The linguistic and literary histories of Luxembourg are very complex, mostly because you have several languages spoken by the same people in the same place, at the same time, in an “almost hierarchical manner.” Lëtzebuergesch is the language of the people, and is used in everyday communication. While this language has origins in German, it has evolved to be a distinct language over time; however, Lëtzebuergesch has primarily been an oral language, though an artificial orthography was instituted in the 20th century.
For written and some spoken communication, French and German are favored. French is the language of the intellectual elite, and used in scholarly articles, courts of law, and for official documents. German is also used for written and oral communication, especially by the general populous, due to its close ties to Lëtzebuergesch.
This diversity of language gives Luxembourg a vibrant cultural diversity. Theatre companies from France, Germany, and Belgium frequently play in Luxembourg, and film screenings are equally diverse. As for the literary world, the Luxembourg writer is essentially forced to write in a learned language, rather than the commonly spoken language, which can be limiting. Creative endeavors in Lëtzebuergesch are most often seen in lyrical poetry and local theatre, which focus on speaking rather than the written word.
For written and some spoken communication, French and German are favored. French is the language of the intellectual elite, and used in scholarly articles, courts of law, and for official documents. German is also used for written and oral communication, especially by the general populous, due to its close ties to Lëtzebuergesch.
This diversity of language gives Luxembourg a vibrant cultural diversity. Theatre companies from France, Germany, and Belgium frequently play in Luxembourg, and film screenings are equally diverse. As for the literary world, the Luxembourg writer is essentially forced to write in a learned language, rather than the commonly spoken language, which can be limiting. Creative endeavors in Lëtzebuergesch are most often seen in lyrical poetry and local theatre, which focus on speaking rather than the written word.
More reading here.
Posts
I found that 1996 was the first time the in Luxemborg history that the country's president gave his "state of the nation" address in Lëtzebuergesch. I wonder if there are any groups of young-bearded-upstart poets from Luxemborg that attempt to write and publish in Lëtzebuergesch? Maybe for rebellious/polictical reasons, or possibly just to challenge the stringency of the language?
ReplyDeleteI wonder, too, about the favored language(s) of the poets in our anthology, whether the originals were more likely to appear in French or German and how that might effect the translations. Of course, not having the poems in their original forms might make this question a moot one.
ReplyDeleteMelissa, you can tell, actually, because at the end of each poem in the book it says what language it was translated from. Both our Luxemburgers write in French.
ReplyDeleteCurtis, this is a big issue and one worth thinking about. As we saw, there are poets in Spain writing in Catalan, Basque, and Galician in addition to Spanish. There is a small but strong movement of poets writing in Irish rather than English in Ireland. What's gained by such efforts? What's lost?