2013-06-19

DAHR MEP Csaba Sógor organised a conference on language diversity Tuesday, 18th of June at the European Parliament. The guest speakers of the conference were independent Irish expert, Dónall Ó Riagáin, and Catalan professor, Miquel Strubell.

In his opening speech Csaba Sógor expressed his concern regarding one of the European Union’s basic values, language diversity.  „I’d like to raise awareness on the importance of language diversity in the EU. The crisis is taking a toll on the use of mother tongues as well, as the lack of resources diminishes the possibilities to use these”,  pointed out the MEP, adding that he thought this conference was a good opportunity to assess what the EU and what we could do to preserve language diversity.

The DAHR MEP presented some examples concerning the Hungarians of Romania: ”We can all see how difficult it is to put into practice the language rights guaranteed in the constitution or in the law on education. Let’s just look at the case of the Hungarian language use at the University of Medicine and Pharmacy from Târgu-Mureş.

Irish expert, Dónall ó Riagáin, spoke about the European language policy and the road from theoretical strategies to practical implementation. The expert's opinion is that all efforts made in the field should serve the preservation of language diversity, and that we should fundamentally rethink the European language policy.

„Language is not only a means of communication. It is far more than that, it keeps the history of a community alive” – stressed ó Riagáin. His professional expertise comes from decades of efforts made to preserve languages on the verge of becoming extinct in Europe. 10-12% of the continent’s population speaks a regional or minority language. In the past the EU supported this linguistic heritage with considerable financial resources, but these funds – not only due to the crisis and austerity measures – have recently decreased dramatically.

Miquel Strubell, coordinator of the European Universities' Network on Multilingualism project, presented the activity of the network. The fundamental goal of the EUNOM was to create a sustainable network of universities, the members of which are willing to make efforts in the interest of creating and preserving language diversity. The professor pointed out that the curricula of the participating universities have to take into consideration the necessities of the labour market, economic growth, mobility and language learning and social cohesion.

Besides language diversity, cultural dialogue and social integration were also discussed. Csaba Sógor pointed out that preserving language diversity and guaranteeing the possibility of mother tongue use demands a constant struggle due to the assimilation policy of nation states. „We cannot let the issue of language diversity depend on chance only. There is a need for a legislative framework for minorities in Europe in order to solve the problems of indigenous national minorities on an EU level, for all member states”, summarised Csaba Sógor.