Walon
Walloon
Romance (Gallo-Romance, Oïl)
Walloon is one of the langues d'oïl, sister to French. It has been written since the 16th century and preserves several Latin features lost in French, particularly in vowel quality. Liège (Lîdje in Walloon) is a key cultural center. Recognized regionally by Belgium since 1990 but no longer regularly transmitted to children. About 600,000 speakers.
Where it is spoken
20 core words in Walloon
Water
aiwe
/ˈajwə/
Fire
feu
/fø/
Sun
solea
/soˈlea/
Moon
lune
/ˈlyn/
Mother
mame
/mam/
Father
peure
/pœːr/
Eat
magnî
/maˈɲi/
Drink
boere
/bweːr/
Love
amour
/aˈmuːr/
Heart
cour
/kuːr/
Tree
åbe
/ˈɔːb/
House
måjhon
/mɔːˈʒõ/
Dog
tchin
/tʃɛ̃/
Cat
tchèt
/tʃɛ/
Hand
min
/mɛ̃/
Eye
ouy
/uj/
Hello
bondjoû
/bõˈd͡ʒu/
Thank you
mèrci
/mɛrˈsi/
One
onk
/õk/
Good
bon
/bõ/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Romance (Gallo-Romance, Oïl) languages
| Meaning | Walloon | Old French | Classical French (17c., Bel Usage) | Jèrriais | Guernésiais | Guadeloupean Creole | French (Québec) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | aiwe /ˈajwə/ | eve /ˈɛːvə/ | eau /o/ | ieau /jo/ | ieau /jo/ | dlo /dlo/ | eau /o/ |
| Fire | feu /fø/ | feu /fø/ | feu /fø/ | feu /fø/ | fû /fy/ | difé /dife/ | feu /fø/ |
| Sun | solea /soˈlea/ | soleil /soˈleʎ/ | soleil /sɔlɛj/ | solé /sɔˈle/ | solé /sɔˈle/ | solèy /solɛj/ | soleil /sɔlɛj/ |
| Moon | lune /ˈlyn/ | lune /ˈlynə/ | lune /lyn/ | leune /løːn/ | leune /løːn/ | lalin /lalin/ | lune /lʏn/ |
| Mother | mame /mam/ | mere /ˈmɛrə/ | mère /mɛːr/ | mère /mɛːr/ | mère /mɛːr/ | manman /mãmã/ | mère /mɛːʁ/ |
| Father | peure /pœːr/ | pere /ˈpɛrə/ | père /pɛːr/ | péthe /peːð/ | paire /pɛːr/ | papa /papa/ | père /pɛːʁ/ |
| Eat | magnî /maˈɲi/ | mangier /manˈdʒjer/ | manger /mɑ̃ʒe/ | mangi /mɑ̃ˈʒi/ | mangier /mɑ̃ˈʒje/ | manjé /mãʒe/ | manger /mɑ̃ʒe/ |
| Drink | boere /bweːr/ | boivre /ˈbojvrə/ | boire /bweːr/ | baithe /baɪð/ | baire /bɛːr/ | bwè /bwɛ/ | boire /bwɑːʁ/ |
| Love | amour /aˈmuːr/ | amor /aˈmor/ | amour /amur/ | amour /aˈmuːr/ | amour /aˈmuːr/ | lanmou /lãmu/ | amour /amuːʁ/ |
| Heart | cour /kuːr/ | cuer /kwɛr/ | cœur /kœːr/ | tchoeu /tʃœ/ | tcheur /tʃœr/ | kè /kɛ/ | cœur /kœːʁ/ |
| Tree | åbe /ˈɔːb/ | arbre /ˈarbrə/ | arbre /aːrbr/ | bouais /bwɛ/ | bouais /bwɛ/ | pyé bwa /pje bwa/ | arbre /aːʁbʁ/ |
| House | måjhon /mɔːˈʒõ/ | maison /maiˈzõn/ | maison /mɛzɔ̃/ | maîson /mɛˈzɔ̃/ | maison /mɛˈzɔ̃/ | kaz /kaz/ | maison /mɛzɔ̃/ |
| Dog | tchin /tʃɛ̃/ | chien /tʃjɛn/ | chien /ʃjɛ̃/ | tchian /tʃjɑ̃/ | tchian /tʃjɑ̃/ | chyen /ʃjɛ̃/ | chien /ʃjɛ̃/ |
| Cat | tchèt /tʃɛ/ | chat /tʃat/ | chat /ʃaː/ | cat /kat/ | cat /kat/ | chat /ʃat/ | chat /ʃa/ |
| Hand | min /mɛ̃/ | main /mɛ̃j/ | main /mɛ̃/ | main /mɛ̃/ | main /mɛ̃/ | men /mɛ̃/ | main /mɛ̃/ |
| Eye | ouy /uj/ | oeil /œʎ/ | œil /œːj/ | yi /ji/ | yeu /jø/ | zyé /zje/ | œil /œj/ |
| Hello | bondjoû /bõˈd͡ʒu/ | salut /saˈlyt/ | Dieu vous garde /djø vu ɡard/ | bouônjour /bwɔ̃ˈʒuːr/ | bouônjour /bwɔ̃ˈʒuːr/ | bonjou /bõʒu/ | allô /alo/ |
| Thank you | mèrci /mɛrˈsi/ | merci /mɛrˈsi/ | grâces /ɡraːs/ | mèrcie /mɛrˈsi/ | mercie bian /mɛrˈsi bjɑ̃/ | mèsi /mɛsi/ | merci /mɛʁsi/ |
| One | onk /õk/ | un /yn/ | un /œ̃/ | ieune /jøːn/ | yun /jœ̃/ | yonn /jõn/ | un /œ̃/ |
| Good | bon /bõ/ | bon /bõn/ | bon /bɔ̃/ | bouôn /bwɔ̃/ | boan /bwɑ̃/ | bon /bõ/ | bon /bɔ̃/ |
Part of LangMap — a linguistic visualization project. This is a static, crawlable summary; the interactive maps offer pronunciation audio, filters, and a globe view.