An intro to 'Lëtzebuergesch' Discover Luxembourg's national language

Your (very first?) words in Luxembourgish:

What is Luxembourgish?

Luxembourgish is a Moselle-Franconian dialect, which was a mainly spoken language up to the 19th century and became the national language in 1984.

Today, Luxembourgish is the mother tongue of most Luxembourgers. It sounds close to Dutch, being a mixture of German and French with regional and even locally varying dialects.

Luxembourgish is also the national language of Luxembourg and, together with German and French, one of its administrative languages. This parity is somewhat moderated by a provision in the law (Article 4), according to which the three languages are to be used 'as far as possible'. French nevertheless remains the language of legislation (Article 2), since the latter is based on the French Napoleonic Code.

Popularity of Luxembourgish

According to UNESCO, Luxembourgish is still a vulnerable language. Given Luxembourg’s multilingual environment, it is mostly in competition with French, German and English in most work-related environments. However, Luxembourgish is progressively more popular in everyday life and, most of all, the way to get in touch with Luxembourgers.

The Statec, the statistics portal, asked Luxembourgers and foreign residents in September 2019 how they see Luxembourgish. According to the study, 70.5% of the population use Luxembourgish in their daily lives, whether at work, at school or at home. In the same survey, 60% thought that Luxembourgish should be the main language of integration in the Grand Duchy, which shows the high regard Luxembourg’s residents have for the national language.

Luxembourgish has  indeed been living through a renaissance, mostly due to its use as vehicular language in social media and mobile messaging. Another boost came in 2008 with the new law on obtaining Luxembourgish nationality. Interest in learning Luxembourgish has peaked in recent years, as  the number of Luxembourgish classes in Luxembourg’s National Languages  Institute tripled from  2008 to 2018.

Luxembourgish is also the national language of Luxembourg and, together with German and French, one of its administrative languages.

This parity is somewhat moderated by a provision in the law (Article 4), according to which the three languages are to be used 'as far as possible'. French nevertheless remains the language of legislation (Article 2), since the latter is based on the French Napoleonic Code.

Luxembourgish in other countries

As well as in the Grand  Duchy, Luxembourgish is also spoken in the eastern part of the province of Luxembourg (Belgium), the north-west of the Moselle département (France), and along the border between the Grand Duchy and Germany.

Because of large-scale emigration from the Grand Duchy to the United States (19th century) and to Romania (9th and 14th centuries), the use of Luxembourgish also spread in the  American Midwest and in Transylvania, where variants can still be found today.

Luxembourgish has indeed been experiencing a renaissance, mostly owing to its use as a vehicular language in social media and mobile messaging. Another boost came in 2008 with the new law on obtaining Luxembourgish nationality. Interest in learning Luxembourgish has peaked in recent years, as the number of Luxembourgish classes in Luxembourg's National Languages Institute tripled from 2008 to 2022.

Various measures have been adopted to support the development of Luxembourgish: in 2017, the Government introduced a strategy to promote the Luxembourgish language, resulting in the appointment of a Luxembourgish Language Commissioner and a Zenter fir d'Lëtzebuerger Sprooch (Centre for the Luxembourgish Language, ZLS). Since then, some existing projects have been given a boost and others have been launched, including:

• the four-language Lëtzebuerger Online Dictionnaire (LOD), with videos, declension tables, proverbs and a wide range of helpful learning tools;
• the Llo.lu self-learning platform, which allows users to take Luxembourgish lessons on their computer or smartphone at their own pace;
• the Lux.lu platform, which contains information about the promotion of Luxembourgish – the history, key people involved and measures taken.

Luxembourgish in other countries

As well as in the Grand Duchy, Luxembourgish is also spoken in the eastern part of the province of Luxembourg (Belgium), the north-west of the Moselle département (France), and along the border between Luxembourg and Germany.

Because of large-scale emigration from Luxembourg to the United States (19th century) and to Romania (9th and 14th centuries), the use of Luxembourgish also spread in the American Midwest and in Transylvania, where variants can still be found today.