European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages

The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages (ECRML) is a European treaty (CETS 148) adopted in 1992 under the auspices of the Council of Europe to protect and promote historical regional and minority languages in Europe. However, the charter does not provide any criterion or definition for an idiom to be a minority or a regional language, and the classification stays in the hands of the national state.^[1]

European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages

CET 148
Member states that have signed and ratified in dark green, those that have signed but not ratified in light green, those that have neither signed nor ratified in white, non-member states of the Council of Europe in grey. Source: the list of signatories at the Council of Europe website.
Signed	5 November 1992
Location	Strasbourg
Effective	1 March 1998
Condition	Ratification by 5 States
Signatories	34
Parties	25
Depositary	Secretary General of the Council of Europe
Languages	English and French
Full text
European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages at Wikisource

The preparation for the charter was undertaken by the predecessor to the current Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, the Standing Conference of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe because involvement of local and regional government was essential. The actual charter was written in the Parliamentary Assembly based on the Congress' Recommendations. It only applies to languages traditionally used by the nationals of the State Parties (thus excluding languages used by recent immigrants from other states, see immigrant languages), which significantly differ from the majority or official language (thus excluding what the state party wishes to consider as mere local dialects of the official or majority language)^[2] and that either have a territorial basis (and are therefore traditionally spoken by populations of regions or areas within the State) or are used by linguistic minorities within the State as a whole (thereby including such languages as Yiddish, Romani and Lemko, which are used over a wide geographic area).

Some states, such as Ukraine and Sweden, have tied the status of minority language to the recognized national minorities, which are defined by ethnic, cultural and/or religious criteria, thereby circumventing the Charter's notion of linguistic minority.^[3]

Languages that are official within regions, provinces or federal units within a State (for example Catalan in Spain) are not classified as official languages of the State and may therefore benefit from the Charter. On the other hand, Ireland has been unable to sign the Charter on behalf of the Irish language (although a minority language) as it is defined as the first official language of the state. The United Kingdom has ratified the Charter in respect to (among other languages) Welsh in Wales, Scots and Gaelic in Scotland, and Irish in Northern Ireland. France, although a signatory, has been constitutionally blocked from ratifying the Charter in respect to the languages of France.

The charter provides many actions state parties can take to protect and promote historical regional and minority languages. There are two levels of protection—all signatories must apply the lower level of protection to qualifying languages. Signatories may further declare that a qualifying language or languages will benefit from the higher level of protection, which lists a range of actions from which states must agree to undertake at least 35.

Protections

Countries can ratify the charter in respect of its minority languages based on Part II or Part III of the charter, which contain varying principles. Countries can treat languages differently under the charter, for example, in the United Kingdom, the Welsh language is ratified under the general Part II principles as well as the more specific Part III commitments, while the Cornish language is ratified only under Part II.

Part II

Part II of the Charter details eight main principles and objectives upon which States must base their policies and legislation. They are seen as a framework for the preservation of the languages concerned.^[4]

• Recognition of regional or minority languages as an expression of cultural wealth.
• Respect for the geographical area of each regional or minority language.
• The need for resolute action to promote such languages.
• The facilitation and/or encouragement of the use of such languages, in speech and writing, in public and private life.
• The provision of appropriate forms and means for the teaching and study of such languages at all appropriate stages.
• The promotion of relevant transnational exchanges.
• The prohibition of all forms of unjustified distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference relating to the use of a regional or minority language and intended to discourage or endanger its maintenance or development.
• The promotion by states of mutual understanding between all the country's linguistic groups.

Part III

Part III details comprehensive rules, across a number of sectors, by which states agree to abide. Each language to which Part III of the Charter is applied must be named specifically by the government. States must select at least thirty-five of the undertakings in respect to each language. Many provisions contain several options, of varying degrees of stringency, one of which has to be chosen "according to the situation of each language". The areas from which these specific undertakings must be chosen are as follows:^[4]

• Education
• Judicial authorities
• Administrative authorities and public services
• Media
• Cultural activities and facilities
• Economic and social life
• Transfrontier exchanges

