Luxembourg's language: the cornerstone of a multilingual country

Up until recently, when arriving at Findel Airport, you would have been met with a traditional Luxembourgish greeting: Moien! Venturing further into the city, you would likely hear a lot of French and a medley of Portuguese, English, and Italian. Head north and German is your best bet. Wander down south and you might as well be in France. Meanwhile, the international dominance of English continues to spread in communities and cafes, businesses and workplaces. 

As of January 2025, 320,726 foreigners live in the Grand Duchy, with the highest percentage of those coming from other EU countries. While the number of foreigners has slightly dipped from last year – from 47.3 down to 47% – the increasing naturalisation of people here also needs to be taken into account. Foreigners are not coming less: they're staying longer and becoming Luxembourgish.

That brings about the matter of acquiring citizenship. You may speak Portuguese at home and have mastered enough French to use it professionally, but you also need Luxembourgish to pass the Sproochentest if you plan to naturalise. 

With three national languages looming and a mix of priorities jostling for your attention, the question begs: which of Luxembourg's languages should you dive into first (or next)?

French first (but not last)

To Luxembourgish language commissioner Pierre Reding, the answer is clear. "To those who don’t [already] know one of the three official languages, I always tell them: please learn French first."

While Reding holds the official position of championing the preservation, utilisation, and development of Luxembourgish, he is nevertheless the first to say that French will get you the furthest in Luxembourg. After all, "the rules are written in French".

As of 1984, legislation states that the national language is Luxembourgish, the legislative language is French, and administrative and judicial matters can be handled in Luxembourgish, French, or German. In other words, new laws and parliamentary discussions can be held in any of the three languages, but written legislation must always be in French. 

Luc Schmitz, deputy director of the National Language Institute (INLL), shared more on the developing demand for lessons.  "We offer German, English, French, Luxembourgish, and then we have Chinese, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Portuguese, and Russian. And [soon] we will have Korean and Japanese. But the French and Luxembourgish departments are by far the biggest", he said.

While French lessons have maintained popularity, a demand for Luxembourgish has ballooned in the last decade. If French is the core, Luxembourgish is the heart.

"In the first year we had 99 people taking the Sproochentest, in 2014 we had 1,000 people taking it, last year we had 4,700 people and now we are at 6,000 people", Schmitz said. This he attributes to more people who have lived in Luxembourg for more than five years and are eligible to take the Sproochentest. 

"We have people whose main goal is to get citizenship, but I would not say that it is the majority", said Schmitz. "When you talk to people, they really say that integration and work are very big factors to learning Luxembourgish.”

For a passport, a position, or a place to call home? 

The motivations for learning Luxembourgish, or any of the national languages, are varied. 

"I always call French the survival language – if you really want to get along in everyday life", said Patricia Awe, director studies at Inlingua. “But if you eventually want to take on Luxembourgish nationality, or if you want to be in with the local crowd, it’s Luxembourgish.”

For many who have lived in Luxembourg long enough, or those who have started families here, the spoken languages of their loved ones are a huge push for learning. "What you also hear a lot is that [learners] have children that go to school in Luxembourg, and their children speak Luxembourgish", added Schmitz.

The same goes for couples of different backgrounds: in a multinational country like Luxembourg, learning a language for love (or the promise thereof) is a common occurrence.  

Career advancement is an equally strong reason for language development. While languages like French, German, and English are spoken by many, Luxembourgish could provide a competitive edge when seeking employment. At the same time, the Luxembougish star on your CV disappears across all borders: another factor that language learners take into account. 

"We mainly work with cross-border workers or expats. French people very often learn German", said Awe. "As harsh as it sounds, a lot of them feel German is more useful if they don't end up staying [in Luxembourg]."

The same goes for learners of French, which provides more return on investment in France or Belgium.

General director of Prolingua Naouelle Tir has also noticed a swell of learners who learn Luxembourgish as a logical thing to do. "When I joined Prolingua eight years ago, people just wanted to learn Luxembourgish for the Sproochentest", she said. "Today, you have a lot of expats who live in Luxembourg, and want to learn it as a matter of courtesy. For example if you go to New York, you learn English. People now want to speak Luxembourgish as a matter of politeness."

