Multilingualism in Luxembourg
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Multilingualism Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. More than half of all E ...
is a part of everyday life for the population of
Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...
. Legally and socially, different sectors of Luxembourg use
French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
,
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...
, and
Luxembourgish Luxembourgish ( ; also ''Luxemburgish'', ''Luxembourgian'', ''Letzebu(e)rgesch''; Luxembourgish: ) is a West Germanic language that is spoken mainly in Luxembourg. About 400,000 people speak Luxembourgish worldwide. As a standard form of th ...
, which is a variety of Moselle Franconian, partially mutually intelligible with the neighbouring High German but with a large number of loanwords from French. Additionally, most citizens learn
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
and may study other languages as well. A substantial immigrant population has brought numerous
immigrant language Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...
s to the small state, notably Portuguese, which is spoken by more than one-fifth of the population. However, the different languages are used in different social situations.


Official languages

The use of languages for legal and administrative purposes is regulated by a law promulgated in 1984, including the following provisions: * Article 1: The national language of the Luxembourgers is
Luxembourgish Luxembourgish ( ; also ''Luxemburgish'', ''Luxembourgian'', ''Letzebu(e)rgesch''; Luxembourgish: ) is a West Germanic language that is spoken mainly in Luxembourg. About 400,000 people speak Luxembourgish worldwide. As a standard form of th ...
. * Article 2: The laws are in
French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
. * Article 3: The language of the government: Luxembourgish,
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...
and French can be used. * Article 4: Administrative questions: If a citizen asks a question in Luxembourgish, German or French, the administration must reply, as far as possible, in the language in which the question was asked. In many other multilingual countries, such as
Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
,
Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
and
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, the distribution of the languages is geographic, but in Luxembourg it is functional—that is, the choice of language depends on the situation.


Education

At school, all students are taught in all three official languages, although divided by age group and subject matter. At
primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...
, the courses are taught in German and explanations are often given in Luxembourgish. In general, at
secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...
, up until the 9th grade, every subject is taught in German, except for mathematics and sciences (which are taught in French). From 10th to 13th grade, the language use depends on what level the students are in: In the more difficult level, as well as at the commerce and administrative division, the courses are mostly in French, but throughout the whole of secondary school, explanations are often given in Luxembourgish. The easier level on the other hand tends not to switch to French. As such, Luxembourgers are not able to understand, read, or write French until they are around 8 years old. French always remains a learned (foreign) language for Luxembourgers even though, by the age of 18, the vast majority of them are able to communicate in French on a relatively high level. Due to the high similarity of German to Luxembourgish, and also because German is the first language children are taught (read and write - alphabetization) in school, it is considered by most Luxembourgers their second language, or "reading and writing language".


Government

Government websites are primarily written in French, but there are also parts written for foreigners in other languages such as English and German. In Luxembourg's parliament the
Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...
, bills are first written in German. Then the language of debate is in Luxembourgish, but sometimes also in French (e.g., when laws are cited). Laws are voted and codified in French. The country's head of state, the
Grand-Duke Grand duke (feminine: grand duchess) is a European hereditary title, used either by certain monarchs or by members of certain monarchs' families. In status, a grand duke traditionally ranks in order of precedence below an emperor, as an approxi ...
's website is in French, however his personal Christmas speech is done in Luxembourgish (although a French translation is provided). In the Grand-Duke's Christmas speech in 2018 like in the past, he spoke in Luxembourgish for the most part of the speech. However when he was talking about the importance of foreigners in Luxembourg, he suddenly spoke in French as this the most used language that resident foreigners use.


Mass media

In the written press, most newspapers such as ''
Tageblatt ''Tageblatt'' is a German language Luxembourgish daily newspaper published in Esch-sur-Alzette by Editpress. History and profile ''Tageblatt'' was established in 1913. The paper is the country's second-most popular newspaper, behind the rival ' ...
'' and '' Lëtzebuerger Journal'' are in German, while there are a few such as ''Le Quotidien'' that are in French. On the other hand, the newspaper of record ''
Luxemburger Wort ''Luxemburger Wort'' is a German-language Luxembourgish daily newspaper. There is an English edition named the ''Luxembourg Times''. History and profile ''Luxemburger Wort'' has been published since 1848. The paper was founded just three days a ...
'' is trilingual with most articles written in German, but also sometimes written in French and Luxembourgish, often on the same page. On TV and on the radio, Luxembourgish is mainly used, for example the main news programme RTL's ''de Journal''. Spoken Luxembourgish used in news broadcasts tends to be strongly influenced by standard German in pronunciation and idiom.Fernand Hoffman, "Textual varieties of Lëtzebuergesch", in Newton, p. 219 Radio broadcasters are under pressure to translate news releases sourced from German press agencies in real time and have no special training in the prose style of Luxembourgish. As a result, news tends to be superficially translated into Luxembourgish. Syntax mostly follows standard German and many words and idioms from standard German appear unmodified. Phonology is also affected with the resulting use of intonation phrases alien to Luxembourgish.Fernand Hoffman, "Lëtzebuergesch, spoken and written, developments and desirabilities", in Newton, pp. 114 - 118


