Debate about the inclusion of the German language in the Basic Law

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The debate about the inclusion of the German language in the Basic Law refers to the public discussion about such efforts, which are carried out for or against the legal establishment of the German language ("German" for short) as the national language in the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany (GG). The respective concerns are represented by associations and initiatives as well as numerous politicians and other public figures .

Pros and cons of a constitutional amendment

List of signatures to President Lammert of the Bundestag

An initiative for the establishment of the German language in the Basic Law appeared in 2010 when the Association for German Language and the Association for German Cultural Relations Abroad initiated a corresponding signature campaign. According to the tabloid Bild , the then Bundestag President Norbert Lammert received 46,317 signatures from the two clubs. Image supported the action.

"German into the Basic Law" initiative

The operators of the German into the Basic Law campaign in favor of the amendment to the Basic Law are the Sprachpfleger newspaper Deutsche Sprachwelt and the non-profit association for language maintenance that publishes the newspaper . The initiators demand that Article 22 of the Basic Law (see ) be supplemented by a paragraph (3) with the content: "The language of the Federal Republic of Germany is German." For this purpose, a petition page is maintained, on which a petition accompanying the initiative to the Bundestag can be printed out. Since June 2018 there has also been the option of electronic signing of the entry. Supporters of the petition include Josef Kraus , President of the German Teachers' Association from 1987 to 2017, and the former President of the Federal Environment Agency, Andreas Troge .

Reason for amendment of the Basic Law

As a justification for promoting German as a protected state language, German names such a change in the law in the Basic Law as important for the “appreciation of our language”, as a “call for integration”, achieving “respect for the language”. In addition, the majority “ will of the people ” is implemented. The anchoring of the German language in the Basic Law would "end the special role of the Federal Republic of being the only German-speaking country not to mention the German language in the constitution" (see also: German language in other countries ), the initiative announced on its petition page. According to Holger Klatte from the German Language Association , the amendment to Article 22 of the Basic Law emphasizes “the outstanding position of German as a fundamental means of communication in our society”.

Public votes for the amendment of the Basic Law

The CDU demanded in 2008 at their party to anchor the German language in the Basic Law. After the signature campaign in 2010, Hartmut Koschyk (CDU), Peter Friedrich , Sebastian Edathy (both SPD ), the then Bavarian Environment Minister Markus Söder and Alexander Dobrindt (both CSU ) expressed their views accordingly.

In 2015, the German Cultural Council justified the same requirement with the function of language as an “essential cultural link in Germany”, which should be given “special attention”.

At its Essen party congress in 2016, the CDU decided on an amendment to the Basic Law as a party goal, identical to that required by the Initiative Deutsch in the Basic Law . The CDU member of the Bundestag Volkmar Klein said in June 2018 on " abektivenwatch.de " that he supports the association for language maintenance. Other supporters are Monika Grütters (CDU), Wolfgang Thierse (SPD), the former Bundestag President Norbert Lammert (CDU) and Stephan Brandner ( AfD ).

For the German Language Day on September 8, 2018, the day before the former President of the German Teachers Association Josef Kraus , Uta Seewald-Heeg (President of the New Fruit Bringing Society ), Andreas Troge and the Kiel innkeeper Andrew Onuegbu pleaded for the German language in the Basic Law to be fixed.

Public votes against the amendment to the Basic Law

In 2008, Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) criticized her party's advance for the inclusion of German in the Basic Law. The establishment of numerous constitutional concerns carries the risk of inflation. The Turkish community and parts of the SPD, FDP , Greens as well as the then CSU General Secretary Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg and the then NRW Family Minister Armin Laschet (CDU) also criticized the CDU decision. The language expert Rolf C. Peter sees language merely "changing" and regards the issue of the amendment to the Basic Law by naming the state language as being based on "superstition", whereby "with every new foreign word the decline of the German language is prophesied".

