Flektierte Familiennamen im Luxemburgischen

Abstract This paper deals with a morphological issue, the inflection in Luxemburgish family names. While in colloquial High German only the one inflective form -s is attested in the plural forms of family names, for instance Schmit-s, we discover in colloquial Luxemburgish, besides the different plural forms, the composition ‘family name + first name’, for instance Schmit’s Paul instead of Paul Schmit. First, we give precise details about the morphological complexity of this construction. Next, its numerous connotations are emphasized. Finally, we put the question, if the new attitude of the young generation towards the inflected composite form generates a linguistic development in this local specified field.