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How many states are parties to the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages?

  • 15
  • (1)25
  • 46

The following 25 States have ratified the Charter: Armenia, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Kingdom.

How many regional or minority languages traditionally spoken in Europe are currently protected by the Language Charter?

  • More than forty
  • More than sixty
  • (1)More than eighty

In Europe, more than 80 regional or minority languages currently benefit from the protection of the Charter. Their use is promoted in education, justice, public administration and services, media, cultural activities and facilities, economic and social life and transfrontier exchanges. Thanks to the Charter, some languages threatened with extinction have been successfully revitalised. This number is constantly growing. Since 2020, some States Parties have also agreed to review their level of commitment in order to reflect improvements in the situation of regional or minority languages traditionally spoken on their territory.

A regional or minority language protected under the Language Charter:

  • should have less than 5,000 speakers
  • cannot be official language of any state
  • (1)should be traditionally used on the territory of the state party 

Article 1 of the Charter defines regional or minority languages as languages which are “traditionally used within a given territory of a State by nationals of that State who form a group numerically smaller than the rest of the State's population; and different from the official language(s) of that State”. It also indicates that the regional or minority languages do not include dialects of the official language(s) of the State or the languages of migrants. Apart from that, there are no conditions linked to the number of speakers or their status or presence in other states.

You are a mayor of the town where a regional or minority language is spoken. When making bilingual topographic signs you make sure that:

  • (1)The name in the regional or minority language is not smaller than the name in the official language
  • The name in regional or minority language is an exact translation of the name in the official language, to avoid confusion
  • Only streets in historical centre have bilingual names

The use of regional or minority languages in topographic signage is a promotional measure to increase the visibility and prestige of these languages. The name in regional or minority language should therefore be at least the same size and style (i.e. in terms of font or colour) with the name in the official language.

When a state ratifies the Language Charter, it commits to protect and promote the regional or minority languages traditionally spoken on its territory. The respect of this commitment is:

  • Monitored by the European Court of Human Rights
  • (1)Monitored by a committee of independent experts
  • Not monitored

The implementation of the Charter by the states parties to it is monitored by the Committee of Experts. It is composed of 25 independent experts, who have a recognised expertise in the field of protection and promotion of regional or minority languages. The current Chair of the Committee is Aleksandra Oszmiańska-Pagett, from Poland.

The Romani language is spoken by Roma in many European states. How many states have recognised this language and protect it under the Language Charter:

  • 1
  • (1)16
  • 46

The Romani language, which is sometimes also referred to as ‘Romani’, ‘Romany’, ‘Romanes’, ‘Romani Ćhib’, or ‘Roma language’, is recognised and protected in 16 states parties to the Language Charter: Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Montenegro, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Serbia, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Sweden and Ukraine.

Which states could become a party to the Language Charter or to the Framework Convention?

  • Belgium, France, Greece and Turkey
  • Morocco, Kazakhstan, Canada
  • (1)All of the above

Any state could be a party to the Language Charter or the Framework Convention, whether they are a member of the Council of Europe or not. Non-member states, however, would have to be invited to do so. 

Which one of the following states has not ratified the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities?

  • (1)Andorra
  • Liechtenstein
  • San Marino

Among the states mentioned in the list, Andorra is the only state that did not ratify the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities. San Marino ratified only the Framework Convention, and Liechtenstein ratified both the Framework Convention and the Language Charter.

What is the definition of a “national minority” according to the Framework Convention?

  • Any group of people making up in a country, including migrants and refugees
  • Any group having lived traditionally in a country for more than 100 years;
  • (1)Neither! There is no international definition of national minority.

The notion of "national minority" is not defined in the Framework Convention. Each state party has a margin of appreciation to determine to which groups the convention applies. This definition must be non-discriminatory, established in good faith and in accordance with the principle of free self-identification.

Which are the six recognised national minorities in Austria?

  • (1)Croatians, Hungarians, Slovenes, Slovaks, Czechs and Roma
  • Jews, Croatians, Hungarians, Slovenes, Slovaks and Czechs
  • Germans, Jews, Croatians, Hungarians, Slovenes and Slovaks

Austria officially recognises Croatians, Hungarians, Slovenes, Slovaks, Czechs and Roma as national minorities.

Which of the following groups in the United Kingdom are not formally recognised by the government as national minorities?

  • Ulster Scots
  • Cornish
  • (1)Scottish Gaelic

The United Kingdom formally recognised Ulster Scots and Cornish national minorities in 2022 and 2014, respectively. However, the Framework Convention applies broadly in the United Kingdom, including many ethnic and religious groups.

How many countries are party to the Framework Convention?

  • 16
  • 44
  • (1)38

38 European states have signed and ratified the Framework Convention, the world’s most comprehensive treaty protecting the rights of persons belonging to national minorities.

The Advisory Committee is a committee of independent experts responsible for evaluating the implementation of the Framework Convention in the States Parties. How many members does it have?

  • 12
  • (1)18
  • As many as states parties, i.e. 39

The Advisory Committee has 18 members. They are elected by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe for a mandate four years. The current President of the Advisory Committee is Petra Roter (Slovenia). Half of the members of the Committee are replaced every two years to ensure a rotation

Which of the following languages has 14 vowels:

  • Russian
  • Romanian
  • (1)Hungarian

There are 14 vowels in Hungarian. Russian has ten vowels and one semi-vowel whereas Romanian has seven and two or four (different views exist) semi-vowels.

Which of the following Alphabets contains geometrical secrets behind it:

  • (1)Armenian Alphabet
  • Arabic Alphabet
  • Kurdish Alphabet

The first letter of the Armenian alphabet is A «Ա» and stands for “Astvats” which means God, while the last letter in the alphabet is K «Ք» which stands for “Kristos” meaning Christ. If the Armenian alphabet is arranged into an equilateral triangle, the three letters at the edges read A, K and S describing the Holy trinity, the Father God (Astvats), Son Christ (Kristos) and the Holy Spirit (Surb Hogin) of the Christian faith. If the Armenian letters are arranged inside a square of an octagram, reading clockwise, the letters at the edges form the old native Armenian name for the Armenian country “Hayk”.

Swedish the official language of which country below?

  • Denmark
  • (1)Finland
  • Norway

Finland has two official languages, Finnish and Swedish. Approximately 87% of Finns speak Finnish as their first language. Approximately 5% of Finns speak Swedish as their first language. Swedish is spoken the most on Finland’s western and southern coast.

Which minority is Europe’s largest ethnic minority?

  • Romanians
  • (1)Roma
  • Romansh

An estimated 10-12 million Roma live on the European continent. Originally from present-day north-west India and Pakistan, Roma arrived on the European continent from the 14th century onwards and are present in at least 40 of the 46 Council of Europe member states.

Which of the three minorities below is not of Slavic origin? 

  • (1)Gagauz
  • Gorani
  • Sorbs

Gagauz are a Turkic, predominantly Christian Orthodox, minority living mostly in Moldova, Ukraine and Belarus. Gorani are a Slavic Muslim ethnic group inhabiting Albania, Kosovo* and North Macedonia. Sorbs are a West Slavic people particularly inhabiting the German states of Saxony and Brandenburg.

Who said "the language of Europe is translation"? 

  • (1)Umberto Eco
  • Jorge Luis Borges
  • Saint Jerome

« La lingua dell'Europa è la traduzione »

Who said: “You can never understand one language until you understand at least two”?

  • (1)Geoffrey Willams
  • Oscar Wilde
  • Queen Elizabeth II

Your score: [[score]]

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