Luxembourgers

Luxembourgers (/ˈlʌksəmbɜːrɡərz/ LUK-səm-bur-gərz) are a Germanic[10][11] 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
Lëtzebuerger
Total population
c. 336,700[1]–500,000[a]
(Luxembourgish ancestry)
Regions with significant populations
 Luxembourg  c. 298,000 (2013)[b][2][3]
(self-identified Luxembourgers)
 France45,000[1]
 United States40,658[4][5]
 Belgium30,000[1]
 Argentina25,000–80,000[6]
 Germany15,596[7]
 Canada3,790[8]
Languages
Luxembourgish, French, German
Religion
Christianity (predominantly Roman Catholic, some Protestants in the Reformed and Lutheran traditions)[9]
Related ethnic groups
Germans, French, Walloons, Belgians, Alsatians

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 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.[12]

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".[13][14]

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. Most speak Luxembourgish, as their native language, in addition to French and German. 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.

There are also significant populations in the Americas, with the largest contingent being in the United States. However, many people of Luxembourgish descent also live in Canada and Brazil, to which large waves of Luxembourgers emigrated in the nineteenth century, as did Germans at the same time.[6] 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.

See also

Notes and references

    1. "Luxembourgish". Ethnologue. 2005. Archived from the original on 9 June 2007. Retrieved 25 June 2007. Native speakers of Luxembourgish worldwide
    2. "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.
    3. 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.
    4. "Total US population by ancestry". United States Census Bureau. 2000. Archived from the original on 10 February 2020. Retrieved 25 June 2007.
    5. "Luxembourgers in America". LOC.gov. United States Library of Congress. 12 January 2006. Archived from the original on 30 June 2007. Retrieved 25 June 2007.
    6. Wey, Claude (2002). "L'émigration luxembourgeoise vers l'Argentine" (PDF) (in French). CDMH. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 25 June 2007.
    7. "Anzahl der Ausländer in Deutschland nach Herkunftsland" [Number of Foreigners in Germany by Country of Origin] (in German). December 2014. Archived from the original on 2015-07-07.
    8. "2011 National Household Survey: Data tables". Statistics Canada. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 15 February 2014.
    9. "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.
    10. Minahan 2000, p. 433. "The Luxembourgers are a Germanic people of mixed German and French background..."
    11. Minahan 2000, p. 769. Germanic nations:.. Luxembourgers...
    12. Cole (2011), p. 246
    13. Luxemburgisch, Luxembourgish at Oxford English Dictionary; Luxembourgeois at Oxford English Dictionary
    14. "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

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