Euromosaic III : presence of regional and minority language groups in the new member states.
Date: 2012-07-24
Institutions: Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture
Subjects: European language, minority language, multilingualism, regional language, social sciences

Research Centre on Multilingualism 
at the KU Brussel 

E U R O M O S A I C   III 

Presence of Regional and Minority Language Groups 
in the New Member States 

* * * * * 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
C O N T E N T S 

Preface 

INTRODUCTION 

1.  Methodology 

1.1 
1.2 
1.3 
1.4  Working languages and translation 

Data sources 
Structure 
Inclusion of languages 

2. 

Regional or Minority Languages in the New Member States 

2.1 
2.2 
2.3 
2.4 

Linguistic overview 
Statistic and language use 
Historical and geographical aspects 
Statehood and beyond 

INDIVIDUAL REPORTS 

Cyprus 

Country profile and languages 
Bibliography 

The Czech Republic 

Estonia 

Hungary 

Country profile 
German 
Polish 
  Romani 
Slovak 

  Other languages 
  Bibliography 

  Country profile 
  Russian 
  Other languages 
  Bibliography 

  Country profile 
  Croatian 
  German 
  Romani  
  Romanian 
Serbian 
Slovak 
Slovenian 

  Other languages 
  Bibliography 

5 
5 
6 
7 

8 
9 
11 
12 

16 
28 

30 
37 
44 
51 
59 
65 
73 

79 
88 
99 
108 

111 
127 
132 
138 
143 
148 
152 
156 
160 
164 

i

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Latvia 

Lithuania 

Malta 

Poland 

Slovakia 

Slovenia 

  Country profile  
  Belorussian 
Polish 
  Russian 
  Ukrainian 
  Other languages 
  Bibliography 

  Country profile 

Polish 
  Russian 
  Other languages 
  Bibliography 

Country profile and linguistic situation 

  Country profile 
  Belorussian 
  German 
  Kashubian 
Lithuanian 

  Ruthenian/Lemkish 
  Ukrainian 
  Other languages 
  Bibliography 

  Country profile 
  German 
  Hungarian 
  Romani 
  Other languages 
  Bibliography 

  Country profile 
  Hungarian 
Italian  
  Romani 

             Other languages 
  Bibliography 

167 
176 
180 
184 
189 
193 
198 

200 
207 
212 
217 
225 

227 

237 
244 
248 
255 
261 
264 
268 
273 
277 

278 
285 
290 
298 
305 
313 

316 
323 
328 
334 
337 
339 

ii

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
     
 
 
 
PREFACE i 

The  European  Union  has  been  called  the  “modern  Babel”,  a  statement  that  bears  witness  to  the 
multitude of languages and cultures whose number has remarkably increased after the enlargement of the 
Union in May of 2004. EU citizens are amazed at the linguistic diversity which surrounds them, and 
they  are  puzzled  by  the  fact  that  the  law  of  Babel  also  governs  language  use  in  administration.  The 
documentation of languages and their speech communities in the new Member States as presented in this 
report is meant to facilitate decision-making in various language-related domains. Hopefully, it will serve 
purposes that reach beyond the mere practical. In an ideal sense, it may serve to emphasise, in the minds 
of those who are involved in decision-making, that linguistic diversity is an asset which enriches national 
societies in Europe. Furthermore,  it  may  promote  awareness of the  historical  ties  of the newly  acceded 
speech communities with Western Europe and thus contribute to the renaissance of regional languages 
and cultures in the Union. 

In the 1970s, little attention was paid to the situation of regional or minority languages in the EEC 
Member States, except in the circles of experts in the newly established field of sociolinguistics and among 
cultural activists.  Then, it was widely  believed  that  the  dominant languages involved in the European 
integration  movement  would    eventually  erase  the  boundaries  between  them  and  the  smaller  speech 
communities, with the effect of widespread assimilation and integration of minorities into the communities 
of the big languages. This attitude was governed by the false assumption that the language question in the 
EEC would be solved by trends towards natural linguistic merging.  

In the 1980s, more and more results of scholarly research in the humanities became available, providing 
deeper insights into the complexity of language contacts and into the role of language for the construction 
of  regional  cultures.  Particularly  insightful  was  the  finding  that,  in  a  worldwide  comparison,  the 
significance of the mother tongue as a symbol of cultural identity appears to be stronger among European 
peoples than among many communities outside Europe. Ever since those times of a growing awareness of 
the importance of language as an asset of regional cultural heritage, the issues of regional languages have 
been acknowledged as a relevant agenda, and this has gained in weight in debates about human rights 
and  about  a  transition  from  the  European  integration  movement  to  the  establishment  of  a  European 
Union.  

In the 1990s, a new horizon opened up for the language issue and its growing importance. While, in 
earlier years, the discussion among experts and politicians who bear the responsibility for the protection of 
regional  languages  centred  on  measures  of  language  politics  and  their  implementation,  the  most  recent 
trend shows that the role of language for identity (individual and collective, that is group-oriented) is in 
focus. Practical considerations of language engineering are now overarched by concerns to guarantee EU 
citizens a conflict-free identification with their home culture.  

Euromosaic III touches upon vital interests of individuals and their living conditions. It is not surprising 
that the documentation provides insights that may highlight the vital need to preserve linguistic diversity, 
even  of  very  small  speech  communities  and  their  mother  tongues,  regardless  of  how  proficient  their 
members may be in other languages. This need to maintain the heritage of linguistic groups articulates 
itself in an elementary process: finding one’s identity through language.  

Every  individual  is  involved  in  the  process  of  identification,  and  language  is  a  crucial  factor  for  one’s 
orientation in a cultural environment. The ways in which people find their language-related identity are 
as manifold as their behavioural patterns. In an environment where several languages are in contact - 
which is typical of areas where a local language is spoken alongside a language of wider communication - 
a  lesser  used  language  may  nevertheless  have  great  importance  for  the  initial  stage  of  cultural 

i This preface on language and identity was written by Harald Haarmann following a specific request made at the 
Euromosaic III Workshop (26 June 2004). 

iii

 
 
 
                                                        
identification. Consequently, it is not only important to safeguard regional languages because they form 
part of the cultural heritage of a given country but also because they are an irreplaceable means for their 
speakers to identify with their living conditions. 

It  is  widely  recognised  that  citizens  living  in  the  European  Union  have  benefited  greatly  from 
standardisation. Almost everything has been standardised, from the regulations of the market economy to 
the size of cardboard boxes. The multitude of measures and weights, shapes and sizes has been reduced 
considerably. However, there is one domain where standardisation is a disturbing factor rather than a 
factor  which  facilitates  daily  life,  and  this  is  cultural  identification.  You  can  standardise  commercial 
goods, but you cannot standardise people’s identity. 

 Language- and culture-related issues have gained ever more attention in the past years, in the political 
arena as much as in public debate about human rights, of which the right to one’s mother tongue is one. 
The need of the individual’s identity to focus on language may always be there, regardless of the status of 
the mother tongue. The linguistic diversity in the EU countries is characterised by a variety of different 
statuses and   communicative functions for  individual languages. For example, Saami in Finland and 
Sweden  is  spoken  by  only  a  few  thousand  people,  a  dwarf  language  when  compared  with  the  titan 
English with its many millions of speakers who use it as a first, second or additional language in all of 
Europe.  This  enormous  contrast  notwithstanding,  EU  citizens  find  their  identity  in  either  of  these 
languages, with identity rooted in Saami as an anchor dug into a local culture while English serves as a 
vehicle of identification on an international and global level. 

As a rule, bilingual EU citizens who speak regional languages as their mother tongues find in them the 
basis  for  their  elementary  identity.  Even  if  the  emphasis  is  not  on  practical  communication  functions, 
each of the regional languages has its unique value as a reservoir of knowledge about a given local culture 
and the associated living conditions, as an instrument to identify with the cultural environment and as a 
symbol  of  local  traditions.  The  European  Charter  for  Regional  or  Minority  Languages  highlights  the 
importance to protect languages with this status and the pertinent roles they play.  

The  second  language  which  bilingual  people  speak  usually  functions  as  a  medium  of  wider 
communication. This knowledge of a second language widens the horizon to a Union scale, ranging from 
the status of a language of a Member State to its  use in EU  administration.  Bilingual EU citizens 
possess a multiple identity, with the language of elementary identity rooted in a local culture and with a 
second language supporting identity on a Union level. The self-confidence to be and to act as a citizen of 
the EU needs strong roots which grow from the regional languages as vehicles of the cultural traditions 
that are associated with them. Euromosaic III may ultimately contribute to the appreciation of linguistic 
diversity as a constructive element in the fabric of our “Europeanness”.  

Harald Haarmann 

iv

 
 
 
INTRODUCTION 

Background 

Following  the  restricted  Call  for  Tender  DG  EAC/57/03  of  the  European 
Commission  for  the  extension  of  Euromosaic,  the  Research  Centre  on 
Multilingualism  (RCM)  in  Brussels  has  been  entrusted  with  a  large-scale 
research  project  to  describe  the  situation  of  regional  or  minority  languages  in 
Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, 
Slovakia  and  Slovenia,  all  countries  that  joined  the  European  Union  on  1  May 
2004. The present individual reports are submitted to the Commission (DG EAC) 
in  compliance  with  the  service  contract  2003-4102/001-001.  The  project  ran 
from the end of November 2003 till mid-September 2004, with a total time of 9 
months allotted for research and reporting. 

Contributors 

These  reports  have  been  prepared  by  Jeroen  Darquennes,  Stefano  Salmasi, 
Marianne Tikka and Peter J. Weber, under the supervision of Peter H. Nelde and 
with the assistance of Anne Melis — all part of the RCM staff or “core team”. They 
have  been  assisted  by  an  extended  group  of  senior  academic  researchers  from  as 
many as 22 countries (mainly in Europe), as well as by a comprehensive network of 
other stakeholders. The main scientific collaborators and correspondents were: 

•  Nelu Bradean-Ebinger (Wirtschaftsuniversität Budapest) 
•  Nurettin Demir (Baskent University, Ankara) 
• 
Ina Druviete (University of Latvia, Riga) 
•  Hans Goebl (University of Salzburg) 
•  Franciszek Grucza (Warsaw University) 
•  Laima Grumadienė (Vilnius University)  
•  Sven Gustavsson (Uppsala University) 
•  Harald Haarmann (independent scholar and RCM collaborator) 
•  Marilena Karyolemou (University of Cyprus) 
•  Miklós Kontra (Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest) 
•  Normand Labrie (University of Toronto) 
•  Manwel Mifsud (University of Malta) 
•  Jiří Nekvapil (Charles University, Prague) 
•  Sonja Novak-Lukanovič (Institute for Ethnic Studies, Ljubljana) 
•  Slavomir Ondrejovič (Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava) 
•  Hele Pärn (Language Inspectorate, Tallinn) 
•  Miquel Strubell (Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, Barcelona) 
•  Peter Trudgill (University of Fribourg) 
•  Tomasz Wicherkiewicz (Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan)  
•  Glyn Williams (University of Wales, Bangor) 
•  Wolfgang Wölck (University at Buffalo, N.Y. and RCM senior researcher) 

Data from language use surveys were processed and analysed at the Pedagogical 
Institute of the Martin-Luther University in Halle-Wittenberg by: 

1

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
•  Jörg Otto Czimczick 
•  Peter J. Weber 
•  Silke Werner 
•  Torsten Zerull 

Other contributors include:  

•  Eleonora Andriukianec (Vilnius University) 
•  Dario  Appolonio 
Koper/Capodistria) 

(Comunità  autogestita  della  Nazionalità 

Italiana, 

•  Daiva Atkocaityte-Vaisniene (Institute of the Lithuanian Language, Vilnius) 
•  Lubica Babotova (University of Presov) 
•  Jaroslav Balvín (Municipal Council, Prague) 
•  Agnieszka Basiaga (National Minorities Division, Warsaw) 
•  Lilia Belevič (Vilnius University) 
•  Jodko Božena Vilnius University) 
•  Viktor Cernisuk (Ukrainian Community in Lithuania, Vilnius) 
•  Maria Cizmarova (University of Presov) 
•  Juraj Cvecko (Bratislava) 
•  Teresa Daleska (Vilnius University) 
•  Choli Daróczi József (Budapest) 
• 
•  Hornokné Uhrin Erzsébet (Budapest) 
• 
•  Danuta  Głowacka  (Department  of  Denominations  and  National  Minorities, 

Ivana Dorovská (University of Masaryk, Brno) 

Irena Fedorovič (Vilnius University) 

Warsaw) 
Ivana Greslikova (University of Presov) 

• 
•  Tóth Györgyné (Budapest) 
•  Nikoleta Habudova (Croatian Culture Union, Bratislava) 
•  Wendelin Hambuch (Deutscher Kulturverein, Budapest) 
•  Franz Heves (Budapest) 
•  Claudia Horváth (Slovak Press Centre, Bratislava) 
•  Jana Horvathova (Muzeum romské kultury, Bratislava) 
•  Adas Jakubauskas (Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan) 
•  Monika Jetzin (European Bureau for Lesser Used Languages) 
•  Andrzej Kaczorowski (Polish Consulate, Ostrava) 
•  Jelena Kallas (Tallinn) 
•  Krisztina Kaltenecker (Ungarndeutsches Zentrum, Budapest) 
•  Andrzej Kathny (Gdansk University) 
•  Birutì Kazlauskienì (Department of National Minorities, Vilnius)  
•  Georg Kramm (Jakob Bleyer Gemeinschaft, Budapest) 
•  Anna Kerner (Ministry of Education, Budapest) 
•  Vira Konyk (Estonian Congress of Ukrainians) 
•  Danuta Kosteneckaja (Vilnius University) 
•  Lidia Kravchenko (Riga Ukrainian Secondary School) 
•  Georg Krix (Jakob Bleyer Gemeinschaft, Budapest) 
•  Romuald Lebedek (Riga) 
•  Manfred Mayrhofer (Jakob Bleyer Gemeinschaft, Budapest) 
•  Galina Miškienė (Vilnius) 
•  Andrej Novik (Charles University, Prague) 

2

 
 
 
  
 
Imre Ritter (Landesverwaltung der Ungarndeutsche, Budapest) 

•  Svetlana Novopolskaja (Roma Community Centre, Vilnius)  
•  Kinga Novotna (Government Office, Slovak Republik) 
•  Janez Obreza (Government Office for Nationalities, Ljubljana)  
•  Beata Piasecka (Vilnius University) 
•  Anna Plišková (University of Presov) 
•  Petra Pirih (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Slovenia) 
•  Alma Radzevič (Vilnius University) 
•  Anna Rácová (Bratislava) 
•  Albena Rangelova (Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague) 
• 
•  Tóth Sándor (Budapest) 
•  Krisztina Schweighoffer (Jakob Bleyer Gemeinschaft, Budapest) 
•  Gabriela Sokolová (Slezske zemske muzeum, Opava) 
•  Olga Srajerova (Slezske zemske muzeum, Opava) 
•  Eliza Sedlikowska (Vilnius University) 
•  Sabine Selzer (Pester Lloyd, Budapest) 
•  Olga Simonovič (Vilnius University) 
•  Danuta Simanavičiute (Vilnius University) 
•  Maie Soll (Ministry of Education and Research, Tartu) 
•  Judit Solymosi (Office for National and Ethnic Minorities, Budapest) 
•  Andrej Sulitka (Government Council for National Minorities, Prague) 
•  Gizella Szabómihály (Gramma Language Office, Dunajská Streda) 
•  Agnes Szauer (Office for National and Ethnic Minorities, Budapest) 
•  Marian Szczodrowski (Gdansk University) 
•  Attila Szente (University of Miskolc) 
•  Kristina Taraškevič (Vilnius University) 
•  Kadri Teller (Ministry of Internal Affairs, Tallinn) 
•  Adam Terlecki (Kraków) 
•  Eva Tibenská (University of Bratislava) 
•  Sándor Tóth (Budapest) 
•  Jerzy Treder (Gdansk University) 
•  Erszébet Hornokné Uhrin (Budapest) 
• 
•  Anna Verschik (Tallinn Pedagogical University) 
•  Renata Vejalis (Vilnius University) 
•  Renata Voronecka (Vilnius University) 
•  Janis Waldmanis (State Agency for Latvian, Riga) 
•  Monika Wittek (Verband deutscher Gesellschaften, Zelazna) 
•  Ana Zamiakina (Vilnius University) 
•  Emmanuel Zingeris (Yiddish Museum, Vilnius) 
•  Jaroslav Žuravski (Vilnius University) 

Imre Vajda (Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest) 

Translations were made by: 

•  Dominique Anne Broady 
•  Alexandra Soska 

And revised by: 

•  Jeff Chamberlain 
•  Normand Labrie 

3

 
 
 
 
 
•  Peter H. Nelde 
•  Claude Otto 
•  Peter J. Weber 
•  Carolyn Wölck 
•  Wolfgang Wölck 

We also wish to thank:  

•  Boris Bekic (European Bureau for Lesser Used Languages) 
•  Anna Borbély (Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest) 
•  Bojan Brezigar (European Bureau for Lesser Used Languages) 
•  Antonio Bultrini (Council of Europe) 
•  Olga Cechurova (Mission of the Czech Republic to the EC, Brussels) 
•  Kacper Chmielewski (Polish Representation to the EU, Brussels) 
•  Gérald Colleaux (European Commission, DG EAC) 
•  Teresa Condeco (European Commission, DG EAC) 
•  Jacques Delmoly (European Commission, DG EAC) 
•  László Flórián (Mission of Slovakia to the EC, Brussels) 
•  Martina Jirasová (Government Council for National Minorities, Prague) 
•  Väino Reinart (Estonian Mission to the EU, Brussels) 
•  Vera Jerabkova (Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs) 
•  Lenka Matejková (Muzeum romské kultury, Bratislava) 
•  The Melkonian Educational Institute (Cyprus) 
•  Milan Pospíšil (Government Council for National Minorities, Prague) 
•  Daniela Murillo Sambo (European Commission, DGT) 
•  Pavel Telic ka (Mission of the Czech Republic to the EC, Brussels) 
•  Silvia Vivallo-Varela (European Commission, DGT) 
•  Markus Warasin (European Bureau for Lesser Used Languages) 

The  Euromosaic  III  project  has  benefited  from  a  very  extensive  network  of 
contacts and collaborators, and it is possible that a few names or affiliations are 
incorrect  or  missing  from  the  above  list.  The  RCM  staff  wish  to  apologise,  and 
would  be  happy  to  make  the  appropriate  amendments  when  notified.  All 
suggestions  for  updating  the  reports,  as  well  as  for  improvements  and 
constructive criticism are welcome and should be sent to: 

euromosaic@kubrussel.ac.be 

Brussels, 15 September 2004 

Jeroen Darquennes, Senior researcher 
Anne Melis, Assistant 
Peter H. Nelde, Director of the RCM 
Stefano Salmasi, Project manager 
Marianne Tikka, Junior researcher 
Peter J. Weber, Senior researcher 

4

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1  METHODOLOGY  

1.1 

v) 

experts 

and  other 

stakeholders, 

language  use 

For  the  individual  reports  five  main  sources  were  used:  i)  secondary  sources,  ii) 
official authorities of the new Member States, iii) language group correspondents, iv) 
surveys 
academic 
((http://europa.eu.int/comm/education/policies/lang/languages/ 
langmin/ 
euromosaic/synthesis_en.pdf).  Source  i)  essentially  consisted  in  desk  research, 
while a series of questionnaires was used to collect information from sources ii), iii), 
iv) and v). The questionnaires were similar to those used for Euromosaic I and II, but 
were extensively revised, updated, and in some case shortened. Unlike Euromosaic I 
and II — which were based on an interdisciplinary approach within the social sciences 
—  the  information  collected  was  not  quantitatively  comparable,  except  in  the 
language  use  surveys.  The  main  approach  was  thus  basically  descriptive  and 
qualitative,  and  informed  by  a  general  principle  of  source  diversification.  The 
questionnaires  for  ii),  iii)  and  iv)  —  developed  and  sent  out  mostly  in  English  and 
German — did not contain the same questions; however, they were subdivided into 
similar  sections  to  facilitate  data  analysis.  Responses  to  the  questionnaires  varied 
considerably,  both  qualitatively  and  quantitatively.  Although  an  effort  was  made  to 
produce  reports  that  would  read  consistently,  this  diversity  is  naturally  reflected  in 
the end results. In some cases the existing material (such as the reports concerning 
the implementation of the European Charter or the Framework Convention) was very 
exhaustive  and  has  been  used  extensively,  with  appropriate  acknowledgements.  All 
reports  should  be  read  bearing  in  mind  that  there  can  be  a  considerable  difference 
between the de jure and the de facto situation of a language, masking a more or less 
favourable situation, as the case may be. 

1.2 

Individual reports consist of i) a country profile, ii) single language group reports, 
and  iii)  a  synthesis  of  other  languages  within  the  country  (where  relevant).  Their 
structure is as follows: 

Country profile 

[name of the country] 

Introduction 
General aspects 
Demographic data 
Language policy 
The European dimension 

1. 
2. 
3. 
4. 
5. 
Language group reports 

[name of the language] 

1.  General information 

1.1 
1.2 
1.3 

The language 
History, geography and demography 
Legal status and official policies 

2.  Presence and use of the language in various fields 

  2.1 
  2.2 
  2.3 
  2.4 
  2.5 
  2.6 
  2.7 
  2.8  

Education 
Judicial authorities 
Public authorities and services 
Mass media and information technology 
Arts and culture 
The business world 
Family and the social use of the language 
The European dimension 

3.  Conclusion 

[Other languages] 
[Bibliography] 

5

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
It is the same for all countries, except Cyprus and Malta where the country profiles 
are  an  integral  part  of  the  general  linguistic  description.  The  country  profile  has 
been designed to provide a context where regional and minority languages can be 
better placed and understood. Accordingly, the information in the introduction, in 
the general aspects and in the demographic data is not extraneous, but is meant to 
be as relevant as possible to the general linguistic situation of the country, and to 
the language policy paragraph. The European dimension summarises cross-border 
and transnational cooperation measures taken at the national level. The individual 
language group reports present the same domains as in Euromosaic I and II, and 
summarise  conclusions  on  the  basis  of  the  research  results.  Other  languages  are 
described insofar as information was available, and the paragraphs roughly follow 
the same pattern of the language group reports. Internet addresses appear either in 
the  text  or  in  the  bibliography  at  the  end  of  each  country:  in  the  latter  case  the 
corresponding  hyperlinks  appear  in  the  text.  Efforts  have  been  made  to  provide 
autoglotonyms (i.e., the word speakers use to refer to their language) and original 
titles  for  legislative  measures  and  organisations/associations,  as  well  as  for  the 
legal status of the languages.  

1.3 

Unlike in the previous Euromosaic I and II, the Call for Tender specified that the 
language list should be established on the basis of the definition provided by the 
Council  of  Europe  in  Article  1  of  the  European  Charter  for  Regional  or  Minority 
Languages: 

For the purposes of this Charter [italics ours]: 

a) 

“regional or minority languages” means languages that are: 

(i) 

traditionally used within a given territory of a State by nationals of 
that State who form a group numerically smaller than the rest of the 
State's population; and 

(ii) 

different from the official language(s) of that State; 

b) 

c) 

it does not include either dialects of the official language(s) of the State or 
the languages of migrants; 

“territory  in  which  the  regional  or  minority  language  is  used”  means  the 
geographical area in which the said language is the mode of expression of a 
number  of  people  justifying  the  adoption  of  the  various  protective  and 
promotional measures provided for in this Charter; 

“non-territorial languages” means languages used by nationals of the State 
which differ from the language or languages used by the rest of the State's 
population but which, although traditionally used within the territory of the 
State, cannot be identified with a particular area thereof. 

Such a definition raises a series of difficult questions. First of all, the Charter itself 
provides  no  list  of  languages,  explaining  that  this  would  be  highly  “disputed  on 
linguistic  and  other  grounds”.2  This  correctly  reflects  the  impossibility  of  giving 
any  scientific  definition  of  a  regional  or  minority  language.  Qualification  is  still 
possible,  but  occurs  only  within  specific  purposes.  The  Charter  leaves  to  the 
signatory  states  the  responsibility  of  identifying    languages  which  fall  within  its 
scope,3 and these are normally specified in the instrument of ratification.4 But the 

2 Explanatory Report, §21. 
3 Explanatory Report, §40. 

6

 
 
                                                        
Charter  was  in  force  only  in  Cyprus,  Hungary  and  Slovakia,  among  the  new 
Member  States:  where  it  is  not  in  force,  which  languages  can  be  considered  as 
regional or minority languages for the Charter’s purposes? For example, how long 
does it take for a language to be “traditionally used”? There are cases of languages 
that are “traditional” but have been discontinued within a given territory, because 
of  displacements  or  border  changes.  Are  there  criteria  to  identify  a  “territory” 
where  the  number  of  language  speakers  justifies  “the  adoption  of  […]  protective 
and  promotional  measures”?  In  the  new  Member  States  linguistic  minorities  are 
often dispersed and — among languages that are currently covered by the Charter 
— membership varies to a significant extent.5 Would the exclusion of “languages of 
migrants” or of non-nationals affect Russian speakers in the Baltic states6 or Roma 
communities,  and  how  are  recent  immigrants  to  be  distinguished  from  old  ones? 
Such  issues  are  particularly  relevant  in  the  new  Member  States,  which  have 
undergone radical changes over the last decades. The authors of the Charter were 
themselves quite aware of the diversity of language situations across Europe, and 
carefully avoided defining categories of languages.7 Euromosaic III research results 
fully endorsed this position; accordingly, languages have not been classified. At the 
same  time,  however,  the  objective  of  the  Call  for  Tender  was  to  describe  the 
presence  of  regional  and  minority  language  groups.  This  implied  a  different  and 
possibly broader scope of investigation. Almost all of the new Member States have 
ratified  the  Framework  Convention  for  the  Protection  of  National  Minorities. 
Although the Convention does not give a definition of minority — and only few of 
the  signatory  states  list  or  define  what  they  consider  as  minorities  within  the 
Convention’s scope — many of the state and experts’ reports submitted within the 
monitoring  process  were  available  and  could  be  used  extensively  as  information 
sources,  in  conjunction  with  all  other  Euromosaic  III  sources  (⇒  1.1),  state 
authorities included. Finally, the Charter is a dynamic and flexible instrument. The 
investigation was as comprehensive as possible to take into account the Charter’s 
development  and  purpose,  which  is  essentially  cultural.  Yet  a  minimum  of 
information  had  to  be  available  for  language  groups  to  be  taken into consideration. 
The  “language  list”  thus  remained  provisional  until  the  very  end,  and  was 
inductively established ex post on the basis of research results. The Euromosaic III 
approach  is  informative  and  descriptive,  and  hopefully  awareness  raising,  but 
certainly  not  prescriptive.  Inclusion  or  exclusion  of  a  language  for  the  Charter’s 
purposes can only be determined by those agents who are directly and legitimately 
involved in the process. 

1.4 

Despite  the  fact  that  the  RCM  staff  is  proficient  in  eight  languages,  and  that  the 
extended  team  is  competent  in  all  official  languages  of  the  (old  and  new)  EU 
Members States, a choice regarding the working languages of the project had to 
be  made.  These  were  not  pre-determined  but  have  been  made  dependent  on 
practical  considerations.  In  the  first  place,  it  was  a  requirement  of  the  European 
Commission that the final reports be submitted in English, French and German. In 
providing  information  on  the  different  language  groups,  it  was  decided  to  allow 
correspondents to write in the working language of his/her choice, so as to ensure 
the highest quality of the work. Most correspondents chose English, some German; 
reports were then drafted accordingly. The language use surveys demanded a more 
linguistic  competence.  All  reports  were  then  revised  by  the 
diversified 

4 Declarations are available from 
http://conventions.coe.int/treaty/Commun/ListeDeclarations.asp?NT=148&CM=1&DF=&CL=ENG&VL=1  
5 E.g. Croatian and Hungarian minorities in Slovakia amount to 890 and 520,528 people, respectively, equivalent to 
0.01% and 9.67% of the total population (2001 census). 
6 Where they amount to more than 1.2 million people (Euromosaic III estimates). 
7 Cf. Explanatory Report, §20 (ibid.). For the ongoing debate on the interpretation of the Charter see Thornberry, P. and 
Martin Estébanez, M.A., Minority Rights in Europe, Council of Europe Publishing (2004), to which parts of this chapter 
are indebted.  

7

 
 
                                                                                                                                                                        
core/extended team and professionally translated into all languages required. To 
minimise the occurrence of mismatches between language versions, care was taken 
to translate versions that were as final as possible, and collation took place at the 
end. 

2 

REGIONAL  OR  MINORITY  LANGUAGES  IN  THE  NEW 
MEMBER STATES 

2.1  Linguistic overview 

2.1.1  Regional or minority languages in the new Member States belong to four different 
language families, i) Indo-European, ii) Uralic, iii) Turkic and iv) Semitic. The 
vast  majority  (three  quarters)  are  Indo-European.  Here,  with  the  exception  of 
Sorbian  —  whose  eastern  and  southern  limits  are  not  far  from  the  borders  with 
Poland  and  the  Czech  Republic  respectively  —  virtually  all  current  Slavonic 
languages  (Belorussian,  Bosnian,  Bulgarian,  Croatian,  Czech,  Macedonian, 
Serbian,  Slovenian,  Slovak,  Polish,  Kashubian,  Russian  and  Ukrainian)  are 
represented.  Kashubian  is  the  surviving  variety  of  a  language  whose  western 
dialect,  Slovincian,  became  extinct  in  the  20th  century.  Ruthenian,  sometimes 
considered to be a dialect of Ukrainian, but independently recognised by Slovakia 
under  the  Charter,  adds  to  the  Slavonic  group.  The  extant  Croatian-speaking 
community of Moravia stands out as a link providing linguistic continuity between 
west and south Slavonic languages. Among the other Indo-European languages are 
Lithuanian  and  Latvian  (they  are  Baltic  languages),  then  Armenian,  Romani  and 
Greek. The Germanic group includes only German and Yiddish, while the presence 
of  the  Romance  languages  is  limited  to  Italian  and  Romanian.  Romani,  of  the 
Indo-Iranian  branch,  is  a  collective  name  for  a  number  of  Romani  and  para-
Romani  dialects  that  resulted  from  different  strata.  The  denomination  “Roma”  is 
particularly  appropriate  in  the  central  and  eastern  European  context,  where  the 
relevance  of  non-Roma  Gypsy  groups  is  less  marked  than  in  the  EU15  Member 
States.8  The  Uralic  languages  are  represented  by  Estonian,  Finnish  (including 
Ingrian  Finnish),  Hungarian  and  Livonian,  which  is  nearly  extinct.  The  Turkic 
family has Karaim, Tatar and Turkish.9 The only minority language of the Semitic 
family is Cypriot Arabic, Maltese being an official and national language of Malta. 
Thus, the range of language families and branches in the new Member States is as 
diversified as in the EU12 Member States, although different in kind.  

2.1.2 

In  the  EU12  Member  States,  more  than  three  quarters  of  the  minorities  spoke  a 
language which belongs to a language family or branch which is different from that 
of the “majority” language in the respective country; in the new Member States the 
proportion is slightly lower (i.e., two thirds). This comparatively higher occurrence 
of  linguistic  proximity  may  indicate  that  mutual  intelligibility  between 
minority  and  majority  languages  is  more  frequent,  but  this  is  “high”  or  “average” 
only  in  25%  of  the  linguistic  pairs.  One  of  the  reasons  is  that  two  of  the 
genealogically  “apart”  languages  —  German  and  Romani  —  are  present  in  all 
Central  and  Eastern  European  countries,  drastically  reducing  the  number  of 
favourable combinations; another is the presence of a Uralic “island” (Hungarian) 
in Central Europe. The degree of linguistic affinity is relevant, for it may facilitate 
the  process  of  assimilation  —  not  only  of  the  minority  language  group  into  the 
majority population, but also between minorities (⇒ 2.2.4). Conversely, linguistic 
distance  may  help  resist  assimilation  —  but  also  make  social  integration  with  the 

8 Cf. Jean-Pierre Liégeois, Roma, Gypsies, Travellers (Council of Europe, 1994). 
9 Which is formally a co-official language in Cyprus. 

8

 
 
 
                                                        
majority  population  more  difficult.10  It  should  be  stressed,  however,  that  the 
importance  of  linguistic  proximity  is  relative,  for  lack  of  mutual  intelligibility 
depends on social factors as well — and has a varying impact.11 

2.1.3  As  far  as  writing  systems  are  concerned,  the  Roman  alphabet  is  the  most 
widespread  and is used  for more  than half of the languages, including  Maltese — 
the  only  case  of  a  Semitic  language  written  in  the  Roman  alphabet.  The  Cyrillic 
alphabet, being the most current script among Orthodox Slavs, typifies all eastern 
Slavonic  languages  (Russian,  Ukrainian,  Belorussian)  and  two  of  the  southern 
Slavonic  languages  (Serbian  and  Bulgarian),  but  is  also  used  for  Tatar.  Slavonic 
languages  spoken  by  groups  with  a  Catholic  tradition  (Croatian,  Czech,  Polish,  
Slovak  and  Slovenian  )  use  the  Roman  script.  Greek,  Arabic  and  Armenian  have 
their  own  writing  systems,  while  Karaim  is  written  with  Hebrew  characters. 
Romani and Livonian lack a written standard and have been rendered with various 
systems.  In  historical  terms,  the  variety  of  alphabets  reflects  not  only  religious 
affiliation  but  also  political  and/or  socio-cultural  developments  of  corpus 
planning.12  

2.2  Statistics and language use 

2.2.1  While  the  Euromosaic  I  study  (EU12  Member  States)  listed  48  linguistic 
communities, in the new Member States there are approx. 90 minority groups 
that  can  be  distinguished  on  a  linguistic  basis.  There  are  other  considerable 
differences. In at least half of the new Member States13 minorities account for more 
than  10%  of  the  total  population,14  with  a  very  wide  spectrum:  Malta  declared  to 
have  no  minorities,15  while  in  Latvia,  Latvian  speakers  officially  amount  to  only 
59.7%  of  the  population.16  In  the  EU12  Member  States,  minorities  exceeded  the 
proportion of 10% only in Spain.17 However, it should be considered that the new 
Member  States  have  also  much  smaller  populations.  They  average  slightly  more 
than 7.4 million inhabitants, as against the almost 26 million of the EU15 Member 
States.18 The largest regional or minority language group are the Russian speakers 
in  all  Baltic  states  (Estonia,  Latvia  and  Lithuania),  with  more  than  1,2  million 
members  according  to  latest  censuses.  Half  of  them  are  in  Latvia  where  ethnic 
minorities count for almost 50% of the total population. Indeed, in all three Baltic 
states  regional  or  minority  language  groups  exceed  15%  of  the  total  state 
population. Next in terms of language membership are Romani and Hungarian. In 
a context where Central and Eastern European countries host 70% of all the Gypsy 
communities of Europe,19 the proportion of Romani speakers in the new Member 
States  is  likely  to  average  60%  of  the  Roma  population  as  against  37%  at  the 
European  level.  However,  the  lack  of  reliable  statistics  for  Romani  makes  it  very 
hard  to  suggest  numbers.  This  is  clear  when  looking  at  the  gap  between  official 
data  and  other  estimates:  in  the  new  Member  States,  censuses  (where  available) 
indicate  approximately  300,000  Roma  and  200,000  people  having  Romani  as  a 
mother  tongue,  while  estimates  suggest  that  Roma  communities  count  up  to  1.5 

10 As is the case for Russian-speaking groups in the Baltics. 
11 E.g., in the Baltic states the distance between Russian (a Slavonic language) and Latvian/Lithuanian (Baltic languages) 
or Estonian (a Finno-Ugric language) affect a very large numbers of people.  
12 Such as the adoption of the Roman script for Turkish in Turkey and Maltese in Malta. 
13 Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia and Slovenia. 
14 According to official data (latest censuses). 
15 Under the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities. 
16 Census 2004. 
17 In 2001 Catalans alone accounted for 10.3% of the total population (in Catalonia). 
18 Data from C. Pan and B. S. Pfeil, National Minorities in Europe – Handbook  (Ethnos n. 63), Braumüller 2003. 
19 Cf. Jean-Pierre Liégeois, Roma, Gypsies, Travellers, ibid. 

9

 
 
 
                                                        
2.2.2 

2.2.3 

million  members,  and  more  than  half  a  million  people  using  Romani  dialects. 
Hungarian  is  declared  as  a  mother  tongue  by  more  than  half  a  million  people  in 
Slovakia alone. The German language has at least 280,000 speakers in the 10 new 
Member states  : most of them are in Poland,  the country  which probably has  the 
largest number of minority language speakers.  

It is by no means easy to determine the number of speakers when there are no 
data  available  from  specific  surveys.  The  official  figures  refer  to  mother  tongue 
speakers  or  comparable  categories  in  censuses.  It  is  well  known,  however,  that 
statements on “mother tongue” never reflect the number of people that actually use 
the language. One of the reasons is that the declaration refers to a moment in time 
that has passed, so that a language which is reported as the mother tongue of a few 
hundred speakers in the census may have been assimilated or even become extinct 
in a decade. More commonly, the mother tongue does not always coincide with the 
language first learnt and used for social interaction. In Hungary, the ratio between 
people  using  Slovak  or  German  and  those  declaring  those  languages  as  their 
mother  tongue  exceeds  150%.20  This  shows  that  a  census  should  be  interpreted 
only within a national context, as a declaration of language loyalty (and/or ethnic 
identity);  while  for  an  internationally  comparative  study,  or  an  estimation  of  the 
number  of  speakers,  the  census  figures  must  take  into  account  the  prevailing 
political  and  ideological  conditions  within  that  country.  Another  problem  is  that 
the difference between official statistics and (unofficial) estimates can be very high, 
as  was  clear  in  the  case  of  Romani.  Yet  another  difficulty  lies  in  the  fact  that  the 
language  declared  may  actually  be  considered  as  a  dialect  of  the  language 
concerned,  or  another  language  altogether,  depending  on  the  attitude  of  the 
respondent  in  the  census.  Ruthenian  is  a  case  in  point:  some  consider  it  not  as  a 
separate  language  but  as  a  dialect  of  Ukrainian,  and  may  report  accordingly; 
Macedonian could be Bulgarian, a Greek dialect or (Slavo-) Macedonian.21 Finally, 
many people are often bilingual or trilingual, and the language they declare in one 
census is not always the same they report in the next.22  

If there are comparable data across census periods (normally ten years), a decline 
or  an  increase  in  the  number  of  people  declaring  a  language  to  be  their  mother 
tongue may be telling, but such data cannot be considered in isolation. A negative 
language trend paralleled by a fall in the “corresponding” ethnic identity and the 
increased use of the “majority” language or identification with the ethnic majority, 
for  example,  may  indicate  language  shift  and  assimilation;  a  declining  ethnic 
membership  and  a  high  average  age  of  the  language  speakers  almost  invariably 
points  to  language  shift,  for  reproduction  is  no  longer  ensured.  An  increase  of 
mother  tongue  speakers  can  be  a  positive  sign,  but  again  this  is  relative.  It  is 
possible, for example, that higher figures are determined by immigration from kin 
states.  And  the  newcomers  do  not  necessarily  share  the  same  minority  language, 
nor  the  same  cultural  assumptions.  Declarations  of  ethnicity  or  nationality  can 
provide another context, but such figures are even more relative. In the first place, 
ethnic allegiance can vary considerably in periods of social and political change. In 
the Czech Republic, the number of those declaring Moravian and Silesian identities 
dropped by more than 70% in just ten years.23 Shifting and multiple identities are 
common  in  Central  and  Eastern  European  Member  States,  where  six  states  have 
been  newly  created  or  recreated  since  1991-9224.  Sometimes,  however,  the 
comparison  (ratio)  between  declared  language  and  declared  ethnicity  mirrors  a 

20 2001 Census. 
21 Depending on the geographical area and/or the respondents’ attitude. 
22 This is true of identity declarations as well, and often depends on the social or political circumstances affecting the 
minority group in question. 
23 Between 1991 and 2001. 
24 The Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia and Slovenia, as pointed out by C. Pan and B. S. Pfeil, ibid. 

10

 
 
                                                        
specific  situation.  Such  values  are  extremely  relative,  especially  when  there  is  a 
considerable difference between official and estimated data, but may — in context 
— reflect the importance given to the language as an identity marker. For example, 
people declaring Belorussian, Russian and Ukrainian ethnicities have all decreased 
by  more  than  25%  in  Estonia,  Latvia  and  Lithuania  with  respect  to  previous 
censuses.  But  the  number  of  those  declaring  Russian  as  a  mother  tongue  has  not 
decreased correspondingly, and is even higher (at least in Estonia and Latvia) than 
those  stating  Russian  nationality  —  in  contrast  to  Belorussian  and  Ukrainian, 
which have a very low language/ethnicity ratio in all three Baltic countries. This is 
because on the one hand Russian displays a strong intergenerational transmission; 
on the other, it has partly assimilated the other two languages.25 

2.2.4  Although  extremely  difficult  to  determine  without  reliable  data,  a 

few 
considerations on language use in the new Member States can be made on the 
basis  of  the  individual  country  and  language  reports,  as  well  as  the  language  use 
surveys  and  case  studies.  In  the  first  place,  although  competence  in  the  minority 
language is high in some cases, linguistic (and ethnic) assimilation seems to be rather 
common in all the Central and Eastern EU countries. This is suggested by the trends 
concerning mother tongue and ethnicity, with a decline in 50% or more of the cases in 
both census categories. Language group endogamy (i.e., marriage within the language 
community)  also  appears  to  be  low in  many cases.26  Here,  linguistic  proximity  (⇒ 
2.1.2)  between  the  regional  or  minority  language  and  the  state  official  language 
plays a role.27 In many cases the attitude towards the language — and the importance 
attached  to  the  language  as  an  identity  marker  —  appears  to  be  very  strong.  It  is 
certainly so in the languages surveyed, pointing towards a very high relevance of the 
cultural  dimension.  The  use  of  regional  or  minority  languages  in  education  varies 
considerably,  and  depends  on  a  number  of  factors,  such  as  the  legal  status  of  the 
language, the existence of a linguistic standard, the availability of teaching material, 
or the  territorial distribution of the language group (⇒ 2.3.2).  

2.3  Historical and geographical aspects 

2.3.1  There are not many autochthonous linguistic minorities in the new Member States, 
unlike  in  the  the  EU15  Member  States.  Most  of  the  present  regional  or  minority 
language  groups  are  due  to  population  movements  and  border  changes,  and  can 
rarely be pinned down to a single moment in time.28 There are some exceptions, 
such as the expansion of the Ottoman Empire, which in the 16th century led to the 
establishment  of  Croatian-speaking  groups  in  Hungary,  Slovakia,  Moravia.  But 
unlike  in  Western  Europe,  regional  and  minority  language  groups  derive  from 
highly  fragmented  and  decentralised  political  spaces  (e.g.,  the  Austro-Hungarian 
Empire  or  the  Soviet  Union).  This  also  resulted  in  a  freedom  of  movement  that 
facilitated  settlements  within  borders,  with  the  consequence  that  most  regional 
and  minority  languages  spoken  in  the  new  Member  States  are  also  state  and/or 
official  languages  in  bordering  countries.29  German  has  a  particular  history.  It 

25 Which are also Eastern Slavonic languages and therefore have a high degree of mutual intelligibility.  
26 Language group endogamy does not guarantee in itself a high level of language reproduction, but represents a condition 
whereby the family can serve as the main agency of reproduction. 
27 An good example in the EU is Frisian,where language group endogamy is fairly high. In the 1970s, around 40,000 in-
migrants entered the Frisian-speaking area. When both parents speak the language almost all of the families use Frisian 
for interaction, and most of them do so also when one parent speaks Frisian and the other Dutch. The key factor in this 
respect is the ease of learning Frisian for Dutch speakers, given the similarity between the two languages. 
28 See also the European Parliament’s Working Paper on Lesser-Used Languages in states applying for EU membership 
(Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Poland and Slovenia), EDUC 106 EN Rev.1, 2001. 
29 Belorussian, Croatian, Czech, Estonian, German, Hungarian, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Polish, Romanian, Russian, 
Serbian, Slovak, Slovenian and Ukrainian. 

11

 
 
 
                                                        
spread chiefly in the middle ages, through various migrations and settlements, and 
became  extremely  widespread  in  Central  Europe  (especially  in  the  Czech  Lands, 
Hungary  and  Poland).  After  the  II  World  War  most  Germans  were  displaced  or 
deported,  and  other  minorities  were  often  resettled  in  their  place.  Most  Greeks 
arrived  in  the  Czech  Republic  and  Hungary  because  of  the  civil  war  (1947-1949). 
Many Russians, Belorussians and Ukrainians are post-war migrants, especially in 
the  Baltics,  but  there  are  also  settlements  of  Old  Believers  (17th  century)  and 
refugees  from  the  Russian  revolution  (1920s).  Because  of  these  population 
movements,  old  and  new  linguistic  minorities  are  often  undistinguishable  in 
censuses.30 

2.3.2  As to the territorial distribution of language groups, a first consideration to be 
made is that the average dispersal rate of regional and minority language groups in 
the new Member States is high. Compact language groups are found, but more at 
the  local  rather  than  the  regional  level;  and  there  are  few  areas  where  minority 
language groups constitute the majority.31 In comparison, the language minorities 
considered under Euromosaic I were very often compact and mainly distributed at 
the  regional  level:  Catalan  and  Basque  in  Spain,  Friulian  and  Sardinian  in  Italy, 
Frisian  in  the  Netherlands,  Welsh  in  the  UK  to  name  but  a  few.  This  situation 
directly  impacts  on  minority  languages,  for  dispersal  can  be  an  obstacle  to  the 
implementation of specific policies.32 However, it should be stressed that minority 
language groups in the new Member States do not fall within a single nor coherent 
pattern.  The  geographical  dispersal  can  be  paralleled  by  a  simultaneous 
concentration of speakers of the same language in other areas, either urban and/or 
rural, bordering or inland. Historical population movements are the main cause of 
this  phenomenon,  and  the  “border  area”  linguistic  minority  features  prominently 
in  almost  all  of  the  new  Member  States.  In  some  cases  groups  were  previously 
concentrated. Such is the situation of the German-speaking communities who were 
evacuated  after  World  War  II  or  of  the  Ukrainians  in  Poland,  but  also  of  smaller 
groups like the Maronites in Cyprus. In the EU12 Member States there were fewer 
linguistic  minorities  in  border  areas,  consistent  with  the  presence  of  several 
languages  having  no  kin  states  (⇒  2.4).  Another  distinct  feature  in  the  new 
Member States is the traditional establishment of large minority language groups 
in  capital  cities  like  Budapest  and  Prague,  a  legacy  of  the  rich  urban  multilingual 
environments  during  the  Austro-Hungarian  Empire.33  The  urban  pattern  is  also 
common  in  the  Baltics,  especially  for  the  Russian-speaking  groups,  but  is  mainly 
due to the immigration waves in industrial areas during the Soviet period. All the 
elements  above  suggest  that  the  core-periphery  distribution  which  was  identified 
under Euromosaic I cannot be taken for granted in the new Member States.34 

2.4  Statehood and beyond 

2.4.1  The notion of kin state — i.e., a country where the regional or minority language 
is a state35 official language, and therefore potentially able to serve as a support in 
various  forms  —  is  particularly  relevant  to  regional  or  minority  languages  in  the 
new  Member  States.  Three  quarters  of  them  have  kin  states;  these  are  almost  all 

30 For a debate on the issue, see Tom Cheesman, ‘Old’ and ‘New’ Lesser-Used Languages of Europe: Common Cause?, 
in Camille C.O’ Reilly, ed., Language, Ethnicity and the State Vol. 1 (Palgrave, 2001:87). 
31 E.g. Russian speakers in parts of Estonia or Latvia. 
32 For example, the establishment of minority schools in a specific area, due to an insufficient number of students. 
33 This is of course true also for Austrian minorities living in Vienna. 
34 Cf. Euromosaic – the production and reproduction of the minority language groups in the European Union, European 
Commission, ibid., p. 7 ff. 
35 E.g., teaching material, broadcasting, etc. 

12

 
 
 
                                                        
2.4.2 

the  new  Member  States  (The  Czech  Republic,  Estonia,  Greece,  Hungary,  Latvia, 
Lithuania,  Poland,  Slovakia  and  Slovenia)  beside  others  in  the  rest  of  the  EU 
(Austria,  Finland,  Germany,  Italy  and  Sweden)  and  several  non-EU  countries 
(Belarus,  Bulgaria,  Russia,  Ukraine,  Yugoslavia).  Most  of  the  kin  states  are  also 
neighbouring  countries.  This  reflects  the  considerable  amount  of  border  changes 
and  population  movements  (resettlements,  migrations)  which  have  typified 
Eastern  and  Central  European  countries.  There  are  only  eight  “stateless”  or 
“unique” languages: Cypriot Arabic, Karaim, Kashubian, Romani, Ruthenian, Tatar 
and Yiddish, half as many as in Euromosaic I, whose list included Basque, Breton, 
Catalan,36 Cornish, Corsican, Frisian, Gaelic, Friulian, Galician, Ladin, Mirandese, 
Occitan,  Saami,  Sardinian,  Sorbian  and  Welsh.  More  importantly,  the  estimated 
membership  of  stateless  languages  in  the  new  Member  States  is  very  low  (if  we 
exclude Romani, given the difficulty of showing reliable figures), while in the EU12 
Member States is of almost 15 million, corresponding to more than 75% of the total 
number of regional or minority language speakers. In the EU, English is the only 
language with a kin state that has no minorities that one could consider as such in 
terms  of  the  Charter  or  the  Convention;  it  is  also  the  only  language  which  enjoys 
co-official status in countries officially having no minorities.37 

It  has  rightly  been  pointed  out  that  the  notion  of  “kin  state”  is  relative,  for  any 
support depends on a series of factors such as identity38, the “standardness” of the 
language  spoken  by  the  minority,39  and  the  political  relations  between  countries. 
“If  their  respective  political  agendas  are  mutually  incompatible,  a  conflictual 
relationship  between  external  minority  and  kin  state  is  just  as  likely”.40  Although 
nations  and  kinships  are  “constructs”,41  they  can  be  very  powerful  ones  — 
especially in the new Member States, where “the modernist model of the state […] 
still  dominates”  and  ethnicity  plays  an  important  role.42  Hungary,  Latvia, 
Lithuania,  Poland,  Slovakia  and  Slovenia  have  all  endorsed  bilateral  agreements 
this 
with  countries  where 
background,  the  1991  Treaty  on  Good  Neighbourly  Relations  and  Cooperation 
between  Germany  and  Poland  served  as  a  model  for  other  treaties  that  Germany 
signed with other states in Central and Eastern Europe.43 Another relevant factor 
within interstate relations is whether the kin state is part of the European Union or 
not.  In  this  light,  Slovenian-  and  Hungarian-speaking  communities  in  Italy  and 
Austria are likely to benefit from the fact that their languages have become official 
languages  of  the  EU  institutions,  just  as  many  of  the  other  regional  and  minority 
languages  in  the  new  Member  States.  The  same  cannot  be  said  for  Belorussian, 
Russian and Ukrainian among others. In light of the different situation in Western 
Europe  and  in  Central  and  Eastern  European  countries,  the  notion  of  “stateless” 
language  in  the  enlarged  Union  should  be  further  refined.  For  example,  the 
position  of  most  of  the  stateless  language  groups  in  Western  Europe  is  radically 

linguistic  minorities  are  established.  Against 

36 Although this is a state official language [llengua oficial de l'Estat] in Andorra. 
37 Ireland and Malta.  
38  The  SMiLE  report  (ibid.,  p.  177)  points  to  the  examples  of  the  Swedish-speaking  Finns  (who  do  not  consider 
themselves Swedish) or the French-speaking Swiss (who do not consider themselves French).  
39 Regional or minority languages can be considerably removed from the modern standards used in the kin state (e.g. the 
Croatian spoken in Moravia), or conceal multiple standards. E.g., beside standard German or Dutch in France there are 
two  local  “stateless”  varieties  —  Alsatian  and  West  Flemish,  respectively  —  which  are also  considered  to  be  regional 
languages [langues régionales]. 
40 Stefan Wolff, From Irredentism to Constructive Reconciliation? Germany and its Minorities in Poland and the Czech 
Republic. In Camille C.O’ Reilly, ed., Language, Ethnicity and the State, Vol. 2 (Palgrave, 2001:87). 
41 SMiLE report, ibid., p. 177. 
42 Cf. Camille C.O’ Reilly, Introduction: Minority Languages, Ethnicity and the State in Post-1989 Eastern Europe. In 
Language, Ethnicity and the State, Vol. 2, ibid., p. 11. 
43  Cf.  Stefan  Wolff,  From  Irredentism  to  Constructive  Reconciliation?  Germany  and  its  Minorities  in  Poland  and  the 
Czech Republic. Ibid., p. 11. 

13

 
 
                                                        
different in  an important respect:  most of them  are regionally compact (⇒ 2.3.2) 
and enjoy varying degrees of devolution. 

2.4.3  As  mentioned  before,  the  fact  that  Eastern  and  Central  European  countries  have 
undergone radical political changes over the last two decades naturally impacts 
upon  the  situation  of  regional  and  minority  languages.  The  Soviet  period  deeply 
affected  the  social  and  economic  pattern  of  many  of  the  new  Member  States, 
especially in the Baltics.44 In the educational system, Russian was the first foreign 
language taught throughout Eastern Europe until the 1990s.45 This restructuring of 
the political space stands in sharp contrast with the more traditionally established 
nation-states  in  Western  EU  countries,  which  also  exhibit  a  higher  degree  of 
political devolution at the regional or local government level — directly relevant to 
language groups.46 Nation-building and/or ethnic issues are still very much on the 
agenda in the new Member States. In the Baltics, this mirrors the desire to recover 
historical  elements  of  nation-  and  statehood.47  In  almost  all  of  the  new  Member 
States  the  national/state  languages  have  been  made  official  constitutionally  or  by 
statute,48  mostly  in  the  1990s.49  In  Estonia  and  Latvia  all  languages  that  are 
different from the state language are officially defined as “foreign languages”. With 
the exception of Hungary and Slovenia, self-government for minorities appears to 
be  more  limited  than  in  Western  European  countries,  where  several  minority 
languages enjoy co-official status at the local, regional or even state level.50 Where 
devolution  allows,  the  sub-state  structure  itself  can  determine  official  status  at 
various levels.51 Another difference from the new Member States is that  there are 
minority  languages  which  are  considered  as  (co-)national  languages:52  these 
languages, which are defined as “less widely used official languages” in terms of the 
Charter,53  enjoy  almost  the  same  status  as  other  “lesser  used  languages”,  such  as 
Irish  and  Luxembourgish,  which  are  the  only  national  languages  in  their 
eponymous countries.54 But it has been noted that in Central and Eastern Europe 
minority  nations  are  more  easily  recognised  as  legitimate  groups  and  granted 
(collective)  rights:55  the  notions  of  “national  minority”,  “ethnic  minority”  and 
“national community” are found very frequently in legislation, and may be distinct 
from the concept of citizenship — a connotation which is normally implied in the 
English  term  nationality.56  However,  the  de  facto  situation  can  be  very  different 
from  the  de  jure  protection,  and  could  turn  out  to  be  more  or  less  favourable,  as 
the  case  may  be.  Besides,  the  relationship  between  majority  and  minority  should 
be considered in the light of (co-)dominance or non-dominance.  

44 Which were incorporated as Soviet Republics in 1940. 
45 Except in Slovenia, where Russian remained an optional subject until the mid-1960s and was then replaced by English 
and German. 
46  Such  is  the  case,  e.g.,  for  the  Comunidades  Autónomas  in  Spain,  the  Regione  or  Provincia  autonoma  in  Italy,  the 
Communauté française and the Vlaamse Gemeenschap in Belgium and the Swedish Kommuner; not to mention Northern 
Ireland, Scotland and Wales in the UK. 
47 The Baltics became independent states after WWI and remained so until 1940.  
48 Except in the Czech Republic and Hungary. 
49 Not in Cyprus: the constitutional provision for Greek and Turkish dates back to 1960. 
50 Swedish in Finland. 
51  This  is  the  case  for  Aranese in the  Catalan Comarca  de  la  Val  d’Aran,  or  of German  in  the Provincia  autonoma  di 
Bolzano/Bozen within the Regione autonoma Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol. 
52 E.g., Swedish in Finland (kansalliskieli/nationalspråk) or Italian and Romansh in Switzerland (lingua nazionale/lingua 
naziunala).  
53 Cf the relevant declarations in the instrument of ratification, available from 
http://conventions.coe.int/treaty/Commun/ListeDeclarations.asp?NT=148&CM=1&DF=&CL=ENG&VL=1 
54 A comparable position in the new Member States is that of Maltese. 
55 Cf. Introduction in Thornberry, P. and Amor Martin, M., Minority Rights in Europea, Council of Europe Publishing 
(2004:19). 
56 C. Pan and B. S. Pfeil, ibid., p. XVIII. 

14

 
 
 
                                                        
2.4.4 

In  the  enlarged  EU,  the  link  between  regional  or  minority  language  groups  and 
technologies  and  the  new  media  appears  to  be  significant.  The  new  Member 
States are lagging behind in the field of new technologies but there is a potential to 
develop supranational links and transnational networks.57 However, the emergence 
of the new media does not necessarily represent a positive development, since they 
require  access  to  resources.  For  some  language  groups  the  gap  between  smaller 
languages and the dominant language(s) may become even wider. Thus, on the one 
hand  an  increasing  number  of  communities  are  being  created  through  the 
Internet;  on  the  other,  the  new  opportunities  do  not  necessarily  eliminate  the 
contrast  between  centre  and  periphery,  majority  and  minority,  nor  the  social 
barriers  between  population  groups.58  This  may  be  attributed  to  the  fact  that  the 
representation of social groups on the Internet is largely determined by the actual 
social  balance  of  power.  As  the  ATLANTIS  project  shows,59  the  representation  in 
the  virtual  world  also  depends  on  whether  regional  or  minority  languages  are 
official languages in other countries (⇒ 2.4.1). The information on the new media 
collected  through  Euromosaic  III  –  which  is  comparable  to  the  results  of  the 
ATLANTIS  project  –  suggest  that  the  less  a  language  is  used,  the  less  its 
representation  in  the  new  media  will  be.  There  is  a  risk  deriving  from  the 
Increasing-Knowledge-Gap hypothesis,60 whereby the knowledge gap between the 
various classes of population mostly increases as a result of the introduction of new 
media. This “digital divide” may deepen as borders are being projected into virtual 
space; a crucial issue here is the software compatibility of a language. For the new 
Member  States,  the  integration  of  regional  minority  languages  into  the  “digital 
democracy”  primarily  depends  on  the  financial  resources  and  the  potential 
recipients.61 

57 Cf. Nelde, P. and Weber, P. (2002): ”The non-linearity of language maintenance and language shift: survey data from 
European language boundaries”. In: Wei, Li/Dewaele, Jean-Marc/Housen, Alec (eds.): Opportunities and Challenges of 
Bilingualism. Berlin / New York (Mouton de Gruyter), 105-124. 
58 Cf. OECD: The Economic and Social Impact of Electronic Commerce (Paris 1999). 
59 On http://www.uoc.edu/in3/atlantis/. 
60 Cf. Bonfadelli, H. (1994): Die Wissenskluft-Perspektive. Massenmedien und gesellschaftliche Information. Konstanz. 
61 Cf. Williams, G. (2000): The digital value chain and economic transformation. Rethinking regional Development in 
the New Economy. Contemporary Wales Vol. 13. 

15

 
 
                                                        
                                                                                 Cyprus  

1. 

Introduction 

1.1 

Cyprus  (CY),  the  third  largest  island  in  the  Mediterranean  (after  Sicily  and 
Sardinia)  with  its  9.251  sq.  km,  has  Turkey,  Syria,  Lebanon,  Israel,  Egypt  and 
Greece  (Rhodes)  as  neighbours  in  order  of  decreasing  proximity.  In  1974  Cyprus 
was  invaded  by  Turkish  forces  who  occupied  the  northern  part  (approx.  36%)  of 
the  island.  The  latest  attempts  to  reunite  the  Greek  part  in  the  south  and  the 
Turkish part in the north — and give the island a federal structure — have failed, 
and  the  island  is  still  divided  into  two  ethnically  distinct  areas  by  a  “Green  Line” 
(see  map  below).  The  Republic  of  Cyprus  [Kypriaki  Dimokratia/Kıbrıs 
Cumhuriyeti] controls the southern part.  

1.2 

The Republic of Cyprus was set up in 1960 with a presidential form of government 
and a bi-communal system to represent the interests of the Greek and the Turkish 
communities. On the basis of  the Constitution of 1960 — which is still in force — 
the  House  of  Representatives  exercises  the  Legislative  power,  but  since  the 
withdrawal  of  the  Turkish  Cypriots  from  the  Republic’s  institutions  (1963)  it  has 
functioned only with Greek Cypriot members. Cyprus’ main economic activities are 
banking, tourism, craft exports and merchant shipping. Major towns in the island 
are Nicosia (the Capital), Limassol, Larnaca and Paphos; and on the Turkish side, 
Kyrenia and Famagusta. In 2001 the degree of urbanization in the area controlled 
by  the  Republic  of  Cyprus  was  68.9%  (485,082  out  of  the  total  703,529 
inhabitants).  In  2002  the  Republic  of  Cyprus  had  a  GDP  per  capita  of  €  18,500 
(equivalent to 80% of the EU average), and a low unemployment rate (3.4%). The 
EU  is  Cyprus's  largest  trading  partner  (54%  and  52%  respectively  of  Cyprus’s 
exports and imports in  the year 2002). The services  sector  is the  most  important 
one, employing 65% of the population. 

In  the  northern  part  of  Cyprus  (occupied  area)  the  economic  situation  is 
considerably weaker (in 2002 the GDP was estimated around € 4,500 per capita): 
there  is  no  independent  monetary  policy,  and  trade  is  heavily  dependent  on  the 
Turkish market. Cyprus is a member of the Commonwealth and Great Britain has 
retained two military bases.  

16

 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2. 

2.1 

2.2 

General aspects 

In  the  11th  century  B.C.  Cyprus  was  settled  by  the  Greeks.  It  became  a  Roman 
province  in  58  B.C.  and  part  of  the  Eastern  Empire  in  the  4th  century.  The 
Byzantine  period  marked  the  introduction  of  the  Christian  Orthodox  Church, 
which  became  the  established  church  in  an  autocephalous  form.  Groups  of 
Armenians  and  Maronites  first  settled  in  Cyprus  in  the  6th  and  7th  centuries, 
respectively.  From  the  end  of  the  12th  century  onwards  Cyprus  was  ruled  by  the 
Franks and later by the Venetians, with ensuing antagonism between the Orthodox 
and the Latin (Roman Catholic) churches. In 1570-71 the island was conquered by 
the  Ottoman  Turks,  who  ruled  Cyprus  for  three  centuries.  Turkish  settlements  in 
Cyprus  were  distributed  across  the  island,  to  ensure  control  over  the  whole 
territory. A consequence of this policy was that the Turkish lived side by side with 
the  Greeks,  although  as  separate  religious  communities  —  according  to  the 
confessional  group  [Millet]  division  that  was  typical  under  the  Ottoman  Empire. 
Such a pattern allowed contact between the communities. Because of the religious 
difference  there  was  no  integration,  though  no  conflict  either  [Kizilyürek,  N.  and 
Gautier-  Kizilyürek,  2004].  A  census  conducted  in  1832  recorded  198  Christian 
villages,  92  Muslim  ones  and  172  mixed.  A  result  of  this  interaction  was  that  a 
proportion of Turkish Cypriots (5.4% of them according to 1881 statistics) became 
bilingual  in  Cypriot  Turkish  and  Cypriot  Greek.  The  independence  of  Greece 
(1830)  and  its  unification  with  Crete  (1913)  were  events  that  fuelled  Greek 
nationalism  in  the  island.  In  1878  Cyprus  was  ceded  to  Britain  and  formally 
annexed to the British Empire in 1914. With the Treaty of Lausanne (1923) Turkey 
relinquished  its  rights  on  Cyprus  and  recognised  its  annexation  to  Britain;  the 
island  became  a  British  Crown  colony  in  1925.  The  movement  of  Greek  Cypriots 
that  advocated  union  [enosis]  with  Greece  gained  momentum  in  1950,  when  an 
unofficial  referendum  for  self-determination  showed  that  96%  of  the  Greek 
population  favoured  enosis.  Among  Turkish  Cypriots  a  counter  movement 
advocating division [taksim] of the island emerged, and Turkish nationalism gave 
rise  to  a  separatist  ideology.  The  Greek  opposition  to  the  British  grew  into  an 
anticolonial struggle, impelling Britain to grant independence (1959). 

The 1960 Constitution, which is still in force, provided for a presidential system of 
government with a Greek President and a Turkish Vice-President, 10 Ministers (7 
Greek  and  3  Turkish)  and  a  unicameral  House  of  Representatives  (with  35 
members  elected  by  the  Greek  Community  and  15  elected  by  the  Turkish 
Community). It is a particularly complex Constitution, not nationally endorsed but 
the  product  of  the  Zurich/London  international  agreements  (1959)  between 
Greece, Turkey and the United Kingdom. In 1963 constitutional amendments were 
proposed,  but  aroused  the  opposition  of  the  Turkish  community  who  withdrew 
from all legislative, executive and administrative posts. Subsequent constitutional 
developments aggravated the situation, prompting the UN to send a peace-keeping 
force. Before 1974, the  distribution of the two communities had precise historical 
origins,  for  the  Ottoman  Turks  had  originally  settled  on  the  properties  of  the 
expelled  Christians  and  across  the  whole  island.  But  after  1963  the  Turkish 
Cypriots  formed  social,  political  and  territorial  enclaves  that  disrupted  the 
population  pattern  of  the  island.  According  to  UN  estimates  approx.  20,000 
Turkish  Cypriots  moved  to  special  quarters  within  towns  and  to  ethnically  pure 
villages.  In  1974  a  pro-Greek  coup  d’état  occurred.  Turkish  troops  occupied  the 
northern part the island and of Cyprus (as well as the capital Nicosia) was divided 
into  two  areas,  virtually  homogeneous  from  the  linguistic  point  of  view.  Most 
constitutional  provisions  regarding  the  Turkish  Community  in  the  Republic  of 

17

 
 
 
 
 
 
2.3 

Cyprus  have  been  suspended  since  then,  and  the  ban  on  crossing  the  Green  Line 
either side was lifted only in 2003. In May 2004 the Republic of Cyprus joined the 
European Union, but the application of the acquis communautaire is suspended in 
the areas where the Government of the Republic does not exercise control (⇒ 6). 

The Constitution makes no reference to “minorities” or “national minorities” but to 
“Communities” [koinotites/cemaat] (Greek and Turkish) and to “religious groups” 
[thriskeftikes omades/dinî grup] (Armenians, Maronites and Latins). By virtue of 
Art.2  all  citizens  must  choose  adherence  to  either  the  Greek  or  the  Turkish 
Community. The Latins are normally Greek-speaking Roman Catholics of (mainly) 
European  descent;  together  with  Armenians  and  Maronites,  they  have  chosen  to 
belong  to  the  Greek  Community.  While  communities  are  defined  on  the  basis  of 
such  criteria  as  ethnic  origin,  language,  cultural  tradition  and  religion,  the 
denomination of “religious group” appears limited insofar as it points to religious 
adherence  alone.  Many  Maronites,  for  example,  consider  themselves  as  a  distinct 
ethnic group with a distinct language; and a number of Latins do not feel that the 
name  sufficiently  reflects  their  Catholic  religious  affiliation.  The  power-sharing 
between  the  two  Communities  has  virtually  been  suspended,  including  the 
allocation  of  public  offices.  The  government  of  the  Republic  of  Cyprus  considers 
the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (FCPNM) to 
apply  to  the  Armenian,  Latin  and  Maronite  religious  groups,  as  well  as  to  the 
Turkish  community  —  without  prejudice  to  its  constitutional  position.  However, 
the obligation to choose adherence to one of the two Communities was deemed to 
be in conflict with Art. 3 of the FCPNM, and in 2002 the Cypriot government was 
invited to address the issue. The religious groups have the right to elect their own 
representatives  to  the  House  of  Representatives.  However,  they  do  not  have  any 
legislative powers and only an advisory role. 

3. 

Demographic data 

3.1 

The  only  census  covering  the  whole  population  in  the  Republic  of  Cyprus  dates 
back  to  1960.  It  counted  573,566  inhabitants,  of  which  442,138  were  Greek 
Cypriots  (77.1%),  104,320  Turkish  Cypriots  (18.2%)  and  27,108  others  (4.7%), 
mainly  Armenians,  Maronites,  Latins  and  British.  Such  ratios  are  not  far  from 
those  of  the  census  undertaken  by  the  British  administration  in  1881,  which 
showed  a  proportion  of  75%  Christians  (including  Armenians,  Maronites  and 
Roman  Catholics)  as  against  25%  Turks.  After  the  partition  in  1974  it  has  been 
practically  impossible  to  obtain  reliable  data  on  the  island’s  total  population.  In 
2001 the government of the Republic of Cyprus’s estimate of the population of the 
island (without counting Turkish settlers and troops) was: 631,100 Greek Cypriots 
(78%), 87,600 Turkish Cypriots (11%), 2,600 Armenians (0.3%), 4,800 Maronites 
(0.6%),  900  Latins  (0.1%).  The  population  in  the  occupied  area  is  roughly 
estimated  at  200,000,  of  which  80-89,000  are  Turkish  Cypriots  and  109,000-
117,000 Turkish settlers. There are also 30-35,000 Turkish troops according to UN 
estimates. Freedom of movement between the Turkish and Maronite communities 
in the two parts of the island has been facilitated in recent years.  

3.2 

Following the events of 1974 almost all Turkish Cypriots have concentrated in the 
occupied  area.  On  the  basis  of  a  population  exchange  agreement,  196,000  Greek 
Cypriots living in the north were exchanged for 42,000 Turkish Cypriots living in 
the  south.  At  least  36,000  Turkish  Cypriots  emigrated  in  the  period  1975-1995, 
with  the  consequence  that  within  the  occupied  area  the  native  Turkish  Cypriots 
have been outnumbered by settlers. According to the 2001 Census, there were 361 
Turkish  Cypriots  left  in  the  area  controlled  by  the  Republic  of  Cyprus,  mainly 

18

 
 
 
 
 
 
concentrated  in  Limassol,  Paphos  and  in  two  villages:  Potamia  in  the  district  of 
Nicosia (within the buffer zone) and Pyla in the district of Larnaca. However, they 
have  no  representatives  nor  cultural  organisations.  The  Turkish-speaking 
community  in  the  Republic  of  Cyprus  is  therefore  in  a  situation  of  a  small,  not 
organised minority, while in the occupied area they form the absolute majority of 
the population. A small number of Greek Cypriots (little more than 400 according 
to  recent  estimates)  have  remained  in  the  occupied  area,  mainly  concentrated  in 
the peninsula of Karpassia. They live concentrated in Rizokarpaso and Ayia Triada 
as well as in the villages of Galinoporni, Koroveia, Agios Andronikos, Platanissos, 
Galateia, Gialousa, Lythragkomi, Agios Symeon. 

4. 

Language policy 

4.1 

4.2 

4.3 

Under Art. 3 of the Constitution (⇒ Appendix), Greek and Turkish are both official 
languages,  but  de  facto  they  are  used  as  such  in  the  Republic  of  Cyprus  and  the 
occupied  area  respectively.  With  the  division  of  the  island,  the  principle  of 
personality  has  thus  given  way  to  a  territorial  separation  between  linguistically 
homogeneous  areas  [Karyolemou,  2004].  As  a  principle,  the  Republic  of  Cyprus 
government  recognises  to  members  of  all  religious  groups  and  communities  the 
right to use their own language in private and in public, and to receive instruction 
in it.  

Greek  [Ellinika]  constitutes  a  language  and  a  separate  branch  of  the  Indo-
European  family.  The  Greek  Community  in  Cyprus  use  both  Standard  Modern 
Greek  (SMG)  —  the  official  language  of  Greece  —  and  the  Greek  Cypriot  dialect, 
which  belongs  to  the  South-Eastern  Greek  subgroup  and  is  considered  to  have 
remained  closer  to  ancient  Greek  because  of  its  isolation.  SMG  was  previously 
known as dimotiki [common language], the form that had coexisted for a long time 
in a diglossic situation with katharevousa [purified language]. Dimotiki was used 
in everyday interaction, while katharevousa (closely related to ancient Greek) was 
reserved  for  literary  and  official  purposes.  In  the  late  1970s  both  Greece  and 
Cyprus adopted SMG as an official language used in administration, education and 
the  media.  Greek  Cypriot  has  remained  a  strong  element  of  ethnic  identity,  but 
formal  interaction  usually  takes  place  in  SMG.  Greek  has  no  legal  status  in  the 
occupied area. 

Turkish [Türkçe] belongs to a sub-group of the Turkic languages within the Uralo-
Altaic family of languages. Standard Turkish is based on the Istambul variety. The 
language  was  essentially  written  in  the  Arabic  script  (although  there  is  a  body  of 
documents  in  the  Armenian,  Greek,  Hebrew,  Cyrillic  and  other  alphabets)  until 
1928,  when  Mustafa  Kemal  Atatürk  decreed  the  introduction  of  the  Roman 
alphabet.  The  script  reform  —  also  motivated  by  the  need  to  bridge  the  gap 
between the literary language and the vernacular, as well as by the inability of the 
Arabic script to reflect the vowel system of Turkish — was followed by a language 
reform that sought to purify the language from all Arabic and Persian elements, in 
keeping with a general break with the Islamic past [Bellér-Hann, 1998]. In Cyprus, 
the impact of the reforms was felt as early as the 1920s, when the language reform 
was  eventually  adopted.  The  Turkish  currently  spoken  in  Cyprus  is  both  the 
Turkish  Cypriot  [Kıbrıs  Türkçesi]  dialect  (also  called  Osmanli)  and  mainland 
(Anatolian) Turkish, mainly imported by settlers and troops.  

4.4 

In  the  past,  English  was  used  as  a  lingua  franca  in  Cyprus.  In  addition  Greek 
Cypriot  was  shared  by  both  communities,  although  it  is  difficult  to  assess  the 
degree  of  bilingualism  [Karyolemou,  2004].  English  was  the  official  language 

19

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
during  the  British  administration,  and  continued  to  be  used  de  facto  in  court 
proceedings until 1989 and in the legislation until 1996. 

4.5 

In  the  late  50s  nationalism  produced  a  “Citizen  Speak  Turkish”  campaign  to 
encourage  Turkish  Cypriots  to  use  Turkish  instead  of  (Cypriot)  Greek.  Under  the 
1960  Constitution  Turkish  was  used 
in  the  sessions  of  the  House  of 
Representatives  and  the  Official  Journal  was  published  in  both  languages;  since 
the  division  of  the  island,  however,  Turkish  is  now  considered  as  a  minority 
language  in  the  Republic  of  Cyprus  —  a  status  that  the  Turkish  community  does 
not generally accepts. Since  the increase in  the  demand for official documents  by 
Turkish Cypriots living in the occupied area, who are now able to visit the Republic 
of  Cyprus,  application  forms  and  other  documents  are  also  drafted  in  Turkish. 
However,  the  small  community  of  Turkish  Cypriots  living  within  the  Republic  of 
Cyprus usually do not make use of their right to use Turkish in their contacts with 
the authorities. In the occupied area, Turkish was declared the official language by 
the 1983 Constitution.  

5. 

Presence and use of the languages in various fields 

5.1 

Education 

5.1.1  Under  the  1960  Constitution  every  community  was  to  be  responsible  for  its  own 
educational  affairs  (pre-primary,  primary,  secondary  and  vocational  education), 
managed by the Greek Cypriot communal chamber for the educational matters of 
the  Greek  Cypriot  community  and  by  the  Turkish  Cypriot  chamber  for  the 
educational  matters  of  the  Turkish  Cypriot  community.  In  1963  the  management 
of  Turkish  Cypriot  education  came  under  the  authority  of  the  Turkish  Cypriot 
administration,  which  functioned  independently.  In  1965  a  Cyprus  Ministry  of 
Education  was  created  to  run  the  education  of  the  Greek  Cypriot  community. 
Because  of  the  original  constitutional  arrangement,  the  Republic  of  Cyprus  is  not 
considered to have authority over the education of the Turkish-speaking minority. 
In the occupied area all Turkish Cypriots are educated in their mother tongue. 

5.1.2  Following  a  decision  of  the  Council  of  Ministers  of  the  Republic  of  Cyprus,  since 
2001 Turkish should be taught as a subject (6 h/week) to Turkish Cypriots at the 
primary  and  secondary  school  level  in  the  private  system.  There  is  a  Turkish 
elementary  school  in  Pyla.  As  of  2003-4  Turkish  can  be  taught  as  a  foreign 
language  in  the  second  cycle  of  the  secondary  school  (lyceum).  According  to  the 
Press and Information Office of the Republic of Cyprus, in the school year 2003-04 
there  were  eight  classes  of  Turkish  as  a  foreign  language,  and  75  Greek  Cypriot 
students  opting  for  Turkish  as  a  foreign  language.  Turkish  is  also  taught  as  a 
foreign  language  in  the  state  language  institutions  [epimorfotika]  and  in  the 
department  of  Turkish  Studies  at  the  University  of  Cyprus.  In  the  occupied  area 
Turkish is the language of instruction at primary and secondary school level, while 
in  higher  education  most  of  the  institutions  use  English  as  a  medium  of 
instruction. For the Greek community there is one primary school in Rizokarpaso 
where Greek is taught as the language of instruction, while efforts are being made 
to  reopen  the  Gymnasium  (lower  secondary  school  students  are  obliged  to  go  to 
the  Republic  of  Cyprus  if  they  want  to  continue).  Teaching  material  is  imported 
from  the  south.  Greek  courses  are  available  at  the  Eastern  Mediterranean 
University in Famagusta. 

20

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
5.2 

Judicial authorities 

Under the 1960 Constitution, judicial proceedings are supposed to be conducted in 
Greek or Turkish depending on the language of the parties, and in both languages 
if the parties are one from each Community. Prior to 1989 English was used both 
as a court and legislative language, and parties still make wide use of English. The 
constitution also provides for the right of persons under arrest to be informed (in a 
language they can understand) of the reasons of their arrest at the moment of the 
arrest,  and  for  the  right  to  be  assisted  by  an  interpreter  free  of  charge.  In  the 
occupied area there is no provision for the use of Greek in courts. 

5.3 

Public authorities and services 

5.3.1 

In public administration and services of the Republic of Cyprus, Turkish — despite 
being  an  official  language  according  to  the  Constitution  —  is  not  actually  used. 
However, efforts are being made to reintroduce it wherever necessary.  Before the 
division  between  the  two  communities,  extensive  translation  services  from  and 
into Turkish were provided and funded  by the  government. An example were the 
debates in the House of Representatives, where deputies had the right to speak in 
their mother tongue. The Press and Information Office of the  Republic of Cyprus 
has  a  translation  service  in  various  languages,  including  Turkish;  it  has  also  the 
obligation  to  provide  free  linguistic  assistance  to  Turkish  speakers  in  the  courts. 
Greek  has  no  legal  status  and  is  not  used  by  the  Turkish  administration  in  the 
occupied area. 

5.3.2  Before  1974  Turkish  was  used  in  all  services  (together  with  Greek  and  English). 
Since 1974 — and more specifically since the 1980’s — the use of Turkish (as well as 
English)  has  been  discontinued.  In  the  Republic  of  Cyprus  it  is  still  used  in 
passports, identity cards, cerificates of birth and other official documents. Signs in 
Turkish  are  also  to  be  found  in  police  stations,  hospitals  and  other  government 
buildings.  Turkish  Cypriots  are  free  to  choose  and  use  their  Turkish  family  and 
first  names.  The  government  also  accepts  the  Turkish  names  of  the  places  where 
Turkish  Cypriots  used  to  live.  Prior  to  1974,  Turkish  was  used  both  in  road  signs 
and in public signage (together with Greek and English). After 1974 Turkish was no 
longer  used,  but  has  remained  in  many  public  places  (town  halls,  hospitals  etc.). 
Since  April  2003  signs  in  Turkish  have  made  their  appearance  in  several  shops 
near the partition line in Nicosia and in new road signs. Within the occupied area 
Turkish  (and  sometimes  English)  is  the  only  language  used  in  public  and  road 
signage as well as in commercial centres and shops; the policy has been to change 
Greek place-names to Turkish ones, but since the ban was lifted in 2003 there has 
been a partial use of Greek names and signs, too. 

5.4  Mass media and information technology 

According to the 1960 constitution the allocation of hours to each language (Greek 
and  Turkish)  on  state  radio  and  television  was  calculated  on  the  basis  of  a  seven 
(Greek)-to-three  (Turkish)  ratio:  to  every  seven  hours  of  emission  in  Greek  there 
were three hours in Turkish. The same ratio applied to TV stations. The division of 
the island has brought about the suspension of these constitutional provisions, too. 
In the Republic of Cyprus there is also a bi-communal private radio channel where 
both  Greek  and  Turkish  are  used  equally  (Radio  Potamia).  The  CBC  (Cyprus 
Broadcasting  Corporation)  also  broadcasts  TV  Turkish  programmes  2,5  hours  a 
week,  with  subtitles  in  Turkish  for  some  local  productions.  In  the  occupied  area 

21

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
there are no media for the Greek minority; it is only possible to pick up Greek radio 
stations from the south, such as CBC channels 1, 2 and 3. Foreign films/series are 
normally dubbed in Turkish, and private TV stations broadcast entirely in Turkish. 
Apart  from  being  the  language  of  the  Internet  sites  in  the  occupied  area,  Turkish 
also appears on the official website of the Republic of Cyprus, of several ministries 
and of the House of Representatives. 

5.5  Arts and culture 

  Due to the limited membership and organisation of the Turkish community in the 
south  and  of  the  Greek  community  in  the  north,  there  are  no  sufficient  data 
available.   

5.6 

The business world 

  Within the Republic of Cyprus, Turkish  can be  an asset in  language teaching and 
for  certain  government  posts.  Before  1974  knowledge  of  Turkish  was  a  job 
requirement for Greek Cypriot civil servants. Within the Republic of Cyprus there 
is a slight increase in the presence of Turkish in advertising, since the partial lifting 
of restrictions on movement has allowed Turkish Cypriots to visit the Republic of 
Cyprus.  Within  the  occupied  area  the  language  of  advertising  is  mostly  Turkish 
(sometimes English); Greek is not used.  

5.7 

Family and the social use of the languages 

The  small  Turkish  community  living  in  the  Republic  of  Cyprus  still  uses  Turkish 
Cypriot  for  communication  within  family  and  with  friends,  but  Greek,  Greek 
Cypriot  or  English  in  their  contacts  with  the  rest  of  the  (Greek-speaking)  society. 
The Greek-speaking community in the occupied area uses Greek within the family, 
where  intergenerational  transmission  of  the  language  continues.  The  younger 
generations  of  Turkish  Cypriots  living  in  the  occupied  area  know  little  Greek 
(unlike the small community of Turkish Cypriots living in the Republic of Cyprus), 
but in the few Greek-speaking locations and in the buffer zone there is still a degree 
of bilingualism. Cypriot Turkish — because of its physical separation from Turkey 
—  has  tended  to  remain  more  conservative  than  Standard  Turkish  and  is  still 
spoken  by  Turkish  Cypriots,  but  the  nationalist-oriented  developments  have 
imposed Standard Turkish as the high variety. However, there is a tendency among 
Turkish  Cypriots  in  the  occupied  area  to  use  their  dialect  as  a  means  of 
differentiation from the settlers. In this light it should be noted that most Turkish 
Cypriots who spoke the dialect before 1963 still use it, despite having been exposed 
to mainland Turkish. 

6. 

The European dimension 

The Republic of Cyprus has endorsed a number of international legal instruments 
for the protection of human rights, including the European Charter for Regional or 
Minority  Languages  in  1992  (it  entered  into  force  in  2002),  and  the  Framework 
Convention for the Protection of National Minorities in 1995 (entered into force in 
1998). The Convention is considered to apply to the Armenian, Latin and Maronite 
religious  groups,  as  well  as  to  the  Turkish  community  —  without  prejudice  to  its 
constitutional  position.  The  Republic  of  Cyprus  has  recently  signed  a  bilateral 

22

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
agreement  with  Armenia  on  cooperation  in  the  field  of  culture.  The  specific 
protocol  on  Cyprus,  attached  to  the  Accession  Treaty,  foresaw  that  —  in  the 
absence of a settlement — the application of the acquis communautaire should be 
suspended in the northern part of the island until the Council decides unanimously 
otherwise, on the basis of a proposal by the Commission.  

23

 
 
  Armenian, Cypriot Arabic and Romani  

1. 

Armenian 

1.1. 

1.2 

1.3 

Armenian  [Hayeren]  is  a  language  of  the  Indo-European  family,  though  its 
relationship  to  other  Indo-European  varieties  is  still  debated.  The  Armenian 
alphabet  was  created  for  religious  and  cultural  purposes,  since  Christianity  had 
become the state religion of the Armenians as early as in the 4th century. Armenian 
has more than 60 varieties. Eastern Armenian is the state language of the Republic 
of  Armenia  [Hayastani  Hanrapetut’yun],  where  literary  Armenian  is  used  in 
education.  The  western  dialects  predominate  in  the  diaspora  communities, 
including the one in Cyprus. 

Currently there are some 2,600 Armenians in Cyprus, including many that are not 
Cypriot citizens. Armenians first settled in Cyprus in the late 6th century, retaining 
their ties with Syria — especially with its  intellectual centre at Edessa — until the 
arrival of the Arabs in the region during the 7th century. The main migration wave 
to Cyprus followed the Armenian Genocide of 1915-23 in Turkey. Armenians have 
traditionally inhabited the towns of Larnaca, Limassol and Nicosia; those living in 
Famagusta left after the Turkish invasion in 1974. Armenians have apparently lost 
some  properties  in  the  northern  part,  including  the  Makaravank  and  Kantsvor 
monasteries.  In  constitutional  terms,  Armenians  form  a  religious  group  in  the 
Republic  of Cyprus  who  opted  for  adherence  to  the  Greek  Community;  they  have 
the  right  to  elect  a  representative  to  the  Cypriot  Parliament.  Beside  the  non-
discrimination clause (Art. 6 of the Constitution), they are guaranteed the right to 
use their own language in private and in public, and to receive instruction in it. All 
Armenians are bilingual in Greek and Armenian. 

Currently  there  are  three  Armenian  churches  and  primary  schools  in  Cyprus 
(Larnaca, Limassol and Nicosia) and a secondary school in Nicosia. The Melkonian 
Educational  Institute  is  the  most  renowned  co-educational  institution  of  Cypriot 
Armenians.  Founded  in  1926,  the  Melkonian  Institute  is  open  to  students  of  all 
nationalities and offers a comprehensive secondary school curriculum. All subjects, 
except for the Armenian language, are taught in English. Foreign languages offered 
include Greek, French, Arabic, Russian and Bulgarian. The Board of the Institute, 
however,  has  announced  the  decision  to  close  down  in  2005.  A  daily  radio 
programme  by  the  Cyprus  Broadcasting  Corporation  in  Armenian  includes 
extensive  interviews,  news  coverage,  cultural  reports  and  music.  The  two  main 
Armenian  monthly  newspapers,  Artsankank  (founded  1995)  and  Paros  (founded 
1997), provide national and international news, primarily in Armenian — although 
certain  columns  and  cultural  reviews  are  printed  in  Greek  and  in  English.  The 
Armenian  Church  in  Cyprus  publishes  its  own  monthly  bulletin  Keghart  in 
Armenian.  The  Armenian  community  of  Cyprus  receives  State  funding  for 
concerts,  dance  performances,  art  and  photographic  exhibitions,  and  literary 
events.  Organisations  include  the  Armenian  General  Benevolent  Union,  the 
Armenian National Committee.  The  Cypriot-Armenian Friendship Society (est. in 
1998)  organises  concerts,  lectures  and  exhibitions,  so  as  to  establish  closer  ties 
between  the  two  Republics.  The  Armenian  churches  have  allocated  space  within 
their  premises  to  encourage  cultural  events  such  as  the  annual  Autumn  Book 
Exhibition. The Middle/Near East Armenian Research Centre (established in 1996 
by  Vartan  Malian)  houses  a  reference  library  and  archival  material  on  its  Nicosia 
premises. 

24

 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
1.4  When the Republic of Armenia gained independence in 1991 new relations with the 
Republic of Cyprus were established. Since 1994, parliamentary delegations to and 
from  Armenia  have  resulted  in  the  signing  of  bi-lateral  agreements  and  in  the 
creation  of  a  forum  for  further  discussions  and  co-operation  between  the  two 
governments.  In  1995,  the  Armenian  ambassador  to  Greece  also  became 
ambassador  to  Cyprus.  Armenian  was  explicitly  declared  to  be  a  non-territorial 
language  in  terms  of  the  European  Charter  for  Regional  and  Minority  Languages 
(ECRML). 

2. 

2.1 

2.2 

Cypriot Arabic 

Cypriot Arabic, or Kormakiti Arabic [Kormakiti Arabiyya] as it is named after the 
place  where  it  is  still  spoken,  belongs  to  the  Semitic  language  family.  It  is  the 
language  traditionally  used  by  the  Maronite  community,  though  the  local  faithful 
speak Greek and the Liturgy is read in Greek. Like most of the Arabic vernaculars, 
Cypriot  Arabic  is  not  written,  and  —  given  the  isolated  development  of  the 
language  —  it  is  virtually  unintelligible  to  speakers  of  standard  Arabic.  There  are 
connections  with  the  Syrian  and  Mesopotamian  dialects  of  Arabic,  and  possibly 
even with the medieval dialects of Baghdad. A survey conducted among Maronites 
in  the  late  60s  revealed  that  none  of  the  interviewees  was  able  to  read  or  write 
standard Arabic. 

At  the  end  of  1996  the  Maronites  numbered  approx.  4,500.  Maronite  colonies  of 
Syrian and Lebanese origin have settled in Cyprus since the 8th century. Originally 
belonging  to  the  Syrian  Orthodox  Church,  Maronites  are  Christians  of  a  Uniate 
Church,  i.e.  in  formal  communion  with  Rome  but  retaining  a  separate  language 
and  liturgy.  This  relationship  was  reinforced  with  the  Crusades,  especially  after 
1182,  when  they  sought  union  with  the  Patriarch  of  Antioch  in  Lebanon.  Many 
Maronites arrived in Cyprus when the Latin states of the Levant fell to Islam; this 
emigration  continued  under  the  Venetians  up  to  the  Ottoman  conquest  of  the 
island  (1570-71).  Maronites  survived  as  a  distinct  community  despite  the  ban  on 
Catholicism.  At  the  end  of  the  15th  century  there  were  approx.  1,500  Maronites 
distributed among 19 villages; in 1881 their number had dwindled to 830 people, 
scattered 
the  villages  of  Kormakiti/Koruçam,  Agia  Marina/Gürpinar, 
Asomatos/Özhan  and  Karpasha/Karpaşa  in  the  northwest  of  the  island,  where 
several  monasteries  and  churches  are  also  located.  Although  the  number  of 
Maronites  has  increased  to  over  4,000  since  then,  after  1974  their  distribution 
pattern was disrupted: most Maronites resettled in the territory controlled by the 
Republic of Cyprus, but were scattered in Nicosia and in the surrounding villages. 
Only  a  few  of  them  (165  according  to  UN  estimates  in  2001)  have  remained  in 
traditional  villages  within  the  area  occupied  by  Turkey.  There  are  still  contacts 
between  the  Maronites  of  Lebanon  and  Cyprus,  although  less  frequently  than 
before. 

in 

2.3 

Cypriot Arabic is now spoken almost exclusively by less that 1,000 members of the 
Maronite  community,  all  coming  from  the  village  of  Kormakiti.  The  rest  (and 
therefore  the  majority)  of  the  community  is  exclusively  Greek-speaking,  and  the 
use of Arabic is confined to family and religious purposes. The Maronite liturgy is 
generally  conducted  in  Greek  rather  than  Syraic  or  Cypriot  Arabic,  though  the 
mass  includes  ancient  hymns  sung  in  Syraic.  At  the  time  of  the  Turkish  invasion 
the Maronites of Kormakiti were bilingual in Arabic and Greek. There is no formal 
or educational setting for the language. The extremely reduced number of (ageing) 
inhabitants in the traditional villages, the dispersal of the resettled Maronites and 

25

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
a  (consequent)  lower  degree  of  endogamy  have  been  contributing  to  a  process  of 
linguistic assimilation.  

2.4 

The Maronites of Cyprus have their own bishop but are subject to the Patriarch of 
Antioch,  who  is  appointed  by  the  Pope;  they  opted  for  adherence  to  the  Greek 
Community  under  the  terms  of  the  1960  Constitution.  The  non-discrimination 
clause  (Art.  6)  of  the  Republic  of  Cyprus  applies  to  Cypriot  Arabic  as  well  as  to 
Armenian  and  Turkish.  In  the  Republic  of  Cyprus,  the  leaders  of  the  Maronite 
community  have  long  requested  their  own  schools  and  housing  areas  or  villages. 
The building of an elementary school was planned for 2002.  

3. 

Romani 

Romani  [Romanes],  or  Romany,  is  an  Indic  (or  Indo-Aryan)  language  —  like 
Sanskrit,  Hindi,  Bengali  —  that  belongs  to  the  Indo-Iranian  branch  of  the  Indo-
European family. The dispersal and differentiation of the Roma since their arrival 
in Europe (12th century) brought about a fragmentation of the language in distinct 
groups, which include approximately 60 dialects and varieties. There are no official 
records  on  the  arrival  of  Roma  in  Cyprus,  but  they  probably  came  from  the 
Crusader colonies on the eastern Mediterranean coast (now Lebanon and Israel) in 
the 14th century. Their membership in Cyprus is between 500 and 1,000, and they 
are classified outside the religious groups. Most of them live in the occupied area. 
There are no data available on language use. 

26

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
APPENDIX: 

Art. 3 of the Constitution of the Republic of Cyprus 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6.  

7. 

8. 

The official languages of the Republic are Greek and Turkish.  

Legislative, executive and administrative acts and documents shall be drawn up in 
both  official  languages  and  shall,  where  under  the  express  provisions  of  this 
Constitution  promulgation  is  required,  be  promulgated  by  publication  in  the 
official Gazette of the Republic in both official languages.  

Administrative or other official documents addressed to a Greek or a Turk shall be 
drawn up in the Greek or the Turkish language respectively.  

Judicial  proceedings  shall  be  conducted  or  made  and  judgements  shall  be  drawn 
up  in  the  Greek  language  if  the  parties  are  Greek,  in  the  Turkish  language  if  the 
parties are Turkish, and in both the Greek and the Turkish languages if the parties 
are  Greek  and  Turkish.  The  official  language  or  languages  to  be  used  for  such 
purposes  in  all  other  cases  shall  be  specified  by  the  Rules  of  Court  made  by  the 
High Court under Article 163.  

Any  text  in  the  official  Gazette  of  the  Republic  shall  be  published  in  both  official 
languages in the same issue.  

(1)  Any  difference  between  the  Greek  and  the  Turkish  texts  of  any  legislative, 
executive or administrative act or document published in the official Gazette of the 
Republic, shall be resolved by a competent court.  

(2) The prevailing text of any law or decision of a Communal Chamber published in 
the official Gazette of the Republic shall be that of the language of the Communal 
Chamber concerned.  

(3)  Where  any  difference  arises  between  the  Greek  and  the  Turkish  texts  of  an 
executive  or  administrative  act  or  document  which,  though  not  published  in  the 
official Gazette of the Republic, has otherwise been published, a statement by the 
Minister or any other authority concerned as to which text should prevail or which 
should be the correct text shall be final and conclusive.  

(4) A competent court may grant such remedies as it may deem just in any case of a 
difference in the texts as aforesaid.  

The two official languages shall be used on coins, currency notes and stamps.  

Every  person  shall  have  the  right  to  address  himself  to  the  authorities  of  the 
Republic in either of the official languages. 

27

 
 
 
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Journal of Business and Society, Vol. 12, N. 1 (1999).  

Papadaki  d’Onofrio,  E.  and  Roussou,  M.,  The  Cypriot  speech  community.  In  Alladina,  S. 

and Edwards, V. (eds.), Multilingualism in the British Isles. Longman, 1991.  

Peeters,  Y.  (1997)  Cyprus.  In  H.  Goebl,  P.  H.  Nelde,  Z.  Starý  and  W.Wölck  (eds) 
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1577-1582). Berlin/New York: de Gruyter. 

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Measures), available from the website of the government of the Republic of Cyprus 
http://www.cyprus.gov.cy. 

Thomas, George D.J., The spoken Arabic Dialect of the Maronites of Cyprus, available on 

http://www.cypnet.com/.ncyprus/people/cypmaronites/dialect.html  

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Of 

28

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
B. Other sources 

Constitution of the Republic of Cyprus  
http://www.oefre.unibe.ch/law/icl/cy00000_.html 
Maps  of  Cyprus  http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/cy.html  and  (more 
detailed) on http://www.intercyprus.com/cyprus_map.html 
A sample of Osmanli is on 
 http://www.cypnet.com/.ncyprus/people/cypturks/language.html 
The statistical service of Cyprus is on http://www.mof.gov.cy/mof/cystat/statistics.nsf 
Government of the Republic of Cyprus http://www.cyprus.gov.cy 
University of Cyprus http://www.ucy.ac.cy/ 

29

 
 
 
 
                                                        The Czech Republic  

1. 

1.1 

Introduction 

The  Czech  Republic  (CZ)  is  a  landlocked  country  of  approx.  79,000  sq.  km., 
bordering  in  the  first  place  on  Germany  and  Austria  to  the  north-west  and  the 
south, then on Poland and Slovakia to the north-east and the east respectively. The 
longes  linguistic  border  is  with  German.  The  territory  comprises  the  historical 
reigns of Bohemia [Čechy], Moravia [Morava] and part of Silesia [Slezsko]. Main 
cities  are  Prague  [Praha]  (the  Capital),  Brno,  Ostrava.  The  population  is  slightly 
above 10.2 million, with a density of 130.2 inhabitants/Km2. The country is divided 
in 14 administrative regions [kraje]. The map below shows original denominations, 
for English names see Table 3 (⇒ 3.3).  

1.2 

The Czech Republic [Česká republika] (CR) is a parliamentary democracy, with the 
legislative power divided between the House of Deputies and the Senate. Unlike in 
other  states  of  the  former  Eastern  Bloc,  the  economic  transformation  of  the  CR 
proceeded  rapidly  with  low  unemployment  and  no  hyperinflation.  The  country  is 
rich  in  mineral  resources  and  processing  industries  are  highly  developed 
(particularly machinery, steel, chemicals, glass, and agri-food). Agriculture plays a 
comparatively  small  role,  alongside  the  traditional  engineering  and  other 
industries.  Real  GDP  growth  was  at  3.3  percent  in  2001,  and  2.7%  in  2002.  The 
unemployment rate has lately reached 10%. 

2. 

General aspects 

2.1   

The historical territories of the CR became part of a single joint state in the Middle 
Ages and remained so for centuries. To refer to the current territory of the CR in 
the  past,  the  neologism  “Czechia”  [Česko]  (a  counterpart  to  the  established  name 
“Slovakia”  [Slovensko])  or  the  historical  expression  “the  Czech  Lands”  are  also 
used.  After  almost  nine  centuries  of  separate  history,  in  1918  the  Czechs  and  the 
Slovaks  united  to  create  the  independent  state  of  Czechoslovakia  (CSR).  The  new 

30

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
state  —  which  comprised  the  Czech  Lands,  Slovakia  and  Sub-Carpathian  Ukraine 
—  was  meant  to  allow  for  extensive  Slovak  autonomy.  Czechs  and  Slovaks 
represented approximately 66% of the total population, Germans 22%, Hungarians 
5%  and  Poles  0,7%.  However,  the  imbalance  between  the  economically  advanced 
(and  more  ethnically  heterogeneous)  Czech  Lands  and  rural  Slovakia  was 
considerable.  With  the  Munich  Agreement  (1938)  Czechoslovakia  lost  about  one 
third of its territory: the Sudetendland and the lands inhabited by the Hungarian 
and  Polish  minorities.  The  government  was  also  forced  to  grant  autonomy  to 
Slovakia and Sub-Carpathian Ukraine. In 1939 Slovakia became independent and 
the  Czech  Lands  a  protectorate  of  Germany.  In  1945  the  Czechoslovak  Republic 
(CSR)  was  reinstituted  within  its  former  territories,  with  the  exception  of  Sub-
Carpathian  Ukraine  which  was  annexed  to  the  USSR.  The  CSR  did  not  recognise 
minorities  at  first:  only  in  the  1960s  they  were  taken  into  account.  With  the 
introduction  of  federalism  (1968)  the  state  officially  recognised  the  Hungarians, 
the  Germans,  the  Poles  and  the  Ukrainians/Ruthenians  as  nationalities;  their 
rights  were  defined  constitutionally.  In  1993  the  CSR  split  in  two  independent 
parts, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.  

2.2  

The change in the social system in 1989 and the division of Czechoslovakia at the 
beginning  of  1993  were  particularly  significant:  the  two  dominant  groups  of  the 
population  that  had  contributed  towards  the  establishment  of  the  state  found 
themselves de facto and de jure in the position of minorities (the Slovaks in the CR, 
the Czechs in Slovakia). The division has altered not only their social standing, but 
also the way the problems of ethnic minorities are viewed by different participants 
and  by  the  members  of  the  ethnic  minorities  themselves.  The  linguo-ethnic 
situation  in  the  CR  has  changed  also  because  of  the  transition  to  a  democratic, 
open  and  basically  prosperous  society  that  has  been  attracting  various  groups  of 
foreigners, including job-seekers (not only economic migrants and visiting workers 
from  the  countries  of  Eastern  Europe,  but  also  western  expatriate  managers 
holding positions in joint ventures).  

3.    Demographic data 

3.1 

According  to  the  2001  Census  the  CR  has  10,230,060  inhabitants  (⇒  Table  1), 
approximately  70,000  less  than  in  1991.  Almost  10%  of  the  population  have 
reported  an  ethnicity  [národnost]  different  from  “Czech”.  In  the  census  1991  the 
declaration  of  nationality  was  obligatory,  in  2001  optional.  The  period  1991-2001 
shows a decrease of all main non-Czech ethnic groups, and a considerable increase 
of  the  Czech  nationality  (+10.6%)  as  well  as  of  the  “not  declared”  (+302.5%). 
Outstanding  features  include  a  sharp  fall  in  the  declaration  of  Moravian  and 
Silesian  identities  (-72.6%  and  –74.7%  respectively),  the  decrease  of  the  Roma  (-
64.4%)  and  the  rise  of  a  “new”  Vietnamese  ethnicity  (17,462  members  as  against 
421 in 1991). While the voluntary nature of the declaration may have played a role 
(as the high number of “undeclared” testifies), reasons for such trend may vary but 
basically point towards a phenomenon of assimilation.  

31

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Table 1: Population by ethnicity as at 1 March 2001 

Ethnicity 

Albanian 
Bulgarian 
Croatian 
Czech 
German 
Greek 
Hungarian 
Moravian 
Polish 
Roma 
Romanian 
Russian 
Ruthenian 
Serbian 
Silesian 
Slovak 
Ukrainian 
Vietnamese 
Other 
Dual nationality 
Undeclared 
Total population 

Absolute 
figure 

690 
4,363 
1,585 
9,249,777 
39,106 
3,219 
14,672 
380,474 
51,968 
11,746 
1,238 
12,369 
1,106 
1,801 
10,878 
193,190 
22,112 
17,462 
26,499 
12,978 
172,827 
10,230,060 

% of the total 
number of 
inhabitants 
0.01 
0.04 
0.02 
90.42 
0.38 
0.03 
0.14 
3.72 
0.51 
0.11 
0.01 
0.12 
0.01 
0.02 
0.11 
1.89 
0.22 
0.17 
0.26 
0.13 
1.69 
100.00 

The  category  “others”  includes  ethnicities  who  are  post-war  or  even  more  recent 
immigrant communities (⇒ Other languages). 

3.2 

The  assimilatory  trend  is  supported  by  an  analysis  of  the  declaration  of  mother 
tongue (⇒ Table 2). In the period 1991-2001 there has been a decrease of mother 
tongue speakers for all all main ethnic groups (comparatively less severe than the 
decline in memberships), with the exception of German. Also Czech speakers have 
declined in number, but the increase of those declaring Czech nationality has been 
considerably higher. According to the 2001 census, a total of 522,663 people (5.1% 
of the population) have reported a mother tongue other than Czech, i.e. only half of 
those declaring a nationality different from Czech. 

32

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Table 2:  Differences  between  main  ethnicities  and  mother  tongue  in  1991

and 2001  

Czech*) 

Slovak 

Polish 

German 

Roma 

1991 

2001 

1991 

2001 

1991 

2001 

1991 

2001 

1991 

2001 

Ethnicity 

9,770,527  9,641,129  314,877  193,190  59,383 

51,968 

48,556  39,106  32,903 

11,746 

Mother 
tongue 

9,871,518  9,707,397  239,355  208,723  52,362  50,738 

40,907  41,328  24,294  23,211 

Difference 

-100,991 

-66,268 

75,522 

-15,533  7,021 

1,230 

7,649 

-2,222  8,609 

-11,465 

*) Czech/Moravian/Silesian 

3.3   Most  language  minorities  are  scattered  across  the  country  (⇒  Table  3),  with  the 
exception  of  the  Polish  community  which  is  concentrated  in  the  Těšín  region 
(Moravia-Silesia).  Moravia-Silesia  ranks  as  the  second  region  with  the  highest 
percentage  of  minority  groups,  preceded  by  Karlovy  Vary  (8.9%)  where  the 
Germans  also  have  a  traditional  presence.  The  dispersal  of  most  minorities  does 
not  allow  regional  economic  indicators  to  play  a  significant  role  in  their  analysis, 
nor  is  an  urban/rural  pattern  clearly  established  for  the  single  groups.  The  same 
reason  of  dispersal  apparently  lies  behind  the  difficulty  of  establishing  separate 
school systems and other policies. 

Table 3:  Ethnicity structure of inhabitants in regions of the Czech  

Republic as at 1 March 2001 (%) 

Region 

Percentage of each ethnicity in the total number of inhabitants in the region 

Czech 

Slovak 

Polish  German  Roma  Hungarian  Ukrainian  Russian 

Prague 

Central 
Bohemia 

93.3 

95.8 

South Bohemia 

95.4 

Pilsen 

Karlovy Vary 

Ústi n. L. 

Liberec 

95.4 

87.5 

92.2 

93.5 

Hradec Králové 

95.2 

Pardubice 

Highlands 

South Moravia 

Olomouc 

Zlín 

96.8 

96.7 

95.7 

95.5 

96.3 

Moravia-Silesia 

89.5 

Czech Republic 
total 

94.1 

1.6 

1.4 

1.4 

1.4 

4.6 

2.7 

2 

1.5 

1.2 

0.7 

1.4 

1.8 

1.3 

3.4 

1.9 

0.1 

0.2 

0.1 

0.1 

0.1 

0.2 

0.4 

0.3 

0.1 

0 

0.1 

0.1 

0.1 

3.1 

0.5 

0.2 

0.1 

0.2 

0.4 

2.9 

1.2 

0.9 

0.5 

0.1 

0.1 

0.1 

0.3 

0 

0.3 

0.4 

0.1 

0.1 

0.1 

0.1 

0.2 

0.2 

0.1 

0.1 

0.1 

0 

0.1 

0.1 

0.1 

0.1 

0.1 

0.1 

0.2 

0.1 

0.1 

0.5 

0.3 

0.2 

0.1 

0.1 

0 

0.1 

0.1 

0 

0.2 

0.1 

0.4 

0.3 

0.2 

0.2 

0.4 

0.3 

0.3 

0.2 

0.2 

0.1 

0.1 

0.2 

0.1 

0.1 

0.2 

0.5 

0.1 

0.1 

0.1 

0.2 

0.1 

0.1 

0.1 

0 

0 

0.1 

0.1 

0 

0 

0.1 

33

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
4. 

Language policy 

4.1 

Czech [český jazyk] is the official language of the CR, although this is not expressly 
laid  down  in  the  Constitution  or  other  legislation.  Variaties  of  Czech  can  be 
described  in  terms  of  structural  varieties  such  as  standard  (literary)  Czech, 
common  Czech  (not  regionally  restricted)  and  dialects.  Because  standard  literary 
Czech  was  formed  at  the  beginning  of  the  19th  century  (during  the  National 
Revival),  following  up  on  the  Renaissance  Czech,  it  is  a  fairly  archaic  Slavonic 
language  and  rather  estranged  from  colloquial  Czech.  Common  Czech  is  a  koine 
based on the speech of Prague and Central Bohemia In Bohemia local dialects have 
virtually  disappeared  and  common  Czech  is  widely  used;  in  Moravia  and  Silesia 
dialects have been maintained and the use of standard Czech is more widespread, 
while  common  Czech  has  more  negative  overtones.  Such  linguistic  differences 
underlie the distinctiveness of the two regions. In the past, the status of languages 
in  the  Czech  Lands  mainly  reflected  the  conflict  between  the  German  and  the 
Czech  autochthonous  groups;  and  the  union  with  Slovakia  was  informed  by  the 
necessity  to  preserve  the  Slavic  element  of  the  state.  The  Constitution  of  1920 
created  a  “Czechoslovak”  official  language,  although  it  also  specified  that 
Czechoslovak  had  two  varieties,  Czech  and  Slovak;  both  continued  to  be  used  in 
their respective territories. The situation, however, remained asymmetrical: Czech 
was  the  language  of  the  central  administration  and  prevailed  in  most  contexts. 
School facilities for the largest minority — the Germans — were not abolished, but 
Czech remained the only official language. Minorities enjoyed a number of rights, 
especially  in  those  areas  where  an  ethnic  community  would  represent  more  than 
20% of all inhabitants. The restoring of Czechoslovakia after World War II was not 
paralleled  by  the  reinstitution  of  the  legal  concept  of  “Czechoslovak”,  nor  were 
minorities officially recognised until the 60s. 

4.2  

Constitutionally,  the  position  of  minority  languages  can  be  derived  from  the 
Charter  of  Fundamental  Rights  and  Freedoms,  which  has  been  incorporated  in 
national law since 1991-92. Apart from general non-discrimination clauses (Art. 3 
and  24),  the  Charter  also  specifies  certain  minority  rights  including  the  right  to 
development of one’s culture, the right to education in the mother tongue and its 
use  in  public.  The  use  of  minority  languages  is  governed  by  the  Act  on  Rights  of 
Members of National Minorities of 10th July 2001 [Zákon ze dne 10.července 2001 
o  právech  příslušníků  národnostních  menšin  a  o  změně  některých  zákonů] 
(hereinafter  “the  Minority  Act”).  Beside  specifying  the  rights  of  the  members  of 
national  minorities  and  the  competence  of  the  different  authorities,  the  Minority 
Act provides the following definitions: 

(1) A national minority is a community of citizens of the Czech Republic who 
live on the territory of the present Czech Republic and as a rule differ from 
other  citizens  by  their  common  ethnic  origin,  language,  culture  and 
traditions;  they  represent  a  minority  of  citizens  and  at  the  same  time  they 
show  their  will  to  be  considered  a  national  minority  for  the  purpose  of 
common  efforts  to  preserve  and  develop  their  own  identity,  language  and 
culture  and  at  the  same  time  express  and  preserve  interests  of  their 
community which has been formed during history. 

(2) The member of a national minority is a citizen of the Czech Republic who 
professes  other  than  Czech  ethnic  origin  and  wishes  to  be  considered  a 
member of a national minority in common with the others who profess the 
same ethnic origin. 

34

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
stating 

The  concept  of  national  minority  is  thus  linked  to  citizenship.  The  Minority  Act 
does  not  list  all  national  minorities  in  the  Czech  Republic;  but  the  general 
approach is to draw a distinction between national minorities traditionally living in 
the Czech Republic and other non-Czech (recent) immigrants. The number of seats 
allocated  to  each  national  minority  on  the  Minorities  Council  is  regulated  by  the 
Council’s  Charter, 
the 
representatives of eleven national minorities: Bulgarian, Croatian, German, Greek, 
Hungarian, Polish, Romani, Russian, Ruthenian, Slovak, Ukrainian, all having the 
status of “national minority” [národnostní menšina]. However, this number is not 
final. In 2004, a representative of the Serbian minority will be added to the list by 
an amendment to the Charter. Several of the specific rights are in fact ascribed to 
members  of  national  minorities  “living  traditionally  and  for  a  long  time  in  the 
territory  of  the  CR”,  thus  confirming  the  historical  approach.  The  main  rights 
provided by the Minority Act are the following: 

the  Minorities  Council  comprises 

that 

4.3 

4.4 

•  use of personal name in the minority language form; 
•  multilingual names of companies and other institutions, street and other signs;  
•  use of the minority language in contact with authorities, in the courts, and at elections; 
• 
education in the minority language, development of their own culture, and diffusion as 
well as reception of information in their own language. 

Additional  legislation  includes  the  Government  Decree  No  98/2002  Coll.,  which 
defines  the  terms  for  the  provision  of  state  funding  to  the  activities  of  national 
minorities,  and  to  promote  the  integration  of  members  of  the  Roma  community 
[Nařízení  vlády  č.  98/2002  Sb.,  kterým  se  stanoví  podmínky  a  způsob 
poskytování  dotací  ze  státního  rozpočtu  na  aktivity  příslušníků  národnostních 
menšin a na podporu integrace příslušníků romské komunity].  

At the parliamentary level, the affairs of national minorities are dealt with by the 
Sub-committee  for  National  Minorities  (Chamber  of  Deputies)  and  by  the 
Committee for Human Rights, Science, Education and Culture (Senate). The chief 
state institution for minorities is the Government Council for National Minorities 
[Rada  vlády  pro  národnostní  menšiny],  a  consultative  and  initiative  body 
established  by  virtue  of  the  Minority  Act.  The  members  of  the  Council  are  both 
government  representatives  and  the  representatives  of  the  eleven  national 
minorities.  National  minorities  are  also  represented  in  the  Advisory  Board  for 
National  Minority  Culture  and  in  the  Advisory  Board  for  Minority  Education. 
Other governmental institutions are the Pedagogical Centre in Český Těšín for the 
Polish  minority,  and  the  Government  Council  for  the  Roma  Community.  At  the 
local/regional 
for  National 
Minorities  [Výbory  pro  národnostní  menšiny],  self-governing  bodies  within 
municipalities and  administrative regions  where at  least 10% of the population is 
non-Czech  (5%  at  regionallevel  and  in  Prague).  There  are  seven  regional  and  39 
municipal committees.  

the  Committees/Commissions 

there  are 

level 

In  the  cultural  field,  the  document  “The  Concept  of  Cultural  Policy  in  the  Czech 
Republic  -  The  Strategy  of  More  Efficient  State  Support  of  Culture”  approved  by 
Government Resolution N. 401 from April 28th. 1999 and updated in 2001 states 
that the culture of every national minority is an enrichment of the civil community 
as a whole; such an attitude reflects in separate grants for all cultural activities of 
national  minorities.  In  education,  the  Czech  government  has  considered  that  the 
legal provisions requiring the minority language to be the language of instruction 
at  minority  schools  work  against  the  interests  of  some  minorities.  The  reasons 
given  are that —  with the exception of the Polish minority — the members of the 
minorities  are  dispersed,  and  it  is  impossible  to  obtain  the  number  of  minority 
students  sufficient  to  establish  a  minority  school.  The  representatives  of  the 

35

 
 
  
 
 
 
4.5 

minorities  themselves  have  voiced  their  preference  for  state  bilingual  or 
multilingual  schools  with  bicultural  or  multicultural  orientations,  open  also  to 
Czech-speaking students. 

In  media  provision,  the  amendment  of  Act  No.  231/2001  Coll.  on  Radio  and 
Television Broadcasting by Act 309/2002 Coll. prohibits broadcasting that incites 
to  hatred  or  violence  towards  other  inhabitants  on  the  basis  of  their  race,  sex, 
religion etc. According to § 17 of this Act one of the criteria for the selection of an 
applicant  for  a  broadcasting  licence  is  his  contribution  to  the  development  of  the 
culture  of  national,  ethnic  and  other  minorities  in  the  Czech  Republic.  The 
provisions  of  §31  of  Act  on  Radio  and  Television  Broadcasting  state  that 
programmes  must  reflect  a  poised  offer  to  all  inhabitants  considering  their  age, 
sex, skin colour, religion, political or other views, national, ethnic or social origin 
and  membership  in  a  minority.  A  further  amendment  of  Act  No.  231/2001  Coll. 
explicitly prohibits advertisement and teleshopping which inveigh against religious 
or political views and discriminate on the basis of sex, race, skin colour, language, 
national or social origin or membership in a national or ethnic minority. So far, the 
public  Czech  Television  has  used  national  minority  languages  on  a  very  limited 
scale, and its presentation of the life and cultures of national minorities has been 
criticised by national minority representatives. Proposals to improve the situation 
have  been  repeatedly  raised  in  the  Minorities  Council.  Changes  came  in  2003, 
when  the  Czech  Television  launched  a  weekly  programme  in  Polish  and  a  the 
review “Babylon” to cover all national minorities in the CR. Besides, the series Svět 
bez  hranic  [World  without  Frontiers]  and  Velký  vůz  [The  Great  Bear]  (or  the 
“Great  Wagon”  as  it  is  called  in  Czech),  informs  about  the  life  of  national 
minorities  in  the  Czech  Republic.  The  amendment  of  Act  No.  46/2000  Coll.  on 
Rights and Duties in Publishing Periodicals (Press Act) by Act No. 320/2002 Coll. 
contains  protective  measures  against  discrediting  natural  persons,  their  honour, 
dignity or privacy with respect to their ethnic or national origin in periodicals. This 
protection  has  always  been  ensured  by  the  Act  on  Radio  and  Television 
Broadcasting. As  to the  right to multilingual  signs and inscriptions, The Minority 
Act  provides  that  they  can  be  displayed  in  the  minority  language  in  those 
municipalities where at least 10% of the adult population requests so. 

5. 

The European dimension 

While  the  Framework  Convention  for  the  Protection  of  National  Minorities 
(FCPNM)  has  been  in  force  since  1998,  the  European  Charter  for  Regional  or 
Minority Languages (ECRML) was signed in 2000 but has yet to be ratified. Main 
legal  protection  and  support  from  kin  states  is  given  on  the  basis  of  bilateral 
agreements  (including  sucessioned  obligations)  between  the  CR  and  Croatia, 
Germany,  Poland  and  Slovakia.  The  Agreement  between  the  Czech  and  Slovak 
Federal  Republic  and  the  Federal  Republic  of  Germany  on  good  neighbourhood 
and friendly cooperation (1991) served as a model for other agreements bearing the 
same  title  with  Poland  and  Slovakia.  With  Poland  there  is  also  the  Agreement 
between  the  Government  of  the  Czech  and  Slovak  Federal  Republic  and  the 
Government  of  the  Polish  Republic  on  Cultural  and  Scientific  Cooperation,  while 
Croatia  is  a  party  to  the  Agreement  between  the  Government  of  the  CR  and  the 
Republic of Croatia on Cooperation in the Field of Culture, Education and Science). 

36

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
     German in the Czech Republic  

1.  General information 

1.1 

The language  

German [Deutsch] is a west Germanic language of the Indo-European family: it is  
related  to  Dutch,  English,  Frisian  and  Yiddish.  While  German  dialects  can  be 
classified  using  different  criteria,  a  distinction  is  usually  accepted  between 
standard  German  [Hochdeutsch]  (the  written 
from),  colloquial  German 
[Umgangssprache]  and  dialects.  German  uses  the  Latin  alphabet.  The  original 
German  dialects  in  the  territory  of  the  CR,  which  were  used  in  most  situations 
(standard German being reserved for the press, broadcasting and other restricted 
domains)  seem  to  have  died  out.  Nevertheless,  dialectologists  who  work  on  the 
Atlas  of  Historical  German  Dialects  have  discovered  that  competent  informants 
could still be found in all of the main places of their investigation. 

1.2  History, geography and demography  

1.2.1  As  from  the  12th  century  Czech  kings  began  to  welcome  German  settlers  to 
territories bordering with adjoining German states and other inner areas, that were 
to  become  linguistic  enclaves  [Sprachinseln].  However,  also  urban  centres  were 
populated by Germans — to the extent that several towns and cities grew bilingual. 
This  trend  was  reinforced  when  the  Hapsburgs  acquired  the  Czech  crown,  and 
replaced  the  Czech  nobility  by  foreign  aristocracy  after  the  1620  uprising.  Czech 
was employed in restricted domains, while Czech-German bilingualism dominated 
across a broad spectrum. The contrast between the Czech and the German element 
also  played  a  role  in  the  Hussite  movement  and  its  opposition,  with  the  Thirty 
Years’  War  (1618-1648)  resulting  in  further  immigration  of  Catholic  German 
settlers. By the end of the 18th century the Czech national revival gradually widened 
the range of use of the Czech language, until this became — together with Slovak — 
an official language of the new state (1918). The Germans were the largest minority 
(reaching a peak of 3,492,362 people in 1910); in border areas, and throughout the 
interwar years, they were also predominantly monolingual [Nekvapil, 2003a]. The 
era of the CSR marks the end of Czech-German bilingualism, with new generations 
of  Czechs  becoming  monolingual,  although  German  was  still  widely  studied  as  a 
foreign  language.  After  World  War  II  more  than  2.5  million  Germans  were 
evacuated — leaving a vacuum that was mainly filled by Slovaks (⇒ Slovak in the 
Czech Republic, 1.2.1); only a small number (approx. 180,000, i.e. 2.1% of the total 
population)  of  those  who  could  prove  an  active  anti-fascist  stance  or  were 
considered indispensable to the economy could stay. Because they were dispersed 
over the territory, by the beginning of the 1960s a trend towards assimilation had 
set in. After 1989 a number of German periodical publications, as well as cultural 
centres  and  schools,  marked  a  revival  of  the  German  community  in  Prague  and 
other centres. A new development in Czech-German bilingualism is due to Czechs 
commuters living in the borders areas with Germany, as well as to the activities of 
German-based companies in the CR.  

37

 
 
 
 
       
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1.2.2 

In  the  2001  census,  39,106  people  reported  German  ethnicity  in  the  CR;  in  1991 
they  were  48,556.  While  declining  figures  date  back  to  the  post-war  situation,  in 
the last decades the decrease was accelerated by high emigration to West Germany 
and by a shift in ethnic identity: research in northern Bohemia revealed that within 
the region 33% of those who considered themselves Germans declared Czech to be 
their  mother  tongue,  as  against  7.2%  in  1970.  In  the  2001  census  the  number  of 
German  speakers  has  been  higher  than  the  number  of  those  who  have  declared 
German  ethnicity:  41,328  people  identified  German  as  their  first  language,  and 
11,061  people  have  indicated  two  mother  tongues,  Czech  and  German.  In  1991 
there  were  40,907  people  declaring  German  as  their  mother  tongue.  In  1980  the 
census  did  not  include  a  question  concerning  the  first  language.  The  number  of 
speakers  may  appear  rather  stable,  but  already  in  the  80s  55%  of  the  German 
community  was  over  50  years  of  age,  and  in  the  90s  the  degree  of  endogamy 
sharply declined (⇒ 2.7) — all elements that point towards language shift. 

1.2.3  Most  of  the  Germans  live  in  border  areas:  in  the  regions  of  Ústí  n.  L.  (9,478) 
Karlovy  Vary  (8,925),  Moravia-Silesia  (4,255),  Liberec  (3,722),  Hradec  Králové 
(2,601), Pilsen (2,040), Olomouc (1,721) and South Moravia (900). They also live 
in Prague (1,791) and Central Bohemia (1,110). The highest concentration is in the 
Ústí n. L. region, where they represent 1.2% of the total population (out of 820,219 
inhabitants).  Many  members  of  the  German  minority  live  in  industrial  regions 
where  they  work  as  experts  in  the  glass  industry,  costume  jewellery,  textile 
industry and in mining. 

1.3  Legal status and official policies  

The  legal  status  of  German  is  not  mentioned  separately  nor  in  a  single  general 
framework,  but  is  derived  by  formulations  that  are  also  applicable  to  other 
minority  languages.  Its  use  is  thus  governed  by  the  Act  on  Rights  of  Members  of 
National  Minorities.  The  main  government  institution  dealing  with  the  German 
minority  is  the  Government  Council  for  National  Minorities  [Rada  vlády  pro 
národnostní menšiny], where the German minority is represented. Established in 
accordance  with  the  Act  on  the  Rights  of  Members  of  National  Minorities,  it 
allocates  grants  for  the  various  activities  of  the  German  minority.  In  pre-war 
Czechoslovakia  autochthonous  Germans  enjoyed  a  series  of  rights,  especially 
where  they  represented  more  than  20%  of  the  local  population,  and  they  had  an 
extensive school system. 

2.  Presence and use of the language in various fields 

2.1  Education  

2.1.1  Due  to  their  dispersal,  the  German  community  in  the  CR  has  no  separate 
educational  system:  apparently,  it  has  proved  impossible  to  reach  the  number  of 
pupils/students  sufficient  to  establish  minority  schools.  The  legal  provisions 
requiring the language of the ethnic minority to be the only language of instruction 
at  minority  schools  is  generally  opposed  by  representatives  of  the  German 
minority,  who  acknowledge  that  the  establishment  of  German  schools  is  not 
realistic. The preference seems to be for state bilingual or multilingual schools with 
multicultural  orientation,  that  are  open  also  to  Czech-speaking  students.  So  far, 
such  schools  have  been  only  in  the  private  sector.  Measures  for  pupils  from  the 

38

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
German  national  minority  to  be  taught  in  their  mother  tongue  depend  on  the 
implementation  of  the  Education  Act,  especially  the  creation  of  a  legislative 
framework for bilingual education. This seems to imply the development of specific 
teaching  programmes  at  primary  schools  according  to  local  needs,  the  use  of 
German as a teaching language and the new definition of criteria for the minimum 
number  of  pupils  in  classes  or  schools.  Requests  for  education  in  the  mother 
tongue  were  originally  expressed  in  the  recommendations  of  The  Draft  of  the 
Sudeten  Educational  System  adopted  by  the  Sudeten  Cultural  Council  in  Liberec 
in  1992,  and  in  2002  the  representatives  of  the  German  minority  formally 
addressed their proposals to the chairman of the Council. 

