Letter: Military language

Thursday 01 April 1999 00:02 BST

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Sir: In defining a language as "a dialect with an army", Professor John Wells (quoted in "London: multilingual capital of the world", 29 March) has unwittingly settled the "language or dialect" debate over Letzebuergesch, the national language of Luxembourg. I had always heard the definition was "a dialect with an army and a navy". The Grand Duchy has an army, proportionate to its size and affiliated to Nato, but as regards the latter criterion it is sadly (though understandably) lacking.

HENRY WICKENS

Waldbillig, Luxembourg

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