Languages protected under the Charter

Countries that have ratified the Charter, and languages for which the ratification was made[5]
Armenia ratification: 25 January 2002[6] Assyrian German Greek Kurdish Russian Ukrainian Yezidi
Austria ratification: 28 June 2001[6] Burgenland Croatian (in Burgenland) Slovene (in Carinthia and Styria) Hungarian (in Burgenland and Vienna) Czech (in Vienna) Slovak (in Vienna) Romani (in Burgenland)
Bosnia and Herzegovina ratification: 21 September 2010[6] Albanian Czech German Hungarian Italian Ladino Polish Romani Romanian Rusyn Slovak Slovenian Turkish Ukrainian Yiddish
Croatia ratification: 5 November 1997[6] Czech German Hungarian Boyash Romanian Istro-Romanian Italian Romani Rusyn Serbian[2] Slovakian Slovenian Ukrainian
Cyprus ratification: 26 August 2002[6] Armenian Cypriot Maronite Arabic
Czech Republic ratification: 15 November 2006[6] Slovak (parts II and III, across the whole territory) Polish (part II; and part III in Moravia-Silesia, in districts Frydek-Místek and Karviná) German (part II and part III in Cheb, Karlovy Vary, Sokolov, Liberec, Ústí nad Labem, Český Krumlov, Opava and Svitavy[7]) Romani (part II only) Moravian Croatian (part II only)
Denmark ratification: 8 September 2000[6] Faroese (in the Faroe Islands) German (in Southern Jutland) Greenlandic (in Greenland) Romani (across Denmark, under part II)
Finland ratification: 9 November 1994[8] Inari Sami Karelian North Sami Romani Skolt Sami Swedish Tatar Yiddish
Germany ratification: 16 September 1998[6] Danish (in Schleswig-Holstein) Upper Sorbian (in the Free State of Saxony) Lower Sorbian (in Brandenburg) North Frisian (in Schleswig-Holstein) Saterland Frisian (in Lower Saxony) Romani (across Germany) Low German (part III in Bremen, Hamburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein); (part II in Brandenburg, Northrhine-Westphalia and Saxony-Anhalt)
Hungary ratification: 26 April 1995[6] Armenian Boyash Romanian Bulgarian Croatian German Greek Polish Romani Romanian Rusyn Serbian Slovak Slovene Ukrainian
Liechtenstein ratification: 18 November 1997[6] No regional or minority languages
Luxembourg ratification: 22 June 2005[6] No regional or minority languages[9]
Montenegro ratification: 15 February 2006[6] Albanian Bosnian Croatian Romani
Netherlands ratification: 2 May 1996[6] Frisian (in Friesland, under part III) Limburgish (in Limburg, under part II) Low Saxon (across the Netherlands, under part II) Papiamento (on Bonaire under part III)[10] Romani (across the Netherlands, under part II) Yiddish (across the Netherlands, under part II)
Norway ratification: 10 November 1993[6] Kven/Finnish (part II only) Lule Sami North Sami Romani Romanes South Sami
Poland ratification: 12 February 2009[6] Armenian Belarusian Czech German Karaim Kashub Lemko Lithuanian Romani Russian Slovakian Tatar Ukrainian Yiddish
Romania ratification 29 January 2008[6] Albanian (Part II only) Armenian (Part II only) Greek (Part II only) Italian (Part II only) Macedonian (Part II only) Polish (Part II only) Romani (Part II only) Rusyn (Part II only) Tatar (Part II only) Yiddish (Part II only) Bulgarian (Part III only) Croatian (Part III only) Czech (Part III only) German (Part III only) Hungarian (Part III only) Russian (Part III only) Serbian (Part III only) Slovak (Part III only) Turkish (Part III only) Ukrainian (Part III only)
Serbia ratification: 15 February 2006[6] Albanian Bosnian[2] Bulgarian Bunjevac Croatian[2] Czech German Hungarian Macedonian Romani Romanian Rusyn Slovakian Ukrainian "Vlach"
Slovakia ratification: 5 September 2001[11] Russian Serbian Bulgarian Croatian Czech German Hungarian Polish Romani Rusyn Ukrainian Yiddish
Slovenia ratification: 4 October 2000[6] Croatian German Hungarian Italian Romani Serbian
Spain ratification: 9 April 2001[6] Amazigh in Melilla Aragonese, luenga propia in Aragon Aranese Asturian language, present in Asturias; and in part of Leon, Zamora, Salamanca, Cantabria and Extremadura (recognized in Asturias, Castile and León) Basque (official in the Basque Country and part of Navarre) Catalan, official in the Balearic Islands and Catalonia; llengua pròpia in Aragon. Valencian (A dialect of Catalan, official in Valencia)[12] Galician, present in Galicia; and in part of Asturias, Leon and Zamora provinces (official in Galicia) Leonese
Sweden ratification: 9 February 2000[6] Finnish Meänkieli Lule Sami North Sami South Sami Romani Yiddish
Switzerland ratification: 23 December 1997[6] Franco-Provençal French German Italian Romansh Yenish
Ukraine ratification: 19 September 2005[6] Armenian Belarusian Bulgarian Crimean Tatar Gagauz German Greek Hungarian Karaim Krimchak Moldovan Polish Romani Romanian Russian Rusyn Slovakian Yiddish Ukraine does not specify languages by name, but rather ratifies on behalf of "the languages of the following ethnic minorities of Ukraine[13]
United Kingdom ratification : 27 March 2001.[6] Cornish (Article 2, Part II only (Article 7)) Irish (Articles 2 and 3, Part II (Article 7) and Part III (Articles 8–14, with reservations)) Scots (Articles 2 and 3, Part II only (Article 7)) Ulster-Scots (Articles 2 and 3, Part II only (Article 7)) Scottish Gaelic (Articles 2 and 3, Part II (Article 7) and Part III (Articles 8–14, with reservations)) (British Nationality Act 1981, Schedule 1, Article 1(1)(c), and the Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005 ) Welsh (Articles 2 and 3, Part II (Article 7) and Part III (Articles 8–14, with reservations)) (Welsh Language Act 1967 (repealed 21.12.1993) and the Welsh Language Act 1993 )  Isle of Man (extension : 23 April 2003 (declaration dated 22 April 2003) The Government of the United Kingdom declares [on 23 April 2003] that the Charter should extend to the Isle of Man, being a territory for whose international relations the Government of the United Kingdom is responsible.[14][15] 27/03/2001) Manx Gaelic (Article 2, Part II only (Article 7))

