Languages of Croatia
Map of municipalities with official minority languages
Minority

The Constitution of Croatia in its preamble defines Croatia as a nation state of ethnic Croats, a country of traditionally present communities that the constitution recognizes as national minorities and a country of all its citizens. National minorities explicitly enumerated and recognized in the Constitution are Serbs, Czechs, Slovaks, Italians, Hungarians, Jews, Germans, Austrians, Ukrainians, Rusyns, Bosniaks, Slovenes, Montenegrins, Macedonians, Russians, Bulgarians, Poles, Romani, Romanians, Istro-Romanians ("Vlachs"), Turks and Albanians. Article 12 of the constitution states that the official language in Croatia is Croatian, but also states that in some local governments another language and Cyrillic or some other script can be introduced in official use.

The official use of minority languages is defined by relevant national legislation and international conventions and agreements which Croatia signed. The most important national laws are Constitutional Act on the Rights of National Minorities, Law on Use of Languages and Scripts of National Minorities and Law on Education in Language and Script of National Minorities. Relevant international agreements are European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages and Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities. Certain rights were achieved through bilateral agreements and international agreements such as Treaty of Osimo and Erdut Agreement.

The required 33.3% of the minority population in certain local government units for obligatory introduction of official use of minority languages is considered high, taking into account that The Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities of the Council of Europe considers a threshold from 10% to 20% reasonable.[1] Croatia does not always show favorable views on issues of minority rights but Croatian European Union accession process positively influenced public usage of minority languages.[2]

Official minority languages

Serbian

bi-lingual plate in front of the school in Trpinja
Bilingual street sign in Croatian and Serbian in Dalj, eastern Croatia

Education in Serbian is primarily offered in the area of former Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia based on Erdut Agreement. With those school since 2005 there is also Kantakuzina Katarina Branković Serbian Orthodox Secondary School in Zagreb.

Serb National Council publish weekly magazine Novosti since December 1999. There are also monthly magazines Identitet, published by Serb Democratic Forum, Izvor, published by Joint Council of Municipalities, youth magazine Bijela Pčela and culture magazine Prosvjeta, both published by Prosvjeta and Forum published by Serb National Council from Vukovar. There are also three local radio stations in Serbian in eastern Slavonia such as Radio Borovo. Since 1996 Central library of Prosvjeta works as the official Central Library of Serbs in Croatia as well.[3] Prosvjeta's library was established on 4 January 1948 and at that time it had 40,000 volumes mostly in national literature including most of the books from XVIII and XIX century.[3] In 1953 authorities made a decision to close the library and to deposit its books in Museum of Serbs of Croatia, National and University Library in Zagreb and Yugoslav Academy of Sciences and Arts.[3] Library was reestablished in January 1995 and until 2016 it included more than 25,000 volumes in its collection.[3]

Department of South Slavic languages at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Zagreb has a The Chair of Serbian and Montenegrin literature.[4] Among the others, lecturers of Serbian literature at the university over the time were Antun Barac, Đuro Šurmin and Armin Pavić.[4]

Controversies

In the first years after introduction of new Constitutional Act on the Rights of National Minorities some local governments resisted implementation of its legal obligations. In 2005 Ombudsman report, municipalities of Vojnić, Krnjak, Gvozd, Donji Kukuruzari, Dvor and Korenica were mentioned as those that do not allow the official use of Serbian, although the national minority in these places meets the threshold provided for in the Constitutional Act.[5] The report pointed out that Serbian minority in Vukovar can not use Serbian although minority constituted less than one percent less population than it was prescribed by law.[5] After 2011 Croatian census Serbs of Vukovar meet the required proportion of population for co-official introduction of Serbian but it led to Anti-Cyrillic protests in Croatia. In April 2015 United Nations Human Rights Committee urged Croatia to ensure the right of minorities to use their language and alphabet.[6] Committee report stated that particularly concerns the use of Serbian Cyrillic in the town of Vukovar and municipalities concerned.[6] The Constitutional Court of Croatia upheld the legislation on the use of minority languages. It relied on a newly developed concept of national identity.[7]

Italian

Italian Secondary School in Rijeka

Italian minority has realized much greater rights on bilingualism than other minority communities in Croatia.[5] La Voce del Popolo is an Italian-language daily newspaper published by EDIT (EDizioni ITaliane) in the city of Rijeka. Central Library of Italians in Croatia operates as a section of Public library in Pula.[8]

Hungarian

Inscription on the Hungarian House in Čakovci in Vukovar-Syrmia County.