During the Bundestag debate on March 2, 2018, the East Frisian SPD MP Johann Saathoff gave a speech, in part on Platt , in which he rejected the AfD's demand to include German as the national language in the Basic Law. He emphasized that Germany would not get poorer, but richer through other languages: "Düütschland word neet poor dör anner Spraken, Düütschland word rieker."

media

The taz published on December 2, 2008 Pros and Cons for receiving the German language in the constitution. The journalist Bastian Sick wrote in Spiegel Online in his onion fish column on December 3, 2008 a satirical treatise on the advance of the CDU and the criticism of it from within its own ranks.

status quo

Legislation in Germany

Basic Law and Administrative Laws

Articles #Grundgesetz and administrative laws and official languages within Germany # country level overlap thematically. Help me to better differentiate or merge the articles (→  instructions ) . To do this, take part in the relevant redundancy discussion . Please remove this module only after the redundancy has been completely processed and do not forget to include the relevant entry on the redundancy discussion page{{ Done | 1 = ~~~~}}to mark. ? ? ?????????????? • ??????? ??????? 10:34 PM, Aug 22, 2018 (CEST)

The Basic Law and all federal and state laws are written in German. However, some decrees have also been translated into recognized minority languages, such as the Mecklenburg- Western Pomerania state constitution and the Schleswig-Holstein Frisian law . In addition, there is no constitutional stipulation as the state or national language. According to Section 23 - Paragraph (1) - of the Administrative Procedure Act (VwVfG), German is the official language when a certain group of federal law is exercised. Analogous regulations apply in other areas of the exercise of federal law. The state administrative procedural laws also determine German as the official language in matters of the states. Berlin , Rhineland-Palatinate and Saxony-Anhalt dispense entirely with official language regulations .

Other languages ​​in Germany

In addition, the minority languages Danish , North Frisian , Sater Frisian , Romanes , Upper Sorbian and Lower Sorbian, as well as (not nationwide in the language area) the regional language Low German Platt for use in school lessons, official processes, cultural events and social events in the Federal Republic of Germany are regionally protected according to the European Charter and economic life admitted.

→ Main article: official languages ​​within Germany ; Minority languages ​​in Germany

Bundestag

On March 2, 2006, the elaboration "Language in the Basic Law" was published, written by Department III Constitution and Administration of the German Bundestag . On November 7, 2011, the plenary petition for the amendment to the Basic Law was met with reserve in the Bundestag. A petition to the contrary was also debated. Parliament was unable to form a unanimous opinion. In 2018, also on March 2, the issue of the German language being included in the Basic Law was the subject of parliamentary work by the Bundestag . The draft law introduced by the AfD parliamentary group met with opposition from all other parliamentary groups despite similar demands from the CDU / CSU . He was referred to the responsible Interior Committee , the Committee on Education, Research and Technology Assessment, and the Committee on Culture and the Media . The parliamentary discussion of the issue has since been pending. (As of October 10, 2019 )