See also

• Europe portal
• Language portal

• Euromosaic
• European languages
• Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities
• Languages of the European Union
• Linguistic rights
• List of Linguistic Rights in Constitutions (Europe)
• Universal Declaration of Linguistic Rights

Notes and references

1. Gabrielle Bernoville, Europe's forgotten words. The case of the European Regional and minority languages Archived 2021-06-15 at the Wayback Machine, La Regionisto,
2. Kordić, Snježana (2024). "Ideology Against Language: The Current Situation in South Slavic Countries" (PDF). In Nomachi, Motoki; Kamusella, Tomasz (eds.). Languages and Nationalism Instead of Empires. Routledge Histories of Central and Eastern Europe. London: Routledge. pp. 167–179. doi:10.4324/9781003034025-11. ISBN 978-0-367-47191-0. OCLC 1390118985. S2CID 259576119. SSRN 4680766. (COBISS.RS 125229577). COBISS 171014403. Archived from the original on 2024-01-10. Retrieved 2024-01-16. p. 173, 169: In Croatia and Serbia, segregation takes place in the name of minority language rights, ignoring that the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages gives a clear definition of a minority language that excludes the term 'minority language' in this case. [...] although the Charter reads that a minority language must be different from the official language and must not be a dialect of the official language, and although the standard language of Bosniaks, Croats, Montenegrins and Serbs is based on the same dialect called Shtokavian, and it is clear that according to the Charter it cannot be regarded as several minority languages.
3. Hult, F.M. (2004). Planning for multilingualism and minority language rights in Sweden. Language Policy, 3(2), 181-201.
4. "The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages is the European convention for the protection and promotion of languages used by traditional minorities". European Charter for Regional
   or Minority Languages.
5. "States Parties to the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages and their regional or minority languages (listed by language on p.6)". Council of Europe. 1 November 2022. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
6. "Chart of signatures and ratifications of Treaty 148". Council of Europe. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
7. "Czechia: Protection of German extended under the Charter - European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages". Council of Europe. 2024. Archived from the original on 2 March 2024. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
8. "Reservations and Declarations for Treaty No.148 - European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages (ETS No. 148)". Council of Europe. Archived from the original on 22 Mar 2024.
9. "Report of the Committee of Experts on Luxembourg, December 2008" (PDF). Coe.int. Retrieved 2014-01-30.
10. Insider, Tanya Deen for the Bonaire (30 January 2024). "Papiamentu on Bonaire is Officially Recognized Under European Charter". InfoBonaire. Retrieved 31 January 2024.
11. "Full list".
12. "Aplicación de la Carta en España, Segundo ciclo de supervisión. Estrasburgo, 11 de diciembre de 2008. A.1.3.28 pag 7; A.2.2.5" (PDF). Coe.int. p. 107. Retrieved 2015-03-01.
13. As of^[update] July 2007, Ukraine's entry on the Council of Europe site Archived 2012-05-22 at the Wayback Machine states the following Ukraine declares that the provisions of the Charter shall apply to the languages of the following ethnic minorities of Ukraine : Belarusian, Bulgarian, Gagauz, Greek, Jewish, Crimean Tatar, Moldavian, German, Polish, Russian, Romanian, Slovak and Hungarian.
14. "Full list". Treaty Office.
15. "Full list". Treaty Office.

External links

• European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages text
• More information on the treaty
• Charter website
• Eurolang (News agency about minority languages in Europe)
• Explanatory Report on the Charter
• lexpress.fr (in French)
• Application of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, Doc. 12881