Language Research

The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages signed on March 2, 2000.

Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities signed on February 1, 1995, ratified on January 15, 1998 and enacted on May 1, 1998.

Updated (January 2001)

EUROPEAN CHARTER FOR REGIONAL OR MINORITY LANGUAGES

In March the British Government has ratified the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, which will come into force on July 1, 2001. The Charter commits the government to protect and preserve indigenous minority languages on the territory of the United Kingdom.

Welsh, Gaelic and Irish (spoken in Northern Ireland) will be granted the highest level of protection under Part 3 of the Charter, which obliges the government to outline concrete measures to promote the languages in the field of education, the courts, public services, media, cultural activity, economic and social life and cross-borders activities.

Scots and Ulster-Scots will be protected under Part 2 of the Charter, which offers a lower level of protection and recognition. The UK Government will be required to promote and assist Scots and they will have to issue a yearly report showing what they have done.

A great disappointment is nonrecognition of Cornish despite hopes of Cornish language activists that the language was about to gain a significant boost after its inclusion in the Charter.

Updated (August 2002)

CORNISH

It is close that Cornish (Kernewek) will be also protected under Part II of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. An announcement from the UK's Minister for the Regions is expected in the next few days.

The Part II of the Council of Europe's document will give Cornish recognition so much needed and the provision that a resolute action will be taken to promote the language.

The inclusion comes after a long campaign of the activists and the Cornish Language Board.

The representatives of the Cornish NGOs believe that with the support of the institutions from the UK and Europe, the Cornish language can be further developed so that it can become a part of everyday life in Cornwall. It should no longer be derided or belittled in its own country.

According to Jane Ninnis from the Cornish Language Fellowship, one of the goals will be to make Cornish available for those who wish to learn it. This; however, means to develop a coherent infrastructure for Kernewek in education, to form adult immersion courses and to train teachers to teach Kernewek in schools and colleges.

The Secretariat of the Charter has not so far given any comments on the likelihood that Cornish will be included, as an official statement of the UK Government has to be made.

MINORITY REPRESENTATIVES ABOUT THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CHARTER

Language activists representing Scottish Gaelic, Scots and Irish language communities criticized the UK Government for not using the Charter as an active language development tool.

Speaking about the Charter, a spokesperson for POBAL, a Belfast-based Irish language NGO, explained that they are particularly concerned that government departments and other public bodies view the Charter as a “checklist” of existing provision, rather than an opportunity for further development. They believe that the Charter demands a more positive response and that all relevant public bodies must be called on to enhance provision for Irish speakers.

The majority of services were already in place prior to the ratification of the Charter. Thus, there has been no significant increase in provisions for Irish speakers since the Charter came into effect last July.

Source: Eurolang, www.eurolang.net, Dùn Eideann, Edinburgh, Brussels, July 22 and 24, 2002, by Davyth Hicks and Eva Blässar

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Updated (November 2002)

CORNISH INCLUSION IN CHARTER FOR REGIONAL OR MINORITY LANGUAGES CONFIRMED

The UK Government confirmed on November 5, 2002 that Cornish is to be included in the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, under the Part II. The language will thereby join Welsh, Scottish Gaelic, Irish, Scots and Ulster Scots, which are protected and promoted languages within the United Kingdom.

Currently estimates speak about 300 fluent Cornish speakers who use the language everyday with further 2,500 who have a reasonable knowledge of it, out of a total population of 490,000 people.

Source: Eurolang News, Truro, Cornwall, November 6, 2002, by Davyth Hicks, http://217.136.252.147/webpub/eurolang/pajenn.asp?ID=3916

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Updated (March 2007)

THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE WARNS THE UK GOVERNMENT TO DO MORE TO PROTECT ITS MINORITIES

The Council of Europe has made public the second report on the minority languages situation in the United Kingdom. It has warned the UK Government that it must do more to meet its obligations to protect its regional and stateless languages. The call comes as part of the Council of Europe's monitoring of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages (adopted by the UK in 2001), which commits the Government to safeguard and promote Welsh, Scottish Gaelic, Irish, Scots, Ulster-Scots, Cornish and Manx Gaelic.

Based on this report, the Committee of Ministers calls on the UK, as a matter of priority:

• To create and implement comprehensive education policies for the Irish and Scottish Gaelic languages;

• Further to develop Welsh-medium education. In particular, to take steps to improve linguistic continuum in the transition from primary to secondary level in Welsh speaking areas;

• To give more support for the printed media in Irish and Scottish Gaelic;

• To improve services in Welsh in health and social care facilities; and

• To make efforts to improve the position of Scots and Ulster Scots.

The report is based on the monitoring of the UK's minoritized languages situation between December 2005 and February 2006. It says the main responsibility for the practical implementation of the goals stipulated by the Charter to recognize and respect the value of minoritized languages rests with devolved authorities, where applicable. However, the central government has the final responsibility to see the Charter is applied.

The monitoring exercise has revealed wide differences in the treatment of these languages around the state. In Northern Ireland, currently facing controversy over delays in passing an Irish Language Act, representatives of Irish speakers had reported problems promoting Irish due to the demands by Ulster Scots for equal treatment. Since parity for Ulster Scots was not practically possible, it resulted in no action being taken at all.

Meanwhile, progress was noted for Ulster Scots with the forthcoming establishment of an Ulster Scots Academy.

According to the report, the arrival of the Gaelic Language Act and the establishment of the Gaelic Language Board in Scotland should act to strengthen and improve the status of Scots Gaelic.

However, the report was critical over the treatment of Scots, "the lack of a clearly defined language status for Scots seems to lead to difficulties creating any national or over-arching language policy or developing a comprehensive language plan".

Concerning Wales, the report found that latest plans for promoting Welsh had produced mixed reactions. The intention was to set up an independent advisory office - "Dyfarnydd" - for the Welsh language, but its role had not been defined. Moreover, the planned merger of the Welsh Language Board and the Welsh Assembly Government had been postponed until after elections in May 2007. On the planned merger, the report comments: "There was fear that this might lead to politicization of the language, and that there would be no body that independently monitors the development of the Welsh language".

Manx speakers have increased from 165 in a 1961 census to 1,689 in 2001, adds the report. The language was first taught in schools in 1992, and the Isle of Man Government's plan has included a target of increasing the teaching of Manx in schools.

In Cornwall, the report noted the creation of the Cornish Language Strategy to develop Cornish but that "it has been pointed out to the Committee of Experts that there is an urgent need for a survey on the number of fluent speakers and the number of learners of the Cornish". Referring to the ECRML (Art7.1.b - respect for the geographical area), the report warned that 'local communities' borders must be respected, following criticism from language NGOs that any changes in Cornwall's administrative boundaries or the incremental inclusion into an artificial south-west zone may effect language development.

Furthermore, it pointed out that better data would help the prospects for most minoritized languages: "For some of these languages there are no reliable data as to the number of speakers and their degree of language competence and it would be useful for further language planning to include this issue in future censuses".

Finally, the report observes that what seems to be symptomatic and recurrent for all the languages in the UK is a lack of standardisation or codification needed for the use of the language in many aspects of public life. There is often a low prestige attached to the language and a lack of an over-arching language strategy and plan, which may lead lesser-used-language speakers to perceive the current policies as being merely half-hearted.

The Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers has backed the findings in a statement and said the UK authorities should act on them "as a matter of priority".

Source: Eurolang News, March 19, 2007 by Davyth Hicks http://www.eurolang.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2847&Itemid=1&lang=en

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