of
90-419: A dialect of French, which in turn is a langue d'oïl . Like French, it descended from Vulgar Latin . Arguing that a French-speaking person could not understand Walloon easily, especially in its eastern forms, Jules Feller (1859–1940) insisted that Walloon had an original "superior unity", which made it a language . The phonological divisions of regional languages of southern Belgium were studied by
135-513: A dozen Walloon magazines publish regularly. The Société de Langue et de Littérature Wallonne , founded in 1856, promotes Walloon literature and the study ( dialectology , etymology , etc.) of the regional Roman languages of Wallonia. There is a difference between the Walloon culture, according to the Manifesto for Walloon culture , and the Walloon language (even if the latter is a part of
180-402: A good number of the developments that we now consider typical of Walloon appeared between the 8th and 12th centuries. Walloon "had a clearly defined identity from the beginning of the 13th century". In any case, linguistic texts from the time do not mention the language, although they mention others in the langue d'oïl family, such as Picard and Lorrain . During the 15th century, scribes in
225-479: A large collection of literary works in Walloon, quite possibly the largest outside Belgium, and its holdings are representative of the output. Out of nearly a thousand works, twenty-six were published before 1880. Thereafter the numbers rise gradually year by year, reaching a peak of sixty-nine in 1903. After that, publications in Walloon fell markedly, to eleven in 1913. Yves Quairiaux counted 4,800 plays for 1860–1914, published or not. In this period, plays were almost
270-652: Is William Dunker ( b. 15 March 1959). Carnival of Binche The Carnival of Binche ( French : Carnaval de Binche ) is an annual festival held in Binche , Hainaut , Belgium, during the Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday preceding Ash Wednesday . The carnival's history dates back to approximately the 14th century, and it is today one of the best known of several that take place simultaneously in Wallonia , Belgium. Performers known as Gilles wear elaborate costumes in
315-511: Is distinguished from other languages in the langue d'oïl family both by archaism coming from Latin and by its significant borrowing from Germanic languages, as expressed in its phonetics, its lexicon , and its grammar . At the same time, Walloon phonetics are singularly conservative: the language has stayed fairly close to the form it took during the High Middle Ages . From a linguistic point of view, Louis Remacle has shown that
360-633: The Walloon Misplaced Pages officially in 2003. In 2004, a Walloon translation of a Tintin comic was released under the name L'èmerôde d'al Castafiore ; in 2007 an album consisting of Gaston Lagaffe comic strips was published in Walloon. Walloon is more distinct as a language than Belgian French , which differs from the French spoken in France only in some minor points of vocabulary and pronunciation . Linguists had long classified Walloon as
405-677: The langues d'oïl dialect continuum , the most prominent member of which is French . The historical background of its formation was the territorial extension since 980 of the Principality of Liège to the south and west. Walloon is classified as "definitely endangered" by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger . Despite its rich literature, beginning anonymously in the 16th century and with well-known authors since 1756,
450-582: The Borinage dialect under the pen-name Bosquètia . In the 20th century, Joseph Houziaux (1946) published a selection of 50 fables in the Condroz dialect. The motive among Walloon speakers in both France and Belgium was to assert regional identity against the growing centralism and encroachment of the language of the capital, on what had until then been predominantly monoglot areas. There are links between French literature and Walloon literature. For instance,
495-537: The French Community of Belgium . Events related to the carnival begin up to seven weeks prior to the primary celebrations. Street performances and public displays traditionally occur on the Sundays approaching Ash Wednesday , consisting of prescribed musical acts, dancing, and marching . Large numbers of Binche's inhabitants spend the Sunday directly prior to Ash Wednesday in costume. The centrepiece of
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#1732790518982540-592: The Low Countries . One might say that the period which saw the establishment of the unifying supremacy of the Burgundians in the Walloon country was a turning-point in their linguistic history. The crystallization of a Walloon identity, as opposed to that of the thiois (i.e. Dutch-speaking) regions of the Low Countries, established "Walloon" as a word for designating its people. Somewhat later,
