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Dutch and French are both official languages of Brussels and are spoken by the upper classes. French is more commonly used since it was considered more prestigious. However, the original languages of Brussels are Brabantic dialects of Dutch. Standardized languages replaced these dialects in the 19th and 20th centuries as people became increasingly literate. Today, they are almost never spoken.
Approximately half of the residents of Brussels are native French speakers, 8.5% are native Dutch speakers, and 10.5% speak both Dutch and French.



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