ウェストフック（地域）

フランス領ウェストフックは、フランス領フランダース地方の北部に位置し、フランスとベルギーの国境沿いのリス川と北海に挟まれた地域です。ダンケルク区（ノール県の北西四分の一）とほぼ一致しますが、ダンケルク区の一部はウェストフックの範囲外にあり、また伝統的なウェストフックの一部は隣接するパ＝ド＝カレー県に属しています。

フランス領ウェストフックは、以下の3つの自然地域から構成されています。

1. Blootland (Dutch for "naked land") or the Maritime Plain (French: Plaine maritime) including Dunkirk, Bourbourg, Bergues, and Hondschoote
2. Houtland (Dutch for "woodland"), including Wormhout, Cassel, Hazebrouck, and part of Bailleul
3. The Lys Valley (French: Vallée de la Lys or Plaine de la Lys; Dutch: Leiedal) including Merville, Steenwerck, and part of Bailleul

The traditional language of French Westhoek is a Dutch dialect called West Flemish, the French subdialect of which is known as French Flemish. It was once the dominant language of the region, but a long-time policy of Francization, starting with the introduction of French as the language of education in 1853, has led to the replacement of Dutch with French in the region. Of the population of the approximately 380,000 inhabitants of French Westhoek, there are now between 10,000 and 20,000 daily speakers of West Flemish, many of whom live in the arrondissement and city of Dunkirk, and twice as many who occasionally use the dialect. Flemish was recently recognised as a regional language of France but there are no bilingual street signs and French remains the only official language in the area.

• 
  Blootland country localization in France viewed by NASA Shuttle radar-imaging
• 
  Westhoek map with historical language divisions and Dutch toponyms
• 
  A street sign in Merck-Saint-Liévin, showing Germanic influence in local toponyms. The name Picquendal corresponds to the modern Dutch Piekendal.

The French Flemish dialect has had significant influence on local toponyms. For example, the French Westhoek towns of Robecq and Dunkirk are derived from the Flemish names of Robeke and Duinkerke.