Language law
The language law regulates which languages are used in a country or region, in particular regarding the official language and the language of the courts . It is therefore the result of the respective language and language policy. The state language can be specified in the constitutions.
Language policy is particularly evident in multilingual countries such as Switzerland or Austria, also towards linguistic minorities, and in international organizations.
In Germany nobody may be disadvantaged because of their language or disability ( Article 3, Paragraph 3, Basic Law). Therefore, although the official and court language at federal level is German ( Section 23 VwVfG, Section 184 Sentence 1 GVG), the Sorbs ' right to speak Sorbian in court in the home districts of the Sorbian population is guaranteed ( Section 184 Sentence 2 GVG ). In addition, due to the cultural sovereignty of the federal states, the basic competence to determine official languages lies with the individual federal states , so that in Schleswig-Holstein, for example , North Frisian is also the official language in some areas .
For people who do not speak German, interpreters are to be called in, for hearing or speech impaired people the help of a person who enables communication or suitable technical aids (§§ 185 to 187 GVG). Persons who do not speak the German language take oaths in the language they are familiar with ( § 188 GVG). In administrative procedures foreign language applications, deeds or other documents are translated, incidentally also interpreters are used ( § 23 para. 2 VwVfG). The communication aid ordinance regulates the right of hearing or speech impaired people to communicate in administrative proceedings in German sign language , with spoken language-accompanying signs or other suitable communication aids .
In a draft law, the German Bundesrat proposes to set up chambers for international commercial matters at the regional courts , in which English can be chosen as the language of the proceedings.
In Lithuania, for example, in addition to the constitutional regulation, there is a law on the Lithuanian language, compliance and implementation of which are monitored by three different authorities.
See also
literature
- Hannelore Burger: Language Law and Linguistic Justice in Austrian Education 1867-1918 Studies on the History of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, Volume: 26, VÖAW 1995
- Dieter Kolonovits: Language Law in Austria. The individual right to use the languages of the national minorities in dealings with administrative authorities and courts Vienna 1999
- Katerina Cerna: Status of Austrian / Austrian German: Language Law and Its Effects In: Language Problems & Language Planning, 2014, pp. 225–246
- Claus Luttermann, Karin Luttermann: A Language Law for the European Union JZ 2004, pp. 1002-1010
Web links
- Swiss Federal Act on National Languages and Understanding between Language Communities (Language Act, SpG) of October 5, 2007 (as of January 1, 2010)
- Daniel Thürer , Thomas Burri: On Language Law in Switzerland University of Zurich , June 4, 2006
- Government Message to the Grand Council, Issue No. 2/2006 - 2007: Language Act of the Canton of Graubünden (SpG)
- Alfred Fischel: The Austrian Language Law; a source collection 1910. Digitized from the University of British Columbia Library, Toronto
- Does Germany need a more conscious, cohesive language policy? Discussion paper of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation 11/2007
- Kirsten-Heike Pistel: Language - Law - Public. Report from the 37th annual conference of the IDS Institute for the German Language 2001
- Working group on language and law at the University of Regensburg
Individual evidence
- ^ Helmut Glück (ed.): Metzler-Lexikon Sprach. 2nd Edition. Stuttgart [u. a.] 2000.
- ^ Draft of a law to introduce chambers for international commercial matters (KfiHG) BT-Drucksache 18/1287 of April 30, 2014
