Luxembourgish developed from Moselle Franconian, a group of Middle Franconian dialects spoken along the Moselle River, and remained an oral vernacular for centuries while French and German served as written languages of administration and education. The country was successively ruled by Burgundy, Spain, Austria, France, and the Netherlands before becoming a Grand Duchy in 1815 and fully independent in 1867. Luxembourgish was officially codified and recognised as a national language in 1984, making Luxembourg one of the few countries to officially codify a new standard language in the 20th century. The country operates a unique trilingual system in which Luxembourgish is the language of home and identity, German is used in primary education and the press, and French dominates law, government, and secondary education. This trilingualism is instilled from childhood, making most Luxembourgers fluent in all three languages plus often English.
