Luxembourg language: targeted promotion and strengthening of its status
The Luxembourgish language is part of our identity and our cultural heritage. As an integration and everyday language, it contributes to social cohesion in our country. The DP is committed to strengthening the Luxembourgish language and considers multilingualism as a fundamental and valuable asset of our country. The DP is also convinced that the different languages of our country – in particular Luxembourgish, German and French – must be used in both public and everyday life.
The Ministry of Education, Children and Youth, and the Ministry of Culture, both headed by the DP, have significantly raised awareness of the Luxembourgish language during this legislature. Four overall objectives have been set in a global strategy: 1. to strengthen the position of the Luxembourgish language, 2. to increase the standardization of the language, its daily use and research, 3. to support the learning of the language and its culture, and 4. to promote the Luxembourgish language culture. In addition, the offer of Luxembourgish courses has been increased significantly. Thanks to the plurilingual education programme, Luxembourgish is now spoken at all state-supported kindergartens. At the same time, children in our country are now introduced to multilingualism in a fun way.
The DP will continue to strengthen the social position of the Luxembourgish language and grant it a great importance as a language of communication, integration and literature.
On the initiative by the DP-members of the government, a strategy has been developed to strengthen the role of the Luxembourgish language at national level. Among other measures, a Commissioner for the Luxembourgish language will be appointed and a centre for promoting the language will be created. The mission of the centre will be to develop and standardize the Luxembourgish language. The DP will develop the strategy for the promotion of the Luxembourgish language. This will be done with the related 20-year action plan, which shall be drawn up in collaboration with all relevant social actors.
The DP also wants to strengthen the Luxembourgish language at EU level. In a first phase, we will start negotiations with the EU to develop an administrative rule of the use of Luxembourgish. Every citizen should have the right to address the European institutions in Luxembourgish and obtain, to the extent of possible, an answer in Luxembourgish.
Citizens must have a right to easily participate in the promotion of the Luxembourgish language and to regularly intervene in citizens’ forums. The website “sproocheronn.lu”, inaugurated recently, allows citizens to submit their proposals and to discuss the use of Luxembourgish. The DP wishes to strengthen the participation of citizens and will summarize the initiatives relating to the Luxembourgish language that exist on the internet on a website.
The DP will oblige private schools which are co-financed by public funds to offer Luxembourgish lessons for its pupils. This will allow all pupils to have access to the Luxembourgish language and at the same time facilitate integration through a common language.
Computers, smartphones and the internet have long been part of our daily lives. The DP wants to bring the Luxembourgish language into the virtual world of Alexa, Siri & co. We will undertake to ensure that the various operating systems, correctors, voice control programs, voice recognition, etc. are also available in the Luxembourgish language.
See the chapter “Health and social insurance: swift access to quality medical care and long-lasting protection of systems”.
As new words spread and eventually enter everyday vocabulary, others are becoming obsolete. Based on existing initiatives, the DP will identify and document the almost forgotten/obsolete Luxembourgish words and expressions that the younger generations hardly use anymore. We will thus be able to preserve a rich vocabulary, which forms part of our culture. Promotion efforts will be undertaken in this direction.
Luxembourg has a particular identity, which fascinates many people, but which is not immediately attracted by all. For many people, the Luxembourgish language is the most prominent feature of the country. The identity is, however, much more diverse: Luxembourg is regional and open to the world, traditional and multicultural, we speak, in addition to Luxembourgish, also many other languages. These supposed contradictions enrich the country’s society and have been deeply rooted in the Grand Duchy for many generations. Until now, however, there is no central meeting point/hub where the diversity of the country and the people living and working here gathers.
We want to create a “House of Luxembourg” which connects the people and considers the composition of our country. The idea is that the house becomes a sort of “Flagship Store” of Luxembourg, which enables locals, immigrants and visitors to see, listen to, touch and taste the identity of the country. It will not act as a museum, but a living place that allows to discover languages, music, sport, nature, history, literature, society and gastronomy. The house is the reflection of the Luxembourg identity – with all its diversity, tradition, innovation and controversial discussions related to it.