Advertising

In terms of
advertising Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...
, which language is used depends on three factors: media, audience and origin. In written advertisements like
billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
s, newspaper and magazine adverts,
catalogues Catalog or catalogue may refer to: *Cataloging **'emmy on the 'og **in science and technology ***Library catalog, a catalog of books and other media ****Union catalog, a combined library catalog describing the collections of a number of libraries ...
and posters, the usual language of communication is French. On occasion to give a local flavour, it is written in part in Luxembourgish. Public signage is usually in French, with occasional markings in Luxembourgish, German and/or English. For
television commercials A television advertisement (also called a television commercial, TV commercial, commercial, spot, television spot, TV spot, advert, television advert, TV advert, television ad, TV ad or simply an ad) is a span of television programming produce ...
broadcasting on RTL, if the advert is for an international product or service like a car or a television, it is entirely in French. However, if it is a domestic product or service like for example like Rosport mineral water or
Luxair Luxair, legally ''Luxair S.A., Société Luxembourgeoise de Navigation Aérienne'', is the flag carrier airline of Luxembourg with its headquarters and hub at Luxembourg Airport. It operates scheduled services to destinations in Europe, North Af ...
, the spoken language is in Luxembourgish with the taglines in French, or less frequently in Luxembourgish or English.


Daily use

Generally, Luxembourgish is used for most day-to-day life in informal settings throughout the country. Standard German and French are reserved for formal settings and ceremonies. Furthermore, French is commonly used in the hospitality industry. Most newspapers and printed media are in Standard German.Jean-Paul Hoffman, "Lëtzebuergesch and its competitors: Language contact in Luxembourg Today" in Newton, p. 102 Approximately 98% of Luxemburgians can use at least one second language.


Written Luxembourgish

Luxembourgish has a literary tradition that began in the 1820s with the development of serious forms of poetry, followed by drama and eventually narrative prose. However, the average Luxembourger finds Luxembourgish texts difficult to read. Schoolchildren do not read Luxembourgish until the age of 11 or 12. Even then not all teachers adhere to the curriculum requirement to teach written Luxembourgish, some preferring to teach standard German instead, and consequently some students may not be taught written Luxembourgish. As a result, only a minority of literary-minded intellectuals find reading Luxembourgish easy or enjoyable. The majority of Luxembourgers regard their language as a spoken one only. In recent years, the rise of texting and social media has made written Luxembourgish a lot more common between the younger generations. For private correspondence, language choice tends to reflect social class. Members of the upper middle and upper classes tend to prefer French, although Luxembourgish may be used to convey a sense of close identification with one's nationality. German tends to be viewed negatively among the upper class, with the assumption that anyone writing in German has a poor mastery of French. Despite this, a minority of members of the upper class do prefer standard German when corresponding with close relatives. Use of German becomes more prominent the lower down the social scale one goes, followed by Luxembourgish, with French tending to be the least popular among the lower classes.Fernand Hoffman, "The domains of Lëtzebuergesch", in Newton, pp. 134 - 135 Generally speaking, for correspondence between people who are related, standard German is preferred, followed by French and Luxembourgish equally, although social status has an influence. When people who are unrelated correspond, use of Luxembourgish drops off dramatically, and it tends not to be used at all between strangers. The choice of Luxembourgish therefore appears to reflect the closeness of the ties between the two people corresponding.


See also

* Languages of Luxembourg * Luxembourgish#Claims of endangered status


Notes


References

* DICKES, P.; BERGOZA, Guayarmina
''Les compétences linguistiques auto-attribuées''.
'' Les cahiers du CEPS/INSTEAD, Population & Emploi'', cahier 2010-19, Septembre 2010. ISSN 2077-3048. * FEHLEN, F., ''BaleineBis : Une enquête sur un marché linguistique multilingue en profonde mutation - Luxemburgs Sprachenmarkt im Wandel''. RED N° 12, SESOPI Centre Intercommunautaire, 2009. * WEBER, J.J. ''Multilingualism, Education and Change'' Frankfurt, Peter Lang Verlag, 2009 * HORNER, K. and WEBER, J.J. ''The language situation in Luxembourg'', ''Current Issues in Language Planning'' 9,1, 2008, 69-128 * Projet Moien!, Sproochenhaus Wëlwerwoltz (Hg.), ''Lëtzebuergesch: Quo Vadis? Actes du cycle de conférences'', Mamer: Ondine Conseil 2004 * WEBER,N. ''The universe under the microscope: The complex linguistic situation in Luxembourg'', in De Bot, C./Kroon, S./Nelde, P./Vande Velde, H. (eds.), ''Institutional Status and use of languages in Europe'' Bonn, Asgard, 2001, 179-184 * MAGÈRE, Ph., ESMEIN, B., POTY, M., ''La situation de la langue française parmi les autres langues en usage au Grand-Duché de Luxembourg''. Luxembourg, Centre culturel français, 1998 * NEWTON, G. (ed.) ''Luxembourg and Lëtzebuergesch: Language and Communication at the Crossroads of Europe'', Oxford, 1996 {{Luxembourg topics Languages of Luxembourg Language education *