Power and Multilingualism: The case of the Hungarian linguistic minority in Romania
In this paper, I will discuss the position of the Hungarian minority and language in the Romanian region called Transylvania. Transylvania is a traditional multi-ethnic region where several languages are spoken. The Hungarian language is a minority language compared to the official language of the country, Romanian. The Transylvanian case is important for the study of the relation between power, hegemony and multilingualism. Important features that give insight into this relation include the Romanian Constitution and legal system, the threshold rule for the Hungarian language based on collective and territorial properties, and multilingual institutions. The conclusion is that equality of languages in a multilingual context with majority-minority languages is far from realized. The majority language takes power over the minority language with the help of the state's institutions.
Download file
Counter downloads: 235
Keywords
multilingual institutions, threshold rule, minority and language rights, Romanian Constitutions, ethnic Hungarians in Transylvania, ethno-linguistic relations, порог правило, многоязычные учреждения, Румынская Конституция, языковые меньшинства, этнические венгры в Трансильвании, этно-лингвистические отношенияAuthors
| Name | Organization | |
| Maracz Laszlo | University of Amsterdam (Amsterdam) | l.k.maracz@uva.nl |
References
Brubaker Rogers, Margit Feischmidt, John Fox, and Liana Grancea. Everyday Ethnicity in a Transylvanian Town. Princeton University Press, Princeton NJ, 2006.
Brubaker Rogers, Margit Feischmidt, John Fox, and Liana Grancea. Everyday Ethnicity in a Transylvanian Town. Princeton University Press, Princeton NJ, 2006.
Hagan Margaret Darin. The Transnational Ethnic Activism of Vojvodina Hungarians. Nationalities Papers 37. (5), 2006. P. 613-640.
Maracz Laszlo. Language Policies in Central and East European States with Hungarian Minorities: Implications for Linguistic Rights Protection of National Minorities in the EU. In: Horvath Istvan and Marton Tonk (eds.): Minority Politics within the Europe of Regions. Scientia Publishing House, Cluj-Napoca, 2011. P. 155-184.
Janssens Rudi , Virginie Mamadouh, and Laszlo Maracz. Multilingual Higher Education in European Regions. Acta Universitatis Sapientiae, European and Regional Studies 3, 2013. P. 17.
Janssens Rudi , Virginie Mamadouh, and Laszlo Maracz. Multilingual Higher Education in European Regions. Acta Universitatis Sapientiae, European and Regional Studies 3, 2013. P. 16-17.
Horvath Istvan, Ilka Veress and Katalin Vitos. Kozigazgatasi nyelvhasznalat Hargita me-gyeben az onkormanyzati es a kozponti kormanyzat megyeszintfi intezmenyeiben. Working Papers in Romanian Minority Studies nr. 27. Institutul Pentru Studiera Problemelor Minoriatilor Nationale, Cluj-Napoca, 2010. P. 7-9.
McRae Kenneth D. The Principle of Territoriality and the Principle of Personality in Multilingual States. International Journal of the Sociology of Language 4, 1975. P. 33-54.
Dembinska Magdalena, Laszlo Maracz, Marton Tonk. Introduction to the Special Section: Minority Politics and the Territoriality Principle in Europe. Nationalities Papers 42. (3), 2014. P. 355-375.
Brubaker Rogers, Margit Feischmidt, John Fox, and Liana Grancea. Everyday Ethnicity in a Transylvanian Town. Princeton University Press, Princeton NJ, 2006.
Maracz Laszlo. Language Policies in Central and East European States with Hungarian Minorities: Implications for Linguistic Rights Protection of National Minorities in the EU. In: Horvath Istvan and Marton Tonk (eds.): Minority Politics within the Europe of Regions. Scientia Publishing House, Cluj-Napoca, 2011. P. 155-184.
Janssens Rudi , Virginie Mamadouh, and Laszlo Maracz. Multilingual Higher Education in European Regions. Acta Universitatis Sapientiae, European and Regional Studies 3, 2013. P. 16-17.
Kovacs Maria and Judit Toth. Kin-state Responsibility and Ethnic Citizenship: the Hungarian Case. In: Baubock Rainer, Bernard Perchnig, Wiebke Sievers (eds.): Acquisition and Loss of Nationality, expanded and revised edition, vol. 1. Amsterdam University Press, Amsterdam, 2009.
Nelde Peter. Language Contact. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics 15, 1995. P. 81-90.
Horvath Istvan, Ilka Veress and Katalin Vitos. Kozigazgatasi nyelvhasznalat Hargita megye-ben az onkormanyzati es a kozponti kormanyzat megyeszintfi intezmenyeiben. Working Papers in Romanian Minority Studies nr. 27. Institutul Pentru Studiera Problemelor Minoriatilor Nationale, Cluj-Napoca, 2010. P. 7-9.
Bourdieu Pierre. Language & Symbolic Power. Harvard University Press, Stockholm, 1991.
Bourdieu Pierre. Language & Symbolic Power. Harvard University Press, Stockholm, 1991.
Brubaker Rogers, Margit Feischmidt, John Fox, and Liana Grancea. Everyday Ethnicity in a Transylvanian Town. Princeton University Press, Princeton NJ, 2006.