2.1.2  At  primary  school  level,  the  Soukromá  ZŠ  německo-českého  porozumění  is  the 
private primary school of German-Czech Understanding in Prague, founded by the 
Union  of  Germans  in  the  Prague  and  Central  Bohemia  Region:  it  is  attended  by 
German  and  Czech  students  alike,  and  other  ethnic  groups  are  also  represented, 
e.g. Slovak, Polish, Serbian, Chinese, Russian, Vietnamese, Ukrainian etc. German 
is  taught  as  an  elective  from  the  first  grade  on.  Some  members  of  the  German 
minority  have  called  for  the  establishment  of  bilingual  schools  with  a 
predominance  of  the  German  language,  to  enable  children  from  German  and 
mixed  families  to  master  German  as  their  mother  tongue.  The  Ministry  of 
Education, Youth and Sports and the representatives of the German minority seem 
to  be  ready  to  meet  such  requests  within  the  current  legal  framework.  Nowadays 
the  amended  curriculum  and  syllabus  of  German  from  the  first  grade  are 
accredited  within  the  programme  EXTRA  1995.  The  school  is  supported  by  the 
government  of  Germany,  which  has  assigned  a  German  language  teacher  and 
financed  the  purchase  of  teaching  aids.  Nowadays  the  school  has  five  grades  (115 
pupils); the sixth grade is available every year if there are at least 13 pupils. Most of 
pupils are Czech, 5 pupils are German and the rest are Russian and Ukrainian. In 
1997  the  Bernard  Bolzano  Primary  School  in  Tábor  was  opened  and  later 
incorporated  into  the  network  of  schools  under  the  patronage  of  the  Ministry  of 
Education, Youth and Sports. 60% of its expenses are covered by the State Budget 
and  by  contributions  of  Czech  and  German  sponsors.  Nowadays  the  Bernard 
Bolzano Primary School is attended by 136 pupils in 7 grades; teaching follows the 
educational  programme  Elementary  School  with  Extended  Language  Lessons. 
German is widely learnt in the regular education system: it is the most widespread 
foreign  language  in  vocational  training,  but  comes  in  second  at  primary  school 
level  (although  it  was  the  first  choice  until  1998)  and  at  secondary  school  level 
(high school). 

2.1.3  At  the  secondary  school  level,  the  První  gymnázium  Thomase  Manna  [The 
Thomas  Mann  Grammar  School]  in  Prague  was  founded  in  1995  by  the  Union  of 
the  Germans  of  Prague  and  Central  Bohemia,  as  well  as  on  the  initiative  of  the 
parents  of  pupils  attending  the  Private  Primary  School  of  Czech-German 
Understanding.  The  teaching  cycle  lasts  8  years  and  provides  general  education 
with extended teaching of the German language and of individual subjects, partly 
in  German  (mathematics,  geography,  biology,  German  history  and  German 
literature). The curricula and syllabus were approved by the Ministry of Education, 
Youth and Sports. The school prepares students for the Deutsches Sprachdiplom II 
der KMK, which guarantees the appropriate knowledge of German for entrance in 
German  universities.  German  is  taught  in  four  grades  and  differentiated  into  3 
levels of knowledge. Here as well the German government has provided a German 
language teacher and financed teaching aids. The school has now 114 pupils and is 
attended by pupils of various ethnic groups. The German language remains a very 
popular subject and is offered on all levels of mainstream education, as well as at 
most universities and in adult and continuing education. 

39

 
 
 
 
  
2.1.4  Very important contributions in the field of education in general are made through 
a programme of the Czech-German Future Fund, The Exchange Stays for Youth - 
Germany.  In  2001  55  projects  were  carried  out.  Large  efforts  in  the  field  of 
education  of  the  German  national  minority  are  made  also  by  14  regional 
Begegnungszentren  [Encounter  Centres],  viz.  in  Brno,  Havířov,  Hlučín,  Horní 
Slavkov,  Cheb,  Chomutov,  Kravaře,  Liberec,  Moravská  Třebová,  Opava,  Pilsen, 
Smržovka,  Šumperk  and  Trutnov.  Their  activity  is  fully  financed  by  the  German 
government. 

2.2  Judicial authorities 

The Act on Rights of Members of National Minorities of 10th July 2001 states that 
“Members  of  national  minorities  living  traditionally  and  for  a  long  time  in  the 
territory  of  the  Czech  Republic  have  the  right  to  use  the  language  of  a  national 
minority  in  official  documentation  and  discourse  and  in  hearings  before  a  court. 
Conditions  for  the  exercise  of  this  right  are  determined  by  special  legal 
regulations”. Members of the German minority are thus guaranteed the right to use 
German  in  contact  with  judicial  authorities  and  in  courts.  The  are  1,240  official 
interpreters  from  German  into  Czech  registered  at  the  Ministry  of  Justice.  In 
in  dealing  with 
practice,  however,  the  right  to  use  minority 
administrative authorities and in the courts has not been supported by additional 
legislation, and has not been implemented. 

languages 

2.3  Public authorities and services 

German    is  not  used  by  state  or  regional  public  authorities.  Members  of  the 
minority can nevertheless submit to authorities oral or written queries in German 
and  receive  an  answer  in  the  same  language.  According  to  the  Report  on  the 
Situation  of  National  Minorities  in  the  Czech  Republic  in  2002  (2003), 
representatives  of  the  German  minority  have  complained  that  there  are  no 
statutory  instruments  to  ensure  the  presence  of  interpreters  in  official  meetings, 
especially at the level of regional and local authorities. Knowledge of German is not 
required  by  the  public  administration.  No  services  are  normally  provided  in 
German, and contacts with service providers are rarely maintained in German. The 
use of names and surnames in German is legally permitted by the Act No 301/2001 
Coll.  on  public  registers,  given  names  and  surnames  [Zákon  č.  301/2001  Sb.  o 
matrikách, jménu a příjmení]. Signage is in Czech only. Since the 1990s there have 
been  disputes  concerning  signage  in  those  villages  and  towns  that  used  to  be 
inhabited  by  German  majorities  before  1947,  but  so  far  bilingual  signs  have  not 
been  introduced.  Some  shop  signs  have  appeared  in  German  and  English,  but 
these cases are sporadic and appear to be motivated by tourism. 

2.4  Mass media and information technology 

2.4.1  There  are  no  dailies  or  weeklies  issued  by  the  German  minority  and  only  two 
fortnightlies, the Landeszeitung: Zeitung der Deutschen in Böhmen, Mähren und 
Schlesien  (published  by  The  Assembly  of  the  Germans  in  Bohemia,  Moravia  and 
Silesia, ⇒ 2.7) and the Prager Volkzeitung. Wochenblatt der deutschen Bürger in 
der Tschechischen Republik (published by The Cultural Association of the German 
Minority Citizens in the Czech Republic), both financed by the Czech government. 
The Assembly of the Germans in Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia and the periodical 
Landeszeitung  are  on  http://www.landeszeitung.cz/index.htmThe  Prager 

40

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Zeitung, a weekly published in German in Prague, is not produced by the German 
minority.  The  Landeszeitung  (4,000  –  5,000  copies,  8  –12  pages)  comments  on 
the social and cultural activities of the German minority in the CR, and reports on 
the  activities  of  regional  organisations  and  on  political  events  relating  to  the 
situation of the German minority. The Prager Volkzeitung (3,500 copies, 12 pages) 
mainly targets members of the regional organisations of Cultural Association of the 
German  Citizens  in  the  Czech  Republic;  it  also  reports  and  comments  on  the 
situation of the German minority in Bohemia. 

2.4.2  There  is  a  short  radio  broadcasting  in  German  for  the  German  minority  twice  a 
week,  but  no  German  TV  programmes;  the  minority  has  to  rely  on  foreign 
broadcasts.  At  present,  there  seems  to  be  no  development  of  human  language 
technologies  in  the  CR  for  German,  as  e.g.  machine-readable  dictionaries, 
authoring aids, translation tools and language learning systems: what is available is 
usually imported from Germany. 

2.5  Arts and culture 

German cultural activities are focused on the preservation of the cultural heritage 
and  the  mother  tongue.  The  main  annual  activities  of  individual  associations  are 
similar  and  occur  around:  Shrovetide,  Easter,  Mothers  Day,  Solstice,  summer 
activities,  visits  to  cultural  monuments,  autumn  village  fairs,  Christmas.  Local 
organisations  have  their  singing,  reciting  and  music/dancing  ensembles.  The 
Hřebeč  Folklore  Dancing  Ensemble  represents  the  German  minority  in  the 
Strážnice  Festival  and  also  performs  abroad.  Local  organisations  have  their 
“Circles  of  Skilful  Hands”  where  the  traditions  of  knitting,  crocheting, 
embroidering  and  bobbin-lace  making  have  been  preserved.  The  Cultural 
Association  of  the  German  Minority  Citizens  has  its  circles  of  photographers  and 
wood-carvers.  Theatre  performances  and  concerts  in  German  are  rare.  Border 
regions are the only ones where singing and dancing ensembles organise exchange 
performances.  The  main  cultural  activity  of  the  members  of  the  German  national 
minority is the Grand Rendezvous of Folk Art and Culture of the German Minority 
and  the  Friends  of  the  Germans  from  All  Regions.  It  is  an  annual  rendezvous  of 
twenty regional associations organised within the Assembly of the Germans Living 
in  Bohemia,  Moravia  and  Silesia.  There  is  an  annual  festival  of  the  Deutsches 
Theater  supported  by  the  Ministry  of  Culture  and  by  the  Goethe  Institute.  Some 
regional unions of The Assembly of the Germans Living in Bohemia, Moravia and 
Silesia organise days of German folk culture. They hold seminars which teach folk 
dances  of  the  respective  regions,  e.g.  a  seminar  on  folk  dances  from  the  Cheb 
region, reconstructions of old German dances, folk costumes and customs, and the 
publication  Customs  of  the  Hřebeč  Region,  Hřebeč  Songs  and  Dances.  The 
Cultural  Association  of  the  German  Minority  Citizens  in  the  Czech  Republic 
organises  many  cultural  activities,  mostly  at  a  regional  level.  Social  and  cultural 
activities of the German minority are supported to a great extent by a grant scheme 
of the Ministry of Culture. The Czech-German Future Fund aims to develop mutual 
understanding  between  the  Czechs  and  the  Germans,  through  meetings  and 
various  forms  of  co-operation  including  joint  projects  in  various  fields  (youth 
activities,  schools  and  education,  social  policy,  construction  projects  and 
renovation  of  monuments,  minorities,  conferences/seminars/discussion  forums, 
meetings, ecology, culture, science and publications). 

41

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2.6  The business world 

After 1989 several German firms (based abroad) started to operate in the CR, and  
knowledge  of  German  has  became  particularly  valuable.  Some  members  of  the 
German minority are employed by those firms, but there are no statistics available. 
However,  it  is  clear  that  this  new  economic  environment  increases  opportunities 
for  German-speaking  members  of  the  autochthonous  community.  Leaving  aside 
newspapers  and  the  tourist  industry,  German  is  not  used  in  advertising.  A  few 
products  are  offered  with  labels  and  instructions  in  German,  such  as  foods 
imported from Germany. 

2.7  Family and the social use of the language 

Practically all members of the German minority are also competent in Czech. Only 
a  highly  motivated  cultural  minority  of  parents  seems  to  use  German  with  their 
children.  The  post-war  years  were  crucial,  for  in  that  period  many  Germans 
discontinued the use of the language, and that trend has been confirmed in the last 
decades.  In  1991,  language  group  endogamy  (for  the  age  group  up  35  years) 
characterised  9%  of  German  speakers,  a  percentage  that  had  dropped  to  3.0%  in 
in  two  civil  associations:  the 
is  organised 
1994.  The  German  minority 
Landesversammlung  der  Deutschen  in  Böhmen,  Mähren  und  Schlesien  [The 
Assembly of the Germans in Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia] and the Kulturverband 
der Bürger deutscher Nationalität der CR [The Cultural Association of the German 
Minority Citizens in the Czech Republic]. 

2.8  The European dimension 

The Agreement  between the Czech and Slovak Federal Republics  and  the Federal 
Republic  of  Germany  on  Good  Neighbourhood  and  Friendly  Co-operation  makes 
provisions for minorities in Article 20, clause 1-5 and Article 21, clause 1-3. Maybe 
one of the major initiatives based on the Agreement has been the establishment of 
Czech-German Encounter Centers. In 2001 there were 14 such Centers, especially 
in  localities  with  a  high  density  of  German  speakers.  The  most  relevant  political 
document  is  the  Czech-German  Declaration  on  Mutual  Relations  and  Their  Next 
Development, signed by the Czech and German governments in 1997. It resulted in 
the establishment of the Czech-German Future Fund (⇒ 2.5), which in its Article V 
specifies  obligations  concerning  the  support  of  the  members  of  the  German 
minority in the CR. 

3.  Conclusion 

 The  German  minority  in  the  CR  has  been  undergoing  a  process  of  linguistic 
assimilation, accelerated by the  geographic dispersal of the community and a  low 
degree of endogamy. Such circumstances make it difficult to reverse the language 
shift. There are no specific legal provisions for German, nor a school system where 
the  language  is  fully  developed.  Its  role  in  the  media  and  other  fields  is  rather 
limited,  while  cultural  activities  to  preserve  the  traditional  heritage  appear 
significant.  Despite  the  assimilation  process,  new  business  opportunities  may 
create an environment where German is an increasingly valuable resource. Within 
the  new  legislative  framework,  the  focus  is  on  bilingualism  rather  than  on  the 

42

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
development  of  separate  linguistic  environments  for  the  minority.  Such  an 
approach  may  favour  the  development  of  a  new  economic  dimension  for  the 
language, especially in the light of the country’s full membership to the European 
Union. 

43

 
 
      Polish in the Czech Republic  

1.  General information 

1.1 

The language  

Polish  [język  polski]  is  a  western  Slavonic  language  (like  Czech,  Slovak  and 
Sorbian) within the Indo-European family. The earliest attestations of Polish are to 
be found in Latin documents from the 9th century onwards. The language emerges 
in  a  broadly  standardised  form  (as  from  the  early  16th  century)  based  on  the 
dialects  of  both  the  Wielkopolska  and  Małopolska  areas  with  influences  from 
Czech: Warsaw did not play a role, since it joined Poland later. Basically, there are 
four  dialect  areas:  Wielkopolska,  Małopolska,  Mazowsze  and  Silesia;  Silesian 
dialects  include  varieties  from  Katowice  and  Opole.  Polish  has  always  used  the 
Roman alphabet. In the Těšín region both Standard Polish and the Western Těšín 
dialect  are  used.  Standard  Polish  is  normally  restricted  to  formal  domains,  while 
the  dialect  —  which  is  structurally  very  close  to  other  Polish  Silesian  dialects, 
standing    “half-way”  between  Polish  and  Czech  —  is  used  extensively.  The  local 
Poles may perceive some differences between a “highland” and a “lowland” dialect 
of the Těšín region, but there are not many authors who differentiate. The dialect 
carries more prestige than standard Polish and is used not only by Poles but also 
by Czechs — so much so that a number of people believe that this dialect belongs to 
the  Czech  “national  language”.  Given  the  closeness  between  Czech  and  Polish,  a 
situation of “semicommunication” between Czechs and Poles occurs (⇒ Slovak in 
the Czech Republic, 1.1). 

1.2  History, geography and demography  

1.2.1  The  Polish  community  is  the  only  national  (or  ethnic)  minority  in  the  CR  that  is 
linked to a specific geographical area: the Těšínské Slezsko within Moravia-Silesia 
[Moravskoslezsko],  also  known  as  the  “Těšín“  or  “Cieszyn”  region.  In  1920  the 
southern half of the area (rich in coalfields) — which became highly industrialised 
in the later  19th century — was  allotted  to the Czechoslovak state.  In  the interwar 
period  the  Těšín  region  witnessed  the  development  of  a  dense  network  of  Polish 
schools  and  a  large  number  of  Polish  cultural,  sports  and  economic  institutions. 
The  population  found  employment  predominantly  in  the  mining  and  iron  works 
industries (⇒ 1.2.3). The ethnic issue, though, was a source of tension and the area 
was  fiercely  disputed  between  Czechoslovakia  and  Poland.  With  the  Munich 
Agreement  the  Těšín  region  was  returned  to  Poland  and  given  back  to 
Czechoslovakia after World War II, when pressure from the Soviet Union brought 
the  conflict  to  an  end.  The  process  of  further  industrialisation  which  followed 
World  War  II  led  to  the  dissolution  of  the  original  ethnic  structure,  with  the 
disappearance  of  Polish  villages  and  the  movement  to  urban  centres  such  as 
Havířov. Also several thousands of Slovaks were attracted to the Těšín region, and 
in  1991  they  equalled  the  number  of  Poles  in  the  Karviná  district.  In  2001  Poles 
were  again  more  numerous  (19,040)  than  Slovaks  (15,948),  while  the  Czech 
element accounted for 229,658 people in the same district. 

1.2.2 

In the 2001 census, 51,968 people reported Polish ethnicity in the whole of the CR. 
In  1991  the  number  was  59,383,  in  1980  it  was  66,123.  This  decline  has  been 

44

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
constant  from  at  least  the  middle  of  the  20th  century.  In  particular,  in  the  thirty-
year  period  1950-1980,  almost  33,600  Poles  (46.2%  of  the  1950  community) 
appear to have changed their ethnic allegiance, most of them reporting as Czechs. 
Besides,  at  least  some  of  those  who  declared  Silesian  ethnicity  in  the  last  two 
censuses  (1991  and  2001)  should  probably  be  counted  as  Polish  (⇒  The  Czech 
Republic,  3.1).  Unlike  for  other  language  groups  in  the  CR,  the  number  of  Polish 
speakers in the 2001 census is less than the number of those who declared Polish 
ethnicity.  In  the  2001  census,  50,738  identified  Polish  as  their  first  language,  a 
decrease  with  respect  to  the  52,362  people  of  the  1991  census;  however,  2,552 
people  declared  themselves  as  bilingual  Czech-Polish.  The  1980  census  did  not 
include  a  question  concerning  the  first  language.  According  to  the  final  results  of 
the 2001 census, approximately 80% of the total number (51,968) of people from 
the  Polish  national  minority  live  in  the  Těšín  region.  The  remaining  Poles  live 
dispersed  among  the  Czechs  and  other  ethnic  groups  essentially  over  the  whole 
territory of the CR — a higher density can be found only in Northern, Eastern and 
Central Bohemia. Approximately 40% of the Polish minority live in areas with less 
than 10,000 inhabitants. The territory of the Těšín region, which is the Czech part 
of  historical  Silesia  that  borders  on  Poland,  consists  of  the  districts  of  Karviná 
(where 6.8% of the population of the district have registered as Poles) and Frýdek-
Místek (8%). The Polish minority of the district of Frýdek-Místek have traditionally 
inhabited rural areas, while those in Karviná were city dwellers.  

1.2.3  The  Ostrava-Karviná  area  is  the  industrial  and  mining  basin  of  the  region, 
traditionally  connected  with  the  exploitation  of  local  mineral  resources  (especially 
the quality bituminous coal with high coking capacity) and the related development 
of  heavy  industry  and  metallurgy.  Until  1989,  the  basin  was  the  national  hub  of 
metallurgical output, and accounted for 100% of the production of pug iron, 92% of 
steel,  and  98%  of  coke  in  the  CR.  Almost  all  of  the  Czech  Republic’s  output  of 
bituminous  coal  mining  is  still  concentrated  here,  although  the  quantity  of  mined 
resources  is  diminishing.  Despite  the  reduction  in  heavy  industry  output  and 
mineral  mining,  more  than  a  third  of  the  whole  local  population  of  the  Ostrava-
Karviná area  still  works  in  industrial  sectors.  In  the  Moravskoslezsko  region  the 
unemployment  rate  is  high:  at  the  end  of  31  December  2002  there  were 
101,214 unemployed,  that  is 15.89%  as  against  the  national average  of 9.81%.  Of  the 
unemployed,  12,656 were  registered  disabled  and  13,513 were  school-leavers.  The 
share of long-term unemployment (i.e. longer than 12 months) is much higher in this 
region than the national average: in the Karviná district there were 107 job-seekers per 
vacancy.  As  a  result  of  the  industrial  decline,  the  decrease  of  the  Polish  minority 
has been more severe in Karviná than in the rural areas of Frýdek-Místek.  

1.3  Legal status and official policies  

The  legal  status  of  Polish  is  not  mentioned  separately  nor  in  a  single  general 
framework,  but  is  derived  by  formulations  that  are  also  applicable  to  other 
minority  languages.  Its  use  is  thus  governed  by  the  Act  on  Rights  of  Members  of 
National  Minorities.  The  main  government  institution  dealing  with  the  Polish 
minority  is  the  Government  Council  for  National  Minorities,  where  the  Polish 
minority is represented. The Government Council for National Minorities allocates 
grants  for  the  various  activities  of  the  Polish  associations.  In  the  Těšín  region,  a 
number  of  municipalities  with  large  Polish  communities  have    committees  for 
national  minorities  that  participate  in  the  implementation  of  the  government 
policy. 

45

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2.  Presence and use of the language in various fields 

2.1  Education  

2.1.1  The  Polish  national  minority  has  a  network  of  schools  in  the  districts  of  Karviná 
and  Frýdek-Místek  including  kindergartens,  primary  schools,  grammar  schools 
and  secondary  modern  schools,  with  Polish  as  a  language  of  instruction.  In  the 
school-year 2001/2002, 38 kindergartens with Polish as a language of instruction 
were established, with 701 children to attend them. At primary level, in the school-
year 2001/2002 there were 27 schools with Polish as a language of instruction in 
the  districts  of  Karviná  and  Frýdek-Místek,  attended  by  2,326  pupils.  By  the 
second  grade  Czech  is  taught  as  a  compulsory  subject  in  all  primary  schools.  In 
secondary schols, 23 classes (686 pupils) have Polish as a language of instruction 
in the district of Karviná: Český Těšín Grammar School with its classes in Karviná 
(467  students),  the  Secondary  Technical  School  Karviná  (63),  the  Commercial 
Academy Český Těšín (102) and the Secondary Health Care School Karviná (54). In 
1995 the Pedagogical Centre for the Polish Minority was established in Český Těšín 
to  assist  in  the  training  of  teachers  and  in  the  distribution  of  teaching  materials 
and  aids;  the  Centre  is  financially  supported  by  the  Ministry  of  Education,  Youth 
and Sports. The Ministry — since 1994 — has also been promoting the publication 
of  the  magazines  Ogniwo  and  Jutrzenka,  which  the  representatives  of  the  Polish 
national minority consider to be an important aid for primary schools with Polish 
as a medium of instruction.  

2.1.2  Outside  the  Těšín  region  and  in  adult  and  continuing  education,  Polish  is  not  a 
medium of instruction but is is offered as a subject. At the university level, Polish is 
taught at the University of Ostrava (http://www.osu.cz) in particular, where there 
is an extended syllabus of Polish studies and training facilities for teachers who are 
subsequently employed in the educational system of the Polish  minority. In 1990, 
the  University  of  Ostrava  established  a  specific  Kabinet  pro  výzkum  polského 
etnika  v České  republice  [Unit  for  Research  of  the  Polish  Ethnic  Group  in  the 
Czech Republic]. 

2.2  Judicial authorities 

The Act on Rights of Members of National Minorities of 10th July 2001 states that 
“Members  of  national  minorities  living  traditionally  and  for  a  long  time  in  the 
territory  of  the  Czech  Republic  have  the  right  to  use  the  language  of  a  national 
minority  in  official  documentation  and  discourse  and  in  hearings  before  a  court. 
Conditions  for  exercise  of  this  right  are  determined  by  special  legal  regulations”. 
Members  of  the  Polish  minority  are  thus  guaranteed  the  right  to  use  Polish  in 
dealing  with  judicial  authorities  and  in  courts.  There  are  104  official  interpreters 
from Polish into Czech registered at the Ministry of Justice. In practice, however, 
the right to use minority languages in contact with administration authorities and 
in  the  courts  has  not  been  supported  by  additional  legislation,  and  has  not  been 
implemented.  Besides,  it  has  been  suggested  that  Czech  is  almost  exclusively 
preferred  in  courts  because  speakers  think  that  the  success  of  their  case  also 
depends on language choice. 

2.3  Public authorities and services 

Polish is not used by state or regional public authorities, although the language is 
allowed in dealings with the administration. Knowledge of Polish is not required, 

46

 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
nor  does  information  technology  appear  to  be  adapted  to  the  Polish  alphabet. 
Although  the  use  of  Polish  in  proceedings  with  local  government  bodies  is  not 
restricted,  such  matters  are  mostly  settled  in  Czech.  No  services  are  normally 
provided in Polish, but contacts with service providers in the Těšín region are often 
entertained in Polish. The use of names and surnames in Polish is legally permitted 
by the Act No 301/2000 Coll. on public registers, given names and surnames, but 
the absence of appropriate equipment to print Polish characters restricts this right 
in  practice:  e.g.  if  a  first  name  is  not  entered  into  the  document  of  a  register  in 
Polish, the authorities cannot meet an applicant’s requirement to issue a certificate 
of birth with the first name of a child in his mother tongue. The issue of signage is 
controversial:  §  29  of  the  Act  on  communities  entitles  (through  a  petition)  the 
members of the Polish minority to signage in Polish, but since petitioning involves 
the  use  of  personal  data,  statutory  instruments  are  being  developed  to  overcome 
that difficulty.  

2.4  Mass media and information technology 

2.4.1  Printed  media  are  mostly  subsidised  by  the  government.  Glos  ludu.  Gazeta 
Polaków w Republice Czeskiej [The Voice of People. The Newspaper of the Poles in 
the  Czech  Republic]  (publisher:  Congress  of  the  Poles  in  the  Czech  Republic)  is 
issued  every  other  day  (5,700  –  6,200  copies,  8–12  pages)  and  is  available  in 
public  shops  in  the  Karviná  and  Frýdek-Místek  districts.  Periodicals  include  the 
fortnightly  Nasza  Gazetka.  Dwutygodnik  dla  dzieci  i  młodziezy  [Our  Small 
Newspaper.  The  Fortnightly  for  Children  and  Youth]  (publisher:  Harcerstwo 
Polskie  w  Republice  Czeskiej,  1,000  copies,  8-12  pages);  the  monthly  Zwrot. 
Miesięcznik  społeczno-kulturalny  Polskiego  Związku  Kulturalno-Oświatowego 
[The  Return.  Socio-cultural  Monthly  of  Polish  Cultural  and  Educational  Union] 
(publisher: Polish Cultural and Educational Union in the Czech Republic, 20,000 
copies,  80  pages)  which  is  a  cultural  and  educational  monthly  focusing  on  the 
history  and  on  contemporary  professional  and  non-professional  activities  of  the 
Polish  minority  in  Těšín  Silesia;  and  the  monthly  Kurier  Praski  [Prague  Courier] 
(publisher:  Prague  Courier  Civil  Association,  500  copies,  12-24  pages),  mainly 
concerned  with  the  Polish  community  in  Prague  and  the  situation  of  the  Polish 
minority in the CR, as well as with Czech-Polish relations. Every year also several 
non-periodicals  (for  example  Kalendarz  Śląski)  and  publications  from  Těšín 
Silesia  are  issued.  In  addition,  the  monthlies  Jutrzenka  and  Ogniwo  for 
pedagogical  purposes  and  the  fortnightly  Wiarus  for  war  veterans  (without  state 
subsidies) are worth mentioning. 

2.4.2  There  is  a  15  minutes  daily  radio  broadcast  in  Polish  by  Czech  Radio  Ostrava 
(supported by the government). There are several Polish radio stations that can be 
picked up in bordering regions, e.g. Radio Katowice, Radio Zet etc. The Czech TV 
has been broadcasting 10 minutes/week since September 2003 and TV Prima has 
40 minutes/week in Polish; TV programmes from Poland can also be received. In 
2003 the Czech Television’s studio in Ostrava launched a regular news and current 
affairs weekly in Polish. 

2.4.3  Web pages for the Polish minority include www.polonica.cz (Union of the Poles in 
the  Czech  Republic),  www.pzko.cz  (Polish  Cultural  and  Educational  Union  in  the 
Czech  Republic),  www.moucha.cz  (a  regional  information  server  for  Northern 
Moravia  and  Silesia),  www.czechy.cz  (a  Czech-Polish  information  server  for 
(Ars  Musica), 
entrepreneurs, 
www.oczechach.info  and  www.opolsku.cz    (commercial  pages  and  information 
about  Poland  and  the  CR  in  Polish  and  Czech).  At  present,  there  seems  to  be  no 

traders)  www.arsmusica.cz 

travellers  and 

47

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
particular  development  of  human  language  technologies  in  the  CR  for  Polish  (as 
machine-readable  dictionaries,  authoring  aids,  translation  tools  and  language 
learning  systems):  nevertheless,  whatever  is  available  in  Poland  can  easily  be 
imported. 

2.5  Arts and culture 

lyrics/modern 

For  books  no  statistics  appear  to  be  available,  but  Martinek  (2002)  shows  that 
there  is  a  great  variety  of  authors,  genres  and  copies  produced  in  Polish.  For 
traditional  music,  many  groups  (e.g.  Kapela  Olza)  are  united  in  the  Association 
Ars  Musica  (see  www.arsmusica.cz).  Pop  and  rock  include  Glayzy,  Glider,  P-
metoda,  Arzia  and  other  groups.  Tara  Fuki  is  a  duet  of  two  singers  and 
violoncellos,  composing  their  own  music  and  Polish 
folk 
(http://www.tarafuki.cz/tarafuki-en.php).  Stable  groups  for  drama  include  the 
Polish Těšín Theatre, which has two professional ensembles; it has been sponsored 
by  the  District  Office  in  Karviná  and  —    since  January  2003  —  by  the  Regional 
Authority for the Moravian-Silesian region. Many cultural activities are organised 
by  the  Polsko  Związek  Kulturalno-Oświatowy  [Polish  Cultural  and  Educational 
Union] (PZKO). The most important is the yearly Gorolski Swieto (since 1947) in 
Jablunkov,  organised  within  the  framework  of  mutual  co-operation  on  Czech-
Polish  borders  as  a  part  of  so-called  “Week  of  Culture  in  Beskydy  Mountains”.  It 
represents in particular the culture of the ‘highland’ Těšín region. Every other year 
there is also the Festival PZKO with thousands of participants: in the 2002 festival 
in  Karviná  8  folklore  ensembles  and  24  choirs  performed.  Another  important 
cultural festival is Maj na Olzą (since 1994), which reflects in particular the culture 
of the ‘lowland’ Těšín region. There is also a Polish puppet-theatre “Bajka” of the 
PZKO  (which  has  been  performing  for  54  years)  and  many  amateur  groups.  The 
PZKO  publishes  the  annual  Kalendarz  Śląski  [Silesian  Calendar]  which  is  a 
valuable source of information about cultural, social, religious and political life of 
the Polish minority in the CR; in addition, it issues publications from its individual 
professional sections. There are no Polish films produced in the CR, nor are films 
dubbed in Polish. Other cultural activities fall within the scope of The Congress of 
the  Poles  in  the  CR  (⇒  2.7.2)  with  public  records,  books  and  exhibits  presenting 
the history of the Polish national minority on the territory of the CR. Other festival 
names 
include  Cierlickie  Lato  Filmowe,  Przegląd  Kapel  Ludowych, 
Folklorystyczny, Kino na Granicy, Teatralny „Bez granic”, Piosenki Harcerskiej, 
Piosenki Dziecięcej. 

2.6  The business world 

Knowledge  of  Polish  may  sometimes  be  a  job  requirement  or  advantage  (as  in 
some  private  firms  connected  with  partners  in  Poland  or  oriented  towards  the 
Polish population in the CR): for example, the Czech-Polish Commercial Chamber 
in Ostrava has held a course of Polish for managers which was supported by CBC 
Phare.  There  is  no  advertising  in  the  language.  A  few  products  are  offered  with 
labels and instructions in Polish, such as foods imported from Poland. 

2.7  Family and the social use of the language 

2.7.1  Studies dealing with the sociolinguistic situation date back to the 1980s. They were 
essentially  meant  to  monitor  the  effective  application  and  use  of  language  in 
working  environments  of  the  large  factories  in  the  Ostrava  area;  the  perspective 

48

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
was the possible interference between Czech, Slovak and Polish. The main findings 
were that most of the management was conducted in colloquial Czech, intelligible 
to  all  participants.  Approximately  50%  of  Polish  parents  appear  to  talk  to  their 
children  in  Polish,  with  a  higher  frequency  in  rural  areas.  In  1991,  the  language 
group  endogamy  (for  the  age  group  up  to  35  years)  seems  to  have  amounted  to 
30.1%  of  Polish  speakers  in  the  CR;  in  1994  the  percentage  dropped  to  27.9%. 
Although  it  may  be  assumed  that  in  the  Těšín  region  the  degree  of  endogamy  is 
higher,  there  is  a  considerable  decrease  in  the  intergenerational  transmission  of 
the language [Sokolová, Hernová, Šrajerová 1997:67 ff]. In the Těšín region, a few 
church services are conduceted in Polish. According to Bogoczova (1994:24), 90% 
of worshippers among the Polish secondary school students are reported to pray in 
Polish.  

2.7.2  Among institutions of the civil society, one of the most significant is the  Kongres 
Polaków v Republice Czeskiej [Congress of the Poles in the CR], established on 3 
March  1990  in  Český  Těšín  at  the  1st  Congress  of  the  Poles  in  Czechoslovakia.  It 
represents the Polish national minority in state bodies (including the Government 
Council  for  National  Minorities  and  the  consultative  body  of  the  Ministry  of 
education,  Youth  and  Sports  for  the  affairs  of  the  minority  education  system)  as 
well  as  in  local  and  regional  elected  authorities  and  mass  media,  while  co-
ordinating  the  activity  of  22  Polish  associations  in  the  whole  of  the  CR.  The 
Congress  also  issues  Glos  ludu,  the  newspaper  in  the  Polish  language  (published 
three  times  a  week),  and  various  books  by  Polish  authors  living  in  the  CR. 
Importantly,  the  Congress  organises  discussions, 
informal  meetings  with 
politicians, training and seminars for volunteers from civil associations as well as 
many  cultural  activities.  In  2002  the  Congress  established  a  working  group  to 
analyse  the  provisions  of  the  European  Charter  for  Regional  or  Minority 
Languages,  and  proposed  a  selection  of  the  35  compulsory  items  related  to  the 
protection  of  the  Polish  language  as  a  regional  minority  language  in  the  Těšín 
region.  The  Klub  Polski  w  Pradze  [Prague  Polish  Club]  (one  of  the  oldest 
compatriot associations of Bohemia) resumed its activity in 1991. The Club aims to 
disseminate the Polish culture in Bohemia and organises lectures, discussions and 
meetings.  Its  members  take  part  in  various  activities  organised  by  the  Polish 
Institute,  and  in  celebrations  of  Polish  national  days  and  anniversaries  organised 
by  the  Polish  Embassy.  Macierz  Szkolna  w  Republice  Czeskiej  [Education 
Foundation  in  the  Czech  Republic]  was  established  in  1991  as  a  successor  of  the 
pre-war  Organization  Macierz  Szkolna  w  Czechoslowacji.  The  foundation  has 
about  4,000  members  and  is  particularly  concerned  with  the  Polish  educational 
system  in  the  Czech  Republic.  It  contributes  to  the  development  of  educational 
facilities  with  Polish  as  a  language  of  instruction.  The  Polonus  -  Klub  Polski  w 
Brnie [Polonus - Polish Club in Brno] was registered in 1997 to include members of 
the  Polish  minority  living  in  Brno.  The  Club  co-operates  with  the  Brno 
Metropolitan  Authority  and  it  is  a  consultant  for  national  minorities,  the  Polish 
Embassy in the CR, the Polish Institute in Prague and the association Wspólnota 
Polska. In addition, it organises lectures meetings and discussions. The club, which 
has  about  140  members,  also  participates  in  the  organisation  of  Polish  Days  in 
Brno.  

2.7.3  The  Polsko  Związek  Kulturalno-Oświatowy  [Polish  Cultural  and  Educational 
Union]  (PZKO)  is  the  largest  (16.000  members)  Polish  organisation  associated 
with  the  Congress  of  the  Poles.  Established  in  1947,  the  PZKO  has  sections  for 
history,  dance,  theatre,  literature  and  art;  many  choirs,  theatres  and  dancing 
ensembles work within the organisation. Every year, 87 local groups of the PZKO 
organise  cultural  and  educational  activities  in  the  whole  Těšín  area;  the 
organisation issues the monthly “Zwrot”, “Kalendarz Slaski” and other publications 
Towarzystwo Avion was established in 2000 as a Czech-Polish artistic association: 

49

 
 
 
 
it  organises  literary  and  music  programmes,  concerts  and  theatre  performances. 
Stowarzyszenie “Kurier Praski” w Pradze [Association “Kurier Praski” in Prague] 
was  established  in  1994  to  publish  the  monthly  “Kurier  Praski”.  Stowarzyszenie 
Przyjaciól  Polskiej  Ksiąźki  [Association  of  the  Friends  of  Polish  Book]  was 
established  in 1999 with the aim to disseminate Polish literature, including Těšín 
authors.  The  most  important  activity  is  the  “Exhibition  of  Polish  Books”, 
presenting diverse books of the largest Polish publishing houses and also regional 
literature of Těšín Silesia. Stowarzyszenie “Szkola Polonijna w Pradze”  [“Polonie 
School”  Association  in  Prague]  has  been  a  member  of  the  Congress  of  the  Poles 
since  1993.  It  organises  Polish  language  courses  among  other  activities.  The 
Towarzystwo  Nauczycieli  Polskich  [Association  of  Polish  Teachers]  was 
established  in  1990  as  a  successor  of  Towarzystwo  Nauczycieli  Polskich  w 
Czechoslowacji: with about 400 members, it helps to prepare syllabuses, textbooks 
and  professional  training  courses  for  its  members,  and  organises  conferences  for 
teachers  and  various  activities  for  Polish  schools.  The  Zrzeszenie  Literatów 
Polskich [Association of Polish Writers] was established in 1990 and is a member 
of the Association of Writers and of the Moravian-Silesian Association of Writers. 
It  co-operates  with  the  association  Grupa  Literacka  63  [Literary  Group  63]  and 
organises literary sessions for writers and literary competitions for young people. 

2.8  The European dimension 

Apart  from  the  Agreement  between  the  Czech  and  Slovak  Federal  Republics  and 
the Polish Republic on Good Neighbourhood, Solidarity and Friendly Cooperation 
there  are  joint  Czech-Polish  research  activities  that  deal  with  the  history,  the 
culture and the language of Silesia. An Agreement between the Government of the 
Czech and Slovak Federal Republic and the Government of the Polish Republic on 
Cultural  and  Scientific  Cooperation  was  signed  on  16  September  1991  and 
subsequently  confirmed.  Bilateral  obligations  related  to  the  state  of  national 
minorities  are  specified  in  Article  (6).  There  was  also  a  Programme  of  Cultural, 
Educational and Scientific Cooperation between the Government of the CR and the 
Government  of  the  Polish  Republic  1996-1997  (signed  on  12  April  1996,  with 
Article 11 specifying issues on the  education of national minorities). A number of 
teachers of Polish have been educated at Polish universities. 

3.  Conclusion 

The Polish minority in the CR enjoys a relative degree of cohesion by virtue of its 
geographical  concentration.  The  school  network  for  Polish  appears  to  be  well 
developed,  and  in  the  past  ten  years  there  has  even  been  a  slight  increase  in  the 
presence  of  the  language  in  education.  The  interest  for  the  language,  the  dialect 
(which  has  a  certain  degree  of  prestige)  and  the  culture  within  the  community  is 
high,  as  is  shown  by  media  and  other  activities.  However,  the  use  of  Polish  is 
limited in more official contexts, and Poles themselves tend to consider Czech as a 
more useful lingua franca in this respect. There is a decrease in language use, only 
partially reflected by the decline in membership. In a long-term perspective there 
are  indications  that  the  community  may  be  moving  towards  bilingualism  and 
biculturalism. 

50

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   Romani in the Czech Republic  

1.  General information 

1.1 

The language  

1.1.1  Romani  [romaňi  čhib]  or  Romany,  is  an  Indic  (or  Indo-Aryan)  language  —  like 
Sanskrit, Hindi, Bengali — which belongs to the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-
European family. The language retains much of the Indic morphology, phonology 
and  lexicon,  while  its  syntax  has  been  heavily  influenced  by  contact  with  other 
languages.  The  dispersal  and  differentiation  of  the  Roma  since  their  arrival  in 
Europe  brought  about  a  fragmentation  of  the  language  into  distinct  groups  (the 
main ones being Northern Central, Southern Central, Vlax and Sinti), for a total of 
approximately  60  dialects  and  varieties.  Although  the  Roma  communities  are 
highly differentiated (⇒ 1.2.1), they often use the same term  Romanes to refer to 
the language. Until the 20th century Romani was essentially an oral language; it is 
now  written  in  various  orthographies  depending  on  the  host  country.  The 
Linguistic  Commission  of  the  International  Romani  Union  has  devised  an 
international  standard  based  on  the  Kalderash  variety  of  Vlax  (the  most 
widespread dialect), but this has not been universally accepted yet.  

1.1.2  Dialects in the CR from the Northern Central, Southern Central, and Sinti groups 
include  what  is  also  called  “Slovak-Czech”  Romani,  “Hungarian”  Romani  and 
“German”  Romani  respectively;  dialects  from  the  Vlax  group  are  represented  by 
the  Lóvári  and  Kalderash  varieties.  Northern  Central  dialects  spoken  by  Czech 
Roma  before  World  War  II  have  virtually  disappeared.  The  denomination  of 
Slovak-Czech  Romani  would  take  into  account  the  fact  that  the  vast  majority  of 
Romani speakers in the CR are immigrants from Slovakia (⇒ 1.2.2), but the use of 
such matrix-based attributes (i.e. based on the name of the majority population) to 
classify  Romani  dialects  or  Roma  ethnic  subgroups  is  controversial  —  although 
widespread.  “Hungarian”  Romani  is  spoken  by  approximately  by  10%  of  Czech 
Roma. Lóvári and Kalderash varieties (originally from Slovakia, too) seem to enjoy 
a  certain  prestige  for  Central  Roma,  possibly  because  of  the  more  “authentic” 
features  associated  with  the  Vlax  itinerant  way  of  life.  “German  Romani”,  the 
language of the Sinti in the German-speaking areas of Czechia (especially northern 
Bohemia), is now  spoken only by a few families. The different dialects may exhibit 
considerable    structural  and  lexical  differences  (especially  vis-a-vis  Sinti),  but 
interintelligibility is also affected by particularism. Czech names (also used by the 
Roma)  for  the  language    are  Romština  [Romani],  Romský  jazyk  [the  Romani 
language],  Cikánština  or  Cikánský  jazyk  [the  Gypsy  language].  The  language  is 
written  in  the  Czech  and  Slovak  alphabets  with  diacritic  marks.  In  the  case  of 
Romani  there  is  interintelligibility  among  Slovak-Czech  varieties,  less  among 
Slovak-Czech and Hungarian varieties.  

1.2  History, geography and demography  

1.2.1  Roma  (the  name  is  the  plural  form  of  the  word  “Rom”)  moved  from  India  at  the 
beginning  of  the  12th  century,  reached  Europe  in  the  14th  century  and  Central 
Europe in the 15th century. Successive wavelike migrations produced a number of 
different  subethnic  layers  cohabiting  within  the  same  country,  and  a  diastratic 

51

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
dialect  structure  as  a  consequence;  the  various  Roma  groups  show  also  a 
considerable  degree  of    particularism.  Because  they  arrived  from  the  East,  they 
were  also  called  Egyptians  or  “Gyptians”,  which  is  at  the  origin  of  the  “Gypsy”, 
“Gitanos”, “Gitanes” and other words that are often considered derogatory by the 
Roma. The term “Roma” is widely used, although the International Romani Union 
—  following  the  recommendations  of  its  Language  Commission  —  has  officially 
adopted  Rroma  to  refer  to  all  people  of  Roma  descent.  The  Roma  are  highly 
differentiated,  and  use  a  number  of  self-denominations  beside  “Roma”.  Although 
in individual states the Roma are considered as “a community”, it would be more 
appropriate  to  refer  to  Roma  “communities”  in  the  plural.  In  1998  the  European 
Commission  against  Racism  and  Intolerance  recommended  that  the  names  used 
for  the  various  groups  should  be  those  used  by  the  communities  themselves.  It 
should  be  stressed  that  the  itinerant  nature  of  the  Roma  is  rather  stereotypical: 
this is true  only in some countries  and  for some individual groups, while most of 
the  Eastern  European  Roma  live  in  compact  settlements  [Hübschmannova  and 
Neustupuný, 1996:87]. 

1.2.2  The  presence  of  Roma  in  Bohemia  and  Moravia  can  be  traced  back  to  the  12th 
century, but clear reference to them has been made since the 15th century, when the 
Roma arrived in other parts of Central Europe: a letter of protection issued by the 
King  Zikmund  at  Spissky  Castle  in  Slovakia  dates  from  1423.  Discrimination 
and/or  assimilation  policies  were  applied  to  Czech  Roma.  The  first  large-scale 
assimilation took place in the 18th century under Maria Theresa. In 1927 the First 
Republic  attempted  to  resolve  “the  Gypsy  question”  with  the  Law  on  Wandering 
Gypsies  which  required  Roma  to  apply  for  papers  and  licences.  In  1939  the 
Ministry of the Interior of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia issued an edict 
requiring  all  Roma  to  settle  down  and  give  up  their  migratory  way  of  life.  At  the 
outbreak  of  World  War  II  the  Roma  living  in  Bohemia  and  Moravia  (the  current 
territory of the CR) were estimated at 8,000 members and belonged to two main 
different groups: the Czech-Moravian Roma (speakers of the Czech and Moravian 
dialects of the Central group) and the German Roma (speakers of Sinti). Roma in 
the Slovak Republic were Slovak Roma (speakers of the Slovak dialect of Romani) 
and  Hungarian  Roma  (speakers  of  the  Hungarian  dialect  of  Romani).  The  more 
nomadic Vlax Roma (speakers of the Kalderash and Lóvári varieties) were present 
in  both  territories.  In  the  Slovak  Republic,  the  persecution  of  the  Roma  was  less 
severe  than  in  Bohemia  and  Moravia,  where  the  Czech  and  German  Roma  were 
virtually  exterminated  by  the  Nazis.  Nearly  80%  of  the  current  Roma  population 
are  postwar  immigrants  from  Slovakia  and  most  are  speakers  of  the  “Slovak-
Czech”  variety  [Hübschmannova  and  Neustupuný:91].  Hungarian  Romani  is  next 
in  terms  of  number  of  speakers,  totalling  approximately  10%  of  the  Roma 
population in the CR. Some Roma started to leave CR in the second half of 1990s 
for economic and social reasons. In 1999 about 5,000 Roma emigrated to Britain; 
others  headed  for  Canada  and  other  West  European  countries.  One  of  the  causes 
for  this  exodus  was  probably  earlier  legislation  —  which  had  made  it  difficult  for 
Slovak Roma to obtain Czech citizenship — and to negative social attitudes towards 
the Roma, which have given rise to several cases of discrimination. 

1.2.3  The  2001  Census  identified  11,761  Roma  (0,1%  of  the  total  CR  population),  less 
than  half  with  respect  to  1991  (32,903  people,  equivalent  to  0,3%  of  the 
population).  Such  figures  are  very  low  in  comparison  with  the  145,000  members 
that  were  estimated  in  the  second  half  of  the  80s  by  local  authorities.  This  is 
probably due to the fact that Roma have been reluctant to declare Roma identity. A 
more  realistic  figure  could  therefore  be  200,000,  and  even  higher  estimates  are 
given. It has been noted by international organisations and the Czech government 
alike  that  these  discrepancies  are  an  issue.  If  estimates  are  correct,  the  Roma 
would be the largest non-Czech community. Regarding numbers of speakers of the 

52

 
 
 
 
language, in 2001 23,211 people declared Romani as their mother tongue, but the 
estimation  is  that  in  the  CR  the  language  is  spoken  by  approximately  50%  of  the 
Roma (i.e. indicatively by 100,000 speakers if population estimated are correct), a 
low  percentage  if  compared  to  the  other  new  EU  Member  states.  However,  there 
are no data available to confirm any of these figure. In the 2001 census 12,970 also 
claimed to be bilingual in Czech and Romani. 

1.2.4  Although Roma are dispersed throughout the territory of the CR, most of them live 
in  the  Moravia-Silesia  [Moravskoslezsko]  region  (the  districts  of  Ostrava  and 
Karviná),  in  the  Usti  n.L.  region  (districts  of  Ústí  nad  Labem,  Děčín,  Most, 
Chomutov) and in Central Bohemia, in Olomouc and Prague. No reliable data are 
available  on  urban/rural  distribution  patterns;  but  the  Roma  seem  to  be  largely 
urbanized (in contrast to Slovakia), and typically live in outskirts of both small and 
large cities — areas that often were abandoned by other dwellers. Their income is 
about  60%  of  the  national  average  wage  for  men  and  about  25%  in  the  case  of 
women; the unemployment rate is as high as 70-90% in some areas. 

1.3  Legal status and official policies  

The  legal  status  of  Romani  is  not  mentioned  specifically  nor  in  a  single  general 
framework, but can be derived from formulations that are also applicable to other 
minority  languages.  Its  use  is  thus  governed  by  the  Act  on  Rights  of  Members  of 
National  Minorities.  The  Roma  were  identified  by  the  Czech  government  as  a 
minority  in  terms  of  the  Framework  Convention  for  the  Protection  of  National 
Minorities. The main government institution dealing with the Roma minority is the 
Government  Council  for  National  Minorities  [Rada  vlády  pro  národnostní 
menšiny],  where  the  Roma  minority  is  represented.  Given  the  need  for  a  human 
rights approach to fight discrimination, there is also a specific Government Council 
for the Roma Community [Rada vlády ČR pro záležitosti romské komunity] (until 
2001 
the  Roma  Community).  The 
Government  Council  for  National  Minorities  allocates  grants  for  the  activities  of 
the  national  minorities.  The  Government  Council  for  the  Roma  Community  is  an 
advisory and coordinating body for issues connected with the status of the Roma in 
Czech  society.  The  state’s  policy  towards  Romani  has  changed  considerably  since 
1989,  and  now  embraces  affirmative  action  (without  quotas).  The  policy  aims  at 
integration  and  at  the  preservation  of  the  cultural  features  and  differences  that 
characterize the Roma. Key aspects have included the introduction of the language 
in university curricula and support for publications and research.  

the  Interministerial  Commission 

for 

2.  Presence and use of the language in various fields 

2.1  Education  

2.1.1  Levels of education among the Roma appear to be very low, and are mostly limited 
to primary profiles, and often uncompleted. Unlike the Polish minority, the Roma 
have no separated education system: segregated schools are generally rejected and 
integration  into  the  majority  appears  to  be  the  most  popular  option  among  the 
Roma  themselves.  At  the  pre-school  level  Romani  has  virtually  no  presence 
whatsoever. At the primary level, the education of Roma children is complicated by 
both a language handicap (where Romani is their mother tongue) and a different 
hierarchy  of  social  and  cultural  values.  Not  all  Roma  communities  have  accepted 
formal or mainstream schooling, and the number of Roma children that have to be 

53

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
placed in special (remedial) schools — on the basis of psychological tests — is very 
high:  in  1996/1997  they  were  1,008,  i.e.  more  than  40%  of  all  Roma  children, 
pupils  and  students.  The  fact  that  parents  consider  it  easier  for  their  children  to 
attend  special  schools  is  one  of  the  main  reasons.  Since  1993  the  Ministry  of 
Education,  Youth  and  Sports  has  been  dealing  with  this  problem  by  organising 
(voluntary)  preparatory  classes  for  Roma  children  before  they  attend  primary 
schools,  with  Romani  also  as  a  medium  of  instruction.  In  the  school  year 
2000/2001 more than 110 preparatory classes (1,364 pupils) were established: 43 
classes  at  primary  schools,  40  classes  at  special  schools  and  kindergartens.  In 
2002/2003  there  were  116  preparatory  classes  with  1,489  pupils.  However,  these 
classes are no longer designed only for Roma children, but for all socio-culturally 
disadvantaged    children  (including  foreigners).  Apart  from  these  classes,  which 
represent a slight increase in the presence of the language in the education system, 
the teaching of Romani as a medium of instruction is virtually non-existent. Since 
the  90s  there  have  been  classes  of  Romani  as  a  voluntary  subject  at  a  few 
secondary  schools,  but  there  is  no  presence  of  the  language  in  technical  and 
vocational  education.  In  the  private  sector,  the  (first)  Roma  Social  Secondary 
School [Romská střední škola sociální] in Kolín (near Prague) was established in 
1998 by the Doctor Rajko Djuri Foundation, where Romani is taught as a subject 
throughout the 4-year curriculum.  

2.1.2  The  most  significant  development  for  Romani  has  been  the  introduction  of  the 
language  as  a  subject  in  higher  education.  Roma  Studies  have  been  available  at 
Charles  University  in  Prague  since  1991  and  at  Purkyne  University  in  Usti  nad 
Labem  since  1992.  Palacky  University  in  Olomouc  and  Pardubice  University  also 
offer Romani courses. For in-service training of teachers, several courses are given 
at the university level. Most Roma studies, however, are taught in the framework of 
pedagogy  or  social  work,  and  learning  of  Romani  represents  only  a  part  of  the 
activities. Only the programme of Romani and Roma culture at the Faculty of Arts 
of Charles University has no pedagogical orientation. The language has no off-line 
learning applications at present, but the materials published in Romano Džaniben. 
Časopis romistických studií [A journal of Roma studies] are available on a CD Rom 
and used by teachers and students at university level. 

2.2  Judicial authorities 

The Act on Rights of Members of National Minorities of 10th July 2001 states that 
“Members  of  national  minorities  living  traditionally  and  for  a  long  time  in  the 
territory  of  the  Czech  Republic  have  the  right  to  use  the  language  of  a  national 
minority  in  official  documentation  and  discourse  and  in  hearings  before  a  court. 
Conditions  for  the  exercise  of  this  right  are  determined  by  special  legal 
regulations”.  In  practice,  the  right  to  use  minority  languages  in  contact  with 
administrative authorities and in the courts has not been supported by additional 
legislation, and has not been implemented. 

2.3  Public authorities and services 

Romani is not used by state or regional public authorities. In general it is assumed 
that the Roma can communicate in Czech or Slovak. The lack of standardisation for 
Romani  (⇒  1.1.1)  is  a  further  obstacle  to  the  elaboration  of  administrative  texts. 
However,  Roma  advisers  and  assistants  are  appointed  by  district  authorities  in 
accordance  with  Government  Resolution  No.  686  of  29  October  1997.  By  1st 
January 1999, all 81 districts in the Czech Republic had appointed Roma advisers, 

54

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
and    approximately  half  of  them  were  members  of  the  Roma  community.  But 
following administrative reforms most were redeployed to municipalities, and the 
continuity of the network of Roma advisors was thus affected to a great extent. The 
use of names and surnames in Romani is legally permitted by the Act No 301/2000 
Coll.  on  public  registers,  given  names  and  surnames.  No  specific  services  nor 
signage are provided in Romani. 

2.4  Mass media and information technology 

2.4.1  The Roma press includes Amaro gendalos [Our Mirror], a socio-cultural monthly 
published  in  500  copies  of  18-24  pages  each  by  the  Association  of  the  Friends  of 
Dženo  Foundation.  It  is  supported  by  the  government  and  has  articles  in  both 
Czech  and  Romani  with  an  English  summary.  Like  other  Roma  periodicals,  it 
suffers from problems of distribution, marketability and unsold copies. The journal 
is  also  published  on  Internet  on  www.dzeno.cz.  Kereka  is  a  monthly  magazine 
published  by  the  Democratic  Alliance  of  the  Roma  in  the  Czech  Republic  in 
Valašské Meziříčí (4,500 copies, 32 pages). It is distributed among Roma children 
and in schools; texts are both in Czech and Romani. Romano hangos [Roma Voice] 
(http://www.romanohangos.cekit.cz  is  a  fortnightly  published  by  the  Association 
of the Roma in Moravia in Brno (2,500- 3,000 copies, 8 pages). This periodical has 
been  published  since  1999,  and  articles  are  published  in  Czech  and  (partially)  in 
Romani. Romano kurko (5,000 copies, 8-12 pages) was published until 2002 every 
two weeks by the Civil Association for Roma National Press in Brno, focussing on 
events in the Roma community. Articles were published in Czech and partially (30-
40%)  in  Romani.  All  the  media  above  receive  financial  support  from  the 
government.  The  Association  of  the  Friends  of  Romano  Džaniben  publishes 
Romano  Džaniben  [Roma  Knowledge],  a  periodical  of  Roma  studies  of  approx. 
100  pages  (with  a  Literary  Inset  issued  occasionally).  The  articles  are  in  Czech, 
Romani, Slovak and sometimes also in German, English or French. The periodical 
addresses experts dealing in Roma studies (linguistics, sociology, history etc.) and 
presents original texts in various Roma dialects. It is supported by the Foundation 
for the Development of Civil Society and the Prague Open Society Fund.  

2.4.2  In Radio broadcasting, there has been the programme O Roma vakeren – Romové 
hovoří since 1992, but is produced in Czech. There is also an Internet radio, Radio 
Rota  (www.radiorota.cz),  where  Romani  is  used  to  some  extent,  together  with 
Czech and English. Czech radio broadcasts approximately 1 hour and a half of news 
and regional programmes every week, only partly in Romani. At present there is no 
TV  broadcasting  specifically  in  Romani  and/or  for  the  Roma  in  state  or  private 
networks.  An  exception  was  the  programme  Romale,  a  course  of  Romani  and 
Roma  culture,  which  was  broadcast  from  2000  to  2001.  In  2001  the  civil 
association  Yetti  Climbers  Club  (Prague)  made  the  TV  series  Amare  Roma  [Our 
Roma].  Its  aim  was  to  popularise  Roma  history,  culture  and  tradition  as  well  as 
Roma  artists  and  famous  personalities  of  Roma  origin  and  to  teach  Romani;  the 
Czech  TV  aired  and  presented  more  than  20  parts  of  the  series.  One  reason  why 
programmes  for  Roma  are  broadcast  in  Czech  rather  than  Romani  is  that 
knowledge  of  the  language  varies  considerably  among  the  Roma  themselves.  A 
number  of  websites  are  produced  in  Romani,  most  often  with  parallel  texts  in 
Czech  and  English.  The  most  significant  is  http://www.romove.cz/en,  which  also 
provides  several  links.  At  present,  there  seems  to  be  no  development  of  human 
language  technologies  for  Romani  (like  machine-readable  dictionaries,  authoring 
aids,  translation  tools  and  language  learning  systems).  However,  some  resources 
for 
e.g. 
www.rommuz.cz/pdf/AnnualReport2002.pdf  for  the  Muzeum  romské  kultury, 

digitised: 

language 

being 

the 

are 

55

 
 
 
 
 
radio  and 
id=multimedia).  

television 

recordings 

(see  http://www.romea.cz/index.php? 

2.5  Arts and culture 

2.5.1 

In the 90s, the cultural promotion of Romani had some significant developments. 
These include the publication of Hübschmannová, M., Šebková, H. and Žigová, A. 
Romsko-český a česko-romský kapesní slovník [Czech-Romani and Romani-Czech 
Pocket Dictionary] (Praha: Státní pedagogické nakladatelství, 1991), and (in 1994) 
the  publication  of  the  first  number  of  a  regular  journal  of  Roma  studies  with  the 
support of the Phare programme: Romano Džaniben. Časopis romistických studií 
[A journal of Roma studies]. In 1999 an important textbook of Romani appeared, 
written by Šebková, H., Žlnayová, E. Romaňi čhib. Učebnice slovenské romštiny [A 
textbook  of    the  Slovak  Romani]  (Praha:  Fortuna).  Havlová  (2000)  has  collected 
655  examples  of  literary  writings  by  Roma  authors  in  the  CR  from  1969  to  1999. 
The  collection  represents  the  complete  literary  production  that  originated  in  the 
period. Most of the works, written in Romani (sometimes with Czech translations), 
are poems, short stories and fairy tales etc. from periodicals, while only 32 works 
had  been  published  as  books.  The  vast  majority  of  the  works  was  sponsored  by 
state  institutions  or  non-governmental  organizations.  Although  the  publishing  of 
Romani  literature  dates  back  to  the  end  of  the  1960s  with  the  founding  of  the 
Gypsy-Roma Union, the highest publishing figures were recorded at the beginning 
of the 1990s. 

2.5.2  One  of  the  most  significant  Roma  cultural  institutions  is  the  Muzeum  romské 
kultury  [The  Museum  of  Romani  Culture]  (http://www.rommuz.cz)  in  Brno, 
which  has  been  operational  since  1991  with  support  from  the  Czech  government 
(Ministry  of  Culture  and  Ministry  of  Foreign  Affairs)  as  well  as  from  the  Brno 
Metropolitan  Authority  and  other  sponsors.  The  Museum  cooperates  with  other 
institutions  both 
the  2000  report 
http://www.rommuz.cz/pdf/AnnualReport2002.pdf). Other cultural organisations 
are  the  Nadace  Romano  Džaniben  [The  Romano  Dzaniben  Foundation], 
Společenstíi Romů Na Moravě [The Society of Roma in Moravia], the Open Society 
Fund  (http://osf.cz),  Nadace  Mosty  [The  Bridges  Foundation],  Nová  Škola  [The 
New  School],  Centrum  Romistiky  [The  Romani  Studies  Centre],  Chavorikane 
Luma [Children’s World]. In dramatic art there seems to be no stable professional 
or amateur groups that work (almost) primarily in Romani. Cinema production is 
limited to fairy tales for children.  

the  CR  and  abroad 

(see  also 

in 

2.5.3  Traditional  music  in  Romani  is  performed  by  V.  Bílá  (at  present  the  best-known 
Roma singer), A. Gondolán (also owner of a Music Club in which both Roma and 
Non-Roma  groups  perform,  V.  Fabián  (a  star  of  the  1960s  and  1970s),  L.  Goral 
(also an actor) and J. Fečo (also the author of a Roma musical) among others. Pop 
and rock have Gulo čar (a soul-funk group from Brno), Romano Rat (Roma music 
combined  with  jazz),  Ida  Kelarová  Bengas  (a  present-day  group)  and  Syndrom 
Snopp. The international cultural festival Romfest (held annually 1990-1996) was 
discontinued and changed into a Roma Song Festival, now operating on a national 
level.  The  Association  of  the  Roma  of  Northern  Moravia  organises  the  festival  of 
Roma  Song  Karviná,  which  fetures  both  traditional  and  contemporary  Roma 
music.  The  world  Roma  festival  Khamoro  [Sunshine]  is  one  of  the  most  popular 
activities  performed  in  Prague:  it  is  organised  by  Word  21  Civil  Association 
founded in 2001 and has attracted Roma artists from 12 states. There is an annual 
literary competition of Roma children writing in Romani Romano suno. 

56

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2.6  The business world 

There  is  virtually  no  presence  of  Romani  in  this  domain,  with  the  exception  of  a 
few  approx.  50)  Roma  assistants/advisors  in  civil  service  posts  (⇒  2.3)  and,  to 
some  extent,    in  the  education  domain  where  there  were  more  than  300  Roma 
assistants  working  in  preparatory  classes  in  the  school  year  2002/2003.  The 
language  is  never  used  in  advertising,  but  —  according  to  Radio  Rota  —  some 
initiatives  to  that  effect  are  planned  (2004).  There  is  no  consumer  information 
available in Romani. 

2.7  Family and the social use of the language 

2.7.1  The first language of Roma in the Czech Lands used to be Romani, but Slovak and 
Czech have been replacing it. Many members of the middle and older generations 
are bilingual or multilingual, using Czech, Slovak and also Hungarian (Slovak and 
Hungarian  being  required  to  maintain  contacts  abroad).  Before  1989  Roma  were 
not acknowledged as an ethnic (national) minority and Romani could not be used 
in  public  nor  in  the  education  system.  Romani  plays  an  important  role  in  Roma 
groups  as  a  symbol  of  their  community,  but  little  is  turned  into  practice.  Some 
language-related initiatives has been pursued with the assistance of agents who are 
not  themselves  Roma.  A  number  of  Romani  intellectuals  do  not  support  the 
maintenance  of  Romani  and  claim  that  their  “Roma-ness”  [romipen]  does  not 
depend on the language. Among different Roma groups, however, Romani is still a 
vital 
language  for  everyday  communication.  The  Roma  particularism  has 
traditionally  maintained  a  high  degree  of  endogamy  within  communities,  which 
still  continues:  intergroup  marriages  appear  to    be  even  less  common  than 
marriages  with  non-Roma.  This  may  have  contributed  to  the  maintenance  of  the 
language, but the assimilation process appears stronger.  

2.7.2  There  are  as  many  as  35  registered  civic  associations  and  political  parties  for  the 
Roma population. The Romská občanská iniciativa [The Roma Civic Initiative] is, 
with  several  thousand  members,  the 
largest  political  organisation.  Other 
organisations  include  Demokraticáa  Aliance  Romů  ČR  [The  Democratic  Alliance 
of Roma of the Czech Republic); Romské Centrum pro Střední a východní Evropu 
[The  Romani  Centre  for  Central  and  Eastern  Europe],  Nadace  Tolerance  [The 
Tolerance  Foundation],  Romodrom  (http://www.romodrom.org),  Dokumentační 
Stredisko  Pro  Lidská  Práva  [Documentation  Centre  for  Human  Rights] 
(http://www.lidska-prava.cz),  Poradna  Pro  Občanství  Bývalých  Občanů  ČSFR 
[Citizenship  Counselling  Centre],  Sdružení  Olašských  Romů  V  ČR  [The 
Association  of  Vlax  Roma  in  the  Czech  Republic].  Sdružení  Dženo  [Dzeno 
Association]  (http://www.dzeno.cz) 
the 
development and restoration of Roma traditions. The association enjoys the State 
and  foreign  contributions,  including  the  Phare  programme.  Other  associations 
include  SLOVO  21  (which  organizes  international  Roma  Summer  Schools  with  a 
particular  emphasis  on  Romani)  and  Hnutí  R  [Movement  R]  –  originally  a 
movement  of  teachers  and  schools,  aimed  at  introducing  multicultural  education 
into the Czech education system with a particular emphasis on Roma pupils. There 
has been a Union of Roma Writers in the CR since 1990, most of them writing in 
Romani. 
from 
further 
http://www.romove.cz/en/article/18366.  

is  a  civil  association  aiming  at 

available 

Details 

links 

and 

are 

57

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2.8  The European dimension 

The Czech Republic has signed but not ratified the European Charter for Regional 
and Minority languages. Roma are recognised as a minority under the Framework 
Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, which was ratified by the CR 
in 1998. In 1994 the regular publication of the first journal of Roma studies started 
with  the  support  of  the  Phare  programme:  Romano  Džaniben.  Časopis 
romistických  studií  [A  journal  of  Roma  studies].  The  project  Variants  – 
Intercultural education  implemented was financed and carried out under the EU 
programme  Equal,  and  training  of  the  assistants  for  preparatory  classes  and 
teaching materials were supported by Phare 2002. In 2003 — in the framework of 
the project “Phare 2000 – Shift (Posun)” — a new study programme for training of 
Roma  assistants  and  advisors  was  developed  at  three  secondary  schools.  The 
Dženo Association is partly supported by Phare. 

3.  Conclusion 

The  situation  of  Romani  reflects  a  process  of  lingustic  assimilation,  especially 
among  the  young  generation  of  Roma.  While  in  traditional  Roma  settings  the 
original  language  and  culture  are  relatively  well  preserved,  in  urban  locations 
deculturation  appears  dominant.  The  situation  is  complicated  by  the  fact  that  — 
unlike  in  Slovakia  —  Romani  varieties  are  recently  transplanted  dialects  with  no 
areal  transitions,  and  particularism  inhibits  contacts  between  Central  Romani, 
Vlax  and  Sinti  speakers.  The  promotion  of  Romani  mostly  occurs  within  the 
preservation and development of the Roma’s cultural heritage,  but attempts have 
been made to use Romani as a means to overcome communication problems with 
Romani children at school. However, any use of Romani in special or mainstream 
education  would  have  to  take  into  account  the  fact  that  the  Roma  are  a 
disadvantaged social group: and in the promotion of Romani as an educational tool 
care has  to  be taken not to deny  Roma  children the opportunity to improve their 
command of Czech, because poor knowledge of the majority language contributes 
to the further isolation of Roma communities. The standardisation problem, which 
adds  to  the  difficulty  of  providing  educational  tools  in  Romani,  also  affects 
broadcasting possibilities. However, since most Romani in the CR speak mutually 
intelligible  dialects,  variation  might  be  accepted  without  waiting  for  an 
international  standard  to  be  fully  developed  [Hübschmannova  and  Neustupuný, 
1996:105]. 

58

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                      Slovak in the Czech Republic  

1.  General information 

1.1 

The language  

Slovak  [slovenský  jazyk]  is  a  western  Slavonic  language  like  Czech,  Polish  and 
Sorbian. It uses the Latin alphabet with four diacritics. The earliest attestations are 
in  Latin  or  Old  Church  Slavonic  manuscripts,  and  date  from  the  10th  –13th 
centuries.  Standardisation  was  first  attempted  only  in  the  late  18th  century  by 
Anton  Bernolák  (1762-1813),  a  Catholic  priest:  the  use  of  a  Slovakicized  form  of 
Czech  was  also  a  way  to  distance  oneself  from  the  Slovak  protestant  tradition, 
which  had  its  roots  in  the  Czech  Reformation.  In  the  19th  century,  parallel  to  the 
rise of Slovak nationalism, L’udovít Štúr (1815-56) developed a standard grammar 
which  is  basically  in  use  to  this  day.  The  Slovak  language  differs  from  Czech 
because the two languages were standardised on the basis of different dialects on 
the  Czecho-Slovak  dialectal  continuum  [Berger,  2003].  Slovak  and  Czech  are  in 
fact  mutually  intelligible  languages:  differences  between  them  are  smaller  than 
those  existing  between  standard  (literary)  Czech  and  Silesian  dialects.  This  has 
favoured  the  development  of  passive  (or  receptive)  bilingualism  between  Czechs 
and Slovaks, with a situation of “semicommunication” similar to the one between 
Danish,  Norwegian  and  Swedish.  There  are  no  reliable  data  available  on  the 
presence  of  Slovak  dialects  in  the  CR.;  as  Slovaks  lived  dispersed  throughout  the 
country  and  tend  to  assimilate  very  quickly,  it  is  generally  assumed  that  no  new 
dialects have come into existence. 

1.2  History, geography and demography  

1.2.1  Before  the  foundation  of  the  Czechoslovak  Republic  (CSR)  in  1918  the  Czech  and 
the  Slovak  nations  were  politically  divided,  although  there  was  some  degree  of 
migration.  Slovaks  from  southern  Slovakia,  for  example,  had  fled  to  Southern 
Moravia following the Turkish invasion of Hungary. Within the Austro-Hungarian 
Empire Slovakia was part of Hungary. In 1918 Slovaks comprised — together with 
the Czechs  — 65% of the population of the CSR. The  migration of Slovak from to 
the more industrialized  Czech regions,  that had occurred since the second half of 
the 19th century, ceased in 1939 when Slovakia was founded as a separate state and 
the Czech Lands became a protectorate of Germany. After the war the CSR was re-
established,  with  the  Slovaks  replacing  the  Germans  as  the  largest  non-Czech 
national group. By 1947 there were as many as 170,000 Slovaks among those who 
settled  the  border  areas  with  Germany  (the  former  Sudetenland).  Slovak 
immigration  grew  to  reach  a  peak  of  3.5%  of  the  total  CSR  population  in  1980, 
when  359,370  declared  Slovak  ethnicity.  Unlike  Germans  or  Poles,  Slovaks  are 
therefore  mainly  post-war  immigrants.  With  the  establishment  of  the  Federal 
Republic in 1968 the situation of passive bilingualism intensified: an example was 
the arrival of many Slovaks in Prague to work within the state’s administration.  

Passive  bilingualism  was  developed  essentially  through  broadcasting,  while  the 
influence  of  printed  media  was  less.  Education  played  a  significant  role,  with  the 
teaching  of  Slovak  being  limited  to  the  acquisition  of  a  passive  language 
knowledge.  

59

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1.2.2  Before  World  War  II  Czechs  and  Slovaks  were  considered  as  one  “Czechoslovak” 
nation and were not differentiated in statistics. In the 2001 census, 193,190 people 
declared  Slovak  nationality;  in  the  1991  census  there  were  314,877  (3.1%  of  the 
population). However, a qualified estimate places the number of Slovaks living in 
the Czech Republic at between 350,000 and 400,000. There remains a decrease in 
Slovak ethnicity that has been occurring since the 1980s, and more sharply in the 
last  decade  of  the  20th  century.  This  fall  in  Slovak  affiliation  is  not  due  to 
repatriation: many second- or third generation Slovaks may have chosen to declare 
Czech identity, Slovak immigration has slowed down and many of the Roma who 
had  previously  declared  Slovak  nationality  (most  of  them  do  originate  from 
Slovakia)  have  probably  switched  to  Czech  or  Roma  ethnicity  [Nekvapil  and 
Neustupný,  1998].    As  to  the  number  of  speakers,  in  the  2001  census  208,723 
declared Slovak to be their first language, while in 1991 239,355 speakers had been 
recorded. Unlike in 1991, therefore, the number of speakers exceeds the number of 
those  who  declare  the  relevant  ethnicity.  However,  14,109  people  have  declared 
themselves  as  bilingual  Czech-Slovak.  The  census  of  1981  did  not  include  a 
question concerning the first language.  

1.2.3  Although  Slovaks  are  dispersed  throughout  the  territory  of  the  CR,  the  most 
numerous  groups  are  to  be  found  in  northern  Moravia,  northern  Bohemia  and 
Prague. More specifically, they are found in the Karlovy Vary region, as well as in 
the Moravia-Silesia, Usti n.L. and Liberec regions. There are still no data available 
on urban or rural distribution, pending further statistical analysis. 

1.3  Legal status and official policies  

1.3.1  The  Constitution  of  1920  introduced  a  “Czechoslovak”  language,  although 
legislation  in  the  same  document  specified  that  the  language  had  two  varieties, 
Czech and Slovak. They were used in their respective territories, but Czech was the 
language  of  the  central  administration  and  prevailed  in  most  contexts.  In  1938 
Slovak  became  the  official  language  of  the  state,  and  the  codification  of  literary 
Slovak was deliberately separated from Czech. After World War II the legal concept 
of  Czechoslovak  was  not  revived,  and  Slovak  continued  to  remain  under  Czech 
influence. With the establishment of a federal state in 1968, both Czech and Slovak 
were official languages and the degree of receptive multilingualism increased. With 
the partition of the Czechoslovakia (1993) the Slovak community in the CR became 
a minority. 

1.3.2  The  legal  status  of  Slovak  is  not  mentioned  separately  nor  in  a  single  general 
framework,  but  is  derived  by  formulations  that  are  also  applicable  to  other 
minority  languages.  Its  use  is  thus  governed  by  the  Act  on  Rights  of  Members  of 
National  Minorities.  The  main  government  institution  dealing  with  the  Slovak 
minority  is  the  Government  Council  for  National  Minorities,  where  the  Slovak 
minority is represented. The Government Council for National Minorities allocates 
grants for the various activities of the Slovak associations. 

60

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2.  Presence and use of the language in various fields 

2.1  Education  

2.1.1  There has traditionally been a lack of Slovak schools in the CR. Currently, Slovak is 
not  taught  at  the  pre-school,  primary  and  secondary  levels  of  education,  nor  in 
technical and vocational schools.  In the first half of the 90s, the primary school in 
Karviná  was  the  only  operational  Slovak  school  in  the  territory  of  the  CR;  but  it 
ceased  to  exist  at  the  end  of  the  millennium  owing  to  a  low  number  of  pupils.  A 
survey  conducted  in  the  first  half  of  the  80s  revealed  that  many  Slovaks  did  not 
consider the teaching of Slovak as appropriate for their children. In Prague (where 
several thousand Slovaks live) there has never been a Slovak school: in the 90s, the 
association Obec Slovákov v Českej republike had launched the project of a Slovak 
High School [gymnázium], but there were not enough applications.  

2.1.2  After  the  division  of  Czechoslovakia  in  1993  Slovak  was  no  longer  included  in 
school curricula; some institutions in the CR continued teaching Slovak within the 
framework  of  Slavic  or  Czech  studies,  others  discontinued  it.  Towards  the  end  of 
the  1990s  it  was  felt  that  more  systematic  attention  was  necessary.  In  1999  the 
Slovak  -  Czech  Club,  the  Ministry  of  Education,  Youth  and  Sports  of  the  CR,  the 
Charles University of Prague and the Embassy of the Slovak Republic organised a 
conference  to  discuss  the  absence  of  Slovak  language  in  the  Czech  education 
system. In 2000 the National Seminar on Teaching Slovak and Slovak Literature at 
Czech Universities organised by the Hradec Králové University recommended that 
some universities establish a Czech-Slovak major, and called for the incorporation 
of  Slovak  language  and  literature  at  primary  and  secondary  schools  within  the 
context  of  multicultural  education.  The  Protocol  between  the  Czech  and  Slovak 
ministries of education permits students to use their mother language in admission 
examinations  and  during  academic  courses  in  the  other  country  (i.e.  the  Czech 
language  can  be  used  at  Slovak  universities  and  vice  versa,  unless  the  course  or 
examination is directly related to the study of the language concerned). 

2.1.3  As a subject, Slovak is now present only at the university level, and is included into 
curricula  of  Czech  Studies  or  Slavic  Studies.    There  is  a  department  (founded  in 
1994)  of  Slovak  Studies  at  the  Charles  University  in  Prague.  Slovak    studies  are 
available also at Masaryk University in Brno. As a medium of instruction, Slovak is 
used  within  the  Slovak  Studies  programme  at  Charles  University  and  Masaryk 
University,  but  in  other  institutions  of  higher  education  (technical,  economic  or 
medical universities) some Slovak members of the teaching staff use Slovak while 
teaching  various  subjects  to  Czech  students.  There  are  no  particular  training 
courses for language teachers. 

2.2  Judicial authorities 

The Act on Rights of Members of National Minorities of 10th July 2001 states that 
“Members  of  national  minorities  living  traditionally  and  for  a  long  time  in  the 
territory  of  the  Czech  Republic  have  the  right  to  use  the  language  of  a  national 
minority  in  official  documentation  and  discourse  and  in  hearings  before  a  court. 
Conditions  for  exercise  of  this  right  are  determined  by  special  regulation”. 
Members  of  the  Slovak  minority  are  thus  guaranteed  the  right  to  use  Slovak  in 
contact  with  judicial  authorities  and  in  court.  There  are  official  interpreters  from 
Slovak  into  Czech  registered  at  the  Ministry  of  Justice.  In  practice,  however,  the 
right  to  use  minority  languages  in  dealing  with  administrative  authorities  and  in 

61

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
the  courts  has  not  been  supported  by  additional  legislation,  and  has  not  been 
implemented. Receptive bilingualism is most frequent in such situations.   

2.3  Public authorities and services 

The are no official statements/documents nor reliable data available on the use of 
Slovak  by  state  or  regional  public  authorities.  Given  its  interintelligibility  with 
Czech, Slovak is apparently tolerated in dealings with the administration — both in 
writing  and  in  speech.  No  services  are  provided  in  Slovak;  the  signage  is  only  in 
Czech.  However,  informal  contacts  with  service  providers  can  be  maintained  in 
Slovak, insofar as receptive bilingualism allows it. 

2.4  Mass media and information technology 

2.4.1 

In 1991 there were still 14 Slovak newspapers being distributed in the CR, but not 
necessarily published in the Czech Lands. Today there are no dailies or weeklies in 
the Slovak language that are published in the Czech Republic. Only three monthlies 
are  available  in  the  CR:  Listy  (published  by  the  Klub  slovenské  kultury  v  České 
republice), Slovenské dotyky [Slovak Touches] (published by the Slovensko-český 
klub  v ČR)  and  Korene  [Roots]  (published  by  Obec  Slovákov  v ČR).  Ilustrovaný 
žurnál Černá labuť — which is published only occasionally — uses both Czech and 
Slovak. 

2.4.2  In radio broadcasting, there is a regular short programme in Slovak for the Slovak 
minority  (including  1  hour/week  of  news);  Slovak  is  sometimes  used  in  Czech 
broadcasting, e.g. in sports programmes or news (in interviews with Slovak players 
or  trainers  living  in  CR),  or  by  national  radio  stations  who  employ  Slovak 
correspondents  or  moderators  for  music  programmes.  Since  2002,  the  Slovak 
private  radio  Twist  (based  in  Slovakia)  has  broadcast  in  Prague  and  in  the 
surrounding region. There are no separate Slovak TV channels or programmes, not 
even  on  private  channels.  The  Slovak  satellite  channel  Markíza  and  other  Slovak 
networks (films and series are also dubbed in Slovak) can be picked up in the CR. 
It has frequently been suggested that television used to play a decisive role in the 
development  of  receptive  bilingualism,  and  that  the  disappearance  of  the  Slovak 
cultural programmes (as well as the alternation of announcers in news and sports) 
has  negatively  affected  the  passive  knowledge  of  the  language  among  younger 
generations.  However,  in  the  former  CSR  there  was  only  one  TV  program  in 
Slovak, and the total share of Slovak was quite limited. 

2.4.3  The  activities  of  the  Slovak  minority  organisations  are  presented  by  the  Slovak-
Czech  Club  on  www.cz-sk.net  and  on  www.slovak.sk    (or  www.slovaci.cz  )  by  the 
Community  of  the  Slovaks  in  the  Czech  Republic.  On  both  addresses  the 
periodicals Slovak Touches and Roots are available. In addition, the Czech-Slovak 
Club  has  put  on  www.svet.czsk.net  an  Internet  daily  which  is  updated  every  day. 
This  online  publication  addresses  Czechs  and  Slovaks  worldwide,  including  the 
Slovak  minority  in  the  CR  and  the  Czech  minority  in  Slovakia;  it  is  supported  by 
both Czech and Slovak government bodies. 

2.5  Arts and culture 

2.5.1  Materials  and  books  in  Slovak  are  published  mainly  in  Slovakia.  A  recent 
production  in  the  CR  is  the  result  of  the  collaboration  between  Czech  and  Slovak 
linguists:  M.  Sokolová,  K.  Musilová,  D.  Slančová  and  J.  Dršatová  (forthcoming): 

62

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Renovovaný  kurz  jazyka  slovenského  pro  Čechy  –  Renovovaný  kurz  českého 
jazyka pre Slovákov [A Revised Course of Slovak for Czechs – A Revised Course of 
Czechs for Slovaks]. In 2003 a new textbook for secondary schools was published: 
Čítanka  moderní  slovenské  literatury  pro  střední  školy  [An  anthology  of  Slovak 
literature  for  secondary  schools]  (of  Baláž,  Anton,  and  Petrík,  Vladimír:  Praha: 
Slovensko-český klub). 

2.5.2  Among  traditional  music  groups  are  Limbora  (founded  in  the  1950s)  and  Púčik 
(founded in 1991); they work in Prague and Brno respectively. Slovak pop and rock 
is very popular in the CR, but the  music is produced in Slovakia. There are a few 
Slovak singers  living and performing in the CR, among them Miro Žbirka. As far 
as drama is concerned, there are no professional groups that work in Slovak. The 
ČeskoSlovenská  scéna  [The  CzechSlovak  Scene]  is  a  semi-professional  group 
performing both in Czech and Slovak (the Czech actors speak Czech and the Slovak 
actors  speak  Slovak  during  the  same  performance).  There  are  no  films  made  or 
dubbed in Slovak, but in many Czech films there are characters using Slovak. The 
Club  of  the  Slovak  Culture  in  the  Czech  Republic  holds  lectures,  seminars, 
performances of folklore  ensembles and professional  art  exhibitions, publications 
and  collection  of  documents.  The  Slovensko-český  klub  [Slovak-Czech  Club]  was 
the  main  organiser  of  Days  of  the  Slovak  Culture  which  took  place  in  2001  in 
České  Budějovice,  Moravská  Třebová  and  Prague.  This  civil  association  also  puts 
on  the  festival  of  Czech-Slovak  Theatre,  where  Czech  and  Slovak  actors  play 
together  in  their  respective  mother  tongues.  In  2002  it  also  organised  in  several 
Czech towns Days of the Slovak Culture in the Czech Republic. The Community of 
the  Slovaks  in  the  Czech  Republic  was  the  promoter  of    the  4th  international 
festival  of  Slovak  folklore  Jánošík  Ducat  at  the  Walachia  Open-Air  Museum  in 
Rožnov  pod  Radhoštěm.  This  festival  has  included  members  of  other  national 
minorities  living  in  the  CR.  In  2002  the  Limbora  Slovak  Folklore  Association  in 
Prague  was  a  main  organiser  of  the  international  folklore  festival  Prague  -  the 
Heart of Nations. 

2.6  The business world 

2.6.1  Many Slovaks use Slovak when talking to or negotiating with Czechs: knowledge of 
Slovak does not seem to be a job requirement or advantage in any sector. There is 
no advertising in the language. A new phenomenon is the parallelism of Czech and 
Slovak texts in consumer goods and trade: since producers have to use Czech texts 
on packages of industrial products for sale in the CR and must use Slovak for the 
Slovak market, the use of parallel texts in both languages is increasing. 

2.7  Family and the social use of the language 

2.7.1 

In  general,  Slovaks  who  only  come  to  the  CR  temporarily  use  Slovak;  those  who 
plan to stay permanently tend to shift to Czech. The situation of bilingualism thus 
seems  to  be  directly  linked  to  the  duration  of  the  contact  with  Czech.  The 
intergenerational  transmission  of  Slovak  appears  to  occur  in  only  50%  of  the 
families  and  presumably  even  less,  a  decrease  from  50  years  ago.  Younger 
generations, not surprisingly, are considered by their parents to be less competent 
in  the  language.  The  degree  of  endogamy  is  low  and  on  the  wane  (29.1%  in  1991 
and  16.2%  in  1994):  in  mixed  families  communication  is  in  Czech  or  in  both 
languages, but homogeneous Slovak families also tend to use both languages.  

63

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2.7.2  The Slovak minority has several associations, most dealing with cultural activities: 
Česko-Slovenská  scéna,  Demokratická  aliancia  Slovákov,  Folklórne  združenie 
Púčik,  Folklórne  združenie  Limbora,  Klub  slovenskej  kultúry,  Obec  Slovákov  v 
ČR,  Klub  slovenské  kultury  v  České  republice,  Slovensko-český  klub,  Spolok 
Detvan, Spolok priateľov slovenského divadla, Zväz Slovákov. The Klub slovenské 
kultury v České republice [Club of the Slovak Culture in the Czech Republic] is the 
largest, with approx. 2,500 members. In 2001 it helped organise the first Week of 
the  Czech-Slovak  Cultural  Interaction.  The  Slovak  Community  in  the  Czech 
Republic  has  its  regional  branches  throughout  the  whole  state.  It  holds  club 
evening  parties  and  is  one  of  the  main  organisers  of  the  international  festival  of 
Slovak  folklore,  Jánošík  Ducat,  which  takes  place  at  the  Walachia  Open-Air 
Museum  in  Rožnov  pod  Radhoštěm.  At  the  3rd  festival  in  2001  more  than  20 
ensembles from the CR and abroad performed. The festival was open to ensembles 
of other national minorities living in the CR. 

2.8  The European dimension 

The  Agreement  between  the  Czech  Republic  and  the  Slovak  Republic  on  good 
neighbourhood,  friendly  relations  and  cooperation  guarantees  (Art.  8)  both  the 
legal  protection  and  support  of  new  national  minorities  –  the  Slovak  minority  in 
the  CR  and  the  Czech  one  in  SR,  the  development  of  educational,  cultural  and 
association  activities  etc.  Reciprocal  treatment  of  Slovak  students  in  the  CR  and 
Czech students in Slovakia is guaranteed  by the Protocol  between the  Ministry of 
Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic and the Ministry of Education 
of  the  Slovak  Republic  concerning  Cooperation  in  the  Field  of  Education,  Youth, 
Physical Education and Sports in the Years 2002-2006 

3.  Conclusion 

The situation of the Slovaks in the CR appears to be one of language and cultural 
assimilation,  as  the  declining  number  of  speakers  (paralleled  by  the  diminishing 
ethnic  affiliation)  indicates.  This  language  shift  is  certainly  being  favoured  by  the 
situation  of  receptive  bilingualism  and  “semicommunication”  existing  between 
Czech and Slovak speakers — given the high degree of interintelligibility of the two 
languages. The role of Slovak in education and other fields is negligible, despite the 
existing legal framework. The lack of interest and initiatives for the language seems 
to characterise both official authorities and civic society domains.  

64

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                               Other languages  

1. 

Bulgarian 

1.1 

1.2 

1.3 

1.4 

1.5 

Bulgarian  [bălgarski  ezik]  is  a  southern  Slavonic  language  of  the  Indo-European 
family,  together  with  Croatian,  Macedonian,  Serbian  and  Slovene.  Codified  in 
1899, Bulgarian is written in the Cyrillic alphabet — in a version almost identical to 
the  Russian  script.  The  Bulgarian  minority  first  organised  in  Bohemia  in  1880, 
although iImmigration of Bulgarians in the territory of the CR mainly dates back to 
the 1920s and 1930s;, some came immediately after World War II on the basis of 
an  intergovernmental  agreement,  with  many  of  them  specifically  engaged  in 
vegetable-growing  activities;  they  resettled  areas  where  Germans  had  been 
evacuated.  

According to the results of the 2001 census, 4,363 people have declared Bulgarian 
nationality as against 3,487 in 1991, but estimates place the number of Bulgarians 
living in the CR at 8,000-10,000 (including those with residence permit). Most of 
them  have  Czech  citizenship.  The  Bulgarian  minority  lives  scattered  throughout 
the  CR;  most  live  in  Prague,  followed  by  the  regions  of  Central  Bohemia,  South 
Bohemia, Pilsen, Karlovy Vary, Ústi n. L., Liberec, Hradec Králové, South Moravia, 
Olomouc  and  Moravia-Silesia.  Almost  80%  of  the  community  are  persons  older 
than  18  years.  The  community  is  represented  at  the  Government  Council  for 
National  Minorities;  the  language,  however,  has  no  legal  status.  There  are  no 
Bulgarian schools, with the exception of the Petr Beron School within the Embassy 
of the Republic of Bulgaria in Prague (the syllabus conforms to the Bulgarian one, 
with  extended  teaching  of  the  Czech  language).  At  university  level,  Bulgarian  is 
offered  within  departments  of  Slavonic  studies.  There  is  little  information  on  the 
language  behaviour  of  Bulgarians;  however,  some  of  them  are  known  to  use 
Russian. 

The Bulgarian minority first organised in Bohemia in  1880, when the  association 
Bulharska  Sedjanka  was  established  in  Prague  in  1880.  Other  compatriot 
associations  followed  and  eventually  united  to  create  the  Bulharska  kulturne-
osvetova  organizace  [Bulgarian  Cultural  and  Educational  Organisation]  (BCEO), 
as a successor to Bulharska Sedjanka. The BCEO is run by the roof organisation  of 
Bulgarian  Cultural  and  Educational  Clubs  in  the  CR  (BCEC),  who  act  as  legal 
persons. In 1992 the St. Cyril and St. Mehodius Bulgarian Cultural and Educational 
Club  was  founded,  and  in  2001  the  civil  association  Vazraždane  in  Prague  was 
born.  Other  recent  organisations  are  Pirin,  a  dancing  and  folklore  ensemble  in 
Brno,  the  association  of  the  Bulgarians  and  their  friends  in  the  Czech  Republic 
Zaedno,  the  Association  for  Bulgaria  and  the  Bulharský  kulturně  osvětový  klub. 
The  BCEO  has  some  2,000  members,  most  of  them  Bulgarians  with  Czech 
citizenship or permanent residence in the CR. 

Although there seems to be no literary production in for Bulgarian in the CR, the 
BCEO  issue  the  periodical  Roden  glas  (bi-monthly),  the  association  Vazraždane 
the magazine Balgari, and the St. Cyril and St. Methodius Bulgarian Cultural and 
Educational  Club  occasionally  publish  the  bulletin  Rodna  reč.  The  Prague  BCEO 
issues at times the bulletin Inform. 

There is no specific broadcasting in Bulgarian: but BCEO clubs in Prague, Olomouc 
and Mladá Boleslav are equipped to receive every day from 1,00 p.m. to 12,00 p.m. 
satellite programmes of the Bulgarian National Television, and the programmes of 
the Bulgarian National Radio and Christo Botev Radio. There is apparently a high 

65

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
degree of intergenerational transmission of the language; but mixed couples tend 
to use Czech. 

2. 

Croatian 

2.1 

2.2 

2.3 

Croatian  [hrvatski  jezik]  is  a  southern  Slavonic  language  of  the  Indo-European 
family, together with Bulgarian, Macedonian, Serbian and Slovene. It is written in 
the  Latin  alphabet.  Croats  originally  came  to  South  Moravia  as  early  as  the  16th 
century,  fleeing  from  Turkish  invasions.  After  World  War  II  the  Croats  were 
considered  as  a  hostile  minority  which  had  collaborated  with  the  Germans  and 
were displaced to several villages and cities throughout the territory of the CR. At 
first  they  were  relocated  to  places  formerly  inhabited  by  the  German  population 
(e.g.  Moravský  Šternberk,  Hůzová,  Uničov  etc.),  but  later  movements  brought 
them  to  Austria  (Vienna  in  particular)  and  other  countries.  The  Croatian 
community  in  the  CR  have  recently  asked  the  government  to  redress  the  wrongs 
caused by those historical events. While they have traditionally used a local variety 
of  Croatian  (that  also  makes  use  also  of  a  mixed  Czech-Croatian  orthography), 
communication  also  obtains  occurs  in  Burgenland  Croatian  [Gradišcansko 
Hrvatski], which is intelligible to the majority of Croats that have dispersed in the 
CR, Slovakia, Austria and Hungary. However, both are languages that have evolved 
separately from standard Croatian as is now used in Croatia, which is little poorly 
intelligible to for Moravian Croats.  

According  to  the  2001  census,  1,585  people  have  declared  Croatian  nationality. 
Some  of  them  are  also  newcomers  to  the  CR  following  events  in  the  former 
Yugoslavia.  Members  of  the  Croatian  minority  live  scattered  throughout  the 
territory  of  the  CR,  but  many  live  in  large  cities  such  as  Prague,  Brno,  Olomouc, 
and Ostrava. Moravian Croats [Moravski Hrvati] were to be found particularly in 
the  villages  of  Jevišovka,  Dobré  Pole  and  Nový  Přerov  near  the  Austrian  border. 
According to a recent survey (2002), the number of those who have competence in 
Croatian  is  extremely  low  (400),  with  only  150  actively  using  the  language;  the 
average age iwas above 30.  

The  Sdružení  občanů  chorvatské  národnosti  v ČR  [Association  of  the  citizens  of 
the  Croatian  Minority  in  the  CR]  (established  in  1991  in  Brno)  is  the  only 
organisation representing the interests of the Croats of the CR. The main activity of 
the Association is the annual festival of Croatian culture Kiritof, which takes place 
since 1948 each September in Jevišovka (Břeclav district); it is also known as the 
“Croatian  Cultural  Day”.  The  festival,  supported  within  the  programme  of  the 
Ministry  of  culture,  is  prepared  in  cooperation  with  the  local  authorities  of 
Jevišovka  and  is  attended  by  Croats  from  Burgenland  (Austria)  and  Slovakia,  as 
well as by representatives of the government of Republic of Croatia. The meeting is 
also  an  occasion  to  divulge  publications  in  Burgenland  Croatian.  The  Association 
has published also several texts in local Croatian vernacular, for example Bedřich 
Sič, Spominanje na rodni kraj (Brno 1991). There are no schools in Croatian, but 
while  the  language  may  be  offered  within  Slaviconic  studies  departments  in 
universities.  As  far  as  media  are  concerned,  there  is  Hrvatske  Novine,  a  weekly 
(almost entirely in Croatian) which is published in Austria and is available during 
the Kiritof festival. Each Sunday it is possible to pick up the one-hour programme 
Dobar  dan,  Hrvati,  broadcast  in  Burgenland  Croatian  by  the  Austrian  ORF  II. 
Satellite  programmes  from  Croatia  have  the  disadvantage  that  modern  standard 
Croatian is little intelligiblepoorly understood  toby Moravian Croats. 

66

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2.4 

3. 

3.1 

3.2 

After 1989 there has been a renewed interest in Croatian culture and language in 
those  countries  affected  by  Croatian  migration.  The  Agreement  between  the 
Government of the CR and the Republic of Croatia on Co-operation in the Field of 
Culture, Education and Science, for example, was made to ensure preservation of 
the  cultural  and  historical  heritage  in  its  various  aspects.  The  newly  developed 
contacts  with  Croats  from  Austria  and  Slovakia  have  helped  retain  the  existing 
level  of  the  language  knowledge.  In  the  CR,  however,  the  dispersal  of  the 
community  makes  the  situation  very  difficult.  Only  children  born  to  couples  who 
had  married  before  the  displacement  from  South  Moravia  were  brought  up  (to 
some  extent)  in  Croatian;  the  intergenerational  transmission  of  the  language  has 
been discontinued.  

Greek 

Greek [Ellinika] represents an independent branch of the Indo-European family of 
languages. The Greek-speaking community was originally made by up of refugees 
during from the civil war in the 1940s. Almost 75% of them opted to return to their 
homeland between 1975 and the end of the 1980s. The 2001 census reported 3,219 
people  declaring  Greek  nationality  (though  community  representatives  give  an 
estimate  of  7,000),  ;  they  live  scattered  throughout  the  territory  of  the  CR,  but 
most  live  in  Moravia-Silesia  (Krnov,  Ostrava,  Šumperk,  Jeseník,  Třinec,  Karviná, 
Bohumín,  Havířov,  Vrbno  pod  Pradědem,  Albrechtice,  Osoblaha,  Dívčí  Hrad, 
Rudoltice,  Krásné  Loučky,  Staré  Purkartice,  Jindřichov,  Zlaté  Hory),  in  South 
Moravia  (Brno,  Znojmo,  Mikulov,  Hevlín)  and  Prague.  Individual  Separated 
families  also  live  in  other  localities  places  (for  example  Jablonec  nad  Nisou, 
Liberec, Hradec Králové, Jihlava, Vyškov, Olomouc, Strážnice).  

The  Greek  minority  is  represented  in  the  Government  Council  for  National 
Minorities  —  since  2002  —  also  in  the  Committee  of  Government  Council  for 
National  Minorities  for  grant  policy,  in  the  consultative  body  of  the  Ministry  of 
Education,  Youth  and  Sports  for  the  affairs  of  national  minorities,  in  the 
consultative  body  of  the  Deputy  Ministry  of  Culture  for  the  affairs  of  minority 
culture and in the Media Commission of the Radio. The chairman of Prague Greek 
Community Prague and one member of the board of directors are the members of 
Commission  for  National  Minorities  on  the  Territory  of  the  Capital  Prague  of  the 
Council of the Capital Prague. The chairman of the Brno Greek Community Brno is 
the  member  of  the  committee  for  National  Minorities  of  the  Brno  Council,  the 
member of Karviná Greek Community Karviná is the member of the Committee for 
National  Minorities  in  Karviná.  The  Jeseník  Greek  Community  Jeseník  is 
represented  in  the  Commission  for  the  Solution  of  the  Problems  of  National 
Minorities  in  the  municipal  authority  of  Jeseník.  Because  many  Greeks  who 
arrived in the CR as refugees expected to return to their homeland, Greek schools 
were  organised  but  are  now  disappering,  following  the  repatriation  of  many. 
However,  in  2001/02  the  teaching  of  Greek  as  a  subject  was  still  active  in  seven 
cities of Northern Moravia, in Bron and Prague, for a total of 190 students.  

3.3 

The cultural activities of regional organisations of the Greek national minority are 
focused on the preservation and development of traditional culture. Main activities 
are carried out by the Association of the Greek Communities in the Czech Republic, 
which  in  2002  organised  the  7th  Greek  Festival  in  the  CR  and  the  project 
“Important Days of the Greek Nation”. Traditional culture is preserved also by the 
civil  association  Lycée  of  the  Greeks  with  Greek  folk  costumes,  dance  and  folk 
traditions.  In  the  CR  there  are  ensembles  of  the  Greek  minority  Gorgona, 
Akropolis  and  Prométheus,  which  take  part  in  all  socio-cultural  activities  of  the 

67

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Greek minority as well as in festivals of other national minorities every year. At the 
Seventh  Greek  Festival  in  Krnov  in  June  2002,  a  partnership  agreement  was 
signedconcluded between Krnov and Athens (Pefki). Apart from a certain presence 
www.rokm.aktualne.cz, 
(www.sweb.cz/hellenika, 
on 
http://mujweb.cz/www/csspnk/index.htm),  the  Greek  Community  Prague  issues 
the  quarterly  Kalimera,  supported  by  the  Prague  Metropolitan  Authority;  the 
Greek Community Brno presents the summary of events in electronic form under 
the title Mantaforos tou Brno. There are no TV or radio programmes in Greek.  

net 

the 

4. 

Hungarian 

4.1 

4.2 

Hungarian [magyar nyelv] is  an Ugrian language of  the  Uralic family,  written in 
the  RomanLatin  alphabet.  When  Czechoslovakia  was  established  in  1918  the 
Hungarian autochthonous minority counted a million members, mainly inhabiting 
Slovakia and Sub-Carpathia along the border with Hungary. A sizable presence of 
Hungarians  in  Czechia  can  be  traced  throughout  the  interwar  years  (7,000 
members  in  1921  and  11,500  in  1930).  With  the  first  Vienna  Award  of  1938  that 
followed  the  Munich  Agreement  most  of  the  Hungarian  minority  was  annexed  to 
Hungary,  but  the  Trianon  borders  were  restored  at  the  end  of  World  War  II  and 
many  Hungarians  were  expelled.  Some  50,000  were  resettled  in  areas  to  replace 
the German population (especially in 1946-47), but most of them returned home in 
the  subsequent  years.  It  was  in  the  post-war  years  that  the  current  Hungarian 
minority  in  the  CR  moved  to  Czech  industrial  areas:  with  the  division  of 
Czechoslovakia in 1993 they thus became a small, non-autochthonous minority of 
the CR, removed from their kin state. According to the 2001 census 14,672 people 
have  declared  Hungarian  nationality,  as  against  19,932  in  1991.  Qualified 
estimates,  however,  suggest  higher  numbers  (approximately  19,300).  Hungarians 
live scattered in the territory, with concentrations in Prague and the surrounding 
area, as well as in the Northen Bohemia and Moravia-Silesia region.  

The Hungarian community is represented in the Government Council for National 
Minorities.  The  civil  association  of  the  members  of  the  Hungarian  national 
minority  is  the  Association  of  the  Hungarians  Living  in  Bohemia.  It  carries  out 
several cultural activities and runs a library and a videoteque to collect information 
relating  to  the  Hungarian  minority  in  the  CR.  The  most  important  project  of  this 
organisation  is  the  festival  “Days  of  Hungarian  Culture”,  which  involves  cultural 
activities  in  Prague,  Brno,  Ostrava  and  Pilsen.  At  the  level  of  education,  Charles 
University has been teaching Hungarian philology for more than a century; while 
the Svaz Madaru zijicich v ceskych zemichSvaz [Association of Hungarians living 
in  the  Czech  Lands],,  in  cooperation  with  the  Madarske  kulturni  stredisko 
[Hungaagrian Cultural Centre] in Prague,, offers courses in Hungarian for children 
from  Hungarian  families.  Other  linguistic  initiatives  for  the  minority  include  the 
publication  of  Prágai Tükor, a periodical which is issued five times  a  year by the 
Union  of  the  Hungarians  Living  in  Bohemia  (96  pages,  1,000  copies).  Prágai 
Tükor  is  the  most  important  Hungarian  periodical  (published  since  1993):  it 
focuses  on  the  cultural  and  social  life  of  the  Hungarian  minority  and  deals  with 
cultural/historical  Czech-Hungarian 
a 
summaryrésumé in Czech and English. The attitude of the Hungarians to language 
maintenance does not seem to be particularly positive: surveys conducted in 1992 
revealed  that  more  than  two-thirds  of  Hungarians  spoke  Czech  at  home,  but  and 
that  41%  of  the  sample  were  not  interested  in  transmitting  the  language  to  their 
children. 

relations.  Every 

includes 

copy 

68

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
5. 

5.1 

5.2 

5.3 

6. 

6.1 

Russian 

Russian  [russkij  jazyk]  is  an  eastern  Slavonic  language  of  the  Indo-European 
family, related to BelarusianBelorussian and Ukrainian and written in the Cyrillic 
alphabet.  Russians  first  arrived  in  the  CR  in  the  1920s  as  a  consequence  of  the 
Russian  revolution;  the  Czechoslovak  state  had  established  a  refugee  assistance 
programme. Their number apparently rose to more than 20,000 in the 1920s and 
1930s; some of them were deported by the Soviet Army at the end of World War II. 
According to the results of the 2001 census, 12,369 people have declared Russian 
nationality,  more  than  double  the  figure  (5,062)  recorded  in  1991;  as  many  as 
18,746 persons have indicated Russian language as their mother tongue, and 670 
persons  consider  both  Czech  and  Russian  as  their  mother  tongues.  This  is 
consistent  with  former  estimates  ranging  between  16,000  and  20,000  people. 
Members  of  the  Russian  national  minority  live  scattered  throughout  the  territory 
of the CR; most live in larger cities such as Prague, Brno, Karlovy Vary, Olomouc, 
Ústí nad Labem and in Pardubice.  

The  chairman  of  the  civil  association  Russian  Tradition  is  active  as  a  member  of 
the Commission of the Council of the Capital Prague for National Minorities of the 
Capital  Prague.  Russian  is  still  being  taught  at  a  number  of  primary  and  high 
schools and the re-opening of the bilingual Czech-Russian high school is scheduled 
for  2004.  Most  Russian  organisations  are  civil  associations  (“Russian  Tradition”, 
“Russian Institute”, Russian Občina, Očag, Ruske stredisko vedy a kultury v Praze 
[Russian Centre of Science and Culture in Prague]); some of them are informal and 
unregistered.  Activities  are  essentially  festival  meetings,  cultural  programmes 
(concerts  of  classical  music,  the  presentation  of  prose  and  poetry  by  Russian 
authors  etc.)  and  the  issue  of  periodicals  and  works  of  local  authors  in  Russian 
language.  In  2002  the  civil  association  “Russian  Tradition”  gained  the  financial 
support  of  the  Metropolitan  Authority  to  several  projects,  like  the  publication  of 
books  oin  Russian  emigration,  concerts  of  classical  music  and  the  publication  of 
the  magazine  Russian  Word.  The  Russian  Institute  publishes  Vesti,  a  periodical 
issued 5 times a year (12 pages, 3,500 copies).  The Czech Radio broadcasts a 30-
minute  programme  in  Russian  language,  but  there  are  no  TV  programmes  in 
Russian.  

The  Russian  minority  has  been  traditionally  active  associated  more  within  the 
Ortodox church than in civil associations. Indeed, the Orthodox church is the only 
church in Bohemia where the number of believers memers seems to have increased 
(they  are  estimated  to  be  100,000).  In  Bohemia,  this  church  unites  both  the 
Russian and the Ukrainian and BelarusianBelorussian communities. In private life 
the Russian language seems to be used to a large extent; in public all members of 
the Russian minority tend to learn Czech as soon as possible. 

Ruthenian 

Ruthenian [rusyn’skyj jazyk]  is an Eastern Slavonic language that belongs to the 
Indo-European  family.  Until  World  War  II  the  Ruthenians  were  a  distinct 
component  of  the  Chzechoslovak  state  (the  Podkarpatská  Rus);  when  the 
Czechoslovak  state  was  founded  it  was  even  suggested  that  the  country  be  called 
Česko-slovenská-rusínská  republika  [Czecho-Slovak-Ruthenian  Republic].  The 
territory of Sub-Carpathian Ukraine was  later  annexed  by  the  USSR (now part of 
Ukraine);  Ruthenians  in  the  CR  were  identified  as  as  subset  of  Ukrainians  and 
registered  as  such.  In  the  2001  census  1,106  people  have  declared  Ruthenian 
nationality  (they  were  1,926  in  1991).  Estimates  provided  by  the  community  itself 

69

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
6.2 

7. 

7.1 

indicate 10,000 members. Members of the Ruthenian national minority live scattered 
throughout  the  territory  of  the  Czech  Republic;  most  live  in  larger  cities  such  as 
Prague,  Brno,  Český  Těšín,    Jindřichův  Hradec  and  in  Northern  Bohemia.  Over  the 
years Ruthenians seem to have lost motivation and need to identify themselves with 
an ethnicity, and manyseveral have assimilated with the Czechs. 

The  Ruthenian  minority  is  represented  in  the  Government  Council  for  National 
Minorities,  the  Ministry  of  Foreign  Affairs,  Czech  Foreign  Institute,  Prague  and 
Brno Metropolitan Authorities and elected authorities of other towns (for example 
Karviná). The Association of the Friends of Sub-Carpathian Ukraine (AFSU) with 
its  Ruthenian  section  (the  Spolecnost  pratel  Podkarpatske  Rusi)  was  founded  in 
1990.  The  AFSU  associates  serves  both  the  members  of  the  Ruthenian  minority 
and the Czech well-wisherssympathisers of the Sub-Carpathian region, its natives 
and people who are interested in the history, present and nature of Sub-Carpathia 
and  tourism  on  its  territory.  AFSU  is  a  member  of  World  Organisation  of  the 
Ruthenians and has representatives in the World Council of the Ruthenians. It has 
branches  in  Brno,  Jindřichův  Hradec  and  Český  Těšín.  Every  year  it  organises  a 
general  meeting  to  evaluate  activities  and  to  adopt  the  action  programme.  Other 
organisations include Obščestvo Rusinov, which associates the Ruthenians on the 
territory of the CR. The main priorities of the community are the restoration and 
development  of  the  Ruthenian  identity,  the  study  of  the  history  and  actual 
problems  of  the  Ruthenians,  cultural,  educational  and  editorial  activities  and  co-
operation  with  the  organisations  of  Ruthenian  national  minorities  in  Slovakia, 
Hungary,  Sub-Carpathian  Ukraine,  Poland,  U.S.A.  and  Canada.  Further  priorities 
are  the  collection  of  documents,  photographs  and  artefacts  from  their  history  of 
the  Ruthenians.  Other  activities  include  lectures  and  informal  meetings  and  co-
operation  with  other  organisations  (National  Museum,  Masaryk  Democratic 
Movement,  cultural  institutions).  Exhibitions  have  been  held  in  Jindřichův 
Hradec,  Nové  Strašecí,  Mělník  and  many  other  localities  of  the  Czech  Republic. 
AFSU  issues  the  magazine  Podkarpatská  Rus  which  includes  scientific  studies, 
memorial volumes, documents, historical and politological studies and even belles 
lettres  (within  the  edition  Verchovina).  The  magazine  is  issued  six  times  a  year, 
since  2003  partly  in  the  Ruthenian  language.  Together  with  other  Ruthenian 
organisations  in  the  Trans-Carpatian  region,  AFSU  publishes  a  bilingual  Czech-
Ruthenian Calendar. 

Ukrainian 

Ukrainian  [ukrajins’ka  mova]  is  an  Eastern  Slavonic  language  of  the  Indo-
European family. Ukrainian students and intellectuals started coming to Bohemia 
in  the  18th  19th  century,  but  many  of  them  arrived  in  the  CR  in  the  1920s,  as  a 
consequence of the Russian revolution. A Ukrainian university used to operate in 
Czechoslovakia. According to the results of the 2001 census, 22,112 people declared 
to belong to the Ukrainian national minority (they were 8,220 in 1991). Members 
of  the  Ukrainian  minority  live  scattered  throughout  the  territory  of  the  Czech 
Republic; most live in larger cities such as Prague, Karlovy Vary, Děčín, Brno and 
Ostrava.  At  primary  school  level  there  is  the  Ridna  Škola  supported  by  the 
Ukrainian Initiative in the Czech Republic, but its relevance to Ukrainian language 
is unknown. 

7.2 

The Ukrainian community is represented in the Government Council for National 
Minorities.  The  largest  civil  association  is  the  Ukrajinska  iniciativa  v  CR 
[Ukrainian  Initiative  in  the  Czech  Republic].  In  2002  the  Ukrajinska  iniciativa, 
which  in  2002  carried  out  the  project  “Preservation  of  the  Identity  and  the 

70

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Development  of  the  Ukrainian  (Ukrainian-Ruthenian)  National  Minority  in  the 
Czech  Republic”  which  included  the  annual  yearly  activitiesactivity  of  this 
association, i.e. concerts, film projections, exhibitions and meetings. The activity of 
the Association of Ukrainian Women is active in consists in the the presentation of 
Ukrainian  culture,  especially  literary  traditions.  It  organises  lectures  and  issues 
publications  focused  on  the  history  of  the  Ukrainians  and  the  contribution  of  the 
personalities  of  Ukrainian  minority  in  Bohemia  since  the  end  of  19th  century.  In 
2000  this  association  received  a  grant  for  the  issue  of  “Ukrainian  Necropolis”  in 
the  Czech  Republic,  athe  publication  on  important  Ukrainian  personalities  who 
lived  and  died  inon  the  territory  of  the  CRzech  Republic.  The  Association  of  the 
Ukrainians  and  the  Friends  of  Ukraine  focuses  on  the  preservation  and 
development  of  Ukrainian  music.  They  include  the  St.Vladimir  Choir,  which 
givestakes part in concerts and participates in Orthodox liturgical urgies services in 
Prague. The Ukrainian Initiative in the Czech Republic publishes four times a year 
the magazine Porohy (36 pages, 850 copies) with the support of the government. 
The periodical is focused on the activities of the Ukrainian minority in the CR and 
all  over  the  world.  The  broadcasting  of  Regina  Radio  station  in  the  Ukrainian 
language was discontinued in 2002 after 10 years. 

8. 

Other language groups 

The  2001  census  2001  recorded  the  presence  of  Albanians  (609),  Chinese, 
Kalmycks,  Macedonians,  Romanians  (1,238),  Serbs  (1,801)  and  Vietnamese 
(17,462)  among  others;  some  of  these  groups  were  not  counted  separately  but 
included  in  the  category  “other”  (⇒  The  Czech  Republic,  3.1).  They  are  mostly 
recent immigrant communities. Albanians and Serbs appear to have arrived in the 
CR following the unrest in the Balkan peninsula (1990s). The Serbian community, 
living mainly in Prague, has been building organizational structures since the late 
1990’s and it seems that in 2004 they will have a representative at the Council. The 
Kalmyck are a West Mongolian ethnic group — originally from a territory between 
Russia and China — who apparently first came to the CR as refugees following the 
Russian Revolution, although a distinct group arrived after the II World War. They 
are  of  Buddhist  religion.  Kalmyck  (or  Kalmuck)  is  a  Mongolian  language  now 
written with Latin Roman characters, and is the language of the Kalmyk Republic 
(Russian  Federation).  This  group  has  apparently  maintained 
their  own 
publications  in  Řevnice,  close  to  Prague.  Macedonians  arrived  in  the  CR  at  the 
beginning  of  the  1950s,  following  the  civil  war  events  in  Greece.  There  are  no 
statistics  available,  but  their  membership  may  be  estimated  at  1,000.  The 
community  is  dispersed  throughout  the  CR,  and  the  average  age  is  high.  The 
language  has  no  legal  status,  nor  any  presence  in  the  education  system  or  the 
media;  because  Macedonian  is  a  Slavonic  language,  assimilation  may  have  been 
stronger  than  in  the  case  of  the  Greek  community.  The  Spolecnost  pratel  jiznich 
Slovanu  [Society  of  Friends  of  the  South  Slavic  Peoples]  in  Brno  is  the  umbrella 
organisation that promotes activities for Macedonian. Romanians, like Bulgarians, 
were  resettled  in  areas  where  Germans  had  been  evacuated  after  World  War  II. 
The first Vietnamese arrived in the CR as a consequence of the 1955 agreement on 
economic,  scientific  and  technical  cooperation  between  Czechoslovakia  and  the 
Vietnamese  Democratic  Republic.  At  the  beginning  of  the  1980s  they  reached  a 
peak of 30,000 residents. In 1989 the agreement was cancelled and the community 
fell  to  421  members  (1991),  but  the  trend  later  reversed  —  also  because  of  a 
massive  influx  from  the  former  East  Germany  —  and  the  2001  census  reported 

71

 
 
 
 
 
17,462  Vietnamese  (including 
concentrations are in areas bordering with Germany. 

those  with 

long-term  visas).  The 

largest 

72

 
 
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Szymeczek, J. (2001) Poláci v demokratických strukturách České republiky [The Poles in 
the  democratic  structures  of  the  Czech  Republic].  In  O.  Šrajerová  (ed.)  Otázky 
národní  identity  –  determinanty  a  subjektivní  vnímání  v  podmínkách  současné 
multietnické  společnosti  (pp.  374-381).  Opava/Praha:  Slezské  zemské  muzeum, 
Slezský  ústav/Dokumentační  a  informační  středisko  Rady  Evropy  při  Evropském 
informačním středisku UK v Praze. 

UNPD  Report on the Roma, United Nations Development Programme (2003), available 

on http://roma.undp.sk 

Wolff,  S.  (2001)  From  Irredentism  to  Constructive  Reconciliation?  Germany  and  its 
Minorities in Poland and the Czech Republic. In Language, Ethnicity and the State 
(Vol.2: Minority Languages in Eastern Europe post-1989), Palgrave 200. 

Zeman,  J.  and  Králové,  H.  (1997)  Czech-Slovak.  In  H.  Goebl,  P.  H.  Nelde,  Z.  Starý  and 
W.Wölck  (eds)  Kontaktlinguistik.  Ein  internationales  Handbuch  zeitgenössischer 
Forschung (pp. 1650-1655). Berlin/New York: de Gruyter. 

B. Other links  

Association for Bulgaria www.bgr.cz http://www.bkos.wz.cz 
Association of the Greek Communities in the Czech Republic (www.dialogos-kpr.cz 
Charles University http://www.cuni.cz/ 
Council of minorities http://www.vlada.cz/vrk/vrk.htm 
European Commission against Racism and Intolerance 

http://www.coe.int/t/E/human_rights/ecri 
Future fund http://www.fondbudoucnosti.cz/indexa.htm 
Hradec Králové University http://www.uhk.cz/index_eng.html 
Hrvatske Novine (http://www.hrvatskenovine.at ) 
Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports http://www.msmt.cz 
PZKO http://www.pzko.cz/  

77

 
 
 
 
Kongres http://www.polonica.cz/ 
Masarik University http://www.muni.cz 
Palacky University http://www.upol.cz 
Pardubice University http://www.upce.cz/ 
Pirin http://www.sweb.cz/pirin 
Purkyne university http://www.ujep.cz/ 
Zaedno www.zaedno.org 

78

 
 
                                                                                Estonia  

1.   

Introduction 

1.1 

Estonia  (EE)  covers  a  territory  of  45,226  sq  km.  It  borders  on  the  Russian 
Federation to the east and on Latvia to the south, while Finland lies only 48 miles 
to the north across the homonymous Gulf, which is also the north-eastern arm of 
the  Baltic  Sea.  The  territory  of  Estonia  includes  approx.  800  islands,  of  which 
Hiiumaa  and  Saaremaa  are  the  largest  (the  latter  is  situated  a  few  miles  off  the 
Curonian coast of Latvia). A considerable length of the eastern border with Russia 
is marked by the transboundary Lake Peipsi (or Lake Peipus) along its north-south 
extension.  The  main  cities  are  Tallinn  (the  capital),  Tartu,  Pärnu,  Kohtla-Järve, 
Narva. The population (67.4% urban and 32.6% rural) is slightly above 1.3 million, 
with a density of 30 inhabitants/km2. The country is divided into 15 counties and 
241 rural municipalities. 

1.2 

The  Republic  of  Estonia  [Eesti  Vabariik]  has  been  a  parliamentary  democracy 
since 1991. The legislative power is vested in the Riigikogu (a term that cannot be 
officially  translated),  a  single-chamber  parliament  composed  of  101  members 
elected  every  four  years.  Following  the  transition  to  a  new  economic  system, 
Estonia's gross domestic product (GDP) decreased in the post-independence years, 
but  grew  rapidly  in  2000  (7.1%)  through  economic  integration  with  EU  Member 
States.  Estonia  mainly  exports  machinery  and  electrical  equipment,  wood  and 
textile products (69% to EU Member states). Tourism and transit trade also make 
up a significant share of the economy. Finland and Sweden are amongst Estonia's 
biggest partners in business, investment and tourism. GDP/capita was  4,500 euro 
in 2001. 

79

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2. 

General aspects 

2.1   

Estonia was originally settled by Finno-Ugric tribes, who have lived in the territory 
for  over  5,000  years.  In  the  12th-14th  centuries  the  territory  was  colonised  first  by 
the Danes and later by the Order of Teutonic Knights, which formed a landowning 
élite  also  throughout  the  Swedish  occupation  (1561-1721)  and  during  the 
subsequent  Russian  rule  (1721-1918).  Despite  the  numerical  prevalence  of 
Estonians,  political  and  economic  power  was  to  remain  with  the  Germans  and 
Russians until 1918. Throughout this period, the ethnic composition of the territory 
remained comparatively stable, with Estonian and German as the main languages 
of  communication.  Estonian  nationalism  developed  only  in  the  late  19th  century 
and eventually led to the establishment of the Republic of Estonia in 1918. The War 
of Independence lasted until 1920, when the first constitution was adopted. At that 
time the population was still relatively homogeneous (in 1922 there were 969,976 
Estonians, 91,109 Russians, 18,319 Germans, 7,850 Swedes, 4,566 Jews and 14,508 
of other nationalities). Followig the Tartu Peace Treaty (1920), Estonian citizenship 
was  granted  to  the  whole  population.  In  the  interwar  years  the  government 
promoted  cultural  autonomy  for  national  minorities  (⇒  3.2),  also  to  mitigate  the 
consequences  of  the  land  reform  —  that  had  expropriated  the  former  élites.  With 
the  Soviet-German  non-aggression  Pact  Estonia  was  first  occupied  and  then 
incorporated  by  the  USSR  in  1940,  to  become  the  Estonian  Soviet  Socialist 
Republic (SSR). Mass deportations of the local population began. The Soviet period 
was 
interrupted  by  German  occupation  (1941-1945):  Jews  were  severely 
persecuted,  while  most  Swedes  left  in  1943  (following  a  German-Swedish  Treaty) 
and  in  1944  another  70,000  Estonians  left  the  country.  After  the  War,  the  re-
establishment  of  Russian  rule  involved  further  deportations  (50,000  people 
between  1945  and  1949),  which  —  combined  with  immigration  from  Russia  — 
drastically  reduced  the  number  of  Estonians:  in  the  period  1945-1989  the 
percentage of non-Estonians grew from 2.7% to 38.5% of the total population. Such 
an  intake  was  essentially  due  to  the  vast  labour  demand  created  by  post-war 
industrialisation. The total number of immigrants during the Soviet period (mainly 
established  in  the  north-east  and  Tallinn)  was  1,4  million,  and  involved  a 
“Russification”  process  in  many  spheres  of  life  —  government,  administration, 
economy, education. However, the migration turnover was very high, with approx. 
seven  out  of  eight  immigrants  emigrating  at  one  time  or  another.  In  1991 
independence  was  declared  and  Estonian  sovereignty  re-established.  A  new 
constitution  came  into  force  in  1992,  replacing  the  old  one  that  had  remained  in 
force  de  jure  also  during  the  Soviet  period.  Since  then  Estonian  society  has 
remained  ethnically  divided,  with  marginal  contacts  between  immigrants  and  the 
Estonian population — given the different workplaces, different cultural habits and 
a small number of mixed marriages. 

2.2  

After  the  restoration  of  independence,  the  Estonian  government  introduced  a 
normalisation  programme  to  facilitate  repatriation  and  integrate  minorities. 
Immigration was put under control with the Law on Immigration [Eesti Vabariigi 
immigratsiooniseadus]  (1990)  and  the  Law  on  Aliens  [Välismaalaste  seadus] 
(1993). A major issue in this context has been that of Estonian citizenship. Because 
this  was  based  on  the  ius  sanguinis  principle,  immigrants  had  to  go  through  a 
naturalisation process, which also required a basic knowledge of Estonian. In 2000 
a  new  state  programme  Integration  in  Estonian  Society  2000-2007  was  adopted, 
with the naturalisation process remaining a priority. 

1.3 

 Because Estonia had very close ties with the former Soviet Union, the transition to 
a  market  economy  was  especially  difficult.  The  north-east,  in  particular,  heavily 
depended  on  a  few  large-scale  manufacturing  enterprises  and  suffered  a  severe 

80

 
 
 
 
 
decline. In 2001 the percentage of non-Estonians employed in manufacturing was 
still 31.2%. as against 18.3% of Estonians in the same sector. Statistics from 2003 
show another considerable difference in the electricity, gas and water supply sector 
— which accounts for 4.4% of non-Estonians but only 1.6% of Estonians. In 2001 
the  gross  domestic  product  (GDP)  per  capita  (in  %  of  Estonia  average)  was  the 
following, broken down by main region: Northern Estonia 158.8%, Central Estonia 
65.3%,  North-Eastern  Estonia  54.3%,  Western  Estonia  71.2%,  Southern  Estonia 
63.3%. Differences between Estonians and non-Estonians also exist in the average 
personal net income of by main areas: 

Area 
Tallinn 
Ida-Viru 
Other regions 

Estonians 
3,854 
2,296 
2,736 

non-Estonians 
2,904 
2,445 
2,130 

and in the income per family member (IFM): 

IFM 
Up to 100 
1,001…1500 
1,501…2000 
2,001…3500 
Over 3,500 

Estonians 
19 
20 
23 
23 
15 

non-Estonians 
20 
25 
27 
22 
6 

1.4   

Estonia  has  no  state  religion.  The  census  taken  in  2000  showed  a  comparatively 
high level of secularisation, 31.8% of respondents having declared to be followers of 
religious  traditions.  The  Estonian  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church  is  the  largest 
(14.8%),  with  98%  of  the  Lutheran  congregations  using  the  Estonian  language. 
Next in size are the Estonian Apostolic-Orthodox Church (EAOC) and the Russian 
Orthodox Church (13.9% put together), which are subordinated to the Patriarch of 
Constantinople  and  Moscow  respectively.  This  distinction  within  the  Orthodox 
Church — which is also linguistically relevant — has been a matter of controversy, 
as  in  1993  the  Russian  Orthodox  Church  was  denied  registration  under  the  same 
name  officially  assigned  to  the  EAOC.  The  issue  was  also  dealt  with  in  the 
monitoring  process  of  the  Framework  Convention  for  the  Protection  of  National 
Minorities, and eventually resolved in 2002 when official registration was granted.  

