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Language lab of an accidental nation

Emergence of a national language

by Philippe Descamps & Xavier Monthéard 

Luxembourg — which had a francophone region in the west where people spoke Walloon dialects, and a German-speaking region in the east where they spoke Moselle Franconian dialects — chose French as its administrative language from the Middle Ages. French was imposed in public life during the 18th century when France occupied the territory, and again with the Revolution in 1795, when part of it became the short-lived French department of Forêts. After Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo, the 1815 Congress of Vienna created a Grand Duchy, ruled by the king of the Netherlands in a personal union (1) but forming part of the German Confederation, a loose association of German-speaking kingdoms, principalities and other sovereign states.

After the Belgian revolution, the 1839 Treaty of London reduced the Grand Duchy, now independent, to its German-speaking regions. The mainly francophone western part became the homonymous Belgian province of Luxembourg. Though the Grand Duchy joined the German customs union (or Zollverein), the notables imposed the use of French in the civil service, law and politics. In 1843 French even became the second language taught in schools (after German), from primary level onwards. Luxembourgish, a Moselle Franconian dialect, was only taught from 1912, in a once-a-week conversation class.

In May 1940, when the Grand Duchy was invaded then annexed by Nazi Germany, French was banned. A year later, the Nazis were forced to abandon a census for tax purposes because the population gave ‘Luxembourgish’ as their answer to ethnicity, mother tongue and nationality. This show of passive resistance became part of the national narrative with the 1942 general strikes over the conscription of young Luxembourgers into the Wehrmacht.

After the war, the use of French in writing and Luxembourgish in speech became a marker of national identity. German remained the first language in schools but not in public spaces, and French became more widespread because of its use by immigrants from Latin countries. With the rapid growth of immigration and emergence of identity movements such as the Actioun Lëtzebuergesch association, a law on 24 February 1984 established Luxembourgish as the ‘national language’ and one of the three administrative languages. In October 2008 a new law required applicants for naturalisation to pass an examination to demonstrate their competence in Luxembourgish. The promotion of its use by institutions was further encouraged by a law in July 2018.

Philippe Descamps & Xavier Monthéard

Philippe Descamps is a member of Le Monde diplomatique’s editorial team; Xavier Monthéard is a journalist.
Translated by Charles Goulden

(1A combination of states that have the same monarch but distinct boundaries, laws and interests.

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