Minority languages of Kosovo

Since the 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, the Albanian language has become the dominant language in Kosovo[lower-alpha 1], although equal status is given to Serbian and special status is given to other minority languages.[1] The legislative framework for the protection and promotion of minority languages follows the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities and the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, even though the country is not a member of the Council of Europe.[1] However, a lack of political will to enforce the law by Kosovo's institutions and the continued separation of Serb and Albanian communities impede the actual enjoyment of minority language rights.[1][2]

Languages of Kosovo[lower-alpha 1]
Linguistic structure of Kosovo, according to the 2011 census.
OfficialAlbanian
MinorityBosnian
Gorani
Romany
Turkish

The Assembly of Kosovo adopted the Law on the Use of Languages in 2006, which committed Kosovo's institutions to ensuring the equal use of Albanian and Serbian as the official languages in Kosovo.[2] Other languages can also gain recognition at municipal level as official languages if the linguistic community represents at least 5% of the total population within the municipality.[2] Additionally, the Law on the Use of Languages gives Turkish the status of an official language in the municipality of Prizren, irrespective of the size of the Turkish community living there.[2] Although both Albanian and Serbian are official languages, municipal civil servants are only required to speak one of them in a professional setting and, according to Language Commissioner of Kosovo Slaviša Mladenović statement from 2015, no organizations have all of their documents in both languages.[3]

Notes and references

Notes:

  1. Kosovo is the subject of a territorial dispute between the Republic of Kosovo and the Republic of Serbia. The Republic of Kosovo unilaterally declared independence on 17 February 2008. Serbia continues to claim it as part of its own sovereign territory. The two governments began to normalise relations in 2013, as part of the 2013 Brussels Agreement. Kosovo is currently recognized as an independent state by 98 out of the 193 United Nations member states. In total, 113 UN member states recognized Kosovo at some point, of which 15 later withdrew their recognition.

References:

  1. "Assessing Minority Language Rights in Kosovo" (PDF). Sapientia University. Retrieved 29 June 2015.
  2. "Municipal language compliance in Kosovo, June 2014" (PDF). Council of Europe. Retrieved 29 June 2015.
  3. "Kosovo Language Commissioner lauds trainings". European Centre for Minority Issues. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 29 June 2015.
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