German language in other countries


→ Main article: German language

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ " Association of German Language " and " Association for German Cultural Relations Abroad " <sic> are original spellings.
  2. ↑ 46,317 signatures for German in the Basic Law presented to Norbert Lammert , "Bild" from November 9, 2010
  3. ^ The association for language maintenance (association register number 21539 at the district court of Fürth (Bavaria) ) at firmenwissen.de
  4. ↑ "Who we are" , deutsch-ins-grundgesetz.de
  5. ↑ See also: Article 22 GG at dejure.org
  6. ↑ a b c d Association for language maintenance : Initiative "Deutsch ins Grundgesetz", petition and positions (deutsch-ins-grundgesetz.de)
  7. ^ "Supporters" , deutsch-ins-grundgesetz.de , accessed on September 28, 2018
  8. ↑ TU Dresden : 85% of Germans for inclusion of the German language in the GG (2009)
  9. ↑ Holger Klatte: Staatsziel Deutsch , Federal Agency for Civic Education (October 15, 2010)
  10. ↑ CDU demands: Anchoring the German language in the Basic Law , Der Tagesspiegel (December 2, 2008)
  11. ^ Image: "Members of Parliament want to write German into the Basic Law" , dated November 9, 2011
  12. ↑ Markus Söder: “German must finally be included in the Basic Law” , picture from November 30, 2010
  13. ^ German Cultural Council: "German as a common language in the Basic Law" , October 5, 2015
  14. ↑ Stuttgarter Nachrichten: CDU wants German in the Basic Law , (December 7, 2016)
  15. ↑ ab altenwatch.de: CDU-MdB Volkmar Klein supports "German into the Basic Law" (June 28, 2018)
  16. ↑ a b RP Online : Arguments for and against the establishment of German in the Basic Law , with pro (Norbert Lammert) and contra arguments (Armin Laschet, both CDU ), from December 4, 2008
  17. ^ German language association: List of supporters of the language campaign - Infobrief 404 (10/2018) of March 9, 2018
  18. ^ Association of German Language: German Language Day every second Saturday in September
  19. ↑ Celebrities support “German into the Basic Law” , presseportal.de of September 7, 2018
  20. ↑ Focus: "Merkel regrets the CDU decision" and a list of various critics (December 2, 2008)
  21. ↑ Rolf C. Peters: Von chimeras and other <sic> superstitions , Federal Agency for Civic Education (October 15, 2010)
  22. ↑ NDR Lower Saxony: "So serious, so cheerful: AfD counterattack on Plattdüütsch"
  23. ↑ YouTube : "Bundestag motion: Johann Saathoff (SPD) counters AfD in Low German from" <sic>YouTube full-color icon (2017) .svg
  24. ^ Sentences of the year. In: Der Spiegel 49a / 2018, December 5, 2018, p. 202 (Chronicle 2018).
  25. ↑ " The CDU makes itself important ... But doesn't this popular idea also have something for itself? ", Taz.de from December 2, 2008
  26. ↑ Bastian Sick: “Deutch ins Grundgesätz!” “Onion Fish” column, www.spiegel.de, December 3, 2008
  27. ↑ Veratung of dat Land Mäkelborg-Vbodommern; see. 20 years of the state constitution of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania , p. 53 f.
  28. ↑ Said continued stipen foont friisk önj e öfentlikhäid (Friisk-Gesäts - FriiskG).
  29. ↑ Germany wording of Section 23 of the Administrative Procedure Act , www.gesetze-im-internet.de, accessed on August 17, 2018GermanyGermany 
  30. ↑ Germany Analogous regulations in other areas of the exercise of federal law § 19 SGB ​​X and in § 87 AO .GermanyGermany 
  31. ↑ North Rhine-Westphalia, Hesse, Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, German as the official language of the federal states (1) : in North Rhine-Westphalia , Hesse and Baden-Württemberg each in Section 23 (1) and in Bavaria in Article 23 (1) of their administrative procedure laws.North Rhine-WestphaliaNorth Rhine-Westphalia  HesseHesse  Baden-WürttembergBaden-Württemberg  BavariaBavaria 
  32. ↑ Saarland Thuringia Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania  [[| Saxony]] German as the official language of federal states (2) : in Saarland , in Thuringia and in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania each in Section 23 (1) of the Administrative Procedure Acts , in Saxony via VwV service regulations of June 28th 2018 , under I. General, 2nd official languageSaarlandSaarland  ThuringiaThuringia  Mecklenburg-Western PomeraniaMecklenburg-Western Pomerania  SaxonySaxony
  33. ↑ Hamburg Bremen German as the official language of the federal states (3) : in Hamburg and Bremen (PDF; p. 26) each in Section 23 (1) of the Administrative Procedure ActsHamburgHamburg  BremenBremen 