3.    Demographic data 

3.1 

According  to  the  most  recent  official  estimates  (2003)  Estonia  has  1,356,045 
inhabitants. Data from the 2000 and the 1989 censuses (by nationality/ethnicity) 
are compared in the table below: 

81

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Nationality/ 
ethnicity 
Total 
Estonians 
Russians 
Ukrainians 
Belorussians 
Finns 
Tatars 
Latvians 
Poles 
Jews 
Lithuanians 
Germans 
other 
unknown 

National composition of the population 

1989 

2000 

population 

% 

population 

% 

1, 565,662 
963,281 
474,834 
48,271 
27,711 
16,622 
4,058 
3,135 
3,008 
4,613 
2,568 
3,466 
14 088 
7 

100.0 
61.5 
30.3 
3.1 
1.8 
1.1 
0.2 
0.2 
0.2 
0.3 
0.2 
0.2 
0.9 
0.0 

1,370,052 
930,219 
351,178 
29,012 
17,241 
11,837 
2,582 
2,330 
2,193 
2,145 
2,116 
1,870 
9410 
7 919 

100.0 
67.9 
25.6 
2.1 
1.3 
0.9 
0.2 
0.2 
0.2 
0.1 
0.1 
0.1 
0.7 
0.6 

In the period between 1989-2000 the overall population decreased, but while the 
number  of  Estonians  receded  by  only  3.4%,  other  nationalities  have  dropped 
considerably: Russians (-26%), Ukrainians (-39.9%), Belorussians (-37.8%), Finns 
(-28.8%)  and  all  others  (-35.2%).  The  general  decrease  in  population  was  mainly 
caused by out-migration from Estonia, and in a lesser degree (21.5%) by negative 
natural  increase.  The  table  shows  that  in  a  decade,  the  gap  between  the  Estonian 
ethnicity and the others has been reduced by almost 13%. However, the increase of 
the proportion of Estonians is not due to an increase in the number of Estonians, 
but  to  a  decrease  in  the  number  of  non-Estonians,  some  80%  of  whom  are 
Russians. The composition is still  much  more  heterogeneous (142  nationalities in 
2000, 121 in 1989) than during the first  Republic: the 1934 census recorded 88% 
Estonians, 8% Russian, 1.5% German, 0.7% Swedes and 0.4% Jews.  

3.2 

3.3  

 Estonians  account  for  less  than  50%  in  Sillamäe  (4.3%),  Narva  (4.9%),  Narva-
Jõesuu  (15.2%),  Kohtla-Järve  (17.8%),  Maardu  (19.9%),  Kallaste  (21.1%),  Paldiski 
(29.7%), Loksa (32.7%), Jõhvi (33.2%), Kiviõli (39.4%), Mustvee (40.7%) and Püssi 
(48.7%). In rural municipalities Estonians account for less than 50% in Peipsiääre 
(8.7%),  Alajõe  (14.1%),  Piirissaare  (17.3%),  Vaivara  (29.2%),  Kasepää  (39.6%), 
Vasalemma (43.7%) and Aseri (46.9%). The non-Estonian sector of the population 
is  thus  mainly  concentrated  in  towns.  In  1989  most  non-Estonians  were  first-
generation immigrants with social and family ties outside Estonia, and about 95% 
of  them  were  45  years  old  or  younger;  second-generation  immigrants  belonged 
almost exclusively to the Russian community.  

The 2000 census in the tables below shows that out of 1,095,743 citizens 80% had 
Estonian  citizenship,  while  Russian  citizens  account  for  6.3%  of  the  total.  There 
were  as  many  as  170,349  people  (12.4%)  with  undetermined  citizenship,  the 
Russian nationality accounting for 78.3% of them; more recent figures (May 2004) 
show  a  decrease  of  persons  with  undetermined  citizenship  (160,270).  Persons 
without Estonian citizenship live  mainly in  cities, while Estonian  citizens account 
for over 95% in rural areas. In 1922 and 1934 the percentage of Estonian citizens 
was 97.7% and 98.8% respectively.  

82

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Population by citizenship and nationality, 2000 

Nationality/ 
ethnicity 

Total 
Estonians 
Russians 
other 
unknown 

Estonians 
Russians 
other 
unknown 

Citizens of 
Estonia 

1,095,743 
922,204 
141,907 
29,774 
1,858 

Citizens of 
Russia 

86,067 
692 
73,379 
11,581 
415 

84.2 

12.9 
2.7 
0.2 

0.8 

85.3 
13.4 
0.5 

Citizens of 
other 
countries 
8,941 
165 
1,048 
7,560 
168 
% 

1.8 

11.7 
84.6 
1.9 

Persons with 
undetermined 
citizenship 
170,349 
4,896 
133,346 
31,554 
553 

2.9 

78.3 
18.5 
0.3 

Citizenship 
unknown 

8,952 
2,262 
1,498 
267 
4,925 

25.3 

16.7 
3.0 
55.0 

Population by place of residence and citizenship, 2000 

Citizens  of 
Estonia 

Citizens  of 

Russia 

Citizens  of 
other 
countries 

Persons 
undetermined 
citizenship 

with 

Citizenship 
unknown 

80.0 
72.6 

91.0 
90.1 
71.1 
41.8 
36.4 

95.2 

6.3 
8.9 

3.5 
4.7 
8.7 
13.4 
28.9 

0.9 

0.7 
0.8 

0.6 
0.5 
1.2 
0.6 
0.4 

0.2 

12.4 
16.9 

4.4 
4.1 
18.0 
42.7 
33.6 

3.3 

0.6 
0.8 

0.5 
0.6 
1.0 
1.5 
0.7 

0.4 

Total 

Total urban 

Tartu 

Pärnu 

Tallinn 

Kohtla-Jarve 

Narva 
Total rural 
municipalities 

Estonian  citizens  account  for  less  than  50%  in  Sillamäe  (21.3%),  Narva  (36.4%), 
Kohtla-Järve  (41.8%),  Maardu  (43.2%),  Paldiski  (43.2%),  Loksa  (44.3%)  and 
Narva-Jõesuu (47.2%) cities, as well as in Vaivara rural municipality (43.3%).  

3.4 

In the 2000 census 109 different languages were declared as mother tongues. The 
most frequent were: 

Language 

Number of Speakers 

Estonian 
Russian 
Ukrainian 
Belorussian 
Finnish 
Latvian 
Lithuanian 
Others 
Unknown 
Total 

921,817 
406,755 
12,299 
5,197 
4,932 
1,389 
1,198 
7,276 
9,189 
1,370,052 

% of total 
population 
67.3% 
29.7% 
0.9% 
0.4% 
0.3% 
0.1% 
0.1% 
0.5% 
0.7% 
100% 

83

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The  table  shows  that  97%  of  the  population  have  Estonian  or  Russian  as  their 
mother  tongue.  Only  little  more  than  2%  of  the  population  speak  the  other  107 
languages.  With  regard  to  language  use,  98.2%  of  the  Russians  and  97.9%  of  the 
Estonians  speak  their  respective  languages.  Smaller  nationalities  appear  to  use 
their  languages  to  a  lesser  degree.  The  majority  of  people  who  do  not  use  their 
mother  tongue  speak  Russian,  with  the  exception  of  the  Swedes,  Finns,  Ingrians, 
Roma  and  a  few  others  —  who  prefer  Estonian.  In  comparison  with  the  1989 
census, a decrease in  the use of their national language has been recorded for all 
ethnicities, i.e. language may have become less important as an identity marker. As 
far  as  the  relationship  between  citizenship  and  language  is  concerned,  83.4%  of 
Estonian  citizens  speak  Estonian,  15.3%  speak  Russian  and  1%  other  languages. 
The Estonian and non-Estonian speakers distribution pattern is quite similar to the 
distribution pattern by nationality. 

3.5 

The 2000 census also included questions on knowledge of foreign languages and of 
Estonian, as shown by the tables below: 

Population by nationality and knowledge of foreign languages, 2000 

Population 

Estonians   

Russians 

Other nationalities 

language  

% 

language 

% 

language 

% 

language 

Russian 
English 

49.2 
29.4 

Russian 
English 

Estonian 

14.3 

Finnish 

German 
Finnish 

11.9 
11.8 

German 
Estonian 

68.2 
35.2 

16.6 

14.9 
1.6 

Estonian 
English 

German 

Finnish 
Russian 

44.5 
17.4 

5.4 

1.6 
1.4 

% 

44.5 
44.1 

Russian 
Estonian 

national language 

20.0 

English 
German 

16.3 
6.4 

Population by nationality and by command of the Estonian language, 1989, 2000 

1989 

2000 

% of population 
2000 
1989 

% of 
respondents 

Knowledge  of  Estonian  as  a 
mother  tongue  or  the  second 
language 
Estonians 
Russians 
other nationalities 

1.055 159 

1 102 1331 

67.4 

959 111 
71 208 
24 840 

923 005 
139 575 
38 847 

99.6 
15.0 
19.5 

80.4 

99.2 
39.7 
48.1 

1) includes persons with unknown nationality 

84.4 

99.6 
46.1 
51.6 

Russian is the most widely known foreign language (49.2% of the total population), 
scoring  the  highest  percentage  both  among  Estonians  and  among  other 
nationalities.  The  share  of  people  with  command  of  Estonian  has  significantly 
increased. 

4.    Language policy 

4.1 

The Estonian language [Eesti keel] is the state and official language of Estonia. The 
autoglotonym Eesti keel is comparatively recent (late 19th century), and until then 
the language was designated as the “country language” [maakeel]. Estonian was an 
official  language  also  during  the  first  Republic  (1920-1940),  while  during  the 
Soviet  period  it  remained  a  language  of  much  of  education  as  well  as  of 
administration.  Estonian,  written  in  the  Roman  alphabet,  belongs  to  the  Baltic-

84

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
4.2 

4.3 

Finnic subgroup of the Finno-Ugric branch of the Uralic language family; it is thus 
related to Finnish, Livonian and Karelian among others and distinct from Slavonic 
languages  —  and  therefore  from  Russian.  There  are  two  main  dialect  groups,  the 
northern  and  the  southern.  Standard  Estonian  is  mainly  based  on  the  northern 
dialect of Tallinn, which gained prestige with the translation of the Bible in 1739 to 
the  detriment  of  the  Tartu  dialect.  The  first  grammar  of  the  language  written  in 
Estonian dates back to 1884, and the standard language was consolidated through 
the  national  movement.  The  southern  Võro  dialect  stands  out  as  the  vernacular 
most  distinct  from  standard  Estonian,  having  retained  many  of  its  original 
features.  

In 1925 the Estonian Parliament passed the Act on Cultural Autonomy for Ethnic 
Minorities,  which  gave  to  all  ethnic  groups  of  Estonia  the  right  to  preserve  their 
ethnic identity, culture and religious affiliation. The Act, which was unique in the 
interwar  years,  entitled  ethnic  groups  of  more  than  3,000  members  to  organise 
themselves  into  corporate  bodies  and  run  their  own  educational  and  cultural 
affairs.  Russians  and  Swedes  already  had  a  rich  cultural  life  in  their  native 
languages (including schools and churches), but did not make use of their right to 
cultural  self-government  —  unlike  the  German  and  Jewish  communities,  who 
established their repective autonomies in 1925 and 1926 respectively. The act was 
very  extensive  in  scope,  and  allowed  complete  devolution  of  educational  policy. 
After World War II, the Russian period introduced a separate network of Russian-
language speakers as well as a full-scale separate Russian education system. There 
was  no  contact  with  the  Estonian  language,  although  this  was  maintained  in 
Estonian schools (where the teaching of Russian was compulsory) and in everyday 
life. Other minorities  were not allowed to use their language, and their education 
was  mostly  in  Russian.  The  result  was  an  unbalanced  situation,  with  a  divide 
between the two main linguistic communities and a severe decline of the Estonian 
language. In 1989 the Estonian SSR felt the need to declare Estonian as an official 
language, but it was with the creation of the new state that forceful measures were 
taken to upgrade its status. Work-related language requirements were introduced 
by  the  first  Language  Act  (1989).  In  1990  a  National  Language  Board  was 
established to monitor the usage of Estonian and carry out the language policy in 
accordance  with the Language Act. Requirements for those applying for Estonian 
citizenship  were 
in  1993  by  the  Law  on  Estonian  Language 
requirements for applicants for citizenship [Kodakondsuse taotlejatele esitatavate 
eesti keele tundmise nõuete seadus]. In 2000 the Estonian language examination 
for  applicants  for  citizenship,  the  Estonian  language  proficiency  examination  and 
the  Estonian  language  final  examination  in  basic  and  upper  secondary  schools 
(where the language of instruction is not Estonian) were integrated. 

introduced 

 According to Art. 6 of the 1992 Constitution [Põhiseadus] and to the Language Act 
[Keeleseadus] (1995), Estonian is the official language [riigikeeel] of Estonia both 
at state and local government level. The Language Law defines any other language 
as  a  “foreign  language”  [võõrkeel],  and  the  language  of  a  “national  minority” 
[vähemusrahvuse  keel]  as  the  foreign  language  that  Estonian  citizens  of  that 
minority have historically used as their mother tongue in Estonia. The Constitution 
(Artt. 51 and 52) specifies that in areas where at least half of the residents belong to 
a national minority people are entitled to receive answers from official authorities 
in their own language; also, in localities where the language of the majority of the 
population  is  different  from  Estonian,  local  government  authorities  may  use  that 
language  for  internal  communication.  Article  41  of  the  Local  Government 
Organisation  Act  [Kohaliku  omavalitsuse  korralduse  seadus]  reiterates  that  the 
working language of local government bodies is Estonian. The right to use also the 
minority language as a working language at local government level is subject to the 
approval  of  the  Government  of  the  Republic.  The  Supreme  Court  has  twice 

85

 
 
 
 
considered  the  legality  of  the  requirement  for  proficiency  in  Estonian  —  which 
under  the  Language  Act  of  1995  applied  to  individuals  running  for  the  Riigikogu 
and local self-governments — and declared them invalid in 2001. 

4.4 

Ethnic  minorities  have  the  right  to  establish  institutions  of  self-government  in 
accordance  with  the  Law  on  Cultural  Autonomy  for  National  Minorities 
[Vähemusrahvuse kultuuriautonoomia seadus] of 1993. In Art. 1 the Law further 
defines members of national minorities as citizens who: 

4.5 

reside on the territory of Estonia; 

• 
•  maintain longstanding, firm and lasting ties with Estonia; 
•  are  distinct  from  Estonians  on  the  basis  of  their  ethnic,  cultural, 

religious, or linguistic characteristics; 

•  are  motivated  by  a  concern  to  preserve  together  their  cultural 
traditions, their religion or their language which constitute the basis of 
their common identity. 

Such a definition also formed the official declaration of Estonia in the ratification 
process  of  the  FCPNM.  The  same  Act  (Art.  2)  states  that  such  cultural  autonomy 
may be established by persons belonging to German, Russian, Swedish and Jewish 
minorities and by persons belonging to national minorities having more than 3000 
members.  The  notion  of  “national  minority”  thus  appears  to  be  more  restricted 
than that of “ethnic minority” [rahvusvähemus], for it involves citizenship and the 
existence  of  long-standing  ties.  Such  an  interpretation  excludes  in  principle 
immigrant  groups.  There  are  no  governmental  bodies  dealing  with  minority 
language policy, and no cultural autonomies have been initiated so far — with the 
exception of the Ingrian Finns (⇒ Other languages, 2.3). 

[Põhikooli- 

The  Constitution  (Art.  37)  also  provides  that  educational  institutions  for  national 
minorities can choose the language of instruction. This possibility is subject to an 
application  by  a  local  government  council  to  the  Government  of  the  Republic, 
following a proposal made by the board of trustees of an upper secondary school. 
ja 
The  Basic  Schools  and  Upper  Secondary  Schools  Act 
gümnaasiumiseadus]  (1993)  specifies  that  the  “language  of  instruction”  is  the 
language in which at least 60% of the teaching on the curriculum is provided. The 
same Act states that in schools where instruction is not given in Estonian, Estonian 
is compulsory from the first year on, and that at the upper secondary school stage 
the  language  of  instruction  must  be  Estonian.  The  latter  provision  has  been 
controversial,  although  the  scope  of  “language  of  instruction”  makes  bilingual 
education  possible,  at  least  in  principle.  The  freedom  of  press  and  the  right  to 
freely obtain information disseminated for public use is protected under articles 44 
and 45 of the Constitution. The Law on Cultural Autonomy for National Minorities 
(Art.  4)  states  that  members  of  a  national  minority  have  the  right  to  publish  in 
their ethnic language as well as circulate and exchange information in their mother 
tongue.  There  are  no  specific  broadcasting  provisions  for  minorities:  the  media 
environment  is  mainly  divided  between  Estonian-language  and  Russian-language 
media.  On  the  basis  of  the  Place  Names  Act  (1997)  public  signs,  signposts, 
announcements,  notices    and  advertisements  must  be  in  Estonian.  The  second 
report submitted by Estonia within the Framework Convention for the Protection 
of National Minorities (July 2004) details the support given to national minorities 
associations,  and  provides  comprehensive  information  in  other  language-related 
aspects. 

86

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
5. 

The European dimension 

The  Framework  Convention  for  the  Protection  of  National  Minorities  was  signed 
by Estonia in 1995, and has been in force since 1998. In 2001 the second EU Phare 
programme “The Social Integration and Language Training Programme for Ethnic 
Minorities  in  Estonia”  (2001-2003)  continued  the  first  three-year  EU  Phare 
Estonian language training programme that had been completed in 2000. In 2002 
the government approved the foreign aid project “Integrating Estonia 2002-2004” 
to  strengthen  cooperation  between  Estonians  and  non-Estonians.  There  are  no 
bilateral agreements concerning regional or minority languages. 

87

 
 
 
 
                                                          Russian in Estonia  

1.  General information 

1.1 

The language  

Russian  [russkij  jazyk]  is  an  Eastern  Slavonic  language  of  the  Indo-European 
Family,  closely  related  to  Ukrainian  and  Belorussian.  Written  in  the  Cyrillic 
alphabet,  it  is  mainly  spoken  in  the  Russian  Federation  and  former  territories  of 
the  USSR.  With  the  introduction  of  Christianity  late  in  the  10th  century,  Russian 
literature  developed  from  translations  of  the  Orthodox  liturgy  into  Old  Church 
Slavonic; as Russia assumed a leading role within the Eastern Orthodox Church in 
the  16th  century,  Russian  Church  Slavonic  (still  used  for  liturgical  purposes) 
superseded  other Church Slavonic varieties. In the 17th century Russian gradually 
emerged as a national language under the reign of the Tsars. The Russian that had 
developed parallel to Christianity since the end of the 10th century was replaced by 
a written language closer to the spoken norm. Owing a great deal to efforts of the 
polymath  Lomonosov  and  his  Russian  Grammar  (1755),  the  modern  standard 
language was established by the time of Pushkin (1799-1837). Since the Romanov 
Empire  —  and  later  on  in  the  USSR  —  Russian  is  in  close  contact  with  over  a 
hundred  other  languages,  of  which  many  are  genetically  unrelated  to  Russian.  In 
the Lake Peipsi region of Estonia the Iisaku dialect is spoken. 

1.2  History, geography and demography  

1.2.1  The Russians have been the eastern neighbours of the Baltic nations for centuries. 
The establishment of a Slavonic settlement in Estonian areas is closely connected 
not  only  with  trade,  but  also  with  the  spreading  Christianity  and  military 
expeditions.  In  1030,  the  Grand  Prince  of  Kiev  Yaroslav  the  Wise  organised  a 
military expedition to Estonia, and founded the town of Yuryev [Tartu] on the site 
of  the  Tarbatu  stronghold.  During  his  reign  the  first  Russian  churches  were 
founded, although it is hard to say how many Russians were in Estonia before the 
18th century. In addition to the merchants living in towns, written sources from the 
14th  century  also  mention  Russian  villages  on  the  western  shore  of  Lake  Peipsi. 
Following the schism of the Russian church (1666), the followers of the traditional 
Church  —  the  “Old  Believers”  [староверы]  (or  староверцы  старообрядцы, 
though considered as an archaic form) — were outlawed: many of them escaped to 
the periphery of the Russian Empire, including Estonia and in particular the Lake 
Peipsi  region,  where  permanent  settlements  were  recorded  in  the  late  1730s.  At 
that  time  Russians  may  have  made  up  a  quarter  of  the  population  around  Lake 
Peipsi.  The  Nystad  Peace  Treaty  (1721)  brought  Estonia  under  Russian  rule,  but 
also  gave  a  special  status  to  the  Baltic  region  with  regard  to  legislation,  judicial 
authorities, self-government and education, which significantly differed from those 
in Russia. In 1802 the University of Tartu (originally founded by the Swedish king 
Gustav Adolf in 1632) was reopened, with a department of  Russian  language and 
literature. This was followed by the introduction of comparative grammar courses 
for  Slavonic  languages.  Due  to  the  special  status  of  the  Baltic  region,  Tartu 
developed  into  an  important  Russian  cultural  centre,  with  a  high  degree  of 
intellectual freedom. 

88

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1.2.2 

In 1881, Alexander III put an end to the special status of the Baltics, marking the 
beginning  of  an  increased  influx  of  Russian-speaking  administrators,  servicemen 
and workers. Economic ties between Russia and Estonia became stronger. Russian 
was  proclaimed  as  the  official  language  in  Estonia,  and  non-Russian  speaking 
school  teachers  were  replaced  by  Russian  ones.  In  the  period  between  1867  and 
1881 the Russian membership in Estonia grew from 8,500 to 16,000 (about 2% of 
the entire population). Part of them left during and after the War of Independence 
(1918-1920).  With  the  Tartu  Peace  Treaty  (1920),  Estonia  regained  Narva  and 
Petseri  county  in  the  south-east:  both  areas  were  not  part  of  Estonia  during  the 
tsarist reign and had a mixed Russian-Estonian population, so that in 1922 Estonia 
counted  a  significant  proportion  of  Russians  (92,000,  or  8.2  %  of  the  total 
population).  Of  these,  40%  lived  in  Petseri  county,  26%  lived  in  the  Lake  Peipsi 
area and near Narva, 20% in larger towns (5.7% only in Tallinn) and the rest were 
dispersed  across  the  country.  This  proportion  remained  almost  unchanged  until 
the beginning of World War II, and included a large number of Russians — mainly 
soldiers  and  refugees  —  who  at  first  did  not  have  Estonian  citizenship.  Russians 
did not make use of rights deriving from the Act on Cultural Autonomy for Ethnic 
Minorities (1925), and cultural self-government was mostly implemented through 
municipal councils where they had a majority. Soviet annexation in 1940 brought 
about  radical  changes  that  disrupted  Estonian  social,  political  and  economic 
structures. Part of the former Russian refugees left as early as 1939 for Germany, 
together with the Germans; of those who remained, many were killed or deported. 
Former  newspapers  in  Russian  were  replaced  by  others  and  public  associations 
were  closed,  and  in  1941  union  between  the  Estonian  Orthodox  Church  and  the 
Moscow  Church  was  imposed  by  Soviet  authorities.  Soviet  settlements  avoided 
rural  areas,  so  as  not  to  assimilate  with  the  Estonian  population.  With  German 
occupation  (1941-1944)  a  number  of  Russian  war  prisoners,  refugees  and  forced 
labourers were brought in from Russian territory. In the period between 1940 and 
1990 the Russians grew from 8% to 40% of the population and the function of the 
Russian  language  was  considerably  extended.  In  some  sectors  (foreign  policy, 
military  affairs  and  transportation)  Russian  became  the  dominant  language, 
remaining so until the re-establishment of the Estonian Republic (1991). 

1.2.3 

In their traditional areas, the Old Believers still form a distinct group who strive to 
keep their old traditions, religious affiliation and lifestyle: the population is mostly 
Russian  (only  in  Mustvee  40%  of  the  inhabitants  are  Estonians),  but  in  villages 
there are only about 6% Estonians. Mixed marriages are rare. Not only Estonians, 
but  also  other  (Orthodox)  Russians  may  be  considered  to  be  alien.  Old  people 
speak local dialects, with many Estonian loans and phonetic peculiarities. Fishing 
had  also  its  impact  on  the  local  speech:  there  are  e.g.  about  one  thousand  names 
for different fish in Russian Peipsi dialects. According to Ponomarjova (1999) there 
are  almost  15,000  Old  Believers  in  Estonia,  but  statistics  show  that  only  approx. 
5,000 Russians live in traditional Old Believers areas. 

1.2.4 

In the 2000 census, 351,178 people reported Russian ethnicity (25.6% of the total 
population),  as  against  474,834  in  1989  (30.3%  of  the  population).  This  drop  (- 
26%)  is  paralleled  by  a  decrease  in  the  number  of  Ukrainians  (-39.9%)  and 
Belarussians  (-  37.8%).  Russians,  together  with  Ukrainians  and  Belorussians, 
account for more than 90% of the non-Estonian population. The table below shows 
data from the 2000 census according to regional distribution: 

89

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Total 
Tallinn 
Paldiski 
Maardu 
Loksa 
Ida-Viru cities 
Ida-Viru 
municipalities 

rural 

Estonians 
930,219 
215,114 
1,260 
3,331 
1,143 
20,837 

Russians 
351,178 
146,208 
2,217 
10,331 
1,928 
119,547 

15,080 

5,414 

Others 
80,736 
35,362 
746 
2,983 
414 
15,800 

1,229 

Other rural municipalities 

Alajõe 
Mustvee 
Kasepää 
Kallaste 
Peipsiääre 
Piirissaare 

59 

714 
562 
256 
86 
18 

323 

1,000 
813 
883 
874 
83 

33 

39 
40 
72 
31 
2 

The  highest  concentrations  of  Russians  are  in  the  city  of  Tallin  (146,208)  and  in 
Ida-Viru  county  [Ida-Virumaa]  (124,961),  to  reflect  the  urban  and  industrial 
immigration  pattern  of  the  Soviet  period.  The  bulk  of  Russian  minority  is  thus 
territorially  divided  between  Tallinn  and  the  North-East,  the  latter  area  mainly 
coinciding  with  Ida-Virumaa.  This  is  the  second  county  in  Estonia  in  terms  of 
population  (179,702  inhabitants)  and  the  most  urbanised  (89%)  one.  The  largest 
towns are Narva (68,680: 3,331 Estonians, 58,702 Russians, 1,774 Ukrainians and 
1,529 Belorussians), Kohtla-Järve (47,679: 8,479 Estonians, 32,843 Russians, 1,521 
Ukrainians  and  2,152  Belorussians)  and  Sillamäe  (17,199:  719  Estonians,  14,756 
Russians,  517  Ukrainians  and  479  Belorussians);  the  administrative  centre  of  the 
county is Jõhvi (12,1128: 4,022 Estonians, 6,482 Russians, 395 Ukrainians and 543 
Belorussians).  In  all  these  places  Russians  account  for  more  than  50%  of  the 
population. 

1.2.5  Only  141,907  Russians  are  citizens  of  Estonia  (12.9%  of  all  citizens),  a  number 
almost  equal  to  that  of  Russians  with  undetermined  citizenship  (133,346, 
tantamount  to  78.3%  of  this  category).  This  partly  reflects  the  difficulties  of  a 
naturalisation  process  which  requires  proficiency  in  Estonian,  a  language  that  is 
considerably  removed  from  Russian.  There  are  73,379  Russians  with  Russian 
citizenship,  i.e.  only  85.3%  of  Russian  citizens,  the  rest  being  mostly  Ukrainians 
(5,216)  and  Belorussians  (2,844).  Narva  and  Kohtla-Järve  account  for  most 
Russians  that  are  Russian  citizens  (28.9%  and  13.4%  respectively)  or  have 
undetermined  citizenship  (33.6%  and  42.7%  respectively).  Speakers  of  Russian 
have also declined in the period 1989-2000, the total number having dropped from 
544,933  to  406,755  (29.7%  of  the  population).  Their  number  is  nevertheless 
considerably  higher  than  that  of  people  declaring  Russian  ethnicity,  since  it 
includes  also  members  of  other  nationalities:  in  particular  Ukrainians  and 
Belorussians,  but  also  Poles,  Jews  and  (Volga)  Germans.  Russian  is  the  most 
widespread foreign language in Estonia, with 49.2% of the population declaring to 
be competent in it (68.2% of Estonians and 44.5% of other nationalities). 

1.2.6  The  north  and  west  coast  of  the  Lake  Peipsi  region  —  the  specific  area  of  the 
Russian-speaking indigenous minority — is mainly devoted to agriculture, fishing 
and  cattle  breeding.  These  sectors  have  suffered  from  the  introduction  of  double 

90

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
customs tariffs, which denied access to the former largest market of St. Petersburg. 
But Ida-Virumaa is in general a higly industrialised region: the employment rate in 
the  secondary  sector  is  52.7%  (as  against  33.2%  on  national  average).  The  most 
important  industries  are  power  plants  and  textile  production  in  Narva,  electrical 
power engineering, oil shale (which is used as fuel in power plants) and chemicals 
in  Kohtla-Järve,  rare  metal  processing  in  Sillamäe  (previously  uranium  for  the 
Soviet  military  complex).  The  region,  however,  is  undergoing  a  severe  economic 
crisis. The production of oil shale has considerably declined in the last decade, and 
in the process of transition to a market economy many heavy industry plants have 
closed down. The unemployment rate is the highest in Estonia (19.8% in 1999, as 
against a national average of 11.7%). 

1.3  Legal status and official policies  

language  of  public  administration 

Russian has no specific legal status, and there is no specific government institution 
dealing  with  the  Russian  minority.  In  accordance  with  article  3  of  the  Language 
Act,  the 
local 
governments, as well as in all State agencies, is Estonian. The working language of 
the  Riigikogu  is  regulated  by  its  Rules  of  Procedure  Act.  On  the  basis  of  the 
provisions of the Constitution and the Language Act, in 1995 the local government 
councils in Narva and Sillamäe applied for the right to use Russian in dealings with 
local  authorities,  but  their  requests  were  not  granted.  In  practice,  however,  the 
employees  in  the  Russian  local  governments  are  mostly  Russians,  and  in  verbal 
is  used. 
communication  (including  meetings,  conferences,  etc.)  Russian 
Documents are often made in Russian, and then translated into Estonian. 

in  the  Parliament  and 

2.  Presence and use of the language in various fields 

2.1  Education  

2.1.1  Official  educational  policy  for  the  Russian-speaking  population  is  established  in 
accordance with the Constitution of Estonia and with the Basic Schools and Upper 
Secondary Schools Act [Põhikooli- ja gümnaasiumiseadus] (1993); the Ministry of 
Education  and  Research  is  the  responsible  body.  Russian  can  be  the  language  of 
instruction in schools at any level, but Estonian is compulsory from the first year 
and  is  the  sole  language  of  instruction  in  upper  secondary  school.  Russian-
speaking  students  who  attend  schools  where  Estonian  is  the  language  of 
instruction  are  in  principle  entitled  to  learn  their  own  language  and  culture. 
Russian is the medium of instruction in 89 general education schools (out of total 
of 636), while there are 21 Estonian-Russian mixed schools. Russian is taught as a 
foreign  language  in  Estonian-medium  schools.  Private  schools  can  freely  choose 
the language of instruction, but the teaching of Estonian must be ensured. 

2.1.2  The present Russian-language school system derives from the educational system 
of  the  Soviet  period.  Russian  schools  followed  the  all-Union  curricula  and  used 
textbooks  that  were  meant  for  the  whole  Soviet  Union.  A  major  difficulty  in 
reforming the education system has thus been the integration of Russian-language 
schools in the Estonian educational system, where pupils and students follow the 
Estonian  curricula  and  use  Estonian  textbooks.  Another  problem  was  to  provide 
students  with  an  adequate  level  of  competence  in  Estonian.  In  1998  the 
Government  approved  the  Development  plan  for  Russian-medium  schools 
(elaborated by the Ministry of Education), which was aimed to establish a unified 

91

 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
educational  system.  The  transition  from  Russian-medium  secondary  school  to 
instruction  in  Estonian  was  planned  to  start  in  2000,  but  the  Basic  and  Upper 
Secondary  Schools  Act  (§  52)  was  amended  in  1997  and  the  date  has  been 
postponed  to  2007.  In  March  2002  the  Parliament  further  amended  the  Basic 
Schools  and  Upper  Secondary  Schools  Act,  to  allow  full-time  Russian-language 
education to continue beyond 2007 if requested. While the deadline of 2007 (i.e. to 
switch  at  least  60%  of  the  upper-secondary  schools  curriculum  into  the  Estonian 
language)  still  holds,  exceptions  are  now  permissible.  According  to  the  national 
curriculum,  Russian  language  and  Russian  literature  are  taught  in  Russian 
medium secondary school (grades 10-12). There are approx. 105 hours of Russian 
language  and  280  hours  Russian  literature,  as  well  as  35  hours  of  Estonian 
literature.  

2.1.3  At  primary  school  level  the  language  of  instruction  is  determined  by  local 
government  authorities  in  accordance  with  ethnic  composition  and  demand.  The 
number of students in Russian schools has decreased for demographic reasons (⇒ 
1.2.3), but also on account of Russian students choosing Estonian-medium schools. 
At secondary school level the number of Russian students has decreased because of 
the  same  reasons.  However,  popularity  of  Russian  has  increased  lately,  since 
proficiency  in  Russian  is  considered  to  be  a  great  advantage  for  many  posts, 
especially for service and sales workers as well as for all business activities (⇒ 2.6). 
There  is  an  increasing  number  (as  compared  to  graduates  of  Estonian-medium 
schools)  that  attend  vocational  educational  institutions.  The  share  of  Russian-
medium  schools  is  high,  1/3  of  all  vocational  study  being  in  Russian.  Various 
language programmes have been launched in Russian schools: bilingual teaching, 
early  full  language  immersion,  and  subject  teaching  in  Estonian  to  cope  with  the 
problem  of  language  requirements  as  specified  in  the  national  curriculum.  A 
successful initiative is the Language Immersion Program (www.kke.ee). 

2.1.4  Given  the  changing  needs  of  the  Estonian  labour  market,  the  share  of  Russian-
medium  higher  education  has  significantly  decreased  in  law  schools,  but  has 
increased  in  private  colleges  and  universities.  Estonian  is  the  language  of 
instruction in state universities by law, and university boards can decide on the use 
of  other  languages.  Graduates  from  Russian-medium  schools  can  enrol  in 
Estonian-medium  universities,  but  the  nominal  study  period  normally  takes  one 
year  longer  to  allow  for  the  learning  of  Estonian.  The  Tallinn  University  of 
Technology  has  approx.  25%  of  Russian-speaking  students.  In  Estonian  private 
secondary  schools  and  colleges  about  half  of  students  are  Russians.  There  are  no 
reliable data available for adult and continuos education. However, since there are 
several  sectors  where  Russian  is  largely  employed  (railway,  sea  transport, 
industry),  there  is  continuous  education  for  adults  in  Russian  too,  but  the  state 
does  not  take  part  in  this  process.  Russian  language  teachers  are  trained  at  the 
University of Tartu and at the Tallinn Pedagogical University, as well as at the Narva 
College (University of Tartu) and at the School of Teacher Education (University of Tartu). 
The  Department  of  Russian  and  Slavic  Philology  (Tartu  University)  offers  three 
degrees: Bachelor (three years), Master (two years) and Doctor of Philosophy (four 
years).  There  is  an  Open  University  which  offers  the  opportunity  to  obtain 
additional higher education in other fields. In 2000, 4,402 teachers were working 
in Russian-medium schools: 78% were Russians, 10% Estonians and 12% of other 
nationalities.  The  problem  in  Russian-medium  schools  is  that  the  proportion  of 
teachers trained in Estonian higher educational institutions is small, and they have 
little knowledge of the Estonian language. 

2.1.5 

In  1996,  Estonia  launched  a  programme  of  computerisation  in  the  educational 
system  called  ‘Tiger  Leap’  [Tiigrihüpe],  to  provide  teachers  with  the  necessary 

92

 
 
 
 
 
Dictionary 

skills and create a structure of continuous education for teachers and students. The 
programme  also  aimed  to  produce  Estonian  language  software  and  involved  the 
participation  of  Russian-medium  schools  on  an  equal  base,  with  the  additional 
advantage  of  Russian-made  software.  Electronic  resources  include  an  English-
Estonian-Russian  Dictionary  http://www.kirjastused.com/ersen/index2.html,  a 
Russian-Estonian/(Estonian-Russian)  Dictionary  version  3.27 CD  Festart,  a  Euro-
Translator: 6-Language Quick Translator (English-German-Russian-Swedish-Finnish-
Estonian dictionary), Runner Lite Russian-Estonian/Estonian-Russian Dictionary 
(Windows  95/98/NT4/2000),  Runner  Lite  NET  Russian-Estonian/Estonian-
Russian 
NT4/2000) 
(Windows 
http://www.realsoftware.ee/est/). On-line and other digital learning materials for 
several subject-matters in Russian are available on http://www.koolielu.ee/files/ , 
http://www.hot.ee/las97  and  www.edutizer.com.  For  general  information  and 
learning  purposes,  resources  include  http://www.ase.ee/dict/dict.html  (Russian-
Estonian-Russian on-line dictionary), http://dict.infoweb.ee/ (multilingual on-line 
dictionary)  and  http://www.teataja.ee/sonastik.htm  (Estonian-Russian  on-line 
dictionary). IT development in schools from 1996 to 2000 also included a PHARE 
ISE project that supported a network of 20 pilot schools and the training of more 
than  1800  teachers,  as  well  as  various  co-operation  projects  between  the  Nordic 
countries and the Baltic countries (BaltNet, Distance Training for Teachers, School 
Development in the Information Era). A large amount of digital learning materials 
is presented on http://www.ee/www/Haridus/Oppematerjalid_Internetis/ and on 
the MIKSIKE learning environment (http://miksike.com/). 

95/98/ 

2.2  Judicial authorities 

Because  Estonian  is  the  official  language,  Russian  has  no  special  position  in  the 
courts  of  law  and  is  considered  like  any  other  foreign  language.  The  codes  of 
procedure allow courts to hear the case in a foreign language if both the parties and 
judge(s)  agree.  If  the  hearing  is  held  in  Estonian  and  the  person  cannot  express 
him/herself correctly in the official language, the court guarantees an interpreting 
service. If all parties are Russian speakers, the judge must decide whether to hear 
the  case  in  Estonian  or  in  Russian.  Codes  of  civil  and  administrative  procedure 
specify  that  documents  in  a  foreign  language  may  be  given  to  parties  only  if  they 
both  agree,  even  when  the  procedure  is  conducted  in  Estonian.  There  is  no 
essential  difference  between  different  criminal,  civil  and  administrative  court 
proceedings. In the North-East of Estonia as well as in Tallinn the proceedings are 
often conducted in Russian. Ten years ago (in particular in North-East of Estonia), 
judges  were  often  unable  to  conduct  the  proceedings  in  Estonian  due  to  lack  of 
proficiency in the language. This is still the case for some judges, who are especially 
valuable  when  proceedings  are  held  in  Russian.  Courts  used  to  accept  initial 
actions  in  civil  and  administrative  cases  in  Russian,  but  now  tend  to  give  the 
plaintiff  a  reasonable  time  to  file  the  action  with  a  translation  into  Estonian.  In 
Narva, civil actions initiated in Russian are accepted only if the plaintiff is a natural 
person and the defendant(s) is/are Russian-speaking. 

2.3  Public authorities and services 

The  use  of  foreign  languages  in  administration  is  essentially  regulated  by  the 
Constitution  and  the  Language  Act,  which  identify  Estonian  as  the  only  official 
language. In practice, however, Russian is widely used in dealings with the public 
where large numbers of Russian speakers live: also, employees in the Russian local 
governments  are  mostly  Russians,  and  in  verbal  communication  (including 

93

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
meetings,  conferences,  etc.)  Russian  is  used.  Documents  are  often  made  in 
Russian,  then  translated  into  Estonian.  The  Local  Government  Organisation  Act 
stipulates  that  the  working  language  of  local  government  bodies  is  Estonian,  and 
this  applies  also  where  the  majority  of  residents  speak  Russian:  the  official 
administrative  work  is  carried  out  in  Estonian,  but  in  verbal  communication 
Russian  can  be  used  and  applications  in  Russian  are  answered  in  Russian. 
Formally,  the  right  to  use  the  minority  language  as  a  working  language  at  local 
government  level  remains  subject  to  the  approval  of  the  Government  of  the 
Republic.  Local  government  councils  in  Narva  and  Sillamäe  have  applied 
unsuccessfully  so  far.  Beside  that  Russian  is  used  as  working  language  in  some 
state institutions (e.g. police, prisons). The Public Service Act, originally requiring 
state  employees  to  be  proficient  in  Estonian  by  the  end  of  1995,  was  amended  to 
allow  non-citizen  local  and  national  government  employees  without  adequate 
knowledge of Estonian to remain until 1997. But no non-citizens can be employed 
after  January  1st,  1996.  Main  services  are  both  in  Estonian  and  Russian,  and 
contacts  can  be  generally  in  either  language.  It  is  not  possible  to  use  the  Russian 
national  patronymic  in  official  documents,  and  confusion  also  arises  when 
transliterating Russian names into Estonian (e.g. Юрий: Juri, Youri, Yurij, Yuriy). 
Geographical  place  names  must  be  written  in  Estonian,  using  Estonian-Latin 
letters.  The  Place  Name  Act  allows  names  in  foreign  languages  only  if  they  are 
justified  for  historical  or  cultural  reasons;  but  when  appearing  in  official 
documents and on road signs they must still be written in the Latin alphabet. Even 
in regions where Russian-speakers comprise the majority it is not allowed to post 
public  notices,  signs  and  advertisements  in  Russian,  which  is  a  serious 
disadvantage  for  the  local  non-Estonian  population  (particularly  elderly  Russian-
speakers, who in general are not fluent in Estonian). 

2.4  Mass media and information technology 

2.4.1  Daily  newspapers  in  Russian  are  Молодежь  Эстонии  and  Вести  Дня  (formerly 
Эстония),  with  a  circulation  of  10,000  and  6,400  copies  respectively.  Weeklies 
include Деловые ведомости (5,100 copies), День за днем (17,200), МЭ Суббота 
(9,800),  Вести (17,900),  Приват-инфо 
(9,000),  Дайджест  эстонской  и 
российской  прессы.  Local  newspapers  are  Нарва (9,200),  Нарвская  неделя, 
Кренгольмский проспект, Силламяэский вестник (2,000), and Kirde Экспресс 
(2,600).  Periodicals  in  Russian  include  Вышгород,  Таллинн,  Радуга  (literature 
and  culture),  Горизонты  Эстонии  (nature  and  ecology),  Эстония  государство  и 
общество.  Страна  и  люди.  Экономика  и  бизнес  (life  in  Estonia),  Учитель 
(Teachers'  newsletter),  Ruupor/Рупор  (integration  issues),  Правовые  Акты 
Эстонии  (legal  issues),  Лада  and  Яна  (women’s  magazine),  Наш  Лекарь  and 
Здоровье  для  всех  (medicine),  Про  это,  Вестник:  ERL.  And  Весонаблюдатели, 
Бухгалтерские  Новости,  Экспресс-Консультация,  Строитель  among  others. 
These  publication  have  been  supported  by  the  ministry  of  culture,  in  some  cases 
also  from  local  governments,  the  Integration  Foundation  and  the  Open  Estonian 
Foundation. Generally speaking, the number of titles has increased and circulation 
has  declined.  Additionally,  there  is  competition  between  local  Russian  press  and 
Russian-language publications imported from Russia. 

2.4.2  The only public radio station broadcasting mainly in Russian is Radio 4, which has 
also  programmes  in  Ukrainian  (1.5  hours  per  week),  Belorussian  (1  hour)  and 
Armenian  (once  a  month).  Occasionally  other  minority  languages  are  on  the  air. 
Private  broadcasters  are  Radio  100FM,  Russkoe  Radio,  Tartuskoe  Semeinoje 
Radio, and Raadio 100 FM Narva. The table below lists radio programmes by year: 

94

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
of 

Number 
broadcasters 
- public 
- private 
Total 
programme 
hours 
In Estonian (%) 
In Russian (%) 

1995 

1996 

1997 

1998 

1999 

2000 

24 

1 
20 

22 

1 
20 

25 

1 
23 

27 

1 
24 

27 

1 
26 

29 

1 
28 

125,929 

155,439 

214,009 

232,975 

251,414 

267,078 

85.4 
12.0 

81.4 
10.8 

83.7 
6.6 

85.1 
13.7 

84.1 
14.7 

67.1 
21.1 

The Russian public radio station has been operational for a long time, while private 
channels  appeared  later.  The  first  Russian  private  station  was  established  by  the 
Estonian  language  private  station  Raadio  Kuku  (AS  Trio).  Raadio  4  is  funded  by 
the state budget. Local radio stations get some support from local government. The 
bilingual programme series Päevavargad/Zevaki, created in co-operation between 
Radio Kuku and Radio 100FM is financed by the Integration Foundation. Russian-
based radio stations can be picked up in Estonia. Public Estonian Television (ETV) 
produces 4.7% of its weekly output  in Russian.  On a  weekly average, in  2003 the 
ETV  reached  52,840  non-Estonians  (12.6%  of  the  non-Estonian  population  aged 
above 4 years of age). Private stations include  Kanal 2 (2 hrs/week), TV3, Narva 
TV (100% in Russian), Pervõi Baltiiski Kanal (100% in Russian). The table below 
lists television programmes by year: 

of 

Television 
Number 
broadcasters 
- public law 
- private law 
Total  programmes 
(hours) 
In Estonian (%) 
In Russian (%) 

1995 

1996 

1997 

1998 

1999 

2000 

9 

1 
8 

7 

1 
6 

7 

1 
6 

7 

1 
6 

7 

1 
6 

5 

1 
4 

8,800 

8,767 

20,640 

23,489 

25,311 

32,463 

89.5 
12.0 

93.0 
10.8 

87.0 
6.6 

92.5 
6.3 

95.9 
8.5 

98.9 
5.5 

Programmes  dubbed  or  subtitled  in  Russian  are  Estonian  Television  –  docusoap 
“Animal  Clinic”  (dubbed),  “The  Case  Opened”  (subtitled),  while  Pervõi  Baltiiski 
Kanal  Cable  channels  Tele  2,  Starman  show  programmes  (dubbed).  74.8%  of 
Russians  residing  in  Estonia  watch  only  Russian  TV  channels  available  to 
everybody  over  cable  net.  For  instance,  through  AS  TV  Com  and  AS  STV  the 
residents  of  Narva  can  watch  three  Estonian,  47  Russian,  five  English,  three 
German  and  two  French  channels.  There  are  several  Internet  communities  [see 
include  machine-readable 
bibliography].  Electronic  resources 
dictionaries,  authoring  aids,  translation  tools,  language-learning  systems  (⇒ 
Bibliography). Digitising activities are under way for radio, television, libraries and 
other systems (⇒ Bibliography).  

for  Russian 

2.5  Arts and culture 

The  following  number  of  books  were  published  in  Russian  in  recent  years:  126 
(1995), 145 (1996), 196 (1997), 257 (1998), 211 (1999), 214 (2000), 183 (2001), 193 
(2002),  covering  a  large  spectrum  of  subjects.  Traditional  music  include  Olga 
Lund  studio,  The  Russian  Choir  (http://www.koorikapell.ee/),  the  Folk  group 
Zlatõje  Gorõ,  The  Russian  choir  Sudaruški,  The  Children  choir  Cantus,  the  choir 
Slavjanka, the Chamber choir and folk music society Slavutitš, Viivo Muusika and 
the  Russian  philharmonic  society.  Pop  and  rock  are  present  with  Postmortem 

95

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
РX 

Look 

Around 

AveNue 

(http://avenue.ee/), 

(1991) (www.postmortem.ee), Kin Dza Dza http://kindzadza.narod.ru/), Big Ones 
(http://www.hot.ee/bigones/), 
Band 
(http:www.hot.ee/pxband), 
(http://www.lookaround.ee/), 
(http://www.day-of-apples.com),  ТРЕТЬЯ  ПОЛОВИНА" 
SАЙГОНЪ  2000 
(http://polovina.nm.ru/).  The  main  stable  professional  group  for  drama  is 
Русский  драматический  театр  Эстонии  (Vene  Draamateater)  [Russian  Drama 
Theatre]  (http://www.grdt.ee/rus/),  founded  in  Tallinn  in  1948.  Formed  by  a 
graduating  group  from  a  Moscow  theatre  school,  it  has  produced  ca  500  plays, 
mostly by Russian authors but also translations including some Estonian plays and 
plays  for  children.  Main  amateur  groups  are  Русский  молодёжный  театр  (Vene 
Noorteteater)  [Russian  Youth  Theatre]  http://www.vnt.ee  (established  in  1988), 
with a repertoire based on modern plays by Russian authors, Estonian and foreign 
classic plays; Studio-Theatre  Ilmarine (Narva)  http://www.ilmarine-teater.ee (re-
established  in  1989  as  the  successor  of  the  Ilmarine  founded  in  1874),  who  co-
operate  with  the  Russian  Drama  Theatre  in  Tallinn  and  mainly  perform  for 
children.  Other  groups  include  the  Russian  Culture  Centre  in  Tallinn,  Studio-
Theatre  Grotesk  (1995),  Studio-Theatre  Soolo  (1994),  Theatre  Junost,  Studio-
Theatre  Alesja,  Lindakivi  Culture  Centre,  the  Dream  Fabric  (Russian  Puppet 
Theatre). In 2002 the Russian Drama Theatre attracted an audience of 60,100, the 
Russian  Youth  Theatre  15,000,  the  Studio-Theatre  Ilmarine  16,300,  while 
attendance in small theatres was 113,800. Russian is used also in films produced in 
Estonia (Heart of Bear, Names on marble plate, Baltic Love; co-productions: Lilja 
4ever,  Good  hands);  and  there  are  some  documentaries  in  Russian.  Festivals 
include the yearly Slaavi pärg [Slavonic wreath] of Slavic national cultural societies 
and  several  music  festivals.  Other  cultural  activities  include  those  of  the  Tartu 
Russian  People’s  University  and  the  Russian  Folk  University  at  Russian  Culture 
Centre  (Tallinn),  with  courses  for  adults  on  Russian  culture,  literature,  modern 
Russian  and  foreign  languages;  then  the  Russian  Romance  club  (music  and 
literature,  art  studio  for  children),  the  publishing  houses  KPD,  Aleksandra  (local 
Russian  writers  and  poets,  translation  reference  books,  encyclopaedias)  and  the 
Russian Research Centre in Estonia [Vene uurimiskeskus Eestis] (Russian writers 
and poets, politicians, Russian language and literature).  

2.6  The business world 

Russian  is  used  especially  in  the  business  sector,  in  banking  and  in  Estonian-
Russian joint companies. In Ida-Virumaa the working language of most enterprises 
is mainly Russian, a fact which has acted as a deterrent to Estonian investors. The 
use  of  native  languages  in  foreign-owned  enterprises  (English,  Swedish,  Finnish) 
does not seem to have any significant impact on the language use of the enterprises 
or in the region. The local management is staffed with Russians, or Estonians well 
versed in Russian. However, the change of language policy in the public sector has 
brought  about  an  over-representation  of  Estonians  in  the  administration  and  in 
the  local  self-government  of  the  area.  Because  the  proficiency  in  Russian  of 
Estonians  has  declined  in  recent  years,  those  who  are  fluent  in  Estonian  and 
competent  in  Russian  as  a  native  language  may  thus  be  expected  to  enjoy  a 
competitive  edge  in  the  labour  market.  Language  proficiency  requirements  for 
non-Estonians  have  restricted  access  to  public  employment  but  not  to  private 
business, where language requirements can be imposed only when public interests 
are at stake. According to Art. 23 of the Language Act, advertisements must be in 
Estonian  and  no  translations  are  allowed.  There  have  been  a  lot  of  initiatives  to 
amend this provision and the Russian-language press has called for a wider use of 
Russian in advertising. Only a few products are offered with labels and instructions 
in Russian. 

96

 
 
 
 
 
 
2.7  Family and the social use of the language 

2.7.1  The  intergenerational  transmission  of  Russian  seems  be  the  norm.  Courtship  is 
generally  in  Russian,  and  67%  of  Russians  appear  to  marry  endogamously. 
Statistics indicate that 98.2% of the Russians speak Russian. In Tallinn and other 
major  towns  (Tartu,  Valga,  Pärnu)  there  has  been  a  renewed  interest  in  Russian, 
although the presence of the language within the educational system has decreased 
and  many  parents  prefer  to  educate  their  children  in  schools  where  Estonian  or 
English is the language of instruction.  

2.7.2  There  are  several  Russian  associations  in  Estonia.  The  Union  of  Slavonic 
Educational and Charitable Societies in Estonia is an umbrella organisation for 15 
various associations, including the Russian Literary Heritage Society, the Russian 
Artists  Association  of  Estonia  and  the  Russian  Philharmonic  Society  of  Estonia. 
Another important association is Vene Klubi [Russian Club]. There are approx. 20 
Cultural  associations/institutions  (e.g.  the  Union  of  teachers  in  Russian  schools,  
the Russian Research Centre in Estonia etc.), all in the directory “Cultural societies 
of ethnic minorities in Estonia (Tallinn: Integration Foundation, 2001). From 1997 
to  2002  four  conferences  have  been  held  at  Tartu  University,  such  as  “The 
language  of  diaspora:  problems  and  perspectives”.  Also  Tallinn  Pedagogical 
University  hosts  linguistic  conferences  and  regular  seminars  organized  by  the 
Union of Teachers in Russian schools, the Russian Research Centre in Estonia and 
others organisations. 

2.8  The European dimension 

  Major  relevant  agreements  between  Russia  and  Estonia  are:  the  agreement 
between  the  Republic  of  Estonia  and  Russian  Federation  on  educational  co-
operation (1994), the agreement between the Republic of Estonia and the Russian 
Federation  on  recognition  of  diplomas  and  academic  degrees  (1998)  and  the 
agreement  between  the  Republic  of  Estonia  and  the  Russian  Federation  on  co-
operation  for  the  preservation  of  cultural  heritage  (1998).  The  department  of 
Russian  and  Slavic  Philology  (University  of  Tartu)  cooperates  with  the  leading 
research centres in Russia (State Russian Humanitarian University, the University 
of St. Petersburg, the Institute of the Russian Language at the Russian Academy of 
Sciences, etc.) with the Pushkin Centre in Madison, USA and many others. Student 
exchange  is  carried  out  with  higher  education  institutions  in  Russia  (the 
Universities  of  St.  Petersburg  and  Voronezh).  In  2003,  12  young  Russians  from 
Estonia  entered  the  Higher  Theatre  School  in  Moscow  to  be  trained  specially  for 
the Russian Theatre in Tallinn. 

3.  Conclusion 

The Russian language in Estonia has undergone a general decline for demographic, 
political and social reasons that are linked to a radical reorganisation of the state, 
where  the  Estonians  constitute  a  comparatively  small  majority  overall  and  a 
minority  in  some  regions.  The  influence  of  the  pre-war  Russian  population  of 
Estonia  is  small  compared  to  that  of  the  later  immigrants.  Estonian  language 
policy  has  been  essentially  aimed  at  reinforcing  the  position  of  the  Estonian 
language,  and  Russian  is  now  in  a  minority  position  despite  having  a  significant 

97

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
number  of  speakers,  who  form  the  majority  in  certain  areas.  Estonian  is  the  only 
official language in the state’s administration (although common practice and local 
government  provisions  allow  a  certain  latitude  to  the  use  of  Russian),  and  in  the 
educational  system  Russian  can  be  the  language  of  instruction  with  certain 
limitations. The potential for a bilingual approach remains to be seen. Because of 
historical reasons, however, most Russians speakers have little interaction with the 
Estonian  community.  The  integration  issue  —  which  is  also  strictly  linked  to  the 
naturalisation issue — will therefore be crucial in determining the future position 
of the language. 

98

 
 
       Other languages  

1. 

Belorussian  

1.1 

1.2 

1.3 

Together with Russian and Ukrainian, Belorussian [Belaruskaja mova] belongs to 
the East Slavonic group within the Slavonic branch of Indo-European languages. It 
started to develop as a  separate  language in the 14th and 15th centuries. When the 
territory  which now constitutes Belarus  became  Lithuanian the Lithuanians  took 
over the administrative language of Kievan Rus, a language that in time got more 
an more local traits. This language, sometimes called Old Belorussian,  became less 
important  with  the  creation  of  the  Polish-Lithuanian  Commonwealth  and  was 
gradually exchanged for Polish. Modern Belorussian is essentially a product of the 
20th  century.  This  language  is  not  a  continuation  of  Old  Belorussian  and  much 
nearer  to  the  popular  language  than  for  example  Russian.  It  has  thus  far  fewer 
Church-Slavonicisms. Within the Belorussian Soviet Republic, Belorussian was one 
of  the  national  languages.  The  1920s  and  partly  the  1930s  may  be  seen  as  the 
golden  age  of  Modern  Belorussian.  From  the  end  of  the  1930s  to  the  1990s 
Belorussian  gradually  was  ousted  by  Russian  in  all  spheres  of  life:  education, 
newspapers, theatre, bookprinting, politics, party administration, etc. Russian thus 
became the high language whereas the role of Belorussian was reduced to that of a 
minority  language  and  a  more  or  less  rural  language.  In  the  mid-1980s  a 
movement to promote the language developed, and Belorussian became an official 
language.  This  status  was  confirmed  by  the  Constitution  (1994)  of  the  newly 
independent state of Belarus (1991), but in May 1995 — following a referendum — 
Russian was reinstituted as a second official language in the amended Constitution 
(1996).  This  reflects  a  more  general  situation  where  only  75%  of  all  Belorussians 
(including those who live outside Belarus) are estimated to speak the language, the 
rest  having  assimilated  to  Russian.  Belorussians  arrived  in  Estonia  during  the 
Soviet  period,  like  most  Russians  (⇒  Russian  in  Estonia,  1.2.2),  albeit  there  are 
records of Belorussian student organisation at  Tartu university in 1909 and some 
outstanding  Belorussian  public  figures  have  studied  in  Estonia:  e.g.  the  historian 
Vsevolod Ignatovski (1881–1931) and the politicians Anton Lutskevitš (1884–1946) 
and Jazep Dõla (1880–1973). 

According to the 2000 census there are 17,241 Belorussians in Estonia (1.3% of the 
population), 4,953 of whom speak Belorussian as a mother tongue; 12,014 declared 
Russian  and  144  Estonian  as  a  mother  tongue.  The  1989  census  recorded  27,7111 
Belorussians:  8,841  with  Belorussian  as  mother  tongue,  18,591  with  Russian  and 
195  speaking  Estonian.  There  were  no  Belorussians  enumerated  in  prewar 
censuses. In the period between the last two censuses, the number of Belorussians 
has decreased by 37.8%, mainly because of migration from Estonia. As data clearly 
show,  there  is  a  considerable  mismatch  between  ethnic  affiliation  and  mother 
tongue,  for  most  Belorussians  in  Estonia  have  Russian  as  their  first  language. 
Belorussians live mostly in urban areas, especially in Tallinn and Ida-Viru county. 

is 

a  Belorussian  Cultural  Centre 

in  Tallinn 
There 
(http://www.ngonet.ee/eva).  Other  cultural  associations 
include  Spadtšõna 
(1997), the Belorussian  society  Sjabrõ in Narva, BEZ in Ida-Virumaa and Jalinka 
in  Maardu.  There  is  a  Belorussian  Sunday  school  in  Tallinn.  Estonian  Radio  4 
broadcasts in Belorussian 1 hour per week.  

(Batkaušõna) 

99

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2. 

Finnish 

2.1 

2.2 

2.3 

Finnish  [Suomi]  is  (together  with  Estonian)  a  member  of  the  Baltic-Finnic 
subgroup  of  the  Finno-Ugric  languages.  The  written  language  was  shaped  during 
the Reformation (1523-1640), with the translation of the complete Bible appearing 
in  1642.  Standard  Finnish  is  based  on  the  south-west  dialects  but  incorporates 
features from other regions. Because Estonian Finns are mostly of Ingrian Finnish 
origin (with as self-designation “the Ingrian” [inkeriläinen] or “the Ingrian Finns” 
[inkerin suomalainen]), they call their language Ingrian Finnish [inkerin suomen 
kieli],  which  is  not  a  separate  language  but  an  eastern  Finnish  dialect.  Standard 
Finnish  is  used  in  writing.  The  historical  homeland  of  Ingrian  Finns  is  the 
Ingermanland (or Ingria/Ingeria), the territory between the Baltic Sea, Lake Peipsi 
and  Lake  Ladoga,  a  land  bridge  between  Finland  and  Estonia  (now  the  St. 
Petersburg region).  The  region came under Swedish influence in  the 17th century, 
allowing  for  the  migration  of  several  thousand  Finns  in  different  periods.  The 
minority  of  Ingrian  Finns  in  Estonia  emerged  as  a  result  of  the  geopolitical 
immigrants  employed  by 
rearrangement  of  Ingria,  but 
Finnish/Estonian  companies.  75%  of  Finns  in  Estonia  are  Lutherans,  less  than 
20%  Orthodox  and  8%  belong  to  other  denominations.  There  are  Finnish 
congregations in Tallinn and Tartu where services are held in Finnish. 

there  are  also 

In the 2000 census 11,837 declared to be Finns and 358 to be Ingrians (0.9% of the 
population). In 1922, 401 Finns were counted in Estonia, but there were 1,608 in 
1934,  and  after  World  War  II  more  than  16,000.  The  number  remained 
comparatively  stable  until  1989  (16,622  Finns,  with  Ingrians  classified  as  Finns), 
but  in  the  1990s  there  was  a  significant  emigration  to  Finland.  According  to  the 
2000  census,  4,932  Finns  and  124  Ingrians  declared  Finnish  to  be  their  mother 
tongue. For 3,779 people (Finns and Ingrians together) Estonian was their mother 
tongue and for 3,886 (Finns/Ingrians) Russian. Here, too (like for other minority 
groups)  there  is  a  considerable  mismatch  between  ethnic  affiliation  and  mother 
tongue,  equally  divided  between  Russian  and  Estonian.  The  Finns  have  never 
concentrated in a particular area in Estonia like the Russians and Swedes, except 
in  some  areas  of  North-Eastern  Estonia.  Compared  with  Russians  or  post-war 
immigrant groups, Finns are less urbanised with more than 30% of them living in 
rural areas. 

In the period 1918-1940 the schools in so-called Estonian Ingeria (4 villages near 
Narva)  had  Russian  or  Estonian  as  language  of  instruction,  but  they  had 
compulsory Finnish lessons 3 hours per week. As there were no Finnish schools in 
Soviet Estonia, Finns attended Estonian or Russian schools. Finnish is now taught 
as  foreign  language  in  some  schools  (approx.  1,200  pupils  learn  it  as  the  first, 
second  or  third  language)  and  adult  language  courses.  A  private  Finnish  medium 
school was founded in Tallinn for children of Finnish citizens temporarily residing 
in  Estonia  (it  is  attended  by  approx.  30  children  every  year);  there  is  another 
private Finnish school in Tartu, with less than 10 children attending per year. The 
Estonian  Ingrian-Finnish  Union,  an  umbrella  organisation  for  11  Ingrian  Finnish 
cultural  societies  in  Estonia,  was  founded  in  1989.  Its  activities  include  the 
publication  of  Inkeri  (10  numbers  per  year)  since  1993,  an  annual  song  festival 
(since 1991), summer camps for children and Finnish language courses for adults. 
Finns  are  the  first  minority  to  have  initiated  the  creation  of  a  cultural  council 
pursuant to the Law on Cultural Autonomy for Ethnic Minorities (⇒ Estonia, 4.4), 
and elections for the council were held in May 2004.  

100

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
3. 

3.1 

3.2 

3.3 

German 

German  [Deutsch]  is  a  west  Germanic  language  of  the  Indo-European  family, 
related  to  Dutch,  English,  Frisian  and  Yiddish.  While  German  dialects  can  be 
classified  using  different  criteria,  a  distinction  is  usually  accepted  between 
standard  German  [Hochdeutsch]  (the  written 
from),  colloquial  German 
[Umgangssprache] and dialects. German uses the Roman alphabet. The first wave 
of  Germans  –  traders,  missionaries  and  soldiers  –  arrived  in  Estonia  in  the  13th 
century.  Baltic  Germans  soon  formed  the  clerical,  land-owning  and  commercial 
elites  in  Estonia,  securing  a  dominant  role  in  the  political,  economic,  social  and 
cultural life throughout the Baltic States. In 1881 the proportion of Germans was 5-
6%,  going  down  to  2.5%  in  the  early  20th  century  and  below  2%  in  the  1920s, 
parallel to their decline as the land-owning élite (⇒ Estonia, 2.1). In the interwar 
years Germans enjoyed full rights: they could vote, form political parties (e.g. the 
Deutschbaltische Partei), and usually held 5-8 seats in the 100-member Estonian 
parliament.  Germans took advantage of the Act  on Cultural  Autonomy for Ethnic 
Minorities  (⇒  Estonia,  4.2),  and  in  1925  established  German  societies,  a 
professional  theatre  and  schools  (14  primary  schools,  9  secondary  schools  and  5 
higher secondary schools); periodicals were issued and books of fiction published. 
There were a large number of German officials and intellectuals (in 1925, 6.8% of 
the student body of Tartu university were Germans). Germans were characterised 
by a very high level of urbanisation with more than 80% living in towns. 

In  the  year  2000  1,870  Estonian  citizens  declared  German  nationality.  The  vast 
majority  of  Baltic  Germans  was  re-located  to  Germany  between  1939  and  1941. 
After  World  War  II  there  were  only  300  Germans  left  in  Estonia.  Most  of  them 
were  deported  in  August  1945;  those  who  survived  were  allowed  to  return  to 
Estonia  in  1955.  In  1960s,  Germans  from  the  Russian  Federation  (Volga  region, 
Siberia  and  Kazakhstan)  began  to  arrive  in  Estonia.  In  1970  there  were  7,850 
Germans  in  Estonia,  and  3.466  in  1989.  This  decline  was  the  result  of  many 
Germans  repatriating  to  Germany  in  1970s.  In  2000,  the  number  of  people  who 
gave German as their mother tongue was 455; 1,219 people declared Russian to be 
their mother tongue. Estonian was the mother tongue of 176 Germans. 

German is taught as a foreign language in most schools in Estonia. In one upper-
secondary school in Tallinn teaching is partially conducted in German. There is an 
Estonian  German  Society  in  Tallinn  (est.  1991),  an  umbrella  organisation  for 
several  local  organisations  (Tallinn  Germans  Society,  Viljandi  German  Society, 
Narva  German  Society  Harmonie,  Ida-Viru  German  cultural  society).  Other 
associations include the Baltic-German Cultural Society in Estonia (1988) and the 
Academic Baltic-German Cultural Society in Tartu (1989).  

4. 

Latvian 

4.1 

Latvian [Latviešu valodas] is one of the two extant Baltic languages, together with 
Lithuanian; the two languages developed side by side till the 6th or 7th century. The 
earliest attestations date back to the 13th century, and the language is written in the 
Roman  script.  Because  the  historical  province  of  Livonia  included  both  eastern 
Latvia and south Estonia, it is difficult to say how many Latvians lived on Estonian 
territory.  The  state  boundaries  between  Estonia  and  Latvia  were  drawn  only  in 
1920, and only a small Latvian minority remained in Estonia. Although pockets of 
Latvians  could  be  found  in  southern  Estonia  —  for  example  in  Tsiistre  (parish  of 
Rõuge)  —  they  were  mainly  dispersed,  especially  in  the  border  areas,  in  the  

101

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
4.2 

5. 

5.1 

5.2 

5.3 

counties of Valga, Võru and Setu where they had their own schools and societies (e. 
g. in Valga, Mõisaküla, Laura, Setu).  

According to data from the 2000 census there were 2,330 Latvians in Estonia. The 
largest number of Latvians (5,435) was registered in 1934. In 1938/39 there were 6 
Latvian  elementary  schools:  in  the  border  town  of  Valga,  in  Mõisaküla  and  in 
villages  in  Petseri  county.  In  1945  the  borders  were  changed  and  Petseri  county 
was  cut  off  from  Estonia.  As  a  consequence,  1,500  Latvians  found  themselves 
outside  Estonian  borders,  and  their  number  was  reduced  by  more  than  a  half.  In 
1970s their number began to increase, reaching 3,135 in the 1989 census. Latvian is 
spoken  as  mother  tongue  by  1,389  persons  (among  them  1,248  Latvians,  63 
Estonians,  37  Russians,  2  Ukrainians,  8  Belorussians,  9  Poles,  3  Jews,  6 
Lithuanians,  2  Germans,  3  Azerbaijanis,  9  Romas),  while  859  Latvians  speak 
Russian  and  208  speak  Estonian  as  a  mother  tongue.  Associations  include  the 
Estonian Latvian Society (est. 1988) in Tallinn, the South-Estonian Latvian Society 
in  Tartu  (est.  1990)  and  the  Estonian-Latvian  Institute  in  Valga  (es.  2000).  The 
share of mixed marriages is high and in most cases Latvian is not spoken at home. 
There are no Latvian schools in Estonia, only Sunday school classes organised by 
the  Estonian  Latvian  Society,  where  Latvian  children  can  learn  their  mother 
tongue. Latvian is also taught at the Estonian-Latvian Institute in Valga.  

Lithuanian 

first  dictionary  was 

Lithuanian [Li(u)tuviskai] is one of the two extant Baltic languages, together with 
Latvian;  the  two  languages  developed  side  by  side  till  the  6th  or  7th  century.  The 
earliest manuscript (the text of a prayer) dates back to the early 16th century, while 
the 
trium 
linguarum  of  1620.  A  standard  form  of  the  language  gained  acceptance  at  the 
beginning  of  the  20th  century.  The  Roman  alphabet  was  introduced  in  the  17th 
century,  but  Gothic  was  the  language  of  the  earliest  scripts  and  remained  in  use 
until WW II in the territory of Eastern Prussia.  

the  Latin-Polish-Lithuanian  Dictionarium 

Lithuanians  arrived  in  Estonia  at  the  beginning  of  the  19th  century,  to  work 
primarily in ports and construction. When Vilnius University was closed down in 
1832,  Lithuanians  came  to  study  at  Tartu  University,  most  of  them  returning  to 
Lithuania after graduating. From 1864 to 1904 the printing of Lithuanian texts in 
the Roman alphabet was forbidden in Lithuania and the “Lithuanian grammar” by 
the  famous  linguist  J.  Jablonskis  was  printed  in  Estonia  in  1899.  In  1897  there 
were  134  Lithuanians  in  Estonia.  The  Lithuanian  Student  Society  Dorpata  was 
established in 1895 (Tartu) and the Revel Lithuanian society in 1917 (Tallinn), but 
there  are  no  records  about  the  activities  of  these  societies.  More  Lithuanians 
arrived after World War II as the result of Soviet migration policy, settling mostly 
in industrial regions and in Tallinn.  

According to data from the 2000 census there were 2,116 Lithuanians in Estonia, 
with  1,813  of  them  living  in  urban  areas.  The  largest  number  of  Lithuanians 
(2,568) was registered in 1989: Lithuanian was spoken as mother tongue by 1,198 
persons, while 849 of them spoke Russian and 100 Estonian as a mother tongue. 
The proportion of mixed marriages is around 90% and in most cases Lithuanian is 
not spoken at home. The Eesti Leedulaste Ühendus [Estonian Lithuanian Society] 
was  established  in  1980  in  Tallinn,  but  it  was  only  in  1988  that  it  was  officially 
registered.  In  1990  it  became  a  member  of  World  Lithuanian  Community.  There 
are  no  Lithuanian  schools  in  Estonia.  A  Sunday  school  has  been  operating  since 
2000 in Tallinn.  

102

 
 
 
 
 
 
6. 

6.1 

6.2 

6.3 

7. 

7.1 

Polish 

As  a  Slavic  language  Polish  [język  polski]  is  closely  related  to  Kashubian  with 
which  it  forms  the  Lechitic  branch  of  West  Slavonic.  The  earliest  attestations  of 
Polish  are  to  be  found  in  Latin  documents  from  the  9th  century  onwards.  The 
language emerges in a broadly standardised form in the early 16th century; the first 
Polish  grammar  of  Stojenski-Statorius  (Polonicae  grammatices  institutio  dates 
from 1568. Standard Polish is based on the dialects of both the Wielkopolska and 
Małopolska areas. Warsaw did not play a role, since it joined Poland only at a later 
stage. Polish has always used the Roman alphabet. 

Records of Poles in Estonian areas date back to the beginning of the 19th century. 
When the universities in Warsaw and Vilnius were closed down in the 1830s, Poles 
came  to  Tartu  University.  In  1828  the  first  Polish  students’  club  “Polonia”  was 
established, followed by many other societies and clubs between 1830 and 1918. In 
the interwar years Polish National Society (est. 1930) played an important role in 
the  life  of  the  local  Polish  community.  A  chair  of  the  Polish  language  was 
established  at  Tartu  University  in  1930s.  There  were  1,608  Poles  in  1934  in 
Estonia. After World War II the number of Poles increased to reach a peak of 3,008 
in 1989, most of them arriving from the eastern regions of Soviet Union (only 141 
were born outside of the territory of the Soviet Union). In the 1990s the number of 
Poles declined: according to data from the 2000 census there were 2,193 Poles in 
Estonia,  with  1,941  of  them  living  in  urban  areas.  Polish  was  spoken  as  mother 
tongue by 593 persons, while 1,338 Poles speak Russian and 133 speak Estonian as 
a mother tongue. The proportion of mixed marriages is high, amounting to 90% of 
all marriages, in most mixed families Russian is spoken. 

In  1988  the  Estonian  Polish  Society  was  re-established  and  in  1989  it  was 
registered  as  Polish  cultural  society  “Polonia”  with  local  branches  in  Narva 
(1995)  and  Kohtla-Järve  (1996).  The  society  organises  Polish  language  classes 
for  adults  and  summer  camps  in  Poland  for  children.  Sunday  schools  are 
operating in Kohtla-Järve and Narva. Polish can be studied as a minor at Tallinn 
Pedagogical  University  and  Tartu  University.  Most  of  those  declaring  a 
religious affiliation are Roman-Catholic (867), then Orthodox (207) and Lutheran 
(33). Services are held in Polish twice a week in Tallinn and once a week in Narva, 
Tartu and Rakvere. 

Romani 

Romani  [Romanes],  or  Romany,  is  an  Indic  (or  Indo-Aryan)  language  —  like 
Sanskrit, Hindi, Bengali — which belongs to the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-
European family. The dispersal and differentiation of the Roma since their arrival 
in Europe (12th century) brought about a fragmentation of the language in distinct 
groups, the main ones being Northern Central, Southern Central, Vlax and Sinti), 
which  include  approximately  60  dialects  and  varieties.  Although  the  Roma 
communities  are  highly  differentiated,  they  often  use  the  same  term  Romanes  to 
refer  to  the  language.  Until  the  20th  century  Romani  was  essentially  an  oral 
language; in its written form, it has accepted various orthographies depending on 
the host country. 

7.2 

Roma have lived in Estonia since 1533. In 1841 they were forced to settle in Laiuse 
parish  (Raaduvere  village).  Before  World  War  II,  743  Romas  were  counted  in 

103

 
 
     
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Estonia,  60  of  them  living  in  Laiuse.  They  could  be  regarded  as  ethnic  Estonian 
Romas. In 1989, 665 Roma were registered in Estonia. The Estonian Roma Society, 
however, has given an estimate of 1,500 members. The 2000 census counted 542 
Romas  in  Estonia,  426  speaking  Estonian  Romani  as  their  mother  tongue,  45 
Estonian and 59 Russian. In 1991 the Estonian Roma Society was founded with the 
aim  to  preserve  the  Roma  culture  and  language,  and  to  cooperate  with  Roma 
organisations  in  other  countries.  In  2000,  the  South-Estonian  Roma  Society  was 
founded to improve educational and social conditions of Roma children and young 
people. 

8. 

Swedish 

8.1 

8.2 

Swedish [Svenska] is a North Germanic language, written in the Roman alphabet. 
The  earliest  attestations  are  runic  inscriptions  from  the  9th  century.  Standard 
Swedish  is  largely  based  on  varieties  from  central  Sweden  while  the  Swedish 
spoken  in  Estonia  belongs  to  a  group  of  eastern  dialects.  As  these  dialects  were 
comparatively  isolated  from  the  mother  country,  they  have  preserved  many 
characteristics  of  the  more  archaic  Swedish  language,  and  are  only  partly 
understandable to speakers of Standard Swedish. 

Coastal Swedes (or aibofolke [Island People] as they called themselves) first came 
to Estonia in the 13 and 14th century, as Swedish fishermen settled on the inhabited 
North-Western  islands  of  Estonia  (Vormsi,  Osmussaar,  Pakri,  Naissaar  and 
Ruhnu)  and  on  the  Noarootsi  Peninsula.  Later  on  Swedes  also  started  land 
cultivation and partially moved to the mainland coast of Western Estonia. Swedish 
farmers made up a class of free tenants, whose social status remained unchanged 
even  during  the  Swedish  period  in  Estonia  (1561–1721)  (⇒  Estonia,  2.1).  The 
number  of  Swedes  grew  until  the  20th  century,  and  in  some  of  the  small  islands 
they formed virtually the entire population. Swedes did not take advantage of the 
Act on Cultural Autonomy for Ethnic Minorities (⇒ Estonia, 4.2), since by virtue of 
their  compact  settlement  they  had  a  Swedish-language  local  government  and  a 
Secretary  of  National  Affairs  in  the  Ministry  of  Education.  In  the  period  before 
World  War  II,  the  Estonian  Swedes  had  altogether  20  elementary  schools,  in 
addition  to  adult  education  courses  (e.g.  the  Pürksi  Agricultural  and  People’s 
University)  and  an  upper  secondary  school.  Swedes  had  their  own  cultural 
societies,  the  Swedish-language  newspaper  Kustbon  and  a  political  organisation, 
the  Svenska  Folkförbundet.  In  1939  Estonian  Swedes  were  forced  to  leave  the 
islands of Osmussaar, Naissaar and Pakri as Soviet military bases were established 
there. From 1941 to 1944 approximately 7,000 Estonian Swedes left for Sweden on 
the  basis  of  a  German-Swedish  Treaty.  According  to  the  1989  census  there  were 
297  Swedes  left  in  Estonia,  and  the  2000  census  gave  almost  the  same  result 
(300).  In  2000,  107  Swedes  declared  Swedish  to  be  their  mother  tongue,  171 
Estonian and 16 Russian. 

8.3 

In  Noarootsi  there  is  an  upper  secondary  (state)  School  specialising  in  Swedish 
language  and  culture,  founded  in  co-operation  and  with  the  aid  of  the  Swedish 
embassy in 1990. Swedish is studied as foreign language in some schools (approx. 
400  pupils  learn  it  as  the  second  or  third  foreign  language)  and  in  language 
courses for adult learners. There is a Swedish folk university (former Paslepa folk 
university)  in  Haapsalu  and  in  Tallinn,  offering  courses  for  adults  (Estonian  and 
Swedish  language,  culture,  arts,  see  http://www.rre-sfe.ee/ee/ee_freim.htm.  The 
Coastal  Swedes  Museum  (est.  1992)  shows  the  history  and  culture  of  Estonian 
Swedes,  and  arranges  exhibitions  and  other  activities  (http://www.aiboland.ee/). 
The most prominent association is the Cultural Society of Estonian Swedes (1988) 

104

 
 
 
 
 
(aibom@haapsalu.ee) which collects, preserves and presents the Estonian Swedish 
cultural  heritage,  supporting  the  cultural  and  economic  development  of  the 
Estonian Swedish areas and the teaching of Swedish all over Estonia. There is close 
contact with Estonian Swedish organisations in Sweden, with Finnish Swedes and 
many  other  organisations  and  institutions  in  the  Nordic  countries.  From  1988  to 
1996 the Society published the newspaper Ronor in Estonian and Swedish. 

8.4 

Pursuant  to  the  Place  Name  Act  of  1997  (⇒  Estonia,  4.5),  Estonia’s  historical 
minorities  are  entitled to signage in their language. Accordingly, the place names 
in  formerly  Swedish-populated  territories  are  mostly  Swedish  (e.g.  in  Vormsi 
Norrby, Borrby, Rälby, Saxby) or have Estonian-Swedish parallels: Vormsi/Ormsö, 
Ruhnu/Runö, 
Riguldi/Rickul, 
Noarootsi/Nuckö, Risti/Kors, Naissaar/Nargö. 

Osmussaar/Odensholm, 

Pakri/Rågö, 

9. 

Tatar 

Tatar  is  a  Turkic  language  of  the  Uralic  group.  It  was  written  in  the  Arabic  and 
Roman  scripts  until  1939,  when  the  Cyrillic  alphabet  was  adopted.  Tatars,  of 
Islamic  faith,  have  been  living  in  Estonia  since  the  1870s,  setting  up  their 
organisations and religious groups in the 1920s. Most of Estonian Tatars consider 
themselves descendants of Mishars and Kazan Tatars and their ancestors (mostly 
merchants  and  Tsar  army  soldiers)  who  arrived  in  Estonia  in  the  1870s  and 
rearlier.  There  is  no  information  about  Crimean  Tatars  living  in  pre-war  Estonia. 
In  1989,  there  were  12  Crimean  Tatars  in  Estonia,  but  in  2000  census  they  were 
apparently classified as other nationalities. In 1989, 4,058 Tatars were counted in 
Estonia, 3,315 in 1997 and 2,582 in 2000, of whom 1,229 (47.6%) speak Tatar as a 
mother  tongue,  1,295  Russian  and  51  Estonian.  In  1988  a  Tatar  Cultural  Society 
was  founded  in  Tallinn.  There  is  also  a  Cultural  society  Idel  [Volga]  (1995),  the 
Tatar  Community  of  Estonia  (1990)  and  Tatar  cultural  societies  in  Narva  and 
Jõhvi.  The  Tatar  Community  of  Estonia  and  the  Ida-Virumaa  Tatar  Cultural 
Society  run  Sunday  schools  for  Tatar  and  Estonian  languages  for  children  and 
adults.  

10.  Ukrainian 

10.1  Ukrainian  [ukrajins’ka  mova]  is  an  Eastern  Slavonic  language  of  the  Indo-
European  family,  written  in  the  Cyrillic  alphabet.  Ukrainians  arrived  in  Estonia 
from  different  regions  of  the  Soviet  Union  in  the  post-war  period,  like  most 
Russians (⇒ Russian in Estonia, 1.2.2). This is shown by the fact that in 1934 there 
were  only  92  Ukrainians  in  Estonia,  while  in  1989  the  census  recorded  the 
presence  of  48,271  Ukrainians.  In  2000  there  were  only  29,012,  a  sharp  drop  (-
39.9%)  due  to  outward  migration  (⇒  Estonia,  3.1).  The  percentage  of  Ukrainians 
having Ukrainian as a mother tongue does not reflect ethnic affiliation (⇒ 1.2): in 
2000  only  12,299  declared  Ukrainian  as  mother  tongue  (0.9%  of  the  total 
population):  11,923  Ukrainians  and  376  representatives  of  other  nationalities 
(Russians,  Estonians,  Belorussians,  Poles,  Jews,  Germans,  Tatars,  Moldavians, 
Roma).  For  the  other  Ukrainians,  the  mother  tongue  is  Russian  (for  16,486)  and 
Estonian  (481).  Ukrainians  live  mostly  in  urban  areas,  and  79.3%  of  them  are 
concentrated  in  Tallinn,  Maardu,  and  in  Ida-Viru  county  (⇒  Russian  in  Estonia, 
1.2.3).  

10.2  There are no Ukrainian-language schools in Estonia. A Ukrainian class temporarily 
operated at Tallinn but there was not enough interest on the parents’ side and the 

105

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
the 

include 

initiative  died  out  in  a  couple  of  years.  An  attempt  was  made  in  1997  to  open  an 
Ukrainian  class  in  the  Tallinn  Liivalaia  secondary  school  (with  Estonian  as 
language  of  instruction),  but  it  was  closed  down  for  the  same  reason.  Cultural 
societies 
Society 
(http://www.hot.ee/uke/indexest.html)  (1988),  an  umbrella  organisation  for 
Narva,  and  Sillamäe  Ukrainian  Compatriots’  Societies.  The  Union  of  Ukrainian 
Societies  in  Estonia  (http://www.hot.ee/uoae/)  incorporates  several  cultural  and 
educational institutions. There are several musical groups (Vidlunnja, Žurba etc.) 
and Sunday schools are operating in Tallinn, Narva and Sillamäe. The newspaper 
Strunõ  in  Ukrainian  is  published  irregularly.  Estonian  Radio  4  broadcasts  in 
Ukrainian one and a half hour per week. 

Compatriots’ 

Ukrainian 

11.  Yiddish 

11.1 

11.2 

11.3 

Yiddish  arose  in  the  middle  ages  as  a  trade  language  of  the  Jews,  with  urban 
varieties of Middle High German as the dominant component and with influences 
from  Semitic  and  Slavonic  languages.  It  is  written  in  the  Hebrew  alphabet.  Jews 
came to Estonia in the middle of the 19th century as they were allowed to settle in 
the  western  provinces  of  tsarist  Russia.  They  established  their  own  network  of 
education,  with  schools  being  organised  in  Tallinn  in  the  1880s.  Jewish 
synagogues were built in Tallinn in 1883 and Tartu in 1903. In the interwar years 
Jews  founded  a  number  of  cultural  societies:  Jewish  Drama  Club  in  Tartu,  H.  N. 
Bialik  literary  and  Drama  Society  in  Tallinn  and  in  Viljandi,  Pärnu,  Narva  and 
elsewhere. A Jewish primary school was opened in Tallinn in 1919, and a secondary 
school  was  founded  in  1923.  In  its  first  year  223  pupils  studied  there.  A  chair  of 
Judaica  was  established  in  Tartu  University  in  1934.  Jews  took  advantage  of  the 
Act on Cultural Autonomy for Ethnic Minorities (⇒ Estonia, 4.2), and in June 1926 
the Cultural Council was elected and the  Jewish cultural autonomy was declared. 
The  administrative  organ  of  this  autonomy  was  the  Board  of  Jewish  Culture.  By 
1939  there  were  32  different  Jewish  organisations  active  in  Estonia.  During  the 
Soviet occupation Yiddish was never used as a language of instruction in schools, 
nor as a taught as a subject.  

According to data from the 2000 census there were 2,145 Jews in Estonia (0.1% of 
the  population).  In  1934  they  were  4,381  (0.4%  of  the  population).  Jews  were 
persecuted during World War II and have considerably fallen in number, but a part 
of those who had managed to flee to the Soviet Union returned to Estonia. In 1989 
there  were  4,613  Jews  in  Estonia,  more  than  80%  of  them  being  post-war 
immigrants from different parts of the Soviet Union. In the 90s many Jews left for 
Israel or the USA. 

The census of 1989 recorded 570 Jews declaring Yiddish to be their mother tongue. 
For  3,614  Jews  Russian  was  their  mother  tongue  and  for  389  it  was  Estonian.  In 
2000,  of  the  2,145  Jews  only  124  had  Yiddish  as  a  mother  tongue,  1,728  Russian 
and  248  Estonian.  Older  speakers  have  a  native(-like)  command  of  at  least  two 
languages:  beside  Estonian,  Russian  or  German,  they  speak  the  local  Yiddish 
dialect (Estonian Yiddish). However, many of them have no writing competence in 
Yiddish and, at best, would be able to read and speak it. There are cases when oral 
communication is in Yiddish and written communication in another language. The 
extremely  low  figures  of  Yiddish  speakers  in  both  censuses  reflect  the  major 
sociocultural  disclocations  (Soviet  and  Nazi  occupation,  Soviet  deportations  and 
language  policy),  but  also  the  difference  between  the  pre-  1940  (indigenous)  and 
the  post-1940  (non-indigenous)  Jews:  among  post-1940  Jews  the  language  shift 
from  Yiddish  to  Russian  seems  to  have  occurred  already  before  their  arrival  in 

106

 
 
  
 
 
 
 
11.4 

Estonia.  The  prevalence  of  people  with  Russian  as  mother  tongue  reflects  the 
prevalence of non-indigenous Jews; and the fact that highest number of “national” 
speakers of Yiddish is among Estonian citizens demonstrates that Yiddish is a part 
of  the  linguistic  repertoire  of  the  indigenous  minority.  The  average  age  of  both 
indigenous  and  non-indigenous  Jews  is  high,  as  is  the  percentage  of  mixed 
marriages: such circumstances do not favour the intergenerational transmission of 
the language. Although there are no data to establish a correlation between the use 
of Yiddish and age, there appears to be nobody younger than 60 speaking Yiddish 
as a first language. 

In 1989 a Jewish Sunday school was established in Tallinn, and in 1990 a Jewish 
School  started  working  under  the  Tallinn  Education  Board  (the  first  school  for  a 
national minority to be opened after restoration of independence), but there is no 
teaching  of  Yiddish.  Hebrew,  Judaism  and  Yiddish  culture  are  taught  at  the 
Estonian Institute of Humanities. The Estonian Jewish Community (1992) acts as 
an  umbrella  organisation  for  Jewish  cultural  associations.  The  newspaper 
Hashachar  has  been  issued  by  the  Community  since  1989,  but  is  printed  in 
Estonian  and  Russian.  Radio  4  —  which  broadcasts  the  programme  Shalom 
Aleychem each month — is in Russian. Until March 2004 there was a programme 
in Yiddish every Friday, financed by the PHARE project. According to the Law on 
Cultural Autonomy for Ethnic Minorities (⇒ Estonia, 4.2), minorities have a right 
to promote their national cultures and languages but the Jewish community does 
not  appear  to  be  interested  in  studying  or  promoting  Yiddish,  even  as  a  second 
language.  This  can  be  explained  partly  by  the  fact  that  Yiddish  is  an  internally 
same 
when 
“conflicted” 
ethnolinguistic/ethnocultural  background  construct  their  identity  in  different 
ways.  Elderly  speakers  of  Yiddish  meet  (now  rather  irregularly)  in  Yiddish 
language club. 

language; 

people 

with 

the 

i.e. 

107

 
 
 
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2003. 

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käsitlemine  Riigikogus  ning  eesti-  ja  venekeelses  ajakirjanduses  [Educational 
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Katus, Kalev, Puur Allan and Sakkeus, Luule (2000): The demographic characteristics of 
national  minorities  in  Estonia.  In:  The  demographic  characteristics  of  of  national 
minorities in certain European states. Population studies, No. 31 Council of Europe 
Publishing. 29–92. 

Katus,  Kalev;  Puur  Allan;  Sakkeus,  Luule  (2002):  Immigrant  population  in  Estonia.  In: 
The demographic characteristics of immigrant populations. Population studies, No. 
38 Council of Europe Publishing. 131–193. 

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Kukk,  Inga  (2003):  Õiguse  ja  halduse  keel  [The  language  of  legal  acts  and  public 
administration].  In:  Eesti  kirjakeele  kasutusvaldkondade  seisundi  uuringud. 
Tallinn, 2003, 96–118. 

Kulu, Hill; Tammaru, Tiit (2003): Ränne üleminekuaja Eestis [Migration in in transition-

period Estonia]. Statistikaamet Tallinn: Statistikaamet, 2003. 152 pp. 

Külmoja, Irina (1999): Vene keel Eestis [The Russian Language in Estonia]. In: Eestimaa 

rahvaste raamat. Tallinn, 1999. 516–524. 

Laas  (2003):  Laas,  Kaljo:  Eesti  rahvastik  uue  aastatuhande  künnisel  [The  Estonian 

population on the eve of new millennium]. Tallinn, 2003, 55 pp 

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773; 1997, 69, 1110; 1998, 98/99, 1618; 1999, 1, 1; 16, 275; 2000, 51, 326; 2001, 58, 
354;  65,  375;  93,  565;  2002,  9,  47;  53,  337;  63,  387;  90,  521;  2003,  82,  551) 
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perspectives on the Estonian post-communist transition. Tartu, 1997, 73–126. 
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Estonia]. Tartu. Tartu Ülikooli Kirjastus, 2001. 175 pp. 

Local  Government  Organisation  Act:  Kohaliku  omavalitsuse  korralduse  seadus  (RT  I 
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58,  362;  61,  375;  63,  387;  64,  390;  64,  393;  82,  498;100,  642;  2002,  36,  220;  82, 
480; 96, 565; 99, 579;2003, 1, 1; 4, 22; 23, 141; 88, 588) 

OECD (1999): OECD Reviews of National Politics for Education. Estonia, Paris, 1999 
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available 

110

 
 
      Hungary 

1. 

1.1 

Introduction 

Hungary  [Magyarország]  currently  covers  approx.  93,000  km²  and  has  a 
population of about 10.2 million. 64% of the population live in urban, 34% in rural 
areas.  With  approximately  1.8  million  inhabitants  Budapest  is  the  largest 
Hungarian  city.  Other  major  cities 
include  Debrecen  (approx.  200,000 
inhabitants), Miskolc (approx. 170,000), Szeged (approx. 155,000), Pécs (approx. 
155,000) and Györ (approx. 125,000). 

there  are 

The  Republic  of  Hungary  is  a  parliamentary  democracy.  Its  state  structure  has  a 
three-level  administration: 
(1)  3,131  settlements/municipalities 
[település],  (2)  19  counties  [megye]  plus  the  city  of  Budapest;  and  (c)  7  regions 
[régió]. The 19 counties are: Bács-Kiskun, Baranya, Békés, Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén, 
Csongrád,  Fejér,  Győr-Moson-Sopron,  Hajdú-Bihar,  Heves,  Jász-Nagykun-
Szolnok,  Komárom-Esztergom,  Nógrád,  Pest,  Somogy,  Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg, 
Tolna, Vas, Veszprém, Zala. Hungary's transition from a single-party political and a 
planned  economic  system  into  a  multi-party  democracy  and  market  economy 
proceeded  relatively  smoothly  due  to  Hungary’s  familiarity  with  bargaining 
mechanisms and the relative flourishing of the second (grey) economy  starting in 
the  mid  1960s  after  the  revolution.  Since  1997  Hungary’s  economic  growth  has 
reached rates around 4% a year (with a slight decrease since 2001). Exports have 
been an important factor in economic growth.  

2. 

2.1  

General aspects  

Ruled by Árpád, the Magyars (Hungarian tribes) arrived in the plains around the 
Danube  river  in  896  A.D.  where  they  found  Avar,  Slavic,  and  Celtic  populations 
who had settled there.  

111

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
         
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
At  the  beginning  of  the  11th  century  Steven  the  Great,  a  descendant  of  Árpád, 
founded  the  kingdom  of  Hungary  and  started  spreading  Christianity  and  West 
European  social  norms  with  the  help  of  German  knights  and  Italian  and  French 
monks. The growth of the Hungarian kingdom was halted when, in 1526, the Turks 
invaded the country. In 1541 the Turks succeeded in conquering the major central 
part of Hungary, including the dual capital of Buda and Pest (which was to become 
Budapest  in  1873).  In  1689  Hapsburg-led  European  troops  managed  to  expel  the 
Turks from Hungary. As a consequence Hungary had to acknowledge the House of 
Hapsburg’s permanent claim to the Hungarian throne. In the years following 1689 
Hapsburg  rule  was  consolidated  and  a  period  of  economic,  social  and  cultural 
development  started.  Hungary  became  a  multiethnic  country  offering  land  and 
employment  to  Western  European  groups  as  well  as  to  Balkan  groups  fleeing 
Turkish rule. A period of unrest occurred in 1848-49. It was, however, quickly put 
down  by  Franz  Joseph  I  and  led  to  the  formation  of  the  Austro-Hungarian  Dual 
Monarchy in 1867. At that time Franz Joseph was crowned King of Hungary.  

2.2 

After World War I, following the defeat of its ally, Germany, the Hapsburg Empire 
and the multiethnic Hungarian state fell apart. After the Treaty of Trianon in June 
1920 millions of Hungarians became citizens of the new states emerging from the 
ruins  of  the  former  empire.  Hungary  was  reduced  to  one  third  of  its  former 
territory. The lost parts went chiefly to Romania, Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia. 
A  strong  dislike  for  the  results  of  the  Treaty  of  Trianon  motivated  Hungary  to 
become one of the minor Axis powers in World War II. Stalinist communists took 
power  in  Hungary  after  a  short-lived  attempt  to  establish  a  post-war  pluralistic 
democratic system. In 1947 a peace treaty with Hungary, Romania, Italy, Bulgaria 
and Finland was signed in Paris. Hungary’s borders were defined to be identical to 
those  of  1  June  1938  (the 
‘Trianon  Borders’)  with  the  difference  that 
Czechoslovakia  received  three  villages:  Oroszvár  (today’s  Rusovce),  Dunacsúny 
(today’s  Cunovo)  and  Horvátjárfalu  (today’s  Jarovce).  In  1956  the  reform-
communist  Prime  Minister,  Imre  Nagy,  led  a  revolution  against  the  communist 
regime. The revolution was crushed by Soviet troops. After a period of repression 
Hungarian  leaders  installed  a  more  moderate  communist  regime,  introducing 
some  capitalist  features.  In  1989,  after  more  liberal  communist  tendencies  had 
started appearing in all Soviet republics, Hungary proclaimed its independence. In 
1991  the  last  Soviet  soldiers  left  Hungary’s  territory.  In  1999  Hungary  became  a 
member of NATO. On 1 May 2004, Hungary became a member of the EU.  

3.   Demographic data 

3.1 

Demographers at the Central Statistical Office agree that the size of a nationality in 
Hungary varies according to the questions asked in the census. The tendency is for 
the  “nationality”  figures  to  be  smaller,  and  for  the  “‚mother  tongue”  figures  to  be 
larger.  The  largest  figure  is  usually  obtained  in  answer  to  the  question:  “What 
language other than your mother tongue do you speak?”. Note, however, that after 
the two World Wars census results have been strongly affected by, e.g., population 
exchanges,  re-settlements  and  the  attribution  of  collective  guilt  to  entire 
minorities.  This  explains  (a)  the  differences  from  one  census  to  the  next  that  are 
due  to  a  combination  of  real  demographic  changes  and  people’s  readiness  to 
identify  with  the  minority  or  majority  populations  and  (b)  the  deviation  between 
official  census  figures  and  estimates  made  by  minority  organisations.  The 
difference  between  official  census  figures  and  estimates  made  by  minority 
organisations is shown in Table 1, which is based on data from the beginning of the 

112

 
 
 
 
 
 
1990s. The actual population with minority identity and commitment is likely to be 
somewhere between the census figures and the estimated figures. 

Table 1: National Minorities in Hungary in 1990 
Minorities   mother tongue  minority membership  Estimated number 
Roma 
German 
Slovakian 
Croatian 
Romanian 
Polish 
Serbian 
Slovenian 
Bulgarian 
Greek 
Armenian 
Ukrainian 
Ruthenian 
Total: 

400,000-600,000 
200,000-220,000 
100,000-110,000 
80,000-90,000 
25,000 
10,000 
5,000-10,000 
5,000 
3,000-3,500 
4,000-4,500 
3,500-10,000 
2000 
6000 
835,000 - 1,083,955 

142,683 
30,824 
10,459 
13,570 
10,740 
no data 
2,905 
1,930 
no data 
no data 
no data 

48,072 
37,511 
12,745 
17,577 
8,730 
3,788 
2,953 
2,627 
1,370 
1,640 
37 

no data 

674 

Following complaints by minority organisations and the Hungarian minority self-
governments (⇒ 3.3.2.) efforts were made to reduce the gap between census data 
and estimates at the time of the 2001 census. To achieve this goal the national self-
governments of the minorities were involved in the preparation of the census. As a 
result  of  various  consultation  rounds  the  2001  census  form  contained  four 
questions  (as  opposed  to  only  two  in  1990)  that  specifically  asked  information 
about identity, mother tongue, cultural ties and language use in the family and with 
friends. Several answers could be given in view of the potentially existing multiple 
ties. Official results of the 2001 census are not yet available. The data used further 
on  in  this  report  are  unofficial  summary  data  provided  by  the  Central  Statistical 
Office and the Office for National and Ethnic Minorities. 

3.2   At  the  time  of  the  2001  census  the  total  population  of  Hungary  was  10,198,000. 
Most of the people declared to be of Hungarian nationality. The number of people 
belonging to the 13 officially recognised national minorities in Hungary (⇒ 3.3. on 
the definition of nationality) is listed in Table 2.  

113

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Table 2: Results of the 2001 Census 

Minority 
group 

Mother tongue speakers  Minority membership 

Use of 
minority 
culture 
and 
tradition

N. of 
those 
using 
the 
language 
with 
friends 

1990 

2001 

change 
 % 

1990 

2001 

change 
 % 

2001 

2001 

Bulgarian 
Roma 
Greek 
Croatian 
Polish 
German 
Armenian 
Romanian 
Serbian 
Slovak 
Slovenian 
Ruthenian 
Ukrainian 

1,370 
48,072 
1,640 
17,577 
3,788 
37,511 
37 
8,730 
2,953 
12,745 
2,627 

674 

1,299 
48,685 
1,921 
14,345 
2,580 
33,792 
294 
8,482 
3,388 
11,816 
3,187 
1,113 
4,885 

-5.2 
1.3 
17.1 
-18.4 
-31.9 
-9.9 
694.6 
-2.8 
14.7 
-7.3 
21.3 
... 
... 

... 

... 
1,358 
142,683  190,046  33.2 
2,509 
... 
15,620 
13,570 
... 
2,962 
30,824  62,233 
... 
10,740 
2,905 
10,459 
1,930 
... 
... 

... 
15.1 
... 
101.9 
... 
-25.6 
31.4 
69.2 
57.5 
... 
... 

620 
7,995 
3,816 
17,692 
3,040 
1,098 
5,070 

-1.4 

137,724 

Total 
Budapest 
Countryside 
Villages 
Based on data of the Central Office of Statistics 
Compiled by the Office for National and Ethnic Minorities 

135,787 
16,061 
53,973 
65,754 

213,111 

314,059 
29,884 
115,262 
168,914 

1,693 
129,259 
6,140 
19,715 
3,983 
88,416 
836 
9,162 
5,279 
26,631 
3,442 
1,292 
4,779 

300,627 
35,372 
115,520 
149,735 

1,118 
53,323 
1,974 
14,788 
2,659 
53,040 
300 
8,215 
4,186 
18,056 
3,119 
1,068 
4,519 

166,365 
21,958 
66,920 
77,488 

As  Table  2  shows  314,059  people  or  roughly  3%  of  the  total  population  declared 
themselves as belonging to one of the 13 national minorities in Hungary in 2001.  

3.3   Hungarian  citizenship  is  inherited  by  birth  (ius  sangui),  thus  the  children  of 
Hungarian citizens are generally also eligible to become Hungarian citizens. People 
born prior to 1957 could only inherit Hungarian citizenship from their father, but 
those  born  after  1957  can  inherit  it  from  either  parent.  The  assessment  of  the 
citizenship  can  be  very  complicated  due  to  the  historical  changes  of  borders  and 
citizenships  in  Central  Europe  and  so  this  work  is  done  exclusively  by  the 
Citizenship Department of the Ministry of the Interior in Budapest.  

3.4  

Judging  from  the  data  in  Table  2,  less  than  half  of  the  people  who  declared 
themselves as belonging to one of the 13  national minorities declare the language 
corresponding to that minority to be their mother tongue. In the case of the Roma, 
Greeks,  Croats,  Poles,  Germans,  Armenians,  Serbs  and  Slovaks  the  number  of 
people  using  the  minority  language  with  friends  exceeds  those  who  declared  that 
language to be their mother tongue. The results from the Bulgarians, Romanians, 
Slovenes, Ruthenians and Ukrainians show exactly the opposite. 

4. 

Language policy 

4.1   Hungary  has  no  law  stating  that  Hungarian  is  the  official  language.  Everyone  is 
free to use his native language. Act XX of the 1949 Constitution [alkotmány] of the 
Hungarian  People’s  Republic  already  made  discrimination  according  to  sex,  or 
nationality  punishable  by  law  and  guaranteed  all  citizens  equal  opportunity  of 

114

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
education in their mother tongue and the use and practice of their national culture. 
Art. 68,2 of the amended Constitution of 1989 of the Hungarian Republic declares 
that  the  national  and  language  minorities  are  under  the  protection  of  the 
Hungarian  Republic.  They  are  entitled  to  full  political  participation,  to  practice 
their own culture, to use their mother-tongue, to receive education in their mother-
tongue,  and  to  use  personal  names  in  their  language.  The  1993  Minorities  Act 
[kisebbségi törvény] (⇒ 3.2. and 3.3.) provides individual and collective rights for 
the national minorities, pertaining to personal autonomy and the creation of self-
governments.  The  fact  that  the  Hungarian  government  is  vitally  interested  in 
fostering language maintenance among Hungary’s national minorities also reflects 
Hungary’s  deep  concern  for  the  right  of  Hungarian  minorities  in  neighbouring 
countries.  

4.2   Hungary started preparing for the self-administration of national minorities in the 
early  1990s.  With  Government  Decree  34/1990  (VIII.  30.)  the  Hungarian 
government  established  the  National  and  Ethnic  Minorities  Office  [Nemzeti  és 
independent  government  organisation 
Etnikai  Kisebbségi  Hivatal].  As  an 
operating under the supervision of the Minister of Justice the Minorities Office is 
in  charge  of  preparing  the  Government's  minorities  policy  decisions  and  of 
developing  its  minorities  policy  programme.  The  Minorities  Office  assists  in 
developing  the  government  programme  for  implementing  the  Minorities  Act  and 
maintains  continuous  relations  with  the  Minorities  Ombudsman  [kisebbségi 
szószóló].  These  two  essential  features  of  minority  policy  in  Hungary  (the 
Minorities Act and the Minorities Ombudsman) are discussed in more detail below.  

4.3   Act  LXXVII  on  the  Rights  of  National  and  Ethnic  Minorities  [nemzeti  és  etnikai 
kisebbségi  jogok]  (also  referred  to  as  the  Minorities  Act)  was  passed  in  1993. 
Subsection  (2)  of  Section  1  of  the  Minorities  Act  practically  adopted  the  so-called 
Capotorti definition of national and ethnic minorities. According to this definition, 
national and ethnic minorities are all groups of people that have lived in Hungary 
for  at  least  one  century;  they  represent  a  numerical  minority  in  the  country's 
population; their members are Hungarian citizens; they are distinguished from the 
rest  of  the  population  by  their  own  languages,  cultures,  and  traditions;  they 
demonstrate  a  commitment  to  the  importance  of  preserving  all  of  these  and 
expressing and protecting the interests of their historical communities. The groups 
that,  according  to  the  regulations  of  the  Minorities  Act,  are  considered  national 
groups are, in alphabetical order, Armenians, Bulgarians, Croats, Germans, Greeks, 
Roma, Poles, Romanians, Ruthenians, Serbs, Slovaks, Slovenes, and Ukrainians. If 
any other minority wants to prove that it fulfils the conditions that are stipulated in 
the  Minorities  Act,  at  least  1,000  voting  citizens  who  declare  themselves  to  be 
members of this minority can submit their initiative to the Speaker of Parliament. 
No such initiatives have been made since 1993.  

4.4   According  to  the  Minorities  Act  minority  languages  may  be  used  by  anybody 
anytime anywhere. Members of Parliament have the right to use their language in 
Parliament. Local governments must write their decrees and announcements in the 
minority language. In addition to Hungarian, forms and documents used must be 
made available in the minority language, and place names and public signs can also 
be  used  in  the  minority’s  mother  tongue.  Personal  names  of  individuals  may  be 
used  in  documents  in  non-Roman  script,  but  in  such  cases  Hungarian  must  be 
used  side  by  side  with  the  minority  language.  Minority  groups  have  the  right  to 
create their own schools using the minority language as the medium of instruction, 
or it plus Hungarian. 

115

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
4.5  

The  Minorities  Act  gives  the  13  national  minorities  the  right  to  establish  self-
governing bodies. Minority self-governing bodies are elected bodies that represent 
the interests of national or ethnic minorities at local or national level. The current 
number  of  local  self-governments  is  listed  in  Table  3.The  national  minority  self-
governments represent the minorities at the national level. National minority self-
governments  are  formed  on  the  basis  of  electoral  assemblies  following  the 
formation of local self-governments. In total there are 13 national self-governments 
(one  for  each  recognised  national  minority).  As  partners  in  legislation  and  state 
administration  they  can  give  their  views  on  planned  legal  regulations  concerning 
their minorities and they can monitor minority education. The legal framework for 
electing  minority  self-government  representatives  was  stipulated  in  the  course  of 
amending  Act  LXIV  on  the  Election  of  Local  Government  Representatives  and 
Mayors  of  1990.  There  are  some  state-acknowledged  problems  related  to  the 
electoral  mechanism  of  self-governments.  One 
‘cuckoo 
phenomenon’, meaning that in some cases persons who do not belong to an actual 
minority and do not possess any knowledge of the minority language still manage 
to be elected into the self-government of the given group. Another problem arises 
in  the  attempt  to  provide  the  minority  groups  with  parliamentary  representation. 
The  minorities  do  not  have  a  guaranteed  representation  in  the  Hungarian 
parliament. Currently an amendment to the Minorities Act is under discussion. A 
primary  objective  of  the  amendment  is  the  further  development  of  the  system  of 
minority  self-governments.  The  amendment  aims  to  encourage  self-governments 
to take over minority institutions and to provide the framework of state guarantees 
necessary for the transfer.  

the  so-called 

is 

Table 3: Minority Self-Governments per County in January 2004 

n
a
i
r
a
g
l
u
B

a
m
o
R

k
e
e
r
G

n
a
i
t
a
o
r
C

n
a
m
r
e
G

h
s
i
l
o
P

n
a
i
n
e
m
r
A

n
a
i
n
a
m
o
R

n
a
i
n
e
h
t
u
R

n
a
i
k
a
v
o
l
S

n
a
i
n
e
v
o
l
S

n
a
i
n
i
a
r
k
U

n
a
i
b
r
e
S

21 

22 

19 

18 

15 

23 

16 

18 

15 

16 

14 

2 

1 

3 
1 
1 
1 
1 

12 

5 

9 

Budapest 

Főváros 
Bács-Kiskun 
Baranya 

Békés 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 
33 
110 

25 

1 
11 
31 

1 

1 

1 

1 
23 
85 

8 

9 
2 
16 
11 

1 

1 

2 

1 
1 

1 
1 
1 
1 

2 
1 
2 
8 

12 
1 
3 
1 

Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén 
Csongrád 
Fejér 
Győr-Moson-Sopron 
Hajdú-Bihar 
Heves 
Jász-Nagykun_Szolnok 
Komárom-Esztergom 
Nógrád 
Pest 
Somogy 
Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg 
Tolna 
Vas 
Veszprém 
Zala 
Total 
Source: Office for National and Ethnic Minorities 

149 
15 
19 
17 
44 
58 
39 
13 
59 
69 
59 
106 
40 
18 
32 
56 
984  31 

1 
11 
1 
11 
108  51 

4 
1 
2 

1 
1 
3 

4 
6 

31 

4 

3 

3 

1 

1 

1 

1 

2 
1 
1 

20 
2 
37 
5 
7 
34 
10 
43 
4 
341  31 

1 
1 

1 

1 

9 

5 

1 

1 
3 
4 

1 

4 
3 

1 

10 

1 

1 
3 

17 

17 
3 
2 

2 

9 
20 
24 

1 
1 

1 

1 

1 
1 

8 

4 

1 

2 

1 
1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

44 

32 

44 

115 

13 

13 

l
a
t
o
T

203 

11 
73 
236 

64 

206 
34 
48 
41 
56 
63 
40 
48 
81 
162 
72 
119 
78 
47 
84 
72 
1,838 

4.6  

Paragraph (2) of Article 32/B of the Constitution created the post of Parliamentary 
Commissioner  for  National  and  Ethnic  Minority  Rights  [nemzeti  és  etnikai 
kisebbségi jogok orszaggyülési szószólója]. This commissioner, often referred to as 

116

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
4.7  

4.8  

4.9  

the  Minorities  Ombudsman,  investigates  any  kind  of  abuse  that  comes  to  his 
attention  and  initiates  measures  in  order  to  remedy  them.  Act  LIXX  of  1993  on 
Parliamentary Guarantee of Civil Rights [emberi jogok országgyülési biztosítása] 
gives details on the tasks of the minorities ombudsman.  

Apart  from  the  Ombudsman  several  other  legal  protection  institutions  started  to 
operate in the 1990s. These include, e.g., the National and Ethnic Minorities Legal 
Protection Office, the Office for Enforcing Roma Rights and Interests, the Conflict 
Prevention  and  Legal  Protection  Office  of  the  Roma  Parliament,  and  the  Legal 
Protection  Office  of  the  Roma  Civil  Rights  Foundation.  These  offices  provide  the 
people  who  contact  them  with  legal  counsel  and  representation.  Institutions  such 
as  the  Public  Foundation  for  National  and  Ethnic  Minorities  in  Hungary  and  the 
Public  Foundation  for  the  Hungarian  Roma  provide  minority  funding.  Minority 
cultural  programmes  are  financed  by  the  Ministry  of  National  Cultural  Heritage 
[Nemzeti  Kulturális  Örökség  Ministériuma].  To  highlight  the  importance  of 
language  minorities,  to  attract  public  attention  and  develop  and  maintain  a 
minority-friendly  social  atmosphere 
the  Hungarian  Government  declared 
December  18,  the  day  in  1995  on  which  the  General  Assembly  adopted  the  UN 
Statement  on  the  Rights  of  People  of  National,  Ethnic,  Religious,  and  Language 
Minorities,  as  Minorities  Day.  As  one  of  the  important  events  on  Minorities  Day, 
the Minorities Prize, is awarded every year  

Significant regulations for minorities in Hungary can also be found in Act CXL of 
1997  on  the  Protection  of  Cultural  Goods,  Museum  Institutions,  the  Supply  of 
Public  Libraries,  and  Public  Education  (often  referred  to  as  the  Act  on  Culture). 
The Act on Culture emphasises the need for the preservation and maintenance of 
the minority cultural heritage, among others through a network of minority central 
libraries. The Ministerial Decree on the Organisation and Operation of the Library 
Network  states  that  minority  central  libraries  must  include  children's  books, 
fiction, technical literature and periodicals, as well as library documents prepared 
by any technical process in the native language of the given minority. The National 
Library  of  Foreign  Literature  in  Budapest,  county  libraries,  local  and  school 
libraries function as minority central libraries.  

The  Minorities  Act  (⇒  4.3)  makes  provisions  for  the  languages  of  recognised 
minorities  in  education.  Art.  43  of  the  Act  states  that  children  belonging  to  a 
minority  have  the  opportunity  to  be  educated  in  their  mother  tongue  or 
'bilingually',  i.e.  in  their  mother  tongue.  The  education  of  minorities  in  their 
mother tongue or 'bilingually' may be provided in minority kindergartens, schools, 
or in classes or groups within schools, according to local possibilities and demands. 
It is compulsory to establish a minority class or group at the request of the parents 
or  legal  representatives  of  eight  students  belonging  to  the  same  minority  group. 
Art.  50  of  the  Minorities  Act  guarantees  the  compilation  of  textbooks  and  the 
provision  of  equipment  necessary  for  minority  education.  According  to  Art.  46  of 
the  Minorities  Act  it  is  the  duty  of  the  state  to  train  native  teachers  to  provide 
education in the mother tongue or 'bilingually' to minorities. Teacher and student 
exchange is encouraged through various international agreements. All teachers in 
minority  education  are  obliged  to  take  professional  development  courses  every 
seven years. 

4.10   The  most  fundamental  measures  necessary  for  creating  consistency  with  the 
Minorities  Act  were  taken  with  the  enactment  of  Act  LXXIX  of  1993  On  Public 
Education  [Oktatási  törvény]  and  its  amendments  in  1996,  1999  and  2003.  The 

117

 
 
 
 
 
 
Government  issued  the  National  Core  Curriculum  [Nemzeti  Alaptanterv]  with 
Government Decree 130/1995 (X. 26.) in order to modernise the public education 
system. This Curriculum was introduced in 1998. In conjunction with the changes 
in the structure of general education, the government also considered the reform of 
minority  education  timely  and  necessary.  The  Ministry  of  Culture  and  Education 
issued Decree No. 32/1997 (XI. 5.)  on “Guidelines for Pre-School Instruction  and 
School Education of National and Ethnic Minorities” and “Guidelines for Academic 
Education of National and Ethnic Minorities”.  

4.11 

In addition to the above mentioned Act on Public Education the legal framework of 
pre-school education is defined by Government Decree No. 137/1996 (VIII. 28.) on 
Issuing the National Master Programme for Pre-School Instruction, and by Decree 
No.  32/1997  (XI.  5.)  on  “Guidelines  for  Pre-School  Instruction  and  School 
Education  of  National  and  Ethnic  Minorities”.  According  to  the  guidelines  of 
Decree No. 32/1997 (XI. 5.) there are three types of minority pre-school education. 
In the first type, i.e. native language pre-schools, all pre-school life is organised in 
the  minority  language  but  children  are  provided  the  opportunity  to  become 
familiar with the Hungarian language, culture and musical tradition. In the second 
type, i.e. bilingual pre-schools providing minority instruction, both languages, i.e. 
the minority language and Hungarian, are used in pre-school activities. The ratio of 
the use of the two languages should be determined in the instruction programme 
based on the linguistic knowledge of the children at the beginning of the pre-school 
period. The third type involves pre-schools providing Roma cultural instruction (⇒ 
Romani in Hungary for more details) that may be conducted either in the minority 
language, bilingually or in the Hungarian language within the framework of Roma 
cultural instruction. In the year 2000, about 20,000 children attended pre-primary 
educational  institutions  educating  in  national  languages.  They  made  up  5.4%  of 
children  attending  pre-primary  educational  institutions.  The  following  table, 
provided by the Ministry of Education, shows the number of pre-schools providing 
minority  instruction  in  the  school  year  1999/2000  and  the  number  of  children 
receiving minority instruction in pre-schools in the same year:  

Table 4: Minority Pre-School Instruction in 1999/2000 

pre-
primary 
schools 

children in 
minority pre-
primary schools 

children in 
bilingual pre-
primary schools 

German 

263 

1,488 

Slovakian 

Croatian 

Romanian 

Serbian 

Slovenian 

73 

37 

14 

9 

5 

103 

253 

130 

87 

0 

12,653 

2,947 

1,135 

417 

94 

112 

Total 

14,141 

3,050 

1,388 

547 

181 

112 

Total 

401 

2,061 

17,358 

19,419 

Source: Ministry of Education 

4.12  As explained in the Second Periodical Report of the Government of the Republic of 
Hungary  on  the  Implementation  of  its  Commitments  Assumed  by  Ratifying  the 

118

 
 
 
 
 
 
European  Charter  for  Regional  or  Minority  Languages  of  the  Council  of  Europe 
,published in 2004, minority primary education may be organised according to the 
following types. In the first type (native language education) the minority language 
is used for  all subjects  with the  exception of Hungarian  Language and  Literature. 
The second type (dual language minority education) provides school instruction in 
two  languages.  Subjects  other  than  the  minority  language  are  also  taught  in  the 
minority  language.  At  least  50%  of  the  weekly  obligatory  classes  shall  be  in  the 
minority  language.  The  third  type  (language  teaching  education)  takes  place  in 
Hungarian,  but  the  minority  language  is  studied  by  the  pupils  in  the  frame  of  a 
minimum of four classes per week (five classes in the case of German). There are 
only  few  schools  with  native  language  education  (first  type)  in  Hungary.  It  is  the 
third  type  that  is  prevalent  in  the  Hungarian  educational  system.  The  reason  for 
this  is  that,  for  demographic  reasons  and  due  to  the  advanced  stages  of  linguistic 
assimilation, children entering school hardly know their minority language. Table 5 
below lists the number of schools, teachers and pupils involved in minority primary 
education in Hungary in the school year 1999-2000. 

Table 5: Minority Primary Education in 1999-2000 

n
a
m
r
e
G

n
a
i

n
a
m
o
R

n
a
i
b
r
e
S

n
a
i
t
a
o
r
C

k
a
v
o
l
S

n
a
i

n
e
v
o
l
S

k
e
e
r
G

r
e
h
t
O

l
a
t
o
T

284 
1,130 

3,197 

14 
67 

97 

11 
20 

32 

34 
88 

211 

59 
136 

364 

4 
10 

20 

2 
3 

9 

5 
7 

395 
1,461 

11 

3,941 

46,254 

1,198 

275 

2,526 

4,424 

116 

83 

137  55,013 

4.8 

0.1 

0.0 

0.3 

0.5 

0.0 

0.0 

0.0  5.7 

758 

427 

164 

319 

92 

- 

4,911 

188 

- 

- 

658 

22 

- 

- 

- 

- 

1,760 

5,779 

40,585 

583 

111 

2,207 

3,674 

94 

83 

137  47,474 

Number of schools1) 
Number of teachers 
Number of language 

groups 

Number of pupils 
% of the total number of 
pupils 
Pupils in native language 
educat
ion 
Pupils in dual-language 
educat
ion 
Pupils studying the 

langua
ge 

Schools may have pupils belonging to several different minorities. 

1) 
Source: Ministry of Education  

4.13   The  second  periodical  report  on  the  European  Charter  for  Regional  or  Minority 
Languages  does  not  mention  two  forms  of  minority  education  that  are  listed  in 
Decree  No.  32/1997  (XI.  5.)  issuing  “Guidelines  on  Pre-School  Instruction  and 
School  Education  of  National  and  Ethnic  Minorities”  and  the  “Guidelines  on 
Academic  Education  of  National  and  Ethnic  Minorities”.  The  fourth  type 
mentioned  in  this  decree  (academic  improvement  education  for  the  Roma 
minority)  ensures  familiarization  with  Roma  cultural  values  and  the  teaching  of 
information on the history, literature, arts, music, dance culture and traditions of 
the Roma minority. Instruction in the Roma language is a non-obligatory element 
of  this  programme,  but  depending  on  the  needs  of  the  parents,  it  ensures 
instruction of the Romani variety spoken by the parents (⇒ Romani in Hungary for 
more details). The fifth type (intercultural education) can be organised by schools 
implementing any of the former four types for those pupils who do not take part in 
minority education in the school in question. The goal of this form of education is 

119

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
   
   
   
 
 
to teach pupils about the culture of the particular minority within the framework of 
non-required class hours. No data could be obtained on these forms of education. 

4.14  The legal framework of secondary education is defined – in addition to the Act on 
Public  Education  –  by  Decree  No.  32/1997  (XI.5.)  on  “Guidelines  on  Pre-School 
Instruction  and  School  Education  of  National  and  Ethnic  Minorities”.  Access 
regulations  relating  to  minority  secondary  education  are  contained  in  Decree  No. 
24/1997 (VI. 5) of the Minister of Culture and Public Education on Regulations for 
Basic Education Examinations, and Government Decree No. 100/1997 (VI.13.) on 
the  Regulations  for  the  Secondary  School  Final  Examinations,  which  together 
define the requirements of organisation and contents of minority secondary school 
final  examinations.  The  detailed  requirements  of  the  final  examination  in  the 
subjects  of  minority  languages,  knowledge  of  minority  literature  and  minority 
nationality  studies  are  presently  being  worked  out.  Table  6  shows  the  number  of 
students in secondary schools offering education in a minority language or courses 
on a minority language in the academic year 1999-2000. 

Table 6: Minority Secondary Schools in 1999-2000. 

language 
instr. 

Number of students 
in secondary 
grammar-schools 
minority 
language, 
bilingual 
1,007 
105 
219 
129 
126 

692 

128 

Number of 
institutions 

lang. 
instr. 

minority 
language, 
bilingual 
4 
2 
2 
1 
1 

9 

German 
Slovakian 
Croatian 
Romanian 
Serbian 
1 
Slovenian 
1 
Roma 
Total 
13 
Source: Ministry of Education 

10 

2 

Number of students in 
specialized secondary 
schools 

minority 
language, 
bilingual 
122 
13 

language 
instr. 

Total 

157 

1,978 
118 
219 
257 
126 
9 
118 
2,825 

9 
118 
947 

1,586 

135 

157 

4.15  Although  the  Public  Education  Act  allows  all  of  them  to  choose  any  form  of 
education  the  Bulgarian,  Greek,  Polish,  Ruthenian  and  Ukrainian  communities 
have  no  minority  schools.  They  develop  their  native  language  skills  mostly  in  so-
called ‘Sunday schools’, i.e. within the framework of an activity beyond the system 
of  public  education.  For  these  communities  that  are  characterised  by  the  low 
number  and  wide  scattering  of  their  members,  the  organisation  of  education 
mainly  started  subsequent  to  the  adoption  of  the  Minorities  Act.  The  amended 
Public  Education  Act  (Subsection  (5)  of  Section  86)  provides  them  with  the 
opportunity  of  organising  a  new  form  of  education:  the  supplementary  minority 
education that provides the organisation of education within the school system for 
those minorities that have no schools of their own.  

4.16  Following  the  Minorities  Act  (Art.  18),  minorities  have  the  right  to  initiate  the 
establishment of higher education in their own language. The Act also states that it 
is  the  State’s  responsibility  to  provide  training  of  language  teachers  for  the 
instruction  of  minorities.  In  Hungarian  higher  education,  nursery-school 
pedagogues,  teachers  instructing  minority  language  and  literature  and  minority 
teachers  are  trained  (⇒  language  reports  on  teacher  training  institutions).  There 
are  special  minority  language  and  literature  departments  in  institutions  of  higher 
education. In most minority departments, a lecturer from the minority’s ‘country of 
origin’ who is made available by a bilateral international treaty assists instruction. 

120

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The  qualification  requirements  for  certain  basic  degrees  in  faculties  of  arts  and 
letters and social sciences, including the training requirements of minority studies 
at college or universities, are published in accordance with the provisions of the Act 
on Higher Education (Government Decree  No. 129/2001 (VII. 13)). The Decree is 
meant to ensure the equivalence of certificates received abroad and in Hungary.  

Table 7: Minority Languages in Higher Education in 1999-2000 

Language  of 
national 
group 
Croatian 
German 
Romanian 
Serbian 
Slovakian 
Slovenian 

Number  of  students  in 
the 
year 
academic 
1999/2000 
93 
(4,746)* 
102 
66 
228 
6 

Source: Ministry of Education  
*The number in parentheses includes the number of students studying German as a foreign language (in German 
departments, language teacher training for students with a German major), in addition to students belonging to 
the German minority. 

On  the  basis  of  bilateral  agreements  several  minorities  have  the  opportunity  to 
apply for scholarships to take part in courses in “kin states” on a full-time or part-
time  basis.  In  the  case  of  certain  minorities  (Slovak,  Serb,  Croatian,  Romanian) 
they may even receive scholarships from these states.  

4.17 

In the last years several minority research institutes have been set up by minorities 
to  study  their  native  traditions,  past  and  present  (⇒  language  reports  for  more 
details).  The  Department  for  Non-Hungarian  Nationalities  of  the  Hungarian 
Ethnographic  Society  operates  parallel  to  these  institutes,  conducts  research  to 
explore  the  ethnographic  values  of  minority  cultures,  and  regularly  publishes  its 
findings.  The  UNESCO  Minority  Sociology  Department  within  the  Sociology 
Institute  of  ELTE  University  in  Budapest  primarily  researches  Roma  society.  The 
Office  for  National  and  Ethnic  minorities  in  Budapest  provides  minority  specific 
information. 

4.18   Hungarian  law  guarantees  minorities  access  to  the  media.  The  Minorities  Act 
provides  legislation  requiring  public  television  and  radio  stations  to  ensure  that 
national and ethnic minority programmes are produced and broadcast on a regular 
basis. Act I of 1996 on Radio and Television Broadcasting (often referred to as the 
Media Act) made the preparation of programmes dealing with the culture and lives 
of minorities a compulsory responsibility of the public service media. The same act 
also  authorizes  the  national  minority  self-governments  to  delegate  a  member  to 
one  of  the  boards  of  the  foundations  overseeing  public  broadcasting  in  Hungary, 
such as the Public Foundations for Hungarian Radio and Television.  

