Goeiemiddag, bonjour, guten Tag, and last but certainly not least: buongiorno!
It's Maïthé Chini on newsletter duty again today, writing about a topic particularly close to my heart: growing up multilingual.
While I grew up speaking only Dutch, my dad has a fascinating story about being raised in multiple languages. His parents (my grandparents) left the mountains in northern Italy for the coal mines in eastern Belgium.
His father came to Limburg as a teenager on his own in search of work, while his mother's family relocated to Belgium for the same reason when she was a little girl. Having settled in the Flemish village of Maasmechelen, they met, fell in love, got married and had seven children – including my dad.
What's interesting is how they decided to raise their children, language-wise. My nonna, who had found it easier to learn French than Dutch when adjusting to life in Belgium, spoke to their children in French. My nonno, meanwhile, stuck to Italian. At school, the children learned Dutch.
My dad – who was surrounded by pupils and friends in similar situations – considered this trilingual upbringing so normal that he never thought of it as special or beneficial, and took it for granted.
Later, when he met my mom – a girl from smalltown Flanders – they spoke Dutch with each other. They had me and later my brother, and my dad never even thought of speaking anything other than Dutch to us.
As a result, I missed out on not one, but two languages growing up. Luckily, French and later German were drilled into me from a young age at school, but I'll never reach that native speaker flow. And as for Italian, I usually get the gist of a conversation, but that's about it.
I sometimes wonder about what could have been, but never more so than when reading articles like our lead story today about Brussels' bilingual babies.
Isabella Vivian took a look at how difficult a multilingual upbringing is in practice for parents and children, and found that raising a multilingual child is actually "much harder than it sounds". So maybe I can cut my parents some slack.
Also on our website today is our weekly overview of what's happening in Brussels this weekend. Rain or shine, there is plenty to do in the capital – including a host of activities for Iris Day (Brussels' 37th birthday) and Europe Day. Take a look here.
And don't forget: there's a new strike coming up on Tuesday. Reporter Rita Alves keeps you in the loop about everything we know so far here.
If you have any comments, tips or suggestions to improve our coverage, drop me an email at m.chini@brusselstimes.com.
A presto!
Maïthé
Belgium in Brief is a free daily roundup of the top stories to get you through your coffee break conversations. To receive it straight to your inbox every day, sign up below:
1. Brussels’ bilingual babies: How easy is it to raise multilingual children?
The Brussels Times speaks to parents in the Belgian capital to find out how they're raising the next generation of polyglots. Read more.
2. Brussels Government divided over ‘dangerous’ Louise roundabout redevelopment
"Returning to an unsafe situation is not an option," said Brussels Mobility Minister Elke Van den Brandt (Groen). Read more.
3. Streets left in ‘deplorable state’ as rubbish collections missed in several Brussels communes
Numerous collection rounds were missed on Wednesday evening and Thursday due to staff shortages. Read more.
4. Brussels celebrates Iris Day: What is happening this weekend?
Whether you're looking for a huge open-air DJ party, a new way to discover your local commune or more info about the EU's history, Iris Day has it all. Read more.
5. Two American businessmen convicted over multimillion-euro tax fraud targeting Belgium
The legal battle is far from over as the pair intend to challenge the ruling before Belgium's Court of Cassation. Read more.
6. What to do in Brussels this weekend: 9 – 10 May
From art festivals to after-dark parties, exhibitions and Europe Day – The Brussels Times has got you covered. Read more.
7. Inside Belgium’s wild beer tradition: Sipping ‘Brussels champagne’ at the Toer de Geuze
The Toer de Geuze returns this weekend, giving beer lovers the chance to step inside some of Belgium’s most iconic lambic breweries Read more.
