Luxembourgers
Lëtzebuerger | |
|---|---|
 Flag of Luxembourg | |
 Painting of a Luxembourgish couple from Luxembourg City, by Alexis Grimou | |
| Total population | |
| c. 336,700[citation needed]–500,000[a] (Luxembourgish ancestry) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 Luxembourg c. 298,000 (2013)[b][1][2](self-identified Luxembourgers) | |
| Languages | |
| Luxembourgish[3] | |
| Religion | |
| Christianity (predominantly Roman Catholic, some Protestants in the Reformed and Lutheran traditions)[4] | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Germans, French, Walloons, Belgians, Alsatians, Swiss people | |
a Upper estimate is merely a sum of all referenced figures given below. b In 2013, 55.5% of the population of Luxembourg (537,039) declared sole Luxembourgish ethnic descent and nationally, while the remaining 45.5% were either of foreign descent or foreign nationals. |
Luxembourgers (/ˈlʌksəmbɜːrɡərz/ LUK-səm-bur-gərz; Luxembourgish: Lëtzebuerger [ˈlətsəbuəjɐ]) are a Germanic[5][6] ethnic group and nation native to their nation state of Luxembourg, where they make up around half of the population. They share the culture of Luxembourg and speak Luxembourgish.
Luxembourgers were, much like Austrians, historically considered to be a regional subgroup of ethnic Germans and viewed themselves as such until the collapse of the German Confederation. Luxembourg became independent, while remaining in personal union with the Netherlands, after the signing of the Treaty of London in 1839. The personal union proved short-lived as it was bilaterally and amicably dissolved in 1890.[7]
Legally, all citizens of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg are considered to be Luxembourgers per Luxembourgish law, although a distinct Germanic ethnolinguistic identification is vocally espoused and promoted. The corresponding adjective is "Luxembourgish".[8][9]
Location
Most ethnic Luxembourgers live in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, a small country in Europe between Germany, France, and Belgium, and are of Celtic/Gallo-Roman and Germanic (Frankish) origin. Luxembourgish is the only native language of Luxembourgers (as taught by parents), although nearly all of them learn French and German in school and are able to communicate in these two languages as well from an early age on. Despite the rather small number of Luxembourgers, there is a relatively large diaspora, in Europe and elsewhere. Particularly, there are populations in the surrounding countries of Belgium, France, and Germany. For the most part, this is due to historic reasons, especially the three Partitions of Luxembourg, which led to former territories of Luxembourg being incorporated into each of the three surrounding countries.[citation needed]
There are also significant populations in the Americas, with the largest contingent being in the United States. Others migrated to Hungary along with Germans during the first phase of German eastward settlement in the 12th century. Transylvanian Saxons and Banat Swabians are the descendants of these settlers.[citation needed]
See also
Notes and references
- ^ "La progression de la population du Grand-Duché continue: 537 039 résidants au 1er janvier 2013" [The population growth of the Grand Duchy continues: 537,039 residents as of 1 January 2013] (PDF) (in French). Statnews. April 18, 2013.
- ^ Levinson, Amanda. "The Regularisation of Unauthorised Migrants: Literature Survey and Country Case Studies – Regularisation programmes in Luxembourg" (PDF). Centre on Migration, Policy and Society, University of Oxford. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 September 2006. Retrieved 2 September 2006.
- ^ "Loi du 24 février 1984 sur le régime des langues. - Legilux".
- ^ "Discrimination in the EU in 2012 – Special Eurobarometer 393 (The question asked was "Do you consider yourself to be...?")" (PDF). European Commission. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 December 2012. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
- ^ Minahan 2000, p. 433. "The Luxembourgers are a Germanic people of mixed German and French background..."
- ^ Minahan 2000, p. 769. Germanic nations:.. Luxembourgers...
- ^ Cole (2011), p. 246
- ^ Luxemburgisch, Luxembourgish[permanent dead link] at Oxford English Dictionary; Luxembourgeois at Oxford English Dictionary
- ^ "List of countries, territories and currencies". Interinstitutional Style Guide. Publications Office of the European Union. 2012-01-24. Archived from the original on 2012-02-05. Retrieved October 19, 2017.
Sources
- Minahan, James (2000). One Europe, many nations: a historical dictionary of European national groups. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 0313309841. Retrieved 25 May 2013.
- Cole, Jeffrey (2011). Ethnic Groups Of Europe: An Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1598843026.
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