4.19  On Hungarian public radio there currently are native-language radio programmes 
for  all  national  and  ethnic  minorities.  The  average  broadcasting  time  of  minority 
programmes  in  the  Hungarian  public  radio  presently  exceeds  10  hours  a  day. 
Members  of  the  minority  national  self-governments  have  the  right  to  decide 
independently  how  they  will  use  this  time.  The  producers  of  the  minority 
programmes  are  located  in  three  cities  in  the  country:  Pécs  (Croatian,  German) 
Szeged  (Romanian,  Slovak,  Serb)  and  Szombathely  (Slovenian).  The  programmes 
of the Bulgarian, Greek, Polish, Armenian, Ruthenian and Ukrainian minorities are 
produced in Budapest. Minority programmes of national coverage are broadcast in 

121

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
the evening hours, between 6:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. Minority broadcasts can be 
received  on  the  short  and  medium  wave  frequencies  of  the  public  regional  radio 
stations. Regional minority programmes are broadcast in the morning as well as in 
the  afternoon  (⇒  Table  8  and  language  reports  for  details  on  the  minority  radio 
programmes). With a view to acquaint the majority society with the history, culture 
and traditions of the minorities, the public service Hungarian Radio launched a 55-
minute programme entitled ‘Egy hazában’ (‘in one homeland’). This programme in 
Hungarian provides information to the listeners about the life, culture and history 
of the minorities living in Hungary. Furthermore public service radio transmits a 3-
hour  programme  on  minorities  every  three  months,  with  contributions  from  the 
local stations. In order to introduce minority culture, the public-service broadcast 
two  radio  programmes  a  month  in  2003  within  its  very  popular  programme  ‘Jó 
éjszakát gyerekek!’ (Good night, children) in Hungarian from the collection of fairy 
tales  of  the  following  minorities:  Bulgarian,  Roma,  Greek,  Polish,  German, 
Armenian, Romanian, Slovakian and Ukrainian. Croatian, Ruthenian, Serbian and 
Slovenian fairy tales will be  broadcast in  2004.  Besides Hungarian national radio 
also  the  Catholic  radio  and  a  number  of  private  radio  stations  broadcast  in 
minority languages.  

4.20   Public-service television broadcasts weekly nation-wide for the Croatian, German, 
Romanian, Slovak and Serbian minorities, and also broadcasts nation-wide for the 
Slovenian minority every second week. The programmes are produced in the same 
places as the radio programmes (⇒ 3.8.1). The Bulgarian, Greek, Polish, Armenian, 
Ruthenian  and  Ukrainian  minorities  share  the  programme  time  of  the  biweekly 
magazine ‘Rondó’. ‘Rondó’, along with the Roma magazine that is broadcast once a 
week  and  the  Cigany  Forum  that  is  broadcast  four  times  a  year  are  all  edited  in 
Budapest. The broadcasting time of weekly or biweekly programmes is 26 minutes 
each (⇒ Table 8 for more details). The broadcasting of minority programmes takes 
place  between  2  p.m.  and  3  p.m.  on  workdays  on  Channel  1  of  the  Hungarian 
Television. The programmes are repeated on Saturdays in the morning on satellite 
Channel 2. In the opinion of the minority leaders, this broadcasting time does not 
allow easy access to these programmes.  

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Table 8: Minority Broadcasting 

Croatian 

German 
Romanian 
Serbian 

Television 
26 min./week (repeated) 

26 min./week (repeated) 
26 min./week (repeated) 
26 min./week (repeated) 

Slovak 

26 min./week (repeated) 

Slovenian 

26 min./twice per month (repeated) 

26 min./week (repeated) and 4 times/year 
52 min. for the programme ‘Cigany 
Forum’ 
‘Rondo’ (shared programme for six 
minority groups: Armenian, Bulgarian, 
Greek, Polish, Ruthenian and Ukrainian), 
52 min./ twice a month (26 min. repeated) 
‘Rondo’ 
‘Rondo’ 
‘Rondo’ 
‘Rondo’ 
‘Rondo’ 
‘Együtt’ (Together); 52 min./twice a 
month (26 min. repeated) 

Roma 

Armenian 

Bulgarian 
Greek 
Polish 
Ruthenian 
Ukrainian 
Multiethnic  
(programme about 
minorities intended 
for a majority 
audience) 
Source: Gosselin 2003 

Radio 
90 min./day, regional 
30 min./day, country-wide 
idem 
idem 
30 min./day + 50 min./4 
times a week, regional 
30 min./day, country-wide 
120 min./day, regional 
30 min./day, country wide 
30 min./week, regional 
30 min./week, country-wide 
30 min./6 times a week, 
country wide 

30 min./week, country-wide 

30 min./week, country-wide 
30 min./week, country-wide 
30 min./week, country-wide 
30 min./week, country-wide 
30 min./week, country-wide 
‘Egy hazaban’ (in one 
homeland); 30 min./week 
(one week every month the 
programme lasts 180 min.) 

Hungarian  Television  broadcasts  the  programme  called  ‘Együtt’  (Together),  a 
documentary workshop, every second week, for 52 or 26 minutes. This programme 
intends to disseminate information on the situation of minorities in Hungary to a 
wide  audience.  The  MTV  Religious  Editors  (MTV  =  Magyar  Televízió)  regularly 
broadcast  masses  in  the  native  languages  of  minorities  for  the  Roma,  German, 
Slovak,  and  Croatian  minority  groups.  The  series  has  continued  in  2004  by  also 
broadcasting  masses  in  Romanian  and  Serbian.  And  in  general,  public  service 
television’s news programmes report minority affairs in brief. 

4.21  As is the case for radio and television the Office for National and Ethnic Minorities 
and the Public Foundation for National and Ethnic Minorities also finances some 
minority printed media. Each of Hungary’s minorities has at least one publication 
supported by public funds (⇒ language country reports for more details).  

4.22   Most Hungarian minority members live in small settlements and little villages and 
have  not  had  many  opportunities  to  have  access  to  the  ‘outer  world’.  In  order  to 
facilitate  the  information  and  communication  work  of  the  minority  self-
governments in native languages, the relevant Ministry provided subsidies in 2003 
through tenders whereby almost two-thirds of the local minority self-governments 
(i.e.  1,005  self-governments)  received  IT  devices.  Internet  connections  are 
generally provided in the community houses (www.telehaz.hu). As a first step, the 
minority  printed  news  appeared  on  the  Internet.  Thanks  to  the  Internet,  the 
printed news of minorities can be read on the World Wide Web sometimes earlier 
than  in  printed  form.  Hungarian  Radio  opened  a  minority  page  on  its  Internet 
website where the advance information and contents of minority programmes and 
the  reports  on  major  minority  events  are  available.  Among  the  national  minority 
self-governments,  the  Bulgarian,  Greek,  Croatian,  German,  Slovakian,  Slovenian, 
and  Ukrainian  self-governments  have  launched  their  own  websites.  Armenians, 

123

 
 
 
 
 
 
Romanians,  and  Poles  are  represented  through  their  national  organisations  or 
organisations  in  Budapest  or  in  the  provinces  and  have  their  own  website  on  the 
Internet. Minorities have started developing their own homepages and use one of 
the following three forms: (1) some pages are published in trilingual versions, i.e. in 
addition  to  the  minority  language,  in  Hungarian  and  English,  (2)  some  publish 
information in the minority language and in Hungarian, and (3) others only use the 
minority  language.  About  20%  of  the  websites  created  by  minority  communities 
and  institutions  are  published  in  Hungarian  only.  The  other  80%  of  them  are 
published in the minority language as well as in Hungarian. Only very few sites use 
any of the Roma dialects. Most of the Roma-related websites disclose information 
in  English  and,  occasionally,  in  Ruthenian  and  Slovakian.  Ukrainian  websites  are 
also sometimes published in English, too. At the end of 2003, 81 internet websites 
concerning  Hungarian  minorities  were  operated  by  the  minorities  themselves  (⇒ 
language  reports  for  more  details).  Presently  there  are  more  than  100  minority 
websites  on  the  Internet  which  deal  with  more  than  one  Hungarian  nationality. 
Among websites introducing minority-related issues, ‘Etnonet’, a minority Internet 
newspaper  operating  independently,  deserves  special  mention.  The  Ministry  of 
Information  and  Communication  supports  the  project  ‘Digital  Secondary  School’ 
aimed  at  assisting  those  pupils  who  have  failed  to  complete  their  traditional 
secondary education to obtain their secondary school certificate.  

4.23   In 2003 Act I of 2002, referred to as the New Act on Criminal Procedure entered 
into force (replacing Act XIX of 1998 on Criminal Procedure). Section 9 of the New 
Act  directly  refers  to  the  European  Charter  for  Regional  or  Minority  Languages, 
and allows everyone to use their native language in criminal proceedings in speech 
and  in  writing.  The  New  Act  on  Criminal  Procedure  modified  the  provisions 
relating to interpretation. Now the use of interpreters is mandatory where regional 
or  minority  languages  are  used.  The  cost  of  translation  and  interpretation  are 
borne  by  the  State  (Section  339  subsection  2).  Civil  proceedings  are  regulated  by 
Act  CX  of  1999.  The  law  states  that  the  official  language  of  proceedings  is 
Hungarian.  Courts  shall,  however,  allow  the  use  of  the  native  minority  language 
before  the  court.  According  to  the  ECMRL  report  of  2004  neither  the  Minorities 
Ombudsman  nor  the  Office  for  National  and  Ethnic  Minorities  have  received 
complaints with regard to the exercise of minority language rights during the past 
years.  

4.24   According to the provisions of the Minorities Act, local governments shall provide 
signs with the name of the settlement, streets, public offices, and public authorities 
in  the  mother  tongue  of  the  minority  (in  addition  to  the  Hungarian  wording  and 
name  variant,  with  identical  contents  and  form),  whenever  it  is  requested  by  the 
local minority self-government operating in their district of competency. Following 
Art. 53 of the Minorities Act the municipal government must ensure that the forms 
used in the course of administrative procedures are also available in the minority 
language.  The municipal government  must  also ensure that the  announcement of 
its regulations and the publication of its announcements are made in the language 
of  the  minority  as  well  as  in  Hungarian.  To  ensure  the  usage  of  the  minority 
language in public life the local government has to publish its decrees, its decisions 
affecting the life of minorities, and the minutes of its sessions in the language of the 
local minority (ies). Often, the documents are made public either by broadcasting 
them  on  local  cable  television,  or  by  publishing  them  in  a  local  newspaper.  A 
problem  related  to  the  use  of  minority  languages  in  (local)  administrations  is  the 
technical language training of public officials speaking a minority language. Some 
national minority self-governments started using glossaries that contain technical 
expressions  used  in  public  administration  both  in  Hungarian  and  in  the  minority 
language. The Government supports the publication of such glossaries.  

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4.25   Act XCVI of 2001 on the Publication of Business Advertisements, Shop Signs and 
Certain  Announcements  of  Public  Interest  in  the  Hungarian  language  stipulates 
that  Hungarian  must  be  used  in  all  public  service  announcements,  in  all  signs 
purporting  economic  advertisement,  and  in  all  signs  indicating  shops/businesses. 
There is only one exception to that general obligation: Article 6, subsection (4) of 
the Act says that "the requirements defined here will not prejudice the commercial 
advertisements and signs posted in the minority languages defined in Article 42 of 
Act LXXVII of 1993 on the Rights of National and Ethnic Minorities, in settlements 
where the minority using the language concerned has a minority self-government." 
No other regulations exist in Hungary relevant to the use of language of economic 
actors.  People  decide  for  themselves  which  language  they  wish  to  use  in  their 
activities and correspondence.  

4.26   Hungary  has  sophisticated  language  minority  legislation  and  an  almost  fully-
fledged  language  policy.  Nevertheless  the  legislation  needs  some  fine-tuning 
(election  system  of  self-governments)  and  there  seems  to  be  a  rather  large  gap 
between  theory  (legislation)  and  praxis  (the  state  the  language  minorities  find 
themselves  in  and  the  way  in  which  legal  measures  are  put  into  practice). 
According  to  language  minorities  two  main  reasons  for  the  existing  gap  between 
‘theory’  and  ‘praxis’  are  (1)  the  slow  pace  with  which  state  regulations  are 
transformed  into  concrete  measures  on  the  local  level  (sometimes  due  to  lack  of 
awareness  on  behalf  of  the  officials);  and  (2)  the  lack  of  funding  of  (potential) 
minority initiatives.  

5.  

The European dimension 

5.1   Hungary  signed  the  European  Charter  for  Minority  or  Regional  languages  on  5 
November 1992. Ratification followed on  26 April 1995. The Charter  entered into 
force on 1 March 1998 and, according to a declaration made by Hungary, applies to 
the  Croatian,  German,  Romanian,  Serbian,  Slovak  and  Slovene  languages.  The 
Framework  Convention  for  the  Protection  of  National  Minorities  was  signed  by 
Hungary  on  1February  1995.  It  was  ratified  on  25  September,  1995  and  entered 
into force on 1 February, 1998. 

5.2  

Bilateral  treaties  with  direct  relevance  to  minorities  include  the  Treaty  on  Good-
neighbourly Relations and Friendly Co-operation between the Republic of Hungary 
and  the  Slovak  Republic  (19  March  1995);  Treaty  on  the  Bases  of  Good-
neighbourliness  and  Co-operation  between  the  Republic  of  Hungary  and  Ukraine 
(6  December  1991);  Declaration  on  the  Principles  of  Co-operation  between  the 
Republic of Hungary and the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic in Guaranteeing 
the  Rights  of  National  Minorities  (31  May  1991);  Treaty  between  the  Republic  of 
Hungary and Romania on Understanding, Co-operation and Good Neighbourliness 
(16 September 1996); Treaty between the Republic of Hungary and the Republic of 
Croatia  on  Friendly  Relations  and  Co-operation  (16  December  1992);  Convention 
between the Republic of Hungary and the Republic of Croatia on the Protection of 
the Hungarian Minority in the Republic of Croatia and the Croatian Minority in the 
Republic  of  Hungary  (5  April1995);  Treaty  on  Friendship  and  Co-operation 
between the Republic of Hungary and the Republic of Slovenia ( 1 December 1992);  
Convention  on  Providing  Special  Rights  for  the  Slovenian  Minority  Living  in  the 
Republic  of  Hungary  and  for  the  Hungarian  Minority  Living  in  the  Republic  of 
Slovenia  (6  November  1992);  Declaration  on  the  Principles  Guiding  the  Co-
operation between the Republic of Hungary and the Russian Federation regarding 

125

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
the  Guarantee  of  the  Rights  of  National  or  Ethnic,  Religious  and  Linguistic 
Minorities (11 November 1992). 

126

 
 
 
       Croatian in Hungary  

1.   General information 

1.1   The language 

Together  with  Serbian,  Slovenian,  Bulgarian  and  Macedonian,  Croatian  [hrvatski 
jezik]  builds  the  South  Slavic  branch  of  the  Slavic  languages.  Croatian  is  closely 
related to Serbian and is spoken by around 5.8 million people, most of whom live 
in Croatia (4.8 million). The Croatian in Hungary is characterised by considerable 
Hungarian influence and as such diverges from the variety spoken in Croatia.  

1.2   History, geography and demography 

1.2.1   The  predecessors  of  the  Croatians  living  in  modern  Hungary  arrived  at  their 
current  locations  mainly  as  a  result  of  a  continuous  immigration  caused  by  the 
existence  of  a  close  partnership  between  Croatia  and  Hungary  in  the  Croatian-
Hungarian  personal  union  that  existed  from  around  1102  until  1918.  Most 
Croatians  settled  in  Hungary  between  1520  and  1579  (during  the  time  of  the 
Turkish occupation). Towards the end of the 18th century immigration decreased. It 
almost came to an end when Croatia joined with Yugoslavia in 1918.  

1.2.2  Most  Croatians  now  live  in  small  settlements  near  the  Hungarian-Croatian 
national border in the southern and western counties of Baranya, Zala, Vas, Győr-
Moson-Sopron and Bács-Kiskun. Significant Croatian communities also live in the 
central part of the country. 

1.2.3   The  number  of  people  belonging  to  the  Croatian  minority  in  Hungary  is 
estimated between 15,620 (according to provisional results of the 2001 census) and 
90,000  (according  to  minority  organisations  ⇒  Table  1  of  the  country  profile  on 
Hungary).  Of  those  declaring  themselves  as  belonging  to  the  Croatian  national 
minority in the 2001 census about 9% belong to the age group ‘0-14’, about 28% to 
the age group ‘15-39’, about 34% to the age group ‘40-59’ and about 28% to the age 
group  ‘60+’.  Of  the  38%  Croatians  that  according  to  the  2001  census  are 
economically active about 4% work in the primary, 32% in the secondary and 56% 
in the tertiary sector.  

1.3   Legal status and official policies 

Information  on  the  legal  status  of  Croatian  and  of  official  policies  affecting 
Croatian in Hungary can be found in section 3 of the country profile (⇒ Hungary). 

127

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2.   Presence and use of the language in various fields 

2.1   Education 

In the school year 1999/2000 there were 37 pre-primary Croatian schools. In total, 
the Croatian native language pre-primary schools (first type of minority pre-school 
education  ⇒  4.11  of  the  country  profile)  had  an  enrolment  of  253  pupils,  the 
bilingual  pre-primary  schools  (second  type  of  minority  pre-school  education  ⇒ 
4.11  of  the  country  profile)  had  1,135  pupils.  In  the  same  school  year  34  schools 
offered  primary  Croatian  education.  319  pupils  attended  native  language  primary 
schools  (first  type  of  minority  primary  education  ⇒  4.12  of  the  country  profile), 
2,207 pupils were enrolled in Croatian language teaching education (third type of 
minority primary education ⇒ 4.12 of the country profile). Secondary education in 
Croatian was offered at 2 schools. 219 pupils attended native language or bilingual 
classes  in  grammar  school.  In  the  academic  year  1999/2000,  93  students  studied 
Croatian  in  institutions  of  higher  education.  In  the  academic  year  2000/2001,  15 
students  were  granted  scholarships  by  the  Hungarian  government  to  study  in 
Croatia. Nursery-school pedagogue training for Croatian is offered at Eötvös József 
College  of  Pedagogy  in  Baja,  at  Pécs  University  of  Arts  and  Sciences,  Illyés  Gyula 
College  Faculty  of  Pedagogy  in  Szekszárd  and  at  the  University  of  West-Hungary 
Benedek  Elek  College  Faculty  of  Pedagogy  in  Sopron.  Primary  school  teacher 
training  is  offered  at  the  Eötvös  József  College  in  Baja.  Training  of  secondary 
school  language  teachers  takes  place  at  Eötvös  Lóránt  University  of  Arts  and 
Sciences  (ELTE)  Faculty  of  Arts  (BTK)  in  Budapest.  Secondary  school  teacher 
training  is  offered  at  Berzsenyi  Dániel  College  in  Szombathely  and  at  Pécs 
University of Arts and Sciences BTK (Faculty of Arts). In 1995, the Association of 
Croatian Academic Researchers was founded to conduct scientific research on the 
living  in  Hungary.  Besides 
language,  culture  and  traditions  of  Croatians 
performing  academic  research,  the  Association  participates  in  the  reform  of  the 
Croatian minority education and the development of new textbooks. 

2.2   Judicial authorities 

General information on this issue is given in section 3.11 of the country profile (⇒ 
Hungary). 

2.3   Public authorities and services 

General information on this issue is given in section 3.12 of the country profile (⇒ 
Hungary). Regarding the use of Croatian in administration, the Second Report of 
the  Republic  of  Hungary  on  the  Implementation  of  the  Council  of  Europe’s 
Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (February 2004) 
reports  that  the  Bács-Kiskun  County  Office  of  Public  Administration  announced 
that  local  information  materials  were  published  in  the  Croatian  language  at  the 
village  of  Gara.  In  Bács-Kiskun  County  employees  of  public  administration  who 
speak  the  language  of  the  local  Croatian  minority  tend  to  use  Croatian  quite 
frequently  in  verbal  administrative  procedures.  Also  in  Zala  County  verbal 
administration takes place in Croatian in several settlements populated entirely by 
(Semjénháza,  Molnári,  Petrivente,  Tótszerdahely, 
the  Croatian  minority 
Tótszentmárton). Minutes, applications and resolutions, however, are drawn up in 
Hungarian. 

128

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2.4   Mass media and information technology 

2.4.1   There  is  one  state  funded  weekly  magazine,  Hrvatski  Glasnik  (owned  by  the 
Association  of  Croatians  in  Hungary).  In  addition  to  the  publishing  houses  Izdan 
and  Noi,  a  new  publishing  house  of  Croatian-language  textbooks  and  other 
publications  was  established  under  the  name  Croatica  Public  Service  Company, 
owned by the National Croatian Self-government and the Association of Croatians 
in  Hungary.  Four  central  libraries  and  a  network  of  local  and  school  libraries 
provide materials for Croatian readers.  

2.4.2   Hungarian public radio transmits a daily regional 90-minute Croatian programme 
and  a  daily  country-wide  30-minute  programme.  The  programme  of  national 
coverage  is  broadcast  in  the  evening  between  6.30  p.m.  and  10.30  p.m.  The 
regional  programme  is  broadcast  in  the  morning  as  well  as  in  the  afternoon.  The 
Croatian programmes are produced at the regional studio in Pécs. No information 
was obtained on the use of Croatian on Hungarian private radio stations. 

2.4.3   Hungarian  public  television  broadcasts  a  26-minute  weekly  Croatian  programme 
called Hrvatska Kronika. It is broadcast  between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. on workdays 
on  Channel  1  of  Hungarian  television.  The  programme  is  repeated  on  Saturday 
morning  on  satellite  Channel  2.  The  Croatian  programmes  are  produced  in  the 
studio  in  Pécs.  Besides  the  programmes  mentioned  religious  editors  of  public 
television regularly broadcast masses in Croatian. No information was obtained on 
the use of Croatian on Hungarian private television.  

2.4.4  At the end of 2003, 4 websites operated by the Croatians in Hungary were present 
on  the  internet.  Links  to  several  Croatian  organisations  and  institutions  are 
provided  by  www.kisebbseg.lap.hu.  (⇒  3.10  of  the  country  profile  for  general 
information on the situation of the new media in the case of Hungary’s minorities) 

2.5   Arts and culture 

The  cultural  activities  of  the  Croatian  community  are  organised  by  national, 
regional  and  local  organisations  and  ensembles.  There  are  traditional  ensembles, 
orchestras, choirs in most settlements that are important in preserving the identity 
of the Croatian minority population. The Croatian ensembles Baranya, Fáklya and 
Tanac  are  widely  known.  The  Croatian  minority  has  a  central  museum.  The 
Croatian  Theatre  in  Pécs  plays  an  important  role  in  the  transmission  of  Croatian 
language and culture. Since 1994 it operates independently, and currently it is the 
only  theatre  beyond  the  borders  of  Croatia  where  performances  are  held  in  the 
Croatian language. In 1995, the Association of Croatian Academic Researchers was 
founded  to  conduct  scientific  research  on  the  language,  culture  and  traditions  of 
Croatians living in Hungary. Croatians in Hungary are establishing more and more 
contacts  with  settlements  in  the  mother  country.  This  has  a  stimulating  effect  on 
cultural activities. 

2.6   The business world 

General information on this issue is provided in section 3.13 of the country profile 
(⇒ Hungary). 

129

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2.7   Family and social use of the language 

Whereas  in  the  1990  census  17,577  people  declared  Croatian  to  be  their  mother 
tongue, only 14,345 did so in the 2001 census. Although census figures have to be 
treated with great caution (⇒ 2.1 of the country profile) this decline of 18.4% seems 
to  indicate  that  the  assimilation  of  the  Croatians  to  the  Hungarian  language  that 
has been going on mainly since Croatia joined Yugoslavia and the Croatians were 
cut  off  from  their  kin-State  in  1918,  is  still  continuing.  Croatians  in  Hungary  are 
mostly bi- or trilingual (meaning that they use Hungarian, and/or a local variety of 
Croatian and/or standard Croatian). There are clear intergenerational differences: 
whereas the old generation is Croatian-dominant bilingual and uses local varieties 
of  Croatian,  the  younger  generation  mainly  is  Hungarian-dominant  bilingual  (or 
even Hungarian monolingual). The younger generations master the local variety of 
Croatian less and  less.  They tend  to adhere  more to the Croatian standard that is 
used at schools and universities as well as in the media. The language use of the bi- 
or trilingual Croatians can be characterised as di- or triglossia. This means that in 
official  and  public  domains  as  well  as  on  the  work  floor  most  Croatians  use 
Hungarian. The local variety of Croatian is usually used in private life (with family 
and close friends) and in some semi-public domains in the villages where Croatians 
reside. In the opinion of some Croatians the knowledge of Croatian is not necessary 
to maintain the Croatian culture and identity.  

2.8   The European dimension 

The Croatian – Hungarian Joint Committee on Minorities held two sessions in the 
past  three  years.  The  recommendations  of  this  Committee  concentrate  on 
assistance to the education of the Croatians in Hungary, to the cultural activities of 
speakers  of  the  minority  language,  and  to  the  nurturing  of  traditions,  and  to 
measures  to  be  taken  in  order  to  protect  the  language  of  Croatians  living  in 
Hungary.  

3.  Conclusion 

Together  with  the  Slovakian  minority  the  Croatian  minority  is  one  of  the  larger 
minorities  within  Hungary.  The  number  of  people  belonging  to  the  Croatian 
minority  is  estimated  between  15,620  (2001  census)  and  90,000  (estimates  of 
minority organisations). The Croats, whose predecessors settled in Hungary mainly 
in the 16th century, have largely assimilated to Hungarian over the past centuries. 
Nowadays the rather limited presence of Croatian in the media, as well as its use in 
several  cultural  organisations  only  help  to  slow  down  the  further  assimilation  of 
Croats  to  Hungarian  to  a  small  degree.  It  appears  that  the  intergenerational 
transmission  of  Croatian  is  being  broken.  Attempts  are  being  made  to  reverse 
Croatian-Hungarian  language  shift  by  establishing  Croatian  native  language 
schools or Croatian-Hungarian bilingual schools as allowed by the Education Act. 
Whereas  pre-primary  and  primary  Croatian  education  is  successful,  measures  to 
aid  the  flow  of  Croatian  pupils  to  secondary  Croatian  education  seem  to  be 
necessary.  But  even  if  that  succeeds  it  remains  unclear  whether  that  will  help  in 
revitalising  the  use  of  Croatian  in  the  daily  life  of  the  Croatian  minority.  To 
guarantee  a  successful  revitalisation  of  Croatian  complementary  measures  will 
have to be deployed in different areas of the lives of the Croatian minority. Despite 
the highly sophisticated Minorities Act such measures have not yet been taken. A 
lack  of  funding,  the  apparent  gap  between  the  legal  framework  and  the  actual 

130

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
implementation  of  the  legal  provisions  in  the  field  and  the  convictions  of  some 
minority  members  that  Croatian  culture  and  identity  can  survive  without  the 
Croatian language seem to be the main reasons for this.  

131

 
 
        German in Hungary  

1.   General information 

1.1   The language 

German  is  an  Indo-European  language  that  belongs  to  the  West-Germanic 
subgroup  of  Germanic  languages.  As  such,  German  is  closely  related  to  Dutch, 
English,  Frisian  and  Yiddish.  German  is  spoken  by  about  101  million  people 
worldwide  as  a  first  or  second  language.  Most  of  them  live  in  Germany 
(approximately  81.5  million),  Austria  (around  7.6  million)  and  Switzerland 
(around.  4.2  million).  German  is  a  typical  example  of  a  pluricentric  language 
characterised by an extensive geographical variation. The varieties of German used 
in Hungary are Rhenish-Franconian, Bavarian and Moselle-Franconian settlement 
dialects (Siedlungs-mundarten), that emerged as the result of a diachronic process 
of levelling (Ausgleich) of the idioms that were gradually brought into the country 
by settlers (Franconian, Hessian, Swabian, Alemannic, Bavarian and others) in the 
18th  century.  It  is  thus  possible  to  denominate  the  dialects  used  in  Hungary  as 
Bavarian, Franconian, or Swabian only when bearing in mind that they are in fact 
Hungarian  varieties  of  the  original  inner-German  Bavarian,  Franconian,  or 
Swabian dialects. 

1.2   History, geography and demography 

1.2.1   Two  waves  of  German  immigration  to  Hungary  can  be  distinguished.  The  first 
period  of  German  immigration  occurred  almost  parallel  to  the  settlement  of  the 
Magyars on the plains of the Danube river in 896. Forms of cooperation between 
the early German settlers coming mainly from the northern and central regions of 
the Holy Roman Empire with the Hungarians only started in the 10th century when 
the  Hungarian  state  was  formed  following  the  western-feudal,  German-Slavic 
example.  The  second  wave  of  immigration,  in  which  most  of  the  Germans  found 
their  way  to  Hungary,  started  after  the  Turkish  occupiers  had  been  driven  away 
from  Hungary.  During  the  150  years  of  Turkish  occupation  a  majority  of 
settlements in Hungary had either been destroyed or depopulated. To ascertain the 
post-war  reconstruction  of  Hungary  the  Hungarian  rulers  appealed  to  German 
colonists, who were eager to leave Germany that had been facing the Thirty Years 
War (Dreißigjährige Krieg, 1618-1648). The German colonists, mainly originating 
from  southern  and  central  Germany,  were  familiar  with  modern  agricultural 
techniques, greatly contributed to the recovery of Hungary and managed to hold a 
relatively  strong  position  in  the  Austrian-Hungarian  Empire.  The  position  of  the 
Germans living in Hungary was fundamentally changed by the events that followed 
World War II. The enforcement of collective responsibility resulted in the complete 
transformation  of  the  economic  and  social  structures  of  their  communities.  Of 
those who declared themselves ethnic Germans in the 1941 census, approximately 
135,000 people were sent to the American occupation zone in Germany in January 
1946,  and  it  is  estimated  that  approximately  50,000-60,000  people  were  sent  to 
the Soviet occupation zone.  

1.2.2   Although  Germans  are  dispersed  throughout  Hungary  it  is  possible  to  broadly 
distinguish  three  German  centres.  One  is  situated  in  western  Hungary  along  the 
Hungarian-Austrian state border.  

132

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The history of this settlement goes back to the 10th century. A second centre is in 
the  Hungarian  central  mountain  range  (Mittelgebirge)  between  the  so-called 
‘Donauknie’  and  the  ‘Plattensee’.  A  third  centre  is  in  the  south  of  the  so-called 
Swabian  Turkic  part  of  the  country  (Schwäbische  Türkei),  around  the  city  of 
Pécs/Fünfkirchen.  

1.2.3   The  number  of  people  belonging  to  the  German  national  minority  in  Hungary  is 
estimated  to  be  between  62,233  (according  to  provisional  results  of  the  2001 
census)  and  220,000  (according  to  minority  organisations  ⇒  country  profile  on 
Hungary,  Table  1).  Of  those  declaring  themselves  as  belonging  to  the  German 
national  minority  in  the  2001  census  about  9%  belong  to  the  age  group  ‘0-14’, 
about 29% to the age group ’15-39’, about 34% to the age group ’40-59’ and about 
28% to the age group ‘60+’. Of the 40% Germans that according to the 2001 census 
are economically active about 3% work in the primary, 27% in the secondary and 
65% in the tertiary sector.  

1.3   Legal status and official policies 

Information on the legal status of German and of official policies affecting German 
in Hungary can be found in section 3 of the country profile (⇒ Hungary). 

2.   Presence and use of the language in various fields 

2.1   Education 

In  1999/2000  there  were  263  pre-primary  German  schools.  In  all  the  German 
native language pre-primary schools (first type of minority pre-school education ⇒ 
4.11  of  the  country  profile)  had  1,488  pupils,  while  the  bilingual  pre-primary 
schools  (second  type  of  minority  pre-school  education  ⇒  4.11  of  the  country 
profile)  had  12,653  pupils.  In  the  same  school  year  284  primary  schools  offered 
German education. 785 pupils attended native language primary schools (first type 
of minority primary education ⇒ 4.12 of the country profile), 4,911 pupils attended 
bilingual primary schools (second type of minority primary education ⇒ 4.12 of the 
country  profile)  and  40,585  pupils  enrolled  in  German  language  teaching 
education (third type of minority primary education⇒ 4.12 of the country profile).  
Secondary education in German was offered at 4 schools offering native language 
or bilingual instruction and at 9 schools offering German language teaching. 1,007 
pupils  attended  native  language  or  bilingual  classes  in  grammar  school  and  692 
attended  German  language  teaching  classes  in  grammar  school.  122  pupils 
attended native language or bilingual classes in specialized schools and 157 pupils 
attended German language teaching classes in specialised schools. In 1999/2000, 
4,746  students  studied  German  in  institutions  of  higher  education  (this  number 
includes  the  students  studying  German  as  a  foreign  language,  as  well  as  students 
belonging  to  the  German  minority).  Nursery-school  pedagogue  training  for 
German is offered at Eötvös József College of Pedagogy in Baja, Pécs University of 
Arts  and  Sciences  Illyés  Gyula  College  Faculty  of  Pedagogy  in  Szekszárd,  and  the 
University of West-Hungary Benedek Elek College Faculty of Pedagogy in Sopron. 
Primary  school  teacher  training  is  offered  at  ELTE  Teacher  Training  College 
Faculty  in  Budapest,  Eötvös  József  College  in  Baja,  Pécs  University  of  Arts  and 
Sciences  Illyés  Gyula  College  Faculty  of  Pedagogy  in  Szekszárd,  Apor  Vilmos 
Catholic  College  in  Zsámbék,  and  Vitéz  János  Roman  Catholic  Teacher  Training 

133

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
College in Esztergom. Training of secondary school language teachers is offered at 
Eötvös  Lóránt  University  of  Arts  and  Sciences  (ELTE)  Faculty  of  Arts  (BTK)  in 
Budapest, Pázmány Péter Chatolic University in Piliscsaba, József Attila University 
of  Arts  and  Sciences  in  Szeged,  and  Pécs  University  of  Arts  and  Sciences  BTK 
(Faculty  of  Arts)  in  Pécs.  Secondary  school  teacher  training  takes  place  at  Szeged 
University of Arts and Sciences Juhász Gyula Teacher Training College Faculty in 
Szeged,  and  Berzsenyi  Dániel  College  in  Szombathely.  Research  programmes  are 
coordinated by the Research and Teacher Training Center of Germans in Hungary 
working under the aegis of the Institute of German Studies at ELTE University.  

2.2   Judicial authorities 

General information on this issue is given in section 3.11 of the country profile (⇒ 
Hungary). 

2.3   Public authorities and services 

General information on this issue is given in section 3.12 of the country profile (⇒ 
Hungary).  According  to  the  Second  Report  of  the  Republic  of  Hungary  on  the 
Implementation  of  the  Council  of  Europe’s  Framework  Convention  for  the 
Protection  of  National  Minorities  (February  2004),  direct  communication  in  the 
county  office  of  public  administration  in  Baranya  county  frequently  goes  on  in 
German (that is, in the local Swabian dialect of German) in settlements inhabited 
by the German minority.  

2.4   Mass media and information technologies 

(Jakob-Bleyer  Gemeinschaft)  distributes 

2.4.1   The  German  press  in  Hungary  is  strongly  represented.  There  is  one  state  funded 
newspaper,  Die  Neue  Zeitung  (owned  by  the  Neue  Zeitung  Foundation),  founded 
in 1957, that appears weekly, has about 16 pages and prints approx. 3,000 copies. 
There  are  also  two  associations  who  have  their  own  newspaper.  The  German 
Cultural Association (Deutscher Kulturverein) publishes the Deutsche Boten since 
1990,  as  a  critical  alternative  to  the  Neue  Zeitung.  And  the  Jakob  Bleyer 
the  Sonntagsblatt 
Association 
(established  in  1921  and  re-founded  in  1991)  that  concentrates  to  some  extent  on 
historical issues and also focuses on the day to day events of German minorities all 
over  Europe.  Apart  from  the  newspapers  already  mentioned  there  is  another 
independent weekly newspaper Pester Lloyd (existing from 1854 until 1945 and re-
founded  in  1994).  Like  the  Budapester  Zeitung  it  is  printed  in  Hungary’s  capital. 
The Budapester Zeitung, on the market since 1999, is a 16-page weekly newspaper 
of  which  15,000  copies  are  distributed.  There  is  one  ‘holiday  newspaper’  that 
appears  once  a  month:  the  Balaton  Zeitung  (founded  in  1998)  of  which  10,000 
copies  are  distributed.  Since  2003,  the  magazine  PEP!,  of  which  15,000  monthly 
copies  are  distributed,  reports  on  life  style  issues.  The  magazine  Wirtschaft  in 
Ungarn,  published  by  the  German-Hungarian  Chamber  of  Commerce,  gives 
information  about  the  economic  situation  in  Germany  and  Hungary  in  about  50 
pages  and  has  a  distribution  of  5,000  copies.  A  similar  magazine  is  Ungarische 
Wirtschaft, published by the Hungarian Ministry of Economic Affairs three times a 
year.  In  addition,  there  are  other  magazines  with  specific  target  groups. 
Deutschunterricht für Ungarn (DufU),  a  magazine founded in 2001, serves  as  an 
information  source 
twice  a  year. 
Germanistisches  Magazin  (GeMa),  the  magazine  of  the  students  at  the  German 

teachers  of  German.  It  appears 

for 

134

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Institute  at  the  University  of  Szeged,  was  founded  in  2001  and  appears  twice  a 
year. Das Schwarze Brett is an information letter for teachers of German and has 
been  published  since  1994  by  the  Goethe  Institute  in  Budapest.  The  Hungarian 
Humboldt Association has its own Humboldt Nachrichten that is published twice a 
year. Óperencia is the monthly magazine of the Austrian school in Budapest. The 
Gemeindebrief der Deutschsprachigen Kirchengemeinden  appears  twice a month 
in Budapest (1,200 copies). And the Deutscher Kalender is published by the Self-
Government of the Germans in  Hungary.  This  list of German printed  media does 
not  include  German  articles  and  columns  that  sometimes  appear  in  some  local 
newspapers or magazines all over the country.  

2.4.2   Hungarian  public  radio  transmits  a  daily  90-minute  regional  programme  and  a 
daily  country-wide  half-hourly  programme.  The  national  programme  is  broadcast 
between  7:30  p.m.  and  8  p.m.  The  regional  programmes  are  broadcast  between 
10:30 a.m. and 12:00 a.m. The German minority programmes are produced in the 
regional  studio  of  Pécs/Fünfkirchen.  More  details  are  available  on  the  website  of 
Radio  Pécs  (www.pecsiradio.hu).  Radio  Budapest  (the  Hungarian  world  service) 
also  broadcasts  German  programmes.  Also  popular  is  the  programme  ‘Gruß  und 
Kuß’ (kiss and greet). No reliable information was found on the existence of private 
local German radio stations in Hungary. 

2.4.3   Hungarian  public  television  broadcasts  a  26  minute  weekly  German  programme 
called  Unser Bildschirm between  2 p.m.  and  3 p.m. on workdays on  Channel 1 of 
the  Hungarian  television.  The  programme  is  repeated  on  Saturday  morning  on 
satellite Channel 2. The German public television programmes are produced in the 
studio  in  Pécs.  Besides  the  programmes  mentioned  it  should  be  noted  that  the 
religious  editors  of  public  television  regularly  broadcast  masses  in  German.  No 
information  could  be  obtained  as  to  the  existence  of  private  German  television 
programmes in Hungary. 

2.4.4  At the end of 2003, 23 websites operated by the Germans in Hungary were found 
on the internet. German magazines and newspapers have their websites (links are 
provided  through  www.press-guide.com/hungary.htm.).  Links  to  several  German 
organisations and institutions can be found via www.kisebbseg.lap.hu. (⇒ 3.10 of 
the country profile for general information on the situation of the new media in the 
case of Hungary’s minorities) 

2.5   Arts and culture 

of 

the 

Jakob-Bleyer  Association 

Young  German  Hungarians 

Larger German associations are the Association of Hungarian Germans (Verband 
der  Ungarndeutschen), 
(Jakob  Bleyer 
Gemeinschaft),  the  German  Cultural  Association  (Deutscher  Kulturverein),  the 
Nikolaus  Lenau  Cultural  Association  (Kulturverein  Nikolaus  Lenau  e.V.)  and  the 
junger 
Association 
Ungarndeutschen  -  GJU).  The  Association  of  German  Writers  and  Artists  in 
Hungary, founded in 1990, studies the past and present of the German minority in 
Hungary  by  literary  and  artistic  means.  In  1990,  the  first  anthology  of  works  of 
in  Hungary,  titled  "Bekentnisse  eines 
fiction  written  by  Germans 
Birkenbaumes" was published. Since 1992, five volumes have been published in the 
"VUDAK-Bücher" series. The Association has 45 members who are involved in the 
literary or fine art sections. The German Theatre at Szekszárd, founded in the mid-
eighties,  is  another  important  cultural  institution  of  the  German  minority  in 
Hungary. In November 1994, the Deutsche Bühne Ungarn was provided with their 
own  theatre  which  was  refurbished  with  subsidies  from  Hungary  and  Germany. 

(Gemeinschaft 

living 

135

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The  German  Nationality  Museum  has  been  operating  since  1972.  There  are  also 
regional  folk  houses  in  many  settlements  with  German  minority  inhabitants.  The 
National  Council  of  German  Song,  Music  and  Dance  Groups  was  established  in 
1996.  Cultural  activities  of  the  German  minority  are  organised  by  several 
associations,  ranging  from  church  and  children  choirs  to  several  brass  bands, 
dance groups and school or local amateur theatre groups.  

2.6   The business world 

General information on this issue is provided in section 3.13 of the country profile 
(⇒ Hungary). 

2.7   Family and social use of the language 

While in the 1990 census 37,511 people declared German to be their mother tongue 
only 33,792 did so in the 2001 census. Although census figures have to be treated 
with  great  caution  (⇒  2.1  of  the  country  profile)  this  decline  of  9.9%  seems  to 
indicate that the assimilation of Germans is still continuing. Germans in Hungary 
mostly are bi- or even trilingual (meaning that they use Hungarian and/or a local 
variety  of  German  and/or  standard  German).  There  are  clear  intergenerational 
differences.  The  majority  of  the  people  belonging  to  the  older  generation  is 
German-dominant bilingual, and the German they use tends to be a local variety of 
German. The younger people are Hungarian-dominant bilingual. The German they 
use  is  more  the  standard  German  that  is  taught  to  them  in  schools,  since  that  is 
where  most  of  them  learn  German.  Learning  German  in  school  does  not  seem  to 
encourage them to use German in everyday life. The use of German is characterised 
by  bi-  or  triglossia,  whereby  (a  local  variety  of)  German  is  mainly  used  in  the 
private sector and Hungarian is reserved for the public and most of the semi-public 
spheres.  The  downturn  of  the  actual  everyday  use  of  (a  local  variety  of)  German 
does not seem to affect German identity. Apparently the view is starting to prevail 
that  German  identity  (and  German  culture  and  traditions  for  that  matter)  can  be 
upheld without a direct adherence to the German language.  

2.8   The European dimension 

The  first  partnerships  were  formed  between  the  Republic  of  Hungary  and  the 
Federal Republic of Germany in 1992. In the documents which provide a basis for 
the  co-operation,  the  Republic  of  Hungary  undertakes  to  protect  the  identity  and 
the language of the German minority living in Hungary. The co-operation focuses 
on  the  development  of  the  teaching  of  German.  This  includes  among  others  the 
extension  of  the  system  of  German  minority  education  and  the  development  and 
support  of  the  network  of  schools  with  dual  language  instruction  in  German  and 
Hungarian.  The  agreement  between  the  Government  of  the  Federal  Republic  of 
Germany and the Government of the Republic of Hungary on co-operation in the 
field of education was signed in December 2000. It aims at raising the awareness 
of  the  German  language  and  culture  in  Hungary,  deepening  the  mutual  cultural 
contacts  of  the  two  states,  and  establishing  German-Hungarian  sections  in 
Hungarian  schools.  The  South-Tyrol  Autonomous  Province  renders  assistance  in 
native language instruction. 

136

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
3.  Conclusion 

With estimates between 62,233 (2001 census) and 220,000 (estimates of minority 
organisations)  the  German  minority  is  one  of  the  largest  Hungarian  minorities. 
The Germans, whose predecessors settled in two waves in Hungary (in the 9th and 
17th  centuries),  have  largely  assimilated  to  Hungarian  over  the  past  centuries.  An 
extensive written German press, vital cultural organisations and the rather limited 
presence  of  German  on  radio  and  television  contribute  to  the  maintenance  of 
German  in  Hungary.  Attempts  are  being  made  to  reverse  German-Hungarian 
language  shift  by  establishing  German  native  language  schools  or  German-
Hungarian  bilingual  schools  as  allowed  by  the  Education  Act.  The  German 
community  itself  would  like  to  deploy  further  activities  especially  in  the  field 
minority  secondary  education  to  counteract  the  sputtering  intergenerational 
transmission of German as a mother tongue. Despite the sophisticated Minorities 
Act  no  coordinated  measures  to  revive  German  have  yet  been  taken.  A  lack  of 
legal  framework  and  the  actual 
funding,  the  apparent  gap  between  the 
implementation  of  the  legal  provisions  in  the  field  and  the  convictions  of  some 
minority  members  that  German  culture  and  identity  can  survive  without  the 
German  language  seem  to  be  the  main  reasons  for  that.  The  German  language 
might not yet be in immediate danger but it seems inevitable that complementary 
measures  in  different  sectors  of  the  German  minority  will  have  to  be  deployed  to 
secure its present status in the future.  

137

 
 
 
 
        Romani in Hungary  

1.   General information 

1.1   The language 

Like Sanskrit, Hindi and Bengali, Romani [Romanes], or Romany, is an Indic (or 
Indo-Aryan)  language  that  belongs  to  the  Indo-Iranian  branch  of  the  Indo-
European family. The language retains much of the Indic morphology, phonology 
and  lexicon,  while  its  syntax  has  been  heavily  influenced  by  contact  with  other 
languages.  The  dispersal  and  differentiation  of  the  Roma  since  their  arrival  in 
Europe  (8th  century)  brought  about  a  fragmentation  of  the  language  in  distinct 
groups.  Nowadays,  we  can  distinguish  the  following  main  groups  (each  with 
different  ‘subvarieties’)  that  result  from  the  contact  of  Romani  with  regional 
languages:  northern  Romani  (best  represented  by  the  chaladytka  roma,  the 
Russian  Roma),  central  Romani  (best  represented  by  the  group  of  the  Hungarian 
and  Slovakian  Roma,  the  ungrike  roma),  vlach  Roma  (best  represented  by  the 
in 
Kalderaš-Romani),  balkan  Romani  (best  represented  by 
Macedonia).  Most  Roma  in  Europe  use  Kalderaš.  The  Roma  minority  living  in 
Hungary  can  be  divided  into  three  large  groups  according  to  tribal  origin  and 
native  language.  The  Romungros,  whose  mother  tongue  is  Hungarian,  constitute 
the majority of the Gypsies. The Olah Roma, whose native language is Romani (or 
better: the variety called Lovari), constitute approximately 20%-22%, while the Bea 
Roma, who speak an archaic version of Romani (called Beas), constitute 8%-10% of 
the Roma in Hungary.  

the  dialects 

1.2   History, geography and demography 

1.2.1   There have been Roma in Hungary for over 650 years. Historical records indicate 
that  they  came  to  Hungary  between  1416  and  1417  from  Transylvania 
(Siebenbürgen) during the reign of King Sigismund (1387-1437), though linguistic 
evidence  indicates  that  Roma  had  begun  to  settle  there  earlier.  From  the  outset 
they  were  subjected  to  varying  degrees  of  discrimination.  The  Roma  responded 
with  some  outbreaks  of  violence  in  certain  areas,  though  in  most  instances  they 
simply  left  Hungary  for  other  parts  of  Europe.  In  1940,  Hungary  passed  a  law 
ordering all Roma in its newly acquired Yugoslavian territory to leave the country. 
Roma persecution mainly took place under the German occupation of Hungary in 
1944. Although they were not considered to be a national minority in the Republic 
of  Hungary  that  was  founded  in  1949,  the  Roma  were  granted  more  or  less  the 
same  rights  as  the  national  minorities.  They  became  a  national  minority  with  the 
Minorities Act of 1993.  

1.2.2   The Roma national minority lives more or less throughout Hungary. 

1.2.3 

It  has  always  been  difficult  to  determine  the  exact  number  of  Roma  in  Hungary 
because of their traditional nomadic life-style and the atmosphere of prejudice that 
made them hesitant to officially identify themselves as Roma. 

Currently  the  number  of  people  belonging  to  the  Roma  minority  in  Hungary  is 
estimated  between  190,046  (according  to  provisional  results  of  the  2001  census) 

138

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
and 400,000 (according to minority organisations ⇒ Table 1 of the country profile 
on  Hungary).  Some  even  estimate  the  number  of  Roma  living  in  Hungary  to  be 
between 800,000 and 1,000,000. Of the people declaring themselves to belong to 
the Roma national minority in the 2001 census about 35% belong to the age group 
‘0-14’, about 43% to the age group ‘15-39’, about 17% to the age group ‘40-59’ and 
about  4%  to  the  age  group  ‘60+’.  Of  the  10%  Roma  that  according  to  the  2001 
census are economically active about 6% work in the primary, 41% in the secondary 
and 20% in the tertiary sector. The traditional occupations in commerce and crafts 
(adobe brick-making, trough-making, and trade) were rendered superfluous by the 
industrial  mass  production  of  the  20th  century.  Consequently  a  great  number  of 
Roma  undertook  unskilled 
large  factories  during  the  socialist 
in 
industrialisation. They were the first to lose their jobs and their modest livelihoods 
after  the  change  of  regime  in  the  1990s.  The  development  of  measures  to 
counteract  high  degrees  of  unemployment  among  the  Roma  is  a  high  priority  on 
the Hungarian government’s agenda. 

labour 

1.3   Legal status and official policies 

1.3.1   The difficulties experienced in creating a viable organisational structure for a group 
that  had  no  settled  traditions  or  an  official  organisational  history  combined  with 
deep prejudice toward the Roma throughout Hungary prompted the government of 
the young Republic of Hungary to develop a policy that was different from those for 
other minorities. On 20 June 1961 the Central Committee decreed that Hungary’s 
Roma did not constitute a national minority, but was entitled to receive the same 
developmental  and  constitutional  privileges  as  other  groups.  In  1979  an  attempt 
was  made  to  establish  a  more  representative  Roma  organization,  the  Országos 
Cigánytanács  that  substantially  helped  to  improve  Roma  cultural  life.  By  May 
1986  authorities  created  the  Ungro-themeske  Romane  Kulturake  Ekipe  (Rom 
Cultural Association). At that time there  were two hundred official Roma cultural 
groups  and  forty  dance  troupes  nationwide.  Further  steps  in  providing  more 
(cultural) autonomy for the Roma were taken in the 1990s, especially in the wake 
of the Minorities Act that recognises the Roma as one of the 13 national minorities 
in Hungary.  

1.3.2   Since  the  beginning  of  the  1990s  new  measures  have  been  taken  to  improve  the 
situation  of  the  Roma.  With  Government  Resolution  1093/1997  (VII.  29.),  the 
Government  accepted  a  package  plan  consisting  of  more  than  60  measures  for 
improving  the  living  conditions  and  social  integration  of  the  Roma  minority, 
among  others  related  to  education,  employment,  social  care,  health  care  and 
housing.  The  Prime  Minister  of  Hungary  recently  announced  the  programme 
‘2005-2015:  The  Decade  of  Roma  Integration’,  which  aims  at  the  acceleration  of 
the  processes  targeting  improvement  of  the  economic  and  social  situation  of  the 
Roma  population.  The  Minorities  Office  proposes  the  establishment  of  a  Roma 
Interministerial Committee.  

1.3.3   More  information  on  the  legal  status  of  Romani  and  of  official  policies  affecting 

Romani in Hungary can be found in section 3 of the country profile (⇒ Hungary). 

139

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2.   Presence and use of the language in various fields 

2.1   Education 

2.1.1   Unlike  other  minorities,  who  were  given  their  own  network  of  institutions  and 
classes  in  some  cases,  authorities  in  the  1970s  decided  to  attempt  to  integrate 
Roma children directly into Hungarian schools, despite the fact that in 1970, 89% 
of  Hungary’s  Roma  children  were  Vlach,  and  often  entered  schools  knowing  only 
thirty to forty Hungarian words. Subsequently, Hungarian officials began to create 
special  classes  and  opened  a  limited  number  of  schools  exclusively  for  Roma 
children to deal with their special needs.  

2.1.2   Within  the  legal  framework  for  pre-primary  education  (⇒  4.11  of  the  country 
profile  on  Hungary)  a  specific  form  a  pre-primary  education  is  defined  that 
specifically aims at the Roma. Roma cultural instruction may be conducted either 
in  the  minority  language,  bilingually  or  in  the  Hungarian  language  within  the 
framework  of  Roma  cultural  instruction.  The  legal  framework  for  primary  and 
secondary education also defines a specific type of education that specifically aims 
at  Roma  (⇒  4.12  of  the  country  profile  on  Hungary).  Academic  improvement 
education for the Roma minority ensures familiarisation with Roma cultural values 
and  the  teaching  of  information  on  the  history,  literature,  arts,  music,  dance 
culture and traditions of the Roma minority. Instruction in the Romani language is 
an optional element of this programme, but depending on the needs of the parents, 
the programme ensures instruction in the variety of Romani spoken by the parents.  

2.1.3   Precise data on Roma minority education at pre-primary and primary levels could 
not be obtained. It is, however, known that roughly 250 kindergartens and roughly 
650  primary  schools  offer  Roma  minority  education,  with  estimates  putting  the 
number  of  those  instructed  to  25,000  for  children  attending  kindergarten  and 
55,000  for  pupils  at  school.  The  fact  is  that  even  today  a  significant  majority  of 
Roma children do not complete primary school. 

2.1.4   Because  many  Roma  children  do  not  complete  primary  education  the  number  of 
Roma  children  in  secondary  schools  is  limited.  In  1999/2000  118  Roma  children 
received language instruction in their language in a grammar school.  

2.1.5   In  the  past  decade  some  institutions  of  higher  education  have  established 
departments  for  Roma/Gypsy  Studies  (“Romology”),  and  offer  special  courses  in 
the  subject.  Institutes  of  higher  education  engaged  in  Roma  pedagogue  training 
include  ELTE  BTK  Division  of  Training  Science  in  Budapest  (Gypsy  Division 
Group),  ELTE  BTK  Division  of  Cultural  Anthropology  in  Budapest  (programme), 
Pécs  University  of  Arts  and  Sciences  BTK  Division  of  Romology  in  Pécs, 
Nyíregyháza  College  in  Nyíregyháza  (special  college),  Kaposvár  University  in 
Kaposvár  (postgraduate  training  in  romology),  Apor  Vilmos  Catholic  Colleges  in 
Zsámbék  (Roma  Division),  ELTE  Teacher  Training  College  Faculty  in  Budapest 
(special college), Miskolc University Comenius Teacher Training College Faculty in 
Sárospatak  (special  college),  Miskolc  University  BTK  Division  of  Cultural 
Anthropology  in  Miskolc  (special  college),  Kölcsey  Ferenc  Teacher  Training 
Calvinist  College  in  Debrecen  (postgraduate  training  in  romology),  Tessedik 
Sámuel  College,  College  Faculty  of  Pedagogy  in  Szarvas  (special  college),  Eötvös 
József  College  in  Baja  (special  college),  and  Debrecen  University  Wargha  István 
College  Faculty  of  Pedagogy  in  Hajdúböszörmény  (special  college).  In  1995,  the 
Association  of  Roma  Academic  Researchers  was  founded  to  conduct  scientific 
research  on  the  language,  culture  and  traditions  of  Roma  living  in  Hungary. 

140

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Besides  performing  academic  research,  the  Association  participates  in  the  reform 
of the Roma minority education and the development of new textbooks. 

2.2   Judicial authorities 

General information on this issue is given in section 3.11 of the country profile (⇒ 
Hungary). 

2.3   Public authorities and services 

General information on this issue is given in section 3.12 of the country profile (⇒ 
Hungary). 

2.4   Mass media and information technologies 

2.4.1   In  recognition  of  the  special  position  of  the  Roma  minority,  there  is  an 
independent  press  office,  the  Roma  Press  Centre,  which  provides  information  in 
connection with the minority.  

2.4.2   Six  times  a  week  Hungarian  public  radio  transmits  a  country-wide  Romani 
programme  of  30  minutes.  The  minority  programme  is  broadcast  between  6:30 
p.m.  and  10:30  p.m.  In  July  2003,  the  public-service  Hungarian  Radio  took  over 
and  started  broadcasting  the  programme  of  ‘Radio  C’,  a  Roma  private  radio, 
nation-wide for one hour a day. Thus the Romani programmes of the public service 
Hungarian Radio have been expanded to 570 minutes.  

2.4.3   Hungarian  public  television  broadcasts  a  26  minutes  weekly  Roma  programme 
(Roma magazine). Romani is only used in 10% of this weekly topical programme. 
The broadcasting takes place between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. on workdays on Channel 1 
of the Hungarian television. The programme is repeated on Saturday morning on 
satellite  Channel  2.  In  addition  the  52  minutes  Cigany  Forum  is  broadcast  four 
times a year. Romani programmes are produced in the studio in Budapest.  

2.4.4   In  2001  a  study  of  the  Minorities  Office  revealed  that  more  than  half  of  the  78 
Roma  organisations  had  access  to  the  Internet,  often  through  the  local  self-
government  or  another  institution.  According  to  the  survey,  38%  of  the  Roma 
community organisations have e-mail addresses. Nowadays the Roma community 
organisations appear on the Internet with their own Web sites (cf. the summarising 
home pages www.romacentrum.hu, www.romakontakt.hu and www.romaweb.hu). 

2.5   Arts and culture 

Folk  art  is  an  integral  part  of  everyday  life  of  the  traditional  Roma  communities 
and  thus  helps  preserving  the  Roma  cultural  heritage.  Regional  Roma  cultural 
institutions,  as  well  as  Roma  artists  and  artistic  groups  can  call  on  the  National 
Roma  Information  and  Cultural  Centre  for  assistance.  The  National  Roma 
Information and Cultural Centre is also  responsible for collecting, processing and 
ensuring  availability  to  public  information,  and  for  announcements  regarding  the 
Roma population. In 1998 the Roma Cultural and Art Council was established on 
the  basis  of  the  initiative  of  the  Minorities  Office.  This  council  can  initiate,  put 
forward  and  discuss  proposals,  in  order  to  assist  in  preserving  the  traditional 

141

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
values of the Roma, and to promote Roma artists on the national and international 
scene.  In  1994,  the  Roma  Research  Institute  was  established  with  the  support  of 
the Ministry of Culture and Education, and since 1995 it operates as an institution 
of  the  national  self-government  of  the  Roma  minority.  The  Hungarian 
Ethnographic  Museum  has  established  a  documentation  centre  on  Roma 
ethnography  that  collects  materials  that  could  form  the  basis  of  a  future  national 
Roma museum.  

2.6   The business world 

General information on this issue is provided in section 3.13 of the country profile 
(⇒ Hungary). 

2.7   Family and social use of the language 

Roughly  three  quarters  of  Roma  in  Hungary  have  lost  their  mother  tongue  and 
only  speak  Hungarian.  20%  of  Hungary’s  Roma  speak  the  Lovari  variety  of 
Romani, another 8-10% speak Beas, an archaic form of Romani. 

3.   Conclusion 

The  Roma  minority  is  the  largest  minority  in  Hungary.  The  number  of  Roma  is 
estimated  between 190,046  (2001 census) and  600,000 (minority organisations). 
The first concern of the Hungarian government regarding the position of the Roma 
is their integration into society. In this respect the government has been active in 
establishing programmes for Roma integration concentrating on social well-being, 
employment and education. Within the field of education the focus lies on school 
attendance among Roma children more than on the use of a variety of Romani in 
education. Efforts to maintain Romani, which either in its Lovaria or Beas variety 
now  is  the  mother  tongue  of  roughly  one  quarter  of  Hungarian  Roma,  are 
restricted  to  the  limited  presence  of  Romani  in  the  media  and  in  cultural 
organisations. 

142

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   Romanian in Hungary 

1.   General information 

1.1   The language 

Romanian  is  a  Romance  language  that,  together  with  the  now  extinct  Dalmatian, 
belongs  to  the  group  of  Balkan  Romance  languages.  It  is  spoken  worldwide  by 
about 27 million people, most of whom (approx. 20.4 million) live in Romania. The 
Romanian  language  variants  in  Hungary  vary  from  settlement  to  settlement.  A 
distinction  is  usually  made  between  two  major  groups.  The  first  group  includes 
variants  spoken  in  the  villages  of  Békés  (with  just  one  exception)  and  Csongrád 
counties.  The  other  includes  the  variants  of  all  minority  villages  in  Hajdú-Bihar, 
and  that  of  Méhkerék  (Békés  county).  Besides  several  phonetic  and  lexical 
differences the most significant difference between the two dialect groups is seen in 
the  divergent  form  of  the  conjunctive.  Apart  from  the  existence  of  these  two 
broader  groups,  variation  also  exists  within  settlements,  along  a  scale  that  has 
Standard Romanian at one end and an archaic local variant of the language at the 
other.  

1.2   History, geography and demography 

1.2.1   The ancestors of the Hungary Romanians came to Hungary in several waves. Most 
of  them,  however,  settled  between  1700  and  1750,  after  the  Turks  were  expelled 
from  Hungary.  As  a  consequence  of  the  Treaty  of  Trianon  (1920),  the  Romanian 
communities  in  Hungary  were  isolated  from  the  millions  of  Transylvanian 
Romanians and left on their own as a small ethnic group.  

1.2.2   Most of the Romanians currently living in Hungary can be found in nearly twenty 
settlements  near  the  Hungarian-Romanian  border,  in  the  three  south-eastern 
counties of Hungary: Békés, Hadjú-Bihar and Csongrád. A considerable number of 
Romanians  live  in  the  city  of  Budapest.  The  cultural  centre  of  Hungarian 
Romanians is the city of Gyula (Békés county).  

1.2.3   The  number  of  people  belonging  to  the  Romanian  national  minority  is  estimated 
between  7,995  (according  to  provisional  results  of  the  2001  census)  and  25,000 
(according to figures from minority organisations ⇒ Table 1 of the country profile 
on  Hungary).  Of  the  people  declaring  themselves  as  belonging  to  the  Romanian 
national  minority  in  the  2001  census  about  9%  belong  to  the  age  group  ‘0-14’, 
about 44% to the age group ‘15-39’, about 27% to the age group ‘40-59’ and about 
19%  to  the  age  group  ‘60+’.  Of  the  38%  Romanians  that  according  to  the  2001 
census are economically active about 8% work in the primary, 15% in the secondary 
and 46% in the tertiary sector.  

1.3   Legal status and official policies 

Information  on  the  legal  status  of  Romanian  and  of  official  policies  affecting 
Romanian  in  Hungary  can  be  found  in  section  3  of  the  country  profile  (⇒ 
Hungary).  

143

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2.   Presence and use of the language in various fields 

2.1   Education  

In  the  school  year  1999/2000  there  were  14  pre-primary  Romanian  schools.  The 
Romanian  native  language  pre-primary  schools  (first  type  of  minority  pre-school 
education  ⇒  4.11  of  the  country  profile)  had  an  enrolment  of  130  pupils;  the 
bilingual  pre-primary  schools  (second  type  of  minority  pre-school  education  ⇒  
4.11  of  the  country  profile)  had  417  pupils.  In  the  same  school  year  14  schools 
offered primary Romanian education. 427 pupils attended native language primary 
schools  (first  type  of  minority  primary  education  ⇒  4.12  of  the  country  profile), 
188  pupils  attended  bilingual  primary  schools  (second  type  of  minority  primary 
education  ⇒  4.12  of  the  country  profile)  and  583  pupils  enrolled  in  Romanian 
language  teaching  education  (third  type  of  minority  primary  education  ⇒  4.12  of 
the  country  profile).  Secondary  education  in  Romanian  took  place  at  one  school 
offering  native  language  or  bilingual  instruction,  and  at  two  schools  offering 
Romanian  language  teaching.  129  pupils  attended  native  language  or  bilingual 
classes in  grammar school and 128  attended  Romanian language teaching classes 
in  grammar  school.  In  the  academic  year  1999/2000,  102  students  studied 
Romanian in institutions of higher education. In the academic year 2000/2001 28 
students  were  granted  scholarships  by  the  Hungarian  government  to  study  in 
Romania. Nursery-school pedagogue training for Romanian is offered at Tessedik 
Sámuel  College  Brunszvik  Teréz  College  Faculty  of  Nursery-school  Pedagogue 
Training in Szarvas. Primary school teacher training is offered at Tessedik Sámuel 
College,  College  Faculty  of  Pedagogy  in  Szarvas.  Secondary  school  language 
teachers  are  trained  at  the  Szeged  University  of  Arts  and  Sciences  Juhász  Gyula 
Teacher  Training  College  Faculty  in  Szeged.  Thanks  to  its  linguistic  and 
ethnographic research work, the Research Institute of Romanians in Hungary, set 
up in 1993, provides useful input for minority education programmes. 

2.2   Judicial authorities 

General information on this issue is given in section 3.11 of the country profile (⇒ 
Hungary). 

2.3   Public authorities and services 

General information on this issue is given in section 3.12 of the country profile (⇒ 
Hungary). In case of the Romanian minority the Second Report of the Republic of 
Hungary on the Implementation of the Council of Europe’s Framework Convention 
for  the  Protection  of  National  Minorities  (February  2004)  states  that  in 
Magyarcsanád (Csongrád County), the verbal use of minority languages (Romanian 
and  Serbian)  is  regular  in  relations  with  the  administration.  In  Békés  County  an 
information  brochure  in  Romanian  is  distributed  in  the  town  of  Gyula  and  the 
(Körösszakál, 
neighbouring 
Körösszegapáti) thus pointing to the use of Romanian in matters related to public 
administration. Still, information on the use of Romanian in public administration 
should  not  be  generalised.  In  2003,  the  Minorities  Office  assigned  the  Research 
Institute of Romanians in Hungary to carry out an overall evaluation in Méhkerék, 
a  village  near  the  Hungarian-Romanian  border  that  can  be  considered  a  central 
settlement  of  the  Romanian  minority  in  Hungary.  The  research  was  aimed  at  the 
overall analysis of the minority language use in all fields of the settlement’s life. In 

settlements  with 

population 

Romanian 

144

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
the  settlement  with  2,500  inhabitants  the  overwhelming  majority  of  the  local 
inhabitants are Hungarian citizens who belong to the Romanian nationality group 
and  whose  native  language  is  Romanian.  All  members  of  the  village’s  self-
government and the mayor are also Romanian. Nevertheless, local inhabitants use 
their native language when managing public affairs ever more rarely.  

2.4   Mass media and information technologies 

2.4.1   State-funded printed media controlled by the Cultural Association of Romanians in 
Hungary  and  the  Romanian  Minority  National  Self-Government  include  Foaia 
Romaneasca  (1,000  copies  are  distributed),  Cronica  (a  monthly,  1,000  copies), 
Lumina  (500  copies)  and  Izvorul  (500  copies).  The  Calendarul  Romanesc  (1,500 
copies), Almanach (500 copies) and Szimpozion (500 copies) are published once a 
year. Since 1976, about 30 books have been published in Romanian (ranging from 
poetry and novels to school books, children’s books and religious books). In 2001, 
four  books  were  published  and  in  2002,  eight  were  published.  Since  1992,  The 
Romanian  Publishing  House  in  Hungary  produces  independent  publications  of 
fiction  and  scientific  works  by  Romanian  authors  living  in  Hungary.  Romanian 
books can be consulted in local libraries.  

2.4.2   Hungarian  public  radio  transmits  a  daily  regional  Romanian  programme  of  90 
minutes  and  a  daily  country-wide  programme  of  30  minutes.  The  national 
programme  is  broadcast  between  6:30  p.m.  and  10:30  p.m.  The  regional 
programme is broadcast in the morning as well as in the afternoon. The Romanian 
programmes  are  produced  at  the  regional  studio  in  Szeged.  It  was  reported  that 
Romanian radio stations (from the cities of Timisoara, Oradea or Bucuresti) can be 
picked up in the territory of the Romanians in Hungary. Information on the extent 
to  which  private  local  Hungarian  radio  stations  transmit  Romanian  programmes 
could not be obtained. 

2.4.3   Hungarian public television weekly broadcasts a 26-minute Romanian programme 
entitled  Ecranul  nostru.  The  broadcasting  takes  place  between  2  p.m.  and  3  p.m. 
on workdays on Channel 1 of the Hungarian television. The programme is repeated 
on  Saturday  morning  on  satellite  Channel  2.  The  Romanian  programmes  are 
produced  in  the  studio  in  Szeged.  Information  on  the  existence  of  private  local 
Hungarian Romanian television could not be obtained. 

2.4.4   At  the  end  of  2003  five  websites  operated  by  the  Romanians  in  Hungary  were 
present on the internet. Links to several Romanian organisations and institutions 
are  given  on  www.kisebbseg.lap.hu.  (⇒  3.10  of  the  country  profile  for  general 
information on the situation of the new media in the case of Hungary’s minorities) 

2.5   Arts and culture 

Since the 1980s several new local cultural associations have been established. Their 
task is to reinforce Romanian ethnic identity and cultivate the Romanian language 
and culture. The traditional folk culture of the Romanian minority is preserved by 
traditional  ensembles.  Some  Romanian  dance  ensembles  are  known  across  the 
country.  In  some  schools  and  villages  local  amateur  theatre  groups  are  active. 
Anthropologists  and  museologists  from  the  Romanian  minority  take  care  of  the 
relics  of  the  material  and  intellectual  folk  culture.  Romanian  central  museums 
operate  in  Békéscsaba  and  Gyula.  Kétegyháza  has  a  Romanian  folk  house. 
Important  organisations  are  the  Cultural  Association  of  Romanians  in  Hungary, 

145

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
the  Association  of  Romanian  Researchers  and  Creators  in  Hungary,  the  ‘Pro 
Musica’ Foundation and the Hungarian Foundation for Romanian Culture.  

2.6   The business world 

General information on this issue is provided in section 3.13 of the country profile 
(⇒ Hungary). 

2.7   Family and social use of the language 

Whereas  in  the  1990  census  8,730  people  declared  Romanian  to  be  their  mother 
tongue  only  8,482  did  so  in  the  2001  census.  Although  census  figures  have  to  be 
treated with great caution (⇒ 2.1 of the country profile) this relatively small decline 
of 2.8% seems to indicate that the assimilation of the Romanians to the Hungarian 
language still continues. In any case most Romanians in Hungary are Hungarian-
Romanian bilinguals. The majority of the oldest generation and a small part of the 
middle-aged  generation  can  be  considered  Romanian-dominant  bilinguals. 
Hungarian-dominant  bilinguals  belong  mainly  to  the  younger  generation. 
Bilingualism  can  be  considered  a  transitory  stage  between  Romanian  and 
Hungarian monolingualism. At present, a minor part of the Romanian community, 
mainly  the  younger  generation,  can  be  considered  Hungarian  monolingual. 
Bilingualism  among  Romanians  in  Hungary  results  from  the  post-war  border 
modifications of 1920. Between the two World Wars, the assimilationist tendencies 
on the part of the Hungarian majority elicited an emotion of solidarity (Gal 1991) 
in  the  Romanian  minority,  causing  an  increase  in  loyalty  towards  their  minority 
language.  Following  World  War  II,  however,  in  the  Hungary  Romanian  minority, 
solidarity and loyalty towards their own minority group declined. Since the 1950s, 
the Romanians in Hungary have established stronger contact with the Hungarian 
majority  and  have  modified  their  attitudes  and  emotions  towards  their  own 
Romanian minority culture and language. The attitude of Hungarians towards the 
Hungary Romanian minority and their language is mostly neutral or negative. The 
prestige of the Romanian language  variants spoken in Hungary is low  among the 
Romanians  of  Romania.  It  is  doubtful  whether  bilingualism  among  Hungarian 
Romanians  is  accompanied  by  diglossia.  The  situation  cannot  be  described  as 
diglossia,  because  neither  the  Romanian  language  variants  nor  the  Hungarian 
language have clearly distinguishable functions.. If they are used at all, Romanian 
variants  (symbolising  the  past,  the  hard  peasant  life,  backwardness  and  lack  of 
education)  are  used  in  conversations  within  family,  between  friends  and 
neighbours,  during  Orthodox  religious  services,  at  meetings,  in  Romanian 
language  classes.  Hungarian  Romanians,  however,  more  often  tend  to  use 
Hungarian,  that  they  regard  as  symbolizing  the  present  and  the  future,  that  is, 
modern life, educational opportunities and careers.  

2.8   The European dimension 

On  19  October  2001 
the  Hungarian-Romanian  Intergovernmental  Joint 
Commission  for  Active  Co-operation  and  Partnership  held  its  4th  session.  At  that 
occasion a Protocol and Recommendations concerning the respective situation and 
unresolved  problems  of  the  Romanian  minority  in  Hungary  and  the  Hungarian 
minority in Romania were signed. The National Self-government of the Romanians 
living in Hungary cooperates with the State University operating in Arad, Romania, 

146

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
in  regular  retraining  of  pedagogue  teaching  in  Romanian  minority  schools  in 
Hungary. 

3.   Conclusion 

With a membership estimated between 7,995 (2001 census) and 25,000 (minority 
organisations) the Romanian minority is one of the smallest Hungarian minorities. 
The  Romanians,  whose  predecessors  settled  in  Hungary  mainly  in  the  early  18th 
century, have largely assimilated to Hungarian. Romanian is used in the media as 
well  as  in  some  cultural  organisations,  but  the  actual  frequent  daily  use  of 
Romanian is restricted to an aged minority within the minority. Attempts are being 
made  to  reverse  Romanian-Hungarian  language  shift  by  establishing  Romanian 
native  language  schools  or  Romanian-Hungarian  bilingual  schools  as  allowed  by 
the  Education  Act.  If  these  initiatives  are  to  boost  the  intergenerational 
transmission  and  the  use  of  Romanian  in  everyday  life  within  the  Romanian 
community again, they will have to be accompanied by other coordinated measures 
in different areas of the lives of the Romanian minority. Despite the sophisticated 
Minorities Act such measures have yet to be set up. A lack of funding, the apparent 
gap  between  the  legal  framework  and  the  actual  implementation  of  the  legal 
provisions  in  the  field  and  the  convictions  of  some  minority  members  that 
Romanian  culture  and  identity  can  survive  without  the  Romanian  language  seem 
to be the main reasons for this. 

147

 
 
 
 
 
         Serbian in Hungary 

1.   General information 

1.1   The language 

Serbian [Srpski] is a South Slavic language closely related to Croatian. It is spoken 
worldwide  by  about  12  million  people  most  of  whom  (approximately  6.7  million) 
live in Serbia. Together  with Croatian, Serbian has retained  more common Slavic 
elements in its vocabulary than other Slavic languages. The Serbian variants used 
in  Hungary  are  greatly  influenced  by  Hungarian  and  as  such  they  differ  from  the 
Serbian spoken in Serbia.  

1.2   History, geography and demography 

1.2.1   Serbian-Hungarian contacts date back to the 12th century. The first known Serbian 
settlement  in  Hungary  was  founded  on  the  island  of  Csepel  in  1404.  Serbians 
settled in Hungary on a massive scale in the 15th to 17th centuries as a result of the 
Ottoman  occupation  of  the  Balkan  peninsula  and  their  later  penetration  into  the 
Danube basin. On the basis of the privileges granted by the Hapsburg emperor, the 
Serbians  acquired  personal,  religious  and  related  national  autonomy  in  the  18th 
and 19th centuries. In the 18th century the Serbians controlled a major part of the 
Danube trade. The cultural centres of Serbian life at that time were Buda, Pest and 
Szentendre. Due to an emerging “Magyarisation” the Serbians started withdrawing 
from  Hungary  towards  the  end  of  the  19th  century.  After  the  Treaty  of  Trianon, 
which  concluded  World  War  I,  most  of  the  Serbians  who  lived  scattered  about  in 
the country's current territory moved to Yugoslavia in the 1920s.  

1.2.2   Half of the Serbs live in or around Budapest. The other half mainly live in cities of 

southern counties: Békés and Csongrád, Bács-Kiskun and Baranya.  

1.2.3   The  number  of  people  belonging  to  the  Serbian  national  minority  is  estimated 
between 3,816 (according to the provisional results of the 2001 census) and 10,000 
(according to minority organisations ⇒ Table 1 of the country profile on Hungary). 
Of  the  people  declaring  themselves  as  belonging  to  the  Serbian  national  minority 
according to the 2001 census about 8% belong to the age group ‘0-14’, about 38% 
to the age group ‘15-39’, about 35% to the age group ‘40-59’ and about 18% to the 
age  group  ‘60+’.  Of  the  44%  Serbians  that  according  to  the  2001  census  are 
economically  active,  about  2%  work  in  the  primary  sector,  14%  in  the  secondary 
sector and 77% in the tertiary sector.  

1.3   Legal status and official policies 

Information on the legal status of Serbian and of official policies affecting Serbian 
in Hungary can be found in section 3 of the country profile (⇒ Hungary). 

148

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2.   Presence and use of the language in various fields 

2.1   Education 

In  the  school  year  1999/2000  there  were  9  pre-primary  Serbian  schools.  The 
Serbian  native  language  pre-primary  schools  (first  type  of  minority  pre-school 
education  ⇒  4.11  of  the  country  profile)  had  an  enrolment  of  87  pupils,  the 
bilingual  pre-primary  schools  (second  type  of  minority  pre-school  education  ⇒ 
4.11  of  the  country  profile)  had  94  pupils.  In  the  same  school  year  11  schools 
offered  primary  Serbian  education.  164  pupils  attended  native  language  primary 
schools  (first  type  of  minority  primary  education  ⇒  4.12  of  the  country  profile), 
and  111  pupils  enrolled  in  Serbian  language  teaching  education  (third  type  of 
minority primary education ⇒ 4.12 of the country profile). Secondary education in 
Serbian took place at 1 school offering native language or bilingual instruction. 126 
pupils  attended  native  langue  or  bilingual  classes  in  grammar  school.  In 
1999/2000  66  students  studied  Serbian  in  institutions  of  higher  education. 
Primary  school  teacher  training  in  Serbian  is  offered  at  ELTE  Teacher  Training 
College  Faculty  in  Budapest.  Training  of  secondary  school  language  teachers  is 
offered  at  Eötvös  Lóránt  University  of  Arts  and  Sciences  (ELTE)  Faculty  of  Arts 
(BTK) in Budapest, and József Attila University of Arts and Sciences in Szeged. 

2.2   Judicial authorities 

General information on this issue is given in section 3.11 of the country profile (⇒ 
Hungary). 

2.3   Public authorities and services 

General information on this issue is given in section 3.12 of the country profile (⇒ 
Hungary.  It  is  not  clear  to  what  extent  the  members  of  minorities  request  the 
documents  in  their  native  language.  According  to  the  Second  Report  of  the 
Republic of Hungary on the Implementation of the Council of Europe’s Framework 
Convention  for  the  Protection  of  National  Minorities  (February  2004),  in  some 
cases  minority  members  are  not  even  aware  that  translations  exist.  In 
Magyarcsanád (Csongrád County), the verbal use of Serbian is regular in relations 
with the administration. The same goes for the village of Deszk.  

2.4   Mass media and information technologies 

2.4.1   With  regards  to  State  funded  printed  media,  there  is  one  weekly  Serbian 
newspaper,  Srpske  Narodne  Novine,  which 
the  Szerb 
Demokratikus  Szovetseg.  Serbian  books  can  be  consulted,  among  others,  in  local 
libraries.  

is  controlled  by 

2.4.2   Hungarian public radio transmits a daily half-hourly regional Serbian programme, 
a  regional  50-minute  programme  4  times  a  week  and  a  daily  country-wide  half-
hour  programme.  The  national  programme  is  broadcast  between  6:30  p.m.  and 
10:30 p.m. The regional programme is broadcast in the morning as well as in the 
afternoon.  No  information  was  obtained  on  the  existence  of  private  Hungarian 
local radio stations operating in Serbian.  

149

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2.4.3   Hungarian  public  television  broadcasts  a  26-minute  weekly  Serbian  programme 
entitled  Srpski  ekran.  It  is  broadcast  between  2  and  3  p.m.  on  workdays  on 
Channel  1  of  Hungarian  television.  The  programme  is  repeated  on  Saturday 
morning  on  satellite  Channel  2.  The  Serbian  programmes  are  produced  in  the 
studio  in  Szeged.  No  information  was  obtained  on  the  existence  of  private 
Hungarian local television stations operating in Serbian. 

2.4.4   At  the  end  of  2003  three  websites  operated  by  the  Serbians  in  Hungary  were 
present on the internet. Links to several Serbian organisations and institutions are 
given  on  www.kisebbseg.lap.hu.  (⇒  3.10  of  the  country  profile  for  general 
information on the situation of the new media in the case of Hungary’s minorities) 

2.5   Arts and culture 

Serbian traditions, national and religious customs are preserved in the family, the 
church,  the  religious  community  and  the  schools.  Regional  and  local  cultural 
institutions  preserve  and  present  folklore  traditions.  The  most  important  Serbian 
libraries in Hungary are: the Library and Archive of the Episcopacy of the Serbian 
Orthodox  Church,  the  Library  of  the  national  self-government  of  the  Serbian 
minority and the library of the Serbian School in Budapest. The Izdan Publishing 
Workshop,  often  in  cooperation  with  partner  publishers  in  Yugoslavia,  publishes 
scientific,  fiction  and  non-fiction  works  of  Serbian  novelists,  short  story  writers, 
poets  and  playwrights.  Three  to  five  books  are  published  annually.  In  1998,  a 
encyclopaedic CD-ROM was released in the Serbian language under the title "The 
History  of  Serbian  Culture  in  Hungary".  The  local  government  of  Pomáz  and  the 
Serbian  Democratic  Association  jointly  founded  the  Joakim  Vujity  Serbian 
Theatre, now operating in the village of Lórév. The Office of the Serbian National 
Self-Government operates as a national cultural centre.  

2.6   The business world 

General information on this issue is provided in section 3.13 of the country profile 
(⇒ Hungary). 

2.7   Family and social use of the language 

While in the 1990 census 2,953 people declared Serbian to be their mother tongue 
3,388  did  so  in  the  2001  census.  Given  the  purely  indicative  nature  of  census 
figures  (⇒  2.1.  of  the  country  profile)  it  is  not  clear  whether  this  relatively  small 
increase points to a reversal of language shift. The Hungarian Serbs nowadays are 
mostly bi- or trilingual (meaning that they use Hungarian and/or a local variety of 
Serbian  and/or  standard  Serbian).  There  are  intergenerational  differences: 
whereas  the  older  generation  predominantly  is  Serbian-dominant  bilingual  the 
(if  not  Hungarian 
is  Hungarian-dominant  bilingual 
younger  generation 
monolingual). 

150

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2.8   The European dimension 

A  bilateral  agreement  on  the  protection  of  the  rights  of  the  Hungarian  minority 
living in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and of the Serbs living in the Republic 
of Hungary has been drafted.  

3.   Conclusion 

With a membership estimated between 3,816 (2001 census) and 10,000 (minority 
organisations)  the  Serbian  minority  is  one  of  the  smallest  Hungarian  minorities. 
The Serbs, whose predecessors settled in Hungary mainly in the 12th century, have 
largely assimilated to Hungarian. Serbian is used in a limited way in the media as 
well as in some cultural organisations, but the actual frequent daily use of Serbian 
is restricted to an aged minority within the minority. Attempts are being made to 
reverse Serbian-Hungarian language shift by establishing Serbian native language 
schools or Serbian-Hungarian bilingual schools as allowed by the Education Act. If 
these  initiatives  are  to  boost  the  intergenerational  transmission  and  the  use  of 
Serbian in everyday life within the Serbian community again, they will have to be 
accompanied  by  other  coordinated  measures  in  different  areas  of  the  lives  of  the 
Slovenian  minority.  Despite  the  highly  sophisticated  Minorities  Act  no  such 
measures have yet been put into place. A lack of funding, the apparent gap between 
the  legal  framework  and  the  actual  implementation  of  the  legal  provisions  in  the 
field  and  the  convictions  of  some  minority  members  that  Serbian  culture  and 
identity can survive without the Serbian language seem to be the main reasons for 
this. 

151

 
 
 
 
 
 
          Slovak in Hungary 

1.   General information 

1.1   The language 

Slovak [slovenský jazyk] is a Slavic language that together with Czech, Polish and 
Sorbian  belongs  to  the  group  of  west  Slavic  languages.  The  number  of  Slovak 
speakers is estimated at 5.7 to 7 million. Most of them live in Slovakia (4.9 million 
or  approx.  85.7%  of  the  country’s  population).  The  varieties  of  Slovak  spoken  in 
Hungary are influenced by Hungarian and differ from the Slovak used in Slovakia.  

1.2   History, geography and demography 

1.2.1   The presence of the Slovak minority in Hungary mainly dates back to the 17th and 
18th  century  when  they  started  settling  in  the  northern  parts  of  Hungary  and 
developed strong mutual language contact with the Hungarians. Following a period 
of  Slovak  demand  for  autonomy  within  Hungarian  territory  rivalries  between 
Slovaks  and Hungarians arose. With the  Treaty  of Trianon (1920) Hungary lost a 
significant  part  of  its  Slovak-speaking  territory.  The  population  movement  from 
Hungary  to  Slovakia  that  took  place  after  1920  was  repeated  after  World  War  II 
when about 73,000 Slovaks resettled from Hungary to Slovakia.  

1.2.2   The Slovaks in Hungary mainly live in three areas: in the southeast (the counties of 
Békés and Csongrád), in the northern middle mountain range (county of Nógrád), 
and in Transdanubia (counties of Pest and Komárom-Esztergom).  

1.2.3   The number of people belonging to the Slovak national minority is estimated to be 
between 17,692 (according to provisional results of the 2001 census) and 110,000 
(according to minority organisations ⇒ Table 1 of the country profile on Hungary). 
Of  those  declaring  themselves  as  belonging  to  the  Slovak  national  minority  about 
8% belong to the age group ‘0-14’, about 24% to the age group ‘15-39’, about 33% to 
the age group ‘40-59’ and about 34% to the age group ‘60+’. Of the 34% of Slovaks 
that  according  to  the  2001  census  are  economically  active  about  5%  work  in  the 
primary, 29% in the secondary and 56% in the tertiary sector.  

1.3   Legal status and official policies 

Information on the legal status of Slovak and of official policies affecting Slovak in 
Hungary can be found in section 3 of the country profile (⇒ Hungary).  

2.   Presence and use of the language in various fields 

2.1   Education 

In  the  school  year  1999/2000  there  were  73  pre-primary  Slovak  schools.  The 
Slovak  native  language  pre-primary  schools  (first  type  of  minority  pre-school 
education  ⇒  4.11  of  the  country  profile)  had  an  enrolment  of  103  pupils,  the 
bilingual  pre-primary  schools  (second  type  of  minority  pre-school  education  ⇒ 

152

 
 
 
  
 
 
         
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
4.11  of  the  country  profile)  had  2,947  pupils.  In  the  same  school  year  59  schools 
offered  primary  Slovak  education.  92  pupils  attended  native  language  primary 
schools  (first  type  of  minority  primary  education  ⇒  4.12  of  the  country  profile), 
658  pupils  attended  bilingual  primary  schools  (second  type  of  minority  primary 
education  ⇒  4.12  of  the  country  profile)  and  3,674  pupils  enrolled  in  Slovak 
language  teaching  education  (third  type  of  minority  primary  education  ⇒  4.12  of 
the country profile). Secondary education in Slovak took place at 2 schools offering 
native  language  or  bilingual  instruction.  105  pupils  attended  native  language  or 
bilingual classes in grammar schools, and 13 attended native language or bilingual 
education  in  specialised  schools.  In  the  academic  year  1999/2000  228  students 
studied  Slovak  in  institutions  of  higher  education.  In  the  academic  year 
2000/2001, 13 students were granted scholarships by the Hungarian government 
to study in Slovakia. Nursery-school teacher training is offered at Tessedik Sámuel 
College  Brunszvik  Teréz  College  Faculty  of  Nursery-school  Teacher  Training  in 
Szarvas.  Primary  school  teacher  training  is  offered  at  Tessedik  Sámuel  College, 
College  Faculty  of  Pedagogy  in  Szarvas  and  Vitéz  János  Roman  Catholic  Teacher 
Training College in Esztergom. Secondary school language teachers are trained at 
the Eötvös Lóránt University of Arts and Sciences (ELTE) Faculty of Arts (BTK) in 
Budapest,  and  the  Pázmány  Péter  Chatolic  University  in  Piliscsaba.  Secondary 
school  teacher  training  is  offered  at  the  Szeged  University  of  Arts  and  Sciences 
Juhász Gyula Teacher Training College Faculty in Szeged. 

2.2   Judicial authorities 

General information on this issue is given in section 3.11 of the country profile (⇒ 
Hungary). 

2.3   Public authorities and services 

General information on this issue is given in section 3.12 of the country profile (⇒ 
Hungary). 

2.4   Mass media and information technologies 

2.4.1   The Slovak  weekly  newspaper Ludové noviny, founded in  1957, is now controlled 
by  the  Slovak  National  Self-Government  and  funded  by  the  state.  It  now  has  a 
distribution  of  approximately  2,000  copies.  Other  entirely  Slovak  independent 
periodicals  are  the  regional  monthlies  Čabän  (400  copies  are  distributed)  and 
Budapeštianský  Slovák  (500  copies).  In  a 
local  newspapers  Slovak 
contributions  sometimes  appear  but  never  exceed  50%  of  the  total  volume.  The 
Association  of  Slovaks  in  Hungary  distributes  its  annual  calendar  ‚Naš  kalendár’ 
and the ‘Čabiansky kalendár’ is published in Békéscsaba. In recent years more and 
more  Slovak  books  are  published  in  Hungary  (fiction  as  well  as  poetry,  school 
books,  children’s  books  and  religious  books).  In  2001,  21  Slovak  books  were 
published. The demand for reading materials in the Slovak language is met through 
the four regional libraries and the network of local and school libraries which are 
supplied by them. 

few 

2.4.2   Hungarian public radio transmits a daily two-hour Slovak regional programme and 
a daily half-hourly country-wide programme. The national programme is broadcast 
between  6:30  p.m.  and  10:30  p.m.  The  regional  programme  is  broadcast  in  the 
morning as well as in the afternoon. The Slovak programmes are produced in the 
regional studio in Szeged. No information was obtained on the existence of private 
local Hungarian radio stations that broadcast Slovak programmes. 

153

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2.4.3   Hungarian  television  broadcasts  a  26  minute  weekly  Slovak  programme  entitled 
Domovina. It is broadcast between 2 and 3 p.m. on workdays on Channel 1 of the 
Hungarian television, and is repeated on Saturday mornings on satellite Channel 2. 
These  Slovak  programmes  are  produced  in  the  studio  in  Szeged.  Besides  the 
programmes  mentioned  the  religious  editors  of  public  television  regularly 
broadcast  masses  in  Slovak.  No  information  was  obtained  on  the  existence  of 
private local Hungarian television stations that broadcast programmes in Slovak.  

2.4.4  At the end of 2003 10 homepages operated by the Slovaks in Hungary were present 
on the internet. Links to several Slovak organisations and institutions are given on 
www.kisebbseg.lap.hu.  (⇒  3.10  of  the  country  profile  for  general  information  on 
the situation of the new media in the case of Hungary’s minorities) 

2.5   Arts and culture 

Several  institutions  play  an  important  role  in  preserving  and  developing  the 
cultural  identity  of  the  Slovak  minority  in  Hungary.  Among  the  most  important 
ones are the national and local offices of the Association of Slovaks in Hungary, the 
Slovak  House  of  Culture,  the  Research  Institute  of  the  Slovak  Minority 
(Békéscsaba), the Further Education Centre (Bánk) and various NGOs. The Slovak 
House of Culture opened in the autumn of 1996 in the town of Békéscsaba with the 
financial  support  of  the  Hungarian  and  Slovak  governments.  The  Mihály 
Munkácsy  Museum  in  Békéscsaba  functions  as  the  Slovak  central  museum.  Most 
of the settlements of the Slovak minority in Hungary are serviced by some sort of 
local institution or cultural centre to meet the cultural needs and by a local primary 
school  responsible  for  local  general  education  needs.  More  than  half  of  these 
settlements  have  an  active  local  community  which  also  organises  local  cultural 
events on its own initiative. The Slovak community in Hungary has about 30 adult 
choirs, 15 dance ensembles, 10 brass bands, 5 traditional bands, several children's 
choirs and bands, and 10 amateur theatre companies. In recent years, the regional 
libraries  have  been  actively  involved  in  organizing  literary  discussions,  meetings 
between authors and readers, and exhibitions as well.  

2.6   The business world 

General information on this issue is provided in section 3.13 of the country profile 
(⇒ Hungary). 

2.7   Family and social use of the language 

While in the 1990 census 12,745 people declared Slovak to be their mother tongue, 
only 11,816 did so in the 2001 census. Although census figures have to be treated 
with great caution (⇒ 2.1 of the country profile) this relatively small decline of 7% 
seems to indicate that the language shift from Slovak to Hungarian still continues. 
Slovaks  are  mostly  bi-  or  trilingual  (meaning  that  they  use  Hungarian  and/or  a 
local  variety  of  Slovak  and/or  standard  Slovak).  There  are  intergenerational 
differences:  whereas  the  older  generation  predominantly  is  dominant  Slovak 
bilingual  the  younger  generation  is  Hungarian  dominant  bilingual  (if  not 
Hungarian monolingual). According to a study carried out in 1991 slightly less than 
30  percent  of  the  children  of  the  parents  who  are  linguistically  the  most  Slovak 
have  learned  Slovak  to  native  proficiency,  and  70  percent  have  deficient  or  no 
knowledge of Slovak. The use of Slovak is mainly restricted to the private domain, 
whereas Hungarian is used in most cases in the public and semi-public domain.  

154

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2.8   The European dimension 

On  the  basis  of  the  Treaty  between  the  Republic  of  Hungary  and  the  Slovak 
Republic  on  Good-neighbourly  Relations  and  Friendly  Co-operation,  twelve  joint 
committees  were  created  to  provide  the  framework  for  the  co-operation  between 
the two countries in different areas of economic and social life. On 23 April 2001 
the  Governments  of  the  Republic  of  Hungary  and  the  Slovak  Republic  signed  in 
Budapest  an  Agreement  on  the  Cross-border  Co-operation  of  Local  Self-
governments  and  Public  Administration  Bodies.  The  agreement  enables  the 
promotion of national minority language education, the nurturing of the minority 
cultures, the support to the co-operation among twinned schools and the formation 
of partnerships between local and regional municipalities in the territory of which 
a significant population of Hungarian or Slovak national minorities is established. 

3.   Conclusion 

Together  with  the  Croatian  minority  the  Slovak  minority  is  one  of  the  larger 
minorities within Hungary. The number of people belonging to the Slovak minority 
is  estimated  between  17,692  (2001  census)  and  110,000  (estimates  of  minority 
organisations). The Slovaks, whose predecessors settled in what is today Hungary 
mainly in the 17th and 18th century, have largely assimilated to Hungarian over the 
past  centuries.  Nowadays  the  rather  limited  presence  of  Slovak  in  the  media,  as 
well as its use in several cultural organisations only slightly help to slow down the 
further assimilation of Slovaks to Hungarian. It appears that the intergenerational 
transmission  of  Slovak  is  faltering.  Attempts  are  being  made  to  reverse  Slovak-
Hungarian language shift by establishing Slovak native language schools or Slovak-
Hungarian bilingual schools as allowed by the Education Act. Whereas pre-primary 
and  primary  Slovak  education  is  successful,  measures  to  encourage  the  flow  of 
Slovak pupils into secondary Slovak minority education seem to be necessary. But 
even  if  that  succeeds  it  remains  unclear  whether  that  will  help  in  revitalising  the 
use  of  Slovak  in  the  daily  life  of  the  Slovak  minority.  To  guarantee  a  successful 
revitalization  of  Slovak,  complementary  measures  will  have  to  be  deployed  in 
different  areas  of  the  lives  of  the  Slovak  minority.  Despite  the  sophisticated 
Minorities Act such measures have not yet been put in place. A lack of funding, the 
apparent  gap  between  the  legal  framework  and  the  actual  implementation  of  the 
legal  provisions  in  the  field  and  the  convictions  of  some  minority  members  that 
Slovak culture and identity can survive without the Slovak language seem to be the 
main reasons for this. 

155

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
            Slovenian in Hungary 

1.   General information 

1.1   The language 

Slovenian [slovenski jezik/slovenščina] is a South Slavic language closely related to 
Croatian.  Both  Slovenian  and  Croatian  belong  to  the  western  subgroup  of  South 
Slavic.  In  all  some  2.4  million  people  speak  Slovenian.  Most  of  them  live  in 
Slovenia  (1.75  million  or  approximately  87.8%  of  the  country’s  population).  The 
Slovenian varieties spoken in Hungary differ from those used in Slovenia.  

1.2   History, geography and demography 

1.2.1   The Slovenian community is one of the indigenous national minorities in Hungary 
that  has  coexisted  longest  alongside  the  Hungarians,  i.e.  since  the  Hungarians 
settled  in  the  plains  around  the  middle  Danube  river.  It  is,  however,  not  clear  to 
what  extent  the  Slovenes  that  now  live  in  the  Raab-region  are  related  to  the  first 
Slovene settlers in Hungary.  

1.2.2   Most  of  the  Slovenes  in  Hungary  live  in  seven  neighbouring  settlements  to  the 
in  a 
south  of  St.  Gotthard  [Szentgotthárd]  and  the  Raab  (Rába)  river 
geographically  isolated  area  sandwiched  in  the  corner  of  the  Slovenian  and 
Austrian  border.  This  area  (approx.  92  km²)  belongs  to  the  region  that  was 
formerly  known  as  the  ‘Wenden-region’  and  now  is  usually  designated  as  the 
Slovene-region. This region is in Vas county. 

1.2.3   The  number  of  people  belonging  to  the  Slovene  national  minority  in  Hungary  is 
estimated between 3,040 (according to the provisional results of the 2001 census) 
and 5,000 (according to minority organisations ⇒ Table 1 of the country profile on 
Hungary).  Of those stating that they  belong  to the Slovenian national  minority in 
the 2001 census, about 11% were in the ‘0-14’ age group, about 37% were in the ‘15-
39’  age group, about 27% were in the ‘40-59’ age group and about 24% were in the 
‘60+’  age  group.  Of  the  37%  Slovenes  that  according  to  the  2001  census  are 
economically active, about 4% work in the primary, 16% in the secondary and 74% 
in the tertiary sector.  

1.3   Legal status and official policies 

Information  on  the  legal  status  of  Slovenian  and  of  official  policies  affecting 
Slovenian  in  Hungary  can  be  found  in  section  3  of  the  country  profile  (⇒ 
Hungary).  

2.   Presence and use of the language in various fields 

2.1   Education 

In 1999/2000 there were 5 pre-primary Slovenian schools. The Slovenian bilingual 
pre-primary  schools  (second  type  of  minority  pre-school  education  ⇒  4.11  of  the 
country profile) had an enrolment of 112 pupils. In the same school year 4 schools 

156

 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
offered primary Slovenian education. 22 pupils attended bilingual primary schools 
(second type of minority primary education ⇒ 4.12 of the country profile) and 94 
pupils  enrolled  in  Slovenian  language  teaching  education  (third  type  of  minority 
primary  education  ⇒  4.12  of  the  country  profile).  Secondary  education  in 
Slovenian  was  offered  at  one  school  offering  Slovenian  language  instruction  for  9 
pupils.  In  the  academic  year  1999/2000  6  students  studied  Slovenian  in 
institutions of higher education. In the academic year 2000/2001, 5 students were 
granted scholarships by the Hungarian government to study in Slovenia. Training 
of  secondary  school  language  teachers  is  offered  at  Eötvös  Lóránt  University  of 
Arts  and  Sciences  (ELTE)  Faculty  of  Arts  (BTK)  in  Budapest.  At  the  pedagogical 
institute  Dániel  Berzsenyi  in  Szombathely  there  is  a  department  of  Slovenian 
language and literature that trains Slovenian teachers and scientists.  

2.2   Judicial authorities 

General information on this issue is given in section 3.11 of the country profile (⇒ 
Hungary). 

2.3   Public authorities and services 

General information on this issue is given in section 3.12 of the country profile (⇒ 
Hungary). 

2.4   Mass media and information technologies 

2.4.1   The  weekly  magazine  Porabje,  controlled  by  the  Association  of  Slovenes  in 

Hungary, is state funded and is published in Szentgotthárd.  

2.4.2   Hungarian  public  radio  transmits  a  weekly  regional  Slovenian  programme  of  30 
minutes  and  a  weekly  half-hour  country-wide  programme.  The  national 
programme  is  broadcast  between  6:30  p.m.  and  10:30  p.m.  The  regional 
programme is broadcast in the morning as well as in the afternoon. The Slovenian 
programmes  are  produced  in  the  regional  studio  in  Szombathely.  Among  the 
national  minority  self-governments  of  Hungary,  the  Slovene  self-government  was 
the first to create its own radio station: Radio Monoster. It broadcasts in Slovenian 
from Szentgotthárd and has its own bandwidth. In 1999 the national minority self-
government  was  granted  a  broadcasting  licence  for  eight  hours  per  week  in 
accordance  with  the  rules  of  the  Act  on  the  Media.  Regular  broadcasts  started  in 
June 2000. This radio station broadcasts one hour of native-language programmes 
daily  from  Monday  to  Saturday,  and  two  hours  on  Sunday.  The  national  self-
government  received  significant  support  for  the  necessary  equipment  from 
Slovenia. No further information on the use of Slovenian on Hungarian radio could 
be found. 

2.4.3   Hungarian  public  television  broadcasts  a  fortnightly  26-minute  Slovenian 
programme  entitled  Slovenski  Utrinki.  The  broadcast  takes  place  between  2  p.m. 
and 3 p.m. on workdays on Channel 1 of the Hungarian television. The programme 
is  repeated  on  Saturday  morning  on  satellite  Channel  2.  Slovenian  television 
programmes are produced in the studio in Szombathely. No further information on 
the use of Slovenian on Hungarian television could be found.  

157

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2.4.4   At  the  end  of  2003  one  homepage  operated  by  the  Slovenes  in  Hungary  was 
present  on  the  internet.  Links  to  several  Slovenian  organisations  and  institutions 
are  given  on  www.kisebbseg.lap.hu  (⇒  3.10  of  the  country  profile  for  general 
information on the situation of the new media in the case of Hungary’s minorities). 

2.5   Arts and culture 

The  cultural  life  of  the  Slovenian  minority  is  characterised  by  the  activities  of 
traditional ensembles and school groups operating in the settlements inhabited by 
the  Slovenian  minority.  The  activities  of  the  recently  established  Slovenian  self-
government  have  contributed  to  the  invigoration  of  Slovenian  cultural  life.  With 
financial  support  from  the  kin-State,  the  Federation  of  Slovenians  in  Hungary 
founded the Slovenian Cultural and Information Centre at Szentgotthárd. It is clear 
that  the  geographical  and  intellectual  proximity  of  Slovenia  positively  influences 
the cultural life of the Slovenes in Hungary. 

2.6   The business world 

General information on this issue is provided in section 3.13 of the country profile 
(⇒ Hungary). 

2.7   Family and social use of the language 

intergenerational  differences:  whereas  the  older  generation 

The Hungarian Slovenes nowadays are mostly bi- or trilingual (meaning that they 
use  Hungarian  and/or  a  local  variety  of  Slovenian  and/or  standard  Slovenian). 
There  are 
is 
predominantly dominant Slovenian bilingual, the younger generation is Hungarian 
dominant  bilingual  (if  not  Hungarian  monolingual).  A  sociological  study  of 
Slovene-Hungarian  bilingualism  on  both  sides  of  the  border,  carried  out  in  the 
mid-1980s,  found  that  the  use  of  Slovene  in  Hungary  predominates  within  the 
nuclear  and  the  extended  family,  whereas  language  use  in  conversations  with 
friends  and  school-mates,  as  well  as  for  shopping,  tends  to  be  bilingual.  While  in 
the 1990 census 2,627 people declared Slovenian to be their mother tongue, 3,187 
did so in the 2001 census. Given the purely indicative nature of census figures it is 
not clear whether this increase points to a reversal of language shift.  

2.8   The European dimension 

The Republic of Hungary and the Republic of Slovenia signed an Agreement of Co-
operation in the fields of Education, Culture and Sciences in 1999, for the period of 
time  from  2000  to  2003.  Both  the  Slovenian  Cultural  and  Information  Centre  in 
Szentgotthárd  and  the  Slovenian  radio  station  owned  by  the  National  Slovenian 
Self-Government  are  operating  successfully.  They  enjoy  support  from  both 
countries. 

3.   Conclusion 

With a membership estimated between 3,040 (2001 census) and 5,000 (according 
to minority organisations) the Slovenian minority is one of the smallest minorities 

158

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
in  Hungary.  The  Slovenes,  whose  predecessors  settled  in  Hungary  mainly  in  the 
17th and 18th century, have largely assimilated to Hungarian. Slovenian is used in a 
limited way in the media as  well as in some cultural organisations, but the actual 
frequent  daily  use  of  Slovenian  is  restricted  to  an  aged  minority  within  the 
minority. Attempts are being made to reverse Slovenian-Hungarian language shift 
by  establishing  Slovenian  native  language  schools  or  Slovenian-Hungarian 
bilingual schools as allowed by the Education  Act. If these initiatives are to boost 
the intergenerational transmission and the use of Slovenian in everyday life within 
the  Slovenian  community  again,  they  will  have  to  be  accompanied  by  other 
coordinated measures in different areas of the lives of the Slovenian minority. Alas, 
despite the sophisticated Minorities Act such measures have not been yet been put 
in place. A lack of funding, the apparent gap between the legal framework and the 
actual  implementation  of  the  legal  provisions  in  the  field  and  the  convictions  of 
some  minority  members  that  Slovenian  culture  and  identity  can  survive  without 
the Slovenian language seem to be the main reasons for this. 

159

 
 
 
              Other languages  

1. 

Armenian 

Armenian  constitutes  its  own  linguistic  branch  within  the  Indo-European 
languages. Together with the Slavic, Baltic and Indo-Iranian languages, Armenian 
belongs to the so-called Satem-languages. Of the estimated 7.4 million speakers of 
Armenian  some  5.1  million  live  in  European  states  (3.2  million  in  Armenia,  that 
became  independent  in  1991  after  the  break-up  of  the  USSR).  The  number  of 
people  belonging  to  the  Armenian  national  minority  in  Hungary  is  estimated 
between  620  (according  to  the  provisional  results  of  the  2001  census)  and  3,500 
(according to minority organisations ⇒ Table 1 of the country profile on Hungary). 
About  two  thirds  of  the  Armenian  minority  live  in  Budapest  and  in  Pest  County. 
The others live spread over the country. The Armenians have 31 self-governments: 
16  in  the  capital  Budapest  and  15  in  12  other  counties  (⇒  Table  3  of  the  country 
profile  on  Hungary  for  more  details).  Most  of  the  Armenians  who  migrated  to 
Hungary in the 17th century have merged with the Hungarians as a result of natural 
assimilation.  Only  their  religious  denomination  (Armenian  Catholic)  reminds  of 
their  origins.  Those  Armenians  that  settled  in  Hungary  after  the  World  Wars  are 
still concerned about the preservation of their language and culture. The Armenian 
Cultural  and  Information  Centre  opened  in  Budapest  serves  as  one  the  most 
important  institutions  of  Armenians  living  in  Hungary.  The  Armenian  Catholic 
Priesthood  that  has  operated  in  Hungary  since  1924  hosts  some  cultural 
programmes (such as chamber exhibitions and concerts of religious character). Of 
the persons that declare themselves to belong to the Armenian national minority in 
the  2001  census  about  half  have  Armenian  as  mother  tongue.  The  number  of 
persons indicating Armenian to be their mother tongue has gone up from 37 in the 
1990 census to 294 in the 2001 census.  

2.  

Bulgarian  

Bulgarian  [bălgarski  ezik]  is  a  South  Slavic  language  that  is  closely  related  to 
Macedonian. It is spoken by approx. 9 million people worldwide, most of which live 
in Bulgaria. The number of people belonging to the Bulgarian national minority in 
Hungary  is  estimated  between  1,358  (according  to  the  provisional  results  of  the 
2001  census)  and  3,000  (according  to  minority  organisations⇒  Table  1  of  the 
country  profile  on  Hungary).  Most  of  them  live  in  and  around  Budapest.  The 
Bulgarians  have  31  self-governments:  21  in  the  capital  Budapest  and  the  rest  in  7 
other counties (⇒ Table 3 of the country profile on Hungary for more details). The 
Bulgarians settled in the Carpathian basin in several waves. The first arrived in the 
17th  century  and  mainly  settled  in  the  Banat  region.  Others  came  in  the  19th  and 
20th  century.  Most  of  them  have  assimilated  to  Hungarian.  According  to  the 
provisional  results  of  the  2001  census  a  great  majority  of  people  declaring 
themselves to belong to the Bulgarian national minority have Bulgarian as mother 
tongue.  Nevertheless  the  number  of  persons  indicating  Bulgarian  to  be  their 
mother  tongue  has  fallen  from  1,370  in  the  1990  census  to  1,299  in  the  2001 
census.  Those  who  state  Bulgarian  as  their  mother  tongue  are  Hungarian-
Bulgarian  bilinguals  using  Bulgarian  mainly  in  the  private  sphere.  An  association 
that  plays  a  significant  role  in  the  Bulgarian  community  is  the  Association  of 
Bulgarians in Hungary that was established in Budapest in 1914.  

160

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
the 
The  Association  owns 
internationally  acclaimed Martenica and Zdravec folk dance  and song ensembles 
as  well  as  the  Rila  folk  orchestra.  In  1996,  the  national  self-government  of  the 
Bulgarian minority established an Institute for Bulgarian Studies. 

the  Bulgarian  Cultural  Centre  and  supports 

3.   Greek  

Some  12  million  people  worldwide  speak  New  Greek  that  developed  during  the 
second half of the 15th century. Most of them (approx. 9.9 million) live in Greece. 
The current number of people belonging to the Greek national minority in Hungary 
is estimated to be between 2,509 (according to the provisional results of the 2001 
census)  and  4,000  (according  to  minority  organisations⇒  Table  1  of  the  country 
profile  on  Hungary).  The  Greeks  mainly  live  in  and  around  Budapest,  although  a 
small  concentration  of  Greeks  lives  in  Fejér  County.  The  Greeks  have  31  self-
governments: 19 in Budapest and 12 in 10 other Counties (⇒ Table 3 of the country 
profile  on  Hungary  for  more  details).  The  history  of  the  Greeks  in  Hungary  goes 
back  to  the  16th  century  when  Greek  merchants  arrived.  By  the  end  of  the  19th 
century  they  had  their  own  churches  and  chapels  in  19  towns  and  they  operated 
several Greek schools and a teacher training school in Pest. A new wave of Greeks 
arrived  in  Hungary  between  1948  and  1950  as  refugees  from  the  Greek  civil  war 
and  settled  in  Budapest,  Pécs,  Tatabánya,  Miskolc,  and  Beloiannisz.  It  is  mainly 
these ‘new Greeks’ that show an interest in maintaining their language and culture. 
About three quarters of the Greeks declaring themselves to belong to the national 
Greek  minority  in  the  2001  census  indicate  Greek  as  their  mother  tongue.  The 
number  of  persons  indicating  Greek  to  be  their  mother  tongue  increased  from 
1,640 in the 1990 census to 1,921 in the 2001 census. Greek is component of Greek-
Hungarian bilingualism with Greek restricted mainly to use in the private sphere. 
For  the  past  fifty  years  the  Cultural  Association  of  the  Greek  community  in 
Hungary has existed. It plays an important role in the life of the Greek community 
in  Hungary.  Some  dance  ensembles  like  Iliosz,  Aitosz  and  the  Helidonaki  Greek 
Heritage  Children's  and  Youth  Dance  Ensemble  are  (internationally)  successful. 
There  is  also  a  Greek  heritage  club.  The  various  musical  bands  (Sirtos,  Zeus, 
Maskarades,  Akropolis  and  Palio  Buzuki)  are  also  recognised  for  their  cultural 
activity.  To  further  serve  the  Greek  minority  living  in  Hungary  a  Greek  Cultural 
Centre was opened in Kecskemét.  

4.  

Polish 

As  a  Slavic  language  Polish  [język  polski]  is  closely  related  to  Kashubian  with 
which it forms the Lechitic branch  of West Slavonic. The 16th century is generally 
considered  to  be  the  ‘golden  age’  of  the  Polish  literary  language.  At  that  time  the 
first  Polish  grammar  of  Stojenski-Statorius  (Polonicae  grammatices  institutio, 
1568) was written and dictionaries were composed. About 45 million people speak 
Polish.  Most  of  them  (around  37  million)  live  in  Poland.  The  number  of  people 
belonging to the Polish minority in Hungary is estimated to be 2,962 (according to 
provisional  results  of  the  2001  census).  Most  Poles  live  in  Budapest  and  Borsod-
Abaúj-Zemplén county. The Poles have 51 self-governments: 15 in Budapest, 12 in 
Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén  and  24  in  14  other  counties  (⇒  Table  3  of  the  country 
profile  on  Hungary  for  more  details).  The  communities  of  the  Polish  minority  in 
Hungary  were  largest  in  the  middle  of  the  last  century.  The  József  Bem  Polish 
Cultural Association, the Saint Adalbert Association of Polish Catholics in Hungary 
and the Dwa Bratanki Dance Ensemble are a few of the organisations carrying on 
the cultural heritage of the Polish minority in Hungary. The Polish House and the 

161

 
 
 
 
 
 
Polish  Archives  were  founded  in  1998  to  collect  and  analyse  the  remains  of 
material culture. Both the national self-government of the Polish minority and the 
local  self-government  councils  assume  an  important  role  in  exhibiting  Polish 
culture  and  preservation  and  collection  of  elements  of  Polish  traditions.  The 
Hungarian  Government  awarded  the  Prize  for  the  Promotion  of  Minorities  to  the 
József  Bem  Polish  Cultural  Association  and  to  the  Saint  Adalbert  Association  of 
Polish Catholics in Hungary.  

5.   Ruthenian 

Along  with  Russian,  Belorussian  and  Ukrainian,  Ruthenian  (also  referred  to  as 
Rusyn [rusyn’skyj jazyk]) belongs to the East Slavic branch of languages. From a 
linguistic  point  of  view  Ruthenian  is  generally  considered  to  be  a  dialect  of 
Ukrainian or a transitional dialect of Ukrainian  and Slovak.  It should however be 
noted  that  Ruthenian  is  now  considered  to  be  an  official  language  in  the 
Autonomous  Province  of  Vojvodina  (Serbia).  There  are  two  Ruthenian  dialects: 
Carpatho-Ruthenian  that  is  close  to  Russian  and  Ukrainian  and  Panonian-
Ruthenian that is close to West Slavic and in particular to Slovak. The Ruthenian 
used  in  Hungary  is  of  the  Panonian-Ruthenian  variety.  The  number  of  people 
belonging  to  the  Ruthenian  minority  in  Hungary  is  estimated  between  1,098 
(according  to  provisional  results  of  the  2001  census)  and  6,000  (according  to 
minority organisations ⇒ Table 1 of the country profile on Hungary). Around half 
of them live in Budapest and in Pest County. Others live in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén 
county.  Of  the  32  local  self-governments  15  are  located  in  Budapest  and  16  in  5 
other counties (⇒ Table 3 of the country profile on Hungary for more details). The 
Ruthenian communities in Hungary were most populous in the pre-1920 historical 
territories.  The  Ruthenian  minority  of  Hungary  possesses  a  folk  house  and  a 
museum.  The  Research  Institute  of  Ruthenians  in  Hungary  was  set  up  in  the 
framework  of  an  initiative  by  the  Organization  of  Ruthenians  in  Hungary.  To 
preserve  and  develop  Ruthenian  cultural  traditions  the  Hungarian  Andy  Warhol 
Association (an organisation of artists of Ruthenian origin), the Drany folk dance 
ensemble  and  the  Ruthenian  Publishing  House  have  been  established.  The 
Ruthenian  community  has  two  publications:  Ruszinszkij  Zsivot/Rusinskyj  Život 
(Rusyn  Life)  and  Országos  Ruszin  Hírlap/Vsederžavnyj  Rusynskyj  Visnyk 
(National  Ruthenian  Newsbulletin).  The  Rusyn  language  is  used  as  a  mode  of 
communication  only  in  two  villages  (Múcsony  and  Komlóska)  in  the  county 
Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén.  The  number  of  people  indicating  Ruthenian  to  be  their 
mother  tongue  in  the  2001  census  was  1,113.  More  general  information  on  the 
Ruthenians  can  be  found  on  the  website  of  the  Ruthenian  Minority  Autonomy  of 
in  Budapest)  (www.ruthen.hu), 
the  Capital  (located 
the  Carpatho-Rusyn 
knowledge  base  society  (www.carpatho-rusyn.org)  as  well  as  the  Carpatho-Rusyn 
society (www.carpatho-rusyn.org/crs/). 

6.   Ukrainian 

Ukrainian  [ukrajins’ka  mova]  is  an  East  Slavonic  language  closely  related  to 
Russian  and  Belorussian,  with  which  it  forms  the  East  Slavonic  group  within  the 
Slavonic  branch  of  Indo-European.  On  the  basis  of  the  south-western  dialects  of 
medieval East Slavonic, Ukrainian developed as a separate language in the course 
of the 14th  century. As  a written  language Ukrainian was  only developed towards 
the end of the 18th century. The number of Ukrainian speakers today amounts to 
approximately  45  million  worldwide.  Most  of  them  live  in  Ukraine  (around  37.4 
million or 70.5% of the country’s population). The number of people belonging to 

162

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
the Ukrainian minority in Hungary is estimated at 5,070 (according to provisional 
results  of  the  2001  census).  Most  of  them  live  in  Budapest  and  in  Pest  County, 
although  a  larger  concentration  of  Ukrainians  can  also  be  found  in  Szabolcs-
Szatmár-Bereg County and in the larger towns around the country. The Ukrainians 
have 13 local self-governments: 4 in Budapest and 9 in 8 other counties (⇒ Table 3 
of  the  country  profile  on  Hungary  for  more  details).  The  largest  Ukrainian 
communities  in  Hungary  live  in  Budapest.  In  order  to  nurture  their  cultural 
inheritance  and  enforce  their  interests,  the  Ukrainians  founded  the  Cultural 
Association  of  Ukrainians  in  Hungary  in  1991.  There  is  a  Hungarian–Ukrainian 
Joint Committee on Minorities. 

163

 
 
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Borbély,  Anna 

(1997): 

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“Romanian”. 

Borbély,  Anna  (2002):  “Factors  influencing  language  maintenance  and  language  shift  in 
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York/London. 

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Gosselin,  Tania  (2003):  Minority  Media  in  Hungary  and  Slovenia:  A  Comparative 

Assessment. The Peace Institute, Ljubljana.  

Guboglo,  Michael  (1994):  Sprachengesetzgebung  und  Sprachenpolitik  in  der  UdSSR  und 
in  den  Nachfolgestaaten  der  UdSSR  seit  1989.  Berichte  des  Bundesinstituts  für 
ostwissenschaftliche und internationale Studien, Köln. 

Gyivicsán,  Anna/Schubert,  Gabriella 

(1997):  “Ungarisch-Slowakisch”.  In:  Goebl, 
Hans/Nelde, Peter H./Stary, Zdenek/Wölck, Wolfgang (eds.): Kontaktlinguistik. Bd. 
2. de Gruyter, Berlin/New York, 1744-1749.  

Haarmann,  Harald  (2002):  Kleines  Lexikon  der  Sprachen.  Von  Albanisch  bis  Zulu.  C.H. 

Beck, München. 

Hardeman,  H.  (1994):  Bescherming  van  minderheden  in  Centraal-  en  Oost-Europa. 

Leuvens Instituut voor Centraal- en Oosteuropese Studies, Leuven. 

Hessky,  Regina  (1997):  “Ungarisch-Deutsch”.  In:  Goebl,  Hans/Nelde,  Peter  H./Stary, 
Zdenek/Wölck,  Wolfgang  (eds.):  Kontaktlinguistik.  Bd.  2.  de  Gruyter,  Berlin/New 
York, 1723-1731. 

Kern,  Rudolf  (1999):  Europäische  Sprach-  und  Minderheitsinitiativen  und  Deutsch  als 
Kontaktsprache  in  Mittel-  und  Osteuropa.  Ausgewählte  Aufsätze.  Universität  für 
Wirtschaftswissenschaften, Budapest. 

Kontra, Miklós (1997): “Hungary”. In: Goebl, Hans/Nelde, Peter H./Stary, Zdenek/Wölck, 

Wolfgang (eds.): Kontaktlinguistik. Bd. 2. de Gruyter, Berlin/New York, 1708-1723. 

Malfliet,  Katlijn  (1995):  De  ex-communistische  landen.  Nieuwe  spelregels.  Davidsfonds, 

Leuven. 

Malfliet, Katlijn (2002): Instellingen en beleid van de Centraal- en Oosteuropese staten. 

Faculteit politieke en sociale wetenschappen, KU Leuven. 

Meillet, Antione/Cohen, Marcel (Eds.) (1952): Les Langues du Monde. Tome I. Champion, 

Paris.  

Nelde, Peter H. (ed.) (1990): Deutsch als Muttersprache in Ungarn. Steiner, Wiesbaden. 
Nelde,  Peter  H./Vandermeeren,  Sonja/Wölck,  Wolfgang 

Interkulturelle 
Mehrsprachigkeit.  Eine  kontaktlinguistische  Umfrage  in  Fünfkirchen  (Plurilingua 
XI). Dümmler, Bonn. 

(1991): 

164

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Nyomárkay,  István/Schubert,  Gabriella  (1997):  “Ungarisch-Serbokroatisch”.  In:  Goebl, 
Hans/Nelde, Peter H./Stary, Zdenek/Wölck, Wolfgang (eds.): Kontaktlinguistik. Bd. 
2. de Gruyter, Berlin/New York, 1731-1738. 

Open  Society  Institute  (2001):  Monitoring  the  EU  Accession  Process:  Minority 

Protection. Budapest. 

Pan,  Christoph/Pfeil,  Beate  Sibylle  (2003):  National  Minorities  in  Europe.  Braumüller, 

Wien. 

Report  submitted  by  Hungary  pursuant  to  article  25,  paragraph  1  of  the  Framework 

Convention for the Protection of National Minorities. (May 1999) 

Schubert, Gabriella/Szabo, Géza (1997): “Ungarisch-Slowenisch”. In: Goebl, Hans/Nelde, 
Peter  H./Stary,  Zdenek/Wölck,  Wolfgang  (eds.):  Kontaktlinguistik.  Bd.  2.  de 
Gruyter, Berlin/New York, 1738-1743. 

Second  Periodical  Report  of  the  Government  of  the  Republic  of  Hungary  on  the 
Implementation of its Commitments Assumed by Ratifying the European Charter for 
Regional or Minority Languages of the Council of Europe (July 2002) 

Second  Report  of  the  Republic  of  Hungary  on  the  Implementation  of  the  Council  of 
Europe’s Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (February 
2004). 

Szente,  Attila  (2004):  Sprache,  Geschichte  und  Volkskunde  der  ungarndeutschen  in  der 

Umgebung von Budapest. Diplomarbeit, Universität Miskolc.  

Szilassy, Eszter (2001): Minority Education in Hungary. Open Society Institute, Budapest.  
Wölck,  Wolfgang/Nelde,  Peter  H.  (2000):  “Sociolinguistic  Prerequisites  for  a  German-
Hungarian Bilingual-Bicultural Education Program”. In: Kreeft Peyton, Joy/Griffin, 
Peg/Wolfram,  Walt/Fasold,  Ralph  (eds.):  Language  in  Action.  New  Studies  of 
Language in Society. Hampton Press, Creskill (New Jersey), 94-109. 

B. Other sources 

http://www.carpatho-rusyn.org [The Carpatho-Rusyn Knowledge Base] 
http://www.ce-review.org  [site  of  the  Central  European  Review,  today’s  Transitions 

Online magazine that reports on the former communist countries] 
http://cigany.lap.hu. [site with diverse links to Roma organisations etc.] 
http://www.civilporta.hu  [database  of  home  pages  of  civil  organizations  in  Hungary 

including significant communication data of minority organizations]  

http://www.deutschebuehne.hu [website of the German theatre] 
http://www.etnonet.hu [a home page on national minorities]  
http://europa.eu.int [portal site of the European Union] 
http://www.eurydice.org [Information network on education in Europe] 
http://www.jbg.n1.hu [home page of the Jakob Bleyer Gemeinschaft] 
http://www.ksh.hu [Hungarian central statistical office] 
http://www.kum.hu [website of the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs] 
http://www.ldu.hu [portal of the Landesverwaltung der Ungarndeutschen]  
http://www.mtv.hu [Hungarian public television] 
http://www.minelres.lv [minority electronic resources - directory of resources on minority 
human  rights  and  related  problems  of  the  transition  period  in  Eastern  and  Central 
Europe] 

http://www.kisebbseg.lap.hu [portal site with links to organisations of Hungary’s national 

minorities] 

http://www.meh.hu/nekh [Office for National and Ethnic Minorities] 
http://www.nepszamlalas2001.hu [website of the Central Statistical Office on the data of 

the 2001 census giving access also to the questionnaire used] 

http://www.neueztg@hu.inter.net [website of the neue zeitung] 
http://www.obh.hu [minorities ombudsman] 
http://www.oki.hu [National Institute of Public Education] 

165

 
 
 
 
http://www.pecsiradio.hu [home page of Radio Pécs/Fünfkirchen] 
http://www.pesterlloyd.hu [website of the Pester Lloyd, German newspaper] 
http://www.romacentrum.hu [Information on the Roma community] 
http://www.romakontakt.hu [Information on Roma in Hungary] 
http://www.romaweb.hu [web mainly on Roma community operated by the Government 

Office for Equal Opportunities]  

http://www.ruthen.hu [Website of the Ruthenian Minority Autonomy of the Capital] 
http://www.telehaz.hu  
http://www.tolerancia.lap.hu [site with links to organisations of national minorities] 
http://www.ukrajinci.hu [website of National Ukrainian Self-government] 
http://www.usk-online.com [website of the Ungarndeutsches Sozial- und Kulturwerk] 

166

 
 
 
   Latvia  

1.  

  Introduction 

1.1  

Together  with  Estonia  and  Lithuania,  Latvia  [Latvija]  is  one  of  the  three  Baltic 
states. Its territory covers about 64,000 km². Most of Latvia’s population (around 
68% of its 2.309,339 inhabitants) resides in urban areas. Latvian cities and towns 
differ greatly in size. 21 cities have over 10,000 inhabitants, the three largest being 
Rīga  (population  of  about  815,000),  Daugavpils  (approximately  117,500),  and 
Liepāja (approx. 96,270).  

