Poland has definitely given green light to the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages (ECRML), the European treaty established to protect and promote minoritised languages, after the country ratified it last February 12. Warsaw, which had already recognized the 15 languages, has made yet another step forward adding itself to the list of 23 CoE’s member states which are party to the Charter. According to the official list, the languages spoken in the Republic of Poland are the following (classification supplied by the government given in brackets): Kashub (as a regional language), Czech, Hebrew, Yiddish, Belarusian, Lithuanian, German, Armenian, Russian, Slovak and Ukrainian (as national minority languages), Karaim, Lemko, Romani and Tatar (as ethnic minority languages). The document establishes Hebrew, Yiddish, Karaim, Armenian and Romanian as non-territorial languages.

Eurolang reports that Poland has placed all of the above languages at the Part III level of the Charter, which “affords the highest level of protection” to languages. The Charter will enter into force next June 1.

The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages (ECRML) was approved in 1992 under the auspices of the Council of Europe, an international organization which currently includes 47 European states. 24 state members have signed and ratified it, mostly from Western Europe. However, some states are conspicuous by their absence, like France –which has not ratified it arguing that the Charter contradicts an article of France’s Constitution establishing French as the “language of the Republic”– Greece, Russia, Italy, Turkey, Belgium and Macedonia.

Further information:

• List of member states which have signed and/or ratified the Charter
• Declarations and reservations by state parties
• Information on languages spoken in Poland, at Mercator