R|languages in luxembourg

R|languages in luxembourg

Languages in Luxembourg

语速慢

文本：

Ladies and gentlemen. I will be talking to you about languages in Luxembourg, the country where I live and work. Luxembourg is in an interesting situation where languages are concerned. Several languages are spoken and written throughout the whole country. So it is truly a multilingual country.

First of all, there is the national language called Luxembourgish. French and German are also used everywhere in Luxemburg. This interesting situation with languages dates all the way back to the middle ages. In the fourteenth century, the territory of Luxemburg was divided into two large areas. In one of these areas, a dialect of French was spoken. In the other, a dialect of German was spoken which then came to be Luxembourgish.

MiddleAges
7Middle'Agesnoun
1. the Middle Ages the period in European history between about 1100 and 1500 ad〔欧洲历史上的〕中世纪〔约公元 1100 至 1500 年〕

 middle ages n.

1. the period of history between classical antiquity and the Italian Renaissance英 /rɪˈneɪsns/
2. synonymous： Dark Ages

在欧洲历史上，「中世纪」指公元5世纪到15世纪，自西罗马帝国的崩溃到文艺复兴运动和大航海时代之间的时期。按照西方传统，欧洲历史可以分为“古典时代”、“中世纪”和“近现代”三个阶段。而中世纪历史自身也可分为前、中、后三段。

Already at that time, French was chosen as the language for the administration. And French continued to be the language of administration and legislation and politics, right the way through the centuries. This might seem strange because the language that the people spoke at home and with each other was always Luxembourgish, which is a dialect of German, not French. However, the nobility spoke French. And the French language therefore kept an important role.

nobility
no·bil·i·ty / no5bIlEtI ; nEJ5bIlEti /noun
1. the nobility the group of people in some countries who belong to the highest social class and have titles such as 'Duke' or 'Countess'贵族（阶层）;SYNthe aristocracy
2. Uthe quality of being noble崇高，高贵:

•the nobility of his intentions他崇高的志向

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mobility
mo·bil·i·ty / mo5bIlEtI ; mEJ5bIlEti /noun U
1. the ability to move easily from one job, area, or social class to another流动性; 易变性:

•social mobility 社会阶层的变动

[+ of ]

•There is greater mobility of labour (=movement of workers) between jobs and areas.

工作岗位之间和地区之间的劳动力流动性更大了。
upward / downward mobility

•jobs and opportunities for upward mobility提升社会阶层的工作和机会

2. the ability to move easily活动性，灵活性:

•It improves the strength and mobility of joints.它能提高关节的力量和灵活性。

•The key to the army's effectiveness is its increased mobility.增强军队战斗力的关键是提高其机动性。

mobility allowance BrE ( = money paid to sick or disabled people to help pay for transport )〔发给患病或残疾人士的〕出行津贴

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  1 
ac·cent / 5AksZnt ; 5AksEnt /noun C
1. the way someone pronounces the words of a language, showing which country or which part of a country they come from口音，腔调;
⇒dialect:

•He noticed that I spoke Polish with an accent .他注意到我说波兰语带有口音。

English / American / lndian etc accent

•a slight American accent一点点美国腔

a broad / strong / slight / faint etc accent

•a broad Irish accent浓重的爱尔兰口音

2. the accent is on sth if the accent is on a particular quality, feeling etc, special importance is given to it着重点在…上，强调…:

•accommodation with the accent on comfort注重舒适的住处

3. the part of a word that you should emphasize when you say it重音;SYNstress
[+ on ]

•In the word 'dinner' the accent is on the first syllable.dinner 一词的重音在第一音节上。

4. a written mark used above or below particular letters in some languages to show how to pronounce that letter变音符号

 2 
ac·cent / 5AksZnt ; Ek5sent /verb T
1. to make something more noticeable so that people will pay attention to it显出，突出; 强调;SYNhighlight

•Use make-up to accent your cheekbones and eyes.用化妆来突出颧骨和眼部。

2. technicalto emphasize a part of a word in speech重读

 dialect
di·a·lect / 5daIE7lZkt ; 5daIElekt /noun C,U
1. a form of a language which is spoken only in one area, with words or grammar that are slightly different from other forms of the same language方言，地方话，土语;
⇒accent:
Chinese / York-shire etc dialect

•The people up there speak a Tibetan dialect .那里的人讲的是一种藏语方言。

•the local dialect 当地方言

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dialect vs. accent

While a dialect can include differences in pronunciations from the language it comes from, it also includes differences in vocabulary and grammar. 

The word accent, however, describes just a distinct way of pronouncing a language. It does not include differences in vocabulary and grammar. Like dialects, accents are often distinguished based on geographical area, social class, or other common features among speakers.

Often, an accent is described as being a subset of a dialect in the same way that a dialect is a subset of a language.

Both French and German have been compulsory languages in schools in Luxembourg since the nineteenth century. So what about Luxembourgish. Well, Luxembourgish was not an official language in Luxembourg until the 1980s. But now, by law, people living here are allowed to communicate with the administration in either Luxembourgish or French or German. When they leave school. Luxembourgish children, know three languages and sometimes more. And therefore, multilingualism comes naturally here. And of course, it's a huge advantage in the multilingual society that we live in today. Certainly, Luxembourgish children will have a head start if they want a career in languages, thank you.

 卢森堡（卢森堡文：Lëtzebuerg、法文：Luxembourg、德文：Luxemburg），全称为卢森堡大公国(卢森堡语：Groussherzogtum Lëtzebuerg, 法语：Grand-Duché de Luxembourg, 德语：Großherzogtum Luxemburg), ，被邻国法国、德国和比利时包围，是一个位于欧洲的内陆国家，也是现今欧洲大陆仅存的大公国，首都卢森堡市。卢森堡是欧盟成员国，拥有欧盟多个下设机构，如欧洲法院、欧洲审计院以及欧洲投资银行，被称为继布鲁塞尔和斯特拉斯堡之后的欧盟“第三首都”。

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大公国（拉丁语：Magnus Dux；德语：Großherzogtum；意大利语：Gran Duca；法语：Grand-duché；立陶宛语：Didysis kunigaikštis；波兰语：Wielkie księstwo；英语：Grand duchy），是一种君主制国家，其元首是由大公或者是女大公担任。

而相近的就是公国（Dukedom）和亲王国（Principality，意译是「亲王的封地」），虽然名称有别，而且国君的头衔上，亲王最大，大公次之，公爵更次之；但实际上都是平等论交的君主，而不是字面上的同一国的不同等级王族或贵族。

现今仅存的自称为大公国只剩下卢森堡大公国，但实际上在翻译上任何以君主为元首的城邦或微型国家，在中文或日文都可以称为大公国或公国。而君主称谓是相当于亲王、大公、公爵等大君主制国家的传统皇室或大贵族，所以实际上可以叫做大公国或公国的国家尚有摩纳哥、列支敦士登、安道尔。而共同点是虽然国家很小且君主之称谓仅相当于诸候，但又是国际上保障其主权独立的国家。