1.2  

The Republic of Latvia is a parliamentary democracy. The Latvian Parliament (the 
Saeima) is a unicameral assembly. Its 100 members are elected for four years. It is 
the  Saeima  that  elects  Latvia’s  president.  Like  the  members  of  parliament,  the 
president is elected for a term of four years (a term that is once renewable). Latvia 
has  a  three-level  administration.  Apart  from  central  government  there  are  26 
districts  (Rajons),  550  local  authorities  (70  cities  and  480  Pagasts),  and  five 
economic  planning  regions  that  correspond  very  closely  to  historical  regions: 
Latgale  (East);  Zemgale  (South);  Kurzeme  (West);  Vidzeme  (North)  and  the  Rīga 
region. The Latvian economy is still in transition. The main services contributing to 
the  GDP  (according  to  2002  figures)  are  services  (70%),  industry  (19%), 
construction  (6%)  and  agriculture 
fishery  (5%). 
Unemployment  (approximately  12%)  remains  a  concern,  especially  since  it  is  not 
decreasing despite rather rapid economic growth (an average yearly growth of 6% 
since 1996). In 2003 the average per capita income was just over one third of the 
EU average.  

forestry  and 

including 

167

 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
        
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2.   General aspects  

The  territory  now  known  as  Latvia  has  been  inhabited  since  9000  BC  by  ancient 
peoples of unknown origin. Around 3000 BC the Finno-Ugric Livs (called libiesi in 
Latvian) settled there. From the first half of the second millennium BC the ancient 
Baltic tribes arrived and started developing trading networks. In about 900 AD the 
Balts started to form specific tribal groups. Four groups can be distinguished: the 
Couronians  (kursi 
in  Latvian),  Latgalians  (latgali),  Selonians  (seli)  and 
Semgallians  (zemgali).  In  the  13th  century  German  crusaders  conquered  and 
christianised  the  pagan  Baltic  and  Finno-Ugric  tribes  and  reduced  them  to 
serfdom.  In  1282  Riga  joined  the  Hanseatic  League.  The  cities  of  Cēsis,  Limbaži, 
Koknese and Valmiera also joined this Northern German trading organisation at a 
later  date.  Around  the  16th  century  the  German  crusaders  lost  power  and 
significance. After the  “Livonian War” (1558-1583) today’s Latvian territory fell in 
the  hands  of  the  Polish-Lithuanian  Commonwealth.  Polish-Lithuanian  rule  only 
lasted  until  the  Polish-Swedish  War  (1600-1629)  after  which  Latvia  was  ruled  by 
the  Swedes  for  about  half  a  century.  After  the  Great  Northern  War  (1700-1721) 
between Sweden and Russia today’s Latvian territory became part of the Romanov 
Empire  of  Czar  Peter  the  Great  (Treaty  of  Nystad  1721)  in  which  it  functioned  as 
one  of  the  most  developed  provinces.  In  1918,  after  the  implosion  of  the  Russian 
Empire, Latvia declared its independence and signed a peace treaty with Russia in 
1920. The first period of Latvian independence came to an end after the Molotov-
Ribbentrop Pact was signed on 23 August 1939, for a few months later, on 17June 
1940  Latvia  was  occupied  by  the  Soviet  Army.  Shortly  afterwards  German  forces 
occupied Latvia, until 1944, when  Soviet occupation brought Soviet rule to Latvia 
again. A large immigration of Russians as well as Ukrainians and Belorussians took 
place and Soviet-farming methods and collectivisation were introduced. It was only 
after certain more liberalist tendencies (glasnost and perestroika) transformed the 
communist  regime  in  the  mid-1980s  that  Latvia  declared  its  independence  on  4 
May 1990 and was recognised as an independent state by the USSR on 21 August 
1991.  Since  its  independence  Latvia  has  started  a  period  of  economic  and  social 
transition.  In  February  1999  it  joined  the  World  Trade  Organisation,  in  March 
2004 NATO and as of 1 May 2004 it is a full member of the EU.  

3. 

3.1  

Demographic data 

In  2004  Latvia  had  2,309,339  inhabitants.  The  following  table  lists  the  ethnic 
composition  of  Latvia’s  population.  The  table  is  based  on  rounded-off  data  taken 
from  the  1989  census  and  data  from  the  Board  for  Citizenship  and  Migration 
Affairs (1 July 2004). 

Table 1: Ethnic Composition of Latvia (1989 and 2004) 

Latvians 
Russians 
Belarusians 
Ukrainians 
Poles 
Germans 
Lithuanians 
Jews 
Roma 
Other 
Total 

1989 

2004 

52.2% 
34.0% 
4.4% 
3.4% 
2.2% 
0.1% 
1.3% 
0.6% 
0.3% 
1.2% 

1,396,100 
902,300 
117,200 
89,300 
59,700 
2,900 
34,100 
16,300 
7,200 
31,900 
2,657,000 

58.7% 
28.8% 
3.9% 
2.6% 
2.5% 
0.2% 
1.4% 
0.4% 
0.3% 
1.2% 

1,356,081 
664,082 
88,998 
59,403 
56,798 
3,311 
31,840 
9,820 
8,436 
28,030 
2,309,339 

Source: 1989 census and Board for Citizenship and Migration Affairs 

168

 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
Compared to the 1989 figures, the percentage of ethnic Latvians in the year 2000 
increased whereas the percentage of most other ethnic groups (with the exception 
of the Poles and the Lithuanians) decreased or remained relatively stable. This can 
be  explained  by  the  fact  that  about  215,000  people  emigrated  from  Latvia  in  the 
1990s, of whom 16,000 were Latvians and 199,000 non-Latvians. Most of the non-
Latvians were Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians living in Latvia as temporary 
workers, who moved back to their homelands because of non-favourable economic 
circumstances  and  also  –  as  mentioned  in  sociological  literature  –  because  of  the 
character  of  the  Latvian  Citizenship  Law  (⇒  3.2).  The  fact  that  many  Russians, 
Ukrainians  and  Belarusians  moved  back  to  their  home-countries  did  not  change 
the ethnic composition of Latvia dramatically.  Latvians still account for only 58% 
of  the  total  population  and  there  still  is  a  high  proportion  of  Russians  in  Latvia 
mainly residing in the seven biggest cities in which they constitute the majority of 
the population.  

3.2  

In  1991,  shortly  after  independence,  the  Decree  of  the  Supreme  Council  of  the 
Republic of Latvia On The Restoration of the Rights of Citizens of the Republic of 
Latvia  and  Regulations  for  Naturalization  [Rezolūcija  par  Latvijas  Republikas 
pilsoņu  tiesībām  un  pilsonības  iegūšanas  pamatprincipiem]  restored  citizenship 
only to those persons who had been citizens of Latvia between World Wars I and II, 
and  their  descendants.  This  resolution  above  all  affected  non-Latvians,  many  of 
whom  had  arrived  after  1945  from  several  Soviet  republics.  It  affected  more  than 
60% of the large ethnic Russian minority and 1.6% of ethnic Latvians. Four years 
passed  before  a  framework  for  the  naturalization  of  non-citizens  was  established. 
In  1994  the  Law  on  Citizenship  [Pilsonības  likums]  entered  into  force.  It 
introduced  an  ‘age  windows’  timetable  for  application.  Those  people  who  were 
born in Latvia and aged between 16 and 20 could apply first. Other people had to 
await  their  ‘window’,  the  last  of  which  was  to  ‘open’  in  2003.  This  system  was 
abolished by amendments to the Law that were passed in a 1998 referendum. From 
that  moment  on  all  stateless  children  born  in  Latvia  since  21  August  1991  were 
granted  the  right  to  receive  Latvian  citizenship  at  the  request  of  their  parents.  A 
central  issue  of  the  current  naturalisation  process  is  language  requirement.  The 
applicants’ command of Latvian is measured by a written and oral test. Despite the 
fact  that  the  liberalisation  of  the  Law  on  Citizenship  in  1998  led  to  a  jump  in  the 
naturalisation  rate,  Latvia  still  has  about  470,220  ‘non-citizens’.  467,733  of  them 
are  ethnic  non-Latvians.  The  following  table  is  based  on  data  of  the  Board  for 
Citizenship and Migration Affairs of 1 July 2004 and lists the residents of Latvia by 
ethnicity and citizenship.  

169

 
 
 
 
 
Table 2: Residents of Latvia by Ethnicity and Citizenship in 2004 

Citizens 

Non-
citizens 

Foreigners 

Total 

Percent 

Latvians 

1,352,733 

2,387 

961 

1,356,081  58.7% 

Russians 

330,201 

314,178 

19,713 

664,092 

28.8% 

Belarusians 

26,281 

60,818 

Ukrainians 

11,440 

44,319, 

Poles 

40,223 

16,059 

Lithuanians 

17,125 

Jews 

6,424 

13,312 

3,079 

Estonians 

1,470 

750 

1,899 

3,644 

516 

1,403 

317 

310 

19,259 

15,318 

5,200 

Others 

Total 

88,998 

59,403 

56,798 

31,840 

9,820 

2,530 

39,777 

3.9% 

2.6% 

2.5% 

1.4% 

0.4% 

0.1% 

1.7% 

1,805,156 

470,220 

33,963 

2,309,339  100.0% 

Source: Board of Citizenship and Migration Affairs, 01.07.04. 

18  of  the  100  MPs  in  the  Saeima  (elected  2002)  are  ethnic  non-Latvians:  15 
Russians, 1 Pole, 2 Jews and 1 Karelian.  

3.3  

Judging  by  provisional  figures  taken  from  the  2000  official  census  the  most 
significant ethnic minorities in Latvia – with the exception of Lithuanians – show 
higher percentages of Russian as mother tongue in comparison to both Latvian and 
to the mother tongue corresponding to their ethnicity. This is shown in Table 3. 

Table 3: Mother Tongue of Ethnic Minorities 

ethnicity 

Nr. 

Latvian 
Russian 
Belarusian 
Ukrainian 
Polish 
Lithuanian 
Jewish 
German 

1,370,703 
703,243 
97,150 
63,644 
59,505 
33,430 
10,385 
3,465 

mother 
tongue 
corresponding to 
ethnicity 
1,311,093 
664,743 
18,265 
17,301 
11,529 
13,187 
825 
541 

% 

Other mother tongue 
Latvian 

%  Russian  %  Other  % 

1,311,093 

96 
95  31,141 
19 
6,347 
27  2,309 
11,727 
19 
14,203 
39 
8 
918 
16  854 

4 
96  48,242 
664,743  95  7,359 
4 
70,717 
7 
4 
43,159 
20  34,340 
42  5,437 
8,211 
9 
1,970 
25 

11,368  1 
1 
73  1,821  2 
68  875 
1 
58  1,909  3 
2 
16  603 
4 
79  431 
3 
57  100 

Source: 2000 Latvian census 

Since  1996  the  Baltic  Institute  of  Social  Sciences  (BISS)  publishes  a  (mainly 
quantitative) study on language use among non-Latvians each year. The studies of 
the  BISS  show  that  the  significant  means  and  efforts  in  improving  the  Latvian 
language  skills  (among  others  in  the  NPLLT  ⇒  3.3.4.)  are  beginning  to  show 
results:  while  in  1996,  36%  of  non-Latvian  speakers  had  good  Latvian  language 
skills and 22% did not know Latvian at all, the respective figures in the year 2000 
were 41% and 9% (in comparison: about 85% of Latvians have a good knowledge of 
Russian).  Fewer  than  30%  of  people  over  50  know  the  Latvian  language  well. 
Younger people, who acquired education after the restoration of independence, in 
general have a better knowledge of Latvian.  

170

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
4.  

Language policy 

4.1 

4.2  

4.3 

According to Article 4 of the Latvian Constitution [Latvijas Republikas Satversme] 
“the  Latvian  language  is  the  official  language  in  the  Republic  of  Latvia”.  The 
Latvian  language  –  that  together  with  Lithuanian  builds  the  East-Baltic  group  of 
languages and is spoken by approx. 1.55 million people worldwide – regained the 
status it was given in 1921 during the first period of Latvian independence. On 15 
October  1998  the  Saeima  also  incorporated  a  chapter  on  ‘Fundamental  Human 
Rights’  in  the  Constitution.  Article  114  of  this  chapter  states  that  “persons 
belonging  to  ethnic  minorities  have  the  right  to  preserve  and  develop  their 
language and their ethnic and cultural identity”. These rights correspond to those 
mentioned  in  The  Law  on  Unrestricted  Development  of  National  Minorities  and 
Ethnic  Groups  of  Latvia  and  the  Rights  to  Cultural  Autonomy  [Par  Latvijas 
nacionālo  un  etnisko  grupu  brīvu  attīstību  un  tiesībān  uz  kultūras  autonomiju] 
that was passed on 19 March 1991. They can also be found in the 1999 Law on the 
State Language [Valsts valodas likums].  

In  1989  the  Latvian  Supreme  Council  (today’s  Saeima)  adopted  the  Law  on 
Languages  of  the  Soviet  Socialist  Republic  of  Latvia  [LPSR  Valodu  likums].  The 
second law (Republic of Latvia Language Law; Latvijas Republikas Valodu likums) 
was  adopted  in  1992.  The  years  between  1989  and  1992  served  as  a  kind  of 
transition period.  

The 1989 Law on Languages stated that all state institutions were to use the state-
language in their communication with the public as well as in their daily work. In 
their contacts with the authorities individuals were still allowed to use Russian and 
state documents continued to be used in Russian as well as in Latvian. In private 
life there was freedom of speech, though people were encouraged to learn Latvian: 
Latvian language instruction programmes were developed, self-teaching materials 
were  brought  on  the  market  and  some  companies  offered  free  language  tuition 
during  regular  working-hours  for  non-Latvians.  In  March  1992  a  State  Language 
Centre [Valsts valodas centrs] was set up by the Latvian Council of Ministers and 
made responsible for the legal status of the Latvian language and the strengthening 
and  use  of  the  Latvian  language.  The  Chief  Certification  Commission  at  the  State 
Language  Centre  worked  out  language  levels  for  different  professions  and  it  was 
the  task  of  the  State  Language  Inspection  to  supervise  proficiency  tests  and  the 
attestation  commissions  responsible  for  the  language  exams  (cf.  Official  State 
Language Proficiency Certification Regulation [Valsts valodas prasmes atestācijas 
nolikums] (1992). It was now obligatory to use Latvian in official documents, place 
names and signs, amongst other things. It was still possible to use other languages 
in private documents, but fines were specified for such cases in which Latvian was 
not  used  in  the  prescribed  way.  From  the  early  1990s  onwards  the  Latvian 
government  started  sending  out  language  inspectors  whose  main  task  is  to  deal 
with  complaints  about  violations  of  the  Language  Law.  They  act  as  a  consultative 
unit.  The  Language  Advisory  Service  also  works  actively,  providing  advice  about 
the Latvian language free of charge.  

4.4   A  revised  language  law  was  written  in  the  mid  1990s  focusing  more  on  the 
integration of minorities into Latvian society. The Law on the State Language that 
came into effect on 1 September 2000 ensures the integration of members of ethnic 
minorities into the society of Latvia, while observing their rights to use their native 
language or other languages (Art. 1,4). The Law among other measures ensures the 
maintenance,  protection  and  development  of  the  Latgalian  written  language  (⇒ 
Other  Languages)  as  a  historic  variant  of  the  Latvian  language  (Art.  3,4)  and 
officially  recognizes  Liv  (⇒  Other  languages)  as  an  autochthonous  language  (Art. 

171

 
 
 
 
 
 
4).  For  the  purpose  of  the  Law  on  the  State  Language  all  other  languages  are 
considered  to  be  “foreign”  (Art.  5).  Further  on  the  Law  envisages  that  all  state 
documents  shall  be  in  the  state  language  only  or  shall  be  accompanied  by  a 
certified  translation  into  the  state  language  (Art  8).  Unless  a  notary-certified 
translation  into  the  state  language  is  attached  the  Law  prohibits  state,  municipal 
and  judicial  institutions  from  accepting  written  applications,  statements  and 
complaints  from  private  persons  in  any  language  other  than  Latvian,  except  for 
some  emergency  situations.  Moreover  the  Law  states  that  place  names  in  the 
Republic of Latvia shall be created and use thereof shall be in the official language 
(Art.  18,1).  It  says  that  there  shall  be  set  out  in  a  passport  or  birth  certificate,  in 
addition to the name and surname of the person presented in accordance with the 
existing norms of the Latvian language, the historic family name of the person, or 
the original form of the personal name in a different language, transliterated in the 
Roman  alphabet,  if  the  person  or  the  parents  of  a  minor  person  so  wish  and  can 
verify  such  by  documents  (Art.  19,2).  Furthermore,  the  use  of  minority  languages 
in the private sphere is not unlimited: state intervention into the private sphere to 
regulate  language  use  is  envisaged  to  a  degree  determined  by  a  lawful  interest  of 
the  public,  e.g.  in  matters  affecting  public  health,  public  safety  and  public  order 
(Art 2,2). It is the task of the State Language Centre to supervise compliance with 
this  Law.  The  State  Language  Centre  itself  is  subject  to  the  supervision  of  the 
Ministry of Justice (Art. 26).  

By establishing the Social Integration Foundation at the end of the 1990s,  whose 
task it is to implement the National Program ‘The Integration of Society in Latvia’, 
the  Latvian  government  has  tried  to  create  favourable  circumstances  that  will  on 
the one hand help people in maintaining their language and on the other encourage 
them on to learn Latvian which they need for economic advancement, thus creating 
a  diglossic  use  of  Latvian  and  the  minority  language.  The  integration  program 
provides approximately 1 million US dollars per year for ethnic minorities.  

Education  in  Latvia  is  regulated  by  the  Law  on  Higher  Education  Establishments 
[Augstskolu likums] (1995), the Education Law [Izglītības likums] (1998), the Law 
on  General  Education  [Vispārējās  izglītības  likums]  (1999)  and  the  Law  on 
Professional  Education  [Profesionālās  izglītības  likums]  (1999).  There  are  also 
regulations  from  the  Cabinet  of  Ministers  and  instructions  from  the  Ministry  of 
Education and Science.  

4.5  

4.6  

4.7   During Soviet rule the languages of education were Latvian and Russian. Russian 
was  an  obligatory  subject  in  Latvian  schools,  but  Latvian  was  not  compulsory  at 
Russian schools. Following Latvian independence minority schools were refounded 
and  comparisions  were  made  with  the  first  period  of  Latvian  independence  in 
which minority languages were allowed in schools.  

4.8  

Several  stages  can  be  distinguished  in  the  renewed  introduction  of  minority 
languages  in  education:  a  transition  period  between  1989  and  1995,  and  three 
periods  of  education  reform.  In  the  transitional  period,  minority  education  was 
restored  in  eight  languages  (Russian,  Belorussian,  Ukrainian,  Polish,  Yiddish, 
Estonian, Romany and Lithuanian). Latvian was made an obligatory subject in all 
educational  institutions  and  a  proficiency  test  was  designed  in  Latvian  for 
graduates  of  minority  schools.  During  the  first  period  of  education  reform  (1995-
1999) an amendment to Article 5 of the old Education Law specified the role of the 
Latvian language in minority schools. In years 1 to 9 of basic education 2 subjects 
were  to  be  taught  in  Latvian.  In  years  10  to  12  the  number  of  subjects  taught  in 
Latvian  had  to  be  3.  The  second  period  of  education  reform  took  place  between 
1999 and 2003 and followed the adoption of the new Law on Education (1998) that 
provides a basis for minority education. This law states that:  

172

 
 
 
 
 
 
•  Education in state and local government educational institutions is obtained in the 
official state language (Art. 9, 1). Education may be (acquired) in another language 
(1) in private educational institutions, (2) in state and local government institutions 
in  which  educational  programmes  for  ethnic  minorities  are  implemented,  and (3) 
in educational institutions specified in other laws (Art. 9,2). The law states that the 
Ministry  of  Education  and  Science  shall  specify  such  educational  programs,  and 
the subjects of study in these programmes are to be taught in the official language.  
•  Educational  programmes  for  ethnic  minorities  shall  be  developed  by  educational 
institutions in accordance with State educational standards on the basis of general 
educational  program  models  approved  by  the  Ministry  of  Education  and  Science 
(Art. 41,1); these programmes shall include content necessary for acquisition of the 
relevant ethnic culture and for integration of ethnic minorities in Latvia (Art. 41,2) 
and the Ministry of Education and Science shall specify the subjects of study in the 
educational  programmes  for  minorities  which  must  be  acquired  in  the  official 
language (Art. 41,3).  
the  National  Education  State  Inspectorate  (a  structural  unit  of  the  ministry) 
supervises the way in which educational institutions follow the law (Article 20) and 
the Ministry hires and dismisses school directors (Art. 15,25) 

• 

There  has  been  some  misunderstanding  on  the  time  available  to  implement  the 
minority programs. According to a clarification made by the Ministry of Education 
in 1999, all classes in minority elementary schools must be taught on the basis of 
the minority education program that the school has selected from the school year 
2002/2003.  The  third  period  of  the  education  reform  started  in  2004.  In 
secondary schools the implementation of minority education curricula started as of 
September 2004 with year 10. Year 11 will follow in 2005 and year 12 in 2006. The 
change implies that 3/5 of classes will be taught in Latvian and 2/5 in the minority 
language  (this  is  the  so-called  60/40  norm).  The  proportion  of  2/5  usage  of 
minority  languages  in  minority  secondary  schools  was  incorporated  in  a  legally 
binding  document  on  13  May  2003.  At  that  point  the  Latvian  Government 
amended Regulations of the Cabinet of Ministers On the State General Secondary 
Education Standard [Valsts vispārējās vidējās izglītības standarts]. The respective 
amendments  to  the  Education  Law  followed  on  12  August  2003.  On  22  January 
2004  the  Saeima  amended  the  Education  Law,  such  that  the  subjects  taught  in 
minority languages may only be minority language subjects or subjects “related to 
minority  identity  and  culture”.  This  would  mean  that  only  10  to  15%  of  the 
curriculum  could  be  taught  in  minority  languages.  The  discussed  reform  will 
embrace  the  whole  secondary  school  system  in  2007.  The  minority  system  will 
have reached complete implementation in 2010 since students who started in 1999 
will  then  have  reached  year  12.  As  far  as  universities  and  adult  education  is 
concerned  it  should  be  noted  that  courses  in  state-financed  universities  are 
conducted  in  Latvian,  while  a  number  of  private  educational  institutions  have 
language(s) of instruction other than Latvian. At university one can of course enrol 
in courses of the Slavic departments where languages such as Russian, Belorussian 
and Ukrainian are taught. 

4.9  

Judging  by  the  figures  for  the  2002/2003  school  year  provided  by  the  Latvian 
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 733 schools in Latvia had Latvian as the sole language 
of  instruction,  164  schools  had  Russian  as  a  language  of  instruction  (i.e.  with  a 
Russian-Latvian  bilingual  curriculum),  and  148  schools  had  both  classes  with 
instruction in Latvian only, and classes with instruction in Russian as well (i.e. with 
a bilingual curriculum). There were 6 Polish and 2 Hebrew schools, 1 Ukrainian, 1 
Estonian, 1 Lithuanian and 1 Belorussian school, and separate classes in 2 schools 
taught in Romany. Since 1998 matters relating to minority education are dealt with 
by the Integration Section of the General Education Department of the Ministry of 
Education  and  Science  [Izglītības  un  zinātnes  ministrijas  Vispārējās  izglītības 

173

 
 
 
 
 
departamenta  Sabiedrības  integrācijas  nodaļa].  Upon  the  initiative  of  the 
Integration  Section  an  Advisory  Council  on  Minority  Education  Issues  was 
established  to  improve  communication  between  various  parties  involved  in 
minority  education.  The  following  table  (based  on  information  by  the  Latvian 
Ministry  of  Foreign  Affairs)  shows  the  evolution  of  the  total  number  of  pupils  by 
language of instruction from 1995/96 until 2003/04  

Table 4: Number of Students by Language of Instruction 

95/96  96/97  97/98  98/99  99/00  00/01  01/02  02/03  03/04 
203,607  212,017  219,794  233,939  238,652  242,475  242,183  237,425   230,212  
132,540  129,120 

125,643 
1,817 

125,741 
2,042 

120,612  96,053 
2,168 

2,331 

89,874 
2,479 

101,486  95,841 
1,397 

1,305 

1,664 

337,660  342,801  347,254  361,722  361,432  340,859  334,536  340,308  327,358 

61.8 

63.3 

64.7 

66.0 

71.1 

72.3 

69.8 

70.3 

L 
R 
O*  1,513 
T 
%   60.3 

L = Latvian; R = Russian; O = Other languages; % = % learning in Latvian 

*  Note:  in  some  minority  schools  the  language  of  instruction  is  predominantly  either 
Latvian or Russian 

4.10   The  number  of  pupils  attending  schools  where  Latvian  is  the  medium  of 
instruction (either in combination with a minority language or not) has increased 
over the last years and is now a little over 70%. In the 2003/2004 school year, 74.4 
% of first-years began studies in Latvian. As scientific literature suggests this may 
be  due  both  to  legal  measures  (Language  Law  and  regulations  of  the  Education 
Law) and to parents seeking an education for their children that ensures for them 
increased  opportunities  for  university  study  and  greater  competitiveness  in  the 
labour  market.  Since  school  is  the  main  institution  where  non-Latvians  learn 
Latvian  lots  of  efforts  were  put  in  the  National  Programme  for  Latvian  Language 
Training  [Latviešu  valodas  apguves  valsts  programma].  This  Programme, 
developed  with  the  support  of  the  United  Nations  Development  Program,  started 
in  1995  and  covers  five  main  fields:  (1)  teacher  training,  (2)  development  of  new 
teaching materials, (3) LSL-courses (Latvian as a Second Language) for adults; (4) 
Integration  activities  and  (5)  development  of  the  programme  management.  It  is 
specifically  meant  to  encourage  non-Latvians  and  minority  organisations  to  be 
socially active and to promote (linguistic) tolerance and understanding as essential 
elements for a future conflict-free development of the country.  

4.11   No  regulations  exist  regarding  the  language  of  publication  in  the  field  of  printed 
media.  The  situation  is  different  for  radio  and  television.  In  1995  Latvian 
parliament adopted a new Radio and Television Law [Radio un televīzijas likums]. 
Amendments on language issues were adopted in 1997 and 1998. According to Art. 
19,5  the  amount  of  broadcasting  time  in  foreign  languages  in  programmes 
produced by broadcasting organizations should not exceed 25% of the total volume 
of the broadcasting time in a 24-hour period. Russian radio stations which did not 
take  into  account  the  legal  regulations  were  suspended  by  the  Latvian  National 
Radio  and  Television  Council  that  also  reprimanded  Latvian  TV  channels  that 
showed  too  many  Russian-language  films.  The  quotas  for  language  use  on  radio 
and television were repealed by the Latvian Constitutional Court on 5 June 2003.  

4.12   The  Law  On  Judicial  Power  [Likums  par  tiesu  varu],  adopted  on  15  September 
1992 with amendments adopted up to 2001, states that judicial proceedings in the 
Republic  of  Latvia  shall  be  conducted  in  the  official  language.  A  court  may  allow 
also  another  language  to  be  used  in  judicial  proceedings  if  the  parties,  their 
advocates and the prosecutor agree to it (Art. 21, 1). For a person who participates 
in  a  matter,  but  is  not  fluent  in  the  language  of  the  judicial  proceedings,  a  court 

174

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
shall ensure the right to become acquainted with the materials of the matter and to 
participate in the court process with the assistance of an interpreter as well as the 
right to appear before the court in the particular language in which such person is 
fluent (Art. 21, 2).  

5. 

The European dimension 

5.1  

5.2  

Latvia  has  not  yet  signed  the  European  Charter  on  Regional  and  Minority 
Languages  (ECRML).  It  signed  the  Framework  Convention  for  the  Protection  of 
National Minorities (FCPNM) on 11 May 1995 but has not ratified it yet.  

Several  bilateral  agreements  exist  between  Latvia  and  the  states  the  ethnic 
minorities  residing  in  Latvia  belong  to.  A  database  of  bilateral  agreements  is 
provided by the Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Latvia has signed agreements 
of  cooperation  with  Poland,  Israel,  Estonia,  Lithuania,  Ukraine  and  Belarus  on 
professional qualifications for teachers of national minority schools.  

175

 
 
 
 
 
 
     Belorussian in Latvia  

1.   General information 

1.1   The language 

Together with Russian and Ukrainian, Belorussian [belaruskaja mova] belongs to 
the East Slavonic group within the Slavonic branch of Indo-European languages. It 
started to develop as a separate language in the 14th and 15th centuries. When the 
territory  which now constitutes Belarus  became  Lithuanian,  the Lithuanians took 
over the administrative language of Kievan Rus, a language that in time acquired 
more  and  more  local  traits.  This  language,  sometimes  called  Old  Belorussian, 
became less important with the creation of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth 
and  was  gradually  exchanged  for  Polish.  Modern  Belorussian  is  essentially  a 
product of the 20th century. This language is not a continuation of Old Belorussian 
and much nearer to the popular language than for example Russian. It has thus far 
fewer  Church-Slavonicisms.  Within  the  Belorussian  Soviet  Republic,  Belorussian 
was one of the national languages. The 1920s and partly the 1930s may be seen as 
the  golden  age  of  Modern  Belorussian.  From  the  end  of  the  1930s  to  the  1990s 
Belorussian  gradually  was  ousted  by  Russian  in  all  spheres  of  life:  education, 
newspapers,  theatre,  book  publishing,  politics,  party  administration,  etc.  Russian 
thus became the high language whereas the role of Belorussian was reduced to that 
of  a  minority  language  and  a  more  or  less  rural  language.  In  the  mid-1980s  a 
movement  to  promote  a  “re-Belarusification”  developed,  and  Belorussian  became 
the  state  language.  This  status  was  confirmed  by  the  Constitution  (1994)  of  the 
newly  independent  state  of  Belarus  (1991),  but  in  May  1995  —  following  a 
referendum — Russian was reinstituted as a second state language in the amended 
Constitution  (1996).  This  reflects  a  more  general  situation  where  only  75%  of  all 
Belorussians (including those who live outside Belarus) are estimated to speak the 
language, the rest having assimilated Russian.  

1.2   History, geography and demography 

1.2.1   Belarusians in Latvia form a traditionally historic national group living in Latgale, 
the eastern part of Latvia. In 1897 there were about 66,000 Belarusians on Latvian 
territory, in 1920 about 75,000 and – due to immigration from the USSR – about 
120,000 in 1989 (approximately 4.7% of the total population). In the 1990s about 
12,000  people  left  Latvia  for  their  ethnic  homeland  Belarus.  From  an  historical 
point  of  view  Belorussian  in  Latvia  flourished  above  all  during  the  first  period  of 
Latvian independence. 

1.2.2   Up to 70% of the Belarusians live in Latvia’s  biggest cities, where the standard of 
living is higher than in the rest of the country, or in Latgale, where the standard is 
much lower. The highest proportion of Belarusians is found in Daugavpils (approx. 
8% of the city’s population). Relatively high concentrations of Belarusians are also 
found in Liepāja and Rīga. 

1.2.3   According 

to 

the  2004  Civil  Data  Register  some  89,000  Belarusians 

(approximately 4% of the total population) currently live in Latvia.  

176

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1.3   Legal status and official policies 

According to the Latvian language law Belorussian is one of the ‘foreign languages’. 
Only when translation into Latvian is ensured can Belorussian be used in state and 
local  government  institutions,  courts  and  institutions  constituting  the  judicial 
system,  State  or  local  government  undertakings,  and  companies  in  which  the 
greatest  share  of  capital  is  owned  by  the  State  or  a  local  government.  Also 
employees  of  private  institutions,  organisations,  undertakings  (companies),  and 
self-employed  persons  have  to  use  the  official  language  if  they  perform  specific 
public functions and in record-keeping and documents if their activities affect the 
lawful  interests  of  the  public  (public  security,  health,  morality,  health  care, 
protection of consumer rights and employment rights, safety at the work place and 
public administration supervision). Still, Art. 114 of the Latvian Constitution gives 
Belorussians the right to preserve and develop their language and their ethnic and 
cultural identity.  

2.   Presence and use of the language in various fields 

2.1   Education 

Judging  on  figures  from  the  Latvian  Institute  about  52  pupils  (less  than  0.05%) 
attended a Belorussian minority school in 1999/2000. The figure slightly increased 
to  64  in  2000/2001  but  still  accounts  for  less  than  0.05%  of  the  total  number  of 
pupils  in  Latvia.  The  great  majority  of  Belarusian  pupils  still  attend  Russian 
schools  in  Latvia.  It  is  not  clear  how  many  pupils  attend  the  Riga  Belorussian 
Sunday  School  that  in  1994  emerged  out  of  the  Belorussian  Art  Studio  Vjasjolka 
(founded  in  1989)  and  is  now  fully  state  financed.  But  it  is  unlikely  that  their 
number exceeds 0.5% of the total number of pupils in Latvia.  

2.2   Judicial authorities 

General information on the use of languages in Latvian courts is provided in 3.5 of 
the  Latvia  country  profile.  No  detailed  information  is  available  on  the  specific 
situation of Belorussian. 

2.3   Public authorities and services 

With  the  exception  of  some  emergency  situations  (that  lack  any  definition)  the 
official  language  has  to  be  used  in  communication  with  public  authorities. 
Documents  in  Belorussian  (and  other  foreign  languages)  can  only  be  accepted 
when  a  notary-certified  translation  into  the  state  language  is  attached.  It  is  not 
clear  to  what  extent  Belorussian  is  used  in  oral  communication  with  public 
authorities.  

2.4   Mass media and information technology 

There are no Belorussian newspapers in Latvia, Belorussian periodicals are limited 
to  those  of  the  Belorussian  Cultural  Heritage  Society  (1997-1999),  and  the  latest 
periodicals from Belarus and Poland can be consulted, together with books, in the 

177

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Belorussian library in Riga. On the radio, Belorussian programmes are limited to a 
30 minute weekly programme on Latvian public Radio 4. There is no Belorussian 
television in Latvia.  

2.5   Arts and culture 

Cultural  reproduction  of  Belorussian  in  the  more  traditional  sphere  takes  place 
through  cultural  organisations  (such  as  the  Belorussian  Cultural  Society),  choirs, 
etc. Apart from Svitanak (see below), the Latvian Branch of the Belorussian Artists 
in the Baltics, Maju gonar, is very active.  

2.6   The business world 

Belorussian does not play a significant role in Latvian business life and is as good 
as absent in advertisements. 

2.7   Family and social use of the language 

As to the situation of Belorussian in Latvia today, according to provisional census 
figures  from  2000,  about  18,000  Belarusians  (19%  of  the  total  number)  declare 
Belorussian  to  be  their  mother  tongue.  These  people  use  Belorussian  on  a  daily 
basis.  7%  of  Belarusians  declare  Latvian  to  be  their  mother  tongue,  and  73% 
declare Russian to be their mother tongue (96% have knowledge of Russian). This 
high  percentage  is  largely  due  to  the  “Russification”  campaign  during  the  Soviet 
period which contributed significantly to the reduction of mother tongue retention 
rates  and  loss  of  identity  among  Belarusians.  The  situation  of  the  Belarusians  is 
similar  to  that  of  the  Ukrainians;  it  seems  that  more  Belarusians  have  started  to 
identify  with  the  Russians  following  Latvia’s  independence  in  1991.  Since 
Belarusians  seem  to  adhere  more  to  Russian  than  to  their  own  language  (which 
shows a high degree of mutual intelligibility with Russian and Ukrainian) it comes 
as no surprise that intergenerational language transmission of Ukrainian is limited 
to a motivated cultural minority that has only limited sources at its disposal in its 
attempts to maintain Belorussian. Although more qualitative research needs to be 
done in this respect, the waning of the prestige of Belorussian in its home country 
could be one of the forces driving Belarusians in Latvia more to the use of Russian 
than  before.  In  Belarus  only  half  of  the  Belarusian  population  is  said  to  use 
Belorussian in the family and in Minsk, e.g., Russian is the everyday language for 
88% of the families. The last Minsk high school with instruction in Belorussian was 
closed  in  2003.  An  organisation  that  actively  strives  for  the  preservation  of  the 
Belorussian language and cultural identity as well as the integration of Belarusians 
into  Latvian  society  is  the  Belorussian  Cultural  Society  Svitanak,  founded  in 
November 1988.  

2.8   The European dimension 

There are no special agreements concerning Belorussian in Latvia. 

178

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
3.    Conclusion 

Together with Ukrainians and Poles the Belarusians belong to the smaller Latvian 
minorities.  They  constitute  approximately  4%  of  the  population.  The  Belarusians 
in Latvia display a heterogeneous linguistic behaviour. A major part of Belarusians 
(approximately  73%)  have  Russian  as  their  first  language  (mother  tongue),  a 
smaller  part  (19%)  claims  the  ‘ethnic  language’  to  be  their  first  language  and  yet 
another  minor  part  (7%)  claims  Latvian  to  be  their  first  language.  Most  of  the 
persons  who  don’t  have  Russian  as  their  first  language  possess  Russian  language 
skills.  Despite  efforts  of  the  Latvian  government  in  stimulating  activities  that  are 
meant  to  encourage  Belorussian/Latvian  bilingualism  the  number  of  persons 
having knowledge of Latvian among the Belarusians is only growing slowly. With 
the  ethnic  integration  programme  the  Latvian  government  hopes  to  create 
favourable  circumstances  that  will  help  people  in  maintaining  their  own  ‘ethnic 
language’, and that will encourage them to learn Latvian instead of the process of 
“Russification”  they  have  experienced  hitherto.  At  present  only  a  minority  within 
the  minority  takes  up  the  task  to  foster  the  minority  language.  It  is  questionable 
whether  the  limited  use  of  Belorussian  on  Latvian  public  radio  (half  an  hour  per 
week),  its  use  in  some  cultural  organisations  and  the  almost  complete  failure  of 
Belorussian  minority  schools  will  soon  succeed  in  reviving  the  Belorussian 
language.  More  coordinated  efforts  will  have  to  be  developed  in  the  future  in 
several societal niches to secure the situation of Belorussian in the future. A major 
obstacle to the maintenance of Belorussian seems to be that some interest groups 
are  more  in  favour  of  further  “Russification”  or  the  maintenance  of  Belorussian 
culture  without  necessarily  having  to  maintain  the  Belorussian  language.  They 
tend  to  counter  the  minority  within  the  minority  that  is  interested  in  the 
revitalisation of the Belorussian language. This poses identity problems within the 
minorities themselves that urgently need to be studied from a qualitative point of 
view focusing on language attitudes and language awareness.  

179

 
 
 
 
 
                Polish in Latvia  

1.   General information 

1.1   The language 

As  a  Slavic  language  Polish  [język  polski]  is  closely  related  to  Kashubian  with 
which it forms the Lechitic branch  of West Slavonic. The 16th century is generally 
considered  to  be  the  ‘golden  age’  of  the  Polish  literary  language.  At  that  time  the 
first  Polish  grammar  of  Stojenski-Statorius  (Polonicae  grammatices  institutio, 
1568) was written and dictionaries were composed. About 45 million people speak 
Polish. Most of them (around 37 million) live in Poland.  

1.2   History, geography and demography 

1.2.1   Poles have inhabited Latvian lands since the second half of the 16th century when 
they  protected  the  inhabitants  from  the  troops  of  the  Russian  tsar  Ivan  the 
Terrible.  They  mainly  exerted  cultural  influence  in  the  Riga,  Vidzeme,  Kurzeme 
and Latgale regions of the country. At the end of the 19th century there were about 
65,000 Poles in Latvia. By the beginning of the 20th century most Poles resided in 
Riga (some 45,500). With the outbreak of World War I Polish cultural life in Latvia 
was  paralysed.  The  Polish  male  population  was  forced  to  conscription  and  Polish 
workers were deported to remote Russian provinces. Only in the first Republic of 
Latvia  did  Polish  cultural  life  start  flourishing  again.  This  period  was  halted  by 
World War II, following which a period of “Russification”, assimilation, repression 
and collectivisation started. In the years after World War II the number of Polish 
inhabitants in Latvia remained fairly constant. In 1959 about 52,800 Poles resided 
in  Latvia.  In  1989  their  number  had  slightly  increased  to  60,400.  The  second 
period  of  Latvian  independence  starting  in  1991  made  it  possible  for  the  Poles  to 
resume their cultural, social and political activities again.  

1.2.2   Polish  is  spoken  in  Latvia  above  all  in  the  cities  of  Daugavpils,  Rīga,  Kraslava, 

Rēzekne and Jelgava. 

1.2.3   According to the 2004 Civil Data Register there currently are about 56,800 Poles in 

Latvia, making up approx. 2.5% of the population.  

1.3   Legal status and official policies 

According to the Latvian language law Polish is one of the ‘foreign languages’. Only 
when  translation  into  Latvian  is  ensured  Polish  can  be  used  in  state  and  local 
government  institutions,  courts  and  institutions  constituting  the  judicial  system, 
State or local government undertakings, and companies in which the greatest share 
of  capital  is  owned  by  the  State  or  a  local  government.  Also  employees  of  private 
institutions,  organizations,  undertakings  (companies),  and  self-employed  persons 
have  to  use  the  official  language  if  they  perform  specific  public  functions  and  in 
record-keeping  and  documents  if  their  activities  affect  the  lawful  interests  of  the 
public (public security, health, morality, health care, protection of consumer rights 
and  employment  rights,  safety  at  the  work  place  and  public  administration 
supervision).  

180

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Still,  Art.  114  of  the  Latvian  Constitution  gives  Poles  the  right  to  preserve  and 
develop  their  language  and  their  ethnic  and  cultural  identity.  Out  of  the  100 
members of the Saeima there are 3 ethnic Poles. 

2.   Presence and use of the language in various fields 

2.1   Education 

In the last ten years a network of Polish Sunday Schools has been created. In pre-
primary education Polish is taught in a school in Riga and another in Daugavpils. 
In  Latvia  there  are  5  Polish  minority  schools  in  basic  education.  There  are  three 
Polish secondary schools (in Riga, Daugavpils and Rēzekne). The implementation 
of Polish in education has received and still receives strong support from the state, 
regional  and  local  government.  Judging  on  figures  from  the  Latvian  Institute  the 
number of pupils in Polish minority schools increased from 1,169 in the school year 
1999/2000  to  1,272  in  the  school  year  2000/2001.  At  university  level  Polish  is 
taught at Rīga and at the pedagogical university in Daugavpils.  

2.2   Judicial authorities 

General information on the use of languages in Latvian Courts is provided in 3.5. of 
the  country  profile  on  Latvia  (⇒  Latvia).  No  detailed  information  is  available  on 
the specific situation of Polish. 

2.3   Public authorities and services 

With  the  exception  of  some  emergency  situations  (that  lack  any  definition)  the 
official  language  has  to  be  used  in  communication  with  public  authorities. 
Documents  in  Polish  (and  other  foreign  languages)  can  only  be  accepted  when  a 
notary-certified  translation  into  the  state  language  is  attached.  It  is  not  clear  to 
what extent Polish is used in oral communication with public authorities.  

2.4   Mass media and information technology 

No daily or weekly newspapers are published in Polish in Latvia. There is, however, 
one weekly newspaper “Nasz Czas” created in Vilnius (Lithuania) that is also read 
by  Poles  in  Latvia.  Two  magazines  are  written  in  Polish  in  Latvia:  “Polak  na 
Lotwie” (Pole in Latvia) is published fortnightly by the Latvian Polish Society, has 
about  32  pages,  is  distributed  to  650  persons  and/or  societies  and  is  preparing  a 
web edition; and the Daugavpils branch of the Latvian Polish Society publishes the 
local monthly magazine “Słowo Polskie” (the Polish word), that has about 4 pages.  
Public  radio  stations  in  Latvia  do  not  broadcast  entirely  in  Polish.  They  do  offer 
part of their programmes in Polish: a 30-minute weekly Polish programme “Nasz 
Głos”  (our  voice)  is  broadcast  by  Radio  4,  and  is  transmitted  (like  every  other 
minority  programme  on  Latvian  Radio  4)  at  2.15  p.m.  In  Daugavpils  a  local  30-
minute Polish programme, “Glos Mlodych Polakow” (Voice of the Polish Youth) is 
broadcast monthly by the private radio station  Alise Puls for a fixed fee. Since no 
radio stations in Latvia offer Polish programmes on a daily basis, many people who 
can pick it up also listen to the first programme of Polish national radio.  

181

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Polish public television in Latvia does not exist. And no private television stations 
broadcast  entirely  in  Polish.  There  is,  however,  a  private  television  station 
(Millions) that twice a week broadcasts a popular 20 minutes Polish programme in 
the  Daugavpils  region  (again  for  a  fixed  fee).  Currently  the  Polish  community  is 
lobbying to start up a Polish programme for the whole of Latvia.  

2.5   Arts and culture 

The ‘Latvian Polish Society’, an institution that actively strives for the preservation 
of  the  Polish  language  and  cultural  identity,  has  thirteen  regional  branches.  It 
supports theatres and choirs, and local branches participate in local festivals such 
as  the  festival  of  Polish  culture  in  Pasiene  and  the  festival  of  Polish  folklore  and 
light music in Riga.  

2.6   The business world 

Polish  does  not  play  a  significant  role  in  Latvian  business  life  and  is  as  good  as 
absent in advertisements.  

2.7   Family and social use of the language 

According  to  provisional  2000  statistics  about  19%  of  persons  belonging  to  the 
Polish minority have Polish as their mother tongue, 58% have Russian, 20% have 
Latvian and 3% have another language. Latvian Polish Society research, however, 
has  shown  that  about  40,000  of  the  ethnic  Poles  have  a  certain  knowledge  of 
Polish.  According  to  this  society  about  1/3  of  the  Latvian  Poles  use  Polish  in 
communication  with  their  offspring.  The  number  has  increased  since  1989  when 
Polish started to be used more overtly in cultural societies, school and the press in 
Latvia. Although a certain cultural dynamic can be witnessed in the Latvian Polish 
community  since  1989  the  situation  of  Polish  remains  far  from  bright.  Mainly 
interested in the maintenance, vitality and the future of Polish within Latvia is an 
enthusiastic minority within the minority that stresses the importance of Polish in 
education.  

2.8   The European dimension 

There  is  an  agreement  between  Latvia  and  Poland  on  cooperation  in  culture, 
education and science (July 1, 1992). 

3.  Conclusion 

Together with Ukrainians and Belarusians the Poles belong to the smaller Latvian 
minorities.  They  constitute  approx.  2.2%  of  the  population.  The  Poles  in  Latvia 
display a heterogeneous linguistic behaviour. Over half of the Poles (approx. 58%) 
have Russian as their first language (mother tongue), a smaller part (19%) claims 
the  ‘ethnic language’ to  be their first language  and yet another part (20%) claims 
Latvian to be their first language. Most of the persons who don’t have Russian as 
their first language possess Russian language skills. Despite efforts of the Latvian 
government  in  stimulating  activities  that  are  meant  to  encourage  Polish/Latvian 
bilingualism, the number of persons having knowledge of Latvian among the Poles 

182

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
is  only  growing  slowly.  With  the  ethnic  integration  programme  the  Latvian 
government  hopes  to  create  favourable  circumstances  that  will  help  people  in 
maintaining  their  own  ‘ethnic  language’,  and  that  will  encourage  them  to  learn 
Latvian instead of the process of “Russification” they have experienced hitherto. At 
present only a minority within the minority takes up the task to foster the minority 
language.  Polish  is  used  on  radio  and  television,  in  written  press  and  in  some 
cultural  organisations.  Polish  parents  start  sending  their  children  to  Polish 
minority  schools  but  the  number  of  pupils  attending  these  minority  schools  in 
general remains rather small. A major obstacle to the revitalization of Polish is the 
existence of interest groups who are more in favour of further Russification or the 
maintenance  of  Polish  culture  without  necessarily  having  to  maintain  the  Polish 
language. They tend to counter the minority within the minority that is interested 
in the revitalization of the Polish language. This poses identity problems within the 
minorities themselves that urgently need to be studied from a qualitative point of 
view focusing on language attitudes and language awareness. 

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             Russian in Latvia  

1.   General information 

1.1   The language 

Russian  [russkij  jazyk]  is  a  Slavonic  language  closely  related  to  Belorussian  and 
Ukrainian with which it forms the East Slavonic group within the Slavonic branch 
of  Indo-European.  Owing  a  great  deal  to  efforts  of  the  polymath  Lomonosov  and 
his  Russian  Grammar  (1755)  modern  standard  Russian  was  established  by  the 
time  of  Pushkin  (1799-1837).  Today’s  Russian  speech  community  is  multiethnic 
and dispersed over many states. It is estimated that about 233 million people speak 
Russian (approximately 164 million as a first language and 69 million as a second 
language).  About  119  million  people  in  the  Russian  Federation  use  Russian  as  a 
first language and 27.1 million use it as a second language.  

1.2   History, geography and demography 

1.2.1   According to Russian and Latvian chronicles the earliest Russian merchants came 
to  Latvia  in  the  12th-13th  century.  The  first  major  wave  of  Russians,  however, 
entered  Latvia  after  the  Great  Northern  War  (1700-1721)  when  today’s  Latvian 
territory  became  part  of  the  Romanov  Empire  of  Tsar  Peter  the  Great  (Treaty  of 
Nystad  1721).  Around  1880  the  centralisation  of  the  Romanov  Empire  led  to 
powerful  Russification,  backed  up  by  the  resources  of  the  tsarist  authorities. 
Russian was used in municipal institutions, in the courts and by the police, and was 
made  compulsory  in  elementary  education.  By  the  end  of  the  19th  century  the 
Russians  had  become  the  second  biggest  nationality  in  Latvia  (behind  the 
Latvians). During the time of the first Latvian Republic that was founded after the 
implosion of the Romanov Empire and World War I the number of Russians was 
estimated  at  91,000  (according  to  the  1920  Latvian  census).  According  to  1935 
figures  they  amounted  to  approximately  170,000  (around  9%  of  the  total 
population).  This  number  further  grew  after  World  War  II  when  Latvia  became 
part of the USSR and a second major wave of Russians moved to Latvia where they 
worked  as  members  of  the  Communist  party,  army  personnel  or  temporary  blue 
and  white  collar  workers.  In  1989  there  were  about  902,000  Russians  in  Latvia. 
They made up approximately 35% of the total population. After the collapse of the 
USSR  and  the  foundation  of  the  second  independent  Republic  of  Latvia  a 
considerable  number  of  Russians  moved  back  to  their  homeland.  The  Russian 
minority is still the biggest minority in Latvia (⇒ 1.2.3.). 

1.2.2   About 50% of the total number of Russians live in Latvia’s biggest cities: Russians 
make up around 43% of the population in Riga, around 55% in Daugavpils, around 
32%  in  Jelgava,  around  37%  in  Jūrmala,  around  35%  in  Liepāja,  around  50%  in 
Rēzenkne and approx. 32% in Ventspils. The other Russians live spread all over the 
country: some 30% live in small cities (10-50,000 inhabitants), some 15% in semi-
urbanised areas (population between 1,000 and 10,000 inhabitants) and some 5% 
in rural areas (villages under 1,000 inhabitants).  

1.2.3   According  to  2004  data  from  the  Board  for  Citizenship  and  Migration  Affairs 

around 665,000, that is, about 29% of the total population, are ethnic Russians.  

184

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1.3   Legal status and official policies 

In view of the Latvian language law Russian is one of the ‘foreign’ languages. Only 
when  translation  into  Latvian  is  ensured  Russian  can  be  used  in  state  and  local 
government  institutions,  courts  and  institutions  constituting  the  judicial  system, 
State or local government undertakings, and companies in which the greatest share 
of  capital  is  owned  by  the  State  or  a  local  authority.  In  addition,  employees  of 
private  institutions,  organisations,  enterprises  (companies),  and  self-employed 
persons  have  to  use  the  official  language  if  they  perform  specific  public  functions 
and in record-keeping and documents if their activities affect the lawful interests of 
the  public  (public  security,  health,  morality,  health  care,  protection  of  consumer 
rights and  employment  rights,  safety at the work place and  public administration 
supervision). Still, Art. 114 of the  Latvian Constitution  gives  Russians  the right  to 
preserve and develop their language and their ethnic and cultural identity. Nine of 
the 100 members of the Saeima (Parliament) are ethnic Russians. 

2.   Presence and use of the language in various fields 

2.1   Education 

During Soviet rule the languages of education were Latvian and Russian. Russian 
was  an  obligatory  subject  in  Latvian  schools,  but  Latvian  was  not  compulsory  in 
Russian  schools.  Following  Latvian  independence  minority  schools  were  renewed 
and links were made to the first period of Latvian independence in which minority 
languages in schools were allowed. Nowadays in Latvia about 300 (33.3%) general 
education schools use Russian as a medium of instruction. Russian is taught both 
in primary and secondary levels. In many ways the Russian schools are not typical 
national minority schools, for not only Russians but also Belorussians, Ukrainians, 
Poles,  Germans,  Jews  and  others  attend  these  schools.  The  number  of  pupils 
attending  Russian  schools  is,  however,  decreasing.  While  in  the  school  year 
1995/96  39%  of  pupils attended  Russian  schools,  their  number  decreased  to  33% 
in  1999/2000  and  to  24%  in  2002/2003.  A  reason  for  this  is  that  the  number  of 
pupils  in  other  (non-Russian)  minority  schools  in  increasing  and  that  parents 
(especially those in  mixed families) have  begun to send their children to Latvian-
medium  schools.  It  is  not  clear  what  influence  the  initiative  of  the  Latvian 
government to transform all Russian schools into bilingual schools (⇒ 3.3.2.) has 
had  on  the  decrease  of  pupils  attending  Russian  schools.  In  any  case  the  2004 
introduction  of  the  60/40  norm  in  secondary  education  as  well  as  the  2004 
amendments  to  the  Education  Law  (⇒  3.3.)  have  aroused  criticism.  In  2003  a 
campaign  was  launched  by  the  Union  of  Political  Organisations  “For  Human 
Rights in United Latvia” against the so-called education reform. It was  supported 
by the Association of Russian Language Teachers, and the Latvian Association for 
Support  of  Schools  with  Russian  Language  of  Instruction  (LAShOR)  also 
campaigned  against  bilingual  education  in  Russian  schools.  The  Latvian  Ministry 
of Education and Science organises regular training sessions for Russian language 
teachers. Study visits to Russia are also widespread. Russian language teachers are 
trained  at  the  University  of  Latvia’s  Faculty  of  Philology  (Department  of  Slavic 
languages) and at Daugavpils University’s Faculty of Humanities. 

185

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2.2   Judicial authorities 

General information on the use of languages in Latvian Courts is provided in 3.5. of 
the  Latvia  country  profile.  No  detailed  information  is  available  on  the  specific 
situation of Russian. 

2.3   Public authorities and services 

With  the  exception  of  some  emergency  situations  (that  lack  any  definition)  the 
official  language  has  to  be  used  in  communication  with  public  authorities. 
Documents in Russian (and other foreign languages) can only be accepted when a 
notary-certified translation into the state language is attached. The high proportion 
of Russian-speakers in Latvia and the fact that most Latvians know Russian both 
explain why Russian is used in oral communication with public authorities.  

2.4   Mass media and information technology 

2.4.1   In Latvia 5 national daily newspapers are 100% in Russian: Chas, Vestji Segodnja, 
Komersant  Baltik,  Telegraf,  and  Bizness  &  Baltija.  There  are  about  30  regional 
newspapers in Russian. The number of titles has increased over the last years and 
it  seems  that  there  is  a  strong  competition  going  on  between  Russian  papers 
printed  in  Latvia  and  papers  printed  in  Russia.  About  30  weekly  or  monthly 
journals in Russian are printed in Latvia. Among periodicals (all 100% in Russian) 
are  Ljublju,  Lilit,  and  Eva.  Here  too  the  number  of  periodicals  is  increasing  and 
there is a form of competition with titles printed in Russia. Hundreds of books are 
published in Latvia in Russian on all sorts of topics and books printed in Russia are 
widely available. Russian versions of Latvian websites are available on the internet 
(3 out of 4 biggest internet portals have Russian versions). Numerous homepages 
are available in Russian.  

2.4.2   The second National Latvian Radio channel transmits up to 20% of its programmes 
in Russian. More important is that 34 private-owned radio channels and 3 regional 
broadcasting  companies  broadcast  24  hours  a  day,  7  days  a  week  up  to  90%  in 
Russian.  

2.4.3   The  second  National  TV  channel  broadcasts  up  to  40%  in  Russian.  4  privately  -
owned  TV  channels  broadcast  20-50%  in  Russian  and  5  regional  broadcasting 
companies  10-80%  in  Russian.  Russians  living  in  Latvia  have  wide  access  to 
numerous  cable  TV  programmes  from  Russia  and  several  Latvian  channels 
broadcast  some  movies  and  transmissions  in  Russian  or  at  least  provide  Russian 
subtitles.  Many  cinemas  offer  subtitles  in  Russian  too  so  as  to  attract  a  wider 
audience. Initially the Latvian Parliament tried to put a halt to the extensive use of 
the Russian language on Latvian radio and television with the provision of quotas 
in the Law on Radio and Television. Due to a decision of the Constitutional Court 
(2002)  the  quotas  for  broadcasting  in  languages  other  than  Latvian  were 
eliminated.  

2.4.4   A  characteristic  of  the  Latvian  media  landscape  is  the  existence  of  a  double 
information  space  within  Latvia:  one  Latvian  and  one  Russian.  The  intermediate 
stratum of people who participate in both information spaces (people who read the 
press  in  both  languages  or  get  their  information  about  Latvian  politics  from  both 
Latvian and Russian sources) is said to be very small. And since diverging views on 
an  issue  (language  use  in  this  case)  do  not  exist  within  one  media  group,  one  is 

186

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
always confronted either with a ‘Latvian’ or a ‘Russian’ opinion. The existence of a 
double  information  space  is  regarded  as  a  major  obstacle  to  Russian-Latvian 
conflict prevention. 

2.5   Arts and culture 

  Russians are culturally well organised. There are about 10 Russian culture festivals 
per  year  (in  Rīga,  Daugavpils,  Ventspils)  with  a  lot  of  performances  and  visits  by 
artists  from  Russia.  There  are  about  200  Russian  cultural  heritage  associations 
having  close  contacts  with  Russian  schools.  Russian  cultural  activities,  like  those 
organised by Belarusians, Poles, Ukrainians etc., are supported through the ‘ethnic 
integration programme’ of the Latvian Society Integration Foundation.  

2.6   The business world 

Unlike other minority languages in Latvia, Russian plays a role on the job market, 
especially in privately-owned businesses, of which about 70% are said to function 
in  Russian.  Not  surprisingly,  Russian  language  skills  are  mentioned  in  job 
advertisements as prerequisites to obtain a job. Russian is also used in commercial 
advertisements, not only in the street but in the press, on radio, and on television 
as well.  

2.7  Family and the social use of language 

The  intergenerational  transmission  of  Russian  functions  extremely  well,  so  that 
mother tongue retention rates are high. A study conducted by the Baltic Institute of 
Social  Sciences  (2003)  shows  that  99%  of  the  sample  having  Russian  nationality 
have Russian as their native language. The same study showed that the number of 
people  whose  native  language  is  Russian  and  who  ‘mostly’  use  Latvian  has 
increased  slowly  and  gradually  (from  9%  in  1996  to  26%  at  the  end  of  2002).  In 
general  it  can  be  observed  that  the  use  of  Latvian  has  been  increasing  in  formal 
environments (at work), while in informal environments the usage of Russian has 
increased.  In  the  wake  of  Latvia’s  independence,  organisations  were  established 
that  actively  strive  for  the  preservation  of  the  Russian  language  and  cultural 
identity.  The  Russian  Community  of  Latvia  (ROL)  is  one  of  the  most  ambitious 
ones.  It  was  founded  in  1991  and  attempted  to  create  a  broad  Russian  front. 
Initially  ROL  managed  to  bring  together 
leaders  from  different  Russian 
organisations.  Internal  quarrels,  however,  tore  the  organisation  apart  and  local 
branches  declared  their  independence.  Now  ROL  is  only  one  of  several 
organisations. Next to it there are organisations such as the Latvian Association of 
Russian Societies (LARO) established in 1995, and the somewhat later established 
Centre  of  Russian  Culture  in  Latvia  and  the  Russian  Cultural  Autonomy 
Association.  None  of  these  organisations  represent  the  entire  Russian-speaking 
population of Latvia. 

2.8   The European dimension 

There are no special agreements regarding the situation of the Russians in Latvia.  

187

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
3.  Conclusion 

More  than  ten  years  after  Latvian  independence  Russians  still  are  the  biggest 
minority  within  Latvian  society.  Russians  constitute  approx.  29%  of  the  Latvian 
population.  With  more  than  95%  of the  Russians  having  Russian  as  their  mother 
tongue it is clear that the intergenerational transmission of the language functions 
very  well.  The  former  ‘language  of  interethnic  communication’  has  not  only 
consolidated its position in the private sphere. Russian still plays a prominent role 
in  the  Latvian  economy,  is  present  in  all  the  media  and  is  used  as  a  means  of 
communication  in  numerous  vital  cultural  organisations.  These  circumstances 
ascertain Russian-speakers a high degree of self-sufficiency in their own language 
and  prevent  them  from  perceiving  themselves  to  be  members  of  a  minority. 
Russians,  who  numerically  outnumber  Latvians  in  the  biggest  Latvian  cities,  feel 
more like members of a majority. The Russian community in Latvia is a constant 
worry  for  Latvian  language  planners,  not  only  because  most  of  them  have  not 
learned  the  national  language  of  Latvia,  but  also  because  members  of  other 
minorities  (Belarusians,  Ukrainians  and  Poles)  reinforce  the  already  strong 
Russian community since they have a better knowledge of Russian than they have 
of their own language and/or Latvian. In recent times the Latvian government has 
taken  measures  to  reduce  the  hours  devoted  to  Russian  in  Russian  minority 
schools.  It  remains  to  be  seen  whether  these  measures  will  influence  the  strong 
position of Russian within Latvian society.  

188

 
 
 
 
        Ukrainian in Latvia  

1.   General information 

1.1   The language 

Ukrainian [ukrajins’ka mova] is an East Slavonic language that is closely related to 
Russian  and  Belorussian  with  which  it  forms  the  East  Slavonic  group  within  the 
Slavonic  branch  of  Indo-European.  On  the  basis  of  the  south-western  dialects  of 
medieval East Slavonic  Ukrainian developed  as  a separate language in the course 
of the 14th century. As a written language Ukrainian was only developed by the end 
of the 18th century. The number of Ukrainian speakers today amounts to approx. 
45 million worldwide. Most of them live in Ukraine (around 37.4 million, or 70.5% 
of the country’s population).  

1.2   History, geography and demography 

1.2.1   Ukrainians  mainly  entered  Latvia  after  World  War  II  and  especially  after  1959  as 
part of the labour force used to carry out  large construction projects or as part of 
the Soviet army. The number of Ukrainians rose from 0.1% (around 1,800 persons) 
of the total population in 1935 to 3.5%  (around 92,100) of the total population in 
1989.  Following  Latvian  independence  part  of  the  Latvian  Ukrainian  population 
moved back to Ukraine where they mainly settled in towns.  

1.2.2   The Ukrainians in Latvia mainly live in urban areas. About 80% of Ukrainians live 
in Liepāja, Daugavpils and Rīga, where the standard of living is higher than in the 
rest of the country.  

1.2.3   According  to  2004  data  from  the  Board  for  Citizenship  and  Migration  Affairs 
approximately  59,400  Ukrainian  persons  (some  2.6%  of  the  total  population) 
currently live in Latvia.  

1.3   Legal status and official policies 

According to the Latvian language law Ukrainian is one of the ‘foreign languages’. 
Only when translation into Latvian is ensured Ukrainian can be used in state and 
local  government  institutions,  courts  and  institutions  constituting  the  judicial 
system,  State  or  local  government  undertakings,  and  companies  in  which  the 
greatest share of capital is owned by the State or a local government. Employees of 
private  institutions,  organizations,  companies,  and  self-employed  persons  also 
have  to  use  the  official  language  if  they  perform  specific  public  functions  and  in 
record-keeping  and  documents  if  their  activities  affect  the  lawful  interests  of  the 
public (public security, health, morality, health care, protection of consumer rights 
and  employment  rights,  safety  at  the  work  place  and  public  administration 
supervision). Still, Art. 114 of the Latvian Constitution grants Ukrainians the right 
to preserve and develop their language and their ethnic and cultural identity.  

189

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2.  Presence and use of the language in various fields 

2.1   Education 

Judging on figures from the Latvian Institute about 256 pupils (some 0.07% of all 
Latvian  pupils)  attended  a  Ukrainian  minority  school  in  the  school  year 
1999/2000.  The  figure  slightly  increased  to  302  in  the  school  year  2000/2001 
(some 0.09% of all Latvian pupils). A significant number of Ukrainian pupils still 
attend Russian schools in Latvia, but their number is expected to diminish mainly 
due  to  the  efforts  of  the  Riga  Ukrainian  High  School  that  is  considered  to  be  the 
main  cultural  force  of  Ukrainian  culture  and  language  reproduction.  This  school 
developed  out  of  the  Ukrainian  Primary  School  established  in  1991  in  Riga.  The 
Riga  Ukrainian  High  School  nowadays  has  about  300  students,  is  fully  state-
sponsored, seems to enjoy high social prestige and actively participates in cultural 
events  such  as  the  Riga  Song  festival.  Its  director  is  a  member  of  the  State 
Language Commission established by the President of Latvia. Apart from the Riga 
Ukrainian High School there are a number of Ukrainian Sunday schools, the first of 
which  was  established  in  the  autumn  of  1989.  It  is  not  clear  exactly  how  many 
pupils attend Ukrainian Sunday Schools. 

2.2   Judicial authorities 

General information on the use of languages in Latvian Courts is provided in 3.5. of 
the  country  profile  on  Latvia.  No  detailed  information  is  available  on  the  specific 
situation of Ukrainian. 

2.3   Public authorities and services 

With  the  exception  of  some  emergency  situations  (that  lack  any  definition)  the 
official  language  has  to  be  used  in  communication  with  public  authorities. 
Documents in Ukrainian (and other foreign languages) can only be accepted when 
a  notary-certified  translation  into  the  state  language  is  attached.  It  is  not  clear  to 
what extent Ukrainian is used in oral communication with public authorities.  

2.4   Mass media and information technology 

There is no daily Ukrainian newspaper, only a periodical of the Ukrainian Cultural 
Heritage  Society.  Few  Ukrainians  in  Latvia  have  their  own  Ukrainian  websites. 
Cultural  reproduction  through  other  media  also  is  very  low.  Ukrainian  radio  in 
Latvia is limited to a 30-minute weekly programme on the (state-financed) public 
radio. There is no use of Ukrainian on Latvian television.  

2.5   Arts and culture 

in 

the  more 

traditional  sphere  (through  cultural 
Cultural  reproduction 
organisations,  choirs  etc.)  is  one  of  the  aims  of  the  Ukrainian  National  Cultural 
Society Dnipro, that organises various parties and concerts of Ukrainian songs, and 
of  the  Ukrainian  society  Ukraine  –  Latvia  which  organises  conferences,  and 
Ukrainian choirs.  

190

 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2.6   The business world 

  Ukrainian does not play a significant role in Latvian business life and is as good as 

absent in advertisements. 

2.7   Family and social use of the language 

According  to  provisional  statistical  figures  from  2000,  in  Latvia  about  17.000 
Ukrainians (27% of the total number) declare Ukrainian to be their mother tongue. 
These people use  Ukrainian on a  daily  basis. 4% of Ukrainians declare Latvian to 
be  their  mother  tongue,  and  68%  declare  Russian  to  be  their  mother  tongue 
(whereas 96% has knowledge of Russian). On the one hand this high percentage is 
due  to  the  “Russification”  campaign  during  the  Soviet  period  which  contributed 
significantly to the reduction of mother tongue retention rates and loss of identity 
among Ukrainians. But on the other hand it needs to be stressed that the number 
of  Ukrainians  declaring  Russian  as  their  mother  tongue  (L1)  in  1989  was  ‘only’ 
49.3%  and  has  thus  increased  by  more  than  15%  since  Latvian  independence. 
Although  more  qualitative  research  would  need  to  be  done  in  this  field,  this 
increase  in  Russian  as  a  mother  tongue  could  be  linked  to  Ukrainians  identifying 
themselves  more  overtly  as  Russians  within  the  new  Latvian  state-political 
constellation. Since Ukrainians seem to adhere more to Russian than to their own 
language  (which  shows  a  high  degree  of  mutual  intelligibility  with  Russian  and 
Belorussian) it comes as no surprise that intergenerational language transmission 
of Ukrainian is limited to a motivated cultural minority. 

2.8   The European dimension 

There  is  an  agreement  between  Latvia  and  Ukraine  on  cooperation  in  culture, 
education and science (21 November  1995). 

3.   Conclusion 

Together with Poles and Belarusians the Ukrainians belong to the smaller Latvian 
minorities.  They  constitute  approx.  2.6%  of  the  population.  The  Ukrainians  in 
Latvia display a heterogeneous linguistic behaviour. A major part of the Ukrainians 
(approximately  68%)  have  Russian  as  their  first  language  (mother  tongue),  a 
smaller  part  (27%)  claims  the  ‘ethnic  language’  to  be  their  first  language  and  yet 
another  part  (4%)  claims  Latvian  to  be  their  first  language.  Most  of  the  persons 
who  don’t  have  Russian  as  their  first  language  possess  Russian  language  skills. 
Despite efforts of the Latvian government in stimulating  activities that are meant 
to  encourage  Ukrainian/Latvian  bilingualism  the  number  of  persons  having 
knowledge  of  Latvian  among  the  Ukrainians  is  only  growing  slowly.  With  the 
ethnic integration programme the Latvian government hopes to create favourable 
circumstances that will help people in maintaining their own ‘ethnic language’, and 
that will encourage them to learn Latvian instead of the process of “Russification” 
they  have  experienced  hitherto.  At  present  only  a  minority  within  the  minority 
takes  up  the  task  to  foster  the  minority  language.  It  is  questionable  whether  the 
limited use of Ukrainian on Latvian public radio (half an hour per week), its use in 
some  cultural  organisations  and  the  very  limited  success  of  Ukrainian  minority 
schools  will  help  to  revive  the  Ukrainian  language.  More  coordinated  efforts  will 
have to be developed in the future in several societal niches to secure the situation 

191

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
of Ukrainian in the future. A major obstacle to the revitalisation of Ukrainian is the 
existence  of  interest  groups  who  are  in  favour  of  further  “Russification”  or  the 
maintenance  of  Ukrainian  culture  without  necessarily  having  to  maintain  the 
Ukrainian  language.  They  tend  to  counter  those  who  are  interested  in  the 
revitalization  of  Ukrainian.  This  poses  identity  problems  within  the  Ukrainian 
minority that urgently need to be studied from a qualitative point of view focusing 
on language attitudes and language awareness. 

192

 
 
 
Other languages  

1. 

German 

1.1  

1.2  

German  [Deutsch]  is  an  Indo-European  language  that  belongs  to  the  group  of 
Germanic  languages.  Belonging  to  the  West-Germanic  subgroup  of  Germanic 
languages  it  is  closely  related  to  Dutch,  English,  Frisian  and  Yiddish.  German  is 
spoken  by  approximately  101  million  people  worldwide  as  a  first  or  second 
language.  It  is  spoken  by  roughly  81.5  million  people  in  Germany,  approximately 
7.6 million in Austria, around 4.2 million in Switzerland.  

The  Germans  in  Latvia  have  some  historical  significance.  German  crusaders 
entered  Latvia  in  the  13th  century,  conquered  and  christianised  the  pagan  Baltic 
and  Finno-Ugric  tribes  and  reduced  them  to  serfdom.  In  1282  Riga  joined  the 
Hanseatic  League.  The  years  under  German  rule  were  characterised  by  the 
development of ports, cities and agriculture. As a consequence of German rule the 
German language started to play an essential role in society and quickly became an 
important  instrument  in  the  process  of  upward  social  mobility.  When  Latvia 
became  part  of  the  Romanov  Empire  (Treaty  of  Nystad  1721)  few  changes  took 
place  in  the  internal  structure  of  Latvia.  The  administrative  and  military  skills  of 
the German landowning nobility (still dominating the serfs) were highly esteemed, 
and German kept its high status and continued to function as the major channel of 
upward social mobility. With the emancipation of the serfs at the beginning of the 
19th  century  and  the  changing  political  relations  between  the  now  firmly 
established  czarist  authorities  and  the  German  nobility,  the  attitude  towards  the 
German  language  started  to  change.  Around  1880  the  centralisation  of  the 
Romanov Empire led to powerful “Russification” backed up by the resources of the 
czarist  authorities.  German  was  replaced  by  Russian  in  municipal  institutions, 
justice and the police. Russian was made compulsory in elementary education and 
became  the  language  of  instruction  for  all  subjects  except  religion.  With  the 
outbreak of World War I many Germans were forced to leave Latvia. In the years 
following  World  War  I  Germans  managed  to  play  a  minor  political  role  in  the 
Latvian  Republic  but  their  numbers  continuously  declined.  In  1925  there  were 
about  71,000  Germans  in  Latvia,  while  in  1935  there  were  only  62,000.  Then 
shortly  before  and  during  World  War  II  more  than  51,000  Germans  left 
Latvia.When around 10,000 more Germans left when Latvia was incorporated into 
the USSR only about 1,500 Baltic Germans remained on Latvian territory 

1.3  

According  to  the  2004  Civil  Data  Register  the  number  of  Germans  in  Latvia  is 
about  3,300  (approx.  0.2%  of  the  total  population),  but  this  number  has  to  be 
treated with caution, for only some 400 to 500 of them are Baltic Germans, most of 
whom  have  mixed  Latvian-German  marriages,  were  willing  to  express  their 
allegiance to the German cultural sphere and are active in several German-Latvian 
cultural  organisations.  The  others  consist  of  Russian  Germans  (Volga  Germans) 
who  formed  the  organisation  Wiedergeburt  in  Lettland  and  turned  Latvia  into 
their home.  

2. 

Latgalian 

2.1 

Latgalian  [latgalu  volūda]  belongs  to  the  Baltic  branch  of  the  Indo-European 
languages. The Latgalian used in Latvia originally was closely related to Lithuanian 
with which it shared phonetic, morphological, lexical and syntactic features. Due to 

193

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
        
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
lexical and syntactic borrowings it has recently become more similar to Latvian and 
Russian. 

2.2.   The  history  of  Latgalian  goes  back  to  the  12th  century.  It  has  a  literary  tradition 
since the 18th century. In 1919 it was declared the official language of Latgale; in the 
first parliamentary era in Latvia (1920-1934) it lost its status as an official language 
and was considered a dialect of Latvian by the government. It was, however, taught 
in schools until 1934 when the dictatorship of Karlis Ulmans started (1934-1940). 
During  and  after  World  War  II  Latgalians  started  to  assimilate  to  Latvian  more 
strongly  than  before.  Whereas  in  the  early  20th  century  there  used  to  be  half  a 
million  speakers  of  Latgalian,  today  approx.  150,000  people  speak  Latgalian  as  a 
mother tongue. Most of  them  live in Latgale, the eastern part of Latvia. About 10 
books are published in Latgalian every year. On Thursdays from 2:15 p.m. to 2:45 
p.m.  a  programme  (Doma  Laukums)  is  broadcast  on  Latvian  Radio  4.  After  a 
period of nearly ten years Latvian television stopped broadcasting programmes in 
Latgalian  in  2000.  The  website  of  the  Latgalians'  online  magazine,  Graidi,  on 
Latgalian culture, www.graidi.lv, is not currently active. Latgalian is not taught at 
schools.  In  2001  an  Association  of  Latgalian  language  and  literature  teachers  has 
been  established  that  aims  at  obtaining  support  from  the  Latvian  government  to 
teach  Latgalian  in  Latgale.  A  problem,  however,  seems  to  be  the  lack  of  funding 
possibilities.  

2.3.  

In  present-day  Latvia  a  debate  is  going  on  between  linguists,  politicians  and 
cultural activists on the current status of Latgalian. The Law on the State Language 
that  came  into  effect  on  1  September  2000  ensures  the  maintenance,  protection 
and  development  of  the  Latgalian  written  language  as  a  historic  variant  of  the 
Latvian  language  (Art.  3,4).  Some  cultural  activists  and  linguists  agree  with  this 
law, others argue that Latgalian should not be considered a variety of Latvian but a 
separate language. 

3.  

Lithuanian 

3.1  

Lithuanian  [lietuvių kalba] is an Indo-European language.  Together with Latvian 
it  belongs  to  the  eastern  branch  of  the  Baltic  languages.  In  the  course  of  the  7th 
century Lithuanian evolved away from East Baltic and became a separate language, 
showing  more  conservative  traits  than  the  neighbouring  Latvian  language. 
Lithuanian  has  continued  to  preserve  its  ancient  phonetic  system  and  most  of  its 
morphological features. The  development of written  Lithuanian dates  back to  the 
16th century. About 3.5 million people speak Lithuanian. Most of these people live 
in Lithuania (approximately 3 million or 81% of the country’s population).  

3.2  

Lithuanians mainly migrated to Latvia in the first half of the 19th century, towards 
the  beginning  of  the  20th  century,  during  the  early  days  of  the  first  Republic  of 
Latvia  and  after  World  War  II.  Nowadays  the  number  of  Lithuanians  in  Latvia 
amounts  to  approx.  31,800  people  (or  approximately  1.4%  of  the  total  Latvian 
population). More than half of them reside in cities and towns.  

3.3   One of the major Lithuanian organisations is the Latvian Lithuanian Community 
(LLC,  founded  in  1991)  that  unites  six  existing  Lithuanian  cultural  societies.  The 
LLC  represents  the  Lithuanians  through  societies  in  Kurzeme,  Vidzeme,  Zemgale 
and  Latgale.  The  LLC  is  responsible  for  the  establishment  of  6  Sunday  schools. 
Besides  Sunday  schools  Lithuanian  classes  have  been  established  in  Liepāja 
Secondary school and in the Riga Lithuanian Basic school. Judging by figures from 
the  Latvian  Institute  there  were  111    pupils  in  Lithuanian  minority  schools 

194

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
(approximately  0.03%  of  the  total  number  of  pupils)  in  1999/2000  and  132 
(around  0.04%)  in  2000/2001.  The  LLC  restarted  publishing  the  newspaper 
Lietuviu  balsas  (The  Voice  of  Lithuania),  initially  published  between  the  two 
World Wars. The LLC also organises a radio broadcast on Latvian radio.  

4.  

Livonian 

4.1  

4.2  

Livonian  [Līvo  kēl]  is  a  Finno-Ugric  language  that  together  with  Estonian  and 
Wotic  constitutes  the  south-western  branch  of  the  Finno-Ugric  languages.  There 
used to be two regional variants: the Livonian spoken in Livonia and the Livonian 
spoken in Courland, but only the latter remains.  

The  Finno-Ugric  Livonians  (who  refer  to  themselves  as  raandalists,  "coast 
dwellers",  or  kalamied,  "fishermen")  populated  the  shores  of  the  Gulf  of  Riga 
around  3000  BC.  Settled  close  to  the  river  Väina  the  Livonians  managed  to 
establish close trading contacts with Gotland (Ojamaa), Kievan Rus and Finland by 
the  Early  Middle  Ages.  After  the  arrival  of  German  merchants  in  Livonia,  Bishop 
Albert  von  Buxhöveden  founded  the  city  of  Riga  on  Livonian  territory  in  1201.  A 
year  later  he  founded  the  Livonian  Brothers  of  the  Sword,  a  military  order 
composed  of  German  warrior  monks.  This  order  defeated  the  Livonians  in  1206. 
The  Livonians  were  now  forced  to  join  the  German  monks  in  following  military 
campaigns. Under the rule of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword Livonia became a 
confederation  of 
lands  that  finally  became  part  of  the  Polish-Lithuanian 
Commonwealth after the “Livonian War” (1558-1583).  

4.3.   The  “latvianisation”  of  the  Livonians  started  in  the  early  13th  century  when  the 
Indo-European  Balts  (Couronians,  Semgallians,  Latgalians  and  Selonians)  settled 
in  the  Livonian  areas.  With  the  exception  of  those  people  living  in  remote  areas 
Livonians gradually started to assimilate to Latvian over the centuries. It is hard to 
give  estimates  on  the  number  of  Livonians  in  the  Middle  Ages.  The  first  reliable 
data  go  back  to  1835  when  the  number  of  Livonians  was  estimated  at  2,074. 
Following World War I, during which a significant number of Livonians left Latvia, 
the  number  of  Livonians  dropped  to  1,238  persons  (1925  Latvian  census).  In  the 
1920s attempts were made to revive the Livonian language. The Republic of Latvia 
allowed  the  creation  of  a  Livonian  Society,  the  organisation  of  a  Livonian  song 
festival  and  other  cultural  initiatives.  World  War  II  and  the  ethnic  suppression 
under  the  Soviet  Regime,  however,  erased  the 
interwar  efforts.  Of  the 
approximately  200  people  that  nowadays  consider  themselves  to  be  ethnic 
Livonians,  111  (around  55%)  live  in  Latvia,  mostly  in  villages  in  the  area  of  the 
Couronian  Spit.  Some  of  them  live  in  cities  like  Riga  and  Ventspils.  About  90 
Livonians live scattered in cities of the Russian Federation. Of the total number of 
Livonians  mentioned  only  about  100  people  have  knowledge  of  the  Livonian 
language.  Livonian is recognised as an autochthonous Latvian language in Art. 4 of 
the  Law  on  the  State  Language  that  came  into  effect  on  1  September  2000.  Less 
than 20 people speak Livonian fluently.  

5. 

Yiddish  

5.1  

Yiddish arose in the middle ages as a trading language of Jews, with urban varieties 
of Middle High German as the dominant component and influences from Semitic 
and Slavonic languages. It is written in the Hebrew alphabet.  

195

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
5.2 

5.3  

The first written reference to Jews on Latvian territory dates back to the early 14th 
century.  It  took,  however,  until  the  18th  century  before  Jews  were  allowed  to 
participate fully in public life. In the course of the 18th century many Jews started 
to  arrive  in  Couronia  from  Germany.  The  role  of  the  Jewish  community  was 
enhanced in the second half of the 19th century when manufacturing and a market 
economy  began  to  develop  in  Latvia.  At  that  time  the  Jews  acted  as  chief 
intermediaries  between  the  city  and  the  farmers  by  supplying  the  farmers  with 
necessary  goods.  Jews  from  Lithuania,  Belarus,  Poland  and  Ukraine  moved  to 
Latvia,  so  that  at  the  end  of  the  19th  century  about  142,000  Jews  were  living  in 
Latvia.  Their  number  grew  to  170,000  before  World  War  I.  World  War  I  led  to  a 
decline of Jewish life in Latvia. Some 127,000 Jews left Latvia during the war and 
only  one  third  of  them  was  to  return  after  the  war.  Nevertheless  the  Jewish 
community managed to restore their political, social, cultural and economic life for 
a  short  time  in  the  mid  1930s  in  the  first  Republic  of  Latvia.  But  World  War  II 
erased their inter war efforts. Only because many Jews from the USSR found their 
way to the less anti-semitic Baltic countries after World War II did the number of 
Jews  in  Latvia  increase  to  36,000  in  1970.  During  the  Communist  era  in  Latvia 
Jews were forbidden to restore their schools or to conduct cultural events in their 
home language. A change occurred when Latvia regained its independence.  

After  Latvia’s  independence  some  Jews  migrated  to  Israel,  others  to  Western 
countries. According to the 2004 Civil Data Register about 9,800 Jews (or 0.4% of 
the  Latvian  population)  live  in  Latvia.  Some  6,000  Jews  are  said  to  be  active  in 
organisations  or  associations.  These  include  among  others  the  Riga  Jewish 
Community,  Latvia’s  War  Veterans’  Association,  the  Charitable  Association  Vizo-
Rahamin, the Jewish medical society Bikur Holim, the sports society Makkabi, and 
Latvia’s  Jewish  Youth  Association.  The  Jewish  Community  publishes  its  own 
monthly newspaper called Gesharim (Bridges). Two of the 100 MPs in the Saeima 
are  ethnic  Jews.  There  are  two  Jewish  day  schools  in  Riga:  the  Dubnov  school  (a 
secular  day  school)  and  Chabad’s  Jewish  Private  School.  Judging  on  figures  from 
the  Latvian  Institute  there  were  303  pupils  in  Jewish  minority  schools  (0.08%  of 
the total number of pupils) in 1999/2000 and 326 (0.09%) in 2000/2001. It is not 
clear  to  what  extent  Yiddish  or  Hebrew  are  used  in  education.  Nor  is  it  clear  to 
what extent the Latvian Jews use Yiddish or Hebrew in their daily lives. The use of 
Yiddish  or  Hebrew  is  likely  to  be  very  limited  since  the  year  2000  census  results 
show  that  79%  of  the  Latvian  Jews  have  Russian  as  their  mother  tongue.  This  is 
possibly  due to the fact  that a considerable part of today’s  Latvian Jews originate 
from  the  former  Soviet  Union.  Only  8%  of  the  Latvian  Jews  declare  that  their 
mother tongue is the language corresponding to their ethnicity. 9% of the Latvian 
Jews declare Latvian to be their mother tongue.  

6. 

Romani  

Like  Sanskrit,  Hindi  and  Bengali  Romani  [Romanes],  or  Romani,  is  an  Indic  (or 
Indo-Aryan)  language  that  belongs  to  the  Indo-Iranian  branch  of  the  Indo-
European family. The language retains much of the Indic morphology, phonology 
and  lexicon,  while  its  syntax  has  been  heavily  influenced  by  contact  with  other 
languages.  The  dispersal  and  differentiation  of  the  Roma  since  their  arrival  in 
Europe  (8th  century)  brought  about  a  fragmentation  of  the  language  in  distinct 
groups.  Nowadays  we  can  distinguish  five  main  groups  (each  with  different  sub 
varieties) that result from the contact of Romani with regional languages: northern 
Romani  (best  represented  by  the  chaladytka  roma,  the  Russian  Roma),  central 
Romani (best represented by the group of the Hungarian and Slovakian Roma, the 
ungrike  roma),  vlach  Roma  (best  represented  by  the  Kalderaš-Romani),  balkan 

196

 
 
 
 
 
 
Romani  (best  represented  by  the  dialects  in  Macedonia).  According  to  the  2000 
census there were 8,205 Roma in Latvia. In Latvia’s Joint Inclusion Memorandum 
of 2003 officials estimate the number of Roma in Latvia to be between 13,000 and 
15,000, whereas Latvian Roma leaders estimate the number of Roma in Latvia to 
be  between  15,000  and  20,000.  The  Latvian  Roma  mainly  live  in  cities  like 
Ventspils, Talsi, Sabile and others in which they constitute approximately 5% of the 
population. Latvia faces difficulties in integrating the Roma into Latvian society. It 
is not clear to what extent the Roma have succeeded in maintaining their language.  

197

 
 
 
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Estonia and Latvia. ECMI, Flensburg. 

Poleshchuk,  Vadim  (2003):  Towards  Linguistic  Diversity  Management  in  the  Baltic 

States. ECMI, Flensburg. 

Priedīte, Aija (2002): „Latvian language acquisition – a fight with myths, stereotypes and 
[http://cultura. 
In:  NOVES  SL.  Revista  de  Sociolingüística. 

prejudices“. 
gencat.net/llengcat/noves] 

Open  Society  Institute  (2001):  Monitoring  the  EU  Accession  Process:  Minority 

Protection. Budapest. 

Shafir, Gershon (1995): Immigrants and Nationalists. Ethnic Conflict and Accommodation 
in Catalonie, the Basque Country, Latvia, and Estonia. State University of New York 
Press, Alabany (NY). 

Steen,  Anton  (1997):  Between  Past  and  Future:  Elites,  Democracy  and  the  State  in  Post-
Communist  Countries.  A  Comparison  of  Estonia,  Latvia  and  Lithuania.  Ashgate, 
Aldershot. 

Vēbers,  Elmārs  (1994):  The  ethnic  situation  in  Latvia  (facts  and  commentary).  Etnic 

Studies Centre, Riga. 

198

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
Zepa, Brigita (2003): „Citizenship, Official Language, Bilingual Education in Latvia: Public 
Policy  in  the  Last  10  Years“.  In:  Giordano,  Christian/Zvinkliene,  Alina/Henseler, 
Daniel  (Eds.):  ‘Baltic  States’.  Looking  at  Small  Societies  on  Europe’s  Margin. 
University Press, Fribourg/Freiburg. 

B. Other sources: 

http://www.aic.lv [Latvian Academic Information Centre] 
http://www.am.gov.lv [Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs] 
http://www.bszi.lv [Baltic Institute of Social Sciences] 
http://www.eki.ee  [Institute  of  the  Estonian  Language  with  link  to  the  Red  Book  of  the 

Peoples of the Russian Empire] 
http://europa.eu.int [Portal site of the EU] 
http://www.eurydice.org [Information network on education in Europe] 
http://www.geocities.com/latgalian/ [Website on Latgalian] 
http://www.hood.edu/academic/latgale  [Home  Page  of  the  Latgale  Research  Centre  at 

Hood college in Frederick, Maryland, USA] 

http://www.izm.gov.lv [Latvian Ministry of Education and Sciences] 
www.lashor.lv  [Latvian  association  for  the  Support  of  Schools  with  Russian  Language  of 

Instruction] 

http://www.latinst.lv [Latvian Institute] 
http://www.lietuva.lv  [Lithuanian  portal  site  with  information  on  Lithuanians  living 

abroad] 

www.lsif.lv [Social Integration Foundation] 
http://www.minelres.lv [minority electronic resources - directory of resources on minority 
human rights and related problems of the  transition period in Eastern and Central 
Europe] 

http://newsfromrussia.com [Pravda Online] 
http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk [BBC News site] 
http://www.np.gov.lv [Latvian naturalisation board] 
http://www.rumbula.org [website with information on the Jewish community in Latvia] 
http://www.russiajournal.com [The Russia Journal Daily Online] 
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com [Seattle Times Online] 
http://www.ttc.lv  [Translation  and  Terminology  Centre,  subjected  to  the  State 

Chancellery]. 

199

 
 
 
 
 
            Lithuania  

1. 

Introduction 

1.1  

Lithuania  [Lietuva]  (LT)  is  the  most  southerly  of  the  three  Baltic  States.  Its 
territory  covers  little  more  than  65,000  km²  of  which  a  considerable  part  is 
woodland  (30%).  Most  of  Lithuania’s  population  (67%  of  its  3.4  million 
inhabitants) resides in urban areas; 33% of the population live in the country. The 
five major cities are Vilnius (the capital), Kaunas, Klaipėda, Šiauliai and Panevėžys. 

1.2  

Lithuania is a parliamentary republic headed by a president who is directly elected 
for  a  period  of  five  years.  The  unicameral  Lithuanian  parliament  (the  Seimas) 
consists of 141 members. They are elected for four years. Lithuania is divided into 
10 higher administrative units that are part of the State government (the counties 
Alytus,  Kaunas,  Klaipėda,  Marijampolė,  Panevėžys,  Šiauliai,  Tauragė,  Telšiai, 
Utena and Vilnius) and 60 lower-level administrative units (or municipalities). One 
of  the  major  tasks  of  the  counties  is  to  promote  regional  development.  In  recent 
years  Lithuania  has  had  a  yearly  average  economic  growth  of  6%.  The  average 
standard of living in Lithuania is roughly 30% of the EU average and the average 
gross  monthly  salary  is  1,222  Litas  (354  EUR).  One  of  the  major  problems  in 
Lithuania is unemployment: although it is gradually decreasing in cities, it remains 
rather  high  in  the  country  (approximately  12.4%  in  2003  (data  provided  by  the 
Ministry of Social Security and Labour).  

200

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
2.   General aspects 

2.1 

Lithuania’s history dates back to the 3rd and 2nd millennium BC when Baltic tribes 
settled on present-day Lithuanian territory. Although the name Lithuania already 
appeared  in  written  sources  in  1009  AD,  the  emergence  of  the  Lithuanian  state 
dates  back  to  1240.  At  that  time  Grand  Duke  Mindaugas  successfully  lead  a 
rebellion  against  the  German  crusaders  who  were  starting  to  settle  in  the  Baltic 
regions and whose main goal it was to christianise the pagans. Because the Catholic 
Church denied political existence to pagan tribes Mindaugas accepted baptism and 
thus achieved peace. He received the title of King of the Holy Roman Empire on 6 
June 1253. According to some historians the crowning of Mindaugas in 1253 can be 
seen  as  the  starting  date  of  the  Grand  Duchy  of  Lithuania  that  was  to  last  until 
1795. After the death of Mindaugas, Lithuania extended its territory from the Baltic 
Sea  to  the  Black  Sea  under  Grand  Dukes  Algirdas  and  Kęstutis  (1345-1377). 
Because  of  a  worsening  of  general  geopolitical  circumstances  Lithuania  made  an 
alliance  with  Poland  in  1385  (Treaty  of  Krėva)  and  adopted  Christianity  a  second 
time in 1387 to put a halt to ongoing attacks from the German crusaders. The bond 
with  Poland  was  tightened  in  the  late  15th  century  and  in  1569  Poland  and 
Lithuania united in a confederate state in Lublin. In the parliament of the Republic 
of  Two  Nations,  the  Seimas,  Lithuania  held  one  third  of  the  seats.  Lithuania 
experienced a flourishing of intellectual life. With the arrival of Jesuits a network of 
schools was created and Vilnius University was founded in 1579. Towards the 17th 
century  the  Republic  of  the  Two  Nations  started  feeling  the  consequences  of  the 
expansionist politics of the Swedes, the Russians, the Prussians and the Austrians. 
In 1772 Russia, Prussia and Austria partitioned Lithuania for a first time. In 1793 
Lithuanian territory was reduced for the second time by Russia and Prussia. And in 
1795 the Polish-Lithuanian state ceased to exist when Prussia, Russia and Austria 
divided it a third time. The greater part of Lithuania went to the Russian Empire. 
Lithuania only recovered its independence at the end of World War I. This did not 
last  for  long,  though,  since  the  Polish  army  annexed  Vilnius  and  the  territory 
surrounding it in 1920. In 1939 the Soviet Union helped to return Vilnius and part 
of  its  surrounding  territory  to  Lithuania  while  the  Germans  annexed  Klaipėda 
(Memel).  In  the  same  year  the  Molotov-Ribbentrop  Pact  marked  the  end  of  the 
independent  Lithuanian  state.  Annexation  by  the  Soviet  Union  in  1939  was 
followed by German occupation from 1941 to 1944 and Soviet rule from 1944 until 
1990. On 11 March 1990 Lithuania declared its independence.  

2.2  

Since  its  independence  Lithuania  has  started  a  period  of  social  and  economic 
transition.  On  17  September  1991  Lithuania  joined  the  UN.  Russian  troops  were 
finally  withdrawn  from  Lithuanian  territory  on  31  August  1993.  In  March  2004 
Lithuania joined NATO. On 1 May 2004 it became a full member of the EU.  

3 

Demographic data 

3.1  

According to the population census of 2001 some 115 nationalities, also referred to 
as ethnicities in Lithuanian governmental discourse, are living in Lithuania. Apart 
from  83.5%  Lithuanians  who  have  a  clear  majority  there  are  6.7%  Poles,  6.3% 
Russians,  1.2%  Belarussians,  0.7%  Ukrainians,  0.1%  Jews  and  some  other 
minorities  such  as  Tatars,  Karaims,  Germans  and  Roma.  The  following  table 
compares the figures for nationality/ethnicity from the 1989 census  with those of 
the 2001 census. 

201

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Table 1: Nationalities/Ethnicities in Lithuania (the 1989 and the 2001 
census) 

1989 

2001 

Total 

3,674,802 

100% 

3,483,972 

100% 

Lithuanians 

2,925,142 

79.6% 

2,907,293 

83.45% 

Poles 

Russians 

Belarussians 

Ukrainians 

Jews 

257,994 

344,455 

63,169 

44,789 

12,314 

Other/unknown 

26,939 

7.0% 

9.4% 

1.7% 

1.2% 

0.3% 

0.8 

234,989 

6.74% 

219,789 

42,866 

22,488 

4,007 

39,059 

6.31% 

1.23% 

0.65% 

0.12% 

1.12% 

3.2  

The  figures  show  that  compared  to  1989  the  percentage  of  Lithuanians  has 
increased  in  2001  whereas  the  percentage  of  Poles,  Russians,  Belarussians, 
Ukrainians  and  Jews  has  decreased.  Mainly  Russians,  Belarussians  and 
Ukrainians, who had settled in Lithuania as temporary workers after World War II, 
moved back to their homelands after Lithuanian independence. Between 1990 and 
2000  more  than  270,000  people  emigrated  mainly  because  of  industrial  decline 
and lack of  employment. Now the situation  appears relatively stable. Still,  mainly 
due  to  considerable  emigration  in  the  1990s,  the  parliament  recently  revised  the 
law on citizenship. 

In  its  1989  Law  on  Citizenship  [Pilietybės  įstatymas]  Lithuania  opted  for  a  so-
called  ‘zero  version’.  This  means  that  any  non-Lithuanian,  irrespective  of  the 
duration  of  his  or  her  stay  in  Lithuania,  was  granted  Lithuanian  citizenship. 
Subsequently,  a  majority  of  the  population  (including  90%  of  all  the  residents  of 
different  nationality)  became  Lithuanian  citizens.  In  1991  the  Law  on  Citizenship 
was tightened. From 1991 onwards applicants for naturalisation must have resided 
ten years in the country. Furthermore they must have permanent employment (or 
another  legal  source  of  support)  and  they  must  pass  an  exam  testing  their 
knowledge  of  the  Lithuanian  language  and  the  Lithuanian  Constitution.  This 
mainly  caused  problems  for  the  Roma  (⇒  Other  languages  in  Lithuania). 
According to the 2001 census 99% of the people living in Lithuania are Lithuanian 
citizens,  0.4%  are  citizens  of  the  Russian  Federation,  0.2%  are  citizens  of  other 
countries,  0.3%  have  no  citizenship  and  0.1%  did  not  indicate  their  citizenship. 
Until  2002  Lithuanian  citizens  automatically  lost  their  citizenship  once  they 
became  citizens  of  another  country.  But  in  the  1990s  there  was  considerable 
emigration and it was thought that such a provision would practically prevent them 
from  returning  to  Lithuania.  The  Law  on  Citizenship  was  therefore  changed  in 
2002.  Lithuanian  citizens  are  now  allowed  to  retain  Lithuanian  citizenship  even 
after acquiring the citizenship of another country.  

3.3  

Scientific  research  in  the  1990s  has  shown  that  about  80%  of  the  Lithuanian 
population  consider  Lithuanian  [lietùvių  kalbà]  to  be  their  native  language 
(mother tongue). Judging by the number of native speakers Russian [rùsų kalbà] is 
the second language in Lithuania. Approx. 96% of the Russians, about half of the 
Ukrainians, Belarusians and Germans, nearly one third of the Jews and Poles, and 
smaller percentages of other minorities declare Russian to be their mother tongue.  

202

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
4. 

Language Policy 

4.1  

4.2  

Art.  14  of  the  Constitution  of  the  Republic  of  Lithuania  [Lietuvos  Respublikos 
Konstitucija] (1988, ratified in 1992) declares Lithuanian to be the state language. 
Apart  from  this,  the  status  of  Lithuanian  is  secured  by  the  Law  on  the  State 
Language [Valstybinės kalbos įstatymas] (1995). As can be derived from Art. 37 of 
the  Constitution  and  Art.  1  of  the  1989  Law  on  National  (Ethnic)  Minorities 
[Tautinių mažumų įstatymas] the national minorities in Lithuania have the right 
to foster their language and are guaranteed that their language shall be respected. 
Furthermore Art. 45 of the Constitution emphasizes that national communities of 
citizens  shall  be  independent  in  managing  affairs  related  to  their  culture, 
education, charity and mutual assistance and that the state shall provide support to 
national  communities.  Lithuanian  legislation,  however,  does  not  contain  any 
definition of the concept of a national community, national minority or a group of 
persons recognized to be a national minority.  

The  Law  on  the  State  Language  (1995)  specifies  the  status  of  the  Lithuanian 
language in public life (in state institutions, in court, in official events, in education 
and  culture,  on  signs  and  information).  It  leaves  room  for  other  non-specified 
languages  in  translations  and  guarantees  ethnic  minorities  the  right  to  use  their 
own  language  in  education,  cultural  events,  and  on  radio  and  television  (Art  13). 
The rights for minorities are drawn up in the Law on National (Ethnic) Minorities 
(1989,  amended  in  1991).  According  to  Art  4  of  the  Law  on  National  (Ethnic) 
Minorities the language of that national minority (local language) shall be used in 
local  bodies  and  organisations  alongside  the  official  language  in  administrative-
territorial  units  with  a  concentrated  national  minority.  Art.  5  states  that 
information signs in administrative-territorial units referred to in Art. 4 of the Law 
can  also  use  the  language  of  the  national  minority  (local  language)  in  addition  to 
the Lithuanian language. The status of the Lithuanian language is monitored by the 
State Lithuanian Language Commission [Valstybinė lietuvių kalbos komisija] and 
the  State  Language  Inspectorate  [Valstybinė  kalbos 
inspekcija].  National 
minorities  receive  support  from  a  number  of  institutions.  In  1989,  the  year  in 
which the Law on National (Ethnic) Minorities was adopted, the government also 
established  the  Department  of  Nationalities  and  Lithuanians  Living  Abroad.  This 
department formulates and puts into practice the government’s policy on national 
minorities. It also conducts surveys on national minorities and informs the public 
about  them.  The  Department  maintains  a  House  of  National  Communities  in 
Vilnius  in  which  minority  groups  can  organise  cultural,  social  and  educational 
activities. It also offers free legal consultations once a week. Similar centres can be 
found in Kaunas, Alytus, Visaginas and Kirtimai (the latter is the public centre of 
the  Roma  community).  In  2003  the  Lithuanian  government  established  the 
regulations  of  the  Department  of  National  Minorities  and  Lithuanians  Living 
Abroad. On the basis of these regulations the Board of the Department of National 
Minorities  and  Lithuanians  Living  Abroad  was  formed,  of  which  the  head  of  the 
Council  of  National  Communities  is  a  member.  The  Council  of  National 
Communities  was  founded  in  1995  under  the  authority  of  the  Department  of 
National  Minorities  and  Lithuanians  Living  Abroad.  This  Council  coordinates  the 
activities of national minority communities, maintains and tries to improve inter-
ethnic  relations  in  Lithuania  and  oversees  participation  in  the  implementation  of 
state-minority  policy.  It  is  currently  composed  of  representatives  of  20  national 
communities  (including  the  Roma).  The  seats  in  the  Council  are  allocated 
according to the size of the minority:  minority communities of 100,000 members 
or more are given three seats (this is the case for Poles and Russians), communities 
of  10,000  –  100,000  are  given  2  seats  (this  is  the  case  for  Belarussians  and 
Ukrainians) and communities with less than 10,000 members are given 1 seat (this 

203

 
 
 
 
4.3  

is,  among  others,  the  case  for  Armenians,  Azerbaijanis,  Estonians,  Georgians, 
Germans,  Greeks,  Hungarians,  Jews,  Karaims,  Latvians,  Roma,  Romanians  and 
Tatars).  In  2003,  under  the  authority  of  the  President,  the  Council  of  National 
Communities  was  established.  Its  members  are  the  head  of  the  Council  for 
National Communities and the head of the Department of National Minorities and 
Lithuanians  Living  Abroad.  The  analysis  of  acts  of  law,  the  regulation  of  the 
national  legal  system  and  the  drafting  of  policy  proposals  concerning  the 
preservation of national identity are the main tasks of this council. 

the 

The main educational issues in Lithuania are regulated by the Constitution of the 
Republic  of  Lithuania.  In  1992  the  Lithuanian  government  approved  the  General 
Concept of Education [Lietuvos švietimo koncepcija] in Lithuania. On 2 July 1998 
several essential amendments were added to the 1991 Law on Education [Švietimo 
įstatymas]: 
introduction  of  basic  10-year  education,  admission  of 
schoolchildren  from  the  age  of  14  to  vocational  schools,  etc.  A  draft  law  of  the 
amendment  was  discussed  in  2001.  On  17  June  2003  a  draft  of  the  Law  on  the 
Amendment  of  the  Law  on  Education  [Švietimo  įstatymo  pakeitimo  įstatymas] 
was  published.  Further  legal  documents  dealing  with  educational  matters  in 
Lithuania are the Law on Science and Studies [Mokslo ir studijų įstatymas] (1991) 
on institutions of science and higher education, the Law on Vocational  Education 
and Training [Profesinio mokymo įstatymas] (1997), the Law on special education 
[Specialiojo  ugdymo  įstatymas]  (1998),  the  Law  on  Informal  Adult  Education 
[Neformaliojo  suaugusiųjų  švietimo  įstatymas]  (1998),  and  the  Law  on  Higher 
Education [Aukštojo mokslo įstatymas] (2000). 

4.4   National  minorities  are  granted  the  right  to  hold  lessons  in  their  mother  tongue. 
Art  2  of  the  Law  on  National  (Ethnic)  Minorities  gives  people  the  right  to  have 
schooling  in  their  own  language.  Art.  30.2  of  the  Law  on  the  Amendment  of  the 
Law on Education states that general education and non-formal education schools 
must provide teaching in the language of the ethnic minority and foster the ethnic 
minority’s culture. Furthermore, it states that in these schools the teaching process 
must be conducted or certain subjects must be taught in the language of the ethnic 
minority  and  that  the  subject  of  the  Lithuanian  state  language  must  be  a 
constituent  part  of  the  curriculum.  The  main  provisions  describing  the  place  of 
schools  for  national  minorities  in  the  educational  system  of  Lithuania  are  laid 
down  in  the  Provisions  for  Integrating  Schools  for  National  Minorities  into  the 
Educational  System  of  the  Republic  of  Lithuania  [Tautinių  mažumų  mokyklų 
integravimosi į Lietuvos Respublikos švietimo sistemą nuostatos], i.e. Decision No 
76 of 22 December 1992 of the Collegium of the Ministry of Culture and Education.  

4.5  

In the year 2000 the total number of schools in Lithuania was 2,031. In 74 schools 
the  language  of  instruction  was  Polish,  in  68  it  was  Russian,  in  26  Russian  and 
Polish,  in  23  Lithuanian  and  Russian,  in  11  Lithuanian  and  Polish,  in  10 
Lithuanian, Russian and Polish, in 1 Belarusian, in 1 Russian and Belarusian and in 
1  in  Lithuanian  and  English.  The  following  table,  based  on  data  taken  from  the 
Lithuanian  Foreign  Policy  Review  (Motuzas  2001),  shows  the  number  of  pupils 
attending  schools  with  Lithuanian,  Polish  and  Russian  as  language  of  instruction 
from 1990/91 until 2000/01.  

204

 
 
 
 
 
 
Table 2: Number of Pupils According to Language of Instruction 

school year 

Number  of  pupils  according  to  language  of 
instruction 

1990/91 
1991/92 
1992/93 
1993/94 
1994/95 
1995/96 
1996/97 
1997/98 
1998/99 
1999/00 
2000/01 

Lithuanian 
409,295 
414,119 
415,971 
422,216 
434,469 
46,336 
459,799 
475,253 
490,589 
508,373 
522,569 

Polish 
11,407 
12,611 
13,881 
15,312 
16,631 
17,898 
19,212 
20,263 
21,038 
21,826 
22,303 

Russian 
76,038 
72,762 
67,506 
58,743 
57,655 
55,237 
52,315 
49,347 
46,325 
44,058 
41,162 

Total 
number  of 
pupils 

501,740 
499,692 
497,359 
496,384 
508,887 
519,659 
531,480 
545,042 
558,160 
574,486 
586,294 

According  to  information  provided  by  the  Eurydice  network,  there  were  138 
secondary schools with one language of instruction, which was not Lithuanian, and 
63 schools with several languages of instruction in 2002-2003. According to data 
from  the  Ministry  of  Education  and  Science,  the  number  of  schools  where  the 
language  of  instruction  is  not  Lithuanian  increased  to  202  in  2003-2004.  These 
schools include 58 schools with Russian as the language of instruction, 83 schools 
with Polish as the language of instruction and one school with Belorussian as the 
language  of  instruction.  The  mixed  schools  included  17  Lithuanian-Russian,  14 
Lithuanian-Polish, 18 Russian-Polish, 8 Lithuanian-Russian-Polish, 2 Jewish and 1 
German  school.  Apart  from  the  schools  of  national  minorities  that  are  financed 
according to the same principles and criteria as Lithuanian schools there are also 
private  schools  for  national  minorities.  Certain  national  minorities  have 
established  Sunday  Schools.  Since  2001  Lithuania  has  38  Sunday  Schools:  11  of 
them  are  Polish,  4  Ukrainian,  3  Armenian,  3  Tartar,  3  German,  3  Jewish,  2 
Belorussian,  2  Latvian,  2  Russian,  1  Greek,  1  Karait,  1  Estonian,  1  Roma  and  1 
Romanian.  In  these  schools  children  improve  the  knowledge  of  the  minority 
language  and  learn  about  the  history,  religion  and  culture  of  the  minority  they 
belong  to.  The  Lithuanian  Government  has  introduced  a  system  of  student 
vouchers that cover some of the money needed to buy textbooks, teaching aids and 
other educational needs. Government funds are increased by 10% per pupil of an 
ethnic minority school.  

4.6 

Art.  2  of  the  1989  Law  on  National  (Ethnic)  Minorities  guarantees  national 
minorities  the right  to freely  express their  thoughts and  to  receive information in 
their  mother  tongue.  This  is  related  to  the  possibility  of  Lithuania’s  national 
minorities  to  have  mass  media  in  their  mother  tongue.  As  far  as  radio  and 
television broadcasting is concerned the principles to be followed are laid down in 
the  Law  on  the  National  Radio  and  Television  [Lietuvos  nacionalinio  radijo  ir 
televizijos  įstatymas]  (1996,  amended  in  2000).  Art.  4  of  this  law  stipulates  that 
the  national  broadcaster  must  ensure  a  variety  of  topics  and  genres  in  its 
programmes and must direct them towards the various strata of society and people 
of  different  ages,  various  nationalities  and  convictions.  Efforts  are  made  by  the 
Lithuanian  authorities  to  increase  the  number  of  programmes  for  national 
minorities  on  radio  and  television  in  order  to  present  more  material  and 
information on ethnic, linguistic, religious and other groups living in Lithuania. 

4.7  

Art. 8 of the Lithuanian Law on the State Language states that legal proceedings in 
the Republic of Lithuania shall be conducted in the state language. Participants in 

205

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
the legal proceedings, who do not know the state language, shall be provided with 
the services of an interpreter free of charge.  

4.8   According  to  Art.  4  of  the  Law  on  National  (Ethnic)  Minorities  the  language  of 
national minorities (local language) shall be used in local bodies and organisations 
alongside 
in  administrative-territorial  units  with  a 
concentrated national minority.  

the  official 

language 

5. 

The European dimension 

5.1  

Lithuania  signed  the  Framework  Convention  for  the  Protection  of  National 
Minorities (FCPNM) on 1 February 1995. The convention was ratified on 23 March 
2000  and  entered  into  force  on  1  July  2000.  Lithuania  has  not  yet  signed  the 
European Charter on Regional or Minority Languages (ECRML).  

5.2  

Lithuania  has  signed  bilateral  treaties  with  the  countries  its  national  minorities 
belong to. A list of agreements and cooperation is provided for by the Ministry of 
Foreign Affairs.  

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 Polish in Lithuania  

1.   General aspects 

1.1   The language 

As  a  Slavic  language  Polish  [język  polski]  is  closely  related  to  Kashubian,  Czech, 
and  Slovak  with  which  it  forms  the  Lechitic  branch  of  West  Slavonic.  The  16th 
century  is  generally  considered  to  be  the  ‘golden  age’  of  the  Polish  literary 
language.  At  that  time  the  first  Polish  grammar  of  Stojenski-Statorius  (Polonicae 
grammatices institutio, 1568) was written and dictionaries were composed.  Most 
of  them  (approximately  37  million)  live  in  Poland.  In  Lithuania  the  contact 
between the Lithuanian and the Polish language also resulted in the creation of the 
so-called  po-prostemu  (local  language)  that  is  perceived  by  the  ‘locals’  neither  as 
Polish,  nor  as  Lithuanian.  As  micro-aerial  studies  in  the  Vilnius  district  have 
shown,  it  remains  difficult  to  get  a  clear  picture  of  those  people  who  consider 
themselves  ‘locals’  using  the  ‘local  language’  as  opposed  to  those  people  who 
consider themselves Poles using a Polish variety. Therefore no truly objective data 
about the linguistic classification of the population of this region are available and 
census figures should be treated with great care.  

1.2   History, geography and demography 

In 

(1569  –1795). 

the  period  of 

1.2.1   The history of the Poles in Lithuania mainly dates back to the 14th century in which 
Lithuania  made  an  Alliance  with  Poland  that  developed  into  a  Polish-Lithuanian 
Commonwealth 
the  Polish-Lithuanian 
Commonwealth  Polish  culture  was  mainly  dominant  in  the  Vilnius  district.  After 
having  belonged  to  the  Russian  Empire  from  1795  onwards  the  Vilnius  district 
became part of Poland after World War I. It was returned to Lithuania in 1939 as a 
result  of  the  Molotov-Ribbentrop-Pact.  In  1697  when  the  Sejm/Seimas  enacted  a 
bill  of  rights  that  resulted  in  changing  the  language  of  the  Grand  Duchy  of 
Lithuania  into  Polish,  the  prestige  of  the  Polish  language  (the  language  of  the 
‘small  nobility’,  the  so-called  szlachta)  increased  as  opposed  to  Lithuanian  as  the 
language  of  the  peasantry.  The  higher  prestige  of  Polish  as  well  as  the  usage  of 
Polish  by  the  Catholic  Church  led  to  the  “Polonisation”  of  part  of  the  Lithuanian 
population mainly in the Vilnius region. As several linguists put it, the distinction 
between  Poles  and  Lithuanians  was  almost  strictly  based  on  economic  status  and 
religion.  Polish  identification  was  a  reflection  of  status  and  was  independent  of 
ethnic identity.  

1.2.2   The Poles live all over Lithuania but the largest groups (90% of the Poles) can be 
found in the city of Vilnius (18.7% of the inhabitants are Poles), and further on in 
the Vilnius district and the districts of Švenčionys, Trakai, Šalčininkai and Varėna. 
Some Poles also live near the Polish-Lithuanian border. 

1.2.3  According  to  the  2001  census  the  Polish  nationality  is  the  largest  minority  in 
Lithuania. 234,989 people or 6.74% of the total population consider themselves to 
be Poles. 

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1.3   Legal status and official policies 

1.3.1   The  Lithuanian  Law  on  the  State  Language  secures  the  status  of  Lithuanian  in 
public life in Lithuania. In dealing with the Lithuanian state other languages can be 
used either in translations or, according to the Law on National (Ethnic) Minorities 
(Art.  4),  shall  be  used  in  local  bodies  and  organisations  alongside  the  official 
language in administrative-territorial units with a concentrated national minority. 
Art.  37  of  the  Constitution  and  Art.  1  of  the  Law  on  National  (Ethnic)  Minorities 
give  national  minorities  the  right  to  foster  their  language  and  guarantee  national 
minorities  that  their  language  shall  be  respected.  The  Law  on  the  State  Language 
guarantees  ethnic  minorities  the  right  to  use  their  own  language  in  education, 
cultural events and on the radio and television. Some Polish organisations see it as 
their  task  to  make  sure  that  the  legal  provisions  are,  to  a  certain  extent,  put  into 
practice.  

1.3.2   In 1988 the Social and Cultural Association of the Poles in Lithuania was founded 
with the specific aim to revive and protect the ‘polishness’ of Lithuanian Poles. In 
1989  the  organisation  turned  into  a  national  movement  with  a  few  thousand 
members  and  changed  its  name  to  the  Union  of  Poles  in  Lithuania  [Związek 
Polaków  na  Litwie  –  ZPL].  Nowadays,  the  ZPL  (the  biggest  Polish  social 
organisation with a membership of around 10,000) is politically supported by the 
Lithuanian  Poles’  Election  Campaign  [Akcja  Wyborcza  Polaków  na  Litwie  - 
AWPL], founded in 1996 in accordance with the law concerning the election system 
of  the  Republic  of  Lithuania.  The  AWPL  currently  has  two  members  in  the 
Parliament  (Parliamentary  Group  of  Liberal  Democrats).  The  main  alternative  to 
the ZPL is the Congress of Lithuanian Poles [Kongres Polaków Litwy – KPL] that 
was founded in 1995 by Polish activists who were dismissed from the ZPL. The KPL 
wants to form influential groups and increase the participation of local Poles in the 
country’s  economy  and  education.  One  person  from  the  KPL  is  a  member  of 
Parliament  on  the  list  of  the  Social-democratic  Coalition.  Poles  are  not  only 
represented  in  the  Parliament  but  also  have  influence  at  a  local  level.  The  AWPL 
administers  the  Vilnius  and  Šalčininkai  districts.  And  Poles  also  have  influential 
factions in the Švenčionys and Trakai local councils.  

2.   Presence and use of the language in various fields 

2.1   Education 

The  Law  on  the  Amendment  of  the  Law  on  Education  (2003)  ascertains  national 
minorities the right for education in their language. The Polish minority makes use 
of  these  rights.  In  the  school  year  2003-2004  there  were  83  Polish  schools,  14 
Lithuanian-Polish  schools,  18  Russian-Polish  schools  and  8  Lithuanian-Russian-
Polish  schools.  13,813  pupils  attended  schools  with  Polish  as  the  language  of 
instruction.  7,201  pupils  attended  mixed  schools  where  Polish  is  one  of  the 
languages  of  instruction.  Since  2001  there  are  11  Polish  Sunday  Schools  where 
children  improve  their  knowledge  of  the  Polish  language  and  learn  about  the 
history,  religion  and  the  national  culture  of  the  Poles.  In  higher  education  some 
200  students receive (part of) their education in Polish. Some of them  attend the 
Vilnius  and  Seiveniškės  higher  schools  of  agriculture.  Two  universities  in  Vilnius 
(Vilnius  University  and  Vilnius  Pedagogical  University)  offer  a  programme  in 
Polish language teaching. There is co-operation between the Lithuanian and Polish 
government  on  teacher  exchange.  Since  the  beginning  of  the  1990s,  up  to  80 
students go to Poland for higher education every year. The Polska Macierz Szkolna 

208

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
(Association  of  Polish  Teachers  in  Lithuania,  established  in  1990)  controls  Polish 
education. This association is one of the  biggest Polish organisations in Lithuania 
and  organises  qualification  courses  and  methodological  sessions  for  pedagogues 
working  in  schools  with  Polish  as  the  language  of  instruction.  They  also  organise 
for  Polish  children,  excursions  to  Poland  and  youth 
summer  vacations 
competitions.  For  a  few  years  now  the  Polish  Academic  Association  has  been 
making  a  great  effort  to  develop  a  Polish  University  in  Vilnius.  The  efforts  of  the 
association so far have not led to an official recognition of the Polish University in 
Vilnius.  In  general  the  material  conditions  for  Polish  education  in  Lithuania  are 
improving steadily.  

2.2   Judicial authorities 

Art. 8 of the Lithuanian Law on the State Language states that legal proceedings 
in the Republic of Lithuania shall be conducted in the state language. Participants 
in  the  legal  proceedings,  who  do  not  know  the  state  language,  shall  be  provided 
with the services of an interpreter free of charge.  

2.3   Public authorities and services 

According  to  Art.  4  of  the  Law  on  National  (Ethnic)  Minorities  the  language  of 
national minorities (local language) shall be used in local bodies and organisations 
alongside 
in  administrative-territorial  units  with  a 
concentrated  national  minority.  According  to  statistics  people  make  use  of  these 
regulations.  In  1997  a  survey  on  “Eastern  Lithuania  and  the  Official  Language” 
revealed that approx. 48.3% of the Poles mostly use Polish in public places.  

the  official 

language 

2.4   Mass media and information technologies 

2.4.1   Polish  is  represented  in  the  written  media.  There  is  one  Polish  daily  (Kurier 
Wileński), there are two Polish weeklies (Nasza gazeta, the ZPL’s newspaper; and 
Przyjaźń),  there  is  one  Polish  monthly  (Magazyn  Wilenski),  one  publication  is 
published  twice  a  month  (Spotkania),  there  is  one  Polish  quarterly  (Znad  Wilii) 
and  one  irregular  publication  (W  kręgu  kultury).  The  circulation  of  the  Polish 
press  in  Lithuania  barely  exceeds  5,000  copies.  The  publishing  house  Magazyn 
Wileński  publishes  books  in  Polish  and  the  Polish  Scholars’  Society  publishes 
research findings. Polish books include works on important historical persons such 
as the politician Pilsudski and the poets Galczinsky and Mickewicz. The Lithuanian 
Ministry of Education and Science finances Polish textbooks for schools. 

2.4.2   The  second  station  of  the  Lithuanian  Radio  broadcasts  a  regular  1.5-hour 
programme entitled Vaivorykštė (the Rainbow). This programme is devoted to the 
cultural,  linguistic,  educational  and  other  everyday  problems  of  Lithuania’s 
national  communities.  The  programme  includes  a  30-minute  broadcast  in  Polish. 
Apart  from  public  radio,  Lithuania  has  private  radio  stations  that  broadcast 
programmes in the languages of Lithuania’s minorities. Znad Wilii, a radio station 
established in 1992, transmits Polish programmes around the clock (it sometimes 
broadcasts in Russian and Lithuanian as well). Some Polish radio programmes can 
be heard through the internet.  

2.4.3   There is a Polish show on National Television called Rozmowy Wileńskie. In areas 
with  a  dense  specific  national  minority  population  some  local  private  TV  stations 

209

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
offer  programmes  in  the  language  of  those  minorities.  Regional  television  in 
Vilnius has a programme for Poles (Co Slychać). In addition other private stations 
offer  news  programmes  in  Polish  and  people  have  the  opportunity  to  watch  relay 
television programmes from Poland.  

2.4.4   A  website  that  gives  practical  information  on  Polish  organisations  in  Lithuania  is 
www.polonia.org/litwa.htm.  In  general  Polish  organisations  and  associations  in 
Lithuania are rather poorly represented on the internet.  

2.5   Arts and culture 

2.5.1   There currently are 54 Polish public organisations in Lithuania. The largest of them 
is  the  Union  of  Lithuanian  Poles  (ZPL  ⇒  1.3.2  above)  that  includes  11  local 
branches.  Others  include  the  Society  of  Teachers  of  Polish  Schools  in  Lithuania 
(Macierz  szkolna),  the  S.  Moniuszka  Cultural  Centre  of  Lithuanian  Poles,  the 
Scientists’ Society of Lithuanian Poles caring for culture and education, the Society 
of  Polish  Medical  Workers,  the  Society  of  Polish  Women  in  Lithuania  and  the 
Catholic Society of Lithuanian Poles.  

2.5.2   Besides  the  public  organisations  there  are  some  60  Polish  art  groups  mainly 
involved  in  music,  dance  and  theatre.  They  participate  in  festivals  such  as  the 
amateur  art  festival  Kwiaty  Polski  (Polish  flowers)  in  the  Vilnius  region,  the 
Lithuanian Poles’ Day of Poetry (Maj nad Wilia), the Polish Music Festival, the S. 
Moniuszka Music Festival, and the Sunday School Festival. 

2.5.3  The largest youth organisation is the Association of the Polish Harcers in Lithuania 
(ZHPL).  This  organisation  that  unites  600  Polish  scouts  did  not  escape  being 
divided, like the rest of the Polish organisations. Another youth organisation is the 
tourist club of the Vilnius Wanderers (50 members). Both youth organisations co-
operate  with  the  KPL  (⇒1.3.2  above).  In  recent  years  several  new  Polish  youth 
organisations  were  founded,  such  as  the  Polish  Students’  Association,  the  Youth 
Forum,  the  Alternative  Youth  Club  and  the  Senior  Wanderers  Club.  Often  Polish 
organisations in Lithuania have close ties to similar organisations in Poland. 

2.5.4  The House of Poles in Vilnius functions as a centre for various activities organised 
by  Polish  organisations.  Similar  houses  exist  in  Druskininkai  and  Eišiškes. 
Lithuanian museums, archives and libraries have collections of Polish cultural and 
historical  heritage.  There  are  projects  running  to  restore  Polish  monuments  in 
diverse Lithuanian cities.  

2.6   The business world 

In  1993  the  Vilnius  Entrepreneurs  Club  was  established  uniting  15  entrepreneurs 
of Polish origin. The aim of this club is to support and promote business initiatives 
among  Lithuanian  Poles,  to  develop  and  strengthen  economic  co-operation 
between Lithuania and Poland and to establish economic networks facilitating the 
exchange  of  everyday  work  experience  between  Lithuanian  and  Polish 
entrepreneurs. In 1995 the First Union of Lithuanian Poles was established. 20% of 
its  418  members  have  their  own  business  in  Lithuania.  The  First  Union  of 
Lithuanian  Poles  has  a  deposit  of  2  million  Litas.  Some  of  the  businessmen  and 
businesswomen  belonging  to  the  Union  take  credit  to  expand  their  business  in 
Lithuania and abroad. 

210

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2.7   Family and social use of the language 

According  to  the  1989  census,  60%  of  Poles  declared  Russian  to  be  their  native 
language.  This  percentage  might  have  been  somewhat  exaggerated  then,  as 
nowadays  the  number  of  Poles  who  have  Russian  as  their  first  language  is 
estimated at one third. Clear data as to the intergenerational transmission of Polish 
are, however, lacking. 

2.8.  The European dimension 

In 1998 the  Government of the Republic of Lithuania  and  the Government of the 
Republic  of  Poland  signed  an  agreement  on  cooperation  in  the  fields  of  culture, 
education  and  science.  Further  bilateral  treaties  can  be  consulted  through  the 
website of the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 

3.   Conclusion 

The  Poles  are  the  largest  national  minority  in  Lithuania  alongside  the  Russians. 
About  234,989  people  (approximately  6.74%  of  the  population)  declared  to  be 
members  of  the  Polish  community  in  the  2001  census.  The  Poles  are  active  in 
various organisations that, together with the clear presence of Polish in the media 
and in schools, contributed largely to the revival of ‘polishness’ among Lithuanian 
Poles after Lithuanian independence. The number of Poles that still use Polish as a 
first language is currently estimated at 30% of the Polish population.  

211

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
      Russian in Lithuania  

1.   General information 

1.1  

 The language 

Russian  [russkij  jazyk]  is  a  Slavonic  language  closely  related  to  Belorussian  and 
Ukrainian with which it forms the East Slavonic group within the Slavonic branch 
of  Indo-European.  Owing  a  great  deal  to  efforts  of  the  polymath  Lomonosov  and 
his  Russian  Grammar  (1755)  modern  standard  Russian  was  established  by  the 
time  of  Pushkin  (1799-1837).  Today’s  Russian  speech  community  is  multiethnic 
and dispersed over many states. It is estimated that about 233 million people speak 
Russian (approximately 164 million as a first language and 69 million as a second 
language).  About  119  million  people  in  the  Russian  Federation  use  Russian  as  a 
first language and 27.1 million use it as second language.  

1.2  

 History, geography and demography 

The  immigration  of  Russians  into  Lithuania  mainly  started  at  the  end  of  the  17th 
century. Other important migration waves were those under Tsarist rule, after the 
Russian  Revolution  and  during  Soviet  rule.  After  the  restoration  of  Lithuanian 
independence a number of Russians moved back to their homeland. Most Russians 
live  in  Vilnius,  Klaipėda  and  Visaginas.  The  Russians  (219,789  according  to  the 
2001 census) constitute approximately 6.3% of the Lithuanian population.  

