A new report from the Committee of Experts for the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages praises Croatia for continued protection and promotion of minority languages for national minorities, and enabling their use in fields such as education, judicial authorities, administration, media or cultural life, but it also stresses that much more needs to be done to broaden their use.
The Charter, which entered into force in Croatia in 1998, covers to varying degrees minority languages including Czech, Hungarian, Italian, Ruthenian, Serbian, Slovak and Ukrainian as well as Boyash Romanian, German, Istro-Romanian and Slovenian.
All minority languages, excepting Istro-Romanian, are present in education in accordance with one of the three applicable models: education in the minority language, bilingual education, or teaching the minority language together with its related history and culture. However, some minority languages still lack continuity between various levels of education. It is important that in practice teaching the minority language together with the related history and culture, which is often the most widespread model, takes place for a sufficient number of hours. The recent introduction of teaching Boyash Romanian is a “commendable development” according to the report, which should be further strengthened. But the Croatian authorities should take “resolute steps” to provide for the teaching and promotion of Istro-Romanian, which the report categorises as “severely endangered”.
The seventh evaluation report of the Committee of Experts of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages is based on the information provided by governmental and non-governmental sources, including that obtained during its visit to Croatia in October 2023. It reflects the situation of the minority languages prevailing at the time of the visit. The evaluation report has been published together with the Croatian authorities’ comments. A summary of the report is available in Croatian.
The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages and Croatia
