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Language law of Slovakia


The state language law of Slovakia fixes the status and regulates the use of the Slovak language. It took force in 1995 and underwent a major amendment in 2009.

The 2009 amendment has been severely criticized by Hungarians in Slovakia, as well as the government, civil organizations and general public of neighboring Hungary, for being discriminatory toward Hungarians and their rights to use their Hungarian language. The controversy about the law is one of the key points in Hungary–Slovakia relations, brought to their lowest point for many years.

The law declares priority for the Slovak language over any other language spoken in Slovakia, as it claims the Slovak language is "an articulation of sovereignty of the Slovak Republic". In the mixed territories, bilingualism is preserved. In towns with a minority of at least 10%, it is possible to use the minority language in certain official situations. The law names several circumstances of public and official situations,  – e.g. doctors (although all medical personnel are exempt from the financial sanctions) – in which the use of the Slovak language should take precedence both in written and spoken form. Despite this, the law does not apply to the Czech language, which can be used in any circumstance and occasion whatsoever, as Czech and Slovak are mutually intelligible.

The 2009 modifications include issuing penalties of 100 to 5000 euros for not using Slovak when prescribed by the law despite repeated written notice.

The first law about language use was made in 1990, when Slovakia was part of Czechoslovakia. In communities having at least a 20% minority population, the minority language could be (and was) used in all official communications.

In 1993, Czechoslovakia dissolved into the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The Slovak National Party and its cultural organization Matica Slovenska urged the creation of laws to "protect" the state language. The modifications (called "language law without exceptions") of 1995 contained punishments for not using Slovak in official communication, regardless of the percentage of the minority in the area. This was later shown to violate the constitution of Slovakia and was abolished by the Constitutional Court. The new 1995 law vacates the earlier.

For the accession of Slovakia to the European Union, Slovakia had to accept a law on minority language use. This was created in 1999, and allowed use of minority languages in public situations (such as hospitals) in areas with at least 20% minority.


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