This text aims to provide an introductory study of linguistic minorities in Central and Eastern Europe taking into account historical development, present situation, language maintenance and shift as well as language and educational policies of each country included in this study.

The political and social upheavals following 1989 have had a significant impact on the minority languages of Eastern Europe. There have been attempts at enlightened treatment of minority linguistic groups in some of the new states but in others such groups have been openly oppressed. This volume draws on sociologically and ethnographically oriented work from a number of disciplines to allow the reader to compare developments in the different states, and to examine the interplay of language issues, ethnic nationalism, and processes of state formation and restructuring in the various political and historical contexts of Central and Eastern Europe. A companion volume (0-333-92925-X) examines the status of minority languages in the European Union.

Dotyczy m.in. Polaków zamieszkałych na Ukrainie, Białorusi i Litwie.

This book examines the dynamic role that language plays as a unifying factor in maintaining and reinforcing national identity in Central and Eastern Europe in the post-communist period when new nation states were formed. It covers linguistic identity, linguistic exclusion or inclusion, languages in contact and languages in conflict.

This book asks why several ethnic and linguistic groups in Central Europe and the Balkans have not yet been legally recognized as national minorities. Some of these hidden minorities have not developed an intellectual elite that can visibly present their identity and claims to the majority population. Other groups are deliberately concealing their existence and language for reasons of self-protection. The chapters in this volume address the everyday mechanisms of hiding and being hidden in the transition zone of these two European regions.

The full participation of members of minority communities in the mainstream media and their capacity to develop their own media outlets are building blocks for multicultural values and for the promotion of minority rights in Central and Eastern Europe. While law should protect and promote minorities’ access to the media, the level of access varies between countries. In the same country, different groups may have significantly different degrees and quality of access. Some governments are reluctant to facilitate minority access to the media, either because of narrow political considerations or because of lingering ethnonationalist conceptions of the state. Additional barriers are created when media decision-makers do not prioritize enabling access and/or the coverage of minority issues. Other problems stem from resource constraints, particularly the financing necessary to produce minority programming. Nevertheless, the dynamic nature of this sector means that a combination of effective advocacy, business savvy and high quality media productions have resulted in increased media access in some countries or for some minorities. To explore these issues, Minority Rights Group International and Foundation Citizen and Democracy/MRG-Slovakia organized a skills exchange workshop in Bratislava, Slovakia, in February 1999. The workshop brought together media and legal professionals, and minority rights activists from Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia. Through facilitated discussion, the group identified major issues, prioritized them for analysis and discussed strategies to address them. Participants examined the legal framework regulating the media in their country and the governmental policies, administrative practices and political interests that shape it. They also discussed increasing minority access through minorities’ own media and through participation in the mainstream media, as well as portrayal of minorities in the media. Throughout, they analysed the many practical and political difficulties faced by minorities in the media and shared examples of how these problems are being addressed in their own country. This report summarizes the key points raised in these discussions and describes examples of good practice that exist in the region.