  34. ↑ European Union Germany Federal Ministry of the Interior : European Charter of Regional or Minority Languages , from national and international minority law, also referring to Article 3 Paragraph (3) Sentence 1 of the Basic Law (accessed on August 17, 2018)European UnionEuropean Union  GermanyGermany 
  35. ^ Schleswig-Holstein In addition to the official German language, some regional languages ​​are permitted, for example in § 82 b of the General. Administrative Law of Schleswig-HolsteinSchleswig-HolsteinSchleswig-Holstein 
  36. ^ Sachsen VwV Dienstordnung Sachsen (I. General, 2nd official language, a + b) : Official language German; Treat incoming messages in Sorbian as well as in German (from June 28, 2018)SaxonySaxony 
  37. ^ German Bundestag German Bundestag (Section III Constitution and Administration): "Language in the Basic Law" (March 2, 2006)
  38. ^ German Bundestag German Bundestag (documents) : “'German into the Basic Law' petition meets with skepticism” , on the Bundestag debate on November 7, 2011
  39. ^ Association of German Language : Bundestag debates "German into the Basic Law" , Infobrief 404 (10/2018) of March 9, 2018
  40. ↑ German Bundestag German Bundestag (documents) : "AfD wants to legally establish German as the national language"
  41. ↑ Bundestag printed matter 19/951 of February 27, 2018 (PDF)German Bundestag
  42. ^ The AfD wants - and the Union actually too , ntv on the planned amendment to the Basic Law to include the national language German, from March 2, 2018
  43. ↑ AfD wants to defend the German language - then a German-Turk teaches them. In: Huffington Post . March 2, 2018, accessed October 16, 2018 .
  44. ↑ German Bundestag German Bundestag: "Transfer decided" (on March 2, 2018, 18th meeting, scheduled as item 14 on the agenda for 9:50 a.m.)
  45. ↑ German Bundestag German Bundestag: Transfer resolution on agenda item 14 (official minutes)
  46. ↑ Austria : Article 8 of the Federal Constitutional Law (B-VG) protects German and minority languages , federal legal information systemAustriaAustria 
  47. ↑ Switzerland : Federal Constitution of the Swiss Confederation , under Article 4: "National languages"SwitzerlandSwitzerland 
  48. ^ Principality of Liechtenstein : Constitution of the Principality of Liechtenstein (Art. 6, on page 2) (PDF) - issued on October 24, 1921LiechtensteinLiechtenstein
  49. ↑ Luxembourg : German language in administrative, judicial and administrative matters, etc. Equal to French and Luxembourgish in parliament , luxembourg.public.lu (official government website), accessed on August 17, 2018LuxembourgLuxembourg 
  50. ↑ Loi du 24 février 1984 sur le régime des langues ( Memento of February 12, 2006 in the Internet Archive ; PDF; 178 kB)
  51. ↑ Belgium (1) - see also: Languages ​​in BelgiumBelgiumBelgium 
  52. ↑ Belgium (2) : “Every municipality in the kingdom belongs to one of these language areas” , re: language areas, from Article 4 of the Belgian constitution (German, French, Dutch and bilingual language areas ) ; “The use of the languages ​​spoken in Belgium is free; ... ” , Article 30 of the Belgian Constitution
  53. ↑ South Tyrol Italy ( South Tyrol ): Article 99: German language for citizens of the Prov. Bolzano equated with Italian , from: Special Statute for Trentino-South Tyrol, from August 31, 1972 (day of the decree)ItalyItaly South-TirolSouth-Tirol 
  54. ^ France : German-language online section of the Alsatian Latest News (Dernières Nouvelles d'Alsace)FranceFrance 
  55. ↑ Denmark (especially North Schleswig ): German minority in the "Working Group of German Minorities in the FUEM "DenmarkDenmark Federation of German North Schleswig-Holstein
  56. ^ Romania : “Multiculturalism - Romania's Diversity of Nations”; 18 recognized minorities , each represented in parliament , affects Romanian Germans in Transylvania and the Banat - "The right to instruction in the respective mother tongue has been anchored in law since 1999" ( planet-wissen.de, as of 2017 )RomaniaRomania 
  57. ↑ Namibia (1) : English sole official language , Chapter 1, Article 3-1 (Language), orusovo.com, available in English; accessed on August 20, 2018NamibiaNamibia 
  58. ↑ Namibia (2) : Namibia 2011 Population & Housing Census Main Report , results of the 2011 census, page 68
  59. ↑ Namibia (3) : constitutional exemptions from English for resident speakers of other languages , Chapter 1, Article 3-2 and 3-3 (Language), orusovo.com, available in English; accessed on August 20, 2018