In Transcarpathia, Hungarian and Romanian communities comply with the language law
An inspection by the Secretariat of the Commissioner for the Protection of the State Language revealed that, in areas with concentrated populations of the Hungarian and Romanian national communities in Zakarpattia, the requirements of language legislation are generally being met.
The monitoring results showed that the Ukrainian language is used in the main spheres of public life, and no violations of the Law “On Ensuring the Functioning of the Ukrainian Language as the State Language” were recorded in the communities surveyed.
“The monitoring focused exclusively on compliance with the requirements of the Law ‘On Ensuring the Functioning of the Ukrainian Language as the State Language’ in the activities of territorial state authorities, local self-government bodies, law enforcement agencies, healthcare and cultural institutions, transportation and postal services, as well as business entities providing services to consumers. In accordance with the approved monitoring program, the educational process was not the subject of the study,” the Secretariat’s statement reads.
It is noted that, based on the monitoring results, the highest level of use of the official language was recorded in the cities of Berehove and Tyachiv, as well as in tourist-attractive settlements.
The monitoring also identified isolated cases of violations of state language legislation in the areas of public information, advertising, customer service, the use of computer programs, and the performance of official duties by certain public officials.
Based on the monitoring results, recommendations were formulated for state authorities and local self-government bodies regarding the promotion of the Ukrainian language in communities with significant Hungarian and Romanian populations.
These include conducting systematic informational and educational work in communities with concentrated populations of national minorities regarding the requirements of the legislation on the state language, conducting an additional survey of public spaces, and taking effective measures to ensure compliance with the law in these communities, promote the development of domestic tourism in communities with a high concentration of national minorities; facilitate the implementation of interregional programs for children’s and youth exchanges, summer camps, educational, cultural, and sporting events involving children and youth from communities with a high concentration of national minorities and representatives from other regions of Ukraine.
Recommendations are also included to provide libraries with Ukrainian-language literature, primarily publications included in the school curriculum, as well as contemporary fiction and popular science works for adult audiences, and to facilitate the organization of cultural and artistic events, festivals, creative gatherings, and other public events featuring well-known Ukrainian performers, cultural figures, media personalities, and opinion leaders who use the Ukrainian language in their professional activities; and to recommend that local government bodies develop (or update) local programs to promote the use of the Ukrainian language as the state language.
The monitoring activities took place from June 16 to 19 in the cities of Berehove and Tyachiv, the towns of Vylok and Solotvyno, as well as the villages of Pyiterfolvo, Nevetlenfolu, Nyzhnya Apsha, Bila Tserkva, and Serednie Vodyane. The purpose of the monitoring was to study the specifics of how the state language functions, identify problematic issues, and develop recommendations for strengthening the linguistic integration of representatives of national communities while preserving their linguistic and cultural identity.
Photo: A human trafficking ring smuggling men abroad was uncovered in Transcarpathia.
Hungary wants language guarantees for Transcarpathia.
The foreign ministers of Ukraine and Hungary, Andriy Sibiga and Anita Orbán, held their first in-person meeting on May 22. During the talks in Helsingborg, the parties agreed to hold a second round of expert-level consultations next week to further discuss bilateral issues.
Earlier, the Hungarian government commented on the massive attack by Russian drones on Transcarpathia, during which the region’s critical infrastructure was struck. Officials in Budapest described the situation in the border region as extremely alarming and announced that they were preparing urgent countermeasures.
