Language

Originally the region was almost entirely Flemish speaking, with a dialect much similar to that of West Flanders in Belgium. You only have to look at many of the town and street names in order to confirm the regions linguistically flemish routes.

Once consumed into greater France in 1677 (following the 'Battle of the Peene') the speaking of Flemish was discouraged, but it was not until relatively recent times that it disappeared in daily language.

Up until the 1960s, businesses such as banks needed to have someone who could talk to the locals in Flemish and there are still many older people who can speak some flemish and a few who are fluent.

Recently there has been a resurgence in the interest to learn Flemish, which is of course the first language of the closest neighbours. The issue is somewhat complicated however, as the 'West Flemish' dialect is distinctly different to official Dutch, so much so that a Dutch speaker from the Netherlands would find it very difficult to understand some of the most basic conversations, so there is always a question of which version of the language to learn?