The Boom in Minority Languages
Poland’s Language Policy and Kashubian
Monika Wingender, Katarzyna Wisniewiecka-Brückner
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
The political departure of 1989-1991 in Eastern Europe brought about an about-face in language policy. In many of the Soviet successor states, na-tional languages appreciated in value vis-à-vis Russian. In East Central Europe, the rapprochement with the European Union created better conditions for promoting minority languages. The attitude of the community of speakers is more important for the development of these languages than legal and political safeguards. This is shown by the example of Kashubian. Poland legally recognizes it as a regional language and promotes its preservation. But only because a large number of people in Kashubia embrace this small Slavic language is Kashubian once again playing a larger role in society.
(Osteuropa 11/2007, pp. 211–224)