In 2004, the Hungarian minority asked for introduction of Hungarian language in town of Beli Manastir as an official language, referring to the rights acquired prior to 1991.[5] Hungarian minority at that time constituted 8,5% of town population.[5] Central Library of Hungarians in Croatia operates as a section of Public library in Beli Manastir.[8]

Czech

6,287 declared Czechs live in Bjelovar-Bilogora County.[9] 70% of them stated that their native language is Czech.[9] Ambassador of Czech Republic in Croatia stated that intention to limit usage of Serbian Cyrillic would negatively affect Czechs and other minorities in Croatia.[10] Central Library of Czechs in Croatia operates as a section of Public library in Daruvar.[8] In an interview in 2011 Zdenka Čuhnil, MP for the Czech and Slovak minorities, stated that Czech minority, based on its acquired rights, have the legal right to use its language in 9 local units (municipalities or towns) while in practice usage of that right is enabled only in one unit and partially in one more.[11] She also stated that in the case of Slovak minority out of 6 units (5 based on acquired rights and one on the basis of proportionality) is free to use its rights only in one.[11]

Slovak

In 2011 there was 11 elementary schools in which students from Slovak minority were able to learn Slovak.[12] Those schools were located in Ilok, Osijek, Soljani, Josipovac Punitovački, Markovac Našički, Jelisavac, Miljevci, Zdenci, Lipovljani and Međurić.[12] Gymnasium in Požega was the first high school in Croatia to introduce Slovak-language education into its elective curriculum.[13] Union of Slovaks in cooperation with the Slovak Cultural Center in Našice publish the magazine Prameň in Slovak.[14] On the 200th anniversary of birth of Štefan Moyses in 1997 Croatian branch of Matica slovenská set a bilingual memorial plate at the building of the Gornji Grad Gymnasium in Zagreb.[15] In 2003 second bilingual plate commemorating the work of Martin Kukučín was set up in Lipik.[15] Matica slovenská in Zagreb published more than 10 books in Slovak over the years.[15] In 1998 Central Library of Slovaks in Croatia was established as a section of Public library in Našice and as of 2016 its users had access to more than 4,000 volumes.[16]

Rusyn

Central Library of Rusyns and Ukrainians in Croatia operates as a section of Public libraries in Zagreb.[8] Library was established on 9 December 1995 and today part of its collection is accessible in public libraries in Vinkovci, Lipovljani, Slavonski Brod, Vukovar and Petrovci.[17]

German

Central Library of Austrians and Germans in Croatia operates as a section of Public library in Osijek.[8]

Yiddish and Hebrew

A memorial plaque in Hebrew and Croatian at place of Zagreb Synagogue, unveiled in 1986

Organisation Zagreb Yiddish Circle is club that organizes courses in Yiddish, lectures on Jewish history, linguistics and culture, movie nights, and hosts a Yiddish book club.[18]

Ukrainian

Ukrainian-language classes are held in four schools in Lipovljani, Petrovci, Kaniža and Šumeće, attended by about 50 students.[19] Central Library of Rusyns and Ukrainians in Croatia operates as a section of Public libraries in Zagreb.[8] Library was established on 9 December 1995 and today part of its collection is accessible in public libraries in Vinkovci, Lipovljani, Slavonski Brod, Vukovar and Petrovci.[17]

Romani

Croatia previously made a reservation to Article 7.5 of ratification by European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages (ECRML), which excluded non-territorial languages such as Romani from the application of the Charter. In the first evaluation report of 2 December 2000, expert groups and the Secretariat of the ECRML have recommended that Romani and Boyash Romanian be recognized as distinct minority languages used by the Roma.[20] Croatian authorities are in the process of withdrawing the reservation.[21] Veljko Kajtazi, Romani community MP in Croatia, stated that he will advocate to have the Roma language included on the list of minority languages in Croatia during his term in office.[22]

Croatian Parliament formally recognised Romani Language Day on May 25, 2012,[22] which was on their initiative also proclaimed by UNESCO in 2015.[23] At the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Zagreb, two courses in the Romani language on the Romani language, literature, culture and history have been taught since November 5, 2012.[20] Central Library of Roma in Croatia was established on 8 June 2020 in Zagreb, and is presently the only such library in Europe.[24]

