Editing Grand-Place (section)

==Naming==
[[File:Grote Markt Brussel 26.jpg|thumb|Two of the official names of the square in French and Dutch]]

The [[toponym]]s {{lang|fr|Grand-Place}} or {{lang|fr|Grand'Place}} (French, {{IPA|fr|ɡʁɑ̃ plas|pron}}; "Grand Square"; also used in English{{efn|name=fn1}}) are generic names designating a central [[town square]], namely in Belgium and [[Hauts-de-France|Northern France]]. Originally, the main square was the geographical centre of the towns and cities in these regions (for example the Grand-Place of [[Mons, Belgium|Mons]], [[Tournai]], [[Arras]], or [[Lille]]{{efn|The latter is now named the Place du Général-de-Gaulle.<ref name="Lille">J.-P. V., ''Liberté : de la Grand-Place à la rue de Lannoy'' in ''Journal de la société des amis de Panckoucke'', 2007, p.2</ref>}}). The Grand-Place of Brussels is the location of the [[Brussels Town Hall|city's Town Hall]], and thus its political centre. It also housed the largest [[marketplace]] in the city (hence its official names {{lang|nl|Grote Markt}} or {{lang|nl|Groote Markt}}, {{IPA|nl|ˌɣroːtə ˈmɑr(ə)kt|pron|Nl-Grote Markt.ogg}}; literally meaning "Big Market", in Dutch).

Nowadays, the names ''Grand-Place''{{efn|This is the name used in the UNESCO description.<ref name=":0" />}} (with a [[hyphen]]) in French and ''Grote Markt'' (with one 'o') in Dutch are most commonly seen. The historical spellings ''Grand'Place''{{efn|name=fn2|These are the names used on the wall plaques giving the name of the square.}} (with an [[apostrophe]]) in French and ''Groote Markt''{{efn|name=fn2}} (with a double 'o') in Dutch are outdated,<ref>{{cite book |first1=Maurice |last1=Grevisse |first2=André |last2=Goosse |title=le bon usage: Grammaire française |chapter=543 Le type grand-mère. |edition=14 |date=2008 |isbn=978-2-8011-1404-9| chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/grevisselebonusage14eed.deboeckduculot2007/page/n702/mode/1up?view=theater |location=Bruxelles |publisher=De Boeck & Larcier |page=703 |language=fr }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Michèle R. |last= Morris |date=1988 |title=Mieux écrire en français: Manuel de composition et guide pratique à l'usage des étudiants anglophones |chapter=4.5.2 Cas d'élision |edition=2nd |language=fr |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JocEfO__dvYC&dq=Mich%C3%A8le+R.+Morris,+Mieux+%C3%A9crire+en+fran%C3%A7ais,+Georgetown+University+Press,+1988+4.5.2.&pg=PA29 |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=Georgetown University Press |page=29 |isbn=9780878402250 }}</ref> but are also still in use in certain sources, such as on wall plaques giving the name of the square. This outdated French spelling is a grammatical exception; ''place'' being feminine, the modern French form would be ''Grande Place''. In the [[Brabantian dialect]] of Brussels (known as [[Brusselian dialect|Brusselian]], and also sometimes referred to as Marols or Marollien),{{sfn|Treffers-Daller|1994|p=25}} the Grand-Place is called ''Gruute Met''.<ref name="is" />