Luxembourgish

Luxembourgish, Luxemburgish (/ˈlʌksəmbɜːrɡɪʃ/ LUK-səm-bur-gish), Letzeburgesch (/ˌlɛts(ə)bɜːrˈɡɛʃ/ LETS(-ə)-bur-GESH or /ˈlɛts(ə)bɜːrɡɪʃ/ LETS(-ə)-bur-gish) (Luxembourgish: Lëtzebuergesch), or Luxembourgian is a West Germanic language that is spoken mainly in Luxembourg. About 390,000 people speak Luxembourgish worldwide. A variety of the Moselle Franconian dialect group, Luxembourgish has similarities with other varieties of High German and the wider group of West Germanic languages. The status of Luxembourgish as an official language in Luxembourg and the existence there of a regulatory body, has removed Luxembourgish, at least in part, from the domain of Standard German, its traditional Dachsprache. Luxembourgish belongs to the West Central German group of High German languages and is the primary example of a Moselle Franconian language. Luxembourgish is the national language of Luxembourg and one of three administrative languages, alongside French and German. In Luxembourg, 50.9% of citizens can speak Luxembourgish. Luxembourgish is also spoken in the Arelerland region of Belgium (part of the Province of Luxembourg) and in small parts of Lorraine in France. In the German Eifel and Hunsrück regions, similar local Moselle Franconian dialects of German are spoken. The language is also spoken by a few descendants of Luxembourg immigrants in the United States and Canada. Other Moselle Franconian dialects are spoken by ethnic Germans long settled in Transylvania, Romania (Siebenbürgen).