Istro-Romanian

Istro-Romanian is one of the smallest minority languages spoken in Croatia with fewer than 500 speakers concentrated mainly in the north-eastern part of the Istrian Peninsula. While the language is not officially recognized in the Constitution of Croatia under that name (the Constitution references Romanians and "Vlachs"), it is specifically recognized as such in the Statute of the Istrian Region[25] and in the Statute of the Municipality of Kršan.[26] In 2016, with funding from the Romanian government, the school in the village of Šušnjevica was fully renovated and is expected to start offering education in Istro-Romanian.[27]

Other official languages

There are three other central libraries in Croatia. Bosniak's community central library is located in the town of Sisak, Albanian one in Zagreb and Slovenian in Karlovac.[8]

Municipalities with minority languages in official use

List of towns and municipalities with minority languages in official use:[28]

Municipality Name in minority language Language Affected settlements Introduced based on Population (2021) Percentage of
affected minority (2021)		 County
Končanica Končenice Czech All settlements Constitutional Act 1,805 46.04% Bjelovar-Bilogora
Daruvar Daruvar Czech Ljudevit Selo, Daruvar, Donji Daruvar, Gornji Daruvar and Doljani Town Statute 10,105 20.92% Bjelovar-Bilogora
Kneževi Vinogradi Hercegszöllős Hungarian Kneževi Vinogradi, Karanac, Zmajevac, Suza, Kamenac, Kotlina[29] Constitutional Act 3,357 38.70% Osijek-Baranja
Bilje Bellye Hungarian All settlements Municipality Statute 4,772 25.94% Osijek-Baranja
Ernestinovo Ernestinovo Hungarian Laslovo Municipality Statute 1,948 15.61% Osijek-Baranja
Petlovac Baranyaszentistván Hungarian Novi Bezdan Municipality Statute 1,874 13.02% Osijek-Baranja
Tompojevci Tompojevci Hungarian Čakovci Municipality Statute 1,116 8.06% Vukovar-Syrmia
Tordinci Tardhoz Hungarian Korođ Municipality Statute 1,657 18.65% Vukovar-Syrmia
Punitovci Punitovci Slovak All settlements Constitutional Act 1,562 33.16% Osijek-Baranja
Našice Našice Slovak Jelisavac Town Statute 14,291 5.30% Osijek-Baranja
Vrbovsko Врбовско Serbian All settlements Constitutional Act 3,876 32.38% Primorje-Gorski Kotar
Vukovar Вуковар Serbian All settlements Constitutional Act 23,175 29.73% Vukovar-Syrmia
Biskupija Бискупија Serbian All settlements Constitutional Act 1,177 81.90% Šibenik-Knin
Borovo Борово Serbian All settlements Constitutional Act 3,555 90.69% Vukovar-Syrmia
Civljane Цивљане Serbian All settlements Constitutional Act 171 73.68% Šibenik-Knin
Donji Kukuruzari Доњи Кукурузари Serbian All settlements Constitutional Act 1,080 31.20% Sisak-Moslavina
Dvor Двор Serbian All settlements Constitutional Act 2,996 67.26% Sisak-Moslavina
Erdut Ердут Serbian All settlements Constitutional Act 5,436 53.68% Osijek-Baranja
Ervenik Ервеник Serbian All settlements Constitutional Act 789 96.96% Šibenik-Knin
Gračac Грачац Serbian All settlements Constitutional Act 3,136 43.37% Zadar
Gvozd Гвозд or Вргинмост Serbian All settlements Constitutional Act 2,047 62.63% Sisak-Moslavina
Jagodnjak Јагодњак Serbian All settlements Constitutional Act 1,500 62.87% Osijek-Baranja
