Multilingualism in Luxembourg

Multilingualism in Luxembourg

Multilingualism is a part of everyday life for the population of Luxembourg.

The use of languages for legal and administrative purposes is regulated by a law promulgated in 1984, including the following provisions:[1]

Article 1: The national language of the Luxembourgers is Luxembourgish.
Article 2: The laws are in French.
Article 3: The language of the government: Luxembourgish, German 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, Switzerland or Canada, the distribution of the languages is geographic, but in Luxembourg it is functional—that is, the choice of language depends on the situation.

At school, all students are taught in all three official languages, although divided by age group and subject matter. At primary school, the course is in German and explanations are often given in Luxembourgish. At secondary school, it depends on what level the students are in. In the more difficult level, until the 9th class, every subject is in German, except mathematics. From the 10th to the 13th class, the course is mostly in French, but throughout the whole secondary school, explanations are often given in Luxembourgish. In the easier level, every subject is in German, except mathematics. At the commerce and administrative division, most subjects are in French from the 10th until the 13th class. Explanations are often given in Luxembourgish.

In the Chamber of Deputies, the language used is Luxembourgish, but sometimes also French (e.g., when laws are cited).

In the press, articles are mostly written in German, sometimes also in French. On TV and on the radio, Luxembourgish is mainly used.

Generally, in everyday life, when talking to a foreigner, French is usually used because most foreigners working in Luxembourg do not learn Luxembourgish.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ (French) Mémorial A no. 16 (27 February 1984), pp. 196–197: "Loi du 24 février 1984 sur le régime des langues".

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
  • (French) 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

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Multilingualism — Bilingual redirects here. For the journal, see Bilingualism (journal). For other uses, see Bilingual (disambiguation). For multilingualism in Wikipedia, see Wikipedia:Multilingual coordination Multilingualism is the act of using, or promoting the …   Wikipedia

  • Luxembourg — This article is about the country in western Europe. For other uses, see Luxembourg (disambiguation). Grand Duchy of Luxembourg Groussherzogtum Lëtzebuerg (Luxembourgish) Grand Duché de Luxembourg (French) …   Wikipedia

  • Français du Luxembourg — Multilinguisme au Luxembourg Le français et l allemand sont historiquement langues officielles au Luxembourg. S y est ajouté, en 1984, la langue spécifique, le luxembourgeois (article de loi ici), langue encore peu écrite, qui cherche à se… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Multilinguisme Au Luxembourg — Le français et l allemand sont historiquement langues officielles au Luxembourg. S y est ajouté, en 1984, la langue spécifique, le luxembourgeois (article de loi ici), langue encore peu écrite, qui cherche à se normaliser et que le Luxembourg n a …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Multilinguisme au Luxembourg — Le français et l allemand sont historiquement langues officielles au Luxembourg. S y est ajoutée, en 1984, la langue spécifique, le luxembourgeois[1], langue encore peu écrite, qui cherche à se normaliser et que le Luxembourg n a pas cherché à… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Multilinguisme au luxembourg — Le français et l allemand sont historiquement langues officielles au Luxembourg. S y est ajouté, en 1984, la langue spécifique, le luxembourgeois (article de loi ici), langue encore peu écrite, qui cherche à se normaliser et que le Luxembourg n a …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Grand Duke of Luxembourg — Monarchy …   Wikipedia

  • University of Luxembourg — The University of Luxembourg is the only university in Luxembourg, founded on 13 August 2003. Prior to that, there were several higher educational institutions such as the cour universitaire or the IST that offered one or two years of academic… …   Wikipedia

  • Languages of Luxembourg — Languages of country = Luxembourg [ [http://ec.europa.eu/public opinion/archives/ebs/ebs 243 en.pdf Europeans and their Languages] – Eurobarometer] official = Luxembourgish, French, German foreign = English (60%)The linguistic situation in… …   Wikipedia

  • Luxembourgish language — Infobox Language name=Luxembourgish nativename=Lëtzebuergesch pronunciation= lətsəbuərjəʃ states=Luxembourg, Belgium, France, Germany region=Europe speakers=300,000 familycolor=Indo European fam2=Germanic fam3=West fam4=High German languages fam5 …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”