| Speaking | ||||
| Communes | Number of | French- | Flemish- | French and |
| (wards) | inhabitants | speaking | speaking | Flemish |
| Bruxelles | 177,078 | 47,385 | 29,081 | 85,414 |
| Anderlecht | 64,157 | 11,211 | 24,320 | 23,486 |
| Etterbeck | 33,227 | 11,107 | 6,596 | 13,166 |
| Forest | 24,228 | 7,975 | 5,247 | 8,756 |
| Ixelles | 72,991 | 39,473 | 6,733 | 19,799 |
| Jette | 14,782 | 1,811 | 7,775 | 4,191 |
| Koekelberg | 12,750 | 1,770 | 5,702 | 4,378 |
| Laeken | 35,024 | 4,720 | 12,702 | 15,230 |
| Molenbeek-St. Jean | 72,783 | 11,663 | 24,910 | 31,331 |
| Saint-Gilles | 63,140 | 24,376 | 5,928 | 27,497 |
| Saint-Josseten-Noode | 31,865 | 10,547 | 3,349 | 14,859 |
| Schaerbeek | 82,480 | 20,975 | 13,677 | 40,525 |
| Uccle | 26,979 | 5,818 | 9,074 | 10,169 |
| Woluwe—St.-Lambert | 8,883 | 2,035 | 3,839 | 2,262 |
| ——— | ——— | ——— | ——— | |
| Totals | 720,367 | 200,866 | 158,933 | 301,063 |
Although Brussels is generally placed on the Flemish side of the linguistic divide, it is interesting to note that the city may appropriately be considered as the northernmost extension of the area of Romance languages in Belgium. Only two villages of Flemish speech intervene between the capital and the Walloon area. They are Rhode-Saint-Genèse and Hoeylaert. Were it not for these two small communities, Brussels would not be an enclave of French speech in Flemish territory. But the two villages are separated by the forest of Soignes which extends in an elongated band, all the way south of Uccle and Boitsfort, to within reach of Waterloo. This wooded area acts as a link which connects Brussels with the ancient area of Romance speech. It tends to restrict Flemish in this section to the lowland to which it really belongs.
Within the city limits the canal, which now replaces the natural water course flowing on the site, divides Brussels into Flemish-speaking quarters and districts entirely given up to French language. West of the waterway, the native vernacular prevails predominantly. This section of the Belgian capital is the site of its industries. Its population consists mainly of laborers. As early as the twelfth century, the members of the city’s guilds found it convenient to reside along the banks of the stream which watered the heart of their settlement. In our day, this part of Brussels presents similar advantages to factory owners and operators of industrial plants.
Fig. 14—Sketch map of the environs of Brussels showing the forested patch of Soignes intervening between the Brussels area of French language (shown by dots) and the adjacent part of the area of the French language in Belgium (also shown by dots). The blank area is territory of Flemish speech. (Based on a map by P. Reclus in La Géographie, Vol. 28, 1913, p. 312.)
The rising ground east of the canal has always been favored as a residential site by the leaders of the community. In the Middle Ages the counts of Brabant erected their palace on the summit of this eminence. Since then the well-to-do residents of Brussels have built their homes on this side of the canal. The bourgeois class followed the lead of the aristocracy as soon as their commercial and industrial revenues equaled those of their titled countrymen. French, the language of culture in the land, naturally took root in this eastern section of Brussels. The tendency of the privileged classes to select this part of the city for their residence is as strong today as in the past. The bracing air of the heights and of the forest of Soignes near by affords an inducement which cannot be found in the bottom of the valley. Spacious avenues enlivened by elaborate residences extend along the crest lines. The intervening blocks are tenanted by the middle classes. Educational institutions also flourish in these eastern wards of Brussels. French prevails overwhelmingly in all their nooks and bypaths.
The growth of French in Brussels is strongly brought out by a comparison of the following census figures for the years 1846 and 1910:
| 1846 | 1910 | |
| French-speaking inhabitants | 70,000 | 480,000 |
| Flemish “ “ | 130,000 | 280,000 |
| ——— | ——— | |
| Totals | 200,000 | 760,000 |
The gradual replacement of Flemish by French in Brussels may often be traced to recent changes in the growth of the city.[17] In the faubourgs of Woluwe, Boitsfort and Uccle the number of users of French is on the increase each year. The growth proceeds with sufficient regularity to forecast a thorough spread of the language by 1935. In some cases it is easy to foresee that some of the outlying villages will be Frenchified sooner than certain wards of the western part of the city. Tervueren and Linkebeek, for instance, are both noted for the charm of their scenery. Both are centers of attraction for the well-to-do Belgians and as a result tend to lose their Flemish character.