Kelley Carter
September 2, 2009
2:44 PM
Slovakia is home to many different cultural identities and traditions. Recently though the Slovak government has enacted new laws that prevent the use of many minority languages in public places like hospitals, schools and public offices. If an individual is found to be regularly using anything other than Slovak they can be fined up to 7000 dollars. This is close to a years average pay for most of Slovakia. The minority native Hungarians, who make up about 10% of the population claim that is another attempt by the government to purge their culture from Slovakia. However, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development supports the new law. This conflict was exacerbated recently when the Hungarian president was not allowed to make a visit to unveil a statue of the first Hungarian king. Hungary once ruled over Slovakia, making the Hungarian culture a tender issue for many Slovakians.
This is clearly a question of whether an individual’s right to their own culture or the groups right to efficient public works is more important. On one hand for many older native Hungarians it could be a challenge to speak only Slovak in post offices, courts and hospitals. Also, when the culture of a small group of people to be pushed out of daily use it can lead to the disintegration of their traditions. After all, isn’t it important to promote cultural diversity and avoid catastrophes caused by the control of a cultural minority that may backlash in the future? However, there is a strong argument for the productivity that the use of only one language implies. It’s been done in America too, with the use of English in Alaska, which has almost eliminated the Inuit language, and though government information is available in Spanish, all public offices speak English. Personally, I agree that it makes practical sense to restrict the language also as a translator is provided for those who only speak a minority language, but the year’s salary fine is much too extreme a measure for a law that will be easy to forgot in the first few years of it’s enactment.
BBC News http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8232878.stm
1 comment:
I think that is an outrage for people to tell others not to speak their native language, to conform with society. Especially in a country that is very diverse with many different languages spoken and traditions expressed. When people come to America it us true that many offices,schools,and other public places speak the "native" language however invoking a fine that steap for someone not following the rules I agree is absurd. People should have the right to speak whatever language they feel but I do believe in a country such as America you should understand at least the "native" language if you still choose to speak your own.
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