1.3   Legal status and official policies 

1.3.1   The  Lithuanian  Law  on  the  State  Language  secures  the  status  of  Lithuanian  in 
public life in Lithuania. In dealing with the Lithuanian state other languages can be 
used either in translations or – according to the Law on National Minorities (Art. 
4) – shall be used in local bodies and organisations alongside the official language 
in administrative-territorial units with a concentrated national minority. Art. 37 of 
the  Constitution  and  Art.  1  of  the  Law  on  National  Minorities  grants  national 
minorities the right to foster their language and guarantee national minorities that 
their  language  shall  be  respected.  The  Law  on  the  State  Language  guarantees 
ethnic minorities the right to use their own language in education, cultural events 
and radio and television. Some  Russian organisations see it as their task to make 
sure that the legal provisions are – to a certain extent – put into practice.  

1.3.2   Especially the political  organisation Union of the Russians in Lithuania  [Lietuvos 
rusų sąjunga] and the party Alliance of the citizens of Lithuania [Lietuvos piliečių 
aljansas]  proclaim  themselves  as  representatives  of  Russian  interests.  Three 
persons  from  Union  of  the  Russians  in  Lithuania  are  members  of  Parliament  on 
the  list  of  the  Social-democratic  Coalition.  Some  representatives  of  these  two 
organisations are elected in the self-governmental bodies of Vilnius and Klaipėda.  

212

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2.   Presence and use of the language in various fields 

2.1   Education 

Before  and  shortly  after  the  restoration  of  Lithuania’s  independence  the  situation 
of the Russian minority with respect to education was much better than that of the 
other minorities living in Lithuania. Under Soviet rule in Lithuania (1945 – 1990) 
Russians had pre-primary, primary and secondary schools where the sole language 
of instruction was Russian. In addition there were a number of vocational schools, 
schools of further education and establishments of higher education where Russian 
youngsters  received  education 
in  their  mother  tongue.  Since  Lithuania’s 
independence the number of Russian schools and the number of pupils attending 
Russian schools has decreased, partly because of the re-migration of Russians back 
to  their  home-country,  partly  because  of  the  overall  decreasing  demographical 
situation, and partly because children not only from mixed but also from Russian 
families more often enter schools with Lithuanian as the language of instruction. 
The  possibility  to  use  Russian  in  education  is  guaranteed  by  the  Law  on  the 
Amendment of the Law on Education (2003). The Russian minority makes use of 
these rights. In the school year 2003-2004 there were 58 schools with Russian as 
the language of instruction and a number of mixed-schools where Russian is one of 
the  languages  of  instruction  (17  Lithuanian-Russian  schools,  18  Russian-Polish 
schools, and 8 Lithuanian-Russian-Polish schools). In the school year 2003-2004 
30,465  pupils  attended  Russian  schools  (with  Russian  as  the  language  of 
instruction or as one of the languages of instruction in mixed schools). Apart from 
Russian  public  schools  there  is  one  Russian  private  school  in  Vilnius.  The  two 
Russian Sunday schools are situated in Vilnius and Alytus. 

2.2   Judicial authorities 

Art. 8 of the Lithuanian Law on the State Language states that legal proceedings in 
the Republic of Lithuania shall be conducted in the state language. Participants in 
the legal proceedings, who do not know the state language, shall be provided with 
the services of an interpreter free of charge.  

2.3   Public authorities and services 

According  to  Art.  4  of  the  Law  on  National  Minorities  the  language  of  national 
minorities  (local  language)  shall  be  used  in  local  bodies  and  organisations 
alongside 
in  administrative-territorial  units  with  a 
concentrated  national  minority.  According  to  statistics  people  make  use  of  these 
regulations.  In  1997  a  survey  on  “Eastern  Lithuania  and  the  Official  Language” 
revealed that approximately 55.6% of Russians use Russian. 

the  official 

language 

2.4   Mass media and information technologies 

2.4.1   There  is  one  daily  Russian  regional  newspaper  Klaipeda;  there  are  five  Russian 
weeklies  (Litovskij  Kurjer,  Obzor,  Druzhba,  Sugardas,  V  kazhdyj),  three  Russian 
monthlies  (Nasha  kuchnia  v  Litve,  Zhivonosnyj  istochnik,  and  Vilnius),  two 
irregular  publications  in  Russian  (Golos  staroverov,  Lad).  Furthermore  there  is 
one  monthly  (Peremena)  published  in  Lithuanian  and  Russian  and  a  quarterly 
published in Russian, Lithuanian and English (Jūra - More – Sea). In addition the 

213

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
following  Lithuanian  papers  provide  translations  into  Russian:  Respublika  (a 
daily),  Lietuvos  Rytas,  Ekspres  nedelia,  Golos  Litvy,  Šalčia  (all  of  them  are 
weeklies),  Švenčionių  kraštas  and  Žeimenos  krantai  (both  are  published  twice  a 
week). There are Russian translations of advertising publications and there are also 
publishing  houses  in  Lithuania  which  publish  books  (novels  and  poetry)  in 
Russian.  The  Lithuanian  Ministry  of  Education  and  Science  finances  Russian 
textbooks for schools. Since independence, more than 185 Russian textbooks were 
published  in  Lithuania.  Only  some  of  the  textbooks  for  Russian  schools  are 
purchased in Russia.  

2.4.2   Every  day,  the  first  station  of  the  Lithuanian  Radio  broadcasts  a  30-minute  news 
programme transmitted in Russian. Apart from public radio, Lithuania has private 
radio  stations  that  broadcast  programmes  in  the  languages  of  Lithuania’s 
minorities.  Russkoye  radio  transmits Russian  programmes around the clock. The 
private radio station Znad Wilii transmits a daily one-hour programme in Russian. 
And the life of Russians in Lithuania is also reflected in programmes of the radio 
station  Vaivorykštė  (Rainbow).  Furthermore  the  Radio  of  the  Russian  Culture 
Centre (Radio T, an independent radio station) relays programmes of the Radio of 
Russia – Nostalgia in co-operation with the television. The Hansa radio company 
also broadcasts its own programmes in Russian. 

2.4.3   On  National  Television  there  is  a  daily  10-minute  long  news  programme  in 
Russian, Vechernij Vestnik, and once a week there is a Russian programme entitled 
Russkaya ulitsa. In areas with a dense specific national minority population some 
local  private  TV  stations  offer  programmes  in  the  language  of  those  minorities. 
Regional television in Vilnius has a programme for Russians (entitled Nedelia). In 
addition, other private stations such as Channel 11, Vilsat and Sugardas offer news 
programmes in Russian or Polish and people have the opportunity to watch relay 
television programmes from Russia.  

2.4.4  Funded by the Department of National Minorities and Lithuanians Living Abroad 
as  well  as  by  the  Fund  of  Press,  Radio  and  Television  the  public  organisation 
Russian Resources has initiated a project to develop the online Baltic Archive. The 
project  aims  at  employing  modern  technologies  to  increase  the  amount  of 
information on Russians living in the Baltic States and Poland in the 19th and 20th 
century and to provide easy access to this information. 

2.5   Arts and culture 

2.5.1   Many  non-governmental  organisations  are  committed  to  the  conservation  of  the 
Russian national consciousness and the development of Russian culture. Currently 
there are 68 Russian public organisations. The majority of them, i.e. 44, are located 
in  Vilnius.  The  rest  of  the  organisations  are  mainly  located  in  other  towns.  The 
public organisations among others include Melos (the Society of Russian Romantic 
literature Lovers in Lithuania), Sozvuchije (the Association of Russian Poetry and 
Theatre  Lovers),  Malachite  (the  Association  of  the  Alytus  Sunday  School 
‘Malachit’), the Cultural Fund of Lithuanian Russians, the Association of Teachers 
from Russian Schools, Zhivoj Kolos (the educational association of Lithuanian Old 
Believers)  and  Slovo  (the  Klaipėda  Christian  education  society).  Several 
organisations  such  as  ‘The  Muse’  (the  Creative  Association  of  Lithuanian  Russian 
Children)  and  Elena  Tchudakova’s  International  Fund  for  the  Support  of  Young 
Talents aim at uniting Russian children.  

214

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2.5.2  Apart from the public organisations there currently are some 40 Russian amateur 
art  groups  in  Lithuania.  Some  of  these  organisations  are  located  in  small 
Lithuanian  towns  under  the  guidance  of  the  local  Russian  school.  Teachers  and 
parents  of  the  schoolchildren  constitute  the  core  of  these  organisations.  Their 
activities  mostly  have  a  cultural  and  educational  character:  evenings  of  Russian 
poetry  and  romantic  literature,  celebrations  of  Christmas  and  traditional  Russian 
holidays. Apart from Russian art groups there are also other types of organisations 
that,  among  others,  include  professional  associations  of  engineers,  builders  and 
teachers.  

2.5.3  The  oldest  and  most  influential  Russian  organization  is  the  Russian  Cultural 
Centre. Since 1988 it has arranged publications in the press, TV transmissions and 
broadcasting,  musical  and  literary  evenings,  exhibitions  devoted  to  important 
persons of Russian culture, scientific and socio-political conferences and seminars. 
The Russian Cultural Centre has created an independent radio station the Radio of 
the Russian Cultural Centre, broadcasting in Russian, Belorussian and Ukrainian. 
The  Confidence-Building  Measures  programme  of  the  Council  of  Europe  has 
supported this project. The Russian Cultural Centre also opened a Russian gallery 
and a specialised bookshop ‘The Russian Book’ to popularise Russian literature and 
to  provide  the  inhabitants  of  Vilnius  with  special  and  educational  literature  in 
Russian.  

2.5.4   A number of festivals such as the Days of Russian Culture (each autumn since the 
beginning  of  the  1990s),  the  Russian  Romance  Festival,  the  Festival  of  Slavic 
Writing  and  Ethnoculture,  the  International  Festival  of  National  Minorities 
(Slavianskaja raduga – Slavic Rainbow) and the children and youth festival Mūza 
(The Muse) contribute largely to Russian cultural life in Lithuania. 

2.6  The business world 

No data are available on the use of Russian in the Lithuanian business world or in 
advertisements. 

2.7   Family and the social use of language 

It  is  estimated  that  about  96%  of  the  Russians  have  Russian  as  their  first 
language.  Judging  from  this  figure  one  cannot  but  conclude  that  the 
intergenerational transmission of Russian seems to be secured.  

2.8.   The European dimension 

The  Republic  of  Lithuania  and  the  Russian  Soviet  Federal  Republic  have  signed 
bilateral  political  agreements  on  the  Foundations  of  Inter-State  Relations 
implementing  the  effective  instruments  of  co-operation  on  ethnic  minorities  and 
national  relations.  Bilateral  treaties  can  be  consulted  through  the  website  of  the 
Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.  

3.  Conclusion 

The Russians are the largest minority in Lithuania alongside the Poles. The 219,789 
Russians in Lithuania (6.3% of the total population according to the 2001 census) 

215

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
manage to secure the intergenerational continuity of Russian as a first language. It 
is  estimated  that  96%  of  the  Russians  have  Russian  as  their  first  language.  The 
intergenerational continuity of Russian is supported by its presence in the media, 
at  schools  and  in  various  cultural  organisations.  The  fact  that  members  of  other 
Lithuanian  national  minorities  (Ukrainians,  Belarussians,  Germans,  Jews  and 
others) also use Russian as a first language helps to secure the position of Russian 
in Lithuanian society.  

216

 
 
       Other languages  

1. 

Belorussian 

1.1 

1.2  

Together with Russian and Ukrainian, Belorussian [Belaruskaja mova] belongs to 
the East Slavonic group within the Slavonic branch of Indo-European languages. It 
started to develop as a  separate  language in the 14th and 15th centuries. When the 
territory  which  now  constitutes  Belarus  became  Lithuanian,  the  Lithuanians  took 
over  the  administrative  language  of  Kievan  Rus,  a  language  that  in  time  acquired 
more  and  more  local  traits.  This  language,  sometimes  called  Old  Belorussian, 
became less important with the creation of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth 
and  was  gradually  exchanged  for  Polish.  Modern  Belorussian  is  essentially  a 
product of the 20th century. This language is not a continuation of Old Belorussian 
and much nearer to the popular language than for example Russian. It has thus far 
fewer  Church-Slavonicisms.  Within  the  Belorussian  Soviet  Republic,  Belorussian 
was one of the national languages. The 1920s and partly the 1930s may be seen as 
the  golden  age  of  Modern  Belorussian.  From  the  end  of  the  1930s  to  the  1990s 
Belorussian  was  gradually  ousted  by  Russian  in  all  spheres  of  life:  education, 
newspapers,  theatre,  book  publishing,  politics,  party  administration,  etc.  Russian 
thus became the high language whereas the role of Belorussian was reduced to that 
of  a  minority  language  and  a  more  or  less  rural  language.  In  the  mid-1980s  a 
movement  to  promote  a  “re-Belarusification”  developed,  and  Belorussian  became 
the  state  language.  This  status  was  confirmed  by  the  Constitution  (1994)  of  the 
newly  independent  state  of  Belarus  (1991),  but  in  May  1995  —  following  a 
referendum — Russian was reinstituted as a second state language in the amended 
Constitution  (1996).  This  reflects  a  more  general  situation  where  only  75%  of  all 
Belarusians  (including those who live outside Belarus) are  estimated to speak the 
language, the rest having assimilated Russian.  

The country now known as the Belarus was part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania 
since the mid of the 13th century and Belarusians have been present in the Grand 
Duchy of Lithuania since the Middle Ages. An intensification of immigration waves 
could be noticed after World War II. In the Grand Duchy of Lithuania Belorussian 
was  used  in  official  administrative  documents  from  the  14th  to  the  17th  century. 
After the Union between Poland and Lithuania in 1569 Polish, however, ‘elbowed 
out’  Belorussian.  In  1697  Polish  became  the  sole  administrative  language  of  the 
Polish-Lithuanian  Commonwealth.  The  border  between  Lithuania  and  Belarus 
reflects  a  somewhat  fuzzy  transition  zone  between  the  Belorussian  (East  Slavic) 
and  Lithuanian  (East  Baltic)  language  territories,  in  which  most  intensive  (and 
complicated) linguistic contacts have taken place and which roughly coincides with 
the  historical  centre  of  the  Grand  Duchy  of  Lithuania.  In  the  course  of  history  a 
‘simple  local  language’  (a  kind  of  mixture  between  Belorussian,  Lithuanian  and 
Polish)  developed  that  is  used  by  people  who  consider  themselves  to  be  locals 
(tuteishy;  i.e.  neither  Belarusians,  nor  Lithuanians).  These  locals  need  to  be 
distinguished  from  the  Belarusians  who  immigrated  to  Lithuania  in  the  20th 
century. They are usually the Belarusians who appear in official statistics and – in 
contrast  to  the  ‘locals’  who  find  Polish  to  be  more  prestigious  than  their  own 
language  –  are  striving  for  the  cultivation  of  the  Belorussian  language.  Since  no 
truly objective data about the linguistic classification of ‘Belarusians’ are available, 
census figures should be treated with great care. 

217

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1.3 

1.4  

1.5  

1.6  

1.7  

According to the 2001 census the 42,866 Belarusians in Lithuania constitute 1.2% 
of the total population. The largest number of Belarusians can be found in villages 
and small towns to the south, north-west and north-east of Vilnius as well as in the 
areas bordering the Republic of Belarus. Some Belarusians also live in the area of 
Klaipėda. 

In  the  school  year  2003-2004  there  was  one  school  with  Belorussian  as  the 
language  of  instruction  in  Vilnius  (the  Pranciskus  Skorina  secondary  school).  In 
the  Ateities  (‘The  Future’)  secondary  school  in  Visaginas  there  are  classes  in 
Belorussian  and  in  the  Šalčinkai  secondary  school  there  is  a  pre-school  group  in 
Belorussian and an elective course of Belorussian. Belorussian can also be learned 
at  the  Sunday  School  in  Visaginas.  In  1991  a  chair  of  Belorussian  language, 
literature and ethnic culture was introduced at the Vilnius Pedagogical University 
aimed  at  training  teachers  for  the  Lithuanian  Belorussian  schools.  The  Slavic 
Philology  Department  at  the  University  of  Vilnius  organises  a  Master  of  Arts  in 
Belorussian. 

Before  Soviet  Rule,  Vilnius  was  a  thriving  centre  of  Belorussian  cultural  life.  Now 
the  cultural  life  of  Belarusians  in  Lithuania  is  gradually  restored.  In  1988  the 
Lithuanian Cultural Fund created the first Belorussian organisation. Now there are 
22  socio-cultural  organisations,  promoting  traditions,  culture  and  the  Belorussian 
language,  including  among  others  the  Association  of  Public  Organisations  of 
Lithuanian Belarusians, the Belorussian Cultural Society, the Siabryna Society and 
the Society of Vilnius Political Prisoners and Deportees. Every year, the Community 
of Lithuanian Belarusians organises exhibitions, seminars, concerts as well as other 
events.  

There  are  daily  programmes  in  Belorussian  on  the  Lithuanian  National  Radio. 
There is a Belorussian programme on national TV. Three monthlies are published 
in  Belorussian:  Run=  Nasa  storonka  and  Arche.  The  two  Belorussian  quarterlies 
published in Lithuania are Belaruski gistarychny ogliad and Fragmenty.  

Research in the 1990s showed that about half of the Belarusians use Belorussian as 
their  mother  tongue.  No  recent  data  on  the  intergenerational  transmission  of 
Belorussian are available but experts agree that most Belarusians are Belorussian-
Russian bilinguals.  

2.   German  

2.1  

2.2  

German  [Deutsch]  is  an  Indo-European  language  that  belongs  to  the  group  of 
Germanic  languages.  Belonging  to  the  West-Germanic  subgroup  of  Germanic 
languages 
is  closely  related  to  Dutch,  English,  Frisian  and  Yiddish. 
Approximately  101  million  people  world-wide  speak  German  as  a  first  or  second 
language.  It  is  spoken  by  around  81.5  million  people  in  Germany,  around  7.6 
million in Austria and around 4.2 million in Switzerland.  

it 

In  the  13th  century  Germans  settled  in  East  Prussia  and  the  territory  of  Klaipėda 
(Memel)  as  a  consequence  of  the  conquests  of  the  Teutonic  Order.  These  parts 
remained  German  until  they  were  incorporated  into  the  Republic  of  Lithuania  in 
1923.  The  number  of  Germans  in  Lithuania  has  never  been  very  large  and  was 
largely  reduced  after  World  War  II.  Nowadays  the  number  of  Germans  is  about 
0.1% of the total population.  

2.3  

In the summer of 1988 when the Lithuanians started thinking about independence, 
it affected other communities living in Lithuania. Citizens of different nationalities 

218

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
began  reviving  their  own  cultural  organisations.  In  April  1989  the  German  and 
Lithuanian  Cultural  Association  was  established,  uniting  local  Germans  and 
Lithuanians of German origin. At the end of 1989 the ‘Richard Wagner Association’ 
was founded in Klaipėda in order to promote professional music and theatre. Apart 
from  the  German  and  Lithuanian  Cultural  Association  there  is  a  Lithuanian 
Germans  Union  that  unites  six  German  organisations  from  Vilnius,  Ignalina, 
Visaginas, Šiauliai, Tauragė and Jurbarkas. The Russian Germans who came from 
the  former  Soviet  Union  are  predominant  in  this  organisation.  In  1993  the 
in  Lithuania.  Nine 
Confederation  of  German  Organisations  was  founded 
organisations  from  Kaunas,  Jurbarkas,  Šakiai,  Elektrėnai,  Kėdainiai,  Jonava, 
Prienai, Vilkija, and Vilkaviškis allied into one. The confederation headquarters are 
in Kaunas. The Germans from the Klaipėda land (Memelenderiai) form the Heide 
of Šilutė and the Klaipėda’s Germans Association. Heide with 924 members has the 
biggest  membership  of  all  associations.  In  the  Old  Town  of  Klaipėda  there  is  a 
Lithuanian and German Meeting Centre ‘Simon Dach’s House’ that also helps the 
Germans  to  preserve  their  national  identity  and  tradition,  promotes  Lithuanian 
and German understanding of each other, and  organises educational  and cultural 
programmes. The headquarters of the Klaipėda German’s Association (founded in 
1991) are situated in Klaipėda. The  Edelweiss-Wolfskinder association (located in 
Vilnius with branch offices in Klaipėda, Šiauliai, Tauragė, Marijampolė, Jurbarkas 
and  Kaunas)  unites  those  people  from  Eastern  Prussia  who  found  shelter  in 
Lithuania  during  the  post-war  hunger  period.  Currently  28  German  public 
organisations  are  active  in  Lithuania.  The  Informational  Co-ordination  Centre  of 
the Lithuanian Germans Associations, founded in 1996, unites these organisations.  

Local  Germans  try  to  maintain  their 
identity  not  only  through  cultural 
organisations but also through German schools, German newspapers and religion. 
The  German  press  in  Lithuania  includes  the  monthly  Baltische  Rundschau  (in 
German and Russian), the monthly Deutsche Nachrichten in Litauen (published in 
German  and  Lithuanian),  a  quarterly  Miteinander  and  an  irregular  publication 
Gyvenimas.  Every  year  the  German  Embassy  in  Lithuania  invites  teachers  from 
Germany  and  organises  language  courses  for  people  of  German  origin  living  in 
Vilnius,  Klaipėda,  Šilutė  and  other  towns.  A  German  school  has  been  operating 
since 1992 (attention is paid to the German language and culture, but most of the 
classes  are  taught  in  Lithuanian).  Religion  and  the  church  play  a  significant 
spiritual  role  for  the  Germans.  There  are  two  German  religious  groups  in 
Lithuania:  the  Evangelist  Lutherans  and  the  Evangelist  Reformats.  Sermons  in 
German  are  found  in  Vilnius,  Klaipėda  and  Šilutė.  Research  in  the  1990s  showed 
that about half of the Lithuanian Germans had Russian as their mother tongue. It 
is  not  clear  whether  the  other  half  of  the  Germans  in  Lithuanian  managed  to 
maintain German as their mother tongue.  

2.4  

3.  

Yiddish  

After Lithuania’s independence, Jewish (religious) life in Lithuania was revived. In 
1991 the conference of Lithuania’s Jewish Community (LJC) was held in Vilnius. It 
united  all  Lithuanian  Jews  and  represented  the  cultural,  religious  and  property 
interests  of  the  Jewish  national  minority.  Jewish  religious  communities  and 
synagogues  started 
in  Vilnius  and  Kaunas;  similarly  Jewish 
communities  were  registered  in  a  few  other  cities.  The  national  Jewish  museum 
developed  and  prepared  exhibitions  in  the  Great  Vilnius  Synagogue.  An  event  of 
great  significance  for  the  Jewish  community  was  the  publication  of  the  monthly 
newspaper  Lietuvos  Jeruzalė  (‘Lithuanian  Jerusalem’  with  articles  in  Yiddish, 
Lithuanian,  English  and  Russian).  A  Jewish  national  school  with  emphasis  on 

functioning 

219

 
 
 
 
 
 
Jewish traditions opened again in 1989. In 1991 studies of Judaism were renewed 
at Vilnius university. Two years later the Judaism Studies Centre was opened. It co-
operates closely with Oxford University’s Yiddish Centre (UK) and many Western 
European Universities. In 1997 a Jewish history course was introduced in Kaunas 
Vytautas  Magnus  university.  Now  there  is  a  Jewish  academics  and  intellectuals 
association Vilnor, medical, youth and students associations, a sports club Maccabi 
and  other  organisations.  In  general  the  situation  of  Jews  has  improved  in 
Lithuania. But still migration to Israel and the USA has not ceased. The low birth 
rate  in  Jewish  families  cannot  compensate  for  the  shrinking  of  the  Jewish 
Community  caused  by  emigration  and  natural  death,  leaving  only  4,007  Jews  in 
Lithuania today (according to the 2001 census). Research in the 1990s showed that 
about one third of Lithuanian Jews have Russian as their mother tongue. It is not 
clear  how  far  either  Yiddish  or  Hebrew  have  survived  as  the  mother  tongue  of 
Lithuanian Jews. 

4.   Karaim  

4.1  

4.2  

4.3  

Karaim  [Karaj]  is  a  Turkic  language,  belonging  to  the  Kipchak-Polovtsy  (Altai) 
group, more precisely to West Kipchaki. Apart from Lithuania, Karaim also live in 
the  Crimea,  Western  Ukraine  as  well  as  in  Poland,  USA  and  Romania.  The 
worldwide  number  of  users  does  not  exceed  5,000.  It  is  therefore  a  highly 
endangered language.  

The  history  of  the  Karaims  in  Lithuania  (sometimes  also  designated  as  Karaites) 
goes  back  to  the  end  of  the  14th  century  when  Great  Duke  Vytautas  of  the  Grand 
Duchy  of  Lithuania  between  1397  and  1398  brought  about  380  Karaite  families 
from  the  banks  of  the  Black  Sea  to  Trakai.  At  that  time  the  political  and 
administrative  centre  of  the  Grand  Duchy  of  Lithuania  was  in  the  south-eastern 
part of present Lithuania. On his expedition to the Black Sea (1397-98) he brought 
back  Tatar  settlers  of  two  distinct  religious  beliefs:  Islamic  and  Judaic.  Three 
hundred representatives of the latter were allowed to settle at Vytautas’ residence 
at  Trakai.  Later  their  number  increased  to  5,000.  Known  as  Karaites,  they  were 
considerably  outnumbered  by  the  Islamic  Tatars,  who  settled  at  or  near  Ašmena, 
Vilnius, Trakai, Aukštadvaris, Semeliškės, Butrimonys, Alytus, and other localities. 
In  popular  consciousness  the  Karaims  are  not  always  clearly  kept  apart  from  the 
Tatars. 

The  total  number  of  Karaims  residing  in  Lithuania  has  decreased  over  the  last 
years. In 1959 there were about 423 Karaim, in 1970 some 388; in 1979 there were 
352,  and  289  in  1989.  In  1997  the  statistics  department  of  Lithuania  carried  out 
ethno-statistic  research  on  the  Karaims.  According  to  figures  derived  from  that 
research there were 257 Karaims living in Lithuania: 138 in Vilnius, 65 in Trakai, 
10 in the Trakai region, 4 in Kaunas, 4 in the Kaunas region, 4 in Panevėžys, 2 in 
the  Panevėžys  region,  2  in  Pasvalys  and  1  in  the  Radviliškis  region.  A  major 
problem  for  the  Karaim  in  Lithuania  is  the  preservation  of  intergenerational 
continuity. The number of current daily users is estimated at about 30 to 50.  

4.4   Karaim is only taught at Sunday schools and is culturally supported by the Cultural 
Society of the Karaims in Lithuania (founded in 1988) and the Religious Society of 
the Karaims. These two organisations unite the Karaims of Lithuania. In 1997 the 
600th  anniversary  of  the  Karaims’  (and  Tatars’)  settlement  in  Lithuania  was 
commemorated.  It  gave  rise  to  a  few  book  publications  on  the  Karaims.  The 
Karaim  community  annually  organises  the  international  Karaims’  youth  culture 
and  sport  holiday  with  the  aim  of  familiarising  young  Karaims  with  the  national 

220

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
history  and  culture  of  their  people.  The  cultural  and  historical  heritage  of  the 
Russians,  Jews,  Tatars  and  Karaims  is  presented  on  the  virtual  exhibition  (at 
http://daugenis.mch.mii.lt/paveldas2000/).  

5.    Romani  

5.1   

Like  Sanskrit,  Hindi  and  Bengali  Romani  [Romanes],  or  Romani,  is  an  Indic  (or 
Indo-Aryan)  language  that  belongs  to  the  Indo-Iranian  branch  of  the  Indo-
European family. The language retains much of the Indic morphology, phonology 
and  lexicon,  while  its  syntax  has  been  heavily  influenced  by  contact  with  other 
languages.  The  dispersal  and  differentiation  of  the  Roma  since  their  arrival  in 
Europe  (8th  century)  brought  about  a  fragmentation  of  the  language  in  distinct 
groups. Nowadays the following main groups (each with different subvarieties) are 
distinguished  as  a  result  of  the  contact  of  Romani  with  regional  languages: 
northern Romani (best represented  by  the  chaladytka roma, the  Russian  Roma), 
central  Romani  (best  represented  by  the  group  of  the  Hungarian  and  Slovakian 
Roma, the ungrike roma), vlach Roma (best represented by the Kalderaš-Romani), 
balkan Romani (best represented by the dialects in Macedonia).  

5.2    Roma  live  all  over  Lithuania.  Coming  from  an  estimated  total  of  100  in  1945  the 
current  number  of  Roma  living  in  Lithuania  is  estimated  at  2,571  (based  on  the 
2001  census),  although  some  estimate  it  to  be  between  3,000  and  4,000.  The 
Roma  community  is  characterized  by  a  high  rate  of  endogamy  (97%)  and  a  high 
intergenerational  continuity  of  the  language  (Romani).  A  serious  problem  for  the 
Roma  is  that  they  suffer  from  a  negative  popular  image.  Very  often  they  are 
referred to as potential criminals. These allegations are echoed in the mainstream 
press.  This  has  a  lot  to  do  with  high  rates  of  unemployment  and  low  school 
attendance. In the year 1996/97 there were 276 Roma pupils in Lithuanian public 
schools,  125  of  whom  dropped  out  during  the  school  year.  These  high  drop-out 
rates  are  linked  to  the  fact  that  most  Roma  pupils  only  speak  Romani,  do  not 
master  Lithuanian  in  a  sufficient  way  to  attend  Lithuanian  classes  and  cannot 
attend  Roma  classes  since  they  most  often  fail.  Unemployment  rates  are  higher 
than  the  national  average  and  higher  than  those  of  any  other  minority  group. 
Because  unemployment  rates  are  high  those  Roma  who  failed  to  apply  for 
citizenship  before  1991  are  now  unable  to  meet  the  more  stringent  post  1991 
citizenship  standards  (ten  years  residence,  permanent  employment,  test  of 
knowledge  of  Lithuanian  language,  test  of  knowledge  of  provisions  of  the 
Constitution), and consequently remain without citizenship even today. 

5.3  

To  improve  the  unfavourable  conditions  of  the  Roma  population  the  Foundation 
on  Developing  Education  organised  summer  camps  for  children  and  courses  for 
Roma teachers. The Lithuanian Children’s Fund organised projects on social issues 
on  behalf  of  the  Roma  (1994-2004),  and  the  Phare  Lien  project  ‘Kirtimai  Roma 
Community  Centre’  focused  on  pre-school  Roma  education,  Roma  art  activities, 
international workshops on Roma social, economic, legal, educational, and cultural 
situation in Lithuania (2000-2002). An important impetus to improve the general 
situation of Roma in Lithuania was given by the Programme for the Integration of 
Roma  in  Lithuanian  Society  for  2000-2004,  approved  by  the  Lithuanian 
government  in  2000.  This  programme  is,  however,  criticized  by  the  Roma  and  is 
said  to  suffer  from  two  serious  drawbacks.  Firstly,  it  apparently  was  developed 
without adequate consultation with the Roma. And secondly, the programme does 
not adequately acknowledge the existence of discrimination.  

221

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
5.4    Roma NGO’s that are active include Romano Dzhiyipe (‘Roma Life’, established in 
1995),  Romani  Yagory  (Roma  Bonfire,  1997),  Romen  (1998),  and  the  Roma 
Community  Union  ‘Roma  Mission’  (1999).  The  latter  is  established  as  a  national 
organisation  with  the  aim  of  supporting  and  coordinating  the  activities  of 
Lithuania’s  Roma  NGO’s  (presently  six  NGO’s  are  member).  However,  no  single 
organisation  can  be  said  to  represent  Lithuania’s  entire  Roma  population.  Roma 
organisations have joined forces on issues of concern to the community as a whole 
but sometimes suffer from internal quarrels or show diverging opinions on matters 
such as the ABC of Roma. The Lithuanian language was presented recently (2004) 
in  the  Roma  Community  Centre  in  Kirtimai,  Vilnius  (near  the  biggest  Roma 
settlement  in  Lithuania)  and  this  is  supposed  to  have  been  of  great  help  in 
improving literacy among Roma children.  

6.  

Tatar  

6.1  

6.2  

The Tatar community settled in Lithuania in the 13th and 14th century. The earliest 
of  the  Tatar  settlers  were  taken  to  Lithuania  as  captives  during  the  time  of 
Mindaugas and Traidenis in the second half of the 13th century. Later Lithuanian 
grand  dukes  Gediminas,  Algirdas  and  Kęstutis  fought  against  crusaders  with  the 
help of Tatar mercenaries who had settled there with their families and had been 
awarded  land  and  privileges.  The  majority  of  Tatars,  however,  were  settled  in 
Lithuania  by  Great  Duke  Vytautas  (1392-1430).  On  his  march  to  the  Kipchiak 
steppes  in  1397  Lithuanian  soldiers  took  thousands  of  Tatars  as  prisoners.  It  is 
believed  that  in  16th  century  3000-4000  Tatars  lived  in  Lithuania.  The  biggest 
settlements were in Trakai, Vilnius and Ašmena regions. The Tatars long preserved 
their customs, faith and language. But from the 16th century on, they started giving 
up  their  language  and  gradually  switch  to  the  language  of  the  ethnic  groups 
surrounding them. Greater assimilation (primarily to Belorussian), though, started 
in  the  18th  century.  In  the  middle  of  the  19th  century  some  intellectuals  took  up 
Russian and Polish.  

There are very few statistics available on the Tatar community. It is recorded that 
the overall number of Tatars on Lithuanian territory at the time of the 1897 census 
was 4,500. Unfortunately it is not clear how many of them were Lithuanian Tatars. 
Under Soviet rule no ethnic census of Lithuanian Tatars took place, but still their 
number  (in  Belorussian  and  Lithuania  together)  was  estimated  at  7,000-8,000. 
The 1989 Lithuanian census recorded 5,188 Tatars. According to the latest census 
there  are  currently  3,235  Tatars  living  in  Lithuania  (mainly  in  the  Visaginas, 
Vilnius and Kaunas, Alytus region). Most of them are no longer able to speak Tatar 
[tatar tele/tatarça]. According to some sources only about 500 of them are said to 
be  able  to  speak  it  on  an  everyday  basis.  This  might  be  due  to  efforts  aiming  at 
revitalising Tatar.  

6.3   Nowadays Tatar is popularised in Sunday schools in Vilnius and Visaginas (in total 
there are about 8 Sunday Schools in Lithuania). It also should be noted that there 
is  a  Centre  for  Stateless  Cultures  at  the  University  of  Vilnius  (where  they  give  a 
course  on  Tatar).  The  Centre  of  Oriental  Culture  (founded  in  1992  at  Vilnius 
University)  collects  material  on  the  influence  of  oriental  national  cultures  on 
Lithuanian culture.  

6.4  

In  1995  Tatars  started  printing  a  monthly  (Lietuvos  totoriai)  in  Lithuanian  (with 
some items in Russian). National Lithuanian Radio twice a month (on the first and 
third Saturday of the month) broadcasts a 30-minute programme (with 500 to 600 
listeners); in Visaginas people can watch commercial TV station from Tatarstan.  

222

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
6.5  

Tatar customs are cultivated at cultural festivals and there are collaborations with 
foreign Tatar cultural societies. In 1988 the Lithuanian Cultural Fund  established 
the Lithuanian Tartars Cultural Association. The main task of this organisation was 
to  renovate  or  build  mosques,  and  to  renew  Tartar  social  life.  In  1994  it  was 
reorganised in two separate social organisations: the Union of Lithuanian Tartars 
communities, which organised summer camps as well as religious lessons and the 
Lithuanian  Vilnius  lands  Tartar  community.  In  1997  the  600th  anniversary  of  the 
Tatars’ (and Karaims’) settlement in Lithuania was commemorated.  

7.   Ukrainian  

7.1  

7.2  

7.3  

7.4  

Ukrainian [ukrajins’ka mova] is an East Slavonic language that is closely related to 
Russian  and  Belorussian  with  which  it  forms  the  East  Slavonic  group  within  the 
Slavonic  branch  of  Indo-European.  On  the  basis  of  the  south-western  dialects  of 
medieval East Slavonic Ukrainian developed as a separate language in the course of 
the 14th century. As a written language Ukrainian was only developed by the end of 
the  18th  century.  The  traditional  alphabet  is  Cyrillic.  The  number  of  Ukrainian 
speakers today amounts to approximately 45 million worldwide. Most of them live 
in the Ukraine (approximately 37.4 million, or 70.5% of the country’s population).  

According to the 2001 census 22,488 persons in Lithuania consider themselves to 
be Ukrainians (compared to 44,789 according to the 1989 census). Above all in the 
1990s  the  number  of  Ukrainians  diminished  since  the  lack  of  employment  and  a 
process of de-industrialisation made temporary workers return to their homeland. 
Around 90% of the Ukrainians in Lithuania live in the biggest towns, mainly in the 
south-eastern  region.  Research  in  the  1990s  showed  that  about  half  of  the 
Lithuanian Ukrainians use Ukrainian as their mother tongue.  

The first Ukrainian school, the T. Shevchenko Sunday School, became operational 
in the Vilnius Teachers' House in 1989. Currently there are five Sunday Schools (in 
Vilnius,  Kaunas,  Klaipėda,  Visaginas  and  Jonava).  The  children  learn  their 
language, and the curriculum includes history and geography of the Ukraine as well 
as Ukrainian songs. In 1995, the first class where children were taught completely 
in  Ukrainian  was  opened  at  the  A.  Vienuolis  secondary  school  in  Vilnius.  Every 
year, two or three Lithuanian Ukrainians study at universities in the Ukraine. 

The Ukrainian community maintains its national culture mainly via folk and dance 
groups  and  a  number  of  bigger  organisations.  In  1989,  the  Vilnius  Ukrainian 
Community was established that now unites Vilnius, Kaunas, Klaipėda, Jonava and 
Visaginas Ukrainian societies. It has a lot of contacts with the Ukraine. In 1992 the 
Lithuanian Ukrainian Association was founded and in 1997 two Ukrainian cultural 
centres were established: one in Vilnius and one in Visaginas. In total there are 19 
non-governmental  Ukrainian  organisations  in  Lithuania  including  among  others 
The Union of Ukrainian Women and the Association of Lithuanian Ukrainianists. 
Most of the organisations maintain relations with their historical homeland. Apart 
from  the  non-governmental  organisations  there  are  numerous  Ukrainian  art 
groups that actively participate in festivals such as Days of Culture of the Ukrainian 
Community. 

7.5  

Besides cultural organisations also the media are involved in the promotion of the 
Ukrainian  language  and  culture.  There  is  a  Ukrainian  church  newspaper: 
Parafialne Slovo. Ukrainian books and other publications are available in libraries. 
Lithuanian Public Radio broadcasts a 20-minute programme in Ukrainian twice a 

223

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
month.  People  can  also  listen  to  Ukrainian  programme  on  BBC  World  Service. 
Lithuanian Public television broadcasts a 10-minute programme once a week (over 
the  years,  the  time  diminished  from  30  minutes  to  20  and  now  to  10).  Local  TV 
stations  in  Jonava  and  Visaginas  also  have  programmes  in  Ukrainian.  Radio  T, 
created  by  the  Russian  Cultural  Centre,  translates  a  programme  in  Ukrainian 
language  every  Sunday.  And  some  people  have  the  opportunity  to  watch 
programmes from the Ukraine.  

224

 
 
 
     Bibliography 

A. Books, Articles, Reports 

Comrie, Bernard (1990): The major languages of Eastern Europe. Routledge, London. 
Council  of  Europe  (2001):  Report  on  the  Implementation  of  the  Council  of  Europe 
Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities in the Republic of 
Lithuania Subject to Article 25 (1) of the Convention. 

European  Commission  Against  Racism  and  Intolerance  (2003):  Second  Report  on 

Lithuania. Adopted on 28 June 2002. Strasbourg. 

Guboglo,  Michael  (1994):  Sprachengesetzgebung  und  Sprachenpolitik  in  der  UdSSR  und 
in  den  Nachfolgestaaten  der  UdSSR  seit  1989.  Berichte  des  Bundesinstituts  für 
ostwissenschaftliche und internationale Studien, Köln. 

Grumadiene, 

Laima/Stundžia, 

In: 
Goebl/Nelde/Stary/Wölck  (Eds.):  Contact  Linguistics.  Vol.  2,  de  Gruyter, 
Berlin/New York, 1912-1919. 

“Lithuania”. 

Bonifacius 

(1997): 

Haarmann,  Harald  (2002):  Kleines  Lexikon  der  Sprachen.  Von  Albanisch  bis  Zulu.  C.H. 

Beck, München. 

Hardeman,  H.  (1994):  Bescherming  van  minderheden  in  Centraal-  en  Oost-Europa. 

Leuvens Instituut voor Centraal- en Oosteuropese Studies, Leuven. 

Malfliet,  Katlijn  (1995):  De  ex-communistische  landen.  Nieuwe  spelregels.  Davidsfonds, 

Leuven. 

Malfliet, Katlijn (2002): Instellingen en beleid van de Centraal- en Oosteuropese staten. 

Faculteit politieke en sociale wetenschappen, KU Leuven. 

Meillet, Antione/Cohen, Marcel (Eds.) (1952): Les Langues du Monde. Tome I. Champion, 

Paris.  

Merkiene,  Nijole  (2002):  “Language  Planning  and  Practice:  Lithuanian  Model”.  Paper 
presented  on  the  World  Congress  on  Language  Policies,  Barcelona,  16-20  April 
2002. 

Motuzas,  Remigijus  (2001):  “Education  of  National  Minorities  in  Lithuania”.  In: 

Lithuanian Foreign Policy Review, 7, 1 (2001). [www.lfpr.lt/0101.phtml] 

Pan,  Christoph/Pfeil,  Beate  Sibylle  (2003):  National  Minorities  in  Europe.  Braumüller, 

Wien. 

Poleshchuk,  Vadim  (2003):  Towards  Linguistic  Diversity  Management  in  the  Baltic 

States. ECMI, Flensburg. 

Open  Society  Institute  (2001):  Monitoring  the  EU  Accession  Process:  Minority 

Protection. Budapest. 

Pax  Christi  International  (2000):  National  Minorities  in  Poland  and  Lithuania.  An 

Introductory Reader. Pax Christi International, Brussels. 

Steen,  Anton  (1997):  Between  Past  and  Future:  Elites,  Democracy  and  the  State  in  Post-
Communist  Countries.  A  Comparison  of  Estonia,  Latvia  and  Lithuania.  Ashgate, 
Aldershot. 

Wiemer, Björn (2003): “Dialect and language contacts on the territory of the Grand Duchy 
of  Lithuania  from  the  15th  century  until  1939”.  In:  Braunmüller,  Kurt/Ferraresi, 
Gisella  (eds.):  Aspects  of  Multilingualism  in  European  Language  History.  John 
Benjamins, Amsterdam, 105-143. 

Zepa, Brigita (2003): „Citizenship, Official Language, Bilingual Education in Latvia: Public 
Policy  in  the  Last  10  Years“.  In:  Giordano,  Christian/Zvinkliene,  Alina/Henseler, 
Daniel  (Eds.):  ‘Baltic  States’.  Looking  at  Small  Societies  on  Europe’s  Margin. 
University Press, Fribourg/Freiburg. 

225

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
B. Other sources 

www.bsssc.com [Baltic Sea States Subregional Co-Operation] 
http://daugenis.mch.mii.lt/karaimai [Lithuanian Karaim Community] 
http://www.eki.ee  [Institute  of  the  Estonian  Language  with  link  to  the  Red  Book  of  the 

Peoples of the Russian Empire] 
http://europa.eu.int [Portal site of the EU] 
http://www.eurydice.org [Information network on education in Europe] 
http://www.lfpr.lt [Latvian Foreign Policy Review] 
http://www.lki.lt [Institute of the Lithuanian Language] 
http://www.lrs.lt [Lithuanian Parliament] 
http://www.magwil.lt [Magazyn Wilenski] 
http://www.minelres.lv [minority electronic resources - directory of resources on minority 
human  rights  and  related  problems  of  the  transition  period  in  Eastern  and  Central 
Europe] 

http://newsfromrussia.com [Pravda Online] 
http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk [BBC Newssite] 
http://www.russiajournal.com [The Russia Journal Daily Online] 
http://www.russianresources.lt/archive/ [Baltic Archive] 
http://www.statelesscultures.lt [Centre of Cultural Communities of Vilnius University] 
http://www.std.lt [Statistical Department of Lithuania] 
http://www.urm.lt [Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs] 

226

 
 
 
                                                                                   Malta  

1.    General information 

1.1 

Malta (MT) lies in the Mediterranean Sea, 96 km from Sicily and 290 km from the 
North  African  coast.  The  most  important  islands  in  the  archipelago  are  Malta 
[Malta] and Gozo [Għawdex], and their total surface area is 316 sq. km. Malta is 
much  more  densely  populated  than  Gozo.  The  population  totals  about  390,000 
(89% urban), and has  a density of 1,234 inhabitants/km2 — one of the  highest in 
the world. The capital is Valletta [Il-Belt]. 

 The  Republic  of  Malta/Repubblika  ta’  Malta  is  a  parliamentary  democracy.  The 
legislative  power  is  vested  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  a  single-chamber 
parliament composed of 65 members elected every four years.  

227

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1.2 

1.3 

Natural  resources  are  nearly  non-existent:  Malta  produces  only  about  20%  of  its 
food  needs,  has  limited  fresh  water  supplies  and  no  domestic  energy  sources. 
Tourism accounts for roughly 25% of the GDP, and the economy is also dependent 
on  foreign  trade  in  a  few  sectors,  mainly  in  electronics,  machinery  and  transport 
equipment.  The  Roman  Catholic  Church  is  the  established  church  in  Malta;  and 
97% of the Maltese declare to be Roman Catholics. 

In  antiquity,  Malta  witnessed  a  well-developed  Neolithic  temple  culture  (dating 
back to 3600 BC), which was succeeded by the Phoenicians and Carthaginians, the 
Romans and the Byzantines. The island was occupied by North African Arabs from 
870  to  1090  AD.  With  the  expulsion  of  the  Moslems  (13th  century)  Malta  was 
definitively  cut  off  from  the  Arab  world,  but  for  another  900  years  the  island 
remained  under  a  series  of  European  rules:  Sicilians,  Normans,  Angevins, 
Catalans/Aragonese  and  Castilians,  the  Order  of  St.  John,  the  French  and  the 
British.  Although  Malta  politically  separated  from  Sicily  in  1530,  the  Italian 
influence remained considerable. Malta became a part of the British Empire in the 
19th century, was granted devolution in 1921 and became independent in 1964. 

In  1995  Malta  signed  the  Framework  Convention  for  the  Protection  of  National 
Minorities,  declaring  that  no  minorities  exist  on  its  territory  in  the  sense  of  the 
Convention  —  which  came  into  force  in  1998.  The  report  submitted  by  the 
government pursuant to Art. 25, par. 1 of the Convention further states that there 
are  no  minority  languages  in  Malta;  Malta  nevertheless  signed  the  European 
Charter  for  Regional  and  Minority  Languages  in  1992.  Maltese,  which  is  the  first 
language  of  about  98%  of  the  inhabitants  of  Malta  and  the  national  official 
language, cannot be considered as a minority language in terms of the Charter. The 
present  report  is  thus  meant  to  describe  the  linguistic  situation  of  the  island, 
regardless  of  the  fact  that  Maltesea  does  not  fall  per  definitionem  in  principle 
within the scope of Euromosaic III. 

2.    Languages 

2.1    Maltese [il-Malti] is a language with a largely Semitic grammatical structure  and a 
European (Romance and English) infrastructure affecting it at all levels but mainly 
in its vocabulary, phonology and to a lesser extent the syntax.  As such it is the only 
Semitic language which is an official language of the institutions of the European 
Union. Maltese is also used with varying levels of competence by a large diaspora 
of emigrants roughly equal to the current population of Malta itself, living mainly 
in English-speaking countries (44,800 went to Australia62, 12,800 went to the UK,  
and  11,100  went  to  Canada).  Between  1963  and  199463  74,000  Maltese  left  the 
country (300,000 in Australia, 8,000 in Canada, 20,000 in the United States and 
20,000 in the U.K.). Standard Maltese is used in all communication at the national 
level, in official, religious and cultural activities; it is used extensively in the media 
and  is  the  exclusive  medium  in  the  local  political  sphere.  Maltese  has  also  a 
flourishing, though small, literature. It is also used in education but mainly at the 
spoken  level.  Local  Maltese  dialects  are  used  extensively  at  the  familiar  and 
informal  levels.    However,  greater  mobility,  general  education  and  the  levelling 
function of the media have affected these dialects quite strongly, especially in the 
last decades.  

2.2 

Old  theories  assigning  a  Phoenician  origin  to  Maltese  have  given  way  to  more 
pragmatic  scientific  research,  according  to  which  Maltese  would  hark  back  to  the 

228

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                        
 
 
language  is  reminiscent  of  the 
Arabic  vernacular.  Many  features  of  the 
contemporary Arabic varieties (especially those used in the Magreb), although the 
long  separation  from  the  Moslem  world  has  produced  mutual  unintelligibility 
between  Maltese  and  Arabic.  When  Malta  was  definitely  cut  off  from  the  Arabo-
Islamic culture, religion and language, Maltese — as a basically Semitic language — 
survived  as  a  low-prestige  but  widely  spoken  variety  beside  the  ruler’s  languages. 
Sicilian,  Tuscan  Italian,  French  and  English  not  only  enjoyed  the  prestige  of  a 
written  official  language  but  also  exercised  a  strong  influence  on  the  Maltese 
vernacular,  especially  in  the  urban  centres  where  the  varieties  came  in  close 
contact. The earliest document written in Maltese, Caxaro’s Cantilena, dates from 
the mid-15th century, and sporadic references to the Maltese language dated from 
roughly  the  same  period.  Clear  signs  of  the  estrangement  of  Maltese  from  its 
Arabo-Islamic  roots  can  be  seen  synchronically  not  only  in  the  fact  that  it  has 
always  been  written  in  the  Roman  script,  but  also  in  the  European  semantic 
content, which has often replaced the original cultural meaning in  words of Arabic 
origin. 

Technical  language  in  Maltese  is  particularly  lacking,  and  specialists  with  some 
interest  in  the  language  have  met  with  considerable  difficulties  when  trying  to 
develop  the  necessary  terminology  for  their  particular  area  of  interest.  Such  has 
been, for example, the experience in translating the EU’s Acquis Communautaire. 
Also  —  because  of  the  lack  of  qualified  translators  —  when  Malta  joined  the 
European  Union  on  1  May  2004  a  transitional  period  of  three  years  had  to  be 
established, during which the institutions of the European Union will not have to 
publish all acts in Maltese.  

There  is  an  English-speaking  community  in  Malta,  made  up  mainly  of  retired 
British nationals who live in Malta mostly because of its moderate Mediterranean 
climate.  Some  also  have  old  links  with  the  island,  having  served  with  the  British 
forces in the past. The fact that most Maltese can converse in English is an added 
attraction, and helps greatly in the participation of these foreigners in the fabric of 
Maltese  society.  In  fact,  a  few  have  generously  supported  local  charitable  and 
philanthropic  institutions.  A  small  percentage  are  also  conversant  with,  if  not 
fluent in, Maltese, though the strong presence of English in Maltese society and the 
ease with which they can communicate wherever they go does not provide a strong 
incentive for them to learn the local language. The age and the particular situation 
of most of the English-speaking members seems to rule out further development of 
that  community,  with  future  change  being  limited  to  new  individuals  joining  the 
group  and  others  leaving  it,    without  altering  the  basic  nature  of  its  social  and 
linguistic relations, whether internal or external. 

Because  of  the  residence  in  Malta  of  about  a  thousand  native  speakers  of  Arabic, 
made  up  mostly  of  Libyans,  Palestinians,  Tunisians  and  Egyptians,  each  of  these 
countries has a diplomatic mission there. Most of them are diplomats, teachers and 
other  persons  involved  in  commercial  activities,  along  with  their  families.  Apart 
from  speakers  of  Arabic  who  have  married  Maltese,  this  community  is  not,  in 
general,  a  stable  one,  for  individuals  tend  to  live  in  Malta  for  only  3-4  years. 
Religious  activity  for  these  people  centres  around  a  mosque,  and  there  is  also  an 
Islamic Cultural Centre. 

2.3 

2.4 

2.5 

3.    Language policy 

3.1 

The 1964 Constitution of the Republic of Malta (Chapter I,5) states that: 

229

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
(1) The National language of Malta is the Maltese language. 

(2)  The  Maltese  and  the  English  languages  and  such  other  language  as 
may be prescribed by Parliament (by a law passed by not less than two-
thirds  of  all  the  members  of  the  House  of  Representatives)  shall  be  the 
official  languages  of  Malta  and  the  Administration  may  for  all  official 
purposes  use  any  of  such  languages:  provided  that  any  person  may 
address the Administration in any of the official languages and the reply 
of the Administration thereto shall be in such language. 

(3)  The  language  of  the  courts  shall  be  the  Maltese  language:  provided 
that  Parliament  may  make  such  provision  for  the  use  of  the  English 
language in such cases and under such conditions as it may prescribe.  

(4)  The  House  of  Representatives  may,  in  regulating  its  own  procedure, 
determine the language or languages that shall be used in Parliamentary 
proceedings and records. 

3.2 

Legislation is thus enacted in both Maltese and English, but Maltese texts normally 
prevail over the English ones in case of conflict. When Malta was part of the British 
Empire English and Italian were used as official languages; Italian ceased to be an 
official language in 1936. 

 In 1994 the Maltese Government embarked on a new language planning strategy in 
1994.  A Bord għall-Ilsien Malti [Maltese Language Board] was set up with the aim 
of  analysing  the  Maltese  linguistic  situation  and  making  suggestions  —  not 
excluding legal measures — to protect and promote the Maltese language.  In 2001 
the Board produced Strateġija għal-Lingwa Nazzjonali [A Strategy for the National 
Language],  a  report  which  formed  the  backbone  of  the  Maltese  Language  Act 
adopted  in  2004.  After  stating  the  principles  on  which  the  Act  rests,  the  bill 
envisages  a  Maltese  Language  Council  [Il-Kunsill  Nazzjonali  ta’  l-Ilsien  Malti] 
which  is  a  two-tier  body,  the  Council  proper  being  an  executive  body  which 
deliberates on and carries out the technical language-planning decisions which are 
taken in the other tier, a technical commission embracing both linguists and people 
involved in different walks of life. The commission will operate through a number 
of  nuclei  related  to  the  most  important  areas  of  language  use,  such  as  the  media, 
technical  terminology,  translation,  linguistic  research,  spelling,  literature  and 
information technology. Given the scarcity of statistical information regarding the 
actual  state  of  the  Maltese  language,  the  Council  will  have  to  commission  an 
appropriate  description  of  the  present  state  of  Maltese.  The  main  novelty  in  the 
draft  Maltese  Language  Law  is  that,  for  the  first  time,  the  State  shares  with  the 
voluntary organisations the responsibility of promoting the language, by supplying 
them with the means to operate better and stimulating cooperation among them.  

4. 

Presence and use of the languages in various fields 

4.1 

Education 

4.1.1 

In  the  educational  system  (at  least  up  to  and  including  the  secondary  level),  the 
official  policy  opts  for  bilingual  education  in  Maltese  and  English,  but  generally 
speaking the subjects covered by the two languages complement each other so that 
subjects  with  an  affective  relation  to  Maltese  (such  as  social  studies,  religious 
knowledge, Maltese history and, naturally, Maltese), while career-oriented subjects 
(the sciences, mathematics, business studies, etc.) are taught in English. There are 
a  number  of  private  “English-speaking”  centres,  where  instruction  is  given 
exclusively  in  English  from  the  pre-school  level  right  up  to  university  entrance. 
They are usually regarded as more serious and fashionable organisations by more 

230

 
 
 
 
 
elitist  sectiors  of  the  society,  and  —  though  Maltese  is  taught  as  a  compulsory 
subject  in  these  schools  —  their  students  reach  a  level  of  proficiency  in  Maltese 
understandably  lower  than  that  of  other  centres,  often  coping  with  difficulty  and 
lower  achievement  in  the  compulsory  school-leaving  examinations,  which  are  in 
Maltese. 

4.1.2 

In children’s education there is more than one pattern of linguistic behaviour. The 
following four patterns can be distinguished on the basis of the different sequence 
(indicated  by  the  numbers/letters)  in  which  varieties  are  acquired  by  children  of 
different families. 

Pattern 

MALTESE 
dialect 

A 
B 
C 
D 

1a 

MALTESE 
standard 
1 
1b 
1 
2 

ENGLISH 

2 
2 
1 
1 

One of the problems facing Maltese in education — resulting from the smallness of 
the  community  that  speaks  it  —  regards  textbooks,  which  are  predominantly  in 
English  at  every  level,  and  exclusively  so  in  subjects  which  are  taught  in  English.  
The  small  Maltese  market  does  not  ensure  a  regular  production  of  new  and 
updated  textbooks.  Besides,  many  argue  that,  especially  for  subjects  without  a 
marked  cultural  content,  English  is  the  ideal  choice,  since  all  the  technical 
terminology  learned  from  textbooks  in  English  will  prove  useful  for  students 
embarking  on  a  career.  Hence  the  use  in  classroom  conversation  of  a  strain  of 
mixed  Maltese-English  characterised  by  heavy  code-switching,  in  which  technical 
descriptions  and  terminology  are  always  in  English  and  serve  as  links  to  the 
textbook. 

4.1.3  Maltese  is  the  main  language  of  instruction  in  most  pre-school  centres  and  is 
taught  as  a  compulsory  subject  in  all  of  them.  In  recent  years  there  has  been  a 
slight increase in the presence of cultural content in Maltese at this level, especially 
in  the  form  of  nursery  rhymes  and  children’s  songs  in  Maltese.  At  the  primary 
level,  Maltese  is  the  language  of  instruction  in  most  centres  and  it  is  taught  as  a 
compulsory  subject  in  all  of  them.  As  already  stated,  textbooks  in  Maltese  are 
generally  few,  and  are  limited  to  the  subjects  which  are  taught  through  the 
language. There have been few changes in recent years other than the appointment 
of  an  Education  Officer  for  Maltese  exclusively  for  the  primary  level,  which  may 
lead to improvements. In secondary schools, Maltese is the language of instruction 
only in a limited number of subjects (⇒ 4.1.1), though it is a compulsory subject in 
all of them. As the student proceeds in his/her studies, the need and the presence 
of English becomes more felt and the use of Maltese decreases. This approach has 
been  enshrined  in  the  National  Minimum  Curriculum  (the  only  attempt  at  a 
language  policy  apart  from  the  Maltese  Language  Bill  mentioned  above),  which 
tries to limit the widespread use of Maltese as a spoken medium of instruction and 
communication in schools in favour of English. The success of this policy, however, 
has  still  to  be  ascertained.  In  centres  for  technical  and  vocational  education, 
Maltese is practically the sole medium of instruction, and this is related to the fact 
that  nearly  all  these  students  come  from  workers’  families  without  a  tradition  of 
literacy. The shift towards English  as the  language of instruction becomes almost 
total  in  the  sphere  of  tertiary  education,  where  instruction  (involving  the  use  of 
external  examiners  and  foreign  visiting  lecturers)  entails  the  use  of  English  in 
practically all written and spoken situations, excepting of course language courses. 

231

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Besides,  the  presence  of  non-Maltese  English-speaking  students  in  several 
University courses makes the use of English inevitable.  There is a Department of 
Maltese  at  the  University  of  Malta  which  teaches  both  the  language  and  the 
literature  up  to  Ph.D.  level  and  also  offers  an  introductory  course  in  Maltese  to 
interested  foreign  students  reading  for  a  degree  in  Malta  or  on  shorter  EU 
exchange programs. In the Faculty of Education, the Department for Languages in 
Education offers a 4-year undergraduate course for prospective teachers, including 
teachers  of  Maltese.  Maltese  is  also  taught  at  a  few  foreign  tertiary  institutions 
(Sorbonne  in  Paris  and  the  universities  of  Bremen  and  Osnabrück  in  Germany) 
offering several study units in the language mainly for comparative purposes, due 
to its affinities with North African Arabic. 

4.1.4  The  Arabic-speaking  community  has  a  school  for  Arab  children  covering  twelve 
years of schooling. Here Arabic is used as the medium of instruction: the teachers 
are Arabs, very often Libyan, and the schooling system follows the Libyan model, 
including  the  use  of  the  same  textbooks  as  in  Libyan  schools.  Some  of  these 
families, however, prefer to send their children to Maltese state or private schools. 
This enables them to proceed to tertiary education without further pre-University 
study,  as  is  the  case  with  children  going  to  the  Arab  school.  The  Islamic  Cultural 
Centre  organises  Arabic  lessons  on  Saturdays  and  in  religion  lessons  for  children 
attending  Maltese  schools.  The  Centre  also  runs  a  kindergarten  and  organises 
evening  Arabic  language  courses  by  Maltese  teachers  specifically  for  non-Arab 
adult learners, averaging two sessions a week. 

4.2 

Judicial authorities 

Judicial  proceedings  normally  take  place  in  Maltese.  It  became  the  official 
language  of  the  Courts  in  193464;  and  Art.5  para.  3  of  the  Constitution  lays  down 
that  “The  language  of  the  courts  shall  be  the  Maltese  language:  Provided  that 
Parliament  may  make  such  provision  for  the  use  of  the  English  language  in  such 
cases  and  under  such  conditions  as  it  may  prescribe”.  Art  35  states  that  “Any 
person  who  is  arrested  or  detained  shall  be  informed,  at  the  time  of  his  arrest  or 
detention,  in  a  language  that  he  understands,  of  the  reasons  for  his  arrest  or 
detention: Provided that if an interpreter is necessary and is not readily available 
or if it is otherwise impracticable to comply with the provisions of this subsection 
at  the  time  of  the  person's  arrest  or  detention,  such  provisions  shall  be  complied 
with as soon as practicable.” 

4.3 

Public authorities and services 

English — the last of a long series of foreign rulers’ languages — is often associated 
with  education  and  social  advancement.  Much  written  official  and  administrative 
business is still conducted in English, though Maltese seems to be gaining ground 
in  different  areas  in  which  it  was  not  previously  used.  In  its  day-to-day  dealings, 
the  Government  uses  both  Maltese  and  English,  since  they  are  constitutionally 
recognised  as  official  languages.  One  long-drawn  effect  of  the  British  colonial 
period is the tradition of considering English as the official working language of the 
Civil  Service.  However,  both  independence  and  (perhaps  to  a  similar  extent)  the 
recent accession of Malta to the EU have reinforced the position of Maltese, which 
is  gradually  gaining  ground  in  areas  formerly  occupied  solely  by  English.  Most 
official correspondence is now carried out in both languages and there is a marked 

64 http://www.doi.gov.mt/EN/islands/periods/malta9.asp  

232

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                        
effort  to  make  Maltese  more  visible.  In  the  political  domain,  Maltese  is  the  only 
working  language,  presumably  because  it  is  the  language  with  the  larger 
democratic appeal. It is also the only language used both in Parliament and in the 
local councils. 

4.4  Mass media and information technology 

Maltese features prominently in the media. Out of four daily newspapers, two are 
published  completely  in  Maltese.  They  are  In-Nazzjon  [The  Nation]  and  L-
Orizzont [The Horizon], the official organs of the PN (Christian Democratic Party) 
and  the  GWU  (General  Workers’  Union)  respectively.  Three  Sunday  newspapers 
and two dailies are in English. Five of the nine weeklies are published exclusively 
in  Maltese65:  Il-Mument  [The  Moment]  (PN),  KullĦadd  (every  Sunday,  by  the 
Malta Labour Party), It-Torċa [The Torch] (GWU), the official Church organ Leħen 
is-Sewwa  [The  Voice  of  Truth],  Il-Ġens  [The  People]  (owned  by  the  Maltese 
Church).    Three  of  the  main  periodicals  published  in  Malta  are  in  Maltese: 
Antenna  [Antenna],  Gwida  [Guide],  Familja  Kana  [Cana  Family].  Of  the  radio 
stations,  all  10,  of  which  8  are  private  stations,  broadcast  mainly  in  Maltese.  The 
predominance  of  private  stations  is  due  to  the  introduction  of  pluralism  in 
broadcasting in the early nineties. There are four main television stations and they 
all  broadcast  mainly  in  Maltese.  According  to  a  recent  audience  survey 
commissioned  by Broadcasting Authority Malta,66 TVM took  49% of the  morning 
share,  16%  of  the  afternoon  share  (second  to  Super  1,  with  27%  and  alongside 
Satellite,  with  16%),  and  33%  of  the  evening  share  (ahead  of  Super  1,  with  25%). 
Programmes in English tend to be relegated to off-peak hours.  However, all films 
are shown in English; the bilingual situation and financial considerations make the 
dubbing  of  films  impracticable.  Programmes  in  Maltese,  especially  sitcoms, 
comedies  and  variety  programmes,  are  immensely  popular,  especially  during 
prime time viewing in the evening. Also still popular are television programmes on 
Italian  channels.  In  the  sphere  of  information  technology,  Maltese,  like  other 
languages of small communities, tends to lag behind.  There is no spell-checker for 
Maltese  yet  and  no  computer-assisted  translation  tools,  and  only  one  very  basic 
online  dictionary.  There  is  a  governmental  site  on  the  use  of  new  technologies 
(http://www.cimu.gov.mt/htdocs/content.asp?c=497).  Other  popular  websites  in 
Maltese  include  three  online  newspapers  (L-Orizzont,  It-Torċa  and  KullĦadd). 
Several  television  networks  relay  films  and  newsreels  in  English,  and  there  are 
three Sunday newspapers and two dailies in English. 

4.5  Arts, culture and associations 

4.5.1  Most  books  published  in  Malta  are  in  Maltese.  They  are  mainly  children’s  books, 
novels  and  religious  books.  In  the  sphere  of  popular  music,  apart  from  the 
traditional għana which is restricted to a tiny sector of Maltese society but which 
has  lately  been  boosted  by  the  organisation  of  a  yearly  Festival  ta’  l-Għana 
[Festival of Folk Music], one can find two types of musical composition in Maltese, 
the  folk-art  song  associated  mainly  with  the  yearly  festival  L-Għanja  tal-Poplu 
[The  People’s  Song],  and  the  commercial  type  of  song,  the  common  platform  for 
which are the festivals organised by the two main political parties. However, as in 
other  European  countries,  the  predominance  of  modern  music  in  English  is 
evident  also  in  the  Maltese  islands.  Plays  in  Maltese,  at  both  the  literary  and 

65 http://www.aboutmalta.com/grazio/press.html  
66 http://www.ba-malta.org/surveys/m_audience.htm  

233

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                        
popular levels,  are  quite popular.  However, recent  comments  by theatre critics in 
the  press  have  highlighted  a  gradual  decrease  in  the  production  of  Maltese  or 
translated  literary  plays  in  the  National  Theatre,  heavily  subsidised  by  the 
government. 

4.5.2  Although  organisations  promoting  Maltese  cultural  identity  have  existed  at  least 
since  the  19th  century,  at  the  beginning  the  Maltese  language  did  not  feature 
prominently in their programme: members of the associations normally belonged 
to  the  higher  echelons  of  society  and  used  Italian.  However,  following  the 
Language  Question  (which  successfully  challenged  the  cultural  supremacy  of 
Italian),  the  movement  in  favour  of  Maltese  gave  rise  to  a  small  number  of 
organisations — mainly of a literary nature — with the express aim of developing a 
Maltese  literature  in  answer  to  the  old  taunts  that  Maltese  was  an  uncultured 
dialect  or  “language  of  the  kitchen”  [lingwa  tal-kċina].    The  oldest  and  most 
prestigious  of  these  was  the  Għaqda  tal-Kittieba  tal-Malti  [Society  of  Maltese 
Authors],  founded  in  1920  and  renamed  Akkademja  tal-Malti  [Academy  of  the 
Maltese  Language]  in  1964.  The  Academy’s  first  task  was  to  establish  a  standard 
spelling for Maltese, which came about in 1924 and was made official in 1934. This 
orthography, which is still the official spelling of Maltese, uses Roman letters with 
roughly  their  equivalent  Italian  sound,  but  introduces  a  minimum  of  diacritical 
signs aimed at rendering the script more strictly phonetic (ċ = ‘ch’ in ‘chin’, ġ = ‘g’ 
in ‘gin’, ħ = ‘h’ in ‘help’, ż = ‘z’ in ‘zip’, and the mute digraph għ). It was followed by 
the  university  students’  society  L-Għaqda  tal-Malti  (Università)  which  is  very 
active  at  present,  and  by  a  number  of  other  literary  groups,  including  the 
Moviment  Qawmien  Letterarju  [Movement  for  a  Literary  Renaissance]  which  in 
the  60’s  and  70’s  caused  a  veritable  upheaval  in  the  priorities  of  themes  and 
stylistics  of  Maltese  writing.  More  recently  an  association  for  teachers  of  Maltese 
Għaqda  ta’  l-Għalliema  tal-Malti  was  established.  It  has  been  very  successful  in 
helping  teachers  of  Maltese  update  and  upgrade  their  teaching  methods  and 
academic  knowledge.  Poeżijaplus  and  Inizjamed  have  also  been  very  active 
recently  in  the  literary  sphere,  the  latter  establishing  interesting  contacts  with 
foreign  literary  centres  and  embarking  on  a  programme  of  exchange  of  literary 
figures,  in  an  effort  to  overcome  cultural  isolation  and  make  Maltese  literature 
available abroad. Overall, it may be claimed that — apart from promoting Maltese 
literature  —  the  voluntary  organisations,  however  active,  have  not  done  much  in 
the  way  of  language  planning:  their  tradition  and  attitude  were  predominantly 
literary, and their scope not wide enough to encompass all aspects of language use.  

4.6  The business world 

Both Maltese and English are considered  as  job requirements  by  most  employers 
in Malta, although English usually takes the precedence. Advertising in Maltese is 
on the increase, though it has a long way  to go in order to compete with English. 
This is particularly true in the case of newspaper advertisements. If there is a field 
where  Maltese  seems  to  be  totally  absent,  that  it  is  the  field  of  consumer 
information:  except  for  a  few  locally  produced  items,  goods  are  labelled  and 
instructions  given  exclusively  in  English,  and  less  frequently  in  Italian  or  in 
another European language. 

234

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
4.7  Family and the social use of the languages 

4.7.1 

In general, there is a dearth of statistical data relating to the state of Maltese and 
its  use  in  the  different  walks  of  life.  It  has  often  been  noted  that  —  compared  to 
other emigrant populations — the Maltese exhibit a low level of retention of their 
native  language.  In  spite  of  its  smallness,  Maltese  has  several  geographically-
determined  dialects  going  back  to  a  time  when  the  demography  of  the  islands 
permitted the existence of various tiny communities, each with its own particular 
phonetic  and  intonational  variants,  but  with  few  differences  where  grammar  and 
vocabulary  are  concerned.  Dialect  speakers  are  normally  regarded  as  rustic  and 
uncouth  by  non-dialect  speakers,  and  educated  people  tend  to  avoid  all  traces  of 
dialect in their speech. Within many older town and village centres, however, the 
dialect  is  spoken  extensively,  and  is  occasionally  used  as  a  social  bond  to  the 
exclusion of “foreigners”.   

4.7.2  While “correct” British English is considered as a socially desirable goal, practically 
all usage is influenced by Maltese to varying extents. Linguists identify a particular 
mixed form of English which they term “Maltese English”.  It is also quite common 
to  hear  persons,  especially  of  the  younger  generation,  code-mixing  or  code-
switching between Maltese and English. 

4.7.3  As  evinced  by  a  recent  survey  (Sciriha  and  Vassallo  2001),  Maltese  features  very 
highly  in  the  interpersonal  and  family  spheres  of  communication.    About  90% 
claim  to  use  it  to  communicate  with  family  members,  while  the  figure  drops  to 
83.6% for communication with friends. Besides, there is a general tendency for the 
figure to decrease gradually as we go down the age scale, perhaps indicating that, 
as  the  younger  generations  become  more  bilingual,  a  steadily  increasing 
percentage  tend  to  communicate  with  family  and  friends  in  English.  This  could 
also  be  explained,  if  not  triggered,  by  the  growing  tendency  of  a  relatively  small 
portion of Maltese to educate (and speak to) their children in English. On the other 
hand,  according  to  the  same  study,  a  full  98.6%  consider  Maltese  as  their  native 
language. According to Milian i Massana (2004) as many as 14% of the population 
seem to use English in the family, and 29% at work. For Maltese these figures are 
90%  (as  mentioned  above)  and  70%  respectively.  Other  interesting  figures  from 
the 1995 census indicated that 76% of the adult population knew English, and 36% 
Italian.  

4.7.4 

It has  been  noted that  while Maltese  may be  almost absent in the  life  of children 
who  are  educated  solely  in  English,  its  role  increases  as  the  child  grows  and 
integrates into society — despite a different initial set of sociolinguistic values and 
attitudes.  Thus,  when  the  young  man  or  woman  begins  to  work,  as  often  as  not 
they  adapt  –  albeit  with  some  difficulty  –  to  the  new  situation  where  colleagues 
communicate  mainly  in  Maltese  and  in  mixed  Maltese-English.  The  gender 
variable  is  present  in  the  choice  of  language  and  somehow  intersects  the  age 
variable,  mening  tend  to  use  Maltese  more  than  women  especially  among  the 
young, while older women (of whom only  a small percentage go out to work) use 
Maltese more than their male peers.. Some people are critical of the use of Maltese 
by the younger generation, especially where the sectorial language of young people 
is concerned. They tend to regard language as their inherited possession and even 
as a static code, which they regard young people and most people in the media as 
beingare  guilty  of  tarnishing.  On  the  other  hand,  the  new  European  status  of 
Maltese  has  boosted  its  image  and  has  given  to  many  a  new  confidence  in  their 
language. 

235

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
4.7.5  Church  services  (including  mass,  homilies  and  ceremonies  such  as  weddings, 
funerals,  etc.)  are  almost  exclusively  in  Maltese,  except  for  services  for  the  small 
communities  of  foreign  language  speakers.  There  is  a  small  percentage  of  society 
who  prefer  church  services  in  English,  and  a  church  in  Sliema  holds  services 
exclusively in English. Church hymns are predominantly in Maltese, though most 
of  the  younger  generation  do  not  seem  averse  to  the  introduction  of  hymns  in 
English during mass. 

5. 

Summary and conclusions 

Through  Malta’s  long  history  of  successive  dominations  the  native  language  has 
played  a  subordinate  role  to  the  ruling  language,  and  this  has  kept  the  language 
both from enjoying any sort of social status and from being cultivated in its corpus. 
This  process  has  brought  Maltese  nearest  to  the  typical  position  of  a  minority 
language, despite being the language of the absolute majority of the people: it was 
precisely  the  large  mass  of  isolated  monolinguals  that  actually  assured  its 
continued preservation in the face of so many cultural and linguistic dominations. 
Although  the  last  century  has  witnessed  a  substantial  change  in  the  status  of 
Maltese (both locally and internationally), its development  is now affected by the 
massive influence of media in English and by the fact that the great majority of the 
Maltese  are  now  bilingual,  and  thus  free  to  choose  either  English  or  Maltese  as 
their  own  and  their  children’s  medium  of  expression.  The  present  situation  of 
Maltese  clearly  reflects  the  historical  situation,  both  in  the  language  itself  and,  
even  more  so,  in  the  people’s  attitudes  towards  their  mother  tongue  and  other 
languages.  The  inferior  status  traditionally  associated  with  Maltese  has  also 
contributed  to  a  sense  of  low  self-esteem  wherever  the  language  is  concerned.  As 
we  have  seen,  there  is  a  thematic  —  and  therefore  cultural  —  subdivision  in 
education  between  emotional/affective  subjects  (in  Maltese)  and  career-oriented 
subjects (in English), and Maltese lacks the terminology for many areas of modern 
life  from  which  it  has  been  traditionally  excluded.  As  far  as  bilingualism  goes, 
Malta  has  inherited  (and  at  present  enjoys)  what  could  be  described  as  an  ideal 
situation  on  the  one  hand  a  small  but  dynamic  language  of  identity  and  on  the 
other a language of international standing which enables vital contacts between the 
island  and  the  outside  world.  But  the  social  connotations  that  are  linked  to 
language choice, and the fact that many parents tend to consider bilingualism as an 
unwelcome  if  not  unnecessary  burden  on  their  children  —  often  opting  to  expose 
them solely to one of the two languages during their first five or even ten years of 
education — potentially undermines the benefits of bilingualism.  

236

 
 
 
  
 
 
  Poland  

1.   

Introduction 

1.1 

The nation-state of Poland  (PL) covers an area of 312,685 km² in Central Europe. 
To  the  West,  the  country  borders  on  Germany,  in  the  South-West  on  the  Czech 
Republic, in the South on Slovakia, in the  South-East on the Ukraine, in the East 
on  Belarus,  in  the  North-East  on  Lithuania  and  in  the  North  on  Russia  and  the 
Baltic  Sea.  The  biggest  cities  are  the  capital  Warsaw  [Warszawa]  (approx.  1.6 
million  inhabitants),  Lodz  [ŁodźŁódź]  (approx.  800,000  inhabitants),  Krakow 
[Kraków]  (approx.  740,000  inhabitants),  Wroclaw  [Wrocław]  (approx.  637,000 
inhabitants)  and  Poznan  [Poznań]  (approx.  578,000  inhabitants).  In  2001  the 
employment  rate  was  56.7%  of  the  labour  force,  18.1%  working  in  agri-  and 
silviculture, 31.4% in industry and construction and 50.5% in services. The North-
East 
[województwo];  shortened  version: 
Warmia-Masuria) and the East (Lublin Voivodship) are economically weak areas, 
whereas the centre around Warsaw is booming. After the administrative reform in 
1999,  Poland  was  divided  into  16  provinces/voivodships  (see  map)  which  are  in 
turn divided into 315 districts [powiat] and 2,489 municipalities [gmina]. 

(Warmian-Masurian  Voivodship 

1.2 

The Republic of Poland [Rzeczpospolita Polska] is a parliamentary democracy. The 
head of state is the president, who is elected directly for a term of five years. The 
head of government is the prime minister, who is appointed by the president and 
confirmed by the parliament: the Sejm [Seijm]. The members of Sejm are elected 
by  proportional  representation  for  a  four-  year  term.  Between  1995  and  1999  the 
gross  domestic  product  per  capita  increased  by  10.7%,  in  2003  by  3.7%.  In  2000 
unemployment  was  at  12.1  %  and  in  2003  it  increased  to  approximately  20%. 
Inflation was approximately 7% in 2001 and until 2004 it decreased to 3.7%. The 
major  export  goods  of  Poland  are  machines  (assembly  plants  of  various  car 
companies), electronic goods and textiles. Poland’s most important trade partners 
are other EU countries, especially Germany, France and Italy. 

237

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
  
2. 

General aspects 

2.1   

The  region  between  Vistula  [Wisła]  and  Warta,  known  as  Greater  Poland 
[Wielkpoloska]  is  the  origin  of  the  Ppolish  state.  In  the  10th  century  it  was 
populated by the Slavonic tribe of the Polans whose main settlement was Gniezno 
and  who  were  ruled  by  the  Piasts.  The  Jewish  beginningsorigins  in  Poland  also 
date  back  to  that  period,  since  the  Polans  accommodated  Jews  who  were 
persecuted  in  many  parts  of  Europe.  Important  historical  events  regarding  the 
ethnic  constitution  were  the  shiftmovement  of  the  borders  to  the  East  in  the  14th 
century as well as political unions with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (Kreva Union 
of  1385,  Horodło  Union  of  1413  and  Lublin  Union  of  1569).  Apart  from  an 
expansion  to  the  East,  this  Union  (which 
lasted  until  1795)  entailed  a 
Ggermanisation  of  the  western  Polan  settlements  and  a  polonisation  of  the 
Ruthenian and Lithuanian population. 1795 was also the date of the third division 
of Poland among Russia, Austria and Prussia when the Polish state ceased to exist 
for  123  years.  Poland  entered  the  era  of  nation  states  with  a  certain  amount  of 
delay, in 1918. However, the interwar republic struggled with its borders since the 
regions  it  incorporated  were  quite  controversial  in  West  Prussia,  Poznan,  East 
Prussia  and  Upper  Silesia.  Most  German  inhabitants  of  the  former  Prussian 
provinces  Posen  and  West  Prussia  emigrated  to  Germany.  During  the  Second 
World  War  the  Republic  of  Poland  was  broken  up  between  Soviet  Russia  and 
Germany. As a result of the Yalta Agreement, Poland lost one third of its pre-war 
territories  which  were  annexedttributed  to  the  Soviet  Union.  As  “compensation” 
Poland received a large part of Germany, i. e. all territories east of the rivers Oder 
and Neisse (Brandenburg, East Prussia, Pomerania, Silesia), from the allies. Nearly 
the whole ‘original’ population in these regions, which remained sedentary despite 
the  above-mentioned  border  shifts,  had  already  fled  in  1945  or  was  expelled  or 
resettled  in  Germany.  The  regions  were  populated  with  Polish  refugees  from  the 
eastern  parts  of  Poland,  who  did  not  want  to  live  under  a  Soviet  government.  At 
that  time,  hundreds  of  thousands  of  Ukrainians  were  forced  to  leave  Poland  and 
settle in the Soviet Union. Most of the Jews who survived the extinction policy of 
the  Nazi  regime  emigrated  to  Israel  or  the  US.  Between  1947  and  1989  (the 
Stalinist  era lasted till 1956) Poland, as a communist state,  was part of the Soviet 
sphere of influence. In the 1980s the economic decline triggered a political change 
promoted  by  the  union  Solidarność.  In  the  1989  elections  the  communists  were 
defeated and Solidarność won every seat it soughtapplied for. Later on Solidarność 
constituted the government followed by the dissociation of the Communist Bloc. 

2.2  

The first free parliamentary elections took place in 1991 and in 1992 a transitional 
Constitution was established. In 1999 Poland joined NATO, after the Constitution 
of the Republic of Poland had been was adopted on 2 April two years before. Article 
34 of the Constitution states that the Polish nationality is gained through birth by 
parents  of  Polish  nationality.  The  new  Constitution  brought  a  short  period  of 
political  stability  to  the  country,  which  was  followed  by  a  process  of  intrastate 
changes  following  the  presidential  elections  in  2000.  Independence  became  the 
symbol  of  Polish  politics,  and  during  the  last  elections  euroscepticism  grew 
stronger.  The  1989  political  change  left  its  traces  in  all  Slavonic  languages.  The 
Anglo-American  influence  on  the  vocabulary  is  particularly  striking.  More  subtle 
but  none  the  less  important  are  the  profound  changes  due  to  the  abolition  of 
censorship  and  thus  the  various  political  language  provisions  well  as  the 
orientation towards the European Union (especially in the press). 

2.3   With  respect  to  religionOn  the  other  hand  Poland  is  a  very  homogenous  area 
regarding  religion.  Over  90%  of  the  population  declare  themselves  being  of 
Roman-Catholic  faith.  The  second  group  is  the  Orthodox  community  which  is 

238

 
 
 
 
 
mainly composed of members of the Belarusian and Ruthenian ethnic minorities. 
In  addition,  there  are  about  100,000  Protestants  as  well  as  110,000  members  of 
the  Ukrainian  Uniate  Church  and  as  many  of  Jehovah’s  Witnesses  and  a  few 
thousand  Jews.  The  high  homogeneity  is  due  to  the  fact  that  in  the  time  around 
World  War  II,  the  Protestant  Germans  fled  or  were  expelled,  Poland  lost  the 
regions  with  a  high  proportion  of  Orthodox  and  the  Jews  becamewere  victims  of 
the Holocaust. Therefore, no noteworthy religious conflicts have occurred in recent 
times.  Orthodox  and  Greek  Catholic  communities  were  only  able  to  reclaim  their 
sacred  buildings  after  the  democratisation  in  1990,  as  they  had  previously  been 
used by the Roman Catholic church since WWII. 

3.    Demographic data 

3.1 

3.2 

According to the 2002 census Poland has 38 million inhabitants with a density of 
123  inhabitants/km².  The  population  has  remained  relatively  stable  over  the  last 
30  years.  In  addition,  there  has  hardly  been  any  migration.  Until  1989  official 
sources  mentioned  ‘old  immigrants’,  some  of  which  were  political  refugees  from 
Greece  and  Macedonia  in  the  1960s.  The  ‘new  immigrants’  are  Belarusians, 
Armenians,  Russians  and  immigrants  from  Asian  countries,  especially  from 
Vietnam. However, there is an enormous rupture distinction between the pre- and 
the post-war time: before World War II the non-Polish population was estimated at 
30% to 60% whereas today national minorities in Poland only account for 2% to 4% 
(approx. 1.1 to 1.7 million) of the population.  

In  order  to  prepare  for  the  ratification  and  implementation  of  the  European 
Charter for Regional or Minority Languages which was signed in 2003, the Polish 
authorities  distinguish  three  categories  of  regional  and  national  minorities: 
members  of  nine  national  minorities  [mniejszości  narodowe],  members  of  four 
ethnic  minorities  [mniejszości  etniczne]  and  one  community  using  a  regional 
language  [społeczność  posługująca  się  językiem  regionalnym]  (see  also  Report 
Submitted by Poland on the Implementation of the Framework Convention for the 
Protection of National Minorities). The following estimates can be made regarding 
the size of these 14 language groups: 

Official category  Language 

Estimate* 

German  
Belorussianarusian 
Ukrainian  
Lithuanian 
Russian 
Slovak  
Czech 
Yiddish  
Armenian 
Ruthenian/Russinian/ 
Lemkish 
Roma 
Tartarian 
Karaim 

300,000 – 400,000  
250,000 – 300,000  
300,000 
30,000 
20,000  
15,000 
3,000 
5,000 
1,500 
50,000 

20,000 
2,000 
150 

% of total 
population 
0.8 – 1.0% 
0.6 – 0.8% 
0.8% 
0.08% 
0.05% 
0.04% 
0.01% 
0.01% 
0.01% 
0.13% 

0.05% 
0.01% 
- 

National 
minorities 

Ethnic 
minorities 

Regional 
language group 
Total 

Kashubian  

250,000 – 300,000 

0.6-0.8% 

1,246,650 – 1,446,650 

3.2 – 3.8% 

*  Sources:  http://www.armenien.at;  Association  for  Civic  Media  2003;  Handbook  on  Contact 
Linguistics  1996,  International  Journal  of  the  Sociology  of  Language  1996,  http://www.cesnur.org 
2003. 

239

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
3.3 

 The  figures  of  the  Helsinki  Foundation  for  Human  Rights  from  1999  and  the 
Association for Civic Media (Poland) from 2003 are slightly higher. They count the 
Greek  speakers  who  do  not  appear  in  the  official  lists  for  ratification  of  the 
European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages as a minority. However, the 
Helsinki  list  does  not  distinguish  between  Ukrainian  and  Ruthenian/Lemkish,  so 
the number of language groups is still 14. Irrespective of the number of speakers in 
those statistics the minorities in Poland can be divided into groups which live in a 
greater  coherent  area  and  groups  which  are  scattered  all  over  the  country. 
Historically  and  geographically  the  first  group  in  eastern  Poland  includes  the 
Lithuanian, Belarusian and Ukrainian minorities. However, it should be noted that 
after  the  military  Vistula  Operation  [Akcja  WisłaWisła  Aktion]  in  April  1947 
approximately  150,000  Ukrainians  (including  Ruthenians/Lemks)  from  South-
West  Poland  were  dispersed  into  northern  and  western  Poland  in  order  to  break 
their civil disorder. This operation was condemned by the new Polish parliament in 
1990.  The  Slovaks  in  the  South  of  Poland  have  fixed  settlements,  whereas  there 
were several shifts in the West. As a result, the German language minority of this 
region  claims  its  own  nationality  –  Silesian.  To  the  North  there  is  the  settlement 
area of the Kashubians, which is also cohesive. 

3.4 

There are differing estimates and statistitics for the national and ethnic minorities, 
which  is  not  only  due  to  the  fact  that  during  Socialism,  nationality  was  not 
explicitly registered. For the first time after the interwar period, the last census in 
2002  included  questions  on  ethnicity  and  nationality.  According  to  the  census 
471,000  inhabitants  of  Poland  (whereof  444,590  of  them  citizens)  belonged  to  a 
national  minority  –  a  number  which  hugely  differs  from  the  scientific  estimates 
made  by  the  above-mentioned  sources.  The  following  table  shows  the  major 
ethnicities according to national identity and use of a language as ‘home language’: 

People of Polish and non-Polish 
citizenship 

Other ethnicity 

152,897 

1,133 

45 
5,062 
5,863 
5,864 
12,855 
173,153 
2,001 
495 
831 
30,957 
48,737 
439,893 

Other home 
language 
204,573 

Hebrew: 225 

- 
52,665 
5,627 
5,838 
15,788 
56,643 
921 
- 
1,482 
22,698 
40,650 
407,110 

German  
Jewish/ 
Hebrew 
Karaim 
Kashubian  
Lemkish 
Lithuanian 
Roma 
Silesian  
Slovak  
Tartarian 
Czech 
Ukrainian  
Belarusian  
Total 

The largest minority is the Silesians with 174,000 members. The 5,062 members of 
the  Kashubian  minority  live  in  the  area  around  Gdansk.  Polish  citizens  with  of 
German  origins  have  been  able  to  apply  for  dual  citizenship  for  some  time  now. 
Until  2002,  this  right  was  used  by  approx.  288,000  persons  (Source:  Main 
statistical authority/Główny Urząd Statystyczny). 

240

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
3.5 

It  is  very  difficult  to  give  an  unbiased  answer  to  the  question  which    ethnic  or 
national  group  a  person  belongs  to.Generally  it  is  not  possible  to  give  an  answer 
that is unbiased with regards to the ethnic or national group that a person belongs 
to. A total of 770,000 participants did not even declare their nationality. According 
to  the  census  204,000  persons  stated  using  the  German  language  at  home  on  a 
daily basis. It was estimated that 300,000 members of the German minority live in 
the region of Opole-Silesia. However, according to a report issued by the statistical 
authority  only  about  107,000  Germans  live  there.  According  to  this  source,  there 
are  also  24,200  Silesians  and  157,000  inhabitants  with  dual  citizenship  (Polish-
German) 
(http://www.vda-
globus.de/Aktuelles/hauptteil_aktuelles.html). These figures must be compared to 
the  ones  of  the  census  where  approx.  57,000  persons  stated  that  they  speak 
Silesian  at  home  in  everyday  life.  Furthermore,  there  are  more  members  of  the 
German  nationality  than  speakers  of  German  whereas  the  opposite  is  true  for 
Silesian.  Despite  Poland  being  a  relatively  homogeneous  country,  the  issue  of 
ethnic and national identity remains of high relevance. 

voivodship 

living 

the 

in 

4. 

Language policy 

4.1  While  pre-war  Poland  was  very  open  towards  its  heterogeneous  character  this 
situation  changed  fundamentally  after  World  War  II.  Especially  during  the 
Stalinist  era  minorities  had  no  rights  in  the  centralised  socialist  state;  they  were 
even  oppressed  (see  for  example  the  2000  Pax  Christi  International).  The  main 
victims of this policy were the Ukrainian and German minorities due to the events 
of the Second World War. Although the policy towards minorities changed with the 
end  of  the  Stalinist  era  in  1956,  it  was  only  in  the  1980s  that  a  new  awareness 
emerged  in  this  respect.  With  the  election  of  a  representative  of  the  Ukrainian 
minority  to  the  Sejm  in  1989,  the  true  ‘revival’  of  the  minorities  began,  until  this 
time  they  were  not  very  organised  on  a  political  level.  Today  the  Ministry  of  the 
Interior  is  in  charge  of  minority  matters  and  since  January  2000  it  runs  its  own 
department  for  national  minorities.  It  was  completed  on  6  February  2002  by  the 
team for national minorities which is still working today. 

4.2 

Article  35  of  the  Polish  Constitution  guarantees  Polish  citizens  who  belong  to  a 
national  or  ethnic  minority  the  freedom  to  preserve  and  to  develop  their  own 
language, to maintain their customs and traditions as well as to develop their own 
culture.  According  to  article  27  of  the  1997  Constitution,  Polish  is  the  official 
language  of  the  Republic  of  Poland.  This  legislation  does  not  infringe  upon  the 
rights of national minorities guaranteed by ratified international law. Article 35 of 
the Constitution states the following regarding national minorities: “National and 
ethnic  minorities  shall  have  the  right  to  establish  educational  and  cultural 
institutions, institutions designed to protect religious identity, as well as the right 
to  participate  in  the  resolution  of  matters  connected  with  their  cultural  identity” 
(Source: http://www.sejm.gov.pl/english/konstytucja/kon1.htm). According to the 
this  differentiation,  the  regulation  applies  to:  Armenian,  Belarusian,  Czech, 
German, Jewish, Lithuanian, Russian, Slovak and Ukrainian. 

4.3 

The  constitutional  principles  concerning  national  minorities  were  further 
developed through the Act on the Polish Language of 7 October 1999. It states that 
the  status  of  the  Polish  language  should  not  be  extended  at  the  cost  of  other 
languages. Direct positive developments are: the bilateral agreements between the 
Republic of Poland and Germany, the Czech and the Slovak Republic, the Republic 
of  Belarus,  the  Ukraine  and  the  Republic  of  Lithuania.  On  10  November  2000 
President  Aleksander  Kwaśniewski  signed  the  Framework  Convention  for  the 

241

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Protection  of  National  Minorities  and  on  1  April  2001  the  Convention  for  the 
Protection  of  National  Minorities  (Report  Submitted  by  Poland  on  the 
Implementation  of  the  Framework  Convention  for  the  Protection  of  National 
Minorities).  The  Minister  for  the  Interior  is  responsible  for  policies  concerning 
national minorities. These policies are coordinated by a team in charge of matters 
of national minorities (see above). 

4.4  Minority  languages  have  been  formally  acknowledged  in  the  education  system  in 
the context of article 13 of the regulation on the school system since the transition 
period after 1989. Moreover, the decree of 3 December 2002 issued by the Minister 
for  Education  and  Sports  specifies  how  minorities  can  preserve  their  national, 
ethnic,  linguistic  and  religious  identity  within  the  education  system  ranging  from 
pre-  to  secondary  school  by  learning  more  about  their  language,  history  and 
culture.  The  decree  extended  the  scope  of  the  1992  decree  −  which  restricted  the 
minority rights − to include national minorities. Minority language classes depend 
on a required minimum of pupils. If this number is reached, the minority language 
will be taken into consideration as follows: 

a) Schools and nurseries can offer classes and education in the minority language. 

b) Bilingual institutions can be established. 

c) Schools can offer classes in minority languages as an extra subject. 

d)  Finally,  there  is  the  possibility  of  inter-school  groups  which  combine  minority 
language classes of different schools. 

The schools are financed by the government, based on the decree of 22 December 
2003  on  the  self-administration  of  schools  as  of  2004,  which  was  issued  by  the 
Minister for Education and Sports. According to the decree, financial support from 
the  government  for  school  expenses  may  be  raised  to  20%  (and  in  some  schools 
even to 50%) per pupil belonging to a minority. This is an important incentive for 
minorities  since  most  of  their  schools  are  public,  except  for  the  Jewish  minority 
schools in Warsaw. In Poland compulsory education applies to all children between 
the ages of six and 15/16. The education system is formally divided into six levels 
and according to the 2002 decree minorities can promote their culture throughout 
the system(and minorities can support their culture according to the 2002 decree): 
I.  Nursery  [przedszkole]  –  3/4  to  6/7  years;  II.  Primary  school  [szkoła 
podstawowa] – 6/7 to 12/13 years; III. Grammar school [gimnazjum] – 12/13 to 
15/16 years; IV. General secondary school [liceum ogólnokształcące] or Vocational 
secondary  school  [technikum  /  liceum  techniczne]  –  15/16  to  18/19  years  or 
General  vocational  school/Economics  school  [zasadnicza  szkoła  zawodowa],  V. 
University [uniwersytet, akademia, wyższa szkoła] – 18/19 to 23/24 years and VI. 
Postgraduate education: four-year doctorate studies [studia doktoranckie] or one- 
to  two-year  certificate  courses  [studia  podyplomowe].  Comparing  the  official 
Polish list with the Helsinki list, the following distribution rates can be determined 
for seven of the 15 language groups: 

242

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Language 

German  
Kashubian  
Ruthenian/ 
Lemkish 
Lithuanian 
Slovak  
Ukrainian  
Belarusian  

Number of Schools 

Primary 
(2002/2003) 
261 
48 

Grammar 
(2002/2003) 
63 
8 

Secondary 
(2002/2003) 
1 
4 

14 

13 
6 
80 
24 

6 

3 
4 
46 
12 

1 

3 
1 
10 
4 

Several universities have departments for  different languages. However, this does 
not mean that they are being studied as minority languages. Interestingly, there is 
no  representation  of  the  Kashubians  who  are  classified  as  a  regional  language 
community  by  Polish  authorities.  The  state  produces  teaching  materials,  but 
ultimately  this  depends  on  the  local  situation.  The  Ministry  for  Education  and 
Sports monitors the minority schools at a provincial level [województwo]. There is 
an  increasing  trend  to  use  the  internet  for  classes  or  to  distribute  teaching 
materials for minority languages.  

Article  21,  section  9  of  the  Act  on  Radio  and  Television  of  29  December  1992 
commits  public  stations  to  adapt  their  programmes  to  the  needs  of  national 
minorities  and  ethnic  groups.  The  public  regional  TV  station  Telewizja  Polska  3 
broadcasts  twelve  regional  programmes 
for  several  minorities:  Białystok, 
Bydgoszcz,  Gdańsk,  Katowice,  Kraków,  Lublin,  Łódź,  Poznań,  Rzeszów,  Szczecin, 
Warszawa  (Warsaw)  and  Wrocław.  In  a  revision  of  this  legislation,  which  was 
adopted  on  1  February  2001,  a  new  category  of  social  stations  was  created  which 
minority  stations  can  apply  for  and  which  work  in  close  cooperation  with  public 
stations.  

According  to  article  5  of  the  act  on  the  constitution  of  general  courts  of  27  July 
2001  (Journal  of  Laws  no.  98,  item  1070)  persons  with  insufficient  knowledge  of 
Polish  have  the  right  to  request  an  interpreter  for  their  respective  language.  This 
right applies to criminal proceedings, civil proceedings and administrative courts. 
Legal  documents  can  only  be  written  in  Polish  but  translations  into  other 
languages  are  possible.  A  document  issued  in  a  minority  language  has  to  be 
translated into Polish in order to be legally binding. 

Since Polish is the only official language (art. 27 of the Polish Constitution) other 
languages  may  neither  be  used  in  contacts  with  authorities  nor  in  business. 
Therefore,  descriptions  of  goods,  offers  and  advertisements  in  a  language  other 
than Polish and appearing in a legal context whatsoever have to be translated into 
Polish. However, national, regional and local authorities allow the use of minority 
language names and surnames. The act on the Polish language also allows the use 
of names and information texts in minority languages. 

4.5 

4.6 

4.7 

4. 

The European dimension 

On  12  May  2003  Poland  signed  the  European  Charter  for  Regional  or  Minority 
Languages. As a result, the national and ethnic minorities as well as the Kashubian 
regional language group are registered in additional lists. Moreover, Poland seeks a 
regional  approach  regarding  minority  issues  by  concluding  transnational  and 
bilateral agreements with its neighbours as well as adopting the Convention for the 
Protection of National Minorities (see above). 

243

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
    Belorussian in Poland  

1.    General information 

1.1 

The language 

1.1.1  Belorussian  [belaruskaja  mova],  along  with  Russian  and  Ukrainian,  is  an  East 
Slavonic language. The three languages were spoken in the Kievan Rus region (9th 
century;  see  language  report  Ukrainian).  Today,  the  centre  for  the  Belorussian 
language  in  Poland  is  Białystok  [Belastok]  the  capital  of  the  Podlasie  Voivodship 
(North  East  Poland)  at  approx.  180km  from  Warsaw.  The  language  is  mostly 
spoken by students and Belorussian academics, often in the context of religious or 
folk celebrations. 

1.1.2    In  Soviet  times,  Belorussian  was  almost  completely  replaced  by  the  Russian 
language. In Belarus much of the population speaks a language that is mixed with 
Russian (which is deprecatingly called Trasjanka [fodder]) although Belorussian is 
the official language. Even in Poland it is hard to speak in terms of a Belorussian 
standard language as many inhabitants in rural areas speak Belorussian, Ukrainian 
or Polish dialects or mixed forms. Interference between the languages is extremely 
common and has generated special toponymical forms.  

1.2  History, geography and demography 

1.2.1  The  ancestors  of  the  Belorussians  in  Poland  settled  in  this  region  since  the  14th 
century. Most Belorussians still live in Białystok or its surroundings. The city was 
founded  in  the  14th  century  and  since  1665  was  ruled  by  the  Branicki  family.  In 
1749 it obtained the status of a town and 1795 Białystok came under Prussian and 
in 1807 under Russian reign. After World War I it was assigned to Poland and at 
the  beginning  of  World  War  II,  as  a  result  of  the  Hitler-Stalin  pact,  to  the  Soviet 
Union. In 1941 it was occupied by the German Wehrmacht and became part of East 
Prussia. In 1944/45 the Red Army re-conquered it and it now belongs to Poland. 

1.2.2 

In  this  region,  the  Belorussian  and  Polish  dialects  influence  each  other 
considerably.  This  entails  a  very  complex  dialectal  situation  in  East  Poland 
(Smułkowa, Elzbeieta 1997). 

1.3  Legal status and official policies 

Because  the  Polish  authorities  acknowledge  the  Belorussians  as  a  national 
minority,  article  35  of  the  Constitution  as  well  as  the  respective  decrees  of  the 
Ministry  of  Education  and  Sports  also  apply  to  them  (see  country  report).  The 
Belorussian  minority  is  represented  in  local  councils,  especially  in  the  Podlasie 
region. In addition, three members of parliament are of Belorussian nationality. 

244

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2. 

Presence and use of the language in various fields 

2.1  Education 

The  use  of  Belorussian  at  school  is  based  on  the  2002  decree  of  the  Minister  for 
National Education and Sports (see country report). While the number of schools 
for other minorities in Poland has increased, there are fewer and fewer schools for 
Belorussians.  In  the  school  year  2002/2003  there  were  24  primary  schools,  12 
grammar  schools  and  four  secondary  schools  where  Belorussian  was  taught. 
Recently, a faculty for Belorussian was established at Białystok University. 

2.2  Judicial authorities 

People  who  do  not  speak  Polish  are  allowed  to  call  a  Belorussian-speaking 
interpreter (see country report). 

2.3  Public authorities and services 

Since the Polish language is the only official language according to article 27 of the 
Constitution,  the  use  of  a  language  other  than  Polish  is  not  allowed  (see  country 
report). 

2.4  Mass media and information technology 

There  are  no  daily  newspapers  in  Belorussian.  The  following  periodicals  are 
published in Belorussian on a weekly or monthly basis: Niwa, Czasopis, since 1998 
Epoch,  Haradockija  Nawiny,  since  2000  Prawincyja,  Termapiły,  Annus 
Albaruthenicus and Bielski Hościnieć. The public Radio Białystok broadcasts two 
weekly programmes for the Belorussian minority in Poland: Pod znakami Pahoni 
and  Pażadalnaja  pieśnia.  In  Białystok,  the  programme  About  us  [O  nas]  is 
produced: it features information on the minorities of the Podlasie region with 10 
minutes  of  information  on  Belorussian.  This  TV  station  also  broadcasts  the 
programme  Neighbours  [Sąsiedzi]  once  a  month,  which  deals  with  issues  of  the 
Belorussian minority in Poland. 

2.5  Arts and culture  

In 2002 three books were officially published in Belorussian and in 2003 one book 
was  published.  Belorussian  is  often  used  in  traditional  music  rather  than  rock  or 
pop  music.  Since  1996  the  student  theatre  group  Lublin-Warszawa  performs  a 
play  in  Belorussian  once  or  twice  a  year.  There  are  the  following  cultural  events: 
the  Belorussian  youth  music  festival  Basowischtscha  which  aims  at  bringing 
together  Polish  and  Belorussian  adolescents  and  is  organised  by  the  Belorussian 
students  organisation;  the  festival  Belorussian  Song  in  Białystok,  the  Festival  of 
the  Belorussian  Culture  in  Białystok  [Festiwal  Kultury  Białoruskiej];  the  Polish 
and  Belorussian  literature  workshops  Biazmieschscha;  the  poetry  and  prose 
competition Debiut and Kupalle – Holiday in Białowieża. 

245

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2.6  The business world 

According to article 27 of the Constitution, Belorussian, just as any other minority 
language, is of no importance in the business world as official language. The use of 
Russian  is  dominating  over  that  of  Belorussian  in  the  Republic  of  Belarus.  The 
importance of Belorussian for cross-border business is thus only slowly increasing 
and is especially based on the strong national feeling of the Belorussians in Poland. 
One of the most vigorously developing sectors of Białystok's economy is trade and 
services.  This  sector  makes  up  about  24%  of  all  employment  in  Białystok  (about 
30,000 people). The importance of services, in a broader sense, is increasing; they 
include  the  so-called  business  environments,  especially  financial  agencies,  real 
estate  and  business  services,  hotels  and  restaurants,  as  well  as  transport  and 
communication.  The  local  trade  infrastructure  comprises  numerous  trade  chains, 
such as PSS Społem, Przemysł Mięsny Białystok, Jeronimo Martins Dystrybucja 
Biedronka,  Marcpol,  or  Massa;  shopping  centres  such  as  Auchan,  Aneks, 
Omnidom,  Leroy  Merlin  or  Makro;  companies  specialising  in  trade  with  eastern 
markets;  Giełda  Rolno-Towarowa  S.A.  and  the  biggest  market  in  north-eastern 
Poland  Kawaleryjska.  The  city's  location  strengthens  its  role  as  a  centre  of 
exchange  between  the  East  and  West  and  thus  has  a  positive  influence  on  the 
development of trade. 

2.7  Family and the social use of the language  

2.7.1 

In the 2002 census 40,650 persons declared Belorussian as their home language, 
8,000 less than those also declaring Belorussian nationality. However, Belorussian 
organisations  and  experts  estimate  the  number  of  Belorussian-speakers  at  up  to 
300,000 (see 1.2.2). Most Belorussians in Poland are bilingual Belorussian-Polish 
or Belorussian-Russian. 

2.7.2  The  majority  of  Belorussians  in  Poland  belong  to  the  Polish  Autocephalous 
Orthodox Church which has approx. 550,000 members. Services are mostly held in 
Belorussian.  A  small  minority  belongs  to  the  Belorussian  Catholic  Church  which 
has  its  origins,  along  with  the  Ukrainian  Catholic  Church,  in  the  Union  of  Brest-
Litovsk from 1595/96. This religious split is one of the reasons why Belorussians in 
Poland  identify  themselves  more  with  their  nationality  than  the  Belorussians  in 
Belarus:  the  membership  in  the  Orthodox  Church  distinguishes  them  from  the 
Poles and is a statement of strong local roots in the region. 

2.7.3  The oldest Belorussian organisation – the Socio-cultural Society – was founded in 
1956  and  from  1988  to  1993  it  was  the  only  Belorussian  organisation  for  cultural 
issues of the Belorussians in Poland. In 1993 the Belorussian Union was founded: 
it  serves  as  an  umbrella  organisation  for  other  organisations:  the  Belorussian 
Literary  Association  Bialowieza  or  the  Belorussian  Students’  Organisation 
[Białoruskie Zrzeszenie Studentów]. 

3.  Conclusion 

The biggest problem for the Belorussian minority is the rapid assimilation process 
that has happened over the past few years. It is mainly due to a lack of a national 
consciousness on the part of the Belorussians – also in Belarus – which impedes a 
lasting  unification  as  a  minority  group.  Moreover,  the  dynamic  movements 
resulting in the 1981 students’ movement lose their political impetus. The situation 

246

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
of the Belorussian language is extremely precarious since even in Belarus – where 
it is the official language – Belorussian is about to disappear. The current situation 
is similar to that of Soviet times so a total dissolution of Belorussian in Russian is 
almost  unavoidable  now.  It  will  probably  subsist  as  a  mixed  dialect  with  low 
prestige.  Furthermore,  Belorussian  is  threatened  by  a  language  variety  spoken  in 
the South of Belarus – the so-called Western Polessian – which some people wish 
to establish as a separate standard. 

247

 
 
           German in Poland  

1.  General information 

1.1 

The language  

1.1.1  German  is  an  Indo-Germanic  language  of  the  Germanic  language  family.  The  so-
called East Germanic is a generic term for the dialects of the North Germanic tribes 
who  left  their  Scandinavian  home  and  settled  in  the  area  of  today’s  eastern 
Germany  and  Poland.  The  migration  took  place  during  the  400  years  known  as 
“Common  Germanic  Time”.  One  of  these  Vandalic  tribes  was  the  Lugii  [Lygians] 
who came to Silesia in about 100BC and repelled the local Celts. The Vandalic tribe 
of  the  Silingi  is  said  to  be  the  origin  of  the  name  for  Silesia.  In  800,  under 
Charlemagne,  the  word  ‘German’  emerged  as  a  denomination  and  a  coherent 
language area was created. In the 13th century Silesia became part of the Kingdom 
of Bohemia and thus of the German language area. As from the 18th century, after 
the Silesian Wars, Silesia was no longer part of this area. 

1.1.2  Over  the  centuries,  the  language  contact  between  German  and  Polish  caused 
interference and transference. During Old High German and Middle High German 
times words were already borrowed from German in Polish. However, most of the 
borrowings  in  Polish  derive  from  the  Early  New  High  German  and  New  High 
German  and  belong  to  the  fields  of  trade,  craft,  construction,  military  and 
seafaring.  Due  to  the  widespread  bilingualism  among  the  German  settlers,  Polish 
also influences the German vernaculars – especially in East Prussia and Silesia. In 
the  Silesian  vernacular,  Polish  equally  influences  the  vocabulary,  phonetics  and 
grammar. For example, Polish influences become evident in the word order: Hab 
ihm  gestern  gesagt  [“told  him  yesterday”,  rather  than  the  usual  “I  told  him 
yesterday”].  Another  typical  feature  of  German  in  Silesia  is  the  common  use  of 
reflexive  verbs:  sich  spielen,  sich  gehen  [play  oneself,  go  oneself].  Even  before 
World  War  II,  Polish  speakers  in  Upper  Silesia  were  often  exposed  to  German 
influences  through  the  education  system  and  administration  the  Polish  Silesian 
vernacular  (e.g.  the  famous  vernacular  ‘Water  Polish’  [Wasserpolnisch])  has 
characteristics which do not occur in the Polish standard language or other Polish 
vernaculars. After World War II the influence of Polish on the German language in 
Poland increased. For many young people German has become a foreign language 
and this has made way for the trilingualism of local vernacular, regional variation 
of the German standard language and Polish. 

1.2  History, geography and demography 

1.2.1  Originally,  Silesia  was  inhabited  by  the  East  Germanic  tribes  of  the  Silingi  and 
Lugii. During the migration of nations,  the East Teutons moved to the  South and 
the Slavs settled in Silesia in the second half of the 5th century. In 1138 the empire 
of the Piasts was divided; an independent Silesian line emerged. The Silesian Piasts 
linked  themselves  to  the  German  West  from  within  through  marriages  with 
daughters  of  German  sovereigns,  e.g.  the  marriage  of  Henry  I  (1202-38)  with 
Hedwig  von  Andechs  who  was  canonised  in  1267  and  is  still  admired  as  the 
country’s patron saint.  

248

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The settlement of German peasants, craftsmen, traders and miners, most of them 
from  the  Thuringia-Upper  Saxony  region,  was  increasingly  promoted  by  the 
territorial lords. Modelled on the cities of Magdeburg and Halle, German law ruled 
in  the  120  towns  until  mid  14th  century.  In  1458  the  Hungarian  king  Corvinus 
succeeded  in  gaining  the  Bohemian  crown  and  thus  the  divided  Silesia.  As  his 
successors remained without a male heir he concluded a marriage agreement with 
Emperor Maximilian I for the latter’s grandchild Ferdinand. In this way, from 1526 
onwards, Silesia belonged to the Habsburgs for 200 years. In 1740 King Frederic II 
of  Prussia  invaded  the  barely  protected  Silesia  with  his  army.  In  the  Peace  of 
Breslau (1742) Maria Theresia had to cede Silesia, and after the Congress of Vienna 
in  1815  the  province  was  extended  to  parts  of  the  Saxon  Upper  Lusatia 
[Oberlausitz] with the towns Lauban, Görlitz and Hoyerswerda. In the 19th century 
Silesia experienced strong economic improvement. Apart from state initiatives – in 
Malapane  the  first  machine  factory  in  Prussia  called  Königliche  Hütte  [Royal 
Smelter]  was  built  –  active  private  entrepreneurs  created  the  basis  for  a  thriving 
coal-mining  district.  Many  “Water  Polish”-speakers  from  rural  areas  took  this 
dialect,  which  was  different  from  the  advanced  standard  Polish,  with  them  when 
moving to the rapidly growing cities. It contained many German borrowings while 
German peasants and miners used many Polish expressions. This coexistence only 
started  to  break  up  in  the  second  half  of  the  19th  century  due  to  national 
distinctions which were also enforced by the “germanisation” policy of the German 
Empire.  A  simplification  was  made  by  equating  ‘Polish’  with  ‘Catholic’  as  well  as 
‘German’ or ‘Prussian’ with ‘Protestant’. With the Treaty of Versailles, the whole of 
Upper Silesia was ceded to Poland after World War I. As of 1939 Silesia served as a 
concentration  area  for  Hitler’s  offensive  armies.  In  1945  Soviet  troops  conquered 
Silesia.  At  the  Yalta  Conference  (February  1945)  it  was  agreed  that  the  Silesian 
territories up to the Oder and Neisse rivers would fall under Polish administration. 
On  21  June  1990  both  the  German  parliament  and  the  GDR  People’s  Parliament 
consented  −  in  the  context  of  the  German  Unification  Treaty  −  to  maintain  the 
border of 1945 as the western Polish border. 

Silesia  in  Poland  and  in  the  Czech 
Republic 

Source:  http://www.schlesisches-
museum.de/hst/index.htm 

1.2.2  According to the 2002 census there were 152,897 persons of German and 173,153 
persons  of  Silesian  nationality.  In  the  same  census  204,573  persons  declared 
German  and  56,643  declared  Silesian  as  their  home  language.  Estimates  from 
various  sources  indicate  a  total  of  300,000  to  400,000  German  speakers 
(Association for Civic Media 2003; Handbook of Contact Linguistics 1996).  

1.3  Legal status and official policies 

1.3.1  Until 1990, Poland was the only Central European country which did not officially 
acknowledge the German minority. At this time, the German minority, with a few 

249

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
exceptions, was not allowed to exercise activities in connection with its folk culture. 
Although article 35 of the Polish Constitution grants Polish citizens of national or 
ethnic  minorities  the  freedom  to  preserve  and  develop  their  own  language, 
customs,  traditions  and  culture  this  regulation  does  not  apply  for  the  Silesians  in 
the  German  language  minority;  they  are  not  included  in  the  three  categories  of 
regional  and  national  minority  groups  of  the  Polish  authorities.  The  Polish 
government  and  the  Supreme  Court  refuse  to  acknowledge  national  or  ethnic 
minority  status  for  Silesians;  e.g.  they  also  do  not  acknowledge  the  Verband  der 
Bevölkerung  Schlesischer  Nationalität  [Union  of  People  of  Silesian  Nationality] 
founded  in  1887.  The  European  Court  of  Human  Rights  confirmed  this  national 
decision in its judgment on 17 February 2004 (application no. 44158/98). 

1.3.2  Despite  this  rather  weak  legal  status  there  have  also  been  some  positive 
developments  for  the  status  of  the  German  language  minority,  which  were 
launched  by  the  state  visit  of  the  German  Chancellor  Kohl  in  1989.  Apart  from 
establishing  several  representations  for  their  national  group,  members  of  the 
German language minority were successful in local, regional and to a lesser extent 
in national elections. Currently the minority is represented by two members of the 
Polish parliament. 

1.3.3   It  can  also  be  noted  that  the  Polish  Council  of  Ministers,  which,  according  to  the 
draft minority act, is responsible for finding a comprehensive solution for the issue 
of  official  town  names  in  Silesia,  will  not  be  able  to  do  so  due  to  inconsistent 
language  use.  Moreover,  it  will  be  utterly  impossible  to  establish  a  denomination 
which  was  abolished  70  years  ago  and  is  barely  known  or  used  by  the  people.  It 
seems that the only feasible way to deal with these issues is on a case by case basis 
with community referendums.  

2.  Presence and use of the language in various fields 

2.1  Education 

2.1.1 

In  the  school  year  2002/2003  there  were  261  primary  schools  as  well  as  63 
grammar  schools  and  one  secondary  school  with  German  as  language  of 
instruction (Source: Section for national minorities of the Ministry of the Interior 
2004). However it must be kept in mind that no distinction can be made between 
classes  in  German  as  a  foreign  language  and  classes  in  German  as  a  minority 
language.  Most  schools  obviously  tend  to  teach  German  as  a  foreign  language  as 
many  teachers  are  trained  for  this  (e.g.  by  the  Goethe-Institut).  There  are  almost 
no efforts to introduce German or Polish dialects in schools. 

2.1.2  Only  20%  of  teachers  in  the  Opole  and  Silesia  districts  speak  German  fluently. 
Therefore, since 2002, language courses have been offered in order to strengthen 
the  German  language.  At  primary  and  secondary  level  the  German  language 
proficiency of the teachers is better; 80% of them are fluent in German. Teaching 
material  is  generally  available  for  German,  history  and  geography  classses.  Some 
secondary schools also offer bilingual classes. 

2.2  Judicial authorities 

Because  Polish  is  the  only  official  language,  people  who  do  not  speak  Polish  are 
allowed to call a German-speaking interpreter (see country report).  

250

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2.3  Public authorities and services 

Since  Polish  is  the  official  language,  German  does  not  play  a  significant  role  in 
public  authorities  or  on  a  local  level  in  general.  The  language  is  only  of  certain 
relevance in unofficial contacts (see language report). 

2.4  Mass media and information technology  

2.4.1  There  are  no  daily  newspapers  in  German.  Weekly  periodicals  published  only  in 
German  are:  Schlesien  Heute  [Silesia  Today]  and  Der  Oberschlesier  [The  Upper 
Silesian]  with  a  print  run  of  2,500  copies  each.  Partly  bilingual  or  German 
periodicals  are:  the  weekly  Schlesisches  Wochenblatt  [Silesian  Weekly],  monthly 
publications such as Hoffnung [Hope], Masurische Storchenpost [Masurian Stork 
Mail]  or  Mitteilungsblatt  [Bulletin].  Das  Informations-  und  Kulturbulletin  [The 
bulletin  for  information  and  culture]  is  published  bimonthly  and  the  Kulturelles 
Bildungsnotebook [Cultural Education Notebook] quarterly. 

2.4.2  Schlesien  Aktuell  [Silesia  up-to-date]  is  a  radio  programme  for  the  German 
minority in the Opole region which is broadcast from Monday to Thursday between 
5.30pm and 5.55pm on the public station Radio Opole, frequency 103.2 FM, which 
is  the  most  popular  station  in  the  Opole  region.  Schlesien  Aktuell  was  first 
broadcast  on  15  April  1998  and  the  editorial  team  is  composed  of  young  people. 
Their  aim  is  to  put  together  a  modern  information  programme  and  to  report  on 
important  activities  of  the  German  minority  and  German-Polish  topics.  The 
programme  boasts  news,  reports,  interviews,  information  on  events  and  German 
music  and  is  very  popular  with  the  audience.  This  is  not  only  confirmed  by 
numerous  calls  and  letters  but  also  by  concrete  figures;  the  audience  rating  of 
Schlesien  Aktuell  is  as  high  as  for  the  Polish  programme  broadcast  at  the  same 
time. Further private radio stations include Radio Plus, Radio Vanessa and Radio 
Park which are broadcast exclusively in German. 

2.4.3  The  local  TV  station  in  Opole  broadcasts  a  10-15  minute  programme  for  the 
German  language  minority  called  Schlesien  Journal  [Silesian  Journal],  which  is 
produced  by  an  independent  team.  The  programme  Schlesische  Wochenschau 
[Silesian Newsreel] is broadcast by the Polish television every other week.  

2.4.4  Currently no efforts are made to support the German minority in the field of new 
media.  However,  there  is  one  website  for  the  German  minority  provided  by  the 
Verband der deutschen Sozial-Kulturellen Gesellschaften in Polen [Association of 
the Social and Cultural Societies in Poland] in German and Polish. 

2.5  Arts and culture  

2.5.1  Most cultural activities in German take place in Silesia. For example, the cultural 
initiative for the Caritas library network in the Opole region was launched in 1992 
by the representative of the Catholic Church for the German minority. Since then 
two  library  busses  visit  about  150  villages.  34  additional  stationary  libraries  have 
now been established and with financial help from the German-Polish Foundation, 
the  central  library  Joseph  von  Eichendorff  was  opened  in  Opole.  The  voivodship 
library, which has sought to preserve the stocks from German times for many years 

251

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
now,  also  continues  to  collect  German  literature.  In  addition,  it  operates  another 
branch with German books – the ‘Austrian library’ in Opole. 

2.5.2  Annual German-Polish symposia on Silesia take place in the Kamień Śląski castle 
[Schloss  Groß  Stein].  Professors  and  persons  involved  in  the  cultural  sector  who 
come from the East and West and feel attached to Upper Silesia (mostly they have 
their origins there) take part as speakers. The various talks are mainly intended for 
priests, teachers, librarians and journalists. 

2.5.3  The  Haus  der  Deutsch-Polnischen  Zusammenarbeit  [House  for  German-Polish 
Cooperation]  in  Gliwice  was  set  up  in  1998.  It  is  based  on  the  first  registered 
association and its contributors are both German and Polish.  

2.5.4  According  to  experts,  12  books  were  published  in  German  in  2003;  according  to 
public  authorities  there  were  none.  Most  publications  are  textbooks,  poetry  and 
religious  books.  However,  the  natives  are  to  a  great  extent  unaware  of  German 
literary  works  which  would  make  them  feel  more  rooted  in  their  homeland.  Only 
very few of these local books are translated. Examples are the bilingual work  Der 
goldene  Schlüssel  [The  Golden  Key]  by  Hans  Niekrawietz  and  several  texts  by 
Eichendorff.  Horst  Bieneks  has  published  novels  about  Gliwice.  Other  authors 
mostly  remain  unknown:  e.g.  Hans  Lipinsky-Gottersdorf,  Heinz  Piontek  and 
especially August Scholtis. 

2.5.5 

In  the  cultural  field  a  variety  of  traditional  folk  music  is  produced  and  cultural 
festivals  are  organised,  e.g.  Regionales  Erntedankfest  der  Diözese  [Regional 
Thanksgiving  of  the  Diocese]  on  St.  Anna  hill,  Künstlersommer  der  nationalen 
Minderheiten  [Summer  of  Artists  of  National  Minorities]  in  Olsztyn,  Chortreffen 
[Choir  Encounter]  in  Walce,  Treffen  der  Folkgruppen  und  Orchester  [Encounter 
of  the  Folk  Groups  and  Orchestras]  of  the  German  minority  in  Leśnica, 
Ausstellung  Schlesischer  Artistikkreationen  [Exposition  of  Silesian  Artistic 
Creations]  in  Dobrodzień  and  Dobrzeń  as  well  as  Masurische  Gespräche 
[Masurian  Talks] 
includes  the 
maintenance  of  material  cultural  goods  which  are  no  longer  found  very  often  in 
Silesia.  

in  Mrągowo.  Preservation  of  culture  also 

2.6  The business world 

According  to  article  27  of  the  Constitution  German  is  of  no  importance  in  the 
business  world  as  an  official  language.  For  the  German  language  this  means  that 
regulations  on  consumer  protection  in  Silesia,  for  example,  have  to  be  issued  not 
only in German but also in Polish (see country report). The low status of German 
however does not imply that the language has no importance for business on local 
and  regional  level.  Thus  German  may  be  required  for  jobs  in  commercial 
enterprises  or  schools  –  however,  this  is  only  true  on  a  private  level.  Silesia’s 
economy  is  characterised  by  coal  mining  which  has  been  undergoing  a  crisis  for 
several years. Thus about 60,000 jobs in mining and trade based on mining were 
abolished. 

2.7  Family and the social use of the language 

2.7.1 

In the 2002 census 196,841 Polish citizens declared using German at home within 
their families. In the same census 56,426 Polish citizens indicated Silesian as their 
family language. However, only 147,094 Poles  stated German nationality whereas 

252

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
172,682  persons  were  of  Silesian  nationality.  Unfortunately,  the  census  did  not 
provide  information  about  the  homogeneity  of  the  various  groups  or  the  reasons 
for these changes. 

2.7.2 

In the Opole district German is currently  used  by  a culturally  motivated minority 
and it can be noted that since 1990 the migration of many people to Germany has a 
negative  influence  on  the  reproduction  of  the  language.  Nevertheless,  in  many 
regions  German  speakers  are  considered  to  have  a  higher  social  status  or  to  be 
more advanced.  

2.7.3  To  a  great  extent  the  German  language  minority  is  Roman-Catholic  and  attends 
church  regularly.  Only  in  Silesia  near  Cieszyn  there  is  a  majority  of  Protestant 
German speakers whose services are mostly held in German. However, the Catholic 
clergy has a rather low command of German so that many Catholic masses are not 
said  in  German  (50%  according  to  official  and  80%  according  to  minority 
organisations).  

2.7.4  With  democratisation  setting  in,  the  degree  of  organisation  within  the  German 
minority  has  changed  drastically  since  1989/1990.  Until  the  end  of  the  1980s  the 
only  official  organisation  was  the  Deutsche  Sozio-kulturelle  Gesellschaft  [German 
Socio-cultural  Society]  in  Walbrzych.  With  the  increasing  democratisation  of 
Poland the extent of organisation of the German language minority also increased. 
There are currently 40 such organisations, many of which are organised within the 
Verband der deutschen Sozial-Kulturellen Gesellschaften in Polen [Association of 
the  German  Social  and  Cultural  Society  in  Poland]  which  provides  a  website 
containing  a  list  of  links  with  all  German-speaking  organisations  (last  update 
4/2004)  which  is  regularly  updated.  The  association  has  more  than  200,000 
members  as  well  as  ten  organisations  as  permanent  members  and  eight  as 
associated members.  

2.8  The European dimension 

The  European  dimension  is  considered  very  important:  since  Poland  has  signed 
the  European  Charter  for  Regional  or  Minority  Languages,  it  is  widely  expected 
that the country will also ratify the Charter, which will have a positive influence on 
language policy. 

3.  Conclusion 

3.1 

The current situation of the German language minority, as is the case for the other 
minorities,  is  marked  by  a  weak  position  after  World  War  II  and  a  revival  due  to 
the  democratisation  of  Poland.  However,  along  with  the  Ukrainian  minority  (see 
language report Ukrainian), the German minority experienced special repressions 
in  Socialist  Poland.  A  current  problem  is  that  after  the  political  change  of 
1989/1990, many German speakers left Poland: this destabilised the demographic 
basis  of  the  minority.  Especially  now  that  Poland  has  joined  the  EU,  relations 
between  Poland  and  Germany  must  be  treated  sensitively  due  to  the  common 
history of both countries. 

