What are the big 3 languages spoken in Luxembourg?
English, Portuguese, Italian. The linguistic situation in Luxembourg is characterized by the practice and the recognition of three official languages: French, German, and the national language Luxembourgish, established in law in 1984. These three languages are also referred to as the three administrative languages.
Is Luxembourgish German or French?
Luxembourgish is a Moselle-Franconian dialect of the West Middle German group. This old language has been enriched by many French words and phrases, and the resulting dialect is spoken by all classes of people in Luxembourg.
Why is Luxembourg multilingual?
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”.
Can German speakers understand Luxembourgish?
Spoken Luxembourgish is relatively hard to understand for speakers of German who are generally not familiar with Moselle Franconian dialects (or at least other West Central German dialects). However, they can usually read the language to some degree.
Are there any compound words in Luxembourgish?
Interestingly, there are compound words in Luxembourgish which are made up of one French word and one German word.
What language do Luxembourgers speak?
What Languages Do Luxembourgers Speak? According to an EU survey, the mother tongue of roughly 70% of Luxembourgers is Luxembourgish (or Lëtzebuergesch, as they write it). This seems simple at first: Germans speak German, the French speak French, so, therefore, Luxembourgers speak Luxembourgish.
Is there a standardized version of Luxembourgish?
However, the version of Luxembourgish used in official communication across country is a standardized version of Luxembourgish. The history of establishing a standardized version of Luxembourgish is traced back to the mid-19th century, as numerous proposals were presented by prominent Luxembourgish linguists of the era.
What is the language of the written press in Luxembourg?
Luxembourg’s written press has always been multilingual. German has always been the language of choice for the written press, although French has made up ground in traditional dailies and certain weekly newspapers. By contrast, articles in Lëtzebuergesch are still the exception.