European Charter for Regional Or Minority Languages
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Strasbourg, 14 January 2003 MIN-LANG/PR (2003) 3 EUROPEAN CHARTER FOR REGIONAL OR MINORITY LANGUAGES Second Periodical Report presented to the Secretary General of the Council of Europe in accordance with Article 15 of the Charter SWITZERLAND CONTENTS PRELIMINARY SECTION ......................................................................................................4 1. Background information.....................................................................................................4 1.1 Relevant historical background..................................................................................4 1.2 The demographic and economic situation of the various regions..............................6 1.3 Constitutional and administrative structure of the State............................................8 2. Minority languages in Switzerland and their territorial distribution................................11 2.1 Languages in Switzerland and their territorial distribution ....................................11 2.2 Minority languages in Switzerland and their territorial distribution ......................12 3. Definitions and statistical data for minority languages ....................................................14 4. Non-territorial minority languages ...................................................................................16 5. Existing language policy measures ..................................................................................17 PART ONE..............................................................................................................................19 1. Legal basis for implementing the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages 19 1.1 International law relating to languages...................................................................19 1.2 Confederation law relating to languages.................................................................20 1.3 Cantonal constitutions and regulations....................................................................24 2. Organisations associated with policy on languages and mutual understanding...............25 3. Collaboration in preparing this report ..........................................................................27 4. Briefing on the Language Charter ................................................................................28 5. Implementation of the recommendations .....................................................................28 5.1 Recommendations of the Council of Europe experts' report (dated 1 June 2001)...28 5.2 Recommendations of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe (dated 21 November 2001) ..............................................................................................................31 6. Briefing on the recommendations ................................................................................35 7. Co-operation in implementing the recommendations ..................................................35 PART TWO .............................................................................................................................35 1. Measures to implement Article 7 of the Languages Charter........................................35 2. Other proposed measures .............................................................................................40 PART THREE.........................................................................................................................41 2 I REPORT BY THE CANTON OF GRISONS ON APPLICATION OF THE EUROPEAN CHARTER FOR REGIONAL OR MINORITY LANGUAGES..................41 1. Background information...................................................................................................41 1.1 Authorities ................................................................................................................41 1.2 Romansh and Italian language areas.......................................................................41 1.3 New draft cantonal constitution...............................................................................42 1.4 Implementation of the Committee of Ministers recommendations...........................42 2. Charter provisions and measures to promote Romansh...................................................43 2.1 Article 8: Education .................................................................................................43 2.2 Article 9: Judicial authorities...................................................................................46 2.3 Article 10: Administrative authorities and public services ......................................47 2.4 Article 11: Media......................................................................................................49 2.5 Article 12: Cultural activities and facilities .............................................................50 2.6 Article 13: Economic and social life........................................................................51 2.7 Article 14: Transfrontier exchanges.........................................................................52 3. Charter provisions and measures to promote Italian........................................................52 3.1 Article 8: Education .................................................................................................52 3.2 Article 9: Judicial authorities...................................................................................54 3.3 Article 10: Administrative authorities and public services ......................................55 3.4 Article 11: Media......................................................................................................56 3.5 Article 12: Cultural activities and facilities .............................................................57 3.6 Article 13: Economic and social life........................................................................58 3.7 Article 14: Transfrontier exchanges.........................................................................58 II REPORT BY THE CANTON OF TICINO ON APPLICATION OF THE CHARTER 58 1. Background information...................................................................................................58 2. Charter provisions and measures to promote Italian........................................................59 2.1 Article 8: Education .................................................................................................59 2.2 Article 9: Judicial authorities...................................................................................61 2.3 Article 10: Administrative authorities and public services ......................................62 2.4 Article 11: Media......................................................................................................62 2.5 Article 12: Cultural activities and facilities .............................................................63 2.6 Article 13: Economic and social life........................................................................63 2.7 Article 14: Transfrontier exchanges.........................................................................63 3 PRELIMINARY SECTION 1. Please provide the necessary background information, such as the relevant historical developments in the country, an overview of the demographic situation with reference to the basic economic data for the regions, as well as information on the constitutional and administrative structure of the State. 1. Background information 1.1 Relevant historical background The current linguistic situation in Switzerland is the culmination of a long history, which has also been influenced by the country's geographical position, since the present territory of Switzerland has absorbed various European language groups. The two oldest peoples of pre-Roman times to settle there were the Rhaetians and the Celts. Between the late first century BC and 400 AD the country was Romanised. A third language strain comes from the Germanic tribes. From the fifth and sixth centuries AD onwards, the Alemanni gradually colonised Switzerland from the north and established a German- speaking area which extended as far as the Pre-Alps and into some Alpine valleys; on the other hand, the Burgundians, who invaded what is now French-speaking Switzerland from the east, were Romanised, as were the Lombards in Ticino. Although multilingualism may appear an essential element of Switzerland, it acquired political significance only during the nineteenth century. Established in 1513, the former Confederation of 13 cantons had been mainly German-speaking since the 1291 Pact, the bilingual canton of Fribourg being the sole exception. Romance languages were the attribute of a few allied lands or subject areas (bailliages). The early alliances of some of the former Confederation's cantons with the city-republic of Geneva accentuated the French-speaking tendency in the former Confederation. It was only after the convulsions of 1798, which introduced political equality for citizens, that the State's multilingual nature became evident. Thus the legislative acts of the Helvetic Republic (1798-1803) were drafted in the three languages considered to be equal: German, French and Italian. The equality of these languages was, however, rescinded with the Act of Mediation (1803), and under the Restoration (from 1815) the German language fully regained its ascendancy. The renunciation of the centralising system introduced by the Helvetic Republic nevertheless encouraged the