Kistanje Кистање Serbian All settlements Constitutional Act 2,650 51.89% Šibenik-Knin
Krnjak Крњак Serbian All settlements Constitutional Act 1,332 58.03% Karlovac
Markušica Маркушица Serbian All settlements Constitutional Act 1,773 90.24% Vukovar-Syrmia
Negoslavci Негославци Serbian All settlements Constitutional Act 983 96.85% Vukovar-Syrmia
Plaški Плашки Serbian All settlements Constitutional Act 1,650 39.76% Karlovac
Šodolovci Шодоловци Serbian All settlements Constitutional Act 1,217 78.06% Osijek-Baranja
Trpinja Трпиња Serbian Village Ćelije excluded in municipality Statute[30] Constitutional Act 4,167 87.81% Vukovar-Syrmia
Udbina Удбина Serbian All settlements Constitutional Act 1,334 42.65% Lika-Senj
Vojnić Војнић Serbian All settlements Constitutional Act 3,602 38.45% Karlovac
Vrhovine Врховине Serbian All settlements Constitutional Act 653 47.63% Lika-Senj
Donji Lapac Доњи Лапац Serbian All settlements Constitutional Act 1,366 79.21% Lika-Senj
Kneževi Vinogradi Кнежеви Виногради Serbian Kneževi Vinogradi and Karanac[29] Municipality Statute 3,357 16.50% Osijek-Baranja
Nijemci Нијемци Serbian Banovci and Vinkovački Banovci Municipality Statute 3,526 8.11% Vukovar-Syrmia
Grožnjan Grisignana Italian All settlements Constitutional Act 656 35.82% Istria
Brtonigla Verteneglio Italian All settlements Municipality Statute 1,523 31.78% Istria
Buje Buie Italian All settlements Town Statute 4,441 23.85% Istria
Cres Cherso Italian All settlements Town Statute 2,716 1.91% Primorje-Gorski Kotar
Novigrad Cittanova Italian All settlements Town Statute 3,889 8.67% Istria
Poreč Parenzo Italian All settlements Town Statute 16,607 2.54% Istria
Pula Pola Italian All settlements City Statute 52,220 3.56% Istria
Rijeka Fiume Italian All settlements City Statute 107,964 1.45% Primorje-Gorski Kotar
Rovinj Rovigno Italian All settlements Town Statute 12,968 9.31% Istria
Umag Umago Italian All settlements Town Statute 12,699 11.47% Istria
Vodnjan Dignano Italian All settlements Town Statute 5,838 15.01% Istria
Bale Valle d'Istria Italian All settlements Municipality Statute 1,170 20.51% Istria
Fažana Fasana Italian All settlements Municipality Statute 3,463 3.81% Istria
Funtana Fontane Italian All settlements Municipality Statute 911 1.54% Istria
Kaštelir-Labinci Castellier-Santa Domenica Italian All settlements Municipality Statute 1,493 2.21% Istria
Ližnjan Lisignano Italian Šišan Municipality Statute 4,087 3.89% Istria
Motovun Montona Italian All settlements Municipality Statute 912 8.11% Istria
Oprtalj Portole Italian All settlements Municipality Statute 748 10.96% Istria
Tar-Vabriga Torre-Abrega Italian All settlements Municipality Statute 2,148 6.94% Istria
Višnjan Visignano Italian Višnjan, Markovac, Deklevi, Benčani, Štuti, Bucalovići, Legovići, Strpačići, Barat and Farini Municipality Statute 2,096 4.10% Istria
Vrsar Orsera Italian All settlements Municipality Statute 1,923 3.02% Istria
Bogdanovci Богдановци Pannonian Rusyn Petrovci Municipality Statute 1,545 19.48% Vukovar-Syrmia
Tompojevci Томпојевци Pannonian Rusyn Mikluševci Municipality Statute 1,116 16.40% Vukovar-Syrmia

