Two-Thirds of Children in Luxembourg Hear 2+ Languages At Home

A recent survey, carried out by the National Youth Service (Service national de la jeunesse - SNJ) and its partners, has revealed that about two-thirds of children in Luxembourg hear at least two different languages at home.

According to Luxembourg's Ministry of Education, Children and Youth this survey responded to an absence of data on language practices within families with children aged four and under in the Grand Duchy. A total of 33,000 parents were contacted by post to voluntarily participate in the survey; the letter was sent out in six languages (Polish, Arabic, Portuguese, English, French and Luxembourgish). In the end, 8,342 parents responded to the survey, providing information on the linguistic reality of 10,090 young children.

Respondents mentioned a total of 124 different languages. The top five languages were Luxembourgish, French, German, English and Portuguese. The survey also revealed that about two-thirds of young children were in contact with at least two languages at home: 34.2% of parents said they spoke one language with their children, 38% spoke two languages and 27.8% spoke three languages or more with their children.

Luxembourgish was often used in combination with other languages within families. The data revealed that 15% of children who speak Luxembourgish with their siblings do not hear this language from their parents.

The survey also demonstrated the strong presence of the French language within families, whether during interactions, reading books, singing or watching television.

The full report (in French) can be downloaded here.