Deaf or hard of hearing in a multilingual country: welcome to Luxembourg
Jackie Winandy, founder of the Daaflux association, sheds light on the daily lives of deaf and hard-of-hearing people in the Grand Duchy. What are the main obstacles they face? Do they see any improvement in the way their disability is taken into account?
Thursday, February 26, 2026
"You meet the language requirements for the three administrative languages. Fluency in English is an asset." These lines are commonplace in job advertisements in Luxembourg. For many, these requirements seem like a difficult challenge to meet. The path is even more difficult for deaf and hard-of-hearing people living in Luxembourg.
You regret that multilingualism is not systematic, even within the public administration
In neighbouring countries, there is generally one dominant administrative language. This provides greater clarity and reduces barriers in everyday life. In Luxembourg, language barriers add to existing communication barriers.
Official information available only in French or English is a considerable obstacle to everyday communication, particularly in contacts with the authorities, in the field of health and in digital services.
How can the predominant role of German within the community be explained?
In Luxembourg, there is only one school for deaf children. Many of them learn German first. This is why written German plays an important role in everyday life.
However, German sign language is essential for communication. Deaf people need sign language to fully understand content and express themselves accurately. Lip reading only works to a limited extent and is highly dependent on the situation, pronunciation and lighting conditions. Many deaf people find it difficult to understand long or complex texts in written German, as German is often their second language.
Technical aids and brief written notes facilitate communication, but are no substitute for sign language. Even people with cochlear implants often rely on visual aids or sign language and need good acoustic conditions and clear pronunciation.
French, English and other languages taught at school are difficult for many hearing-impaired or deaf children if they do not use them at home.
There has not always been a specialised school in Luxembourg. In the past, children had to go abroad...
Indeed, many deaf children were sent to Germany, particularly to Bad Camberg in the state of Hesse, to attend schools for deaf children. This is also why German remains the main language of education and everyday life for the deaf community in Luxembourg today.
Today, the Centre de logopédie, based in Strassen, caters for more than 300 pupils in specialised education, including around 40 with hearing impairments. [Editor's note: Specialised outpatient interventions allow for direct care within the mainstream classroom, without removing the pupil from their usual school environment.] This provides support for many hearing-impaired children and children with cochlear implants, but this support is not provided throughout the entire school day.
These pupils generally learn Luxembourgish, German and French. However, learning foreign languages poses great difficulties for them. French is taught in primary school, and English later in secondary school. When parents are deaf, access to foreign languages is often even more difficult. As a result, only a minority of hearing-impaired people also understand Luxembourgish, with varying degrees of proficiency. English plays only a minor role in everyday life.
German sign language was officially recognised in Luxembourg in 2018. What has this achieved?
For many deaf people, it is the most understandable language, even though some of them may consider German to be a foreign language.
Currently, there are three German sign language interpreters available in the whole of Luxembourg: this is clearly insufficient. As a result, many deaf people turn to Germany, where they find a wide range of cultural activities in sign language and German. Education in German and sign language is also more accessible there, as are medical consultations and hospital stays: people with cochlear implants often have surgery and treatment in Germany. This country has specialised centres with extensive experience and doctors, speech therapists and technicians trained for this purpose.
What are the main barriers to online information?
There are many digital barriers on public service Websites and mobile apps: videos without subtitles, transcripts unavailable, monolingual content, limited sign language and easy language options, and few alternatives to telephone contact (such as live chat, email or video communication with sign language interpretation). [Editor's note: for public service websites and apps, subtitles and transcripts for videos are a legal requirement; it is also recommended that information be published in German or easy-to-read language.]
However, progress is being made: there are more subtitles (though not always accurate) and more content in German. In the private sector, SMEs pay little attention to accessibility. Large companies tend to implement it, at least partially.