Belgian literature
Because Belgium is a multilingual country, Belgian literature is divided into two main linguistic branches following the two most prominently spoken languages in the country - Dutch and French. German is the third language in Belgium and is spoken by a small community of about 70,000 German-speakers of the German-speaking Community of Belgium bordering on Germany.
Language legislation in Belgium
The second law on the use of languages in 1878 regulated the use of language in the administrations of Flanders and Brussels. Announcements to the public by government officials had to be made in either Dutch or in both languages. Correspondence with municipalities or persons would be in Dutch unless a person expressed a wish to be engaged in French but in reality the law in daily life was hardly applied: Flemish citizens were still obliged to speak French in their communications with the administration because most civil servants were monoglots who either spoke only French or refused to use the Dutch language.