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The term Flemish can be a linguistic one, referring to the speech of the Flemings, inhabitants of Flanders, or a geographical one, referring to any attribute of Flanders, but not to its official language, which is exclusively Dutch. It is used to describe certain non-standardized dialects spoken in Flanders, and sometimes to Dutch as spoken in Belgium. The latter usage, though widespread, is not formally correct.

These multiple definitions are used many times and can result in confusion. One might expect that Flemish would be an official term for the language of politics and education in Flanders, but there is no standardized language of culture by this name. In Belgium the official languages according to the constitution are French, German and Dutch, which in the legal context refers to the same standard Dutch (Algemeen Nederlands) that is an official language of The Netherlands.

In contrast to countries where the names of languages may have a more purely descriptive significance, in Belgium language is at the basis of a long political emancipation struggle, which accounts for the weight being put on the use of correct terminology, as well as the involvement of government in determining and defining standard languages.