[lg policy] Slovakia: Not the Language to Speak

[Francis Hult]

IPS

 

EUROPE: Not the Language to Speak

 

A controversial new law on foreign languages in Slovakia branded discriminatory and totalitarian by critics is fuelling tensions and destroying trust between Slovaks and ethnic Hungarians, political analysts have warned.

The legislation, which was passed in parliament at the end of last month, governs the use of Slovak language at public events, in state and local authority institutions as well as public media. 

Under the law state institutions are obliged to actively "protect" the Slovak language, ethnic minority schools must put all documents in Slovak as well as the minority language, and foreign language inscriptions on memorials and other public objects must have a Slovak translation in letters as large, if not larger, than the original foreign language text. The Slovak text must be approved by the Culture Ministry.

 

Full story:

http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=47719

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