585-570: The Rifondou walon . This orthography is diasystemic , reflecting different pronunciations for different readers, a concept inspired by the spelling of Breton . The written forms attempt to reconcile current phonetic uses with ancient traditions (notably the reintroduction of xh and oi that were used for writing Walloon until the late 19th century) and the language's own phonological logic. Other regional languages spoken in Wallonia, outside
630-528: The national colours of red, black and yellow. During the parade, they throw oranges at the crowd. Since 2003, the event is recognised as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO , and it is also listed as intangible heritage of the French Community of Belgium . The first written records of the Carnival of Binche date back to 1394, the festivities then corresponding to
675-587: The Walloon domain, are: The Picard, Lorrain and Champenois dialects spoken in Wallonia are sometimes also referred to as "Walloon", which may lead to confusion. The Walloon alphabet generally consists of the basic ISO Latin Alphabet , and six types of diacritic . It also makes frequent use of digraphs. Various orthographies have been used, most notably the Feller system ( sistinme Feller ) and Unified Walloon ( rifondou walon or rfondou walon ). Walloon
720-457: The Walloon population speak their ancestral language. Breaking the statistics down by age, 70–80% of the population aged over 60 speak Walloon, while only about 10% of those under 30 do so. Passing knowledge of Walloon is much more widespread: claimed by some 36–58% of the younger age bracket. Laurent Hendschel estimates there are 1,300,000 bilingual people in Wallonia (Walloon-French, Picard-French...). Many French words that pertain to mining and to
765-505: The academic language, French became the object of a political effort at normalization; La Pléiade posited the view that when two languages of the same language family coexist, each can be defined only in opposition to the other. Around the year 1600, the French writing system became dominant in the Wallonia. From this time, too, dates a tradition of texts written in a language marked by traces of spoken Walloon. The written language of
810-642: The beginning of Lent (the 40 days between Ash Wednesday and Easter ). Wearing a mask was forbidden under the Napoleonic regime, so the Gilles , some of the carnival's most important participants today, appeared for the first time in texts in 1795 as masked characters revolting. In 2003, the Carnival of Binche was recognised as one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO , and in 2004, as intangible heritage of
855-491: The carnival's proceedings are clown-like performers known as Gilles . Appearing, for the most part, on Shrove Tuesday (or Mardi Gras ), the Gilles are characterised by their vibrant dress, wax masks and wooden footwear. They number up to 1,000 at any given time, range in age from 3 to 60 years old, and are customarily male. The honour of being a Gille at the carnival is something that is aspired to by local men. From dawn on
900-454: The city during this time. The three-day Carnival of Binche is one of the best known in Belgium. It takes place around Shrove Tuesday (or Mardi Gras ) just before Lent (the 40 days between Ash Wednesday and Easter ). Performers known as Gilles wear elaborate costumes in the national colours of red, black and yellow. During the parade, they throw oranges at the crowd. In 2003, it
945-524: The city is " Plus Oultre " (meaning "Further beyond" in Old French), which was the motto of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V , who in 1545 gave the medieval Castle of Binche to his sister, Queen Mary of Hungary . Her attention was spent on Binche, which she had rebuilt into Binche Palace under the direction of the architect-sculptor Jacques du Broeucq , remembered today as the first master of Giambologna . This château, intended to rival Fontainebleau ,
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#1732790518982990-683: The city, which served as a frontier fortress against France. In the 14th century, the city wall was extended to its present size. The city reached the peak of its economic power when Belgium was under Spanish rule . Binche was the residence of Mary of Hungary, governess of the Netherlands for her brother, Emperor Charles V . She had a magnificent palace built, designed by Jacques Du Broeucq , to compete with that of Fontainebleau . Charles V visited Binche in 1549 on invitation from his sister. For this occasion, she organized magnificent celebrations. This period of prosperity came to an end in 1554 as
1035-401: The contemporary linguist E.B. Atwood. He defined the precise geographical repartition of the four chief dialects of Walloon. In addition, he defined them against the dialects of Picard , Lorrain and Champenois . Since then, most linguists (among them Louis Remacle ), and gradually also Walloon politicians, regard Walloon as a regional language, the first in importance in Wallonia . It is