3.2 

The role of the German speakers during the Second World War is still very present 
both  in  the  minority’s  perception  of  itself  and  others’  perception  of  them.  This 

253

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
causes  ambiguous  statements  on  nationality  and  language  use  in  the  family,  for 
example in the 2002 census.  

254

 
 
      Kashubian in Poland  

1.  General information 

1.1 

The language  

1.1.1  Kashubian [kaszëbsczi (jãzek) / kaszëbizna] is a West Slavonic language spoken in 
northern Poland in the Pomorskie Voivodship. In some districts [powiaty] of this 
voivodship  Kashubian  is  used  more  often:  Gdańsk  [Gduńsk],  Gdynia  [Gdiniô], 
Wejherowo  [Wejrowò],  Puck  [Pùck],  Lębork  [Lãbòrg],  Bytów  [Bëtowò],  Kartuzy 
[Kartùze],  Kościerzyna  [Kòscérzna]  and  Chojnice  [Chòjnice].  A  specific  (yet 
limited)  Kashubian  literature  emerged  in  the  19th  century  with  Xazeczka  dlo 
Kaszebov by Florian Cejnowa (1817-1881). Since Kashubian is not comprehensively 
standardised,  except  for  the  above-mentioned  text,  it  is  often  considered  as  a 
branch of the Pomeranian dialects or Polish. Therefore it does currently not have 
the status of a national or ethnic minority in Poland. 

1.1.2  Although  language  contact  between  Kashubian  and  Polish  has  already  lasted  for 
several  centuries,  spoken  Kashubian  clearly  differs  from  Polish  dialects  and 
standard Polish. Major differences occur in the fields of phonetics, vocabulary and 
word  formation.  However,  literary  (written)  Kashubian  is  very  close  to  standard 
Polish due to borrowings and syntactic similarities. In total there are 50 dialectal 
varieties of Kashubian.  

1.2  History, geography and demography 

1.2.1  Kashubians are a Slavonic tribe descended from the Pomeranians (=‘people living 
by the sea’) who once settled in the whole territory of Pomerania and who now live 
in  the  area  between  Oder  and  Vistula.  Their  eastern  neighbours  were  the 
Pruzzians.  To  the  South  the  Pomeranian  territory  reached  the  Notec  and  Warta 
rivers.  The  independent  eastern  Pomerania  at  the  lower  Vistula  emerged  around 
the year 1000. Although the Polanians succeeded in gradually penetrating through 
the Notec and the Christianisation and church organisation was pursued from the 
West, eastern Lower Pomerania (also ‘Small Pomerania’ [Pommerellen]) was able 
to keep its independence until the late 13th century when the dynasty of Samborids 
ended. In 1309 the region was sold and annexed to the state of the German Order 
which  at  that  time  was  an  independent  political  entity.  Pomeranians  were 
mentioned  in  documents  until  the  14th  century.  Cassubia  was  the  name  of  the 
region  around  Belgrade  on  the  Parseta  River.  Since  the  15th  and  16th  century  this 
name has also been used for today’s settlement areas of the Kashubians. From 1466 
onwards,  eastern  Lower  Pomerania  was  ruled  by  the  Polish  king  until  it  fell  to 
Prussia in 1772 and became part of so-called “West Prussia”. After World War I the 
region became Polish again. During the  Second World War it was annexed to the 
Reich District Gdańsk-West Prussia [Reichsgau Danzig-Westpreußen] and in 1945 
became part of Poland again. 

1.2.2  According  to  the  2002  census  5,062  persons  living  in  the  Gdańsk  region  were  of 

Kashubian nationality. 

255

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
Estimates  from  various  sources  indicate  a  number  of  250,000  to  300,000  Kashubian-
speakers (Association for Civic Media 2003; Handbook on Contact Linguistics 1996).  

Kashubian language area 
Source: Wicherkiewicz o.J. 

1.3  Legal status and official policies  

1.3.1  Although article 35 of the Polish Constitution grants Polish citizens of national or 
ethnic  minorities  the  freedom  to  preserve  and  develop  their  own  language, 
customs, traditions and culture, this only applies to the Kashubians in the context 
of  special  rules  which  give  them  regional  language  community  [społeczność 
posługująca się językiem regionalnym] status.  

1.3.2  However,  Kashubians  now  participate 

in  all  social  fields  again,  e.g.  as 
representatives  (approx.  150  in  the  Pomorze  Voivodship,  seven  members  of 
parliament);  or  scientists,  authors  and  persons  involved  in  the  cultural  sector. 
Kashubia  and  the  Kashubian  culture  are  vital  issues  in  politics,  and  votes  from 
Kashubians  in  parliamentary  and  other  elections  (e.g.  institutions  of  self-
administration) often decide the fate of candidates according to their policy on the 
Kashubian minority. 

2.  Presence and use of the language in various fields 

2.1  Education 

2.1.1  The  use  of  Kashubian  at  school  is  based  on  the  2002  decree  of  the  Minister  for 
National  Education  and  Sports  which,  unlike  the  1992  decree,  also  allows  ethnic 
groups  to  maintain  their  language  and  culture  through  the  education  system  (see 
country  report).  In  the  school  year  2002/2003  there  were  two  nurseries  where 
about  30  children  were  taught  in  Kashubian,  although  without  any  Kashubian 
language material. An early immersion language programme is foreseen for 2005.  

2.1.2 

In the school year 2002/2003 there were 52 primary and seven grammar schools 
where  Kashubian  was  taught.  These  classes  are  divided  into  the  subjects 
“Kashubian language” (three hours per week), “Kashubian language with elements 

256

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
of regional culture” (two hours per week) and “Regional education with Kashubian 
elements” (one hour per week). Statistically, Kashubian is represented as follows: 

Primary schools with Kashubian classes in the school year 2003/2004 

Subject 

hours/week 

Kashubian language 

Kashubian  language  with 
elements 
regional 
of 
culture  

Regional  education  with 
Kashubian elements 

Source: Wicherkiewicz o.J. 

4 
3 
2 
1 
3 
2 
1 
3 
2 
1 

Number of 
schools 
1 
31 
18 
2 
3 
2 
1 
4 
5 
4 

Number of 
pupils 

2,951 

358 

1,358 

Grammar schools with Kashubian classes in the school year 2003/2004 

Subject 

hours/week 

Kashubian language 

Kashubian  language  with 
elements 
regional 
of 
culture 

Regional  education  with 
Kashubian elements 

Source: Wicherkiewicz o.J. 

3 
2 
1 

2 

2 

1 

Number of 
schools 
5 
1 
1 

3 

2 

2 

Number of 
pupils 

179 

159 

108 

2.1.3  The number of secondary schools with Kashubian classes is decreasing: 

Subject 

hours/week 

Kashubian language 
Kashubian  language  with 
elements 
regional 
of 
culture 

Regional  education  with 
Kashubian elements 

3 

2 

1 

Source: Wicherkiewicz o.J. 

Number  of 
schools 
1 

Number 
pupils 
66 

of 

1 

1 

232 

14 

In  the  field  of  vocational  training  there  was  only  one  school  in  the  school  year 
2002/2003  which  offered  two  hours  per  week  of  Regional  Education  with 
Kashubian  Elements for 26 students. Since 1992 Gdańsk University has offered a 
language  course  for  Kashubian  which  serves  as  a  specialisation  for  students  of 
Polish  language  and  literature.  In  December  2002  a  “Course  of  qualification  for 
teachers  of  the  Kashubian  language  and  regional  culture”  was  organised  for  the 
second  time.  In  total  these  measures  produced  25  fully  trained  teachers,  41 
graduates  and  51  students  for  Kashubian  language  classes.  In  2002/2003 
Kashubian  language  and  culture  classes  were  offered  in  three  centres  (Gdańsk, 
Kartuzy and Władysławowo) which were attended by 46 participants. 

257

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2.2  Judicial authorities 

People  who  do  not  speak  Polish  are  allowed  to  call  a  Kashubian-speaking 
interpreter (see country report).  

2.3  Public authorities and services 

Since Polish is the official language, Kashubian does not play any significant role in 
public  authorities.  The  same  is  true  at  a  local  level  where  it  is  only  spoken  in 
unofficial contacts (see country report). 

2.4  Mass media and information technology  

There  are  no  daily  newspapers  in  Kashubian.  However,  some  other  print  media 
exist:  Pomerania,  published  monthly  since  1956,  is  the  official  bilingual  (Polish-
Kashubian)  publication  of  the  Kashubian  Pomeranian  Association  (ZK-P);  Najô 
ùczba  is  an  educational  insert  of  Pomerania,  Òdroda.  Pismiono  Wòlnëch 
Kaszëbów  is  published  monthly  and  exclusively  in  Kashubian,  since  1999  also 
online; Norda, a weekly regional section in Kashubian and Polish published in the 
daily  Dziennik  Bałtycki.  The  Gdańsk  regional  radio  station  broadcasts  two 
programmes  once  a  week  for  55  and  ten  minutes  respectively:  Na  bôtach  ë  w 
bòrach  [In  boats  and  woods]  and  Klëka  [News].  The  Koszalin  radio  station 
broadcasts  a  weekly  five  minute  Kashubian  news  programme.  Kashubian  radio 
stations  are  also  available  via  the  internet:  Wasze  Radio  [Your  radio]  or  Domoce 
zwãczi  [Home  bells].  There  is  one  Kashubian  language  TV  programme  which  is 
broadcast  twice  a  week  for  ten  minutes  by  the  Gdańsk  TV  station:  Rodnô  Zemia 
[Homeland]  Regional  TV  stations  in  Gdańsk  and  Słupsk  show  Kashubian 
programmes twice a week for 23 and 20 minutes. Progress has also been made in 
the  field  of  new  media.  In  2003  Kashubian  could  be  used  for  the  first  time  in 
Microsoft’s Word for Windows. Other developments  are: the international coding 
standard for Kashubian, Kashubian fonts and Web browsers in Kashubian.  

2.5  Arts and culture  

2.5.1  Friedrich  Lorentz  (1870-1937),  a  scientist  from  the  German  region  Mecklenburg, 
earned  great  merit  with  the  research  of  the  Kashubian  language.  He  wrote  books 
on the spelling and grammar as well as a dictionary of the “Pomeranian-Kashubian 
language”.  A  similar  work  was  published  by  the  famous  Polish  linguist  Stefan 
Ramult  (1859-1913)  from  Krakow.  As  is  the  case  for  many  other  autochthonous 
regional  and  minority  languages  Kashubian  is  marked  by  a  broad  fragmentation 
into dialects (often each town has its own dialect). However, two major dialects can 
be distinguished – North and South Kashubian. Apparently, this fragmentation is 
one of the reasons why the first attempts to establish a Kashubian written language 
were made very late (in 1850). However, a universally accepted Kashubian literary 
language uniting all the dialects has never been developed. This has had a negative 
influence on the Kashubians’ cultural consciousness. 

2.5.2  A  specific  (although  very  modest)  Kashubian  literature  only  emerged  in  the  19th 
century  with  Xazeczka  dlo  Kaszebov  by  Florian  Cejnowa  (1817-1881).  Whereas 
Cejnowa  used  the  Sławoszyno  home  dialect  from  the  Puck  district  the  second 

258

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Kashubian  author  Hieronim  Derdowski  (1852-1902)  used  the  Wiele  dialect  from 
the  Chojnice  district  and  enriched  the  Kashubian  culture  mainly  by  poetry. 
Another  author  is  Aleksander  Majkowski  (1876-1938)  from  Koscierzyna  and  his 
Koscierzyna-Lipusz dialect. 

2.5.3 

In  1907  Ernst  Seefried-Gulgowski  (or  Izydor  Gulgowski)  and  Friedrich  Lorentz 
founded the Association for Kashubian Folklore in Kartuzy which in 1911 published 
the book Von einem unbekannten Volke in Deutschland [Of an unknown people in 
Germany].  Gulgowski  (1874-1925),  influenced  by  German  local  history  and 
folklore,  established  an  open  air  museum  in  Wdzydze  Kiszewskie  in  the  Chojnice 
district.  It  exerted  influence  throughout  the  territory  of  Kashubia  and  still  has  a 
prominent status as a cultural site for the  Kashubian way of life [Kaszubski Park 
Etnograficzny]. Friedrich Lorentz carried out his research at about the same time 
and already started dealing with the Słowińcy in 1897. 

2.5.4  Another  Kashubian  pioneer  was  Aleksander  Majkowski  from  Koscierzyna.  His 
biggest merit was the establishment of Gryf in 1908, the Periodical for Kashubian 
Issues. He also wrote the only Kashubian novel Żëcé i przigodë Remusa [Life and 
adventure of Remus] in 1938.  

2.5.5  Between 1994 and 2002 a total of 172 books were published in Kashubian. During 
the last decade 10-20 new books appeared including world literature: A.A. Milne’s 
Winnie  the  Pooh  (translated  by  B.  Szymańska  &  T.  Wicherkiewicz).  The  major 
anthologies and compendia for the Kashubian language were written by Neureiter 
1973,  Drzeżdżon  1986  and  Neureiter  1991.  For  20  years  now,  there  has  been  an 
annual Kashubian language Poetry and Literature Competition [Rodnô mòwô].  

2.6  The business world 

According  to  article  27  of  the  Constitution  Kashubian,  along  with  other  minority 
languages,  is  of  no  importance  in  the  business  world  as  an  official  language.  The 
economy  of  the  Kashubian  language  area  is  very  rural  and  is  characterised  by 
agriculture, cattle breeding and forestry.  

2.7  Family and the social use of the language  

In  the  2002  census  52,556  persons  declared  Kashubian  as  their  home  language. 
Apart  from  this  it  can  be  assumed  that  Kashubian  is  the  dominant  language  in 
families and for social use. Although the Kashubian minority is only organised to a 
limited  extent,  there  are  organisations,  like  the  pan-Kashubian  Zrzeszenie 
Kaszubsko-Pomorskie founded in 1956, which were already established a long time 
ago.  Information  about  other  organisations  is  provided  on  the  Kashubian 
information website.  

2.8  The European dimension 

The  European  dimension  is  evident  in  the  establishment  of  immersion  language 
programmes  in  Wales  or  Lusatia,  or  in  the  organisation  of  European  conferences 
on minority issues: 39th Congress of the Federal Union of European Minorities in 
Gdańsk  (1994)  and  the  6th  International  Conference  on  Minority  Languages  in 
Gdańsk (1996). The European influence is considered very important: since Poland 
has signed the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, it is widely 

259

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
expected  that  the  country  will  also  ratify  the  Charter,  which  will  have  a  positive 
influence on language policy. 

3.  Conclusion 

Despite  discreet  efforts  at  revitalising  Kashubian  language  and  culture,  the 
situation  of  the  Kashubians  in  Poland  is  still  relatively  weak.  Reasons  for  this 
include:  the  lack  of  a  standard  language,  a  wide  range  of  dialects  and  the  weak 
economic status. Just like the Ladin language, Kashubian also lacks the connection 
to  a  national  territory.  The  EU  enlargement  is  thus  rather  ambivalent  for  the 
Kashubian  minority:  on  the  one  hand  it  means  a  greater  protection  but  on  the 
other  hand  it  might  entail  alienation  and  migration  from  the  rural  region. 
Therefore,  even  the  last  domain  of  language  use  –  the  family  –  risks  losing  its 
impact. Indications of this were found in surveys on language use conducted in the 
context of this project. 

260

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
     Lithuanian in Poland  

1.  General information 

1.1 

The language 

1.1.1  Lithuanian  [lietuvių  kalba  /  lietuvišku]  belongs  to  the  same  language  family  of 
Latvian.  It  features  many  ancient  grammatical  forms  which  can  also  partly  be 
found in Sanskrit. Amongst all living languages, Lithuanian is closest to the Indian 
branch  of  the  Indo-European  languages.  In  the  19th  century,  August  Schleicher, 
who  was  professor  of  philology  at  Prague  University  in  1856/57,  thoroughly 
researched the Lithuanian language : he published the first scientific Compendium 
of Lithuanian Language in two volumes.  

1.2  History, geography and demography 

1.2.1  Following several political unions with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (Kreva Union 
1385, Horodło Union 1413 and Lublin Union 1569) the Ruthenian and Lithuanian 
population  in  Poland  was  polonised.  The  largest  region  to  be  affected  was  the 
historic area of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Its inhabitants belonged to different 
ethnic  and  religious  groups  the  most  important  being  the  Ruthenians  (today 
Belarusians  and  Ukrainians)  who  were  Byzantine  Catholics.  The  Lithuanian-  and 
Latvian-speaking  inhabitants  lived  in  the  northern  regions.  Since  the  Polish 
influence was traditionally quite strong and Poland ruled Lithuania, the Poles were 
usually  the  landowners  in  those  regions  even  though  they  only  constituted  the 
majority in Vilnius and Grodno. In total, there were 15% of Polish-speakers in the 
Grand Duchy of Lithuania and about as many Jews. With the divisions (1772-1795) 
the region was annexed by the Russian Empire. 

1.2.2  According  to  the  2002  census  5,864  persons  declared  Lithuanian  nationality. 
Estimates  from  different  sources  indicate  a  total  of  approx.  30,000  Lithuanians 
(Association  for  Civic  Media  2003;  Handbook  of  Contact  Linguistics  1996).  Most 
Lithuanians  (84%)  live  in  the  Podlasie  region  in  the  administrative  districts  of 
Puńsk ([Lithuanian: Punskas)], Sejny ([Lithuanian: Seinai)] (38%) and to a lower 
extent in the district of Szypliszki [(Lithuanian: Šipliskia)]. Many settled in the city 
of  Suwalki.  Other  Polish  Lithuanians  dispersed  during  migration  or  immigration 
all  over  Poland,  especially  to  the  northern  and  south-western  part  of  the  country 
(Gdynia,  Olsztn,  Szezin  and  Wrozław).  Many  Lithuanians  lived  in  the  capital, 
Warsaw. 

1.3  Legal status and official policies  

Article 35 of the Constitution guarantees the preservation and development of the 
Lithuanian  language  (see  country  report).  In  addition,  a  bilateral  agreement  on 
good  neighbourhood  was  concluded  with  the  Republic  of  Lithuania  [Traktat 
między  Rzecząpospolitą  Polską  a  Republiką  Litewską  o  dobrym  sąsiedztwie, 
przyjaznych stosunkach i współpracy (1 January 1992)]. 

261

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2. 

Presence and use of the language in various fields 

2.1  Education 

The  use  of  Lithuanian  at  school  is  based  on  the  2002  decree  of  the  Minister  for 
National Education and Sports (see country report). There are five main schools in 
the Punsk district (in Puńsk [Punskas], Wojtokiemie [Vaitakiemis], Przystawańce 
[Pristavoniai],  Nowininki  [Navininkai]  and  Widugiery  [Vidugiriai]  where 
Lithuanian is taught. Two of those schools are in the Sejny district, in the villages 
of  Krasnagruda  and  Krasnavas.  In  Punsk  there  is  also  the  only  Lithuanian 
grammar  school  in  Poland  –  the  Kovo  11-oji  grammar  school  Puńsk.  At  several 
schools  in  the  Sejny  district,  in  the  towns  of  Sejny  and  Suwałki,  voluntary 
Lithuanian classes are offered. About 800 pupils attend Lithuanian classes (except 
for general and Polish history). 150 pupils learn Lithuanian in voluntary classes. In 
Warsaw there is a Lithuanian Saturday school. The Adam Mickiewicz University in 
Poznań has a unit for the Lithuanian language and since 1990 there is also a unit 
for Baltic philology. 

2.2  Judicial authorities 

People  who  do  not  speak  Polish  are  allowed  to  call  a  Lithuanian-speaking 
interpreter (see country report). 

2.3  Public authorities and services 

Since Polish is the official language, Lithuanian does not play any significant role in 
public  authorities.  The  same  is  true  at  a  local  level  where  it  is  only  spoken  in 
unofficial contacts (see country report). 

2.4  Mass media and information technology  

There  are  no  daily  newspapers  in  Lithuanian.  Aušra  is  a  periodical  in  Lithuanian 
with a print run of 1,500 copies. Lithuanian issues are only dealt with by the Polish 
radio station Białystok for 30 minutes weekly. The Lithuanian minority in Poland 
is able to receive radio and TV programmes from Lithuania. 

2.5  Arts and culture  

Fifteen books in Lithuanian were published between 1997 and 2002, in 2002, three 
books were published and in 2003 only one. These are mostly textbooks, children’s 
books  and  short  novels.  In  Punsk  there  is  a  Lithuanian  Cultural  Centre  with  the 
mixed  choir  Dzukija,  the  folk  dance  ensemble  Klumpe,  the  art  dance  ensemble 
Jotva  and  a  barn  theatre.  At  the  moment,  a  new  modern  cultural  centre  is  being 
built,  but  due  to  a  lack  of  financial  means  the  construction  has  already  lasted  for 
ten  years.  In  Sejny  a  Lithuanian  cultural  centre,  which  was  financed  by  the 
Lithuanian  government,  was  also  opened.  There  are  several  youth  ensembles  (in 
the Puńsk and Sejny districts). One of the most famous groups is the vocal quartet 
Šešupe.  The  ensemble  Ulbuoneles  works  at  the  Puńsk  grammar  school.  The 
Lithuanian society for ethnic culture is in charge of four ethnographic and folk art 
ensembles: Salcinelis, Alna, Gimtine and the ethnographic ensemble Dusnycia. In 
Puńsk  there  is  also  a  museum  of  ethnology  which  was  founded  by  the 

262

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
ethnographer  Juozas  Vaina  from  the  Puńsk  region.  Thanks  to  his  efforts  many 
unique  items  were  collected.  J.  Vaina  published  the  collection  of  folk  art  From 
Puńsk  to  Sejny  in  two  volumes.  Sigitas  Birgelis  contributed  to  the  compiling  and 
publishing  of  the  album  “The  material  culture  of  the  Punsk-Sejny  region”. 
Sąskrydis  is  the  traditional  annual  folklore  festival  for  Lithuanian  groups  from 
Poland and Lithuania. 

2.6  The business world 

There is very little industry in the Lithuanian settlement area, as it is rather rural. 

2.7  Family and the social use of the language 

2.7.1 

In  the  2002  census  5,838  persons  declared  Lithuanian  as  their  home  language. 
However, the number of inhabitants in Lithuanian villages is constantly decreasing 
due to the weak economy of the region.  

2.7.2  The  oldest  Lithuanian  organisation  is  the  Lithuanian  Society  of  Poland  [Lenkijos 
lietuvių  draugija]  which  was  re-established  on  the  basis  of  the  Lithuanian  Public 
Cultural  Society  in  1992.  The  society  operates  in  the  fields  of  education,  culture, 
monument preservation and publishing. The Lithuanian periodical Aušra has been 
published since 1960. The Lithuanian St. Kasimir Society [Šv. Kazimiero draugija] 
with  its  headquarters  in  Seinai  opened  on  25  May  1990.  The  society’s  aim  is  to 
maintain  and  carry  on  the  traditions  of  the  St.  Kasimir  Society  which  worked  in 
Poland before World War II, i.e. to care for and educate young people. The Society 
has 458 members and is divided into eleven units. The Lithuanian Community in 
Poland  [Lenkijos  lietuviu  bendruomene,  LLB]  was  launched  on  1  April  1993.  Its 
development  and  aims  were  influenced  by  the  changes  taking  place  in  Poland  at 
that time. The LLB unites the Lithuanian organisations, institutions for education, 
culture  and  other  fields.  It  carries  out  its  work  in  Poland  and  seeks  to  better 
represent  the  minority’s  interests  in  Poland  and  Lithuania  and  to  represent  the 
Lithuanian  community  all  over  the  world.  The  Lithuanian  Youth  Association  in 
Poland  [Lenkijos  lietuvių  jaunimo  sąjunga]  belongs  to  the  LLB  but  acts 
independently.  The  Lithuanian  Society  for  Ethnic  Culture  [Lenkijos  lietuvių 
etninės kultūros draugija] was founded in 1997. 

2.8  The European dimension 

The  Polish  Lithuanians  keep  close  contacts  with  Lithuania.  During  Soviet  times 
they  had  contacts  with  Lithuanians  from  the  West  and  tried  to  send  information 
and publications to Lithuania. During the national “Revival” the Polish Lithuanians 
joined the movement for an independent Lithuania.  

3.  Conclusion 

Since 1989 the Polish Lithuanians’ condition has been complicated: this is due to a 
weak  economic  and  structural  development  and  an  economic  and  political 
situation which is still difficult in their settlement areas. Birth rates in these rural 
areas are also declining and many inhabitants migrate. 

263

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Ruthenian (Lemkish) in Poland  

1.  General information 

1.1 

The language 

1.1.1  Russinian/Ruthenian 

[rusyn’skyj 

jazyk]  or  Lemkish 

jazyk] 
(denomination used in Poland) is an East Slavonic language along with Ukrainian, 
Russian  and  Belarusian.  Today,  it  can  be  considered  as  a  Ukrainian  dialect; 
however,  on  an  ethnic-cultural  level  the  Lemks  are  particularly  independent.  The 
Polish Ruthenians lived in the Łemkowszczyzna [Lemkowyna] region of the Lower 
Beskid  belonging to  the Beskid Sądecki mountains. Nowadays, they live scattered 
over  the  voivodships  Dolnośląskie,  Małopolska,  Lubuskie,  Podkarpackie  and 
Zachodniopomorskie. 

[lemkivskyj 

1.1.2  The  Ruthenians  are  a  population  group  living  mostly  in  Sub-Carpathian  Ukraine 
who  have  preserved  their  own  dialect  –  Lemkish  –  in  the  mountainous  regions. 
Since 1989 the Polish authorities have acknowledged Ruthenians (or Lemks) as an 
ethnic minority.  

1.2  History, geography and demography 

1.2.1  Russinians  (also:  Sub-Carpathian  Ukrainians,  Rusniaks,  Rusinians,  historical: 
In  Rusinian:  Uhrorus'kij;  Ukrainian:  Rusyny;  Hungarian: 
Ruthenians. 
Magyarorosz)  are  the  fourth  modern  East  Slavonic  nation  after  the  Russians, 
Ukranians  and  Belarusians.  They  developed  their  own  literature  and  standard 
language in the 19th and 20th century. 

1.2.2  The  settlement  of  the  north-eastern  Carpathian  area  started  in  the  early  Middle 
Ages,  i.e.  in  the  late  6th  century.  From  the  10th  century  until  1919,  today’s  Sub-
Carpathian  Ukraine  was  part  of  the  historic  kingdom  of  Hungary.  The  governing 
and  settlement  of  the  mountainous  areas  in  this  region  by  Hungarians,  Germans 
and  Ruthenians  coming  in  small  groups  from  the  Kievan  Rus  started  during  the 
12th  century  and  reached  its  peak  in  the  14th/15th  century.  The  Lemkish 
ethnogenesis reaches back to the late Middle Ages, which mark the starting point 
for the independent development of the Lemkish. Following the annexation of the 
Rus-principality  Halych-Volhynia  to  Poland  after  1340,  a  settlement  and 
colonisation  movement  to  the  West  Carpathian  low  mountain  range  set  in.  This 
movement  was  initiated  by  Polish  aristocrats  and  it  absorbed  and  channelled  a 
migration  wave  of  Wallachian  (“Romanian”)  and  Ruthenian  herdsmen  in  the  late 
14th/early 15th century. This migration had far-reaching consequences: whereas in 
the valleys an assimilation of the Polish culture and language took place, the mixed 
Wallachian-Ruthenian culture was preserved in remote mountain regions. 

1.2.3  With  national  movements  emerging  in  Central  and  Eastern  Europe,  the  Lemks 
were also increasingly forced to define themselves in national terms. However, this 
process  did  not  result  in  them  taking  Ruthenian/Ukrainian  or  Polish  nationality, 
which was refused, but instead they adopted the Russian nationality.  

264

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
This was based on two reasons: on the one hand a considerable number of Lemks 
belonged  to  the  Orthodox  Church,  on  the  other  hand  the  Lemks  already 
sympathised  with  Russian  troops  in  1848  when  the  latter  passed  Lemkish 
territories in order to defeat the revolution in Budapest. Since the Lemks also felt 
that they should not be involved in the Ukrainian national movement, they tried to 
break away from it. 

1.2.4  Until  1918  there  was  no  Russinian  regional  authority  or  administrative  area  as 
there  was  no  elite.  At  the  beginning  of  the  Russinian  national  movement  Adol'f 
Dobrjans'kyj  (1817–1901)  and  Oleksandr  Duchnowitsch  (1803–1865)  had  a 
massive  influence  and,  similar  to  contemporary  Russian  circles  –  e.g.  during  the 
intervention of Tsar  troops to defeat the 1848/49 revolution – were of  a national 
Russian  conviction.  After  World  War  II  Ruthenians,  as  well  as  Ukrainians,  were 
deported  during  the  Vistula  Operation.  Until  the  late  20th  century  there  was  no 
sense  of  community  between  the  different  Russinian  settlement  areas  and 
communities.  This  sentiment  continues  to  some  extent  even  today  (see  country 
report). 

1.2.5  According  to  the  last  census  in  2002  there  were  5,863  persons  of  Lemkish 
nationality.  Estimates  from  different  sources  indicate  approx.  50,000  Lemks 
(Association for Civic Cedia 2003; Handbook on Contact Linguistics 1996). 

1.3  Legal status and official policies 

Article  35  of  the  Polish  Constitution  grants  Polish  citizens  of  national  or  ethnic 
minorities  the  freedom  to  preserve  and  develop  their  own  language,  customs, 
traditions and culture (see country report). However, due to the ambiguous status 
of the Lemkish ethnicity no clear steps were taken to support them. 

2.  Presence and use of the language in various fields 

2.1  Education 

The  use  of  Ukrainian  (including  Ruthenian/Lemkish)  at  school  is  based  on  the 
2002  decree  of  the  Minister  for  National  Education  and  Sports  (see  country 
report).  As  it  was  acknowledged  only  lately,  a  Ruthenian  ‘education’  has  only 
existed  for  a  couple  of  years.  During  the  school  year  2002/2003  there  were  14 
primary  schools,  six  grammar  schools  and  one  secondary  school  where  Lemkish 
was taught. In addition, Ruthenian philology is taught at Krakow University. 

2.2  Judicial authorities 

People who do not speak Polish are allowed to call a Lemkish-speaking interpreter 
(see country report). 

265

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2.3  Public authorities and services 

Since Polish is the official language, Lemkish does not play any significant role in 
public  authorities.  The  same  is  true  at  a  local  level  where  it  is  only  spoken  in 
unofficial contacts (see country report). 

2.4  Mass media and information technology  

There are no daily newspapers in Lemkish. However, there are several print media 
issued  quarterly:  Besida  (Talk)  with  a  print  run  of  1,000  copies,  Zahoroda  and 
Watra.  Lemkiwska  Storinka  is  an  insert  in  the  Ukrainian  weekly  Nasche  Slowo. 
Lemkish issues are only dealt with on a weekly basis by the Polish radio in Krakow. 
In  addition  the  Krakow  TV  station  broadcasts  a  programme  for  all  acknowledged 
minorities.  

2.5  Arts and culture  

Twenty books were published between 1997 and 2002. In 2002 three were written 
in  Lemkish  and  in  2003  one  was  written  in  this  language.  Most  of  the  books  are 
textbooks, children’s books and short novels. Typical cultural events of the Lemks 
are:  Watra  in  Zdynia,  Watrana  Obczyźnie  in  Michałów,  Kiermesz  in  Olcowiec, 
Spotkanie  z  Łemkowszczyzną  [Meeting  the  land  of  the  Lemks]  and  Od  Rusal  do 
Jana  in  Zyndranowa.  The  Lemkish  Campfire  [watra]  is  organised  annually  both 
by  the  pro-Ukrainian  Lemks  in  Lower  Beskid  and  the  independent  Ruthenian 
Lemks 
initiatives 
documenting and supporting the Lemkish culture and tradition. 

in  Lower  Silesia.  Moreover,  there  are  various  private 

2.6   The business world 

Lemks  mostly  live  in  rural  areas.  There  is  no  precise  information  available  since 
the Lemks live scattered over a large area. 

2.7  Family and the social use of the language  

In  the  2002  census  5,627  persons  declared  using  Lemkish  as  home  language. 
Unlike  other  minorities,  this  is  nearly  exactly  the  same  as  the  number  of  people 
also declaring Lemkish nationality. Lemks mainly belong to the Orthodox Church. 
The  Polish  Lemks  do  not  have  a  distinct  organisational  structure.  There  are 
however  several  private  initiatives  operating  through  the  internet  from  Anglo-
Saxon  countries  which  act  as  a  central  body  for  the  Lemks.  The  most  important 
organisation  in  Poland  is  the  Association  of  Lemks  [Stowarzyszenie  Łemków] 
founded  in  1989,  which  organises  all  activities  of  the  Lemkish  minority  including 
the  coordination  of  the  corpus  and  status  planning.  There  are  two  more 
organisations, one Polish and one Lemkish: Foundation for the support of Lemkish 
[Fundacja Wspierania Mniejszości Łemkowskiej] and the institution Zjednoczenie 
Łemków. 

266

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
3.  Conclusion 

The Lemks were already economically and structurally underdeveloped in the 17th 
century. In 1989 the economic and political situation was still very unfavourable in 
Ruthenian  settlement  areas  in  Eastern  Europe.  Even  today,  this  seems  to  cause 
further  migration  to  congested  areas  or  western  countries  accompanied  by  an 
increased  acculturation.  In  the  long  run,  the  subsistence  of  a  Russinian  nation  in 
Eastern Europe existing independently of the Ukrainian nation is not secured. 

267

 
 
 
 
               Ukrainian in Poland  

1.  General information 

1.1 

The language 

1.1.1  Ukrainian  [ukrajins'ka  mova]  is,  along  with  Russian  and  Belarusian,  an  East 
Slavonic  language.  These  three  languages  were  spoken  in  the  Kievan  Rus  region 
(9th  century).  Originally  the  Ukrainian  language  area  in  Poland  comprised  the 
eastern  voivodships  Podlaskie,  Lubelskie,  Podkarpackie  and  to  the  South  the 
Małopolskie Voivodship. Today the Ukrainians are scattered over the voivodships 
of  Dolnośląskie,  Lubuskie,  Zachodniopomorskie,  Pomorskie  and  Warmińsko-
Mazurskie.  The  denomination  for  the  whole  East  Slavonic  territory  often  caused 
confusion as Rus was equated with Russia. That is also why Russian was also called 
“Great Russian” and Ukrainian “Small Russian” and Ukrainian was often classified 
as a Russian dialect.  

1.1.2    The varieties of Ukrainian in Poland can be classified as Podlasie (often indicated 
as  a  Belarusian-Ukrainian  transition  dialect),  Volhynian-Chełm,  Dniestr,  San, 
Boyko and Lemko. In the past, Ruthenian (in Polish: Lemkish) was considered as a 
Ukrainian  dialect.  In  the  Middle  Ages  the  term  ‘Ruthenian’  was  used  for  the 
Russians.  During  the  Austrian-Hungarian  Empire  the  (West)  Ukrainians  living 
there  were  called  ‘Russinians’  (self-denomination:  Rusini)  or  ‘Ruthenians’.  A 
revival of Ruthenian or Russinian has been pursued since 1980. 

1.1.3 

In  the  18th  century,  apart  from  the  Church  Slavonic  which  was  commonly  used 
until  then,  a  Ukrainian  standard  language  and  literature  developed  from  popular 
speech.  In  the  19th  century  the  Ukrainian  culture  and  thus  its  literary  language 
reached  its  peak.  The  development  focused  on  scientific  rather  than  political 
topics. With the establishment of the Ukrainian People’s Republic in 1918 and later 
also  in  the  Ukrainian  Soviet  Socialist  Republic,  Ukrainian  became  the  state 
language for the first time. Ukrainian was not prohibited during Soviet times, but 
the  Russian  language  prevailed  in  all  scientific  and  literary  works  as  well  as  the 
media  as  the  lingua  franca.  Therefore  today’s  common  language  has  strong 
Russian  influences.  After  the  independence  of  the  Ukraine  in  1991,  Ukrainian 
became the official language of the new state.  

Galicia before World War I 
(The line marks the border 
between  Poland  and  the 
Ukraine  established  after 
World War II) 

Source: 
http://www.polishroots.org/ 

268

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1.2  History, geography and demography 

1.2.1  Ukrainians  are  an  East  Slavonic  nation  which  emerged  between  the  14th  and  16th 
century  in  the  South-East  of  the  former  Old  Russian  state  Kievan  Rus.  The 
ethnonym  Ukrainian  is  based  on  words  linked  to  the  territory  where  the  ethnic 
community emerged: Krai [margin] and Okraina [marginal region]. Since the end 
of the 12th century the marginal territories of Kiev and Perejaslawl were considered 
as the Ukraine. At the same time the term “Small Russia” was used. In the 16th-18th 
century  the  members  of  the  ethnic  community  were  called  “Small  Russians” 
[Čerkasians] in official documents. The province Galicia, which has had this name 
since the late 17th century, is one of the historical regions of Poland, especially the 
western  part  (in  the  west  of  the  San  River).  It  was  called  “Small  Poland“ 
[Malopolska] as opposed to “Great Poland” [Wielkopolska], i.e. the Poznań region. 
The most important  city – Kraków – had been the seat of Polish kings for a long 
time. The eastern part of Galicia was formerly called  Ruthenia and was originally 
inhabited  by  Ruthenians.  From  the  14th  century  onwards,  more  and  more  Poles 
settled in Ruthenia due to the Polish influence and many Ruthenians adopted the 
Polish language and culture.  

1.2.2  For  centuries  the  historical  region  of  Galicia,  where  Ukrainians  live,  was 
characterised by the ethnic and religious heterogeneity of its inhabitants. Its unity 
is due to the fact that it was part of a transnational state between the 14th and 20th 
century  –  first  of  the  Polish  kingdom  and  since  the  18th  century  of  the  Hapsburg 
monarchy. After World War I Galicia became part of the re-founded independent 
Poland.  However,  as  the  new  Poland  considered  itself,  contrary  to  the  Polish 
kingdom,  as  a  nation  state,  conflicts  with  the  non-Polish  population  of  Galicia 
arose,  especially  with  the  nationally  conscious  Ukrainians  in  the  East.  The  unity, 
which was able to bridge the cultural heterogeneity until then, was completely lost 
with the division of Galicia into separate Polish and Ukrainian parts in 1945. With 
the outbreak of World War II, tens of thousands of Polish civilians were victims of 
the policy of ethnic cleansing in East Galicia, which was initiated by the “Ukrainian 
Rebellion  Army”  (UPA)  in  1943.  In  that  time  Galicia  lost  its  Jewish  population, 
which  significantly  influenced  the  towns  and  the  cultural  life  of  this  region  for 
centuries.  After  World  War  II  the  Soviet  Ukraine,  which  now  also  incorporated 
East  Galicia,  split  Galicia  into  two  parts.  A  far-reaching  Polish-Soviet  population 
exchange  was  made  in  1945-46:  all  Poles  from  eastern  Galicia  and  all  Ukrainians 
from western Galicia were evacuated and “repatriated” to a country where they had 
never 
than  one  million  Galician  Ukrainians, 
Ruthenians/Lemks  and  Poles  were  uprooted  and  the  region  was  deprived  of 
another large part of its ancestral population. In 1947 the Communist government 
of Poland removed Ukrainian settlements at its eastern and south-eastern borders. 
In the course of the Vistula Operation [Wisła Aktion] around 200,000 Ukrainians 
were deported to and dispersed over the new western regions along the Oder and 
Neisse rivers. 

lived  before.  Thus  more 

1.2.3  According to the 2002 census there were 30,952 persons of Ukrainian nationality. 
Estimates  from  different  sources  indicate  300,000  Ukrainian-speakers  without 
distinguishing  between  Ruthenians/Lemks  (Association  for  Civic  Media  2003; 
Handbook on Contact Linguistics 1996). 

269

 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
1.3  Legal status and official policies  

Since  the  Polish  authorities  acknowledge  the  Ukrainians  as  a  regional  minority, 
Article  35  of  the  Constitution  as  well  as  the  respective  decrees  of  the  Ministry  of 
Education  and  Sports  also  apply  to  them  (see  country  report).  The  Ukrainian 
minority is politically represented on the local level, especially in the Warmińsko-
Mazurskie province. 

2.  Presence and use of the language in various fields 

2.1  Education 

The  use  of  Ukrainian  at  school  is  based  on  the  2002  decree  of  the  Minister  for 
National Education and Sports (see country report). In the school year 2002/2003 
there were 80 primary schools where Ukrainian was taught. For a minority living 
as  dispersed  as  the  Ukrainians  are  it  is  very  important  to  have  boarding  schools 
where  the  children  can  stay  during  the  week.  The  most  important  schools  are  in 
Biały  Bór  (Pomerania),  Bartoszyce  (Masuria)  and  Przemyśl.  Moreover,  in  the 
school year 2002/2003 there were 46 grammar schools and ten secondary schools 
where  Ukrainian  was  taught.  Boarding  schools  are  to  be  found  in  Biały  Bór 
(Pomerania),  Górowo  Iławeckie  (Masuria)  and  Legnica  (Lower  Silesia).  The 
Warsaw  University  has  had  Ukrainian  language  faculties  for  40  years  now.  After 
1990 Ukrainian language faculties were also established at the Jagiellon University 
and  the  Marie  Skłodowska-Curie  University  in  Lublin.  Since  the  academic  year 
2001/2002  there  has  been  a  section  for  Russian  and  Lemkish  at  the  faculty  for 
Russian philology at the Pedagogical Academy in Kraków. 

2.2  Judicial authorities 

People  who  do  not  speak  Polish  are  allowed  to  call  a  Ukrainian-speaking 
interpreter (see country report). 

2.3  Public authorities and services 

Since Polish is the official language Ukrainian does not play any significant role in 
public  authorities.  The  same  is  true  at  a  local  level  where  it  is  only  spoken  in 
unofficial contacts (see country report). 

2.4  Mass media and information technology 

There  are  no  daily  newspapers  in  Ukrainian.  Since  1956  the  Ukrainian  weekly 
Nasche Słowo is published with the children’s  insert  Switanok. Every  other week 
the  Ukrainian  periodical  Nad  Buhom  i  Narwoju  is  issued  in  the  Podlaskie 
province. The public Radio Rzeszów broadcasts two programmes for the Ukrainian 
minority  in  Poland  for  30  minutes  every  week  on  102.0  and  72.41  FM.  The 
programmes include a topical programme in Ukrainian, which is designed by three 
journalists  (one  of  them  employed  permanently)  in  Polish.  Further  public  radio 
stations  with  a  programme  in  Ukrainian  are:  radio  Koszalin  (30  minutes  twice  a 

270

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
week  from  a  journalist  of  the  Ukrainian  minority),  Radio  Olsztyn  (since  1958,  30 
minutes  twice  a  week,  since  2000  daily)  and  Radio  Białystok  (30  minutes  once  a 
week  and  15  minutes  twice  a  week).  Since  1995  the  TV  programme  Telenowyny 
(“TV  news”)  broadcasts  nation-wide  by  regional  stations.  The  local  TV  station  in 
Rzeszów  shows  the  topical  programme  Quartet  which  also  deals  with  minority 
issues.  Most  of  the  radio  stations  can  also  be  received  via  the  internet  and  the 
Ukrainian  minority  is  represented  through  the  following  websites:  Harazd  and 
Domiwka.  

2.5  Arts and culture  

According  to  experts,  40  books  were  published  in  Ukrainian  in  Poland  between 
1997 and 2002, including text books, children’s books, poetry, short stories, short 
novels  and  religious  books.  Two  books  in  Ukrainian  were  officially  published  in 
2002 and one book in 2003. Ukrainian is often used in traditional music but not so 
much  in  pop  and  rock.  Since  1996,  the  student  theatre  group  Lublin-Warszawa 
performs once or twice a year in Ukrainian. There are the following cultural events: 
Festival  of  Ukrainian  Culture  [Festiwal  Kultury  Ukraińskiej]  every  other  year  in 
Sopot  (near  Gdańsk);  Lemkish  Campfires  [Łemkowska  Watra]  and  the  annual 
Ukrainian Youth Fair [Ukraińskie Spotkania Młodych] in Gdańsk and Bytów. The 
foundation  St.  Wladimir  the  Baptist 
in  the  Kievan  Rus  [Fundacja  św. 
Włodzimierza] in Kraków also contributes to the promotion of Ukrainian culture. 
However,  it  has  to  be  remarked  that  the  cultural  activities  of  Ukrainians  are  very 
restricted due to their geographic dispersal. 

2.6  The business world 

Due  to  article  27  of  the  Constitution,  Ukrainian,  along  with  other  minority 
languages, is of no importance in the business world as an official language. Since 
the  Ukrainians  are  dispersed  their  economic  situation  is  comparable  to  that  of 
Poles living in the same places. 

2.7  Family and the social use of the language  

In  the  2002  census  22,698  people  declared  using  Ukrainian  as  their  home 
language.  However,  Ukrainian  organisations  and  experts  estimate  the  number  of 
Ukrainian-speakers  at  300,000  (see  1.2.2).  The  language  is  mainly  spoken  in 
culturally  motivated  families.  The  majority  of  Ukrainians  (80%)  belong  to  the 
Uniate (Greek) Catholic Church. Services are mostly held in Ukrainian. After 1990 
about a dozen organisations emerged in order to promote the Ukrainian language 
and culture; before 1990, there was just one organisation, founded in 1956. Since 
1990 it is known as the Association of Ukrainians in Poland [Związek Ukraińców 
w  Polsce],  has  10,000  members  and  represents  Ukrainian  rights  (address:  ul. 
Koscieliska  7,  03  -  614  Warszawa).  Within  this  framework  there  are  more  sub-
groups  which  work  on  specific  tasks.  Other  than  the  Belarusian  minority  the 
Ukrainian  minority  receives  the  highest  financial  support.  According  to  a  CBOS 
survey  (CBOS,  Warszawa,  August  1996,  The  attitude  of  Poles  towards  other 
nations)  Poles  have  a  positive  attitude  towards  Americans  (64%),  Italians  (63%) 
and  French  (60%).  They  have  a  rather  negative  attitude  towards  Roma/Gypsies 
(71%),  Romanians  (66%),  Ukrainians  (60%)  and  Russians  (53%).  Moreover, 
Ukrainians stress that Poles still have negative stereotypes of their language group. 

271

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2.8   The European dimension 

The European influence is considered very important : since Poland has signed the 
European  Charter  for  Regional  or  Minority  Languages,  it  is  widely  expected  that 
the  country  will  also  ratify  the  Charter,  which  will  have  a  positive  influence  on 
language policy. The conflict in the Belarusian/Ukrainian transition area is critical. 
In  addition,  there  is  the  Treaty  on  Good  Neighbourhood,  Friendly  Relations  and 
Cooperation  between  the  Republic  of  Poland  and  the  Ukraine  [Traktat  między 
Rzecząpospolitą Polską a Ukrainą o dobrym sąsiedztwie, przyjaznych stosunkach 
i  współpracy],  which  was  adopted  on  18  May  1992.  In  the  scope  of  this  treaty 
Poland  acknowledged  its  eastern  border  and  Russia  accepted  the  Ukraine  as  a 
strategic partner of Poland. However, after the conclusion of a military cooperation 
agreement in 1993 relations between the two countries stagnated. 

3.  Conclusion 

3.1 

3.2  

The situation of Ukrainian can be compared to the situation of German. Both are 
marked  by  post-World  War  II  history  and  strong  oppression  until  1990.  These 
historical  events  still  put  a  strain  on  relations  between  Poland  and  the  Ukraine, 
which  should  be  improved  by  recent  intergovernmental  treaties.  The  tensions 
become  clear  with  memorials  for  German  and  Ukrainian  soldiers  in  Silesia  and 
Galicia, for example, which are regarded quite sceptically by the Polish population 
and  government.  Indeed,  the  Ukraine  is  considered  to  be  a  rather  disagreeable 
neighbour in comparison with other countries. 

There are two problematic issues arising for the future : firstly, the cohesion of the 
Ukrainian group is hampered by the geographical dispersion. Secondly, the recent 
distinction  between  the  Ukrainian  and  Ruthenian/Russinian/Lemk  groups  is 
problematic  as  this  division  means  it  will  be  harder  for  them  to  pass  on  their 
language  to  the  next  generation;  even  though  there  are  clear  ethnic  and  religious 
differences  (Ukrainians  in  Poland  are  mostly  Uniate  (Greek)  Catholics  and 
Ruthenians  are  Orthodox).  These  differences  are  reflected  in  local  religious 
disputes which may even extend to a national level if ethnicity issues are at stake.  

272

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1. 

1.1 

1.2 

      Other languages  

Armenian 

Armenian [hayerēn] is an Indo-Germanic language and its alphabet was developed 
for  religious  and  cultural  purposes.  It  is  divided  into  East  Armenian  which  is 
spoken  in  the  Republic  of  Armenia  and  West  Armenian  which  is  the  language  of 
the diaspora. According to the 2002 census there were 1,082 persons of Armenian 
nationality  in  Poland.  Estimates  from  various  sources  indicate  a  total  of  approx. 
1,500  Armenians  (Association  for  Civic  Media  2003;  Handbook  on  Contact 
Linguistics  1996).  In  the  same  census  872  persons  declared  Armenian  as  their 
home language. 

As  of  the  11th  century  Armenians  moved  to  Galicia,  Volhynia  and  Podolia  (called 
Lehastan  in  Armenian  sources).  Galicia  became  a  centre  for  early  Armenian 
letterpress  and  literature.  In  the  17th  century  the  Jesuits  founded  a  seminar  in 
Lwów  in  order  to  promote  Armenian  studies  and  literature.  However,  this  meant 
that  the  Polish  secular  and  ecclesiastic  authorities  put  increasing  pressure  on 
people  to  assimilate  (this  was  true  for  all  non-Catholic  religions  –  in  1596  the 
Orthodox had to agree to the Union of Brest), which caused numerous conversions. 
In 1689 the bishop of Lwów acknowledged the reign of the Pope whilst maintaining 
the  Armenian  rite.  The  ecclesiastic  union  was  followed  by  the  linguistic 
polonisation.  Due  to  these  circumstances,  but  also  because  of  the  decreasing 
economic  and  political  status  of  the  Polish-Lithuanian  country,  many  Armenians 
chose  to  emigrate,  e.g.  to  Russia,  Constantinople,  Persia  or  Wallachia.  The 
annexing  of  Podolonia  after  Russia’s  takeover  in  1820  and  the  political  division 
marked the end of the Armenian rite in the East of Lehastan. In Lwów and Galicia 
the Armenian-Catholic religion survived under Austrian reign. In 1880 the diocese 
counted  about  3,000  Armenian-Catholic  Christians.  This  group  within  the 
diaspora  was  mixed  after  the  Armenian  genocide  in  1915/16  and  the  political 
democratisation  of  Poland.  Therefore,  assimilated  Armenians  in  Poland  often 
speak a West Armenian variety which is strongly influenced by a Turkish variation 
– the Kipchak. This small Armenian community still exists today and has its centre 
in  its  church  which  was  built  in  the  14th  century.  In  Liturgy  the  Old  Armenian 
language Grabar is used. It was written during the 5th century and is still used in 
modern times for religious purposes. A comprehensive literature was passed on in 
this language dealing with theological topics, history, poetry and  epic poetry.  The 
Armenian minority culture is based on the Association for Armenian Culture.  

2. 

Yiddish 

2.1  

The  biggest  Jewish  community  lives  in  Warsaw.  Other  communities  exist  in 
Kraków,  Łódź,  Szczecin,  Gdańsk,  Katowice  and  Wrocław.  The  first  records  of 
Jewish settlements in Poland date back to the 10th century. In the 13th century they 
obtained their first privileges and rights with the Calisia Statutes. After World War 
II the formerly lively Jewish community disappeared due to the Holocaust. 

2.2 

The  current  statistics  do  not  indicate  to  what  extent  Yiddish  [יידיש]  or  Hebrew 
[עברי]  is  spoken  by  the  Jewish  community.  In  the  2002  census  5,838  persons 
indicated Hebrew as their home language. 

2.3 

Neither  Hebrew  nor  Yiddish  is  taught  at  public  schools.  However,  there  are  two 
private  schools  in  Warsaw  (where  there  is  also  a  nursery)  and  Wrocław  offering 

273

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
native language classes. The Jewish community is organised through the Social and 
Cultural  Association  of  Jews  in  Poland  which  was  founded  in  1950  and  now  has 
about  3,000  members.  They  partly  finance  their  activities  themselves  and  partly 
receive support from the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee. There is 
one weekly newspaper (Polish/Yiddish) Dos Jidisze Wort, the quarterly Bleter far 
Geschichte (Yiddish) and the publication Biuletyn of the Jewish Historical Institute 
in  Warsaw  (source:  http://www.hagalil.com/).  The  publication  of  the  weekly 
newspaper Fołks-Sztyme was stopped recently. In Krakow there is also the Festival 
of Jewish Culture [Festiwal Kultury Żydowskiej] which takes place annually. 

3. 

3.1 

3.2 

Karaite (or Karaim) 

Karaite [karajča] belongs to the Kipchak branch of the Turkish language family. It 
has  been  spoken  in  non-Turkish  environments  (Poland,  Lithuania)  for  centuries 
and  is  thus  strongly  influenced  by  Indo-Germanic  contact  languages.  Since  the 
Middle Ages Karaite has been an important language in literature and it is mainly 
written  in  Hebrew  letters.  Its  speakers  belong  to  the  Karaites;  a  small  religious 
group  which  split  off  from  Judaism  in  around  the  8th  century  and  which  still  has 
followers  in  the  Baltics,  Eastern  Europe,  Turkey  and  Israel.  The  most  prominent 
“non-Turkish” peculiarities of Karaite are morphosyntactic characteristics such as 
indicating the gender by a suffix (e.g. in qarayqa 'Karaite woman' as compared to 
qaray  'Karaite  man'),  the  use  of  demonstrative  pronouns  as  definite  articles  and 
the  word  order:  use  of  former  postpositions  as  prepositions,  suffixed  genitive 
attributes,  suffixed  subordinate  clauses  with  conjunctions,  relatively  free  position 
of the finite verb etc. On the other hand, Karaite has kept some archaic features. 

In the 14th century Karaites (or Karaims) moved from the Crimea to Lithuania and 
today’s West Ukraine, the former Galicia. After the annexing of Crimea (1783) and 
the  Polish  divisions  (1772  -  1795)  all  the  Eastern  European  Karaites  settlements 
and  linguistic  enclaves  belonged  to  Tsarist  Russia.  Unlike  the  Jews,  the  Karaites 
were  not  discriminated  against  because  of  their  ethnic  and  religious  specificity. 
Even during the German occupation of their settlements they were considered as a 
“Tartarian ethnicity” and thus were not persecuted. The city of Trakai in Lithuania 
is a.religious and historic centre for the Karaites in Eastern Europe. In cooperation 
with  experts  for  Turkic  languages,  the  Lithuanian  state  has  also  made  efforts  to 
teach  the  language  to  children  again.  The  minority  is  represented  through  a 
Website. 

3.3 

According  to  the  2002  census  45  persons  declared  Karaite  nationality.  Estimates 
from various sources indicate a total of approximately 150 Karaites (Association for 
Civic  Media  2003;  Handbook  of  Contact  Linguistics  1996).  In  the  2002  census 
there  were  no  indications  of  Karaite  being  used  as  a  home  language.  The  Karaite 
language is threatened with extinction and is only used by a few elderly speakers in 
two small minority communities. 

4. 

Romani 

4.1 

The  (mostly  Catholic)  Roma 
live  scattered  all  over  Poland  the  highest 
concentrations being found in cities as Tarnów and Gorzów Wlkp. The minority is 
historically  divided  into  four  groups:  Polish  Roma,  Carpathian  Roma  (also 
Bergitka Roma), Kałderaszy (Kalderara) and Lowarzy (Lovara). The first report 
of Roma in Poland dates back to 1401 in Kraków. In the 16th century many Roma 

274

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
came from German-speaking regions to Poland and called themselves Polish Roma 
to distinguish themselves from others.  

4.2 

According  to  the  2002  census  there  are  12,855  persons  of  Roma  nationality. 
Estimates  from  various  sources  indicate  a  total  of  about  20,000  (Association  for 
Civic  Media  2003;  Handbook  of  Contact  Linguistics  1996).  In  the  same  census 
15,788 persons declared Romani [romani ćhib] as their home language.  

4.3  Most of the Roma children and adolescents attend public schools where there are 
generally  no  classes  taught  in  their  native  language.  The  private  Parish  primary 
school  in  Suwałki  teaches  Roma  children,  30%  of  whom  do  not  go  to  school,  for 
free.  Since  the  minority  is  very  badly  institutionalised,  the  Polish  government 
launched the 2001 Pilot Government Programme for the Roma Community in the 
Małopolskie  Voivodship,  which  is  especially  designed  to  improve  the  educational 
situation of Roma. Despite this weak institutionalisation the minority is very lively 
due  to its familial  cohesion. However,  they  also have  about 20 own organisations 
which organise, among other things, cultural events (e.g. International Reunion of 
Roma Music Groups in Gorzów Wielkopolski), but there seems to be no umbrella 
organisation.  Rrom  p-o  drom  is  a  monthly  periodical  in  Romani  published  in 
Białystok.  

5.   Russian 

5.1 

5.2 

5.3 

5.4 

6. 

6.1 

The Russian-speakers in Poland belong to the group of the Old Believers and have 
settled  in  three  or  four  isolated  communities  in  the  Podlaskie  province  near  the 
towns  of  Augustów  and  Suwałki.  All  Old  Believers  are  bilingual  Polish  and 
standard Russian [russkij jazik] or their specific archaic dialect which developed in 
a  religious  context.  In  the  Podlaskie  province,  standard  Russian  is  taught  as  a 
foreign language, not as a minority or regional language.  

According  to  the  2002  census  there  were  6,103  persons  of  Russian  nationality. 
Estimates  from  various  sources  indicate  a  total  of  approx.  20,000  Russians 
(Association for Civic Media 2003; Handbook of Contact Linguistics 1996). In the 
same census 15,299 persons indicated Russian as their home language. 

The only active organisations of the Russian language community are the Russian 
Association  for  Education  and  Culture  [Rosyjskie  Towarzystwo  Kulturalno-
Oświatowe]  in  Białystok  and  the  Local  Church  of  the  Old  Believers  [Wschodni 
Kościół Staroobrzędowy] in Suwałki. 

The  group  of  Russian  speakers  is  quite  small  and  homogeneous  because  it  is 
isolated and has a high degree of endogamy. The future development of this group 
might therefore be relatively positive. 

Slovak 

The Slovak minority is mainly concentrated in the Małopolskie Voivodship. It also 
has settlements in the regions of Spisz and Orawa as well as Nowy Targ and Tatra. 
The  Slovak  language  in  Poland  is  influenced  by  the  dialects  of  these  regions. 
According to the 2002 census 2,001 persons declared Slovak nationality. Estimates 
from various sources indicate a total of about 15,000 Slovaks (Association for Civic 

275

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
6.2 

6.3 

Media  2003;  Handbook  of  Contact  Linguistics  1996).  In  the  same  census  1,842 
persons indicated Slovak [slovenský jazyk / slovenčina] as their home language.  

Article 35 of the Constitution guarantees the preservation and development of the 
Slovak  language.  In  addition,  a  bilateral  agreement  on  good  neighbourhood  was 
concluded  with  the  Czech  and  Slovak  Federal  Republic  [Traktat  między 
Rzecząpospolitą  Polską  a  Czeską  i  Słowacką  Republiką  Federacyjną  o  dobrym 
sąsiedztwie, przyjaznych stosunkach i  współpracy (6 October 1991)]. The Slovak 
language  is  well  supported  by  the  local  authorities  but  less  so  on  regional  level. 
Moreover,  only  a  few  culturally  motivated  parents  speak  the  language  to  their 
children.  

Standard  Slovak  is  taught  to  331  pupils  at  eleven  schools.  The  Slovak  minority 
belongs  to  the  Catholic  Church.  Život  is  a  monthly  periodical  in  Slovak,  which  is 
published in Krakow with a print run of 2,200 copies. Cultural Festivals are: Days 
of Slovak Culture in Jabłonka Orawska and the Reunion of Folk Music Groups in 
Krempachy.  The  Polish  Slovaks  are  organised  in  the  Slovak  Union  in  Poland 
[Towarzystwo  Slowaków  w  Polsce]  and  in  the  Socio-cultural  Society  of  Czechs 
and Slovaks in Poland [Towarzystwo Społeczno-Kulturalne Czechów i Słowaków 
w Polsce] which was founded in 1957. The association Matice Slovenska based in 
Bratislava  supports  the  Polish  Slovaks.  Since  Slovak  does  not  have  any  modern 
fields of application its existence is threatened. 

7.  

Tatar 

According  to  the  2002  census  there  are  495  persons  of  Tartarian  nationality. 
Estimates from various sources indicate a number of about 2,000 (Association for 
Civic  Media  2003;  Handbook  of  Contact  Linguistics  1996).  In  the  same  census 
there were no declarations of Tatar as a home language. About 300 years ago the 
Muslim Tatars lost their language and they now speak Polish or a mixture of Polish 
and Belarusian.  

8. 

Czech 

8.1 

8.2 

Czech  [český  jazyk]  is  nearly  only  spoken  in  the  city  of  Zelów  in  the  Bełchatów 
district of the Łódzkie Voivodship in Central Poland. The members of this minority 
are descendents of the Hussites, the followers of the Czech theologian and reformer 
Jan  Hus  (*  around  1370).  During  the  defence  wars  the  Hussites  successfully 
invaded Silesia, Brandenburg, Saxony, Austria, Slovakia and Prussia, nearly as far 
as  Gdansk.  Although  more  Czechs  followed  during  the  16th  and  18th  century,  the 
descendents lived in enclaves and thus their Czech differs from that spoken in the 
Czech Republic. 

According to the 2002 census there are 831 persons of Czech nationality. Estimates 
from various sources indicate a total of about 3,000 Czechs (Association for Civic 
Media 2003; Handbook of Contact Linguistics 1996). However, in the same census 
1,482  persons  declared  Czech  as  their  home  language.  The  minority  has  few 
institutions, e.g. in terms of schools except for one nursery. A second exception are 
the Calvinist services in the parish of Zélow. The Czechs are organised within the 
Czech Club [Klub Czeski] which closely cooperates with the Slovak association. The 
monthly  periodical  Život  also  publishes  articles  in  Czech.  Overall,  the  minority’s 
vigour  is  weakening  as  children  rarely  learn  Czech  and  the  language  has  no 
institutions. 

276

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
             Bibliography  

A. Books, articles, reports 

Association for Civic Media (2003): POLAND - COUNTRY OUTLINE 
Czurak,  Maria  (1996):  Belorussians  and  the  Belorussian  language  in  Poland.  In: 

International Journal of the Sociology if Language 120 (1996), 55-62. 

Dom Wydawniczy (1996) (ed.): Die deutsche Minderheit in Polen. Geschichte und  

Gegenwart. Warsaw. 

Enzyklopädie es Europäischen Ostens (2004): http://www.uni-klu.ac.at/eeo/ 
Heinrich Engelskirchen (1966): Lemken, Tradition und Fortschritt. 
Mickiewicz,  Adam  (1996):  Kaschubian  choices,  Kaschubian  prospects.  In:  International 

Journal of the Sociology if Language 120 (1996), 39-53. 
Panzer B. 1996: Die slavischen Sprachen in Gegenwart und Geschichte. Frankfurt/ M. 
Pax  Christi  International  (2000):  Minorities  in  Poland  and  Lithuania.  Education  for 

Mutual Respect and Tolerance Towards Minorities in Poland and Lithuania. 

Polishroots: http://www.polishroots.org/  
REPORT  SUBMITTED  BY  POLAND  PURSUANT  TO  ARTICLE  25,  PARAGRAPH  1  OF 
THE  FRAMEWORK  CONVENTION  FOR  THE  PROTECTION  OF  NATIONAL 
MINORITIES,  ACFC/SR(2002)002  (10  July  2002).,  Journal  of  Laws  no.  50,  item 
579.  

Richter,  Sonja  (2004):  “Oberschlesien:  Weder  Polen  noch  Deutsche  –  regionale 

Identifikation als Ausweg? ” In: Europa Ethnica 1 / 2, 61. Jg. (2004), 36-46. 

Rieger, Janusz (1997): “Polish – Ukrainian”. In: Handbuch der Kontaktlinguistik. Berlin 

(deGruyter), 1600-1606. 

Smułkowa,  Elzbeieta 

(1997): 
Kontaktlinguistik. Berlin (deGruyter), 1606-1624. 

“Polish  –  Byelorussian”. 

In:  Handbuch  der 

The Belarussian Diaspora: http://www.belarus-misc.org/bel-diasp.htm#rus-f  
Treder,  Jerzy  (1997):  “Polish  –  Kashubian”.  In:  Handbuch  der  Kontaktlinguistik.  Berlin 

(deGruyter), 1600-1606. 

Wicherkiewicz, Tomasz S. (1996): “Ethnic revival of the German minority in Poland”. In: 

International Journal of the Sociology if Language 120 (1996), 25-38. 

Wicherkiewicz, Tomasz S. (o.J. u. o.O.): The Kashubian Language in Education in Poland. 
Wiktorowicz, Józef (1996): “Polnisch – Deutsch”. Handbuch der Kontaktlinguistik. Berlin 

(deGruyter), 1594-1600. 

Wiktorowicz, Józef (1997): “Poland”. In: Contact Linguistics. An International Handbook 

of Contemorary Research. Berlin (deGruyter), 1583-1600. 

Central Website for Lithuania: http://www.lithuania.lt/IMI/i_de.jsp?nr=Lietuva  

277

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
_______                                                            Slovakia 

1. 

Introduction 

1.1 

Slovakia [Slovensko] (SR) is a Central European country sharing borders with its 
neighbours  Poland,  Ukraine,  Austria  and  the  Czech  Republic.  The  country  covers 
an area of 49,034 sqkm, has a total population (2001) of 5,379,455, with a density 
of 110 inhabitants per sqkm. The capital Bratislava is situated at the Danube River 
in the south-western part of the country near the Slovak-Austrian border (approx. 
60  km  from  Vienna).  According  to  the  census  of  2001,  the  capital  had  427,049 
inhabitants.  Since  the  territorial  and  administrative  reform  on  22  March  1996, 
Slovakia  is  divided  into  eight  regions  [kraj]  and  79  districts  [okres].  The  eight 
regions  were  obtained  through  two  horizontal  and  four  vertical  divisions  of  the 
country around the respective regional capitals: Bratislava, Trnava, Trenčin, Nitra, 
Žilina, Banská Bystrica, Prešov and Košice. 

1.2 

1.3 

After the 1989 political change in Czechoslovakia, a Czech and Slovak federal state 
was  founded.  However,  the  two  parts  of  the  country  developed  in  different 
directions,  and  on  1  January  25  November  1992    1993  the  Slovak  Republic 
[Slovenská  republika]  became  an  independent  state.  The  SR  is  a  parliamentary 
democracy with the legislative power attributed to the National Council [Národná 
rada].  The  National  Council  has  150  representatives  which  are  elected  for  a  four 
year term. 

The gross domestic product (GDP) per inhabitant in 2002 was €4,700 (47% of the 
EU average). The real GDP growth grew to 4.4% by 2002. The trade deficit of 8.2% 
of the GDP was compensated by foreign direct investments (17% of the GDP) and 
the  overall  deficit  amounted  to  7.2%  of  the  GDP  in  2002.  The  inflation  rate 
continued  to  decrease  until  2002  and  reached  an  annual  average  of  3.3%. 
Concerning the gross value added of the SR (2002), services are 63.6% followed by 
industry with 26.4% as well as agriculture and construction with approx. 5% each. 
In  the  first  quarter  of  2004  unemployment  reached  19.3%  (as  against  17.4%  in 
2003). 

278

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2. 

2.1 

2.2 

2.3 

2.4 

General aspects 

During the 5th century, Slavonic tribes settled on the territory of the current SR. In 
833, the town of Nitra was occupied and the Great Moravian Empire was founded. 
The empire included the territories of today’s Slovak and Czech Republics as well 
as  parts  of  today’s  Austria,  Hungary,  Poland  and  Germany.  In  907,  a  Hungarian 
invasion led to the collapse of Great Moravia and the current SR remained part of 
the  Hungarian  multi-ethnic  state  under  the  name  of  “Upper  Hungary”  for  the 
following  900  years.  After  the  rise  of  the  Austro-Hungarian  monarchy  in  1867, 
Hungary  obtained  autonomy 
internal  politics,  which  caused  a  strong 
magyarisation having effects in Slovakia mainly from 1868-1918. Mostly Germans, 
Jews and Slovaks were subject to the pressure of assimilation. 

in 

After  World  War  I  new  borders  were  also  created  for  the  SR.  On  18  28  October 
1918 a new state was founded as a result of the Peace Treaty of Trianon (1918) and 
Saint-Germain (1920): the Czechoslovak Republic. In this new state, the roles were 
exchanged.  The  Hungarian  ethnicity,  which  until  now  had  been  the  majority, 
became a minority whereas the Slovaks became the majority. In 1921 65.5% of the 
population  were Czechs and Slovaks and 44%  of the total  population  belonged to 
other ethnic groups (approx. 3 million Germans and 1 million Hungarians as well 
as smaller groups of Ruthenians, Ukrainians, Russians and Poles). Shortly before 
the  beginning  of  World  War  II  the  Slovak  Republic  declared  itself  autonomous 
within the federal state of Czechoslovakia. The period of World War II was marked, 
as  in  many  other  European  countries,  by  attacks  on  minorities  (genocide, 
deportation and forced resettlement). One day before Hitler’s invasion of the Czech 
and Slovak territories, the fascist leader President Jozef Tiso came into power. The  
and  Slovak  Republic  was  founded,  with  a  Nazi  puppet  governmentia  became  a 
German  ally.  The  second  Czechoslovakia,  which  was  founded  after  the  war,  was 
supposed to become a federal state but due to the takeover by the communists in 
1948,  it  became  a  state  that  was  centrally  governed  from  Prague.  Czechoslovakia 
only became a federal state in 1968. 

The  political  change  in  1989  led  to  a  strengthened  Slovak  national  consciousness 
and  requests  for  an  autonomous  Slovakia    resulteding  in  a  division  of  the  two 
countries  in  19921993.  The  period  from  19932  to  19-98  was  marked  by  a  strong 
state  control  of  e.g.  the  media  and  international  criticism.  From  1998,  after 
suffering from economic problems,  high unemployment, slow  reforms and  ethnic 
conflicts, the new government succeeded in bringing the country back on the right 
track on its way into the EU. At the Copenhagen European Council, the accession 
of the SR to the EU on 1 May 2004 was confirmed.  

The  censuses  show  the  comparatively  high  number  of  religious  people  in  the 
Slovak population. In the census of 1991 72.8% of the population were members of 
a religious group and the trend is increasing: in 2001 the number went up to 84.1% 
of  the  total  population.  The  biggest  church  in  the  SR  is  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church,  with  4,521,549  members  (68.5%  of  the  total  population)  followed  by  the 
Protestant Church (372,858 members = 6.9%), the Greek Catholic Church (219,831 
= 4.1%) and the Reformed Church (109,735 = 2%). There are around 3,000 Jews in 
the  SR,  who  can  be  defined  as  a  national  minority  as  well  as  a  religious  group. 
There  are  no  major  differences  to  the  total  population  of  the  SR  regarding  the 
religious groups or the Hungarian, Czech and German minorities. The Poles in the 
SR, however, tend to belong to the Roman Catholic Church. In 1991, 91.1% of the 
Poles  in  Slovakia  stated  that  they  were  religious.  Clear  differences  occur  between 
the majority population and the Ruthenians and Ukrainians who, to a large extent, 

279

 
 
 
 
 
 
belong to the Greek Catholic Church, and for whom religion is an important part of 
their identity as a minority. 

3. 

3.1 

Demographic data 

The Slovak population statistics indicate the country’s multi-ethnic character. The 
table shows the demographic development of national minorities in the territory of 
the current SR: 

Table  1.  Population  development  by  nationality/ethnicity  in  the  territory  of  the 
current SR 1880-2001. 

Slovak 

Hungar. 

Roma 

Czech 

Morav.* 

Ruth.** 

Ukr.** 

German 

Polish 

Croatian 

1880 
1,471,752 
59.6% 
574,862 
23.1% 

1910 
1,688,413 
57.5% 
881,320 
30.2% 

1921 
1,952,866 
66.0% 
650,597 
22.0% 

1930 
2,224,983 
68.4% 
585,434 
17.6% 

1947 
2,888,000 
85.0% 
390,000 
11.5% 

1961 
3,560,216 
85.3% 
518,782 
12.4% 

1980 
4,321,139 
86.6% 
559,801 
11.2% 

*** 

*** 

*** 
81,055 
3.3% 

*** 
318,794 
12.8% 

*** 

*** 

*** 

*** 

*** 
103,387 
3.5% 

*** 
198,405 
6.8% 

*** 

*** 

*** 
72,137 
2.4% 

*** 
88,970 
3.0% 

*** 
145,844 
4.9% 

*** 

*** 

*** 
120,926 
3.7% 

*** 
95,359 
2.8% 

*** 
154,821 
4.5% 

*** 

*** 

*** 
37,000 
1.1% 

*** 
47,000 
1.4% 

*** 
24,000 
0.7% 

*** 

*** 

*** 
45,721 
1.1% 

*** 
35,435 
0.9% 

*** 
6.259 
0.1% 

*** 

*** 

*** 
55,234 
1.1% 

*** 
39,758 
0.8% 

*** 
5,121 
0.1% 

*** 

*** 

1991 
4,590,100 
85.69% 
568,714 
10.62% 
83,988 
1.57% 
51,293 
0.96% 
6,361 
0.12% 
17,277 
0.32% 
14,341 
0.27% 
5,380 
0.10% 

*** 

*** 

2001 
4,614,854 
85.78% 
520,528 
9.67% 
89,920 
1.67% 
44,620 
0.83% 
2,348 
< o.10% 
24,201 
0.45% 
10,814 
0.20% 
5,405 
0.10% 
2,602 
< o.10% 
890 
< o.10% 

Total 

2,472,437 

2,914,143 

2,958,557 

3,254,189 

3,399,000 

4,174,046 

4,987,853 

5,356,207 

5,379,455 

* Moravian / Silesian: In the census of 2001 there was only the option “Moravian”. 
** The Ruthenians and Ukrainians were a joint group in the source from 1880-1980. 
*** No data available. 
(Sources: For the years from 1880 to1980: Kocsis & Kocsis-Hodosi 1998; for 1991: ECMI 2000, 36; 
for 2001: http://www.statistics.sk) 

According  to  the  last  census,  the  SR  had  5,379,455  inhabitants,  approx.  15%  of 
which  stated  a  different  nationality  from  Slovak.  This  figure  remained  relatively 
stable from 1991 to 2001. However, it is likely that this number might be higher as 
many  Roma  stated  Slovak  or  Hungarian  as  their  nationality.  There  are  different 
estimations  as  to  the  number  of  Roma  in  the  SR  but  they  usually  range  between 
300,000 and 500,000. Taking this into consideration, the non-Slovak population 
increases to over 20% of the total population. Jews are not taken into account by 
the  official  statistics.  Statistics  for  the  Jewish  communities  show  that  there  are 
approx. 3,000 Jews living in the SR today. 

3.2 

In  the  Lands  of  the  Crown  of  St  Stephen  the  Hungarian  ethnicity  had  in  1850  a 
relative  majority  of  46%.  In  the  following  60  years,  the  Hungarian  population 
increased – mainly due to assimilation – and reached a number of 54.5% in 1910. 
At the same time, 30.2% of the total population on the territory of today’s Slovakia 
were  Hungarians.  57.9%  of  the  population  stated  Slovak  nationality.  With  the 
German  (speaking)  population  the  respective  number  was  6.8%  and  with  the 
Ruthenians/Ukrainians  3.5%.  After  World  War  I,  only  a  small  proportion  of  the 
Hungarian population stayed on the territory today’s SR. Between 1920 and 1924, 
approx.  88,000  Hungarians  (especially  administrative  and  military  staff) 

280

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
emigrated  to  the  new  state  of  Hungary.  At  the  same  time,  approx.  72,000  Czech 
soldiers,  civil  servants  and  investors  immigrated  into  the  territory  of  the  current 
SR. During World War II, 70,000 Jews were deported from Slovakia. After the war 
the situation changed again, amongst other things because of forced resettlement, 
expulsion  and  population  exchange.  Sudeten  Germans  and  Hungarians  were 
particularly  affected  by  the  expulsion  and  forced  resettlement.  In  Czechoslovakia 
the percentage of the  minority population  remained relatively stable according to 
the  available  statistics.  An  exception  is  the  German  population  which  steadily 
decreased, above all due to its unfavourable age structure, since more than half of 
the minority was over 60 years old. 

3.3 

The  table  below  shows  the  distribution  of  the  national  minorities  in  the  eight 
regions of the SR: 

Table  2.  The  population  of  the  eight  regions 
nationality/ethnicity. 

in  the  SR 

in  2001  by 

Bratisl.  Trnava  Trenčin  Nitra 

Žilina 

546,685 
27,434 
755 
9,591 
745 
526 
542 

Slov. 
Hung. 
Roma 
Czech 
Morav. 
Ruth. 
Ukr. 
German  1,342 
Polish 
Croat. 
Total 

398 
653 
599,015 

407,246 
130,740 
3,163 
4,778 
167 
72 
196 
173 
145 
53 
551,003 

589,344 
1,058 
1,547 
6,319 
370 
87 
214 
750 
228 
24 
605,582 

499,761 
196,609 
4,741 
4,526 
186 
85 
275 
200 
295 
42 
713,422 

674,766 
660 
2,795 
6,123 
297 
129 
223 
452 
466 
31 
692,332 

B. 
Bystr. 
553,865 
77,795 
15,463 
4,560 
201 
148 
553 
435 
252 
32 
662,121 

Prešov  Košice 

Total 

716,441 
817 
31,653 
3,774 
171 
21,150 
6,781 
510 
549 
23 
789,968 

626,746 
85,415 
29,803 
4,949 
211 
2,004 
2,030 
1,543 
269 
32 
766,012 

4,614,854 
520,528 
89,920 
44,620 
2,348 
24,201 
10,814 
5,405 
2,602 
890 
5,379,455 

(Source: http://www.statistics.sk)  

The  Hungarian,  Czech,  Ruthenian,  Ukrainian  and  Polish  minorities  are  border 
type  minorities,  i.e.  they  generally  live  in  the  border  regions  of  their  countries  of 
origin  which  neighbour  the  SR.  The  majority  of  the  Roma  live  in  the  Eastern 
Slovak territories. Most members of the German minority live in the Košice region 
as well as in the capital region where there is also the highest concentration of the 
Croatian,  Czech  and  Moravian  minorities.  However,  the  Czech  minority  is  quite 
evenly  dispersed  over  the  other  regions  as  well.  The  Polish  minority  is  also 
dispersed over the country, although a slightly higher concentration can be noted 
in  the  Prešov  region.  More  members  of  national  minorities  live  in  municipalities 
than  in  the  regions  and  districts.  In  1999  for  example,  there  were  656 
municipalities  with  at  least  20%  of  national  minorities.  In  512  of  these 
municipalities, the Hungarian population reached 20%, Ruthenians 68, Roma 57, 
Ukrainians 18 and Germans 1. 

4. 

Language policy 

4.1 

In  federal  Czechoslovakia  only  individuals  were  granted  rights  not  minorities  as 
such.  In  1990,  after  the  break-up  of  Czechoslovakia,  Slovakia  adopted  the  act  on 
the official language of the Slovak Republic [Zákon o úradnom jazyku Slovenskej 
rRepubliky],  which  defines  Slovak  as  the  only  official  language  of  the  state. 
However,  minorities  could  use  their  language  in  contact  with  authorities  where 
they  constituted  20%  of  the  population.  Moreover,  all  official  documents  were  to 
be published in Slovak. The act was supposed to define the Slovak language as an 

281

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
4.2 

4.3 

4.4 

4.5 

official  language  (instead  of  the  Czechoslovak  which  officially  had  a  Czech  and  a 
Slovak version). 

The  1992  Constitution  [Ùstava  Slovenskej  rRepubliky]  confirmed  the  Slovak 
language as the official language [štátný jazyk] of the SR [štátný jazyk]. In article 
12,  the  general  fundamental  rights  are  “granted  to  all  citizens  of  the  SR  without 
distinction in race, colour of skin, language, religion, nationality or ethnic group.” 
Article  34  of  the  Constitution  contains  specific  provisions  on  national  minorities 
(right  of  diffusion  and  reception  of  information  and  education  in  the  minority 
language, right to use the minority language in contacts with authorities). The 1995 
act on the official language [Zákon o štátnom jazyku Slovenskej republiky] which 
was  criticised  on  international  as  well  as  national  level  and  by  minorities  in 
particular,  confirmed  the  status  of  the  Slovak  language  as  the  only  official 
language. 

In  1999  the  Slovak  parliament  adopted  the  act  on  the  use  of  minority  languages 
[Zákon o používaní jazykov národnostných menšin] which was intended to satisfy 
the needs of minorities better than before. However, the new law abrogated only a 
part  (article  10)  of  the  1995  law.  Especially  for  the  Ruthenians  this  implies  an 
exclusion  from  the  new  rights  as  the  20%  barrier  of  the  1920  Constitution  is  still 
valid.  The  practical  implementation  of  the  act  proved  to  be  difficult.  It  only 
acknowledges  the  possibility  of  using  the  minority  language  in  contacts  with 
regional  authorities  but  does  not  require  the  administrative  staff  to  know  the 
respective  minority  language.  Another  issue  is  the  lacking  definition  of  the  term 
‘official documents’ [verejný list] which are an exception as they have to be written 
in Slovak according to article 2 (3). The act still only applies to regions with at least 
20% of speakers of a minority language. The borders of these regions are drawn by 
the government, i.e. they depend on the political balance of power rather than on 
the actual situation.  

Although  the  term 
‘national  minority’  [národnostná  menšinanárodnostný 
menšin]  appears  in  Slovak  law  (especially  in  the  Constitution  and  the  act  on  the 
use  of  minority  languages)  and  in  numerous  other  official  documents,  the  law 
neither gives a definition of ‘national minority’ nor is the term specified in another 
way.  In  the  Framework  Convention  for  the  Protection  of  National  Minorities, 
however,  11  ethnic  groups  in  Slovakia  are  considered  as  minorities:  Bulgarians, 
Germans,  Jews,  Croatians,  Moravians,  Poles,  Roma,  Ruthenians,  Czechs, 
Ukrainians and Hungarians. These groups, except for the Bulgarians and Jews, are 
also  taken  into  account  by  the  population  statistics  grouping  the  population  by 
nationality  [národnost’].  The  European  Charter  for  Regional  or  Minority 
Languages  applies  to  the  following  languages:  Bulgarian,  German,  Croatian, 
Polish, Romani, Ruthenian, Czech, Ukrainian and Hungarian. 

Several  Slovak  ministries  have  special  units  for  minority  issues.  The  ministry 
mainly  responsible  for  minority  policies  is  the  Ministry  of  Culture  with  a  special 
section for minority culture. The Ministry of Education has a unit for education on 
nationally  mixed  territories  as  well  as  a  unit  for  the  vocational  training  of 
minorities. In addition, the Foreign Ministry has a unit dealing with human rights. 
The  Slovak  parliament  has  also  set  up  a  Committee  for  Human  Rights  and 
National  Minorities  that  is  led  by  a  representative  of  a  national  minority  and 
mainly pursues activities regarding Roma issues. 

4.6 

In  1998  the  position  of  the  Deputy  Prime  Minister  for  Human  Rights,  National 
Minorities and Regional Development was created and attributed to a member of 
the Hungarian  minority. The Deputy Prime Minister for Human Rights, National 

282

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
4.7 

4.8 

Minorities  and  Regional  Development  is  also  the  chairman  of  the  Council  of 
National Minorities and Ethnic Groups. It is a consultative government body which 
deals with questions on the development and implementation of minority policies. 
Fourteen minority organisations have the right to designate Council members. The 
Council  can  suggest  concrete  measures,  set  up  reports  for  the  government, 
comment on legislative proposals and exercise a consultative function when public 
money is allocated to minorities. Since February 2001 there has been a second post 
for the protection of minorities – the Ombudsman – who is elected for a five-year 
term by the Slovak parliament. His task is to check the activities and decisions of 
public  institutions  concerning  the  implementation  of  fundamental  rights  and 
freedoms. 

In 2001 there were 187 organisations in the SR registered with the Ministry of the 
Interior and active in the field of national minorities. In addition to the minority-
NGOs,  there  were  a  total  of  23  parties  in  the  SR  defining  themselves  as 
representatives  of  national  minorities.  Furthermore,  there  were  287  minority 
associations and 32 minority funds. 

The  Slovak  Constitution  acknowledges  the  right  to  education  for  everybody.  In 
addition, national minorities have the right to be taught in their own language. The 
right to be taught in a minority language can also be derived from article 8 of the 
European  Charter  for  Regional  or  Minority  Languages.  The  act  on  the  use  of 
minority  languages  mentions  the  use  of  minority  languages  in  education  by 
referring to the school act (1984) and its amended version (1994). Article 3 para. 1 
states that classes in primary and secondary schools must be taught in the official 
language  but  also  says  that  “members  of  Czech,  Hungarian,  German,  Polish  and 
Ukrainian  (Ruthenian)  nationality  have  the  right  to  be  taught  in  their  own 
language  to  an  extent  which  is  appropriate  to  the  interest  of  their  national 
development”. The Roma are excluded from this law as the Ministry of Education 
considers that they are not interested in being taught in their own language. As a 
result of the administrative reform which entered into force in 2002, the regional 
authorities  are  now  responsible  for  nurseries  and  primary  schools  whereas  the 
districts,  which  are  allowed  to  found  schools,  are  responsible  for  the  secondary 
schools.  This  improves  the  possibilities  of  the  national  minorities  in  the  SR  to 
exercise  direct  influence  in  the  field  of  education  at  least  on  municipality  level 
where  they  have  political  representatives  in  the  district  and  city  authorities. 
Nevertheless, problems arise due to a lack of money in towns and municipalities, in 
the  long  run  the  regulation  is  however  considered  positively.  During  the  school 
year  2002/2003  six  minority  languages  were  used  as  teaching  languages  in 
levels:  Hungarian  (all 
minority  schools  throughout  Slovakia  on  different 
educational  levels),  Bulgarian  (primary  school,  grammar  school,  university), 
German (primary school, university), Ruthenian and Ukrainian (some subjects in 
primary  and  secondary  schools,  university),  and  Romani  (auxiliary  language  in 
nurseries  and  pre-schools  in  Roma  settlement  areas,  teaching  language  at  one 
secondary school and one university). As in all European countries, English is the 
most  common  foreign  language  taught  at  schools  in  the  SR.  In  primary  schools, 
19%  of  pupils  learnt  English  and  10%  learnt  German  during  the  school  year 
1999/2000.  In  secondary  schools,  56%  of  pupils  participated  in  English  classes 
and  51%  in  German  classes,  which  is  nearly  the  same  level.  7%  of  pupils  in 
secondary schools learned Russian and 4% learnt French. 

4.9 

The Constitution of the SR guarantees its citizens freedom of thought, conscience, 
belief  and  speech  as  well  as  the  right  to  information.  Moreover,  the  European 
Charter  for  Regional  or  Minority  Languages  obliges  the  country  to  create  the 

283

 
 
 
 
 
conditions  necessary  to  provide  education  in  minority  languages  (article  8). 
Furthermore,  one  television  and  radio  station  is  to  be  appointed  which  has  to 
broadcast  programmes  in  the  minority  language  and  one  newspaper  has  to  be 
published in this language (article 11). In the cultural domain, the state is supposed 
to provide means and possibilities for cultural activities of the national minorities 
(article  12).  According  to  the  Slovak  act  on  radio  and  television  broadcasting 
(1993),  radio  and  TV  stations  have  to  dedicate  parts  of  their  programmes  to 
preserving the cultural identity of the national minority. 

5. 

The European dimension 

On 14 September 1995 the SR ratified the European Framework Convention on the 
Protection  of  National  Minorities  and  in  June  2001  it  ratified  the  European 
Charter  for  Regional  or  Minority  Languages.  For  the  Hungarian  minority 
especially,  this  Charter  filled  some  gaps  which  the  act  on  the  use  of  minority 
languages had left open. Bilateral agreements on good neighbourhood and friendly 
cooperation  were  concluded  between  Slovakia  and  Hungary  (1995),  the  Czech 
Republic (1991) and Germany (1997). 

284

 
 
 
 
 
 
  
German in Slovakia 

1.  General information 

1.1 

The language 

German  [Deutsch]  is  a  West  Germanic  language  of  the  Indo-European  family. 
Different  varieties  of  German  are  spoken  in  Slovakia.  The  pre-war  generation  as 
well as the generation born immediately after the war still spoke German dialects 
of Austrian, Bavarian and Central German origins. The German standard language 
was  directly  taught  to  the  latter  only  in  exceptional  cases,  but  some  members  of 
this generation acquired knowledge of the standard language at university and/or 
through stays in the German  language  area. The German dialects of the post-war 
generation  contain  much  more  Slovakisms  than  was  the  case  for  the  oldest 
generation.  The  German  language  spoken  in  Slovakia  contains,  for  example, 
Bohemisms  which  were  typical  of  the  Pressburg  dialect.  In  the  Spis,  the  German 
language was influenced by the Polish dialects spoken in that region. 

1.2  History, geography and demography 

1.2.1  The end of the 12th century marks the beginning of the German colonisation of the 
territories  of  today’s  SR  (at  that  time  territories  of  Upper  Hungary).  The  settlers 
came  mostly  from  the  German  middle-eastern  and  southern  regions  as  well  as 
from  Silesia.  They  settled  in  three  main  areas:  Bratislava  [Pressburg],  the  West 
Carpathian  mining  regions  and  the  so-called  Spis  region  with  its  centres  of 
Kežmarok  [Kesmark]  and  Gelnica  [Göllnitz].  The  peak  of  German  settlement  in 
current Slovakia was reached in the 15th century, the number of German speakers 
being  200,000-250,000  (approx.  25%  of  the  total  population).  At  this  point, 
German  became  the  second  official  language  of  former  Upper  Hungary.  Due  to 
Slovakisation  and  Magyarisation  in  the  16th  century  however,  its  influence 
gradually  decreased.  Until  Czechoslovakia  was  founded  in  1918,  the  Germans  in 
Slovakia  were  part  of  the  2  million  Hungarian  Germans.  After  World  War  II,  the 
situation  of  the  German  speakers  in  Czechoslovakia  changed  completely.  As  a 
result of the Beneš decrees more than 3 million Germans were expelled. 

1.2.2 

In  the  2001  census,  5,405  persons  stated  German  as  their  nationality 
(development since 1880 ⇒ Table 1). The number of German native speakers was 
slightly higher (6,343). Since the 15th–16th century, the number of German speakers 
in  the  territory  of  today’s  Slovakia  has  been  gradually  decreasing.  In  1880  there 
were  still  318,794  (12.8%)  German  speakers  in  Slovakia,  in  1921  after  the  First 
World  War  145,844  (4.9%)  and  after  their  expulsion  in  1945  their  numbers 
dropped below 1%. Since the 1960s their number, compared to the total population 
has  remained  relatively  stable  at  0.1%,  that  is  approx.  5,000  persons.  As  to 
reproduction, the age structure of the German minority is however unfavourable as 
the over 65 years old German speakers outweigh the younger generation which is 
strongly ‘slovakised’. 

1.2.3  The German speakers in Slovakia still live in parts of their original settlements (⇒ 

Table 2).  

285

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The  strongest  concentration  can  be  noted  in  the  regions  of  Bratislava  and  Košice 
where  more  than  50%  of  the  German  speakers  in  Slovakia  live.  The  others  are 
dispersed  all  over  the  SR.  Besides  Slovakia,  Carpathian  Germans  live  in  Austria 
and Germany as well as in North America. 

1.2.4  Due  to the  heterogeneous religious  (Bratislava,  South-West  and Central Slovakia: 
Roman  Catholic;  Spis:  Protestant-Lutheran)  and  linguistic  (vernacular)  origins  of 
the  German  minority,  there  was  no  strong  notion  of  national  identity  within  this 
minority  in  Slovakia  after  Czechoslovakia  was  founded.  In  addition,  there  were 
only sparse contacts because of the geographical distance. Although contacts with 
the more politicised Sudeten Germans strengthened in the 1920s, the development 
of  a  German  educational  system  for  example  was  largely  borne  by  the  Sudeten 
Germans. 

1.3  Legal status and official policies 

In  post-war  Czechoslovakia  the  remaining  German  speakers  were  politically 
discriminated against. Not only were they disappropriated but German speakers in 
Czechoslovakia  were  also,  especially  shortly  after  the  war,  socially  excluded.  For 
many  this  meant  a  loss  and  denial  of  their  identity  and  finally  led  to  a  language 
change. For example, Germans did not obtain Czechoslovak citizenship until 1953 
and  were  acknowledged  as  minority  as  late  as  1968.  Compared  to  the  German 
speakers  in  the  Czech  part  of  Czechoslovakia,  the  German  minority  in  the  Slovak 
part seldom used the possibilities of cultural gatherings. Since 1989 more attention 
has  been  paid  to  the  issue  of  the  German  minority  in  Slovakia  as  now  it  is  also 
supported  by  the  state.  Since  1995  the  German  speakers  in  Slovakia  have  been 
included  in  the  Framework  Convention  for  the  Protection  of  National  Minorities. 
The  act  on  the  use  of  minority  languages  (1999)  also  applies  to  the  German 
language minority which reaches the 20% barrier in the town of Krahule (German: 
Blaufluß) with 150 inhabitants. If the barrier were lowered, to e.g. 10%, seven other 
towns would fall under the act. 

2.  Presence and use of the language in various fields 

2.1  Education 

The  right  to  education  in  German  language  can  be  derived  from  the  European 
Charter  for  Regional  or  Minority  Languages  and  the  Slovak  Constitution. 
According  to  the  chairman  of  the  Carpathian  German  Society  the  change  in  1989 
also  marked  a  new  beginning  for  the  educational  system.  German  and  bilingual 
schools  and  nurseries  were  established.  According  to  Eurydice  there  was  one 
German primary school in Slovakia during the school year 2002/2003. Moreover, 
there  are  five  primary  schools  where  all  subjects  are  taught  in  Slovak  except  for 
German  which  is  taught  as  a  native  language.  In  spring  2004  negotiations  were 
held  between  representatives  of  the  Carpathian  German  Society  and  the  Slovak 
Ministry  of  Education  in  order  to  include  the  above-mentioned  school  in  the 
network  of  minority  schools  under  joint  administration.  Furthermore,  there  are 
discussions  on  the  possibility  of  establishing  bilingual  classes  at  two  grammar 
schools in Bratislava. Of the approx. 600,000 pupils attending the first to the ninth 
year in Slovakia approx. 340,000 learn German. In total, 10% of pupils in primary 

286

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
schools and 51% in secondary schools learnt German as a foreign language in the 
school year 1999/2000 which makes it the second foreign language in schools after 
English. German language and literature studies are offered by several universities 
in  Slovakia:  the  Comenius  University  Bratislava,  the  Matej  Bel  University  in 
Banská  Bystrica,  the  University  of  Trnava,  the  University  of  Prešov  and  the 
University  of  Nitra.  In  addition,  German  is  taught  at  the  Technical  University  of 
Košice and the Cyril and Methodius University in Trnava. 

2.2  Judicial authorities 

The  Slovak  Constitution  allows  German  to  be  used  in  legal  proceedings  as  a 
minority  language.  However,  Slovak  is  preferred  in  contacts  with  authorities.  An 
exception  might  be  municipalities  with  a  larger  number  of  German  speakers 
(vernacular speakers) where German is also used in public. 

2.3  Public authorities and services 

The statements under 2.2 also apply for contacts with public authorities. Due to the 
20% barrier of the language act German can only be used at local authorities in the 
village  of  Krahule  [Blaufluß]  where  about  a  quarter  of  the  150  inhabitants  speak 
German. Here, the street signs are also bilingual. 

2.4  Mass media and information technology 

In  2000  the  Slovak  public  television  broadcast  1.9  hours  of  German  programmes 
and the Slovak radio 0.5 hours. The Committee for National Minorities founded in 
January 1999 in Košice is responsible for TV programmes in minority languages on 
Slovak  television.  Austrian  and  German  TV  and  radio  stations  are  also  available. 
The  German  speaking  Slovaks  have  their  own  monthly  German  periodical  –  the 
Karpatenblatt (16 pages) – which is published by the Carpathian German Society. 
It is also available on the internet. German and Austrian newspapers are also sold 
in  the  SR.  In  2000  the  German  language  periodicals  in  Slovakia  received 
SKK 800,000  from  the  Slovak  Ministry  of  Culture.  A  newspaper  called 
Karpatenpost is published in Germany and  basically contains information on the 
Carpathian  German  culture,  different  events,  family  and  church  news.  The 
presence  of  the  German  minority  on  the  internet  is  limited.  The  Carpathian 
German  Society  has  a  website  which  roughly  informs  about  the  Carpathian 
Germans and different current topics, the Carpathian German youth organisation 
IkeJA-KDJ  and  the  Carpathian  German  Association.  It  also  contains  links  to  the 
Karpatenblatt and the Carpathian German Museum Bratislava. 

2.5  Arts and culture 

The Museum der Kultur der Karpatendeutschen was founded in 1997 in Bratislava 
as a part of the Slovak National Museum. It aims at preserving and collecting items 
of  Carpathian  German  material  and  intellectual  culture  and  publishes  the  series 
Acta  Carpatho-Germanica  of  which  nine  volumes  already  exist.  The  German 
speaking minority in the SR keeps its folk culture alive. Each year there are several 
folk  festivals,  since  1996,  for  example,  there  has  been  a  yearly  festival  for  culture 
and  encounters  in  Kežmarok.  The  local  groups  and  encounter  centres  of  the 

287

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Carpathian  German  Society  have  many  singing  and  dancing  ensembles.  The 
editors  of  the  Carpathian  German  working  group  annually  publish  the 
Karpatenjahrbuch (200-250 pages) which mainly consists of Carpathian German 
history  as  well  as  stories  and  anecdotes.  In  2000  German  cultural  activities  were 
financially  supported  with  SKK  1,267,500  out  of  public  funds  of  the  Slovak 
Ministry of Culture. 

2.6  The business world 

In  the  beginning,  the  German  minority  in  Slovakia  worked  in  about  the  same 
professions  as  the  total  population.  In  the  West  Carpathian  regions  they  mainly 
worked  in  mining.  However,  even  before  the  Second  World  War  a  distinction 
became  clear  in  comparison  with  the  Slovak  speaking  population:  German 
speakers  (57.6%)  worked  to  a  larger  extent  than  Slovaks  (18.8%)  in  industry  and 
trade whereas more Slovaks worked in agriculture (57.6%) than Germans (29.2%). 
The  latest  statistics  date  back  to  the  1970s  when  Juraj  Valiska  (1980,  1982) 
collected some social statistics while studying old vernaculars. At that time, nearly 
half  of  the  German  speaking  population  was  in  retirement  (2,320).  The  active 
population  basically  consisted  of  employees  (1,290)  and  workers  (690).  More 
recent  data  on  the  occupational  and  economic  structure  of  the  German  minority 
unfortunately do not exist (on economic support ⇒ 2.7.3). 

2.7  Family and the social use of the language 

2.7.1 

2.7.2 

In 1990 the Carpathian German Society was founded. It is situated in Košice and 
has  approx.  4,500  members  in  32  local  groups  in  five  regions:  Bratislava, 
Hauerland (Central Slovakia), Upper Spis, Lower Spis and Bodwa-valley. Its aims 
are  the  promotion  of  the  German  culture,  the  revitalisation  of  the  German 
language  and  the  support  of  youth  activities  of  the  German  minority  in  Slovakia. 
The society also publishes the Karpatenblatt and German fine literature, technical 
literature  and  periodicals.  The  Carpathian  German  Society  has  a  youth 
organisation  –  IkeJA-KDJ  –  which  was  founded  in  February  2004  after  the 
interest group of the youth (IkeJA: International contacts – Youth Work) and the 
youth of the Carpathian German Society (KDJ) united into one organisation. 

In  order  to  better  manage  support  measures  from  Germany  for  the  German 
minority  in  the  SR  the  Karpatendeutsche  Stiftung  was  founded  in  1993  and  was 
transformed  in  November  1997  into  a  civil  association  called  Karpatendeutsche 
Assoziation based in Košice. The support measures mainly consist of economic aid 
for small and medium sized private companies in the Carpathian German region. 
In this context, a total of SKK 107 million was allocated to 274 companies between 
1993  and  2001.  There  are  Karpatendeutsche  Landsmannschaften  in  Germany  as 
well  as  in  Austria.  In  Germany  there  is  also  the  Hilfsbund  Karpatendeutscher 
Katholiken, 
Evangelisch-Lutherischen 
Slowakeideutschen,  Karpatendeutsches  Kulturwerk  Slowakei  as  well  as  the 
editorial office of the Karpatenpost and the Karpatenjahrbuches. 

Hilfskomitee 

the 

für 

die 

2.8  The European dimension 

In  the  Framework  Convention  for  the  Protection  of  National  Minorities,  which 
Slovakia  ratified  on  14  September  1995,  the  German  minority  is  one  of  11 

288

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
minorities mentioned. Slovakia also ratified all three parts of the European Charter 
for Regional or Minority Languages for the German language. The legal framework 
for cultural relations is the German-Slovak cultural cooperation agreement signed 
in  May  1997.  In  this  context,  the  German  government  supported  cultural  and 
community building activities of the German minority in Slovakia. The Carpathian 
Germans act as a link within the German-Slovak relationship. 

3.  Conclusion 

German  is  mostly  used  by  the  German  speaking  minority  within  the  family. 
Although  the  German  minority  still  suffers  from  an  ageing  population,  the  new 
interest especially in German speaking schools can be regarded as positive for the 
reproduction of the German language in Slovakia. Even if the majority of pupils at 
bilingual schools are not from German families they obtain a high, native-speaker-
like  proficiency  in  German  by  attending  those  schools.  It  remains  to  be  seen, 
though, how teachers will manage to get across not only the German but also the 
Carpathian/Slovak-German  culture.  This  seems  to  be  necessary  in  order  to 
preserve  the  particularities  of  the  German  culture  in  Slovakia  and  the  sense  of 
identity attached to it.  

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   Hungarian in Slovakia 

1.  General information 

1.1 

The language  

1.1.1  Hungarian  [magyar  nyelv]  is  spoken  by  approx.  14.5  million  people  worldwide. 
Besides  Slovakia,  Hungarian  is  also  spoken  in  Romania  (1.6  million)  and 
Yugoslavia  (341,000).  Furthermore,  447,000  Hungarian  speakers  live  in  the  US 
and  86,800  in  Canada.  Genetically,  the  language  belongs  to  the  Finno-Ugric 
branch  of  the  Uralic  languages  and  is  closest  to  the  languages  Khanty  and  Mansi 
which  are  spoken  in  Siberia.  This  also  indicates  the  geographical  origin  of  the 
Hungarians/Magyars:  in  the  6th-8th  century  they  moved  from  the  Volga  region  to 
the  west.  There  are  only  a  few  dialects  in  today’s  Hungarian  language  and  they 
mainly differ on a phonetic level. 

1.1.2  Since Slovaks and Hungarians lived with and next to each other for a long time this 
influenced  their  languages.  Before  the  18th  century  Hungarian  influenced  Slovak 
but  this  changed  especially  after  World  War  II.  For  this  reason,  there  are 
slovakisms on different linguistic levels in the Hungarian in the SR which are not 
used  in  Hungary.  Most  interference  occurs  in  the  vocabulary.  Direct  borrowings 
are only used in the spoken language. Even more common are literal translations 
from  Slovak  creating  new  Hungarian  words.  Hungarians  living  in  Slovakia  prefer 
synonyms which are very similar to the corresponding Slovak word. The common 
elements can also contribute to a better understanding. 

1.2  History, geography and demography 

1.2.1  The  Hungarian  ethnicity,  as  most  national  minorities  in  the  SR,  is  a  border  type 
minority  and  lives  in  the  territories  of  today’s  SR  since  the  10th  century.  For 
centuries  they  were  the  majority  population,  first  within  the  Hungarian  multi-
ethnic  state  and  later  within  the  Austrian-Hungarian  monarchy.  As  already 
mentioned,  the  balance  of  power  between  the  Slovak  and  Hungarian  population 
radically changed after the First World War, the Hungarians being a minority since 
then (1921: 22% of the total population on the territory of today’s SR). The borders 
changed again in 1938 when Southern Slovakia was annexed by Hungary after the 
Vienna Arbitration. However, the territory returned to the newly established state 
of  Czechoslovakia  in  1945.  Following  an  agreement  with  Hungary  after  the  war, 
65,000  Hungarians  living  in  Czechoslovakia  were  exchanged  for  Slovaks  living  in 
Hungary. Moreover, 340,000 Hungarians were given back their Slovak citizenship, 
however  with  the  status  of  ethnic  Slovaks.  In  addition,  44,000  Hungarians  were 
sent from Slovakia to the Czech part as manual workers. Since then the number of 
Hungarians living in today’s SR remained at 10%. According to the last census in 
2001 the Hungarian minority consisted of 520,528 persons, i.e. 9.67% of the total 
population in Slovakia. However, 572,929 stated being Hungarian speaking which 
is 10.65% of the total population. 

1.2.2  Even today the highest concentration of the Hungarian minority in the SR is to be 
found  in  their  historic  settlements  along  the  500km  Slovak-Hungarian  border. 
Over 90% of Hungarians in Slovakia live in this area of approx. 9,000 sqkm. In 523 

290

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
municipalities  and  towns  of  this  area  the  Hungarian  minority  reaches  10%  of  the 
total  population.  Amongst  these  523  places  there  are  425  where  the  Hungarians 
even constitute the majority. In two of the eight Slovak regions, Nitra (27.6%) and 
Trnava  (23.7%),  they  reach  more  than  20%.  The  biggest  part  of  the  Hungarian 
population  (often  more  than  70-80%)  lives  in  villages  and  small  towns  whereas 
they are underrepresented in cities. This is due to the fact that the areas where the 
Hungarian  ethnicity  lives  are  traditionally  rural.  The  migration  into  bigger  cities, 
especially  Bratislava,  always  played  a  major  role  and  partly  resulted  in  the 
assimilation with the majority population. The rural character was reinforced after 
the First World War mainly through the emigration of the Hungarian intelligentsia. 
At the moment however, the urban population does not increase due to a housing 
shortage which in turn makes Hungarian adolescents stay in their regions of origin. 
That is one reason for the occupational structure remaining relatively unchanged. 

1.3  Legal status and official policies 

1.3.1  The most important legal document for national minorities in Slovakia is the act on 
the use of minority languages [Zákon o používaní jazykov národnostných menšín] 
adopted  in  1999.  Contrary  to  many  other  minorities  in  the  SR,  the  Hungarian 
minority can profit from it as it lives concentrated in the regions of south-western 
Slovakia and in many places reaches the legally required 20% barrier (⇒ Slovakia, 
4.1). 

1.3.2  About  half  of  the  financial  governmental  aids  allocated  to  the  minorities  are 
attributed  to  the  Hungarian  minority  which  is  the  biggest  minority.  In  2000  this 
equalled SKK 9,631,000 (48.1%) for social activities. Until 2002 this sum strongly 
increased:  a  total  of  SKK 39,142,300  out  of  funds  for  minority  activities  were 
allocated  to  Hungarian  organisations,  SKK 14,747,300  of  which  were  spent  on 
cultural  activities,  SKK 11,650,000  on  periodicals  and  SKK 12,749,000  on  books 
and other irregular publications. 

1.3.3  The  Hungarians  are  the  only  minority  which  is  represented  in  the  Slovak 
government. The MKP, since 1994 a coalition of three Hungarian parties, won 20 
seats in the 150 member National Council at the parliamentary elections in 2002. 
Three ministers belong to that party, the most important of which is probably the 
Deputy  Prime  Minister  for  Human  Rights,  National  Minorities  and  Regional 
Development.  Since  the  1998  election  this  position  is  occupied  by  Pál  Csáky.  The 
other  two  MKP  representatives  are  the  Minister  for  the  Environment  and  the 
Minister  of  Construction  and  Regional  and  Rural  Development  In  2002  a 
Hungarian federalist party [Magyar Föderalista Párt] was founded which aims at 
ensuring  the  legal  ethnical  protection  of  the  Hungarian  minority  in  the  SR  based 
on Christian values. 

2.  Presence and use of the language in various fields 

2.1  Education 

2.1.1  The right to education in Hungarian can be derived from the European Charter for 
Regional  or  Minority  Languages  and  the  act  on  the  use  of  minority  languages. 
Another important aspect for the Hungarian school system is the above mentioned 

291

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2002  administrative  reform  which  grants  more  rights  in  education  matters  on 
district level. 

2.1.2  According  to  the  language  group  correspondent,  there  were  274  Hungarian 
speaking  (i.e.  Hungarian  as  only  teaching  language)  and  95  Hungarian-Slovak 
(Slovak and Hungarian speaking groups) nurseries in the school year 2003/2004. 
In  the  same  school  year,  there  were  256  Hungarian  speaking  and  37  Hungarian-
Slovak  speaking  primary  schools  as  well  as  18  Hungarian  and  eight  Hungarian-
Slovak speaking grammar schools. 80% of the Hungarian grammar school students 
attend Hungarian speaking schools. In general, the Hungarian language is strongly 
represented in primary schools whereas its influence decreases in the higher years. 
During the past few years, the members of the Hungarian minority got more aware 
of  the  importance  of  a  native  language  education:  the  number  of  Hungarian 
speaking  children  starting  at  Slovak  speaking  primary  schools  sank  from  27%  in 
the  1990s  to  19.7%  in  the  school  year  2001/2002.  Some  parents  still  fear  that  it 
might  be  too  difficult  for  their  children  to  attend  minority  classes  and  therefore 
voluntarily refuse the possibility of a multilingual education of their children.  

2.1.3  At eight vocational schools only Hungarian was used as teaching language whereas 
16  schools  used  both  Hungarian  and  Slovak  for  teaching.  60%  of  Hungarian 
students  on  this  level  attend  schools  with  Hungarian  as  the  language.  of 
instruction.  In  the  school  year  2003/2004  there  were  seven  vocational  schools 
without A-levels where only Hungarian was used and 23 schools with classes using 
both languages. 50% of Hungarian speaking students at vocational schools without 
A-levels attended schools with Hungarian as the medium of instruction. In general, 
the  increasing  number  of  vocational  schools  has  a  negative  influence  on  the 
preservation of the Hungarian  language.  There is a decreasing number of schools 
using  Hungarian  as  the  language  of  instruction,  and  modern  special  subjects  are 
rarely  offered.  Students  wishing  to  learn  those  subjects  consequently  have  to 
choose  a  Slovak  speaking  school  preventing  them  from  learning  the  Hungarian 
terminology. 

2.1.4  Until  now  there  are  only  (public)  universities  with  Slovak  as  the  language  of 
instruction. At universities where teachers are trained for minority schools, parts of 
the classes are held in Hungarian. Those are the Comenius University in Bratislava 
with  its  faculty  for  Hungarian  language  and  literature,  the  faculty  for  Hungarian 
studies at the Konstantin University in  Nitra and some other faculties for Central 
European  studies  at  the  University  of  Nitra.  The  Hungarian  language  can  also  be 
studied  at  the  Matej  Bél  University  in  Banská  Bystrica  (faculty  for  Hungarian 
studies  with  the  training  of  translators  and  interpreters).  The  number  of 
Hungarian  speakers  at  universities  is  still  low:  In  1990  a  total  of  52,669  students 
attended  public  universities  in  Slovakia,  2,578  (4.9%)  were  Hungarians.  By  2002 
the  number  of  university  students  increased  to  97,932,  the  number  of  Hungarian 
students to 4,456, which is only 4.6% of the total number of students. In the 1990s 
some  universities  from  Hungary  opened  branches  in  southern  Slovak  cities 
(Dunajská  Streda,  Sládkovičovo,  Komárno,  Kráľovský  Chlmec  and  Košice)  where 
the subjects economics, informatics, agriculture and education science are offered 
(1,216 students in 2002). However, the diplomas are not easily accepted in the SR. 
At  the  private  Theological  Institute  János  Calvin  in  Komárno  theology  can  be 
studied  in  Hungarian.  This  institute  is  mainly  financed  through  private  sponsors 
and  the  diplomas  are  only  accepted  by  the  Reform  Church.  In  Komárno  a 
Hungarian  university  will  be  established  in  2004.  The  university  is  supposed  to 
consist of a pedagogical, economic and theological faculty providing classes mostly 
in Hungarian but also in Slovak, German and English. The adoption of the decision 
to establish the university on 24 October 2003 provoked criticism, e.g. the fear that 
Slovak students could be discriminated. 

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2.2  Judicial authorities 

The  language  use  in  court  is  reglemented  by  article  47  para.  4  of  the  Slovak 
Constitution  giving  everybody  who  does  not  know  the  language  of  the  legal 
proceedings the right to call an interpreter. Hungarian can be used both in civil and 
criminal proceedings. Regarding the use of minority languages in legal proceedings 
the  act  on  the  use  of  minority  languages  refers  to  the  act  on  courts  and  judges 
(1991).  Moreover,  the  act  on  civil  proceedings  (1992)  and  the  act  on  criminal 
proceedings  (1992)  acknowledge  the  right  to  use  the  native  language  in  each  of 
those  proceeding  types.  However,  as  members  of  national  minorities  are  also 
Slovak citizens and have to know the Slovak language, they do not have the right to 
request  a  free  interpreter.  Therefore,  unless  the  judge  speaks  Hungarian,  the 
language of the proceeding will be in most cases Slovak. 

2.3  Public authorities and services 

2.3.1  The  act  on  the  use  of  minority  languages  allows  national  minorities  to  use  their 
language  in  contacts  with  local  authorities  in  municipalities  where  they  reach  at 
least  20%  of  the  total  population.  This  also  applies  for  governmental  institutions. 
In  addition,  street,  town  and  other  signs  can  be  set  up  in  the  minority  language. 
This regulation is important for the Hungarian minority in Slovakia as they reach 
the 20% barrier in 512 places (1999). However, law and practical life often diverge 
since administrative staff is not obliged to know minority languages and/or to use 
them.  Also  the  local  authorities  are  not  obliged  to  set  up  signs  in  Hungarian  (for 
example) as the law only states that they may do it. Realisation and interpretation 
of  the  act  regarding  contacts  with  authorities  and  bilingual  signs  often  cause 
conflicts  in  the  Slovak-Hungarian  language  area.  In  practice,  the  language  choice 
depends  on  the  linguistic  composition  of  the  community  and  the  language 
proficiency of the interlocutor. If they know Hungarian the language is spoken, but 
mostly  this  is  only  a  coincidence.  In  smaller  towns  and  villages  where  Hungarian 
speakers  constitute  the  majority  Hungarian  can  be  used  in  all  situations.  The 
governmental  administration  offices  are  usually  situated  in  district  towns  where 
the  proportion  of  Slovak  speakers  is  higher  and  the  chance  to  meet  a  Hungarian 
speaking  civil  servant  lower.  With  physicians  Slovak  is  used  in  general  since  the 
proportion  of  Hungarian  speaking  physicians  is  low  compared  to  the  Hungarian 
speaking population. 

2.3.2  The act on the use of minority languages allows bilingual signs in areas where the 
Hungarian  speaking  population  reaches  the  20%  barrier.  Whether  the  signs  are 
really  set  up  strongly  depends  on  the  municipal  councils.  The  name  of  the  town 
and  the  neighbouring  towns  on  signs  are  thus  often  only  indicated  in  Slovak 
whereas  various  municipal  facilities  have  bilingual  signs  (depending  on  the 
composition  and  initiative  of  the  municipal  councils).  Usually,  the  signs  of  small 
enterprises as grocery, shoe and clothes shops in southern Slovakia are bilingual. 

2.3.3  According  to  the  act  on  names  and  surnames  (1993)  as  well  as  the  act  on  the 
register (1994) it is also possible to have a name in a minority language. The act has 
especially a meaning in the context of female surnames since they are attached the 
suffix –ová in Slovak. However, it still happens that authorities add the suffix to the 
names of member of national minorities, which was even criticised by the Council 
of Europe. 

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2.4  Mass media and information technology 

2.4.1  There is a big choice of Hungarian speaking print media. The daily newspaper  Új 
Szó [New Word] – http://www.ujszo.com – which reached a print run of 43,000 is 
read by approx. 170,000 people. Vasárnap, the weekly annex to Új Szó, has a print 
run  of  86,000  copies  and  approx.  300,000  readers.  Új  Szó  is  economically 
independent and does not benefit from financial aid from the Slovak government. 
Costs are mainly covered through the sale (64%) and advertisements (30%). Since 
2002 there is also a Slovak version of the tabloid Blikk with one page of news from 
Slovakia  in  Hungarian.  Weekly  publications  are  for  example  Szabad  Újság  (print 
run:  21,000)  dealing  with  politics,  culture,  economy,  sports,  humour  etc.  and 
providing  a  TV  magazine  as  well  as  the  family  papers  Tücsök  and  Tábortűz. 
Additionally, there are several other Hungarian speaking literary, pedagogical and 
religious newspapers and magazines as well as publications for teenagers, children, 
women  etc.  Newspapers  and  magazines  from  Hungary  are  also  available  in  the 
Hungarian  speaking  regions  of  Slovakia.  In  linguistically  mixed  areas  there  are 
even  various  bilingual  local  periodicals.  Most  of  these  publications  receive 
governmental 
received 
SKK 6,545,000 (40.1% of all financial means fort his purpose) and non-periodicals 
SKK 6,840,000 (71.4%) from funds of the Slovak Ministry of Culture. 

in  2000  Hungarian  periodicals 

subsidies;  e.g. 

2.4.2  In  1999  the  Slovak  television  created  a  Hungarian  section  and  in  2000  it 
broadcasted  60  hours  of  Hungarian  programme  weekly,  e.g.  from  Monday  to 
Friday  the  Hungarian  speaking  news  show  Hírek.  There  are  numerous  local  TV 
stations  which  also  produce  Hungarian  programmes.  In  the  regions  where  most 
Hungarians  in  Slovakia  live  also  programmes  of  the  Hungarian  television  [MTV] 
can  be  received.  A  1997  study  shows  that  92%  of  Hungarians  in  Slovakia  inform 
themselves  through  MTV.  The  Slovak  radio  has  a  Hungarian  section  as  well,  the 
Patria Radio, which weekly produces 54 hours of programme and is also available 
on  the  internet  at  www.slovakradio.sk/patria/.  The  core  of  the  programme  is  the 
music,  information  and  entertainment  broadcast  Pavilon  aired  from  Monday  to 
Friday from 2.30pm to 6.30pm. On Sundays there is also a religious programme, 
for  example.  Radio  broadcasts  from  Hungary  are  also  available  in  Slovakia.  The 
Hungarian  programmes  are  even  preferred,  amongst  young  people  especially  the 
private stations Radio Danubius and Sláger Rádió. 

2.4.3  Hungarian  speaking  media  (TV,  radio,  periodicals)  are  actively  perceived  by  the 
minority as the SGE has shown; over 80% of the participants stated to “often” use 
the  Hungarian  language  in  connection  with  these  media.  Horváth’s  study  (2003) 
confirmed  as  well  that  the  Hungarian  minority  in  Slovakia  mainly  obtains 
information through the Hungarian speaking media in the SR. On the other hand, 
the use of Slovak with “international” media as cinema and internet increases as in 
this field Hungarian makes up for only about one third and Slovak for nearly a half.  

2.5  Arts and culture 

2.5.1  The number of publications in Hungarian in the SR strongly increased over the last 
years: from 163 books in 1997 to 270 in 2003. In the (scientific) technical literature 
the Slovak language prevails whereas there are also Hungarian publications in the 
fields  of  fiction,  literature,  linguistics,  history,  political  sciences  etc.  The  major 
labels publishing literature in Hungarian are Kalligram (www.kalligram.sk, fiction, 
social sciences, also translations; also publishes Slovak and Czech books), Madách-
Posonium  (www.home.nextra.sk/madszu/,  fiction,  children’s  books  and  literature 
for young people, popular scientific books), AB-ART (www.ab-art.host.sk/, fiction, 

294

 
 
 
  
 
 
 
literature  for  young  people),  Lilium  Aurum  (www.liliumaurum.sk,  children’s 
books,  pedagogical  books,  fiction  etc.),  Méry  Ratio    (art  books,  fiction)  and  Nap 
Kiadó  (fiction,  popular  scientific  books).  Textbooks  are  mostly  published  by  the 
Slovak  pedagogical  publishing  house  Mladé  letá-SPN.  Since  books  from  Hungary 
are  also  available  in  the  SR,  Hungarian  labels  in  Slovakia  do  not  publish 
encyclopaedias or hobby books. 

2.5.2  Music  and  theatre  are  very  important  for  the  Hungarian  minority  in  Slovakia:  In 
2003 there were 150 folk choirs, 65 folk dance groups, 35 zither groups and 14 folk 
music bands. There is also one semi-professional group called Ifjú Szívek. The folk 
music  band  Ghýmes  plays  so  called  world  music.  Classical  music  is  played  by 
various  chamber  orchestras.  There  are  two  professional  theatre  groups:  the  Jókai 
theatre  [Jókai  Színház]  in  Komárno  with  5–6  premiers  and  up  to  200 
performances per year and the Thália theatre [Thália Színház] in Košice with 4–5 
premiers and 150–160 performances per year. According to Csemadok there were 
also  38  amateur  theatre  groups  in  2003.  The  theatre  and  music  groups  organise 
several  festivals  each  year.  Furthermore,  there  are  numerous  other  Hungarian 
speaking  regional  and  local  festivals  with  different  themes.  Csemadok  organises 
annually about ten trans-regional and 100 local events. 

2.5.3  There  are  no  Hungarian  museums  or  libraries  in  Slovakia.  However,  there  are 
Slovak-Hungarian  organisations,  e.g.  the  Hungarian  unit  of  the  Museum  at  the 
Danube  in  Komárno  as  well  as  regional  museums  (e.g.  the  Csallóköz  museum  in 
Dunajská  Streda,  the  Barsi  museum  in  Levice,  the  Gömör  museum  in  Rimavská 
Sobota  and  the  mining  museum  in  Rožňava).  Slovak-Hungarian  libraries  and 
archives can be found in Dunajská Streda, Komárno, Levice, Lučenec and Rožňava. 

2.6  The business world 

Compared  with  the  total  population,  a  higher  percentage  of  Hungarians  are  blue 
collar  workers  or  members  of  agricultural  cooperations  whereas  they  are 
underrepresented amongst employees and university graduates. However, after the 
political  system  changed,  the  number  of  Hungarian  speakers  working  in 
agriculture sank to 10% of all Hungarian speakers in Slovakia. Hungarians working 
in  their  own  town  or  village  (where  the  Hungarian  language  mostly  prevails)  can 
also  use  their  language  at  work.  Many  of  them  commute  to  Bratislava  and  other 
bigger  cities  where  they  cannot  use  Hungarian  or  only  to  a  certain  extent.  The 
Hungarian  speaking  population  mostly  has  a  lower  living  standard  than  the  total 
population.  The  main  reasons  for  this  are  amongst  others  the  unfavourable 
educational structure and the high number of people living in rural areas (on signs 
of companies ⇒ 2.3.2). 

2.7  Family and the social use of the language 

2.7.1  Since the private use of minority language is not regulated by any law, Hungarian 
speakers in the SR can use their language within their families for example without 
restrictions  and  it  is  estimated  that  approx.  70%  make  use  of  it.  In  Slovak-
Hungarian exogamous marriages mostly both languages or only Slovak are used as 
the non-Hungarian spouses tend not to learn or use Hungarian. The relatively low 
prestige  of  Hungarian,  mainly  due  to  the  low  socio-economic  status  and 
educational level of Hungarians in Slovakia (as compared to the total population), 
sometimes  also  causes  interpersonal  conflicts.  In  Horváth’s  study  2/3  of  the 

295

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
participants  were  confronted  with  resentments  on  the  part  of  the  majority 
population  at  work  or  in  other  environments  because  of  their  native  language. 
Moreover, Slovak is considered more important than Hungarian, e.g. for the job. 

2.7.2  The  use  of  Hungarian  in  churches  is  restricted  due  to  the  lack  of  Hungarian 
speaking  priests.  More  than  half  of  the  Catholic  and  Protestant  parishes  in  the 
settlement  area  of  the  Hungarian  minority  are  not  occupied.  This  situation  is 
intended to be improved by the establishment of the theological faculty at the new 
university in Komárno (see above).  

2.7.3  The  Hungarian  minority  in  the  SR  is  highly  organised.  Besides  the  parties,  there 
are 90 associations, 26 foundations, 14 funds and one general welfare organisation 
which  all  represent  the  interests  of  the  Hungarian  minority  in  Slovakia.  The 
database  of  the  Forum  Institute  contained  even  651  Hungarian  organisations  for 
the period from 1999-2001. On the cultural field the most important organisation 
is  CSEMADOK  (http://www.csemadok-dsz.sk/index.php),  the  Hungarian  Social 
and  Cultural  Alliance  in  Slovakia.  There  are  also  several  youth  organisations,  e.g. 
local  groups 
the  Association  of  Hungarian  Boy  Scouts  which  has  49 
(www.szmcs.sk).  The  Federation  of  Hungarian  Teachers 
in  Slovakia 
(www.szmpsz.sk)  organises  seminars,  advanced  training  courses,  study  trips  etc. 
society 
foundation 
for 
(www.katedrafund.sk)  organise  meetings,  conferences,  seminars  on  current 
pedagogical  issues  and  the  educational  system  as  well  as  Hungarian  language 
competitions  for  pupils  and  students  and  publish  the  pedagogical  magazine 
Katedra.  The  Forum  Institute  (www.foruminst.sk)  and  several  of  its  units 
(documentation, library, sociolinguistic research etc.), the social sciences research 
group  Mercurius 
history, 
sociolinguistics),  the  Center  for  Legal  Analysis  of  the  Kalligram  foundation 
(www.cla.sk; legal analyses) and the Gramma association (www.gramma.sk) carry 
out  research  projects  on  the  Hungarian  language  community  in  Slovakia.  The 
publications are mostly in Hungarian, which contributes to the status of Hungarian 
as a scientific language. 

teachers.  The  Katedra 

historiography, 

the  Katedra 

(demography, 

sociology, 

and 

2.8  The European dimension 

2.8.1  The  Framework  Convention  for  the  Protection  of  National  Minorities,  ratified  by 
Slovakia on 14 September 1995, lists the Hungarian minority as one of 11 national 
minorities.  For  Hungarian,  the  SR  adopted  the  European  Charter  for  Regional  or 
Minority Languages in all three parts. 