How to get good in five years

Language courses, certificates and best intentions aside, it is no secret that having a strong command of any language requires constant learning, motivation, and practice. It is here that aiming for Luxembourgish fluency gets a bit tricky. 

For the average learner, Luxembourgish is here and there – but it is not everywhere. 

"You just don't have the same cultural input", said Awe. "In French, for example, you have all this literature, you have all this music, TV. It's just a huge amount of input that you can get."

Another major challenge at achieving Luxembourgish fluency is having people to practice with. 

"If we go on holiday in Italy or Spain for three or four weeks, we’ll end up knowing a little bit of the language, just because there was this full immersion in the language", Schmitz said. "That is just not happening in Luxembourg."

Calling on fellow native speakers of the language, Schmitz said that the responsibility here falls on "us Luxembourgers". "Dear Luxembourgers, try to talk to learners in Luxembourgish, even if it takes more time", he smiled. "We have to encourage people to speak Luxembourgish to us!"

Schmitz acknowledges that he does the same. "If somebody comes to me and wants to speak Luxembourgish, and I hear he's probably [more comfortable in] French or German or English, I immediately switch because I want the conversation to go on", he admitted. "But that doesn't help that person at all. So I really have to take the time and listen to him, perhaps also give him some tips and tricks, what he did well, what he did wrong."

For Reding, it comes down to a team effort, for which he has a few suggestions: "Native speakers of Luxembourgish, you can say something twice. You can ask, 'Did you understand me in Luxembourgish?' You even can, when they try to answer in Luxembourgish, help them or sometimes repeat what they say in Luxembourgish."

Learners have a part to play too. Reding suggests asking Luxembourgish-speaking people not to always switch. "Tell them, 'Please, sometimes speak to me in Luxembourgish or say it twice! Show me the most interesting words. Tell me what I should say in this situation.'"

'Social media gave Luxembourgish an extraordinary push'

While proudly rallying for Luxembourgish, Reding regards the country’s multiculturalism just as highly. This is, after all, what makes Luxembourg, Luxembourg. 

"For me, it is extremely important to say that Luxembourg is not marked by the Luxembourgish language, but that our country is marked by the Luxembourgish language as much as it is by our multilingualism. And both things are not opposed; they go together."

Reflecting on the living, breathing nature of language, Schmitz said, "Young people speak Luxembourgish differently from older generations. And of course with immigration, which in the beginning was [predominantly] Italian, then Portuguese, and already these people brought new things to the language. Now we have immigration from from a whole lot of other countries, which brings aspects of their mother tongue into Luxembourgish – it changes all the time, and it's really interesting to see."

Technology has also played a primary role in the everyday use of Luxembourgish, and with it, opened doors for native speakers and new users alike.

"Before when I wrote a letter, I wrote it either in French or in German. Nowadays on social media, text message, and WhatsApp, we write in Luxembourgish", said Reding. 

This marked change he assigns to how we write – on text, chat, or on social media – rather than confined by the formality of the page. 

"Things completely and immediately changed with the arrival of emails. I was so astonished. People who are 70 or 80 years old also changed to write in the Luxembourgish language, because it was no longer on paper", Reding said. "There is some ease in using the Luxembourgish language now. Social media gave the Luxembourgish language an extraordinary push."

Reding also pointed out that while Luxembourgish is a small language, it is not a minority one: Dedicating financial and human resources to developing programmes and incentivising learning the language is very much to the country’s own benefit. We see this in practice with apps such as the LLO platform and a new interactive learning tool to be launched in October.

"The promotion of the Luxembourgish language [should not be] thought of as constructing walls between the Luxembourgish-speaking community and the not-Luxembourgish-speaking community, but in order to build bridges", said Reding. "And the Luxembourgish people are certainly happy when you know some words in Luxembourgish!"