Welcome Martha! Knowing that Luxembourgish has around 400,000 speakers worldwide, made us very excited to hear your story on living in Luxembourg and dealing with the variety of languages spoken in this country. Could you tell our readers something about yourself?

My name is Martha, and I am currently doing my Masters in Translation of English and Dutch in Germersheim, Germany. This is my last semester, so I will be pretty busy with my master thesis. I started here almost five years ago with the following languages: English, Dutch (as a second language) and French (as a third language). For each of these three languages I had to translate into German and vice versa. I continued with English and Dutch in my master’s program.

I grew up in Luxembourg and attended primary, middle and high school. In Luxembourg we have a unique situation in which we have to learn a lot of languages at school from a young age. In first grade you start off with German. French is added in the second grade. As a little kid this was very challenging. In eighth grade we started learning English and later, in eleventh grade, we had to choose between different paths, it was already some kind of specialisation. For example, you could focus on languages, maths, biology or any other field. I chose languages and so I had to choose between Spanish and Italian. In the end I didn’t really have a choice because there were only three people that opted for Italian, including me. However, there had to be five people in order to form a class, so I reluctantly chose Spanish! It was really sad.

Hearing this backstory of all the languages during your time in school makes me wonder where Luxembourgish comes into play. Is Luxembourgish something you don’t really learn in school? Did you acquire the language during your upbringing? How does that work?

I can’t really speak about the current situation, but reflecting on my time in primary school I remember we had Luxembourgish lessons. These consisted mostly of reading and understanding Luxembourgish texts. It wasn’t really about grammar or writing, because to be honest, (almost) no Luxembourger can properly write Luxembourgish. It’s a shame, but there are only a handful of people who can actually do it and who know the grammar rules et cetera.

I remember one year, I think it was seventh grade, where I came across all these grammar rules, but the teachers were like, ‘It is the last time you will have Luxembourgish as a course for the rest of your school career.’ It felt like a joke. I remember I was pretty decent with the grammar rules, even though I remember that, at the time, they were quite complicated to understand, for me at least. Now that I have some knowledge about Dutch, I would say that Luxembourgish and Dutch grammar are in fact comparable.

Besides the educational system, Luxembourgish is the language most people speak at home. And you’ll hear Luxembourgish on the street, especially in the countryside. So, it strongly depends on where you are in Luxembourg. Even though it is a very tiny country, the more south you go, the more you’ll hear French or English. In the northern and eastern parts, you’ll hear more people speaking Luxembourgish, especially in smaller towns.

Interesting! Recently, I visited Luxembourg City and what struck me the most was that I heard a lot of French. I am curious to know how all these languages are divided in daily life.

We have a lot of French and Belgian people (from Wallonia) who work in Luxembourg. Not to forget the German people living close to the borders that come to Luxembourg to work as well. I think most of the people in retail, like cashiers, speak French 80% of the time. Also, this obviously depends on ‘where do you go?’ within the country. If you go east, the chances are higher that you meet a German-speaking cashier.

And this is a prime example of how the difficulty in distinguishing all these languages really shows!

Yeah! It is always a surprise when you enter a shop and then you say ‘Hello!’, whilst their response is ‘Bonjour!’. Most of the time they won’t even greet you in Luxembourgish. Some of them do, but most of the time they say ‘Bonjour’, so you know instantly, ‘Okay, I have to speak French’. But in the end it is quite convenient, nonetheless.

Do you have any preference for using a particular language in Luxembourg then?

Personally, I prefer to speak Luxembourgish when I’m at home. All my friends and people that are close to me do. However, if I have to pick one it would be German, because I studied the language and I live here in Germersheim. Concerning the language preference, there was a shift that occurred amongst the different generations of Luxembourgish people. After the Second World War, people preferred speaking French. Then, in the eighties, I think, which is my parents’ generation, there was another shift. Nowadays, many prefer to speak German again. I observed that most of my friends also prefer German over French.

I see. Do you feel a sense of pride in speaking Luxembourgish and therefore also representing the tiny nation of Luxembourg?

That is an interesting question… I wouldn’t say pride. It is just… I feel like it gives me certain advantages. The Luxembourgish language has many different diphthongs that other languages like French or German don’t have. For instance, it was easier for me to learn Dutch because I could speak Luxembourgish. Moreover, the more languages you learn as a child, the easier it will get if you want to learn a new one.

