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Schleswig-Holstein discussing official status for Danish, North Frisian, Low German

The Constitution of the federated state currently recognizes Frisians and Danes as a "minority", says Low German should be "protected and promoted"

The German federated state (Land) of Schleswig-Holstein is discussing official status for three minoritised languages there: Low German, Danish and North Frisian. This has been said by Schleswig-Holstein Commissioner of Minorities, Renate Schnack, and by the Interior Ministry spokesman, as several local newspapers are reporting.

The Land government is debating the issue, but no further details are known, not even what the extent of the official status for those languages would be. It is also unclear if the Constitution of Schleswig-Holstein should be amended. The Land Constitution currently recognizes Danes, North Frisians, Roma and Sinti as minorities, and further says that the state must "protect and promote" Low German.

The government of Schleswig-Holstein is made up by three parties: the Social Democrats, the Greens and the Frisians' and Danes' party SSW.

Thousands speak the three languages

North Frisian is spoken by 9,000 to 10,000 people, according to Université de Laval data, along a narrow strip on Schleswig-Holstein's western coast and adjacent islands. Although it is related to West Frisian (spoken in Friesland in the Netherlands) and East Frisian (in Lower Saxony, in Germany), North Frisian is a distinct language.

Danish has some 50,000 speakers along the border with Denmark, especially in the city of Flensburg.

Low German -a distinct language from German- is spoken in Schleswig-Holstein and other states in the north of Germany, mostly in rural areas. According to a 2007 survey, 27% of the population of Schleswig-Holstein can speak the language, that is roughly 700,000 people. Language use is declining: in 1984, 47% of the population said they could speak it. Out of all German northern states, Low German was spoken in 2007 by 21% of those aged 50 years and more, but only by 5% of those aged 14 to 34 years.

(Image: Island of Sylt, where use of North Frisian is maintained by some people / Photo by Ralf Roletschek.)