History

During Napoleon I's invasion of Croatia in the early 19th century, a large portion was of the country was converted into the Illyrian Provinces (Provinces illyriennes) and incorporated as a French province in 1809.[31] French rule established the official language of the autonomous province to be French followed by Croatian, Italian, German, and Slovene.[32][33] According to France's Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, about 6% of Croatians are fluent in basic conversation in French.[34]

European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages became a legally binding for Croatia in 1997.[35]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Minorities in Croatia Report, page 24". Minority Rights Group International. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 January 2015. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  2. ↑ "Language Policy in Istria, Croatia–Legislation Regarding Minority Language Use, page 61" (PDF). Acta Universitatis Sapientiae, European and Regional Studies, 3 (2013) 47–64. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Snjezana Čiča (April 2016). "Centralna biblioteka Srpskog kulturnog društva "Prosvjeta" – centar kulture Srba u Hrvatskoj". Novosti-Hrvatsko knjižničarsko društvo. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  4. 1 2 Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. "The Chair of Serbian and Montenegrin Literature". University of Zagreb. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "The Position of National Minorities in the Republic of Croatia–Legislation and Practice, page 18" (PDF). ombudsman.hr. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  6. 1 2 "UN calls on Croatia to ensure use of Serbian Cyrillic". B92.net. 3 April 2015. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  7. ↑ Toplak, Jurij; Gardasevic, Djordje (14 November 2017). "Concepts of National and Constitutional Identity in Croatian Constitutional Law". Review of Central and East European Law. 42 (4): 263–293. doi:10.1163/15730352-04204001. ISSN 1573-0352.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Središnje knjižnice nacionalnih manjina". Ministarstvo kulture. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  9. 1 2 "DAN MATERINJEG JEZIKA". Bjelovar-Bilogora County. 22 February 2015. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  10. ↑ "Košatka: Reći 'ne može' ćirilici znači biti i protiv Čeha". Večernji list. 18 December 2013. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  11. 1 2 Obradović, Stojan (5 November 2011). "Gradovi i općine zloupotrebljavaju stečeno pravo: intervju s Zdenkom Čuhnil". Identitet (in Serbian). Zagreb: Serb Democratic Forum (159).
  12. 1 2 Vinco Gazdik (21 May 2011). "Kako žive Slovaci u Hrvatskoj". T-portal. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  13. ↑ Ljiljana Marić (24 May 2013). "Prva srednja škola u Hrvatskoj u kojoj će se učiti slovački jezik". Večernji list. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  14. ↑ "Prameň-KULTÚRNO-SPOLOČENSKÝ ČASOPIS SLOVÁKOV V CHORVÁTSKU". Union of Slovaks. Archived from the original on 21 June 2015. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
  15. 1 2 3 "Matica slovačka Zagreb". Matica slovačka Zagreb. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  16. ↑ Ružica Vinčak (April 2016). "Središnja knjižnica Slovaka radi na povezivanju dvije kulture i dva naroda". Novosti-Hrvatsko knjižničarsko društvo. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  17. 1 2 "Središnja knjižnica Rusina i Ukrajinaca Republike Hrvatske". Public libraries of City of Zagreb. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  18. ↑ "zagreber yidish-krayz (Zagreb Yiddish Circle)-About". Zagreb Yiddish Circle. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
  19. ↑ "Ukrajinci u Republici Hrvatskoj". Embassy of Ukraine in Zagreb. Archived from the original on 29 June 2015. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
  20. 1 2 "6th Report by the Republic of Croatia on the Application of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages". Zagreb: Government of Croatia. June 2019.
  21. ↑ "Romani and the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages (ECRML)" (docx). ECRML Secretariat. 13 April 2015. Retrieved 30 November 2021. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  22. 1 2 "World Roma Language Day marked in Croatian Parliament". Croatian Parliament. 5 November 2014. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  23. ↑ "Svjetski dan romskog jezika" (in Croatian). Croatian Romani Union "Kali Sara". Retrieved 30 November 2021.
  24. ↑ "Otvorena prva Središnja knjižnica Roma u Hrvatskoj" (in Croatian). Večernji list. 11 June 2020. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
  25. ↑ "Statute of the Istrian Region". Istrian Region. 19 May 2003. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  26. ↑ "Status Općina Kršan". Municipality of Kršan. 29 July 2009. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  27. ↑ "La Șușnevița, în Croația, s-a inaugurat prima școală refăcută de Statul Român pentru istroromânii din localitate". 17 November 2017. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  28. ↑ Government of Croatia (October 2013). "Peto izvješće Republike Hrvatske o primjeni Europske povelje o regionalnim ili manjinskim jezicima" (PDF) (in Croatian). Council of Europe. pp. 34–36. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
  29. 1 2 "Statut Općine Kneževi Vinogradi , article 15" (PDF). Retrieved 7 August 2015.
  30. ↑ "Statut Općine Trpinja" (PDF). Retrieved 23 June 2015.
  31. ↑ "Croatian-French relations". Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  32. ↑ "Croatian-French relations". Retrieved 2 March 2018.
  33. ↑ "Illyrian Provinces | historical region, Europe". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
  34. ↑ "France and Croatia". Archived from the original on 3 March 2018. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  35. ↑ "Europe and Croatia are living and protecting multilingualism". GONG (organization). 10 December 2013. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
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