Ein Mischmasch aus Deutsch und Französisch

Ideological tensions in young people’s discursive constructions of Luxembourgish

Authors

  • John Bellamy Manchester Metropolitan University Author
  • Kristine Horner University of Sheffield Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/sols.34809

Keywords:

Luxembourg, language policy, metalinguistic comments, ideology, discourse

Abstract

Luxembourg has often been classi?ed as a ‘triglossic’ country in sociolinguistic literature, due to Luxembourgish being used predominantly for spoken functions and French and German for written functions. However, language use in late modern Luxembourg is characterized by increased levels of spoken French coupled with the growing presence of written Luxembourgish in the public sphere, thus altering certain long-standing patterns of language use. In this context, Luxembourgish is often framed as an important marker of authenticity and national identity in language ideological debates. At the same time, the ideological positioning of Luxembourgish as the national language stands in tension with varying levels of uncertainty regarding writing conventions in Luxembourgish, particularly in more formal contexts. Based on the analysis of metalinguistic comments from focus group data, this article examines how the participants discursively construct Luxembourgish in their negotiation between positioning Luxembourgish as the national language whilst also describing it as not being a fully ?edged standardized language. On a broader scale, this paper contributes to language ideological research that explores the construction of national languages as well as the relationship between the standard language ideology and the one-nation one-language ideology.

Author Biographies

  • John Bellamy, Manchester Metropolitan University

    John Bellamy is Lecturer in Linguistics at Manchester Metropolitan University, United Kingdom. He is particularly interested in everyday perceptions of different linguistic varieties and their speakers, and how these perceptions are shaped by ideologies and wider discourses on language in society. He is currently working with Wendy Ayres-Bennett on the Cambridge Handbook on Language Standardisation.

  • Kristine Horner, University of Sheffield

    Kristine Horner is Reader in Luxembourg Studies and Multilingualism at The University of Sheffield, United Kingdom, where she is also director of the Centre for Luxembourg Studies. She has published widely in the areas of language politics, language ideologies and multilingualism. Her most recent major publications are Introducing Multilingualism: A Social Approach (with J.-J. Weber; 2017, 2nd ed.) and The German-speaking World: A Practical Introduction to Sociolinguistic Issues (with P. Stevenson, N. Langer and G. Reershemius; 2017, 2nd ed.).

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Published

2019-05-02

Issue

Section

Articles

How to Cite

Bellamy, J., & Horner, K. (2019). Ein Mischmasch aus Deutsch und Französisch: Ideological tensions in young people’s discursive constructions of Luxembourgish. Sociolinguistic Studies, 12(3-4), 323-343. https://doi.org/10.1558/sols.34809