2.8.2  On  19  March  1995  Slovakia  and  Hungary  concluded  the  Agreement  on  Good 
Neighbourhood and Friendly Cooperation which makes provisions on the fields of 
cooperation (economy, trade, agriculture, science etc.), for example. Furthermore, 
it provides for the inviolability of the borders. Article 15 contains provisions on the 
protection  and  rights  of  the  Hungarian  minority  in  Slovakia  and  the  Slovak 
minority in Hungary. 

2.8.3  In  June  2001  the  Hungarian  parliament  adopted  the  so  called  status  act  which 
guarantees  certain  rights  to  Hungarians 
fast  and 
unbureaucratic  entry  to  Hungary,  the  right  to  work  for  three  month  in  Hungary 
each year as well as various privileges in the field of culture, health and education. 
The  act  was  severely  criticised  both  in  Slovakia  which  felt  offended  in  its 
sovereignty  and  in  Europe,  and  even  threatened  the  accession  of  Hungary  to  the 
EU.  On  23  December  2003  Slovakia  and  Hungary  adopted  a  substitute  agreeing 

living  abroad,  e.g.  a 

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upon mutual support of the national minorities in both countries, e.g. via financial 
aid  for  cultural  and  educational  activities  through  the  respective  foundations  in 
each country. 

3.  Conclusion 

3.1 

3.2 

The status of the Hungarian language as compared to other minorities in Slovakia 
is relatively good. This is mainly due to the high proportion of Hungarians living in 
municipalities of south-western Slovakia where they sometimes even constitute the 
majority. This might give them greater influence in school matters, for example. On 
national  level  Hungarians  are  also  strongly  represented  through  20  members  of 
parliament and three ministers. However, the constantly lower status compared to 
the  Slovak  is  a  disadvantage.  Another  problem  is  the  socio-economic  situation  of 
the Hungarian speaking population, e.g.  their relatively  low  educational  level  and 
urbanisation. The establishment of the university in Komárno could contribute to 
an  improvement  by  providing  university  education  to  the  Hungarian  speaking 
population  in  their  native  language  and  in  their  own  country.  This  could  finally 
lead to an increase of the status of the Hungarian language. 

Although population statistics indicate a decline of the Hungarian population since 
the  Second  World  War  this  development  is  not  overly  dramatic.  Even  under 
communism  or  the  nationalist  government  in  the  beginning  of  the  1990s  the 
number  of  members  of  the  Hungarian  minority  in  the  SR  did  not  drop.  A  slight 
strengthening of the ethnical consciousness can be already noticed, e.g. more and 
more  Hungarian  speaking  parents  send  their  children  to  Hungarian  schools.  In 
mixed  Slovak-Hungarian  areas  the  ethnicities  mostly  live  peacefully  together.  A 
source  of  conflict  however  is  the  implementation  of  the  language  act  which  in 
practice often is not observed. 

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 Romani in Slovakia 

1.  General information 

1.1 

The language 

1.1.1  Romani  [romani  čhib]  belongs  to  the  Indo-Iranian  group  of  the  Indo-European 
family. Besides Indian characteristics the language contains many later influences, 
especially  in  the  vocabulary  and  phonetic  system,  due  to  contacts  with  other 
languages.  South  East  European  languages,  on  the  other  hand,  influenced  the 
syntax. There is also a strong Greek influence which is also to be found outside the 
Balkan region. Elements of the contact languages are deeply rooted in the lexicon, 
i.e.  the  basic  vocabulary,  of  Romani.  Since  the  arrival  of  the  Roma  in  Europe,  60 
variations and dialects of Romani have emerged. In Europe the language is divided 
into three to five main groups: e.g. northern Romani (“Russian Romani”), central 
Romani  (“Hungarian  and  Slovak  Romani”),  Vlax  Romani  (e.g.  Kalderaš  Romani) 
and Balkan Romani.  

1.1.2  For a long time Romani was nearly exclusively a spoken language. Longer written 
texts have only existed in Romani since the 19th century. The standardisation of the 
language  was  initiated  by  the  international  Romani  Union  in  the  1980s.  Vlax 
Romani  was  chosen  to  build  the  basis  of  the  standard  written  language.This 
variation  however  is  not  accepted  on  an  international  level  although  it  is  used  in 
the  correspondence  of  the  National  Roma  Council  and  the  Romani  Union. 
Although  Romani  was  codified  in  Czechoslovakia  in  1971,  discussions  on  the 
codification are still going on in the SR. 

1.1.3  The majority of the Roma in Slovakia speak central Romani which can be divided 
into  two  subgroups:  north-central  (western,  north-central  and  eastern  Slovakia) 
and  south-central  (south-western  and  south-central  Slovakia,  Slovak-Hungarian 
border regions) Romani. As the majority language group often acts as a part of the 
Roma  ethnonym  the  above  mentioned  varieties  are  also  called  Slovak  Carpathian 
Romani (80% of the Roma speakers in the SR) and Hungarian Romani. The third 
group  are  speakers  of  Vlax  Romani  who  mostly  live  in  the  south  and  east  of 
Slovakia. 

1.2  History, geography and demography 

1.2.1  Nowadays,  Roma  can  be  found  in  most  European  countries.  Between  the  9th  and 
10th  century  they  left  their  homeland  India  where  internal  migration  took  place 
even  before  that  date.  They  moved  in  groups  through  Persia,  Armenia  and  Asia 
Minor,  and  reached  the  Byzantine  Empire  in  the  11th  century.  From  there  they 
spread  over  the  whole  continent  as  of  the  13th  century.  The  majority  of  Roma 
moved  through  the  Balkans  and  the  Danube  plain,  which  explains  today’s  high 
concentration in that region. At first, the Roma were tolerated in the countries they 
lived  in,  amongst  other  things  because  of  a  letter  of  safe-conduct  from  the  Pope 
and the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. However, they stood out due to their 
way of life which was influenced by their nomadic nature: they were fortune tellers, 
horse traders, peddlers etc.  

298

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Since then the state has always tried to make the Roma settle. In the 16th century, 
Roma who came to Slovakia had to settle down within three weeks in order not to 
be  punished.  The  first  major  attempts  to  assimilate  them  were  undertaken  by 
Maria  Theresa  in  the  18th  century  by  prohibiting  Roma  endogamy  and  the  use  of 
Romani. Many Roma settled in the outskirts of villages and worked as farmhands, 
blacksmiths  or  musicians,  and  the  women  worked  mostly  as  housemaids.  In  the 
19th  century  the  Roma  settlements  grew  due  to  the  high  birth  rate.  In 
Czechoslovakia  the  Roma  were  granted  minority  status  in  1921.  During  the  Nazi 
period the persecution of the Roma also culminated in Slovakia. Unlike the Roma 
in the Czech Republic, most of the Roma in Slovakia survived. 

1.2.2 

In  different  countries  and  at  different  times  several  denominations  for  the  Roma 
were invented, both by the Roma themselves and by others. The Roma prefer the 
denomination Roma which is derived from the ancient Indian domba and similar 
to  the  Hindi  dom,  which  was  used  to  refer  to  the  members  of  the  caste  of 
musicians.  The  most  common  foreign  denomination,  which  is  nowadays  rejected 
by  most  Roma,  is  gypsy  (Slav.  cigan,  Ital.  gitano,  Germ.  Zigeuner),  which 
indicates an Egyptian origin. However, it is more likely that this name dates back 
to  a  Phrygian  religious  sect  called  athinganoi  which  exercised  its  own  cult.  The 
name  was  probably  used  for  the  Roma  partly  because  they  also  came  from  the 
East/South-East  and  partly  because  their  cult  was  also  foreign  to  the  sedentary 
population.  The  word  gypsy  has  the  negative  connotation  of  ‘vagabond’  and 
‘prowler’  due  to  their  vagrant  life.  This  should  make  clear  why  the  Roma  wish  to 
stick to the denomination of Roma. 

1.2.3  On  the  territory  of  today’s  SR  the  Roma  were  first  mentioned  in  1322  in  Spišská 
Nová  Ves  and  in  1381  in  Zemplinska  Župa.  Today,  about  ¾  of  the  Roma  in 
Slovakia live around the regions of Prešov, Košice and Banská Bystrica (see annex 
3). In contrast with the Roma in the Czech Republic who are urbanised to a large 
extent, the Slovak Roma mostly live in rural regions and small towns. After World 
War  II  many  Roma  moved  from  Slovakia  to  the  Czech  Republic  into  places  from 
which  Germans  had  been  expelled  and  were  employed  as  manual  workers.  Later 
some of them went back to the territories of today’s SR since they considered this 
to be their home. 

1.2.4  Statistical data on the number of Roma in Slovakia and its predecessor states vary 
widely, as they seem to do in all their settlements in Europe. Often, Roma are not 
considered  to  be  an  ethnic  group.  Another  reason  that  Roma  may  not  wish  to 
indicate  their  nationality  in  censuses  might  be  for  fear  of  repression.  In 
Czechoslovakia there were 219,554 Roma according to the official statistics in 1970. 
Ten  years  later  this  number  increased  to  288,440,  i.e.  nearly  2%  of  the  total 
population.  In  the  last  two  censuses  from  1991  and  2001  there  were  83,988  and 
89,920  persons  respectively  stating  Roma  nationality.  The  number  of  persons 
stating Romani as their native language (99,448) was much higher, though, which 
might  indicate  that  many  do  not  publicly  admit  to  be  Roma  for  fear  of 
discrimination. However, most estimates of the actual number of Roma are much 
higher and assume up to 500,000. 

1.2.5  At  80%  (in  some  places  even  100%),  the  unemployment  rate  of  the  Roma  is  far 
higher than that of the total population (2002: 18.6%). The general socio-economic 
situation of the Roma varies widely but is basically much worse than the situation 
of the total population. The Roma mainly live in isolated settlements in the east of 
Slovakia, but for some groups, living standards are comparable to those of the total 
population. 

299

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1.3  Legal status and official policies 

1.3.1 

1.3.2 

In 1991 the Roma in Slovakia were granted national minority status (nationality), 
the basis for this being the Slovak Constitution. The Roma are also included in the 
Framework  Convention  for  the  Protection  of  National  Minorities  (1995)  and  the 
act on the use of minority languages (1999) also applies to the Roma who reach the 
20% barrier in 57 municipalities.  

initiatives  and  NGOs, 

the  mobilisation  of  Roma 

In  1999  the  position  of  the  governmental  representative  for  Roma  issues  was 
created.  Besides 
this 
representative’s  main  tasks  include  the  coordination  and  supervision  of  the  two-
phase governmental strategy for Roma, which was adopted by the government in 
September 1999. This programme aims at improving the situation of the Roma in 
the areas of education, culture, language, employment, health and accommodation 
(see  2.6).  The  office  of  the  government  representative  for  Roma  issues  also 
evaluates  potential  projects  aimed  at  improving  the  situation  of  the  Roma. 
Generally, the representative for Roma issues acts as a link between the Roma and 
the government. 

2.  Presence and use of the language in various fields 

2.1  Education 

2.1.1 

secondary 

In general, the educational level of the Roma is much lower than average, as most 
Roma settlements only have one primary school and are highly underrepresented 
in 
schools  and  universities.  However,  Roma  children  are 
overrepresented  in  special  schools  which  were  initially  created  for  children  with 
learning as well as psychological and social problems. In some areas, up to 80% of 
Roma  children  attend  special  schools.  Since  the  school  year  1996/97  preparatory 
classes have been offered to Roma children, and in some of those classes Romani is 
used as an “auxiliary language” besides Slovak. In many of those classes Romani-
speaking  assistants  are  employed  who  belong  to  the  Roma  minority  themselves. 
Only  11%  of  Roma  want  to  make  use  of  their  right  to  be  taught  in  their  native 
language,  i.e.  that  their  children  in  primary  school  are  taught  all  subjects  in 
Romani, whereas 45% do not wish Romani to be the language of instruction in any 
subject.  Usually,  Roma  children  attend  Slovak  or  Hungarian  schools.  As  regards 
education  in  Romani,  problems  arise  through  the  lack  of  teachers  and  books  as 
well as the fact that the language is not yet completely codified. It is also unclear to 
what extent Roma families are aware of their right to receive education in Romani. 

2.2.2  So far there are no schools in the SR with Romani as the language of instruction. 
There  is  only  one  secondary  school,  in  Košice,  where  Romani  is  a  compulsory 
subject whereas in a few other schools, the language is taught only as an optional 
subject.  As  of  September  2004  Romani  is  to  be  taught  at  two  primary,  two 
secondary  and  two  grammar  schools.  Future  Romani  teachers  study  at  the 
department  for  Roma  culture  at  the  University  of  Nitra.  Here,  several  research 
projects  were  carried  out  in  2001,  parts  of  which  are  still  not  finished.  These 
projects  deal  with,  amongst  other  things,  Roma  migration,  the  evaluation  of  the 
training of assistant teachers for Roma children, cultural integration of the Roma 

300

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
children  at  school  etc.  There  is  also  a  Romani  department  at  the  institute  for 
ethnical studies and foreign languages at the University of Prešov. 

2.2  Judicial authorities 

The  right  to  use  Romani  during  judicial  proceedings  can  be  derived  from  the 
Slovak  Constitution  (free  interpreter  if  one  does  not  know  the  procedural 
language)  and  from  article  9  of  the  European  Charter  for  Regional  or  Minority 
Languages.  In  practice,  however,  the  procedural  language  is  Slovak  since  most 
Roma  in  Slovakia  speak  Slovak  anyway,  and  many  are  Slovak  citizens  and  thus 
obliged to speak the language.  

2.3  Public authorities and services 

2.3.1  The Act on the use of minority languages allows the use of Romani in contacts with 
local  authorities  and  national  authorities  in  municipalities  where  there  are  more 
than  20%  Roma.  This  is  the  case  for  57  municipalities  in  the  SR.  Since  the 
administrative  staff  generally  do  not  speak  Romani  and  are  not  obliged  to  do  so 
and  the  Roma  do  not  invoke  the  European  Charter  for  Regional  or  Minority 
languages (article 10) – as they  are probably not even aware of the existence  and 
contents of the Charter – contacts with authorities are maintained in Slovak. 

2.3.2 

In the last census in  2001,  bilingual Slovak-Romani forms  were used for the first 
time  in  order  to  encourage  the  Roma  to  state  their  ethnical  identity  and  thus 
making  the  results  more  precise.  However,  only  2%  of  the  population  stated  a 
Roma  ethnicity  whereas  the  actual  proportion  of  Roma  in  the  total  population  is 
estimated at 6% to 9%. The reason that the Roma do not state their nationality or 
claim  their  language  rights  with  authorities  is  also  the  fear  of  discrimination  and 
disadvantages.  

2.3.3  The  possibility  to  use  bilingual  street,  town  and  other  signs  in  places  with  more 
than  20%  Roma  is  not  used  in  practice.  On  the  other  hand,  the  opportunity  of 
using Romani forms of names and surnames is often taken. 

2.4  Mass media and information technology 

2.4.1  The  right  to  receive  information  in  a  minority  language  is  mainly  based  on  the 
Slovak Constitution and the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. 
There are several print media which are at least partly published in Romani. There 
are no daily newspapers but weekly and monthly periodicals. These are mostly bi- 
or  trilingual.  The  Ministry  of  Culture  supports  Romani  print  media,  especially 
since 1999. The number of publications increased during the 1990s to eight. Due to 
the lack of financial means the publication of some periodicals had to be stopped 
or continued on a less frequent basis. In 2000 Romani periodicals were supported 
by government aid which according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs amounted to 
SKK  2,843,000  (17.4%  of  all  financial  means  for  this  purpose)  while  non-
periodicals  received  483,000  (5.0%).  The  major  periodicals  are  the  monthly 
Romano  nevo  l’il  (1992-2000  7.9%  in  Romani,  SKK  950,000  national  subsidy  in 
1998)  which  is  available  on  the  internet  in  Slovak  and  English  (www.rnl.sk)  and 
Romane vasta (in Romani and Slovak) as well as the fortnightly Híd-Most-Phurt 
(in Romani, Slovak and Hungarian). Another Romani-Slovak-English newspaper is 
available on the internet at www.rps.sk. 

301

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2.4.2  Statistics on the total air time of radio programmes vary, but on average it is ½-1 
hour per week. The emissions are mostly produced by local radio stations and are 
often bilingual Romani-Slovak(-Hungarian). One weekly 20 min news and culture 
programme is broadcast by the public radio station in Prešov. 15 hours of Romani 
TV programmes are shown on a weekly basis (in 2000 16.9 hours, 38 programmes) 
including the weekly Roma programme Romale. Besides the Slovak programmes, 
broadcasts  from  neighbouring  countries  are  also  available,  although  the  offer  in 
the  Czech  Republic  is  also  restricted  (see  report  on  the  Czech  Republic).  One 
problem  with  Romani  radio  and  TV  programmes  is  that  the  language  is  not  yet 
completely codified in the SR, making it hard for speakers of the different dialects 
to understand each other. Moreover, approx. 30% of Roma in the SR do not speak 
Romani. 

2.4.3  The Slovak Roma are only weakly represented on the internet. A central forum is 
the  Inforoma  in  Bratislava  (www.inforoma.sk)  with  a  library  which  collects 
valuable literary Romani texts and an information centre with reports on different 
Roma  projects.  More  reports  on  different  aid  projects  can  be  found  at 
www.roma.sk. 

2.5  Arts and culture 

2.5.1  The  Ministry  of  Culture  allocates  subsidies  for  cultural  activities  of  national 
minorities  in  Slovakia.  In  2000  Roma  cultural  activities  were  supported  with 
SKK 2.728.000,  which  is  13.6%  of  all  means  attributed  to  cultural  activities  of 
national minorities in the SR. On 1 January 2002 a documentation centre on Roma 
culture was founded as a part of the Ethnographic Museum in the city of Martin, 
where the public can learn more about Roma culture and which carries out studies 
in this field. 

2.5.2 

In  the  1990s  the  number  of  books  in  Romani  published  remained  stable  at  1-2 
books  per  year.  Most  of  the  books  are  school  and  children’s  books,  poems,  short 
stories  and  religious  books.  In  1999  the  Prague  publishing  house  Fortuna 
published  the  first  complete  textbook  on  Slovak  Romani:  Romaňi  čhib.  Učebnice 
slovenské  romštiny  (by  Šebková,  H.  &  Žlaynová,  E.).  In  2002  Vašečka,  M.  et  al. 
published Rómské hlasy. Romovia a ich politická participácia v transformačnom 
období  and  in  2003  A  Global  Report  on  the  Roma  in  Slovakia  (both  by  IVO, 
Bratislava).  The  latter  precisely  analyses  the  Roma  history  since  their  migration 
from  India,  their  political  situation  in  different  eras,  their  ethnical  identity, 
language, media, protection of minorities etc. The IVO (Inštitút pre verejné otázky 
=  Institute  for  Public  Affairs,  www.ivo.sk) 
independent  non-profit 
organisation which brings together experts of different scientific fields in order to 
carry  out  studies  on  various  social,  political,  economic,  cultural  and  legal  topics 
and thus promoting the values of an open society. The studies on minorities in the 
SR focus on the Roma. 

is  an 

2.5.3  Folk  music  and  theatre  are  very  important  elements  of  Roma  culture.  There  are 
several  amateur  theatre  groups  performing  occasionally  but  there  is  also  one 
professional  Romani  theatre  –  Romathan  –  which  receives  government  funding. 
Since 1992 Romathan has had 29 premiers and 1,720 shows in the SR and abroad. 
The  most  popular  folk  music  orchestras  are  Diabolské  husle  under  Ján  Berky-
Mrenica,  Grand  Slovakia  with  E.  Vizváry  and  the  violin  orchestra  led  by  Rinaldo 
Oláh. CDs of the most famous orchestras are also available. In addition, there are 
religious children’s choirs, e.g. Devleskere čhave.  

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2.6  The business world 

2.6.1  Romani plays no role in the Slovak economy and knowledge of the language is not 
considered  favourable  on  the  labour  market.  In  practice,  the  Roma  ethnicity  is 
rather  a  disadvantage.  For  example,  it  was  only  in  1999  when  the  employment 
centres, after interventions from outside, stopped marking applications from Roma 
with an “R”. Even though complaints regarding discrimination against the Roma in 
professional life are frequent, they seldom lead to legal proceedings. 

2.6.2 

In  the  case  of  the  Roma,  many  problems  in  the  field  of  language  and  language 
rights are closely linked to social problems. For many Roma language problems are 
secondary  to  more  pressing  social  problems  such  as  unemployment,  insufficient 
accommodation and education etc. 

2.7  Family and the social use of the language 

2.7.1  Romani has mainly the status of a family language in Slovakia. Nearly all Romani-
speaking parents living outside the big cities speak Romani to their children. Some 
representatives  of  the  intelligentsia  stopped  teaching  Romani  to  their  children 
20-30 years ago since speaking Romani and belonging to the Roma ethnicity were 
considered as disadvantageous. This led to a decrease of the knowledge of Romani 
in  that  generation.  In  recent  years,  due  to  a  stronger  ethnical  consciousness  the 
Romani  language,  which  is  regarded  as  a  major  element  of  Roma  identity,  is 
spoken a lot more often. In total, approx 70% of Roma speak a variety of Romani. 
The  use  of  the  language  is  also  made  difficult  because  of  the  low  prestige  of 
Romani;  speakers  of  Romani  are  generally  considered  backward  and  on  a  lower 
social  level,  since  the  prejudices  against  Roma  are  also  projected  onto  their 
language. 

2.7.2 

Inter-group contact between speakers of different varieties of Romani occurs when 
they  live  in  the  same  geographical  territory.  However,  there  are  contact  barriers 
which are based on attitudes  and social distance  between  different Roma  groups. 
One  reason  for  the  distance  might  be  the  so  called  tribal  particularism  caused  by 
the  dispersal  of  the  Roma  into  different  parts  of  Europe.  In  Slovakia  endogamy 
within the own group is still practiced and exogamy with non-Roma is even more 
common  than  with  Roma  of  other  groups.  The  major  obstacles  for  Roma  inter-
group  contact  are:  a  stereotyped  status  of  their  own  clan,  the  “purity”  of  the  own 
rituals  and  the  prestige  of  their  own  occupational  group.  A  differentiation  is  also 
made on the basis of the socio-linguistic prestige, i.e. of the attitude that their own 
dialect  is  the  “most  correct”  and  the  best.  However,  contacts  between  the  dialect 
groups  gradually  increase,  especially  at  the  institutional  level  amongst  the  elites. 
Furthermore,  the  gradual  weakening  of  the  confining  norms  contributes  to  more 
contacts. 

2.7.3 

In  2001  there  were  166  Roma  NGOs,  four  foundations  and  one  fund  for  the 
promotion  of  Roma  culture.  The  associations  mainly  work  on  a  local  level  and  in 
different  fields,  e.g.  youth  (Združenie  mladých  Rómov  na  Slovensku  and 
Združenie  rómskych  detí  a  mládeže),  women  (Klub  rómskych  žien  na  Slovensku 
so  sídlom  vo  Zvolene)  and  religion  (Združenie  rómskych  veriacich).  Other 
associations  with  general  tasks  are  for  example:  Občianske  združenie  Rómov 
žijúcich  na  Slovensku,  Rómska  samospráva  and  Rómske  občianske  združenie  – 

303

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Šťastie  pre  Rómov  –  Bach  le  romenge.  There  is  also  a  central  forum,  Inforoma, 
which unlike the smaller associations, also has a website (www.inforoma.sk). 

2.8  The European dimension 

2.8.1  Besides  Slovakia,  Sweden,  Slovenia  and  Poland  are  the  only  EU  countries  which 
included  Romani  in  the  European  Charter  for  Regional  or  Minority  Languages. 
The  Framework  Convention  for  the  Protection  of  National  Minorities,  ratified  by 
Slovakia  in  1995,  also  applies  to  the  Roma.  PHARE  funds  were  used  to  finance 
various  accommodation  projects  (e.g.  in  the  Spiš  region),  projects  on  the 
mobilisation  and  education  of  Roma  (traditional  Roma  craft,  women,  youth, 
entrepreneurship etc.) as well as a project aimed at increasing tolerance. 

2.8.2  The  European  Roma  Rights  Center  (www.errc.org)  is  an  international  non-profit 
organisation  which  monitors  the  implementation  of  human  rights  for  Roma  in 
Europe and offers legal help in case of violations of human rights. 

3.  Conclusion 

Slovak  research  institutes  and  aid  organisations  have  underlined  the  urgency  of 
solving  the  Roma  issue  in  Slovakia.  The  Roma  do  not  merely  have  language 
problems, they also experience social problems. However, both are linked. As long 
as the unemployment, housing standards and health situation etc. of the Roma in 
Slovakia do  not change,  the status of the group und thus of the language will not 
improve  either.  The  attitudes  of  the  Roma  themselves  as  well  as  the  rest  of  the 
population are projected onto the language. For example, Roma do not request to 
be  taught  in  Romani  although  they  would  have  the  right  to  do  so.  On  the  other 
hand, illiteracy in Slovak is very common amongst Roma. Romani is mainly used 
within  the  family  and  knowledge  of  the  language  is  not  required  on  the  labour 
market. Therefore, learning the language seems unnecessary. However, a positive 
start  can  be  made  with,  for  example,  the  governmental  strategy  for  Roma,  the 
training  of  Romani  speaking  teaching  assistants  and  the  PHARE  projects. 
Nevertheless,  more  actions  must  be  taken  in  the  future  in  order  to  positively 
influence the attitude towards the Roma population. 

304

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
      Other languages 

1. 

Bulgarian 

1.1 

1.2 

Bulgarian  [bălgarski  ezik]  is  a  South  Slavonic  language  written  in  Cyrillic  script 
and is similar to Bosnian, Croatian, Macedonian, Serbian and Slovenian. According 
to the 2001 census the Bulgarian minority in Slovakia consisted of 1,176 persons. 

There are no schools with Bulgarian as the language of instruction receiving public 
funds  in  Slovakia.  However,  in  the  school  year  1998/1999  there  was  a  private 
primary  school  with  eight  classes  as  well  as  a  private  secondary  school  with  four 
classes.  On  matters  of  language  use  with  authorities  and  in  court  or  for  bilingual 
signs,  the  Bulgarian  minority  is  not  able  to  benefit  from  the  act  on  the  use  of 
minority  languages  as  it  does  not  reach  the  required  20%  barrier  in  any 
municipality. In 2000, Slovak television broadcast about one hour of programmes 
in Bulgarian per week and the Ministry of Culture supported cultural  activities of 
the  Bulgarian  minority  with  SKK 500,000  and  periodicals,  e.g.  Roden  Glas,  with 
SKK 400,000.  The  major  cultural  organisation  of  the  Bulgarian  minority  in 
Slovakia is the Cultural Union of Bulgarians which publishes the above-mentioned 
newspaper.  Generally  the  information  on  the  Bulgarian  minority  in  Slovakia  is 
scarce and no presence could be found on the internet. 

2. 

Croatian 

2.1 

Croatian  [hrvatski  jezik]  is  a  South  Slavonic  language  with  close  ties  to  Bosnian, 
Serbian, Slovenian, Bulgarian and  Macedonian. It  employs the Latin  script. Since 
1991 Croatian has been the official language of Croatia where 4.8 million persons 
speak  it  as  a  native  language.  About  one  million  native  speakers  live  abroad.  The 
largest  groups  can  be  found  in  Bosnia-Herzegovina  (605,000)  and  other 
neighbouring  countries  of  Croatia.  There  are  also  Croatian  migrant  labourers  in 
several  Western  European  countries.  The  first  Croats  came  to  the  territories  of 
today’s  Slovakia  in  the  16th  century  where  they  settled  in  80  towns.  They 
assimilitated with the local population relatively fast. According to the 2001 census 
the  Croatian  minority  in  Slovakia  had  890  members,  with  a  decreasing  trend:  in 
1991 there were still 1,280 persons. Reasons for the decrease are migration to the 
cities,  especially  Bratislava,  and  assimilation.  The  number  of  Croatian  native 
speakers in the SR is estimated at approx. 3,000. Today, the Croatian minority is 
concentrated mainly in four villages near Bratislava: Čuňovo, Devínska Nová Ves, 
Chorvátsky  Grob  and  Jarovce.  There  is  no  standardised  form  of  the  Croatian 
spoken in Slovakia. The dialects from the regions where the immigrants came from 
were also spoken in Slovakia. 

2.2 

Due  to  the  small  number  and  thus  the  small  proportion  of  Croats  in  the  total 
population, the minority cannot benefit from the rights stated in the act on the use 
of  minority  languages  and  the  European  Charter  for  Regional  or  Minority 
languages.  The  number  of  Croats  does  not  reach  the  20%  barrier  in  any  of  the 
towns;  therefore  communication  with  authorities  and  in  court  is  carried  out  in 
Slovak. In Slovakia, there are no nurseries or schools with Croatian as the language 
of  instruction.  The  language  can  only  be  learnt  as  an  optional  subject  in  some 
secondary schools. For ten years now there has been a Slavonic grammar school in 

305

 
 
 
 
 
                  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Bratislava  where  it  would  be  possible  to  establish  Croatian  the  language.  of 
instruction. However, only a few members of the minority used this possibility and 
at the moment the Croatian minority does not intend to establish any such schools.  

2.3 

2.4 

Newspapers or magazines in Croatian are not published in Slovakia. However, 20 
copies  of  the  weekly  Hrvatske  novine  published  in  Eisenstadt/Austria  are  sent  to 
and  sold  in  the  four  above-mentioned  villages.  Since  2002  the  free  quarterly 
periodical  Hrvatska  rosa  is  published  with  a  print  run  of  1,000  copies  and  is 
financially supported by the Slovak Ministry of Culture. Slovak television and radio 
do  not  broadcast  any  programmes  in  Croatian.  However,  some  members  of  the 
Croatian minority in Slovakia are able to receive the Croatian-speaking programme 
Dobar dan Hrvati from Austrian television (ORF Burgenland). 

Books in Croatian, mostly poetry and short stories, are only published sporadically 
in  the  SR.  However,  the  language  is  often  used  in  traditional  folk  music  and 
sometimes  in  religious  ceremonies.  Since  1988  a  festival  of  Croatian  culture  is 
organised on a yearly basis. Although the language is of no importance for business 
in Slovakia and is not required on the labour market, an increasing interest for the 
language can be noticed. This is mainly due to the development of contacts in trade 
and tourism. 

2.5  Within families and mostly in rural areas, the language is passed on orally since in 
most  cases  in  these  areas  there  are  no  Croatian  written  texts  available.  However, 
since  the  political  change  in  Slovakia  the  language  is  passed  on  to  children  to  a 
larger extent. Endogamy, on the other hand, is extremely rare (estimated at 5%). In 
1990  the  Chorvátsky  kultúrny  zväz  na  Slovensku  [Croatian  Cultural  Union  in 
Slovakia] was founded to act as an umbrella organisation for various local Croatian 
organisations.  The  Union  mainly  aims  at  preserving  and  developing  Croatian 
language and culture, e.g. by organising Croatian language workshops for children. 
As a result of the workshops some of the village schools mentioned above started 
offering additional Croatian classes. 

2.6 

As there are only a few  Croats in Slovakia, the future of Croatian  largely depends 
on the initiative and efforts of the members of the Croatian minority. The further 
development of the situation will also depend on how the mediators of the minority 
cope  with  the  newly  arisen  interest  in  the  language  and  the  stronger  ethnical 
consciousness.  Since  1990  the  Croats  in  Slovakia  have  intensified  their  contacts 
with Croats in the neighbouring countries (Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary and 
Italy).  For  example  they  tried,  together  with  the  Croats  in  Austria,  to  obtain 
support  for  language  classes.  With  the  accession  of  Slovakia  to  the  EU  they  hope 
for  even  better  conditions  to  maintain  and  extend  contacts  to  Croats  and  other 
minorities in other EU countries. 

3. 

Polish 

3.1 

Polish [język polski], as Slovak, is a West Slavonic language which is also similar to 
Czech.  Besides  the  approx.  37  million  Polish  native  speakers  in  Poland,  there  are 
more than two million Poles living in the neighbouring countries. According to the 
2001 census there were 2,602 Poles in Slovakia (1991: 2,969). The members of the 
Polish  minority  in  Slovakia  are  dispersed  in  different  regions  of  eastern,  central 
and  western  Slovakia  and  mainly  live  in  bigger  cities  (Bratislava,  Košice,  Dolný 
Kubín  and  Spišská  Nová  Ves).  Poles  also  live  on  the  Slovak  side  of  the  Slovak-
Polish  border.  Several  ethnical  groups  settled  in  this  region  between  the  13th  and 

306

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
18th  century,  e.g.  Slovaks,  Poles,  Ukrainians  and  Germans.  Therefore  it  is  only 
natural  that  the  Polish  language  spoken  in  that  region  is  also  influenced  by  the 
other languages and dialects. The Goralian dialects are called Slovak-Polish border 
dialects. These dialects have a comparatively low prestige and are only spoken in a 
few families. The members of the Polish minority, who all are bi- or even trilingual, 
speak Slovak to the majority population. As Polish and Slovak are very similar and 
even  semi-communication  would  be  possible  between  both  groups,  it  is  relatively 
easy for the Polish minority to learn Slovak. Mainly in urban areas, Slovak is also 
spoken within families. An important aspect of identification for Poles in Slovakia 
is  often  the  Catholic  Church  where  they  are  more  strongly  represented  than  the 
total population. 

Since the members of the Polish minority are dispersed in different regions, there 
is no area in which their concentration is high enough for them to benefit from the 
act on the use of minority languages. In addition, there are no schools in Slovakia 
with Polish as the language of instruction. On Slovak television there are 1.9 hours 
and on Slovak radio 0.5 hours of Polish programmes weekly. Besides programmes 
in  Slovak,  the  members  of  the  minority  inform  themselves  through  Polish  media 
which  can  mostly  be  received  in  the  Slovak-Polish  border  regions.  The  Polish 
minority in Slovakia does not have its own daily newspapers or magazines but the 
people inform themselves through the Polish press either from Poland or the Czech 
Republic.  In  Bratislava  there  is  an  association  for  Polish  culture  which  boasts  a 
library  and  organises  various  events  and  exhibitions  on  Polish  culture  as  well  as 
language courses.  

The strong similarity between both languages probably contributes to assimilation. 
Since the cultural differences between the Polish and Slovak population are smaller 
than  with  many  other  minorities  in  Slovakia  a  clear  distinction  is  perhaps 
considered  unnecessary.  Polish  has  mainly  the  status  of  a  family  language  in 
Slovakia,  but  this  trend  is  declining.  The  actual  knowledge  of  Polish,  e.g.  writing 
skills,  mainly  depends  on  the  speakers’  contacts  with  Poles.  Since  the  language  is 
not taught as a native language at schools, the Polish and Polish-Slovak families in 
Slovakia have to fulfil this task. 

3.2 

3.3 

4. 

Ruthenian  

4.1 

Ruthenian  [rusyn’skyj  jazyk]  is  an  East  Slavonic  language  employing  the  Cyrillic 
alphabet. However, opinions on its relation to other East Slavonic languages differ. 
Some linguists consider Ruthenian as a branch of Ukrainian; others attribute it to a 
general  Russian  language  area  including  modern  Russian,  Byelorussian  and 
Ukrainian.  However,  it  is  agreed  that  Ruthenian  dialects  are  different  from  other 
East  Slavonic  languages  due  to  borrowings  from  their  respective  neighbouring 
dialects  and  languages  (e.g.  Slovak,  Polish  and  Hungarian).  The  issue  of  the 
linguistic classification of Ruthenian is closely linked to the issue of nationality: are 
Ruthenians originally Russians, Ukrainians or Ruthenians/Carpathian Ruthenians 
(i.e.  an  independent  nationality)?  These  three  influences  are  still  represented  in 
Slovakia.  The  Ruthenian  used  in  Slovakia  includes  characteristics  of  Ukrainian 
vernaculars,  Church  Slavonic,  Russian  and  Slovak.  The  language  was  codified  in 
1995.  The  first  Ruthenian  texts  date  back  to  the  17th  century.  Following  the 
Reformation,  ideas  on  the  vernacular  even  led  some  Greek  Catholic  bishops  to 
conclude  that  important  religious  books  should  be  written  in  the  language  of  the 
people  rather  than  Church  Slavonic.  Traditionally,  membership  in  the  Greek 
Catholic Church is a feature which identifies many Ruthenians. 

307

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
4.2 

4.3 

4.4 

4.5 

4.6 

Slovak  Ruthenians  mainly  live  in  the  Prešov  region,  in  a  part  of  the  former  joint 
Carpathian Ruthenian region and outside the SR in parts of today’s Poland (Lemko 
region)  and  Romania  (Maramures  region)  as  well  as  in  the  Ukraine.  Moreover, 
there  are  speakers  of  Ruthenian  variations  in  the  former  Yugoslavia  (Vojvodina), 
Canada and the US. According to the 2001 census, there were 24,201 Ruthenians 
in  Slovakia.  In  the  1991  census,  where  a  distinction  between  Ukrainians  und 
Ruthenians  was  made  for  the  first  time  after  the  Second  World  War,  there  were 
17,277.  The  increase  in  Ruthenians  (and  decrease  of  Ukrainians)  is  at  least  partly 
due to a stronger Ruthenian ethnical consciousness; i.e. some persons who stated 
being  Ukrainian  or  Slovak  in  the  past,  in  the  last  census  stated  the  Ruthenian 
nationality. 

The SR also ratified the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages for 
Ruthenian. The act on the use of minority languages also applies to the Ruthenian 
minority.  The  Ruthenian  population  reaches  the  20%  barrier  in  68  towns.  In 
practice,  the  language  is  used  relatively  frequently  in  contacts  with  regional  and 
local  authorities  and  in  legal  proceedings.  Town  signs  and  even  some  business 
signs are also often bilingual in these places. The Ruthenian or Ukrainian minority 
in the SR is not politically represented on national level. The Ruthenian-Ukrainian 
party Duklia is primarily active on local level. 

Today,  there  are  no  nurseries  or  schools  with  Ruthenian  as  the  sole  language  of 
instruction.  In  nurseries,  the  language  is  only  used  sparingly  as  there  are  no 
nurseries  in  Slovakia  where  Ruthenian  has  the  status  of  an  official  teaching 
language. As of the school year 1997/1998 Ruthenian was introduced as a language 
of  instruction  in  some  primary  schools,  and  in  the  school  year  1998/1999  there 
were  four  primary  schools  in  Slovakia  where  Ruthenian  was  a  language.  of 
instruction.  Interest  in  primary  schools  with  Rutheninan  as  a  language  of 
instruction has strongly increased during the last ten years and so has probably the 
number  of  such  schools.  Unfortunately,  there  are  no  recent  statistics  available. 
Interest in the Ruthenian language also increased in the field of secondary schools 
and  it  is  used  in  some  subjects  as  a  medium  of  instruction  along  with  Slovak. 
Ruthenian teachers are trained at the University of Prešov which at the same time 
is the only university in Slovakia offering university education in this language. The 
reaction  of  decision-makers  and  mediators  of  the  minority  on  the  increasing 
interest  in  using  Ruthenian  at  schools  will  be  decisive  concerning  the  future 
preservation and teaching of the language. 

The  joint  organisation  of  Ruthenians  and  Ukrainians  is  the  SRUS  (Union  of 
Ruthenians  and  Ukrainians).  Those  who  regard  themselves  as  being  an 
independent Ruthenian ethnical group are organised within the Rusynska obroda 
[Ruthenian  Revival]  which  organises  folk  festivals  and  publishes  the  fortnightly 
newspaper Narodny novynky (print run approx. 2,000) which is also available on 
the internet (http://narodny-novynky.presov.sk) and the twice monthly periodical 
Rusyn  (print  run  approx.  2,000).  The  organisation  also  publishes  books.  The 
amount of books in Ruthenian has increased over the past few years. Whereas only 
one or two books per year were published in the 1990s, six books came out in 2001 
and eight in 2002. 

Slovak  public  radio  broadcasts  13.5  hours  of  programmes  in  Ruthenian-  or 
Ukrainian, Ruthenian prevailing with 70% of the air time. In Košice there is also a 
local Ruthenian radio programme. On public television the air time in Ruthenian is 
30  minutes  every  second  month.  Several  Ruthenian  organisations  present 
themselves  through  electronic  media,  e.g.  The  Carpatho-Rusyn  Knowledge  Base 
(http://www.carpatho-rusyn.org)  with  a  lot  of  information  on  Ruthenian  history, 

308

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
4.7 

4.8 

5. 

5.1 

5.2 

culture, tradition, language and links to online media, e.g. the Rusyn International 
Media Centre (http://www.rusynmedia.org/) with news, articles, book reviews etc. 
and  The  Carpatho-Rusyn  Society  (http://www.carpathorusynsociety.org/).  All 
these  websites  are  in  English  with  only  a  few  articles  and  documents  in  the 
Ruthenian variations. 

There  are  several  amateur  groups  promoting  Ruthenian  folk  culture.  The 
Alexander  Duchnovič  theatre  in  Prešov  is  a  professional  ensemble  performing  in 
Ruthenian but not in the officially codified variation. 

Since  the  political  change  in  Slovakia  it  appears  that  Ruthenian  language  and 
culture  are  undergoing  a  renaissance.  The  general  opinion  about  the  language  is 
positive  in  the  region  and  knowledge  of  the  language  is  even  required  for  certain 
positions in the public administration of the region. It is also often used within the 
minority,  e.g.  at  work.  About  half  of  Ruthenian-speaking  parents  teach  their 
children  the  language  at  home.  The  future  development  of  the  Ruthenian  (and 
Ukrainian) language mainly depends on how strictly the split Ruthenian-Ukrainian 
groups  stick  to  their  position,  i.e.  whether  they  continue  going  separate  ways  or 
gradually try to approach each other and combine forces.  

Czech 

Czech  [český  jazyk]  is  a  West  Slavonic  language  which  shares  many  similarities 
with Slovak (also see chapter Czech Republic – Slovak). The similarity is due to the 
common Slavonic origin, the long parallel development (until the 12th century) and 
the numerous contacts between the speakers of both languages. For example, most 
Slavonic native words have correlations in both languages. Since the second half of 
the 13th century, Czech has been widely used as a written language and during the 
following  200  years  it  was  consolidated,  taking  Old  Church  Slavonic,  which  was 
already  used  in  Bohemia  and  Moravia  since  the  9th  century,  as  an  example.  The 
first  attempts  at  codifying  Slovak,  however,  were  only  made  in  the  18th  century. 
Prague, as the cultural capital, also influenced the early development of Czech as a 
written language. The Slovak language did not have a corresponding centre. 

In 1918 Czechs and Slovaks established a common state – Czechoslovakia. This was 
a land-mark both for the linguistic and the socio-economic relations between both 
nations.  In  the  context  of  national  language  policy,  Czech  and  Slovak  were 
considered  as  a  “Czechoslovak”  language  and  the  Czechs  and  Slovaks  as  two 
branches  of  one  nation.  However,  Czech  was  the  language  of  the  national 
administration. This ideology was abolished after the establishment of the second 
Czechoslovak state after World War II (until 1992). With the federalisation of the 
country  in  1968,  texts  in  both  languages  were  used,  mainly  by  the  media,  so  that 
people  could  gain  at  least  passive  knowledge  of  the  respective  other  language. 
However,  mutual  understanding  strongly  depends  on  the  language  skills  and 
motivation of the interlocutors as well as the topic of the discussion and frequency 
of  contacts.  When  there  are  frequent  contacts,  speakers  tend  to  develop  special 
contact varieties with elements from both languages.  

5.3 

Even  in  the  period  of  the  “first”  Czechoslovakia  (1918-38)  many  Czechs  came  to 
parts  of  Slovakia  which  were  considered  backward  in  order  to  work  as  teachers, 
civil  servants  and  soldiers.  However,  the  economic  migration,  especially  of  the 
Slovak  workforce,  to  the  Czech  part  of  the  country  was  much  greater.  Czechs  in 
today’s  Slovakia  are  relatively  dispersed  all  over  the  country,  but  are  mainly 
concentrated  in  Bratislava  and  Košice  as  well  as  the  garrison  towns  Prešov  and 

309

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
5.4 

5.5 

5.6 

Trenčín.  According  to  the  2001  census  there  were  44,620  persons  of  Czech 
nationality  living  in  Slovakia  (1991:  51,293).  The  Moravian  minority,  with  2,348 
members in 2001, is a distinct group in the population statistics. 

Although  the  act  on  the  use  of  minority  languages  and  the  European  Charter  for 
Regional or  Minority Languages also apply to the Czech  minority in Slovakia, the 
possibilities arising from them are often not used. According to Berger (2003, 25) 
there  have  been  no  Czech-speaking  schools  since  1945.  However,  the  act  on  the 
official language (1995) specifies that physicians, for example, have to speak Slovak 
to  their  patients  and  that  foreign-language  radio  and  TV  programmes  have  to  be 
translated into Slovak or dubbed, unless they fulfil the fundamental conditions of 
comprehensibility. This addition is only applicable for Czech. 

Texts written in Czech have played a major role in Slovakia since the Middle Ages. 
In  Czechoslovakia  both  languages  were  used,  amongst  other  reasons  because  the 
mass  media  published  texts  with  Slovak  and  Czech  passages.  However,  more 
Czech-speaking  books  and  periodicals  were  published  and  read  in  Slovakia  than 
vice  versa.  Even  today  there  is  a  high  percentage  of  literature  written  in  Czech  in 
Slovak book shops. Mixed texts are becoming less frequent since 1992. But a new 
kind of mixed text has emerged: on products sold both in the Czech Republic and 
Slovakia,  product  descriptions  are  given  in  both  languages.  Since  the  Czech  film 
industry was more advanced than the Slovak one, many Czech films were and still 
are shown in Slovakia. In 1999/2000, 20% of all programmes shown by the Slovak 
TV  station  Markíza  were  Czech.  Furthermore,  Czech  TV  and  radio  commentators 
report in Slovak media and vice versa.  

In  oral  Czech-Slovak  semi-communication  there  are  three  major  communication 
types  in  Slovakia:  Czech  speakers  either  speak  Czech  (do  not  master  Slovak 
actively), Czech and Slovak in turns (relatively high proficiency in Slovak) or Slovak 
(very  good  proficiency  of  Slovak)  to  Slovak  speakers.  In  a  Czech-Slovak  mixed 
marriage,  for  example,  often  both  languages  are  used.  The  Czech  minority  in 
Slovakia  is  organised  within  the  Český  spolok  na  Slovensku  [Czech  Union  in 
Slovakia].  Otherwise,  the  degree  of  organisation  is  quite  low.  Due  to  the  low 
geographical  distance  and  the  possibility  to  use  Czech  in  everyday  life  (semi-
communication, media) a clear distinction is perhaps unnecessary. 

6. 

Ukrainian 

6.1 

6.2 

Ukrainian [ukrajins’ka mova] belongs to the East Slavonic languages of the Indo-
European language family and is the closest to Russian in this group. It has been 
an  independent  language  since  the  14th  century  when  it  developed  from  East 
Slavonic  dialects.  Like  Russian,  it  employs  the  Cyrillic  script.  A  written  language, 
however, has only existed since the end of the 18th century. The Ukrainian language 
spoken  in  East  Slovakia  is  strongly  influenced  by  dialects,  especially  dialects  of 
neighbouring 
languages  such  as  (eastern)  Slovak,  Polish,  Hungarian  and 
Romanian. 

The Ukrainian minority in Slovakia lives in the north-eastern Slovak regions along 
the  Slovak-Polish  and  Slovak-Ukrainian  borders.  In  the  2001  census  10,814 
persons  indicated  Ukrainian  nationality,  while  the  total  in  1991  was  still  14,341. 
The  drop  is  due  to  an  increasing  identification  of  the  Ukrainians  in  Slovakia  as 
Slovaks. 

310

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
6.3 

6.4 

6.5 

6.6 

The  Ukrainians  living  in  Slovakia  originally  belonged  to  the  language  community 
which,  besides  Slovakia,  also  moved  to  the  Ukraine,  Poland,  Hungary,  Romania 
and former Yugoslavia.  The regions of today’s  East Slovakia were populated from 
the East in the 11th-12th century at the latest. In the 14th-17th century the Ukrainian 
language  community  emerged  as  the  south-western  part  of  the  former  Kiev  Rus. 
During the period of the Habsburg Empire and the Austrian-Hungarian monarchy 
Ukrainians  formed  a  geographical  and  ethnical  union.  The  first  split  took  place 
with  the  establishment  of  Czechoslovakia  in  1918  and  the  territory  Carpathian 
Ruthenia  (today:  Transcarpathian  region  of  the  Ukraine).  As  a  result  of  the 
establishment of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic in January 1946 a border 
was set up within the formerly united ethno-linguistic group of Ukrainians. In the 
Ukraine  they  became  one  of  the  nationalities  constituting  the  state,  whereas  they 
in  Czechoslovakia.  In 
were  attributed  the  status  of  a  national  minority 
Czechoslovakia three branches of the Ukrainian-Ruthenian minority emerged (see 
also  Ruthenian  in  chapter  4):  a  Ukrainian-,  a  Ruthenian-  and  a  Russian-oriented 
group.  During  the  1950s,  the  government  actively  intervened  in  the  situation  by 
combining  all  three  groups  into  one  “Ukrainian”  group  with  the  result  that 
Ukrainian  became  the  only  teaching  language  in  all  “Russian”  schools  and  the 
cultural  institutions  followed  a  Ukrainian-speaking  direction.  After  the  political 
change in 1989 the Ukrainian minority split into two groups, the first claiming that 
the  Ruthenian  language  and  nationality  are  to  be  considered  as  a  branch  of  the 
Ukrainian  one, 
independent 
language/nationality. This division is still made today despite attempts to reconcile 
the groups. 

the  second  considering  Ruthenian  as  an 

The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages and the act on the use 
of minority languages also apply to the Ukrainian minority. In 1999 there were 18 
towns  in  Slovakia  where  the  Ukrainian  minority  reached  the  20%  barrier.  The 
language  can  be  used  with  authorities  and  in  court,  which  in  practice  does  not 
happen  very  often,  since  all  members  of  the  Ukrainian  minority  in  Slovakia  also 
speak  Slovak.  Bilingual  signs  only  occur  in  some  rural  towns.  In  1997  the 
Ruthenian-Ukrainian party Duklia was registered, but it only acts on a local level. 

Today  there  are  no  longer  any  schools  in  Slovakia  where  Ukrainian  is  the  only 
language  of  instruction.  In  the  school  year  1998/1999  individual  subjects  where 
taught in Ukrainian in 17 nurseries, 32 primary schools and one secondary school. 
The  number  of  pupils  in  schools  with  Ukrainian  as  the  medium  of  instruction 
decreases from year to year. This is partly due to the low status of Ukrainian and 
the increasing slovakisation. The department for Ukrainian language and literature 
at  the  University  of  Prešov  offers  native  language  training  in  the  education  and 
humanities  faculty.  The  Matej  Bel  University  in  Banská  Bystrica  mainly  trains 
translators  and  interpreters.  Most  of  the  students  of  Ukrainian  are  Slovak  native 
speakers. 

The Ukrainians and Ruthenians in the SR are organised within the SRUS (Union of 
Ruthenians and Ukrainians). The Union organises folk festivals and publishes the 
weekly newspaper Nove žyt’t’a (print run approx. 500). Due to the lack of financial 
means, several periodicals are no longer published, e.g. the scientific and popular 
scientific  publications  Naukovi  zapysky  and  Naukovo-popul’arna  biblioteka.  The 
series Slovol’ub where texts of local Ukrainian poets were published was also only 
printed  between  1997  and  2000.  The  children’s  publication  Veselka  is  published 
irregularly.  Besides  the  SRUS,  the  scientific  societies  Shevchenko  and  Spilka 
ukrajinistiv  (association  for  Ukrainian  studies)  aim  at  preserving  the  Ukrainian 
language  in  Slovakia.  Spilka  pysjmennykiv  (Union  of  Ukrainian  authors  in 
Slovakia) is also active in this domain: it publishes books and the literary periodical 
Dukl’a  (print  run  approx.  500)  and  organises  different  readings.  Publication  of 

311

 
 
 
 
 
6.7 

6.8 

6.9 

Ukrainian-speaking  literature  in  Slovakia  has  decreased  in  recent  years  as  the 
Ukrainian  section  of  the  national  Slovak  publishing  house  was  closed  in  1999. 
Since  2000  eight  to  night  books  in  Ukrainian  are  published  in  Slovakia  annually. 
These are mostly textbooks but also include poetry, short stories and novels. 

The  public  Slovak  radio  broadcasts  13.5  hours  of  Ukrainian-  and  Ruthenian-
speaking  programmes  per  week.  Ukrainian  is  used  in  about  30%  of  the 
programmes.  On  Slovak  television,  a  Ukrainian  programme  is  shown  twice  a 
month for half an hour. 

Ukrainian culture in Slovakia is presented in the Museum for Ukrainian-Ruthenian 
Culture in Svidnik. Although both nationalities appear in the name of the museum 
the  representation  of  Ukrainian  culture  is  particularly  outstanding.  The  museum 
publishes the periodical Naukovyj zbirnyk. The Ukrainian folk culture in Slovakia 
is quite animated, with about 150 different amateur and semi-professional groups, 
e.g. the amateur theatre group Dumka, the ensemble PULS (part of the Ukrainian 
national  theatre  which  today  plays  in  Ruthenian)  and  the  choir  Karpaty  which 
organises so-called Sunday classes for children in the Ukrainian language. There is 
also a Ukrainian boy scouts' organisation – Plast – which also tries to contribute to 
the preservation of the Ukrainian language. 

Especially in rural areas in the SR, Ukrainian is used daily and is taught to the next 
generation.  Because  of  migration  to  the  cities,  the  population  which  uses  the 
language is gradually decreasing. Other professional groups using the language on 
a  daily  basis  are  teachers,  actors,  editors  and  other  representatives  of  the 
intelligentsia. Generally, speakers of Ukrainian are regarded as socially inferior and 
backward and knowledge of the language is not considered favourable in terms of 
employment.  The  future  of  Ukrainian  in  Slovakia  is  considered  insecure  by  its 
speakers. On an international level, contacts between Slovakia and the EU on the 
one  hand  and  with  the  Ukraine  on  the  other  (as  a  non-Schengen  country)  will  be 
important. 

312

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Prešovskej univerzity v Prešove. 

Berger,  Tilman  (2003):  “Slovaks  in  Czechia  –  Czechs  in  Slovakia”.  In:  International 

Journal of Sociology of Language 162. Walter de Gruyter, 19-39. 

Čornej,  Petr  &    Pokorný,  Jiři  (2003).  A  brief  history  of  the  Czech  lands  to  2004.  Práh 

Press, Prag. 

Elšik, Viktor (2003): “Interdialect contact of Czech (and Slovak) Romani varieties”. In:  

International Journal of Sociology of Language 162. Walter de Gruyter, 41-62. 
European  Network  of  Print-Media  (2000)  Co-Operation  of  Minority  Dailies. 
Proceedings  of  the  2nd  European  Conference  of  the  Minority  Daily  Press. 
Bozen/Bolzano 4th-5th May, 2000.  Brochure. 

Haarmann, Harald (2002): Kleines Lexikon der Sprachen. Von Albanisch bis Zulu. 2.,  

überarbeitete Auflage. Verlag C.H. Beck, München. 

Hancock,  Ian  (1991):  “The  East  European  Roots  of  Romani  Nationalism”.  In:  Crowe, 
David  M.  &  Kolsti,  John  (eds.),  The  Gypsies  of  Eastern  Europe.  M.E.  Sharpe 
Publishers, London, 133-150. 

Horváth, Klaudia (2003): Zum Sozioprofil der ungarischen Minderheit in der Slowakei. 

Eine Untersuchung. Unpublished Master’s Thesis. Universität Leipzig. 

Hübschmannová,  Milena  (1999)  “Od  etnické  kasty  ke  strukturonému  etnickému 

společenství”. In: Romové v České republice (1945-1998). Socioklub, Prag, 115-136. 

Hübschmannová,  Milena  &  Neustupný,  Jiři  V.  (1996):  „The  Slovak-Czech  dialect  of 
Romani  and  its  standardization”.  In:  International  Journal  of  Sociology  of 
Language 120. Walter de Gruyter, 85-109. 

Igla, Birgit (1997) : “Romani”. In: Goebl, Hans; Nelde, Peter H.; Starý, Zdeněk & Wölck, 
Wolfgang (eds.), Kontaktlinguistik. Ein Internationales Handbuch Zeitgenössischer 
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115. 

Kern,  Rudolf  (1999): “Deutsche  Sprache  in  der  Slowakei”.  In:  Bradean-Ebinger,  Nelu  & 
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Deutsch  als  Muttersprache  in  Mittel-  und  Osteuropa.  Ausgewählte  Aufsätze. 
Universität für Wirtschaftswissenschaften Budapest. Lehrstuhl Deutsch. Budapest, 
269-283. 

Magocsi, Paul Robert (1996): “The Rusyn language question revisited”. In: International 

Journal of Sociology of Language 120. Walter de Gruyter, 63-84. 

Ondrejovič, Slavomir (1997): “Slowakei”. In: Goebl, Hans; Nelde, Peter H.; Starý, Zdeněk 
&  Wölck,  Wolfgang  (eds),  Kontaktlinguistik.  Ein  Internationales  Handbuch 
Zeitgenössischer  Forschung.  Volume  2.  Walter  de  Gruyter,  Berlin  &  New  York, 
1669-1678. 

Ondrejovič,  Slavomir  &  Mislovičová,  Sibyla  (1997):  “Slowakisch-Polnisch”.  In:  Goebl, 
Hans; Nelde, Peter H.; Starý, Zdeněk & Wölck, Wolfgang (eds.), Kontaktlinguistik. 
Ein  Internationales  Handbuch  Zeitgenössischer  Forschung.  Volume  2.  Walter  de 
Gruyter, Berlin & New York, 1692-1695. 

Open Society Institute (2001): “Minority Protection in Slovakia”. In: Monitoring the EU  

accession  progress:  Minority  protection.  Open  Society  Institute.  EU  accession 
monitoring  program.  Central  European  University  Press,  Budapest  &  New  York, 
430-491. 

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in  Europa.  Handbuch  der 

Pfein,  Beate  Sibylle  (eds),  Minderheitenrechte 
europäischen Volksgruppen. Volume 2. Ethnos 61. Braumüller, Wien, 416-428. 

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Ethnos 63. Braumüller, Wien. 

Papsonová,  Mária  &  Ripka,  Ivor  (1997):  “Slowakisch-Deutsch”.  In:  Goebl,  Hans;  Nelde, 
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nárečí v pokročilom štádiu ich vývoja. Okresné vlastivedné múzeum, Stará L’ubovňa. 
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B. Other sources 

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Republic] 

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[European 

Commission. 

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http://www.hr/darko/etf/croslov.html 
Minority  

[Kovacevic-Cavlovic,  Jasmina:  The  Croatian 

in Slovakia] 

http://www.htmh.hu/index_en.html  [Government  Office  For  Hungarian  Minorities 
Abroad] 

314

 
 
 
 
 
 
http://www.hungarian-history.hu/ [Corvinus Library. Hungarian History]  
http://www.ihf-hr.org/index.php  [International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights] 
http://www.inforoma.sk  [Inforoma] 
www.karpatenblatt.svan.sk [Karpatenblatt] 
www.kdv.sk [Karpatendeutscher Verein] 
http://www.minelres.lv [minority electronic resources - directory of resources on minority  
human rights and related problems of the  transition period in Eastern and Central 
Europe] 

http://www.nrsr.sk [Národná Rada Slovenskej Republiky – National Council of the Slovak  

Republic] 

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Center for Policy Studies] 

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Member of the OSCE Troika 1995-1997] 

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Trnava]  

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Bystrica]   

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315

 
 
 
 
 
 
1. 

  Introduction 

      Slovenia 

The territory of Slovenia (SI) covers 20,273km². The country has nearly 2 million 
inhabitants  and  is  divided  into  193  municipalities,  of  which  11  are  urban.  The 
largest  municipality  is  that  of  Slovenia’s  capital,  Ljubljana,  that  has  slightly  more 
than 250,000 inhabitants. Other major cities are Maribor and Koper/Capodistria. 
The Republic of Slovenia [Republika Slovenija] is a parliamentary democracy. The 
president  (head  of  State)  is  elected  for  a  five-year  term  on  a  popular  vote.  The 
parliament  consists  of  a  State  Assembly  (with  90  members  that  are  elected  every 
four  years)  and  a  State  Council  (with  40  members  that  are  elected  every  four 
years).  The  State  Assembly  makes  the  republic’s  laws,  the  State  Council  can 
propose  laws  or  can  request  reconsideration  of  a  vote  in  the  assembly.  The  State 
Assembly  elects  the  prime  minister  for  a  four-year  term.  Slovenia’s  economy  has 
adapted  smoothly  to  a  market  economy.  Over  the  past  eight  years  the  average 
economic growth was 4.3%. Apart from manufacturing, tourism is one of the most 
important industries.  

2.   General aspects  

The  ancestors  of  the  present-day  Slovenians  settled  in  the  area  in  the  6th  century 
AC.  In  the  7th  century,  Western  Slavic  tribes  formed  an  alliance  with  the  Slavic 
Duchy of Carantania (the centre of today’s Austrian Carinthia), which fell under the 
rule  of  the  Frankish  Empire  in  the  middle  of  the  8th  century.  In  the  14th  century 
most of Slovenia came under the power of the Hapsburg dynasty and later became 
part  of  the  Austro-Hungarian-Empire.  In  1918,  after  the  collapse  of  the  Austro-
Hungarian Empire, Slovenia joined the Serbs and Croats in the Kingdom of Serbs, 
Croats  and  Slovenes  that  was  renamed  the  Kingdom  of  Yugoslovia  in  1929.  After 
World War II Slovenia became part of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, 
from which it became independent on 25  1991. Slovenia joined NATO on 29 March 
2004 and the European Union on 1 May 2004.  

316

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
3. 

Demographic data 

3.1  

According  to  the  2002  census  Slovenia  has  1,964,036  inhabitants.  1,631,363  (i.e. 
83.1%) of them are Slovenes. The Hungarians (6,243) and the Italians (2,258) are 
considered  autochthonous  minorities  in  the  Slovenian  Constitution  and  have 
special  rights  (⇒  4.1).  Also  the  Roma  (3,246),  who  are  not  considered  to  be  an 
indigenous minority, enjoy special rights (⇒ Romany in Slovenia for details on the 
Roma  community).  Other  ethnic  groups  include  Albanians  (6,186),  Bosniacs 
(21,542),  Montenegrins  (2,667),  Croats  (35,642),  Macedonians  (3,972),  Muslims 
(10,467),  Germans  (499),  Serbs  (38,964),  Yugoslavs  (527)  and  Bosnians  (8,062) 
(⇒ Table 1). The majority of the current members of these ethnic groups (with the 
exception of the Germans) arrived in Slovenia as economic immigrants after World 
War II and after the disintegration of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.  

Table 1: Population by Ethnic Affiliation, 2002 census 

Ethnic Affiliation 

Slovenes 

Italians 

Hungarians 

Roma 

Albanians 

Bosniacs 

Montengrins 

Croats 

Macedonians 

Muslims* 

Germans 

Serbs 

Others declared 

Yugoslavs** 

Bosnians 

Regionally declared** 

Ethnically undeclared 

Did not want to reply 

Unknown 

Total 

Number 

1,631,363 

2,258 

6,243 

3,246 

6,186 

21,542 

2,667 

35,642 

3,972 

10,467 

499 

38,964 

3,933 

527 

8,062 

1,467 

12,085 

48,588 

126,325 

1,964,036 

Source: Census 2002 
*  The  ethnic  category  ‘Muslim’,  which  was  introduced  in  the  post-war  censuses  of  the 
Yugoslav population, mostly incorporated people from the territory of Bosnia-Herzegovina, 
who today mostly declare themselves ‘Bošnjaks’. (Novak-Lukanovič 1999, 6) 
**  From  1971  onwards,  population  censuses  envisaged  the  possibility  of  regional 
determination of the identity of an individual, which is not necessarily defined ethnically, but 
is linked to the narrower region of residence, such as Istria, Primorska, Dolenjska, etc. (ibid.) 

317

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
3.2  

Table  2  lists  the  population  by  mother  tongue.  Most  people  (1,723,434)  ave 
declared  Slovenian  to  be  their  mother  tongue:  54,079  people  have  indicated 
Croatian,  36,265  Serbo-Croatian,  31,499  Bosnian  and  31,329  Serbian.  7,713  have 
stated Hungarian and 3,762 Italian as their mother tongue.  

Table 2: Population by Mother tongue, 2002 census 
Mother tongue 

Number 

Slovenian 

Italian 

Hungarian 

Romany 

Albanian 

Bosnian 

Montenegrin 

Croatian 

Croatian-Serbian 

Macedonian 

German 

Serbian 

Serbo-Croatian 

1,723,434 

3,762 

7,713 

3,834 

7,177 

31,499 

462 

54,079 

126 

4,760 

1,628 

31,329 

36,265 

Out  of  1,631,363  ethnic  Slovenians  1,601,156  have  Slovenian  as  their  mother 
tongue.  Out  of  2,258  ethnic  Italians  1,832  indicate  Italian  to  be  their  mother 
tongue and out of 6,243 Hungarians 5,963 indicate Hungarian to be their mother 
tongue  (⇒  Italian  in  Slovenia  and  Hungarian  in  Slovenia).  A  full  comparison  of 
figures  on  ethnic  affiliation  and  mother  tongue  as  well  as  a  full  list  of  mother 
tongues  used  in  Slovenia  can  be  found  on  the  website  of  the  Slovenian  Statistical 
Service.  

3.  

Language policy 

3.1 

Art. 11 of the Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia [ustava republike slovenije] 
(1991)  specifies  that  Slovene  is  the  official  language  of  Slovenia.  However,  in  the 
areas where Italian or ethnic Hungarian communities reside, the official language 
is also Italian or Hungarian. These areas are the so-called ethnically mixed areas. 
They  are  determined  by  the  statutes  of  the  municipalities  according  to  the 
regulations  of  the  Law  on  the  Formation  of  Municipalities  and  on  the 
Determination  of  Their  Territories  [zakon  o  ostanovitvi  obcin  ter  o  dolocitvi 
njihovih obmocij] (Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, no. 60/94 and no. 
56/98  (⇒  Italian  in  Slovenia  and  Hungarian  in  Slovenia).  Art.  61  and  62  of  the 
Slovenian Constitution  guarantee all citizens of the Republic of Slovenia the right 
to freely express affiliation with their nation or national community, to foster and 
give expression to their culture and to use their language and script. Art. 64 of the 
Slovenian Constitution specifically deals with special rights for the autochthonous 
Italian  and  Hungarian  communities  in  Slovenia.  It  guarantees  the  autochthonous 
Italian and Hungarian communities the right to freely use their national symbols, 
the right to establish their own organisations, education and schooling in their own 

318

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
3.2  

3.3  

3.4  

languages, the right to foster economic, cultural, scientific, and research activities, 
as  well  as  activities  associated  with  the  mass  media  and  publishing.  It  also  gives 
them  the  right  to  foster  contacts  with  the  Italian  and  Hungarian  communities 
living outside Slovenia and it ensures financial support and encouragement to the 
implementation of these rights.  

[zakon  o 

For  the  implementation  of  special  rights,  the  promotion  of  their  needs  and 
interests, and for organised participation in public matters, members of the Italian 
and  Hungarian  minorities  establish  self-governing  ethnic  communities  in  the 
regions  of  their  autochthonous  settlement.  That  is  stated  in  Art.  1  of  the  Law  on 
Self-Governing  Ethnic  Communities 
samoupravnih  narodnih 
skupnostik] (Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, no. 65/94). According to 
Art.  12  of  this  law,  self-governing  ethnic  communities  submit  to  self-governing 
local  communities  proposals,  initiatives  and  opinions  on  matters  regarding  the 
status  of  ethnic  communities  and  the  preservation  of  characteristics  of  ethnically 
mixed  territories.  It  is  the  obligation  of  self-governing  local  communities  to  deal 
with these matters and to take a stand towards them. The interaction between the 
self-governing ethnic communities and the self-governing local communities is also 
mentioned  in  the  Law  on  Local  Self-Government  [zakon  o  lokalni  samoupravi] 
(Official  Gazette  of  the  Republic  of  Slovenia,  no.  72/93).  Art.  5  of  this  law  points 
out  that  in  territories  inhabited  by  members  of  the  Italian  and  Hungarian  ethnic 
communities, municipalities shall be formed that give effect to the special rights of 
ethnic communities. Art 39. states that in ethnically mixed areas the two national 
communities  must  have  at  least  one  representative  in  the  municipal  council.  The 
Statutes  of  the  municipalities  in  which  the  Italian  and  Hungarian  national 
minorities  reside  give  a  detailed  account  of  the  rights  that  are  granted  to  the 
minorities. 

At  the  national  level,  the  Italian  and  Hungarian  national  communities  are 
represented  by  the  Coastal  Italian  Self-governing  National  Community  and  the 
Hungarian  National  self-governing  Community  of  Pomurje.  These  national 
communities act as partners in deliberations with the government and other state 
bodies  and  coordinate  the  attitude  of  both  ethnic  communities  towards  all  issues 
concerning their status on the regional and national level. On the national level one 
deputy  each  represents  the  Italian  and  Hungarian  ethnic  communities  in  the 
National  Assembly.  They  have  the  right  to  use  their  language  and  they  also  have 
the right to exercise the veto on acts and regulations of the National Assembly that 
deal  with  minority  issues.  So  far,  the  veto  has  not  been  exercised.  The  Slovenian 
government  has  a  Government  Office  for  Nationalities  that  primarily  deals  with 
matters concerning the national communities and the Roma.  

Education in Slovenia is regulated among others by the Preschool Institutions Act 
[zakon  o  vrtcih]  (Official  Gazette  of  the  Republic  of  Slovenia,  no.  12/96),  the 
Elementary  School  Act  [zakon  o  osnovi  šoli]  (Official  Gazette  of  the  Republic  of 
Slovenia,  no.  12/96),  and  the  Gymnasium  Act  [zakon  o  gimnazijah]  (Official 
Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, no. 12/96). These acts show that two models of 
bilingual  education  are  practiced  in  the  ethnically  mixed  areas.  In  the  Hungarian 
Prekmurje  region  a  Slovene-Hungarian  bilingual  educational  system  has  been 
operative  since  1959  (⇒  Italian  in  Slovenia  and  Hungarian  in  Slovenia).  In  the 
Italian region Italian minority children attend pre-school institutions and primary 
and secondary schools with Italian as the language of instruction and Slovene as an 
obligatory  subject.  In  educational  institutions  with  Slovene  as  the  language  of 
instruction Italian is an obligatory subject (⇒ language report on Italian for more 
details).  Furthermore  there  is  a  Law  on  the  Implementation  of  Special  Rights  for 
Members  of  the  Italian  and  Hungarian  National  Minorities  in  the  Field  of 

319

 
 
 
 
 
3.5  

3.6  

Education  [Zakon  o  posebnih  pravicah  italijanske  in  madžarske  narodne 
skupnosti na področju vzgoje in izobraževanja] (Official Gazette of the Republic of 
Slovenia, no. 12/82). This law stresses that the education of members of the Italian 
and  Hungarian  national  minorities  is  a  composite  part  of  a  unified  education 
system (Art. 2), pre-school education must be adapted in such a way that children, 
apart from the development of their mother tongue, are allowed to learn the basics 
of  Slovene  or  the  language  of  the  national  minority  (Art.  7),  special  historical, 
geographical and other achievements of the Italian and Hungarian nation must be 
considered in education and that the national sentiment of the students has to be 
respected (Art. 8). The law goes on to point out that educational institutions shall 
cooperate  with  corresponding  institutions  in  their  nation  of  origin  in  compliance 
with  their  annual  work  plan  (Art.  15).  And  it  also  contains  directives  on  the 
language  fluency  of  school  personnel  (e.g.,  Art.  17  –  19).  So far  the  schools  of  the 
national  communities  are  all  public  schools.  Both  the  Italian  and  the  Hungarian 
minority are entitled to participate in the planning of the curricula, in educational 
policies and in the management of the educational institutions. The highest expert 
body in the field of education is the Expert Council of the Republic of Slovenia for 
General  Education  that  has  a  Commission  for  Minority  Education.  Higher 
education  and  teacher  training  are  discussed  in  the  language  reports  (⇒ 
Hungarian in Slovenia and Italian in Slovenia).  

The use of languages in court is regulated by the Law on Courts [zakon o sodišcih] 
(Official  Gazette  of  the  Republic  of  Slovenia,  no.  19/94).  Art.  5  of  this  law  states 
that  the  business  of  court  is  conducted  in  Slovene.  It  is,  however,  possible  to  use 
Italian  or  Hungarian  in  the  court  in  the  territories  in  which  the  autochthonous 
Italian and Hungarian ethnic communities live. The details of the operation of the 
courts 
in  areas  where  the  autochthonous  Italian  and  Hungarian  ethnic 
communities  reside  are  explained  in  chapter  five  (Art.  60-69)  of  the  Court  Rules 
(Official  Gazette  RS,  no.  17/95,  last  amendment  in  2003).  Art.  69  of  the  Court 
Rules mentions that the bonus for the qualification of judges and court personnel 
for conducting bilingual proceedings shall be determined by the judicial council. 

The official language used in public administration is Slovene. Art. 4 of the Public 
Administration Act [zakon o upravi] (Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, 
no.  67/94),  however,  states  that  Italian  or  Hungarian  is  the  second  official 
language in areas where original Italian and Hungarian ethnic communities reside. 
The Slovenian government has worked out measures of positive discrimination to 
encourage  the  use  of  Italian  and  Hungarian  in  public  administration  on  the 
territory  of  local  communities  where  the  Italian  and  Hungarian  communities 
reside.  The  Ordonance  on  Quotients  for  the  Basic  Remuneration  of  Officials 
Appointed  by  the  Republic  of  Slovenia  and  Other  Employees  in  Slovene 
Government  Services,  Administrative  Bodies  and  Administrative  Units  (Official 
Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, no. 82/94) provides for an increase of the basic 
salary  by  6%  for  those  persons  who  have  active  knowledge  of  the  language  of  the 
national  community  and  an  increase  by  3%  for  those  persons  who  have  passive 
knowledge of the language of the national community. Further details on the use of 
the  language  in  public  life  or  documents  can  be  found  in  the  Law  on  Personal 
Identity Cards [zakon o osebni izkaznici] (Official Gazette no. 75/97), the Law on 
Passports  of  the  Citizens  of  the  Republic  of  Slovenia  [zakon  o  potnih  listinah 
državljanov  republike  slovenije]  (Official  Gazette,  no.  1/91),  the  Law  on  the 
Naming and Registering of Settlements, Streets  and Buildings (Official  Gazette of 
the  Republic  of  Slovenia,  no.  5/80),  and  the  Central  Register  of  Population  Act 
[zakon  o  matičnem  registru]  (Official  Gazette  of  the  Republic  of  Slovenia,  no. 
37/03).  

320

 
 
 
 
 
3.7  

3.8  

3.9  

In  practice,  the  right  to  use  one’s  mother  tongue  is  fulfilled  to  varying  degrees  in 
individual institutions. As a rule, bilingual communication is better provided for in 
the courts of law and at the level of communal administration, political assemblies, 
and  public  signs.  In  public  and  private  enterprises  and  factories  it  is  less 
satisfactory.  Employees  in  administrative  agencies  and  schools  who  according  to 
the  job  requirement  should  be  proficient  in  Italian  or  Hungarian  in  addition  to 
Slovene are awarded a supplement to their salary. This often is a source of dispute. 

The Slovenian media landscape is regulated primarily  by the Law on Mass Media 
[zakon o javnih glasilih] (Official Gazette RS, no. 36/94). Art. 3 of this law among 
others  states  that  the  Slovenian  state  supports  the  development  of  mass  media 
meant to inform the Italian and Hungarian ethnic communities. Following Art. 3 of 
the  Law  on  Radio  Television  Slovenia  [zakon  o  radioteleviziji  slovenija]  (Official 
Gazette  RS,  no.  36/94)  the  Slovenian  public  radio  and  television  (RTV  – 
radioteleviziji slovenija) comprises  the creation of  one radio programme (at  least 
two hours daily) and one television programme (at least 30 minutes daily) for the 
Italian  and  Hungarian  ethnic  communities.  Radio  and  television  programmes  in 
the Italian and Hungarian languages are part of the national programme broadcast 
by  the  national  radio  and  television.  Within  that  programme,  full  autonomy  is 
guaranteed  to  editorial  boards  responsible  for  programmes  in  the  Italian  and 
Hungarian  languages.  Both  the  Italian  and  the  Hungarian  national  community 
have  one  representative  in  the  Council  of  RTV  Slovenia,  which  is  the  supreme 
managing body of the national radio and television. 

The Slovenian legal framework offers both the Italian and the Hungarian national 
communities  high  protection  in  the  so-called  ethnically  mixed  areas  and  also 
contains  provisions  for  the  Roma  community  (⇒  Romani  in  Slovenia).  The  legal 
standard  that  goes  back  to  the  time  when  Slovenia  was  part  of  Yugoslavia  fails, 
however,  to  recognize  other  groups  like  the  Germans,  Croats,  Serbians  and 
Bosnians that have been present on Slovenian territory for a considerable period of 
time. In this respect the Committee of Ministers on the application of the European 
Charter  for  Regional  or  Minority  Languages  by  Slovenia  recommends  the 
authorities of Slovenia to reconsider its position on the Croatian language from the 
point of view from the Charter, to clarify the issue of the traditional presence of the 
Serbian,  has  encouraged  the  Slovenian  government  to  reconsider  the  position  of 
the Serbian language and of the Bosnian language in Slovenia, and to apply part II 
of the Charter to German as a regional or minority language in Slovenia within the 
meaning of the Charter (⇒ Other languages in Slovenia). 

3.10  The Institute for Ethnic Studies, the Scientific Research Center of SASA (Slovenian 
Academy of Arts and Science) and the European Center for Regional Studies study 
different dimensions of inter-ethnic relations within Slovenia.  

4.  

The European dimension 

Slovenia  signed  the  European  Charter  on  Regional  and  Minority  Languages 
(ECRML)  on  3  July  1997,  which  was  ratified  on  4  October  2000  and  came  into 
force on 1 January 2001. Slovenia  has also  signed  the Framework Convention for 
the  Protection  of  National  Minorities  (FCPNM)  on  1  February  1995,  which  was 
ratified  on  25  March  1998  and  has  been  in  force  since  1  July  1998.  Slovenia  has 
signed bilateral agreements with Italy and Hungary. With the Act of Notification of 
Succession of Agreements between Former Yugoslavia and Italy (Official Gazette of 
the Republic of Slovenia, no. 40/92), the Treaty of Osimo regulating the status of 

321

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
the  Slovene  minority  in  Italy  and  the  Italian  minority  in  Slovenia  remained  in 
force.  With  the  Republic  of  Hungary  there  is  an  Agreement  on  Friendship  and 
Cooperation  (Official  Gazette  of  the  Republic  of  Slovenia,  no.  6/93).  On  30  April 
2001  Slovenia  signed  an  Agreement  on  Cooperation  in  Culture,  Education  and 
Science with the Republic of Austria. 

322

 
 
  Hungarian in Slovenia 

1.   General information 

1.1 

The language  

Hungarian  [magyar  nyelv]  is  spoken  by  approximately  14.5  million  people 
worldwide  of  which  10.3  million  live  in  Hungary.  It  is  spoken  in  all  countries 
neighbouring Hungary as well as by considerable groups in the USA (447,000) and 
Canada (86,800). Genetically Hungarian  belongs to the finno-ugric branch of the 
uralic  languages.  It  is  very  closely  related  to  Chantic  and  Mansic  as  spoken  in 
Siberia. Hungarian displays a low dialectal variety. Differences between varieties of 
Hungarian  are  mainly  phonetical.  Slovenian-Hungarian  language  contact  dates 
back to the 9th century and mainly took place in the north-eastern parts of Slovenia. 
The  Slovenian  influence  on  Hungarian  can  especially  be  noticed  in  political, 
religious and agricultural terminology.  

1.2  History, Geography and Demography 

1.2.1 

In the Middle Ages today’s Hungarian part of Slovenia formed part of the Kingdom 
of  Hungary.  From  1335  until  WWI  the  area  was  under  Hapsburg  rule  and 
remained  primarily  Hungarian-speaking.  It  was  only  towards  in  the  19th  century 
that the influence of Slovenian grew. Due to border adjustments after World War I 
the  area  was  divided:  15,000  ethnic  Hungarians  became  part  of  the  Kingdom  of 
Yugoslavia whereas 5,000 ethnic Slovenes became part of Hungary. During World 
War II Hungary regained control of the whole region. Yet at the end of World War 
II  that  situation  was  undone.  After  World  War  II  some  Hungarians  living  in  the 
Slovene  part  of  Yugoslavia  were  deported  and  non-Hungarian  people  were 
encouraged to settle there, thus adding to the presently ethnically mixed character 
of the region.  

1.2.2.   The autochthonous Hungarian population mainly resides in  five municipalities in 
the Prekmurje region (Lendva/Lendava, Dobronak/Dobrovnik, Moravske Toplice, 
Šalovci and Hodos/Hodoš) where the following towns and villages have the status 
of ethnically mixed territories:  

o  Municipality of Hodos/Hodoš: Kapornak/Krplivnik and Hodos/Hodoš 
o  Municipality  of  Moravske  Toplice:  Csekefa/Čikečka  vas,  Szent-
lásló/Motvarjevci,  Kisfalu/Pordašinci,  Pártosfalva/Prosenjakovci,  Szerda-
hely/Središče 

o  Municipality of Šalovci: Domonkosfa/Domanjševci 
o  Municipality  of  Lendva/Lendava:  Bánuta/Banuta,  Csente/Čentiba,  Hoss-
zúfalu/Dolga  vas,  Hosszúfaluhegy/Dolgovšgorice,  Völgyifalu/Dolina,  Al-
sólakos/Dolnji  Lakoš,  Gyertyános/Gaberje,  Göntérháza/Genterovci, 
Felsöla-kos/Gornji  Lakoš,  Kámaháza/Kamovci,  Kapca/Kapca,  Kót/Kot, 
Lend-va/Len-dava, Lendvahegy/Lendavske gorice/, Hidvég/Mostje, Petes-
háza/Petišovci,  Pince/Pince,  Pincemajor/Pince  marof,  Radamos/Ra-
dmožanci, and Hármas-malom/Trimlini 

o  Municipality  of  Dobronak/Dobrovnik:  Dobronak/Dobrovnik,  Zsit-

kóc/Žitkovci. 

323

 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1.2.3   In  the  2002  census  6,243  inhabitants  of  Slovenia  (approx.  0.31%  of  the  total 
population) declared themselves to belong to the Hungarian national community. 
Out  of  these  6,243  persons  5,212  (approx.  83.5%)  live  in  the  municipalities  of 
Lendva (3,917 persons), Dobronak (616 persons), Moravske Toplice (351 persons), 
Šalovci  (169  persons)  and  Hodos  (159  persons).  The  Hungarian  minority  in  the 
northern  part  of  the  ethnically  mixed  area  represents  two  thirds  of  the  total 
population,  in  the  southern  part  slightly  less  than  half  of  the  total  population. 
According  to  the  2002  census  7,713  persons  have  Hungarian  as  mother  tongue. 
Table 1 shows that both the number of persons with Hungarian as mother tongue 
and  the  number  of  persons  who  declare  themselves  as  ethnic  Hungarians  has 
decreased in recent years. 

Table  1.  Hungarian  Ethnicity  and  Hungarian  as  a  mother  tongue  in  Slovenia 
from 1953-2002. 
Year 

1953 

1981 

1961 

1991 

1971 

2002 

Ethnic 
Hungarians 
Hungarian 
mother tongue 

11,019 

10,498 

8,943 

8,777 

8,000 

6,243 

--- 

--- 

--- 

--- 

8,720 

7,713 

(Source: Q1, Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia) 

Several  minority  representatives,  government  organisations  and  the  Slovenian 
Statistical  Office  have  analysed  and  commented  on  the  decrease  of  ethnic 
Hungarians  and  Hungarian  as  a  mother  tongue.  Reasons  given  by  them  for  the 
decrease  are,  among  others,  mixed  marriages,  difference  in  mortality  and  birth 
rates,  use  of  a  different  methodology  in  censuses,  “non-reply”,  change  in  ethnic 
affiliation, a trend of giving up ethnical identity.  

1.3  Legal status and official policies  

Art. 11 of the Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia [ustava republike slovenije] 
(1991)  specifies  that  Slovene  is  the  official  language  of  Slovenia.  In  the  so-called 
ethnically mixed areas where ethnic Hungarian communities reside, however, the 
official  language  is  also  Hungarian.  Art.  64  of  the  Slovenian  Constitution 
specifically deals with special rights for the autochthonous Hungarian community 
in  Slovenia.  It  guarantees  the  autochthonous  Hungarian  community  the  right  to 
freely use national symbols, the right to establish its own organisations, education 
and schooling in its own language, the right to foster economic, cultural, scientific, 
and  research  activities,  as  well  as  activities  associated  with  the  mass  media  and 
publishing. It also gives autochthonous Hungarians the right to foster contacts with 
the  Hungarian  communities  living  outside  Slovenia  and  it  ensures  financial 
support  and  encouragement  to  the  implementation  of  these  rights.  For  the 
implementation  of  special  rights,  the  promotion  of  their  needs  and  interests,  and 
for organised participation in public matters, members of the Hungarian minority 
establish self-governing ethnic communities in the regions of their autochthonous 
settlement  (⇒  3.2  of  the  country  profile  on  Slovenia  for  more  details).  At  the 
national level, the Hungarian national community is represented by the Hungarian 
National  self-governing  Community  of  Pomurje  that  acts  as  a  partner  in 
deliberations  with  the  government  and  other  state  bodies  and  coordinates  the 
attitude  of  the  Hungarian  ethnic  community  towards  all  issues  concerning  their 
status  on  the  regional  and  national  level.  On  the  national  level  one  deputy 
represents the Hungarian ethnic community in the National Assembly. He has the 

324

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
right to exercise the veto on acts and regulations of the National Assembly that deal 
with minority issues. So far, the veto has not been exercised.  

2.  Presence and use of the language in various fields 

2.1  Education 

2.1.1  Since  the  mid-1950s  mandatory  bilingual  Hungarian-Slovene  education  was 
introduced in the Prekmurje region for all pupils (including ethnic Slovenes). This 
measure  was  taken  because  a  high  proportion  of  Hungarian-speaking  pupils  no 
longer  enrolled 
in  Hungarian-speaking  schools,  possibly  due  to  negative 
sentiments  present  in  the  population  after  WWII.  The  legal  framework  on 
education is explained in 3.4 of the country profile on Slovenia (⇒ Slovenia).  

2.1.2 

In  the  school  year  2002/2003,  273  children  attended  bilingual  pre-school 
institutions in the Pomurje region. In these institutions children are guided by one 
Hungarian-speaking nursery teacher and one Slovenian-speaking nursery teacher 
according  to  the  principle  one  person/one  language.  In  the  same  school  year  4 
schools  offered  bilingual  elementary  education  for  a  total  of  1,022  pupils:  one 
school  in  Dobronak,  one  in  Pártosfalva,  and  2  schools  in  Lendva  (one  offering  a 
modified  programme).  Also  in  Lendva  a  secondary  school  offered  bilingual 
education to 284 pupils in the school year 2002/2003. As explained in full detail in 
the  ECRML  report  on  Slovenia  (2004)  for  three  topics  in  bilingual  secondary 
school  (i.e.  History,  Geography  and  History  of  Art)  the  basic  course  is  taught  in 
Slovenian whereas a part of the course is also taught in Hungarian for those pupils 
who choose this option. For all other subjects Hungarian and Slovenian are used in 
an alternating way to explain basic notions and concepts. Textbooks in Hungarian 
are generally available.  

2.1.3  At university level Hungarian can be studied at the Department for the Hungarian 
Language  of  the  University  of  Maribor.  The  University  of  Ljubljana  offers  a 
lectureship in Hungarian. Because of a bilateral agreement between Hungary and 
Slovenia about 50 Slovenian Hungarians each year take the opportunity to study in 
Hungary.  In  Ljubljana  as  well  as  in  Lendva  and  Murska  Sobota  institutions  offer 
courses for adults wanting to improve their Hungarian. 

2.1.4  Kindergarten  teachers  and  primary  school  teachers  aiming  to  be  active  in 
Hungarian bilingual education may be trained in particular at Maribor University. 
But although teachers in bilingual schools receive a 20% wage increase, there is a 
shortage of bilingual teachers.  

2.2  Judicial authorities 

General  information  on  the  legal  status  of  Hungarian  in  judicial  matters  is 
provided in section 3.5 and 3.7 of the country profile on Slovenia (⇒ Slovenia). The 
most recent report of the Committee of Experts on the Application of the ECRML 
shows  that  765  court  decisions  were  issued  in  Hungarian  and  651  hearings 
conducted  in  Hungarian  between  1991  and  1998  and  308  decisions  and  294 
hearings  between  1999  and  2002.  It  remains,  however,  unclear  to  what  extent 
these proceedings concerned people of the Hungarian-speaking community living 
in the Prekmurje region. After on-the-spot visits the Committee of Experts had to 

325

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
conclude that at present Hungarian is not used in courts. This seems to be related 
to the shortage of judges and lawyers with knowledge of Hungarian. 

2.3  Public authorities and services 

General information on the legal status of Hungarian in public services is provided 
in  section  3.6  and  3.7  of  the  country  profile  on  Slovenia  (⇒  Slovenia).  The 
Committee  of  Experts  on  the  Application  of  the  ECRML  noticed  that  the  legal 
provisions  are  effectively  implemented  at  the  level  of  local  administration.  Some 
difficulties, however, arise in the local branches of the state administration where it 
seems more difficult to obtain the necessary documents and forms in Hungarian.  

2.4  Mass media and information technologies  

2.4.1  Since  1958  the  weekly  newspaper  Népújság  [People’s  paper]  is  published  in 
Hungarian by the Institute for the Information Activity of the Hungarian National 
Community  in  Lendva.  Each  week  2,000  copies  are  distributed.  The  number  of 
internet 
is 
subscribers 
(http://www.hhrf.org/nepujsag).  Népújság 
is  co-financed  by  the  Slovenian 
government as are the literary periodical Muratáj and the almanac Naptár.  

1,600.  Népújság 

available 

the 

on 

is 

2.4.2  The  Slovenian  public  radio  and  television  [Radiotelevizija  Slovenija]  offers 
programmes  in  Hungarian.  They  are  produced  in  the  Hungarian  Programmes 
Studio Lendva at the Regional Radio and Television Centre in Maribor. The daily 
broadcasting time of Hungarian radio programmes is 13 hours and 15 minutes. The 
presence  of  Hungarian  on  Slovene  public  television  is  mainly  limited  to  the  TV 
series Mostovi-Hidak [Bridges], that – reruns not included - is broadcast for half 
an  hour  four  times  a  week  during  most  of  the  year  and  three  times  a  week  in 
summertime on national television as well as on the regional channel in Maribor. 
Currently  a  radio  and  television  studio  is  being  constructed  in  Lendva.  It  is 
financed by the Radiotelevizija Slovenija and by the Office for Nationalities. 

2.5   Arts and culture 

Hungarian  readers’  needs  are  met  by  the  library  in  Murska  Sobota,  the 
library  in  Lendva  (with  12  affiliated  local  libraries)  and  a  mobile  library 
system.  The  libraries  aim  to  preserve  material  on  Hungarian  culture.  The 
Hungarian  minority  in  Slovenia  has  several  cultural  organisations,  such  as 
amateur  theatre  groups,  literary  circles,  choirs  and  folk  ensembles. 
Numerous cultural activities are financed from the funds of the Ministry of 
Culture that, among others, finances the construction of the Lendva Cultural 
Centre.  

2.6  Economy 

Despite  the  fact  that  the  use  of  bilingual  signs  is  compulsory,  some  private 
enterprises  do  not  always  act  according  to  the  legal  provisions.  In  an  unstable 
economic  climate  local  authorities  do  not  always  dare  to  reprimand  such 

326

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
enterprises  for  fear  of  discouraging  local  investments.  It  seems  to  be  extremely 
difficult to pursue a policy of bilingualism in the private sector.  

2.7  Family and the social use of language  

No specific information is available on the use of Hungarian in families and in the 
social  life  of  the  Hungarians  in  Slovenia.  Despite  the  efforts  that  are  put  into 
education  it  can,  however,  be  expected  that  forms  of  Hungarian-Slovenian 
language  shift  will  occur  among  the  Hungarians  in  Slovenia,  whereby  the  older 
generation  is  more  likely  to  be  Hungarian  dominant  bilingual  and  the  younger 
generation Slovenian dominant bilingual. 

2.8  The European dimension 

In  1992  an  Agreement  on  Co-operation  in  the  Fields  of  Culture,  Education  and 
Science  was  signed  between  Hungary  and  Slovenia.  In  November  1992  the 
Interstate  Agreement  on  Guaranteeing  Special  Rights  of  the  Slovenian  Minority 
Living in the Republic of Hungary and the Hungarian National Community in the 
Republic  of  Slovenia  [sporazum  o  zagotavljanju  posebnih  pravic  slovenske 
narodne  manjšine  v  Republiki  Madžarski  in  madžarske  narodne  skupnosti  v 
Republiki  Sloveniji]  was  signed.  It  was  ratified  in  April  1993  by  the  Republic  of 
Slovenia.  Following  this  agreement  a  Slovenian-Hungarian  committee  was 
established  with  the  specific  task  of  monitoring  the  practical  outcomes  of  the 
agreement.  Furthermore  there  is  an  Agreement  on  Friendship  and  Co-operation 
(1993)  between  Slovenia  and  Hungary  as  well  as  an  Agreement  on  Mutual 
recognition of Certificates and Diplomas (1999). 

3.   Conclusion 

In  the  2002  census  6,243  people  declared  themselves  to  be  ethnic  Hungarians. 
83.5%  of  these  persons  live  in  the  ethnically  mixed  areas  and  are  granted  special 
rights  according  to  Art.  64  of  the  Slovenian  Constitution.  The  Hungarians  in 
Slovenia  make  use  of  their  special  rights.  Hungarian  children  attend  bilingual 
Hungarian-Slovenian  schools  that  are  also  attended  by  Slovenian  children  who 
thus  become  familiar  with  the  Hungarian  language.  Hungarian  is  represented  in 
the media and in cultural life and people also tend to use it in dealing with the local 
administration.  This  broader  societal  use  of  Hungarian  prevents  a  radical 
Hungarian-Slovenian  language  shift.  But  still  it  has  to  be  noted  that  despite  the 
legal  framework  and  the  spread  of  Hungarian  also  among  Slovenian  children  the 
younger  generation  of  Hungarians  in  Slovenia  is  gradually  becoming  Slovenian 
dominant bilingual.  

327

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
    Italian in Slovenia 

1.   General information 

1.1   The language 

Italian [italiano] is part of the eastern group of the Romanic languages. Approx. 63 
million  people  worldwide  speak  it  as  a  first  or  second  language.  Most  of  them 
(approx.  59  million)  live  in  Italy.  The  Italian  used  in  Slovenia  is  influenced  by 
Slovenian due to a situation of extensive language contact. 

1.2   History, geography and demography 

1.2.1   The  history  of  Italians  on  today’s  Slovenian  territory  dates  back  to  ancient  times 
and is closely related to that of the Western coast of the Istrian peninsula. Due to a 
growing  influence  of  Venice  starting  in  the  early  Middle  Ages  the  coastal  cities 
acquired  a  typical  Venetian  identity,  language  (the  Venetian  dialect)  and  culture. 
Even  after  the  fall  of  Venice  in  1797  (following  Napoleon’s  intervention)  and  a 
period  of  Hapsburg  rule  in  the  19th  century  the  situation  did  not  alter  much.  The 
Hapsburgs  allowed  the  use  of  Slovenian  in  education  but  the  urban  settlements 
along the coast remained largely Italian-speaking. In the wake of World War II the 
Italian fascist regime carried out a  harsh  assimilation policy. Italian was imposed 
on the Slovene population in the Trieste and Littoral regions during World War II. 
After World War II the Yugoslav Federation acquired control of the whole Istrian 
peninsula.  The  Italians  who  represented  a  local  majority  in  the  towns  and  rural 
settlements of the Istrian part of Slovenia before World War II moved away which 
contributed largely to the present ethnically mixed structure of the population.  

1.2.2  The  autochthonous  Italian  population  mainly  lives  in  three  coastal  municipalities 
(Capodistria/Koper, Isola/Izola and Pirano/Piran) where the following towns and 
villages have the status of ethnically mixed territories: 

-  Municipality  of  Capodistria/Koper:  Ancarano/Ankaran,  Barisoni/Barizoni, 
Bertocchi/Bertoki, Bosamerino/Bošamarin, Cerei/Cerej, Crevattini/ Hrvatini, 
Campel/Kampel,  Colombano/Kolomban,  Capo-distria/Koper,  Prade/Prade, 
Premančan, Salara/Šalara, S. Can-ziano/Škocjan and a part of the settlement 
Val-marin/Spodnje Škofije. 

-  Municipality of Isola/Izola: Isola/Izola, Dobrava pri Izoli, Jagodje, Livada and 

Polje pre Izoli 

-  Municipality  of  Pirano/Piran:  Pirano/Piran,  Portorose/Portorož,  Lu-
cia/Lucija,  Strugnano/Strunjan,  Sezza/Seča,  Sicciole/Sečovlje,  Parezza-
go/Parecag and Dragonja.  

1.2.3   In  the  2002  census  2,258  inhabitants  of  Slovenia  (approx.  0.11%  of  the  total 
population) declared themselves members of the Italian national community. Out 
of  these  2,258  persons  1,840  (approx.  81.5%)  live  in  the  municipalities  of 
Capodistria  (712  persons),  Pirano  (698  persons)  and  Isola  (430  persons).  The 
number of Italians in the ethnically mixed regions rarely exceeds 10% of the total 
population (with the exception of Strugnano where Italians represent approx. 20% 
of the total population). It is typical for the Italian minority in Slovenia that most 

328

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
of  its  members  –  some  75%  -  live  in  urban  centres.  In  the  2002  census,  3,762 
people  declared  Italian  to  be  their  mother  tongue.  Table  1  shows  that  both  the 
number of persons with Italian as mother tongue and the number of persons who 
declare themselves as ethnic Italians has decreased in recent years. 

Table 1: Italian Ethnicity and Italian as a mother tongue in Slovenia from 1953-
2002. 
Year 

2002 

1953 

1981 

1961 

1991 

1971 

854 

3,072 

Ethnic 
Italians 
Italian 
mother 
tongue 
(Source: Q1, Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia) 

2,987 

--- 

--- 

--- 

2,138 

2,959 

2,258 

--- 

3,882 

3,762 

Several  minority  representatives,  government  organisations  and  the  Slovenian 
Statistical Office have analysed and commented on the decrease of ethnic Italians 
and Italian as a mother tongue. Reasons given by them for the decrease are, among 
others, mixed marriages, difference in mortality and birth rates, use of a different 
methodology  in  censuses,  non-reply,  change  in  ethnic  affiliation  and  a  general 
trend of giving up ethnical identity.  

1.3   Legal status and official policies 

Art. 11 of the Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia [ustava republike slovenije] 
(1991)  specifies  that  Slovene  is  the  official  language  of  Slovenia.  In  the  so-called 
ethnically  mixed  areas  where  Italian  communities  reside,  however,  the  official 
language is also Italian. Art. 64 of the Slovenian Constitution specifically deals with 
special  rights  for  the  autochthonous  Italian  community  in  Slovenia.  It  guarantees 
the autochthonous Italian communities the right to freely use the national symbols, 
the  right  to  establish  own  organisations,  education  and  schooling  in  the  Italian 
language,  the  right  to  foster  economic,  cultural,  scientific,  and  research  activities, 
as  well  as  activities  associated  with  the  mass  media  and  publishing.  It  also  gives 
autochthonous  Italians  the  right  to  foster  contacts  with  the  Italian  communities 
living outside Slovenia and it ensures financial support and encouragement to the 
implementation  of  these  rights.  For  the  implementation  of  special  rights,  the 
promotion  of  their  needs  and  interests,  and  for  organised  participation  in  public 
matters,  members  of  the  Italian  minority  establish  self-governing  ethnic 
communities in the regions of their autochthonous settlement (⇒ 3.2  of Slovenia 
for  more  details).  At  the  national  level,  the  Italian  national  community  is 
represented by the Coastal Italian Self-governing National Community that acts as 
a  partner  in  deliberations  with  the  government  and  other  state  bodies  and 
coordinates  the  attitude  of  the  Italian  ethnic  community  towards  all  issues 
concerning their status on the regional and national level. On the national level one 
deputy  represents  the  Italian  ethnic  community  in  the  National  Assembly.  He  or 
she  has  the  right  to  exercise  the  veto  on  acts  and  regulations  of  the  National 
Assembly that deal with issues concerning the Italian minority. So far, the veto has 
not been exercised.  

329

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2.   Presence and use of the language in various fields 

2.1   Education 

2.1.1   In  accordance  with  the  Special  Statute  (Annex  to  the  London  Memorandum) 
regulations,  Italian  minority  children  attend  pre-school  institutions  and  primary 
and  secondary  schools  with  Italian  as  the  language  of  instruction.  Slovene  is  an 
obligatory subject and is taught three hours per week. Italian is the language of oral 
and  written  communication  in  school  as  well  as  with  parents.  In  the  ethnically-
mixed area, Italian is an obligatory subject in educational institutions with Slovene 
as  the  language  of  instruction  from  kindergarten  onwards.  In  many  instances, 
Slovene  children  enrol  in  secondary  schools  with  Italian  as  the  language  of 
instruction (⇒ 3.4. of Slovenia for general information on education).  

2.1.2   In  the  school  year  2002/2003,  there  were  three  pre-school  institutions  using 
Italian  as  the  language  of  instruction  in  the  ethnically  mixed  areas  of  the  three 
coastal municipalities: Delfino Blue in Capodistria, Dante Alighieri in Isola and La 
Coccinella  in  Portorose.  A  total  of  280  children  attended  these  pre-school 
institutions. In the same school year 416 pupils enrolled three primary schools with 
Italian as the language of instruction: Dante Alighieri in Isola, Pier Paolo Vergerio 
il  Vecchio  in  Capodistria  (with  affiliated  schools  in  Semadela,  Bertoki  and 
Hrvatini),  and  Vicenzo  de  Castro  in  Pirano  (with  affiliated  schools  in  Lucija, 
Sečovlje and Strunjan). Also in 2002/2003 287 students attended three secondary 
schools  with  Italian  as  the  language  of  instruction:  Antonio  Sema  High  School  in 
Pirano,  Gian  Rinaldo  Carli  Secondary  School  in  Capodistria,  and  Pietro  Coppo 
Secondary Vocational School in Isola).  

2.1.3   At  University  level  Italian  can  be  studied  at  the  department  for  Italian  language 
and  literature  at  the  Pedagogical  Faculty  in  Capodistria  as  well  as  at  the  Chair  of 
Italian Language and Literature at the Faculty of Arts in Ljubljana. The Decree on 
the Establishment of the University of Primorska [Università della Primorska] of 
January  2003  made  it  possible  to  study  Italian  at  this  university.  The  University, 
which  the  Italian  national  community  would  prefer  to  be  named  Università  del 
Litorale, 
institutions  educate 
in  Capodistria.  These  university 
kindergarten  as  well  as  primary  school  teachers.  The  Slovenian  State  organises 
courses on further teacher training and offers the possibility for teacher exchange 
with Italy. Courses for adults wanting to improve their Italian are organised in 16 
places spread over Slovenia.  

located 

is 

2.2   Judicial authorities 

General information on the legal status of Italian in judicial matters is provided in 
section  3.5  and  3.7  of  the  country  profile  on  Slovenia  (⇒  Slovenia).  The  most 
recent  report  of  the  Committee  of  Experts  on  the  Application  of  the  ECRML, 
however, shows that there is a clear discrepancy between the provisions of the law 
and  daily  practice.  Between  1991  (Slovenia’s  independence)  and  February  2003 
Italian  has  only  been  used  in  7  proceedings  involving  members  of  the  Italian-
speaking minority, even though interpretation is provided for free of charge. There 
seems to be a clear reluctance to use Italian in proceedings. Whether this has to do 
with the lack of knowledge on behalf of the accused or on behalf of the lawyers and 
judges is not clear.  

330

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2.3   Public authorities and services 

General information on the legal status of Italian in public authorities and services 
is provided in section 3.6 and 3.7 of the country profile on Slovenia (⇒ Slovenia). 
The  most  recent  report  of  the  Committee  of  Experts  on  the  Application  of  the 
ECRML, however, shows that there is a clear discrepancy between the provisions of 
the law and daily practice. Despite its co-official character in ethnically mixed areas 
and  the  financial  bonus  for  public  employees  with  active  or  passive  knowledge  of 
Italian  (⇒  3.6  of  Slovenia)  it  seems  that  Italian  can  almost  never  be  used  in 
dealings with the administration. In most of the cases people are obliged to recur to 
Slovene.  Most  of  the  written  communications  are  only  issued  in  Slovenian. 
Sometimes  the  use  of  Italian  is  even  refused  by  officials.  A  possible  explanation 
here  might  be  the  Slovenian  recruitment  policy  in  the  local  offices  of  the  state 
administration. Often people coming from the inland with no knowledge of Italian 
and  no  awareness  of  the  bilingual  character  of  the  coastal  region  are  installed  in 
public administration.  

2.4   Mass media and information technology 

2.4.1   The  Italian  minority  in  Slovenia  publishes  printed  media  in  the  Italian  language 
together  with  the  Italians  living  in  Croatia.  Both  the  EDIT  publishing  house  in 
Rijeka  (co-financed  by  Slovenia)  and  the  A.I.A.  agency  in  Capodistria  (fully 
financed  by  Slovenia)  are  engaged  in  publishing  the  weekly  newspaper  Voce  del 
Popolo  (published  since  1944  and  printed  in  some  3,750  copies).  EDIT  also 
publishes the weekly Panorama (about 2,200 copies of which 600 are distributed 
in Slovenia), the quarterly La Battana (1000 copies of which 50 are distributed in 
Slovenia) and the children’s newsletter Acrobaleno (2,500 copies of which 350 are 
distributed in Slovenia). For 40 years now EDIT has been  publishing  belletristics 
and  professional  literature,  textbooks  and  manuals  in  Italian.  The  publishing  of 
cultural  newsletters  and  yearbooks  such  as  La  Città,  Il  Mandracchio,  Lassa  pur 
dir, Il trillo is supported by the Slovenian Ministry of Culture. 

2.4.2   On Radio-Capodistria (regional branch of Slovenian national public radio) Italian 
language  programs  (since  1949)  are  available  for  18  hours  per  day  while  TV 
programming  in  Italian  is  broadcast  on  Tele-Capodistria  (regional  branch  of 
national  public  television)  for  9  hours  on  Tuesday,  Wednesday,  Friday,  Saturday 
and Sunday and for 7.5 hours on Monday and Thursday. Since Radio Capodistria is 
currently only allowed to use medium-wave frequencies with low power it cannot 
longer cover the whole Istrian peninsula like it used to. As a consequence it has lost 
some of its Italian audience (with the exception of the immediate border areas) and 
practically the whole of its Croatian audience. Identical problems are faced by Tele-
Capodistria. In the time of former Yugoslavia Tele-Capodistria was accessible to an 
Italian  audience  due  to  relays  it  was  allowed  to  use.  Since  Tele-Capodistria  has 
been  deprived  of  its  relays  it  can  no  longer  reach  its  Italian  audience.  Nowadays 
there  is  co-operation  between  Tele-Capodistria  and  the  Trieste  branch  of  the 
Italian public television. They broadcast each other’s news once a day, and once a 
month they broadcast a joint documentary on Italian minority in Slovenia and the 
Slovenian minority in Italy. 

331

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2.5   Arts and culture 

An  important  share  of  cultural  activities  in  Italian  are  organised  by  local  cultural 
associations (amateur theatre, literary clubs, choirs and folklore dance clubs, etc.), 
as  well  as  by  visiting  professional  and  amateur  theatre  groups  from  Italy.  Within 
the network of public libraries special departments are devoted to Italian culture, 
magazines  and  publications.  Currently  the  Italian  national  community 
is 
establishing  an  institute  for  the  culture  of  the  Italian  national  community  (with  a 
start-up  capital  of  4,500,000  SIT  provided  by  the  Office  for  Nationalities).  The 
Republic  of  Slovenia  co-finances  joint  organisations  with  the  Italian  minority  in 
Croatia, e.g. the EDIT publishing house in Rijeka, the Italian Theatre in Rijeka, the 
Historic  Research  Centre  in  Rovinj  and  the  Italian  Union.  Numerous  cultural 
activities are financed from the funds of the Ministry of Culture. 

2.6   The business world 

interaction  between 

is  considerable  economic 

There 
the  Italian  coastal 
municipalities  in  Slovenia  and  those  in  neighbouring  Italy.  Although  no  specific 
information could be obtained about the impact this has on the use of Italian in the 
local  business  world  of  the  ethnically  mixed  areas  in  which  the  Italian  national 
minority  of  Slovenia  resides  it  is  clear  that  the  minority  members  have  an 
economic advantage because of their Italian/Slovenian bilingual profile.  

2.7   Family and the social use of language 

The  number  of  people  declaring  Italian  to  be  their  mother  tongue  in  the  2002 
census  (3,762  as  opposed  to  2,258  ethnic  Italians)  seems  to  suggest  that  the 
majority  of  the  people  belonging  to  the  Italian  national  community  in  Slovenia 
have Italian as their mother tongue. A survey conducted by the Euromosaic-team 
in  the  ethnically  mixed  areas  where  the  Italians  reside  has  shown  that  it  is  more 
likely  that  about  85%  of  the  Italians  there  have  Italian  as  their  mother  tongue. 
Approx.  75%  of  these  persons  indicate  to  have  a  very  good  knowledge  of  Italian. 
Italian is mainly used in the family, in private everyday life, in the leisure time and 
in connection with diverse media. As is often the case with minority languages all 
generations  are  Italian/Slovene  bilinguals.  It  is  mainly  the  older  generation  that 
makes most frequent use of Italian as the sole means of communication. They can 
be  described  as  Italian  dominant  bilingual.  The  younger  generations  show  a 
tendency  to  use  both  Italian  and  Slovene  whereby  the  use  of  Slovene  is  on  the 
increase.  The  younger  generation  could  best  be  described  as  Slovene  dominant 
bilingual. 

2.8   The European dimension 

  With  the  Act  of  Notification  of  Succession  of  Agreements  between  Former 
Yugoslavia  and  Italy (Official Gazette of  the  Republic of Slovenia,  no.  40/92),  the 
Treaty  of  Osimo  regulating  the  status  of  the  Slovene  minority  in  Italy  and  the 
Italian minority in Slovenia remained in force. Slovenia and Croatia co-operate in 
co-financing joint institutions located in Croatia but also striving to meet the needs 
of Italians in Slovenia (⇒ 2.5. above). Members of the Italian minority living in the 
Slovene and Croatian parts of Istria are entitled to unrestricted education in both 
Croatian and Slovene and in schools with Italian as the language of instruction. In 
this respect there is an Agreement on Mutual Recognition of Diplomas (1995). 

332

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
3.    Conclusion 

In the 2002 census 2,258 people declared themselves to be ethnic Italians. 81.5% 
of  these  persons  live  in  the  ethnically  mixed  areas  and  are  granted  special  rights 
according  to  Art.  64  of  the  Slovenian  Constitution.  Italian  is  represented  in  the 
media. It is used as a language of instruction at schools (ranging from kindergarten 
to secondary schools). People are also allowed to use Italian in courts and in public 
administration.  In  these  two  domains,  however,  there  seems  to  be  a  large 
discrepancy between the legal provisions on the one hand and daily practice on the 
other  hand.  The  actual  use  of  Italian  in  court  and  public  administration  is  rare. 
This  is  regrettable  since  it  is  precisely  the  public  use  of  Italian  which  could 
encourage  the  use  of  Italian  among  the  younger  generation  and  could  help  to 
prevent  Italian  from  retreating  entirely  to  the  cultural  sphere  and  the  use  within 
the family nucleus in the future.  

333

 
 
 
 
 
 Romani in Slovenia 

1.    General information 

1.1.   The language 

Like Sanskrit, Hindi and Bengali, Romani [Romanes] is an Indic (or Indo-Aryan) 
language  that  belongs  to  the  Indo-Iranian  branch  of  the  Indo-European  family. 
The language retains much of the Indic morphology, phonology and lexicon, while 
its  syntax  has  been  heavily  influenced  by  contact  with  other  languages.  The 
dispersal  and  differentiation  of  the  Roma  since  their  arrival  in  Europe  (8th 
century)  brought  about  a  fragmentation  of  the  language  in  distinct  groups. 
Nowadays  five  main  groups  (each  with  different  ‘subvarieties’)  are  distinguished 
that result from the contact of Romani with regional languages: northern Romani 
(best  represented  by  the  chaladytka  roma,  the  Russian  Roma),  central  Romani 
(best represented by the group of the Hungarian and Slovakian Roma, the ungrike 
roma),  vlach  Roma  (best  represented  by  the  Kalderaš-Romani),  balkan  Romani 
(best  represented  by  the  dialects  in  Macedonia).  Most  Roma  in  Europe  use 
Kalderaš.  In  Slovenia  different  varieties  of  Romani  are  spoken  due  to  different 
historical backgrounds of the Roma groups residing in the country.  

1.2.   History, geography and demography 

1.2.1   One  part  of  the  Roma  community  has  been  living  in  Slovenia  for  a  considerable 
time.  They  started  settling  in  Slovenia  from  the  15th  century  onwards.  Apparently 
they  came  from  three  directions:  from  Hungary  (those  Roma  living  in  the 
Prekmurje  region),  from  Croatia  (those  Roma  living  in  Dolenjska),  and  from 
today’s  Austria  (those  Roma  –  or,  more  precisely:  Sinti  -  living  in  the  Gorenjska 
region).  Another  part  of  the  Roma  community  moved  to  Slovenia  in  relatively 
recent times. This group comes from areas of the former Yugoslavia such as Kosovo 
and  Macedonia  and  have  mainly  settled  in  urban  areas.  The  Institute  of  Ethnic 
Studies is currently conducting research on the definition of areas originally and/or 
traditionally settled by Roma. 

1.2.2   3,246 persons declared to be Roma in the 2002 census and 3,834 declared Romani 
to  be  their  mother  tongue.  It  is,  however,  estimated  that  the  actual  number  of 
Roma living in Slovenia ranges from 7,000 to 10,000. 

1.3   Legal status and official policies 

Unlike  the  Italian  and  Hungarian  communities  the  Roma  community  does  not 
have  the  status  of  a  national  minority.  It  is  considered  to  be  a  special  ethnic 
community  or  a  minority  with  special  ethnic  characteristics.  Art.  65  of  the 
Constitution  (1991)  provides  a  legal  basis  for  the  protection  of  the  Roma 
community.  It  states  that  the  status  and  special  rights  of  the  Romani  community 
living in Slovenia shall be regulated by law. So far this has not resulted in a special 
Law  on  Roma.  Roma  rights  are  regulated  by  sector  specific  legislation.  Sector-
specific  Acts  include,  among  others,  the  Voting  Rights  Register  Act  [zakon  o 
evidenci volilne pravice] (Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, no. 52/02), 

334

 
 
                        
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
the  Act  Amending  the  Law  on  Local  Elections  [zakon  o  spremembah  in 
dopolnitvah  Zakona  o  lokalnih  volitvah]  (Official  Gazette  of  the  Republic  of 
Slovenia,  no.  51/02)  and  Art.  101(a)  of  the  Act  Amending  the  Law  on  Local  Self-
Government (Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, no. 51/02) which states 
that  the  municipalities  of  Beltinci,  Cankova,  Črenšovi,  Črnomelj,  Dobrovnik, 
Grosuplje,  Kočevje,  Kuzma,  Lendava,  Metlika,  Murska  Sobota,  Novo  mesto, 
Puconci,  Rogašovci,  Semič,  Šentjernej,  Tišina,  Trebnje  and  Turnišče  shall  be 
obliged to entrust the protection of the rights of the Romani community living in 
their  respective  municipalities  to  one  representative  in  the  municipal  council 
before  the  ordinary  elections  in  2002.  Currently  19  municipalities  have  a  Roma 
councillor.  

2.   Presence and use of the language in various fields 

2.1   Education 

The  Organisation  and  Financing  of  Education  and  Training  Act  [zakon  o 
organizaciji  in  financiranju  vzgoje  in  izobraževanja]  (Official  Gazette  of  the 
Republic  of  Slovenia,  no.  14/03),  the  Pre-School  Institutions  Act  [zakon  o  vrtcih] 
(Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, no. 12/96 and 44/00) and Elementary 
School Act [zakon o osnovni šoli] (Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, no. 
12/96 and 59/01) include some special regulations for the Roma community. Legal 
actions taken in the field of education do, however, not aim specifically at the use 
of the Romani language, but more at increasing participation of Romani children 
in  education  in  order  to  stimulate  societal  integration  and  to  ensure  their  future 
living  conditions.  It  is  known  that  in  Novo  Mesto  children  are  allowed  to  use 
Romani in school surroundings. In other areas they are generally reprimanded and 
discriminated  against  because  those  without  Romani  knowledge  perceive  the  use 
of  Romani  as  a  threat.  In  general  there  are  few  initiatives  aiming  at  Romani 
education. In 2002 an optional course in Romani started in co-operation with an 
elementary school in Murska Sobota and with the Roma association for pre-school 
and  elementary  school  teachers.  One  elementary  school  in  the  Dolenjska  region 
organises a beginner’s course in Romani.  

2.2   Judicial authorities 

No specific regulations exist for the Roma minority. 

2.3   Public authorities and services 

No specific regulations exist for the Roma minority. 

2.4   Media 

2.4.1   Sector-specific legislation for Roma is included in the Media Act [zakon o medijih] 

(Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, no.35/01) 

2.4.2  For  eight  years  now,  two  local  radio  stations,  Murski  val  in  Murska  Sobota  and 
Studio D in Novo Mesto, have been broadcasting weekly programmes for Roma in 
both Slovenian and Romani. These programmes deal with the life and work of the 
Roma,  their  culture,  sport,  music  and  literature.  The  Office  for  Nationalities 

335

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
provides  funding  for  the  radio  programmes  as  well  as  for  the  television 
programmes that are broadcast by the TV AS Studio of Murska Sobota since 2002. 
Once in two months an episode is produced on the daily life and problems of the 
Roma in Slovenia. It is broadcast on cable TV in areas with a large number of Roma 
(e.g. Prekmurje, Dolenjska, and Maribor). The Office for Nationalities also finances 
the  ROMIC  documentation  centre  in  Murska  Sobota  that  was  established  by  the 
Union  of  Roma  of  Slovenia  in  October  2003.  This  centre,  which  received 
equipment from the Soros foundation, develops library activities and is involved in 
audio production.  

2.4.3   Four times a year the Union of Roma in Slovenia publishes a newspaper ‘Romano 
Them  –  Romski  Svet’  (Romani  world),  using  both  Slovenian  and  Romani.  In  the 
last decade the Union has also issued a number of publications (mainly collections 
of poems and plays). 

2.5   Arts and Culture 

The  Roma  are  granted  some  sector  specific  rights  through  the  Librarianship  Act 
[zakon  o  knjižničarstvu]  (Official  Gazette  of  the  Republic  of  Slovenia,  no.  87/01) 
in  Culture  Act  [zakon  o 
and  the  Representation  of  the  Public  Interest 
uresničevanju  javnega  interesa  za  kulturo]  (Official  Gazette  of  the  Republic  of 
Slovenia, no. 96/02). 

2.6   The business world 

Only  13%  of  the  Roma  are  estimated  to  have  regular  employment,  some  25% 
engage  in  casual  or  seasonal  work  and  some  41%  are  involved  in  non-organised 
employment  (like  collecting  raw  materials  and  herbs).  It  is  not  known  to  what 
extent Romani varieties are used in the economic activities of the Roma.  

2.7   Family and the social use of language 

No  specific  up-to-date  information  is  available  on  the  use  of  Romani  varieties  in 
the family and the social sphere of the Slovenian Roma. 

2.8   The European dimension 

A  joint  Slovenian-Austrian  conference  on  the  status  of  the  Roma  in  Slovenia  and 
Austria was held in 1997.  

3.   Conclusion 

By  giving  the  Roma  special  rights  the  Slovenian  government  is  trying  hard  to 
integrate  them  into  the  Slovenian  society.  These  efforts  are  related  to  social 
welfare. Language plays a subordinate role.  

336

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Other languages 

1.  

Bosnian 

1.1  

1.2  

Nowadays Bosnian [bosanski jezik] is considered to be one of the standard written 
versions of the Central South Slavic diasystem that was formerly known as Serbo-
Croatian. From a linguistic point of view it can be considered as an Ausbau-variant 
of Serbo-Croatian that acquired its status as a national standard language after the 
collapse  of  Yugoslavia.  It  is  one  of  the  three  official  languages  of  Bosnia  and 
Herzegovina (the other two being Croatian and Serbian). In the Republic of Serbia 
Bosnian has official status and is referred to as Bosniak [bošnjacki jezik].  

The  Bosnians  settled  in  Slovenia  in  1878  when  Bosnia-Herzegovina  was  annexed 
by the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In 1953 there were 1,617 ethnic Bosnians living 
in  Slovenia  (defined  as  ‘Muslims’  in  the  census).  In  1961  there  were  465  of  them 
and  in  1981  13,000  (due  to  economic  migration).  In  1991  their  number  had 
increased  to  26,800  due  to  the  war.  There  is  some  confusion  as  to  the  present 
number  of  Bosnians  in  Slovenia.  It  remains  unclear  whether  only  the  ethnic 
Bosnians  (8,062  according  to  the  2002  census)  or  also  the  Muslims  (10,467)  and 
the Bosniacs (21,542) should be taken into account.  

2. 

Croatian 

2.1  

2.2  

Together with Serbian, Slovenian, Bulgarian and Macedonian, Croatian [Hrvatski] 
builds the South Slavic branch of the Slavic languages. Croatian is closely related to 
Serbian and is spoken by approximately 5.8 million people, most of whom live in 
Croatia  (4.8  million).  The  Croatian  used  in  Slovenia  is  strongly  influence  by  the 
Slovenian language. Both the ethnic Croats and the ethnic Slovenes who live in the 
Bela Krajina speak some sort of Croatian-Slovenian mixture. 

The presence of the Croatian language on present Slovene territory goes back to the 
settlement of the Croatians in the area known as Bela Krajina. From 1094 until the 
15th century the region was part of the bishopric of Zagreb. German feudal owners 
took  possession  of  it  in  the  late  15th  century.  In  1526  it  became  part  of  the 
Hapsburg  Empire.  In  the  course  of  the  16th  century  Croatian-speaking  people 
moved  to  Bela  Krajina.  Since  then  Croatian  language  and  culture  have  been  very 
present  there.  Between  1931  and  1953  the  number  of  Croatians  in  Slovenia  was 
estimated  at  18,000.  That  number  rose  to  31,000  in  1961  due  to  economic 
migration and to 54,000 in 1991 due to the war in Croatia. The current number of 
ethnic  Croatians  is  35,642  according  to  the  2002  census.  It  is  not  clear  to  what 
extent this number reflects reality since the number of people indicating Croatian 
to  be  their  mother  tongue  is  54,079  and  those  indicating  Serbo-Croatians  to  be 
their mother tongue is 36,264.  

3.   German 

3.1  

German  is  an  Indo-European  language  that  belongs  to  the  West-Germanic 
subgroup  of  Germanic  languages.  As  such,  German  is  closely  related  to  Dutch, 
English,  Frisian  and  Yiddish.  German  is  spoken  by  about  101  million  people 
worldwide  as  a  first  or  second  language.  Most  of  them  live  in  Germany  (around 

337

 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
81.5  million),  Austria  (approximately  7.6  million)  and  Switzerland  (around  4.2 
million).  German  is  a  typical  example  of  a  pluricentric  language  characterised  by 
an extensive geographical variation. 

3.2   German  is  spoken  in  three  areas  in  Slovenia.  A  first  area  covers  the  region  of 
Marburg/Maribor near the border with Austria. This region that used to be part of 
the  Austro-Hungarian  Empire  and  passed  to  the  Kingdom  of  Yugoslavia  after 
World War I presently counts some 150 German-speaking families that mainly are 
of  Austrian  descent.  Some  of  these  families  are  members  of  the  association 
Freiheitsbrücke (Most Svoboda) located in Marburg. The origin of the Germans in 
the  second  region,  the  region  of  Kočevje,  dates  back  to  the  14th  century  when 
peasants  from  eastern  Tyrol  and  western  Carinthia  were  settled  there  by  local 
princes  to  maintain  the  forests.  Since  they  lived  in  isolation  from  other  German-
speakers they preserved their medieval variety of German that is commonly known 
as  Gottscheer  German.  From  the  19th  century  until  the  end  of  World  War  II,  the 
estimated  number  of  Germans  in  the  Gottschee  area  varied  between  12,000  and 
20,000,  and  this  number  has  shrunk  drastically  to  about  400  today.  Some  of  the 
Germans  in  the  Gottschee  area  are  members  of  the  Kočevje  German  Association 
located  in  Občice.  The  third  group  of  Germans  lives  in  and  around  the  Slovenian 
capital  Laibach/Ljubljana.  It  is  difficult  to  determine  the  size  and  origin  of  this 
group of Germans. They have an organisation called the Peter Kozler Association of 
Kočevje Germans which is located in Laibach.  

3.3  

It is generally acknowledged that the figures of the census in which 499 persons are 
listed as ethnic Germans are an underestimation of the actual number of Germans. 
The actual number might be close to the number of people listing German as their 
mother tongue (1,628 in the 2002 census). But that figure is also probably far from 
accurate since it is not clear to what extent it also comprises the German-speaking 
persons of Austrian descent who dislike the term ‘German’ and prefer ‘Austrian’ or 
a term referring to their local situation such as Gottscheer German.  

4.  

Serbian 

4.1  

4.2  

Serbian [Srpski] is a South Slavic language closely related to Croatian. It is spoken 
worldwide  by  about  12  million  people  most  of  whom  (around  6.7  million)  live  in 
Serbia.  Together  with  Croatian,  Serbian  has  retained  more  common  Slavic 
elements in its vocabulary than other Slavic languages.  

The presence of the Serbians on Slovenian present territory dates back to the 16th 
century. At that time, the Serbians who resided in ‘Vojna Krajina’ (now Croatia), a 
military  frontier  region,  resettled  in  Bela  Krajina.  A  second  broader  wave  of 
Serbian migration followed from the end of 19th century until the beginning of the 
20th century (mainly settling in bigger cities). In 1953, there were 11,000 Serbians. 
This  number  increased  in  the  sixties  due  to  economical  migration.  In  1961  there 
were  13,000  Serbians  living  in  Slovenia.  In  1981  there  were  already  42,000 
Serbians  living  on  Slovenian  territory  and  in  1991  their  number  had  risen  to 
47,000.  The  2002  census  counted  38,964  ethnic  Serbians  but  31,329  indicating 
Serbian to be their mother tongue and 36,265 people indicating Serbo-Croatian to 
be  their  mother  tongue.  The  emotion-laden  relation  between  Serbians  and 
Croatians makes it hard to estimate the current number of Serbians in Slovenia. 

338

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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