1080-471: The culture). Walloon-language literature has been printed since the 16th century, or at least since the beginning of the 17th century. It had its "golden age" during the peak of the Flemish immigration to Wallonia in the 19th century: "That period saw an efflorescence of Walloon literature, plays and poems primarily, and the founding of many theaters and periodicals." The New York Public Library holds
1125-440: The language alive. Formally recognized as a langue régionale endogène (regional indigenous language) of Belgium since 1990, Walloon has also benefited from a continued corpus planning process. The "Feller system" (1900) regularized transcription of the different accents. Since the 1990s, a common orthography was established (the Rifondou walon [ wa ; fr ] ), which allowed large-scale publications, such as
1170-416: The language. Those born since the 1970s usually know little more than a few idiomatic expressions , often profanities . The Walloon language is still part of the Walloon heritage; it is one component of Walloon identity. Four dialects of Walloon developed in four distinct zones of Wallonia: Despite local phonetic differences, there is a regional movement towards the adoption of a common spelling, called
1215-443: The middle of the 20th century, generational transmission of the language has decreased, resulting in Walloon almost becoming a dead language . Today it is scarcely spoken among younger people, with the vast majority of its native speakers being the elderly (aged 65 and over). In 2007, the number of people with knowledge of the language was estimated at 600,000. Numerous associations, especially theatre companies, are working to keep
1260-418: The morning of the carnival's final day, Gilles appear in the centre of Binche, to dance to the sound of drums and ward off evil spirits with sticks. Later during the day, they don large hats adorned with ostrich feathers, which can cost more than $ 300 US dollars to rent, and march through the town with baskets of oranges. These oranges are thrown to, and sometimes at, members of the crowd gathered to view
1305-515: The old Gallic language which we call Vualon or Rommand (...). And we use the said old Vualon or Rommand language in our Belgian Gaul: That is to say in Hainaut, Cambrai, Artois, Namur, Liège, Lorraine, Ardennes and Rommand Brabant, and it is very different from French, which is more fashionable and courtly. The word "Walloon" thus came closer to its current meaning: the vernacular of the Roman part of
1350-540: The only one to have originated from that part of Belgium. The eleventh edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica identified Walloon as the "northernmost Romance language". Walloon is spoken in the Wallonia Region in Belgium. In addition, it is spoken in: Although Walloon was widely spoken until the mid-20th century, today only a small proportion of the inhabitants of the region are fluent in
1395-509: The only popular entertainment in Wallonia. The Walloon-language theatre remains popular in the region; theatre is flourishing with more than 200 non-professional companies playing in the cities and villages of Wallonia for an audience of over 200,000 each year. During the 19th-century renaissance of Walloon-language literature, several authors adapted versions of Aesop's Fables to the racy speech (and subject matter) of Liège. They included Charles Duvivier (in 1842); Joseph Lamaye (1845); and
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1440-585: The palace, the city, and the surrounding area were plundered by the troops of King Henry II of France . Until the beginning of the 18th century, Hainaut was the site of repeated military conflicts between the kingdoms of France and Spain. The Industrial Revolution brought renewed prosperity. Coal mines' slag heaps still shape the landscape. Adding to this were the brickyards , tanneries , glaziers , breweries , lime kilns , and soap factories. Thousands of people worked at home as lace makers, cobblers, and tailors. Post offices and train stations were introduced in
1485-712: The power and influence of the town. Binche came into being during the Middle Ages , near the Roman road that connected Bagacum , the capital of the Nervii , (now Bavay ) to Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium , (now Cologne ). The road influenced trade and communication throughout Binche. The city was officially founded in the 12th century by Yolande of Gelders, widow of Duke Baldwin III from Hainaut . Their son Baldwin IV fortified
1530-405: The preceding centuries, scripta , was a composite language with some Walloon characteristics but it did not attempt to be a systematic reproduction of the spoken language. Walloon was the predominant language of the Walloon people until the beginning of the 20th century, although they had a passing knowledge of French. Since that time, the use of French has spread to the extent that now only 15% of
