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Walloon language
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==Characteristics== ===Language family=== Walloon is distinguished from other languages in the ''[[langue d'oïl]]'' family both by archaism coming from Latin and by its significant borrowing from Germanic languages, as expressed in its phonetics, its [[lexicon]], and its [[grammar]]. At the same time, Walloon phonetics are singularly conservative: the language has stayed fairly close to the form it took during the [[High Middle Ages]]. === Morphology === * The plural feminine adjectives before the noun take an unstressed ending {{lang|wa|-ès}} (except in the Ardenne dialect): compare {{lang|wa|li djaene foye}} "the yellow leaf" and {{lang|wa|les djaenès foyes}} "the yellow leaves". * There is no gender difference in definite articles and possessives (except in the Ardenne dialect): compare Walloon {{lang|wa|li vweteure}} ("the car", feminine) and {{lang|wa|li cir}} ("the sky", masculine), with French {{lang|fr|la voiture}} and {{lang|fr|le ciel}}; Walloon has {{lang|wa|si coir}} ("his/her body", masculine) and {{lang|wa|si finiesse}} ("his/her window", feminine) with French {{lang|fr|son corps}} and {{lang|fr|sa fenêtre}}. === Lexicon === * Walloon has a few Latin remnants that have disappeared from neighboring Romance languages: compare Walloon {{lang|wa|dispierter}} to [[Spanish language|Spanish]] {{lang|es|despertar}} and [[Romanian language|Romanian]] {{lang|ro|deștepta}} (all with the same meaning: "to awaken"). * The most distinctive feature is its number of borrowings from Germanic languages (Dutch and German dialects): compare Walloon {{lang|wa|flåwe}} to today's Dutch {{lang|nl|flauw}} "weak" (cognate of English ''flaw''). Other common borrowings, among hundreds of others, are {{lang|wa|dringuele}} ("tip"; Dutch {{lang|nl|drinkgeld}}), {{lang|wa|crole}} ("curl"; Dutch {{lang|nl|krul}}), {{lang|wa|spiter}} ("to spatter"; same root as the English ''to spit'', and ''to spew'', or German {{lang|de|spützen}}; Dutch {{lang|nl|spuwen}}), {{lang|wa|li sprewe}} (the [[starling]]; Dutch {{lang|nl|spreeuw}}, or German {{lang|de|Sperling}}). === Syntax === * The adjective is often placed before the noun: compare Walloon {{lang|wa|on foirt ome}} with French {{lang|fr|un homme fort}}, "a strong man"; {{lang|wa|ene blanke måjhon}} and French {{lang|fr|une maison blanche}}, "a white house". * Borrowing from Germanic languages, the construction {{lang|wa|Cwè çki c'est di ça po ene fleur?}} "What kind of flower is this?" can be compared word for word to German {{lang|de|Was ist das für eine Blume?}} and Dutch {{lang|nl|Wat is dat voor een bloem?}}, as opposed to Standard French {{lang|fr|Quelle sorte de fleur est-ce?}} or (colloquially) {{lang|fr|Quelle sorte de fleur est-ce que c'est?}}.
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