Walloon, a language from and still spoken by a minority population in its home country of Belgium, can also still be found among a few sparse communities in northeastern Wisconsin. Although spoken by a small number of people, the language plays a vital role in Belgian heritage in the state and is visible, and edible, in local delicacies like booyah and trippe.
This book is the first to introduce the language without recourse to French, of which Walloon is sometimes mistakenly described as a variant or dialect. With this text, English-language speakers will need nothing more than interest to pick up basic conversational Walloon, thanks to Kelly Biers’s clear guidance for pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar. Additionally, readers will learn about how this minority language arrived in the Upper Midwest, the history of Belgian American immigration and settlement, and the language’s linguistic features.
Boojoo and welcome to Wisconsin and Walloon!