1575-758: The region called the language "Roman" when they needed to distinguish it. It is not until the beginning of the 16th century that first occurrence of the word "Walloon" appeared in the current linguistic sense. In 1510 or 1511, Jean Lemaire de Belges made the connection between Rommand to Vualon : Et ceux cy [les habitants de Nivelles] parlent le vieil langage Gallique que nous appellons Vualon ou Rommand (...). Et de ladite ancienne langue Vualonne, ou Rommande, nous usons en nostre Gaule Belgique: Cestadire en Haynau, Cambresis, Artois, Namur, Liège, Lorraine, Ardenne et le Rommanbrabant, et est beaucoup differente du François, lequel est plus moderne, et plus gaillart. And those people [the inhabitants of Nivelles] speak
1620-474: The source. Jacques Ancion also wanted to develop a regular adult audience. "From the 19th century he included the Walloon play Tati l'Pèriquî by E. Remouchamps and the avant-garde Ubu roi by A. Jarry ." The scholar Jean-Marie Klinkenberg writes, "[T]he dialectal culture is no more a sign of attachment to the past but a way to participate to a new synthesis". Walloon is also being used in popular song. The best-known singer in Walloon in present-day Wallonia
1665-405: The team of Jean-Joseph Dehin (1847, 1851–1852) and François Bailleux (1851–1866), who covered books I-VI. Adaptations into other dialects were made by Charles Letellier (Mons, 1842) and Charles Wérotte (Namur, 1844). Decades later, Léon Bernus published some hundred imitations of La Fontaine in the dialect of Charleroi (1872); he was followed during the 1880s by Joseph Dufrane , writing in
1710-579: The textile trade derive from the Walloon-Picard complex. Legally, Walloon has been recognized since 1990 by the French Community of Belgium , the cultural authority of Wallonia, as an "indigenous regional language" which must be studied in schools and encouraged. The Walloon cultural movement includes the Union Culturelle Wallonne , an organization of over 200 amateur theatre circles, writers' groups, and school councils. About
1755-430: The use of Walloon has decreased markedly since France's annexation of Wallonia in 1794 . This period definitively established French as the language of social promotion, far more than it was before. After World War I , public schools provided French-speaking education to all children, inducing a denigration of Walloon, especially when accompanied by official orders in 1952 to punish its use in schools. Subsequently, since
1800-462: The vernacular of these people became more clearly distinct from central French and other neighbouring langues d'oïl , prompting the abandonment of the vague term "Roman" as a linguistic, ethnic, and political designator for "Walloon". Also at this time, following the Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts in 1539, the French language replaced Latin for all administrative purposes in France. Established as
1845-407: The writer Raymond Queneau set the publication of a Walloon Poets' anthology for Editions Gallimard . Ubu roi was translated into Walloon by André Blavier , an important 'pataphysician of Verviers , and friend of Queneau, for the new and important Puppet theater of Liège of Jacques Ancion. The Al Botroûle theater operated "as the umbilical cord" in Walloon, indicating a desire to return to
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1890-485: Was added in 1931. The area has been a heritage quarter since 1978. Walloon language Walloon ( / w ɒ ˈ l uː n / ; natively walon ; French : wallon ) is a Romance language that is spoken in much of Wallonia and, to a very small extent, in Brussels , Belgium; some villages near Givet , northern France; and a clutch of communities in northeastern Wisconsin , United States. It belongs to
1935-600: Was designed by Leuven architect Pierre Langerock. It has coloured stained glass windows and is a protected monument. There are some inscriptions remaining from the German occupation. To the front of the station is a square half-encircled by a balustrade. Sculpted in the Neo-classical style from blue stone, it incorporates statues commemorating illustrious figures from Binche’s past, including Charles V, Margaret of York and Mary of Hungary. A monument dedicated to independence
1980-673: Was eventually destroyed by the soldiers of Henry II of France in 1554. In 2003, the Carnival of Binche was proclaimed one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO . In addition, the Belfry and City Hall were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List as part of the Belfries of Belgium and France site, for its importance in civic functions, architecture, and its testimony to
2025-513: Was recognized by UNESCO as one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity . Each year the town hosts the single day Binche-Chimay-Binche professional cycling race, which is rated as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour . Binche railway station has been the terminus for passenger services on line 108 (Erquelinnes - Mariemont) since 1984. The island platform is out of use. The large gothic style station building
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