Luxembourg is a linguistically complicated country, a
reflection of its complicated past. It began as a Roman
fortress. It has, at one time or another, fallen under the
control of Spain, France and Austria. In 1839, it gained its
independence from the Netherlands, but lost more than half
its territory to Belgium, which now has a province of the
same name. In the 20th century, Germany swept through
Luxembourg twice despite its protestations of neutrality.
Luxembourgish is related to German, but it is primarily a
spoken language. In the country’s schools, elementary
students take all their classes in German. When students
reach their teens, gradually all classes are converted to
French. And English is studied the entire time.
But the language dearest to their hearts is Luxembourgish. As
71-year-old retired engineer Rene Ries — a typical
Luxembourger, with a French first name and a German last name
— said, Luxembourgish is generally spoken in the home. When
there is a complaint, the police file their reports in
German. Then the lawyers litigate the case in French.
(MORE: Luxembourg’s Monarch Steps Back On Euthanasia Bill)
Asked in which language he felt most comfortable, Ries
replied without hesitation that it was Luxembourgish. But he
admitted he had trouble writing it. Under duress, he could
write his daughter a postcard, he said, but the language is
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Luxembourg, an important financial center and home to the
world’s largest steel manufacturer, continues to prosper
despite Europe’s economic trouble. The country has the
second-highest gross domestic product per capita in the
world, more than $80,000 — though its population of about
510,000 people is still smarting from having lost the No. 1
spot to Qatar. The capital city has 80,000 inhabitants and
120,000 jobs.
