Walloon language in the context of "Charleroi"

Old French (franceis, françois, romanz; French: ancien français [ɑ̃sjɛ̃ fʁɑ̃sɛ]) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France approximately between the late 8th and mid-14th centuries. Rather than a unified language, Old French was a group of Romance dialects, mutually intelligible yet diverse. These dialects came to be collectively known as the langues d'oïl, contrasting with the langues d'oc, the emerging Occitano-Romance languages of Occitania, now Southern France.

The mid-14th century witnessed the emergence of Middle French, the language of the French Renaissance in the Île-de-France region; this dialect was a predecessor to Modern French. Other dialects of Old French evolved themselves into modern forms (Poitevin-Saintongeais, Gallo, Norman, Picard, Walloon, etc.), each with its linguistic features and history.

Liège (/liˈɛʒ, liˈeɪʒ/ lee-EZH, lee-AYZH; French: [ljɛʒ] ; Walloon: Lîdje [liːtʃ]; Dutch: Luik [lœyk] ; German: Lüttich [ˈlʏtɪç] ) is a city and municipality in the Belgian region of Wallonia, and the capital of the eponymous province. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east of Belgium, not far from borders with the Netherlands (Maastricht is about 33 km (20.5 mi) to the north) and with Germany (Aachen is about 53 km (32.9 mi) north-east). In Liège, the Meuse meets the river Ourthe. The city is part of the sillon industriel, the former industrial backbone of Wallonia. It still is the principal economic and cultural centre of the region.

The municipality consists of the following sub-municipalities: Angleur, Bressoux, Chênée, Glain, Grivegnée, Jupille-sur-Meuse, Liège proper, Rocourt, and Wandre. In January 2022, Liège had 195,278 inhabitants. The metropolitan area, including the outer commuter zone, covers an area of 1,879 km (725 sq mi) and had a total population of 749,110 on 1 January 2008. This includes a total of 52 municipalities, among others, Herstal and Seraing. Liège ranks as the third most populous urban area in Belgium, after Brussels and Antwerp, and the fourth municipality after Antwerp, Ghent and Charleroi. The city is part of the Meuse-Rhine Euroregion.

Namur (French: [namyʁ] ; Walloon: Nameur; Dutch: Namen [ˈnaːmə(n)] ) is a city and municipality in Wallonia, Belgium. It is the capital both of the province of Namur and of Wallonia, hosting the Parliament of Wallonia, the Government of Wallonia and its administration.

Namur stands at the confluence of the rivers Sambre and Meuse and straddles three different regions – Hesbaye to the north, Condroz to the south-east, and Entre-Sambre-et-Meuse to the south-west. The city of Charleroi is located to the west. The language spoken is French.

Eupen (German: [ˈɔʏpn̩] , French: [øpɛn] , Dutch: [ˈøːpə(n)] ; Ripuarian: Ööpe [ˈøːpə]; Walloon: Neyåw [nɛjɑːw]; former French: Néau [neo]) is the capital of German-speaking Community of Belgium and is a city and municipality in the Belgian province of Liège, 15 kilometres (9 miles) from the German border (Aachen), from the Dutch border (Maastricht) and from the "High Fens" nature reserve (Ardennes). The town is also the capital of the Euroregion Meuse-Rhine.

First mentioned in 1213 as belonging to the Duchy of Limburg, possession of Eupen passed to Brabant, Burgundy, the Holy Roman Empire and France before being given in 1815 to Prussia, which became part of the new German Empire in 1871. In 1919, after the First World War, the Treaty of Versailles transferred Eupen and the nearby municipality of Malmedy from Germany to Belgium.

Liège (/liˈɛʒ, liˈeɪʒ/ lee-EZH, lee-AYZH; French: [ljɛʒ] ; Walloon: Lîdje [liːtʃ]; Dutch: Luik [lœyk] ; German: Lüttich [ˈlʏtɪç] ) is the easternmost province of Wallonia, the primarily French-speaking region of Belgium.

Liège Province is the only Belgian province that has borders with three countries. It borders (clockwise from the north) the Dutch province of Limburg, the German states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate, the Luxembourgish canton of Clervaux, the Belgian Walloon (French-speaking) provinces of Luxembourg, Namur and Walloon Brabant and the Belgian Flemish (Dutch-speaking) provinces of Flemish Brabant and Limburg.

Frameries (French pronunciation: [fʁam(ə)ʁi]; Picard: Framrie; Walloon: Framriye) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium.

The municipality consists of the following districts: Eugies, Frameries, La Bouverie, Noirchain, and Sars-la-Bruyère.

The Métropole Européenne de Lille (French pronunciation: [metʁɔpɔl øʁɔpeɛn də lil], MEL; English: "European Metropolis of Lille") is the métropole, an intercommunal structure, composed by a network of big cities (Lille, Roubaix, Tourcoing, Villeneuve d'Ascq, Armentières etc.) whose major city is the city of Lille. It is located in the Nord department, in the Hauts-de-France region, northern France – bordering both the Flemish and Walloon regions of Belgium. It was created in January 2015, replacing the previous Communauté urbaine de Lille, and covers that part of the Lille metropolitan area that lies in France. Its area is 671.9 km. Its population was 1,179,050 in 2019, of which 234,475 in Lille proper. The annual budget of the métropole is €1,865 billion (2018).

Soignies (French pronunciation: [swaɲi] ; Dutch: Zinnik, pronounced [ˈzɪnɪk]; Picard: Sougniye; Walloon: Sougniye) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium.

It consists of the following districts: Casteau, Chaussée-Notre-Dame-Louvignies, Horrues, Naast, Neufvilles, Soignies and Thieusies. Casteau is known worldwide because SHAPE, the military headquarters of NATO, has been based at the village since 1967.