Where would you position Luxembourgish amongst all the languages you have mentioned?

It has a lot of similarities to Dutch. Regarding modern words, we are just borrowing them from left and right. We are not like the French who have to make up a new word for every new invention. An example would be the word ‘television’. You could say ‘Fernseher’, which is the literal German word for ‘television’. On the other hand, you could also go for ‘Tëlee’, which is an abbreviation of the French word ‘télévision’. Both are accepted and everyone can understand these variations. It just depends on what you prefer to use in the end.

Prior to this interview I was looking into some background information on the Luxembourgish language. When I went to YouTube, I saw this video of a news reporter talking in Luxembourgish and I somewhat got 40 to 50 percent of what the reporter was saying. I was amazed to pick up on some elements of the Dutch language.

Now, that is interesting for you to mention. I am not really used to seeing news in Luxembourgish, because we only have one news channel in Luxembourg. When I hear the news, I have the feeling that Luxembourgish sounds too clean and understandable. Actually, it comes across as a bit alien to me. In fact, sometimes I just space out and then I don’t really understand what they are talking about. It is really strange when I watch Luxembourgish TV, because it feels so unreal.

On that note, how is Luxembourg coping with all these languages administratively on a national level? Could you consider Luxembourg being a similar case like Belgium, or specifically Brussels?

When we get official statements from the government, then most of the time these will be in German and French. In recent years they added English and citizens have been pleading for the addition of Luxembourgish as well.  The most recent official announcement I saw from home was the implementation of the COVID-19 measurements in Luxembourg. This announcement was in five languages; namely, German, French, English, Luxembourgish, and Portuguese.

Portuguese you say?

The thing about Portuguese is that many people from Portugal live in Luxembourg. We even have a little town in Luxembourg, which we call ‘little Portugal’. I have a lot of Portuguese friends and most of them can speak Luxembourgish, unlike their parents. When my parents were young, there were a lot of people from Italy who immigrated to Luxembourg. It feels like Luxembourg is swallowing up all these different cultures. At some point they just blend in, or their customs are adopted in Luxembourg. It is really interesting, if you think about it.

When I did some research on the Luxembourgish language I stumbled upon the high percentage of Portuguese speakers. Indeed, I was left with the question of ‘Where does this relation come from?’

I still really don’t know why these people are so attracted to Luxembourg. It is still a mystery to me, it could be for economic reasons. But I never did any research on that, maybe I should consider it. 

Where do you see the Luxembourgish language going in the future? Do you think it might be affected by the other bigger languages that are used in Luxembourg and neighbouring countries?

I see it as a dynamic and ever-changing process. When I compare my own Luxembourgish to the Luxembourgish of my parents, there are certain differences when we speak in terms of phrasing and wording. I tend to incorporate many English words into my way of speaking. It is just a weird habit that I have, because I also do this when I speak German. Also, the slang, or language of the youth, is very interesting to observe. I have two younger sisters and when I speak with them, I feel like I am completely out of it. I know what they are saying, but I would never even think to phrase my sentence the way they do. It makes me feel old sometimes.

When I was a kid, I remember people saying that we are totally ruining the language. Even though I think it is in constant motion, I think it can be said that many Luxembourgish people are very proud of the language and the sheer fact that it still exists. The government is also trying to preserve the language, or in some way promote the language. There are many ways for immigrants to learn the language for free. Also, people who work in Luxembourg, namely commuters from Germany, France or Belgium can learn everyday language that they need for work. Learning it for free is something that I think is very cool. I would definitely recommend taking the opportunity!

To conclude the interview, I am wondering whether you have any advice for our readers who might be interested in getting to know the Luxembourgish language.

Luxembourgish is very interesting; it has the sound and melody of French, but it uses Germanic words. It is very flowy and can be quite melodic which I learned to appreciate over the years. I think if you want to learn Luxembourgish, it is important to get in touch with native speakers. If you take a look at the government website (which is in many languages, so you will find one you will understand), I believe you could find information on where to participate in a Luxembourgish (online) course. There is also an online dictionary (lod.lu) which I use pretty often out of curiosity. 

I guess every Luxembourger will be happy and excited to hear when a foreigner tries to speak Luxembourgish, because not many are willing to learn it due to the fact that most Luxembourgers already speak and understand a lot of languages.