Luxembourgish (Lëtzebuergesch)

Luxembourgish is a Germanic language spoken by about 400,000 people in Luxembourg (Lëtzebuerg), France (Frankräich), Belgium (Belsch) and Germany (Däitschland). There are also a few Luxembourgish speakers in the USA. It has a lot in common with German and Dutch, and has also borrowed some words from French, e.g. merci (thank you).

Luxembourgish has been spoken since Frankish times (c. 1,000 AD), along the banks of the Moselle. Literature in Luxembourgish flourished during the 19th century. Luxembourgish started to be used as a language of instruction in schools in 1914. A new spelling system, Lëzebuurjer Ortografi, was devised by Jean Feltes, a phonetician, in 1946, though it never really caught on. In 1950 Joseph Tockert, Helene Palgen, and Robert Bruch were commissioned to produce a new Luxembourgish dictionary. They invented a new spelling system for the dictionary, which was adopted as the official one in 1976, when Feltes' system was dropped.

Luxembourgish is used in pre-school education in Luxembourg. Primary education is in German and senior education is in French. Many people also learn another language, such as English or Dutch.

Local radio stations broadcoast a few hours of German, French and Luxembourgish each week, and some also have English hours.

Debates in the Luxembourg parliament are carried out mainly in Luxembourgish, though some deputies prefer to use French. Laws are drafted in French, but people are free to use French, German or Luxembourgish in when dealing with administrative and judicial matters.

Luxembourgish alphabet (d'Alphabet)
A a	B b	C c	D d	E e	F f	G g	H h	I i	J j
a	bee	tsee	dee	ee	eff	gee	ha	i	jott
K k	L l	M m	N n	O o	P p	Q q	R r	S s	T t
ka	ell	emm	enn	o	pee	ku	är	ess	tee
U u	V v	W w	X x	Y y	Z z	Ä ä	Ë ë	É é
u	fau	wee	ikks	igrekk	tsett

Luxembourgish pronunciation

Luxembourgish pronounciation

Notes

c = [ s ] before e or i, [ k ] elsewhere
ch = [ ʃ ] before e, [ x ] elsewhere
e = [ œ ] before ch or g at the end of a word
g = [ ʃ ] at the end of words before e, [ ʒ ] in some French loan words, [g] elsewhere
C, Q, X and Y appear in loan words
eu only appears in French loan words

Information provided by Jack Gill (mgill@blueyonder.co.uk)

Sample text in Luxembourgish

All Mënsch kënnt fräi a mat deer selwechter Dignitéit an dene selwechte Rechter op d'Welt. Jiddereen huet säi Verstand a säi Gewësse krut an soll an engem Geescht vu Bridderlechkeet denen anere géintiwwer handelen.

Hear a recording of this text by Cedric Krummes of www.letzlearn.org

Translation

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
(Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)

Useful phrases in Luxembourgish

Links

Information about Luxembourgish
http://www.luxembourg.co.uk/lingua.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luxembourgish_language
http://www.eu2005.lu/en/savoir_lux/societe_tradition/luxembourgeois/

Online Luxembourgish lessons and other resources
http://www.letzlearn.org
http://www.languages.lu/resources/Luxembourgish_free_online_resources.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mt7luAXrmmw

Some Luxembourgish phrases (with audio)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/european_languages/languages/luxembourgish.shtml

Luxembourgish Dictionaries
http://webplaza.pt.lu/jlulling/luxdico.htm
http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definition/Luxembourgish-english/
http://www.dico.lu

EIS SPROOCH - De Website iwwer d'Lëtzebuerger Sprooch
http://www.eis-sprooch.lu

Radio-Télé Lëtzebuerg
http://rtl.lu/home.rtl

Related languages

Afrikaans, Alsatian, Cimbrian, Danish, Dutch, English, Faroese, Frisian, German, Icelandic, Luxembourgish, Norwegian, Old English, Old Norse, Scots, Swedish

Other languages written with the Latin alphabet

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