# Why does Luxembourg have 3 official languages? (HISTORY)

## Метаданные

- **Канал:** Langfocus
- **YouTube:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UfVnQ-cF2E
- **Дата:** 13.05.2026
- **Длительность:** 2:53
- **Просмотры:** 19,953

## Описание

In this clip of a full-length video on Luxembourish, I talk about the history of Luxembourg and why it has multiple official languages.

## Содержание

### [0:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UfVnQ-cF2E) Segment 1 (00:00 - 02:00)

Why does Luxembourg have three official languages? Well, there are geographic and historical reasons for this. Luxembourg is situated at the point where Germany, France, and the French-speaking part of Belgium intersect. West-Central German dialects have historically been spoken in the neighboring regions of Germany, and Walloon, one of the langue d'oïl closely related to French, has historically been spoken in the neighboring regions of France and Belgium. The Luxembourg dynasty of the 14th and 15th centuries was larger than Luxembourg's current size and included some of these neighboring regions. The written and administrative language in Walloon-speaking areas was French. Even though French was different from Walloon, it was closely related and was commonly written. The written and administrative [clears throat] language in West-Central German-speaking areas was German, which again was not the same as the local vernacular speech, but German was used as the written language alongside varying spoken dialects as it developed and became more standardized. But in Luxembourg City itself, the administrative language was French, even though the native language of the people was a West-Central German dialect, a Moselle Franconian dialect. After the French occupied Luxembourg in 1795, strong priority was given to French even in the German-speaking zones. After Luxembourg's independence from the French, its land was reduced to its current small size located entirely in a German-speaking area. And when I say German, I mean the Moselle Franconian dialect that came to be known as Luxembourghish. One might expect that German would have been made the administrative language because of its similarity to the locals' native dialect, but French continued to fulfill that role and became a required subject in schools in addition to German. This was partly to keep Luxembourg distinct from other German-speaking countries and avoid being swallowed up by them. They also began to emphasize that their Moselle Franconian dialect was their national language and distinct from German, and people began trying to standardize its written form, a which continued for much of the 20th century. In 1984, Luxembourgish finally became an official language alongside German and French, as well as the national language. As I mentioned before, Luxembourgish is a West Central German dialect, specifically a Moselle Franconian dialect that's been standardized. Just across the border in Germany, Moselle Franconian dialects may be considered part of the German language because they use it in tandem with standard German, which functions as the formal and written language. But because the dialect spoken in Luxembourg has been standardized and formalized with a written form, and is not only used for casual conversation, it's considered its own language. But it has also developed in its own direction based on the linguistic realities of life in Luxembourg, adopting loan words from French and English, as well as standard German, for instance. There are also local dialects within Luxembourg that have gradually converged towards a more unified standard variety that's unique to Luxembourg.

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*Источник: https://ekstraktznaniy.ru/video/51333*