Editorial – Learning "Lëtzebuergesch": Who should, who must, who can?

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In October, the time will come once again: the Parliamentary Petitions Committee will hear a petition on the Luxembourgish language in a public session. Its content is controversial: anyone living or working "permanently" in Luxembourg should be obliged to learn Luxembourgish.

For some, this may bring back memories: almost exactly ten years ago, another petition concerning the Luxembourgish language was so successful that it forced the government's hand and also attracted media interest abroad. Within a week, more than 10,000 people had signed Petition 698 back then.

The petition called for Luxembourgish to be elevated to the status of the first official language and the language of instruction in schools, in order to save it "from extinction" in the face of expected population growth. Although one cannot generally establish a causal link between the two, the petition struck a chord.

In the end, it gathered 14,478 signatures – more than three times the number required for a public hearing. That in itself was a record. Even more remarkable is that it prompted a counter-petition, which, although it garnered less than a third of the signatures, still secured enough to trigger a hearing in the Chamber.