[lg policy] Lithuania: Poles in Lithuania want their 'w' back

Wed Jan 12 18:37:18 UTC 2011

With apologies for cross-postings. From the _Washington Post_, via @leximo 
on Twitter:

http://j.mp/PolishLithWaPo

Damien

==========================

Poles in Lithuania want their 'w' back

By LIUDAS DAPKUS
The Associated Press
Wednesday, January 12, 2011; 1:14 PM

MAISIAGALA, Lithuania -- Poland and Lithuania are bonded by history, 
culture and Catholic faith but deeply divided over the letter w.

Used a lot in Polish, the letter doesn't exist in Lithuanian. That and 
other spelling differences are irritating Lithuania's Polish minority, who 
demand the right to spell their names in Polish in passports and other 
documents.

This linguistic row may seem trivial but in recent months other 
disagreements have helped escalate it to a full-blown diplomatic standoff. 
Poland's ambassador was summoned to the Foreign Ministry in Lithuania's 
capital, Vilnius, and sharp statements have been made by both governments.

In the latest snub, top Polish officials declined invitations to 
commemorations Thursday honoring the victims of a bloody Soviet crackdown 
on Lithuania's independence movement 20 years ago.

Since independence in 1991, successive Lithuanian governments have promised 
to give the country's 200,000 Polish-speakers - representing 6 percent of 
the population - more freedom to use their native language, but little has 
happened.

Lithuanian language laws still require passports and street signs to be 
written in the Lithuanian alphabet, which doesn't have the letters q, w and 
x and uses diacritical marks on the bottom of letters a, e, i and u.

Resentment is growing in the Polish-speaking east, in rural villages like 
Maisiagala, whose 2,000 residents celebrate New Year's one hour after the 
rest of Lithuania to conform with Poland's time zone. ad_icon

"They should have amended that stupid law a long time ago and let us live 
in peace. This has gone on for too long," said 60-year-old Stanislawa 
Monkewicz, a retired teacher. Her name is Stanislava Monkevic in 
Lithuanian.

Similar disputes are happening elsewhere in Eastern Europe. A Slovak 
language law limiting the use of Hungarian and other minority languages 
went into effect Sept. 1, 2009, stoking political tensions between Slovakia 
and Hungary and garnering criticism from EU authorities.

In Maisiagala, 57-year-old taxi driver Wilhelm Radzewicz resents being 
called Vilhelmas Radzevic in his passport. He can't change that, but in 
protest he put up a street sign on his wooden house in both Lithuanian and 
Polish. He won't take it down even though he risks a fine of 1,000 litas 
(about $400).

"I drive my taxi on Vilnius streets every day and see hundreds of (shop) 
signs in English, German and other languages," he said. "How can they stop 
me from writing my street name in my native language? This is unfair."

For centuries Poland's territory was located east of its present-day 
border. After the map of Europe was redrawn following World War II, 
hundreds of thousands of Poles in 1945 became residents of the Soviet Union 
- and later of Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine and Latvia after the Soviet 
Union collapsed in 1991.

Poland and Lithuania, who once were part of the same kingdom, emerged from 
the communist era as friendly neighbors, following the same path of Western 
integration through membership in NATO and the European Union.

But relations started to turn sour in connection with Polish company PKN 
Orlen's takeover of Lithuania's Mazeikiai oil refinery. Orlen has invested 
$3.4 billion in the refinery since 2006, but has been plagued by numerous 
setbacks, including a fire, supply cutoffs, and disputes over rail and port 
fees.

Polish officials have tried to improve the situation, but their pleas have 
largely been ignored in Vilnius. Their patience snapped last year and they 
threatened to sell the refinery to Russia, which would put Lithuania's 
largest enterprise into the hands of a neighbor it inherently distrusts.

Lithuanians believe Poland's heightened interest in the Baltic country's 
Polish minority is linked to tension over the refinery.

On Thursday, when Lithuania celebrates Defenders of Freedom Day, 
commemorating the 14 people killed and hundreds wounded in a crackdown on 
pro-independence demonstrators by Soviet tanks and troops, Poland will be 
represented by a presidential aide and the deputy speaker of Parliament.

The low-level Polish representation was seen as an insult by Lithuanians, 
who consider the events on Jan. 13, 1991, a milestone in their struggle 
against Soviet occupation. ad_icon

"I think Poland picked the wrong occasion to bring this message," said 
Rimvydas Valatka, a commentator at Lithuanian daily Lietuvos Rytas. "This 
date is very important in Lithuanian history."

Virgis Valentinavicius, an adviser to Lithuania's prime minister, said the 
government tried to amend the language laws to meet the concerns of the 
Polish minority, but the measure was voted down in Parliament. "It will be 
addressed again," he said.

The spelling feud appeared close to getting solved under former presidents 
Lech Kaczynski of Poland and Valdas Adamkus of Lithuania, who were close 
friends.

"Both said we will be able to write our names with 'w' and other letters. 
Nothing has changed since then," said Maisiagala alderman Stefan Orszewski 
- Orsevski in Lithuanian.

In a joint appearance in Maisiagala, the two presidents vowed to address 
the language dispute. Kaczynski later died in a plane crash in Russia.

City officials are now considering naming a street after him in Vilnius.

The proposed name is "Kacinskio" street, using the Lithuanian spelling.

-- 
Damien Hall

Accent and Identity on the Scottish-English Border
Department of Language and Linguistic Science, University of York

Tel. (office) +44 (0)1904 322665
     (mobile) +44 (0)771 853 5634
Fax  +44 (0)1904 322673

http://www.york.ac.uk/res/aiseb
http://www.york.ac.uk/language/staff/academic-research/damien-hall/
http://www.york.ac.uk/hrc/
DISCLAIMER: http://www.york.ac.uk/docs/disclaimer/email.htm

_______________________________________________
This message came to you by way of the lgpolicy-list mailing list
lgpolicy-list at groups.sas.upenn.edu
To manage your subscription unsubscribe, or arrange digest format: https://groups.sas.upenn.edu/mailman/listinfo/lgpolicy-list