1196 | 676 | Understanding the juxtaposition of state and native language, with special focus on national communities in Slovakia | Gergő, dr. Kartai
Chabot points out in his work (L’idea di nazione), each nation can be depicted like a tree (nation-state) rooted in its own soil (nation). This new concept of nationhood is based on the conviction that each nation rightfully aspires to create its own state, associate itself with a state to which it is objectively linked by culture, religion, or language. One of the basic hypotheses is that one of the most important conditions for the survival and prosperity of national minorities, including the Hungarian community in Slovakia, is the unrestricted use of their mother tongue. Lingual rights are protected by international and EU documents, bilateral and multilateral treaties, such as the ICCPR, the FCNM, the ECRML, the ECHR, or the basic good-neighbourliness treaties. Despite the dogmatic rules and standards, including the Copenhagen criteria, there are significant shortcomings in many countries, including EU Members like Slovakia. Law No 270/1995 on the official language of Slovakia states that Slovak takes precedence over other languages. According to Miklós Duray, homogenisation is nothing other than assimilation. William D. Davies and Stanley Dubinsky argue that the issue of linguistic (human) rights is complex, but it is a matter of professional evidence that language is a fundamental human right, or at least a right whose loss may negatively affect enjoyment of other rights. Violations against minorities are often linked to obstacles in language use, amongst others in education and official and judicial proceedings. The peoples living here have developed specific cultures, traditions, and languages, which have created an ethnically heterogeneous society. This virtue is illustrated by the sixth exhortation of King Stephen to his son, Prince Imre: „For a country of one language and one custom is weak and fallible. Therefore, I command you, my son, to cherish the strangers with good will, so that they may prefer to stay with you rather than to dwell elsewhere.”
Gergő, dr. Kartai
Széchenyi István University Doctoral School of Law and Political Sciences, Győr, Hungary
ID Abstract: 676