First, the title. The official English translation is Bullhead, which is not at all wrong, but not exactly spot-on. Rund is bull, no problems there. It is with kop that things go astray.

You and I have a hoofd, a head, and benen, legs (as do paarden, horses, because they for some reason are special). Animals, though, have a kop and poten. Use the bestial form for humans, and you reach the realm of colloquialism. Hou je kop! is a popular way of telling somebody to shut up. Poten thuis! is equally popular to tell the touchy-feely to keep their hands where they belong.

Rundskop is set in rural Limburg, the Flemish Far East, and tells the dramatic story of a traumatised, hormone-addicted cattle breeder.

He doesn't say much, but the things he does say are as thick as the skin of his runderen, the irregular plural for rund (just like kind, child - kinderen, children). In Flanders, the film is subtitled - in Dutch. The Flemish are notorious dialect-speakers, and our hormone hero is no exception. Contrary to the Dutch, to whom any deviation from the ABN, het Algemeen Beschaafd Nederlands - the standard, civilised Dutch - equals a deviation from standard, civilized IQ, the Flemish are proud of their regional roots. And not just the cattle breeders.

The Limburgs dialect is among the most difficult to understand. Its two million speakers in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany change the meaning of words and phrases by changing their pitch, not unlike the Chinese. The result is melodious but, to the untrained ear, not unlike Chinese.

Only those who speak West Flemish may be considered worthy contenders, when it comes to weirdness. Theirs is a language that, when spoken among natives, sounds like something JRR Tolkien might have imagined. (Whether for elves or for ogres, I leave up to you.)

Both languages are recognised by het Europees Bureau voor Minderheidstalen, the European Bureau for Minority Languages, and enjoy some official protection. Not a luxury, considering that both are on the brink of extinction, according to a 2009 UNESCO report.

But they seem very much alive today. So the next time you have difficulties understanding your neighbour, don't blame your standard, civilised language teacher.

www.rundskop.be