Wallenburg wrote:Could we get definitions of "living minority language" and "living native language"? The meaning of those terms and what they constitute seem quite open to interpretation.
I purposely tried not to include a definition of those two terms, as I feel that if I do, it will lose the spirit of the word, if that makes any sense.
The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages defines 'Minority language' as:
"(a language) 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"
And so, literally a language spoken by a group smaller than the rest of the population is the legal definition used for the sake of this proposal. Of course one can imagine strange hypothetical scenarios where a language spoken by 49% of the population is protected, while a language spoken by 51% has no legal sanctuary. Being realistic however, with the intention and spirit of this proposal being to protect vulnerable languages whose numbers are in decline, this definition is suitable.
'Native language' is synonymous with 'First language', so the
Again Confirms clause gives persons a right to speak their first language, while the first task in the committee will be to discover all first languages in the world, and not, say, artificial languages such as Esperanto or that Dragon language from Skyrim. (Unless persons start speaking them from birth).
Masurbia wrote:Stoskavanya wrote:iii.) Promulgating suggested guidelines on methods for nations to practice linguistic diversity.
Before you submit it, what are these suggested guidelines?
Well, that's to be determined by the committee. If you already know what lingusitic diversity means in my proposal, then it will just articulate methods to achieve that. In real life it would probably publish things like Anthropologist Akira Yamamoto's guideline on keeping languages alive:
I also imagined that it will also assist governments in transforming broad principles of linguistic diversity into technical law.
Sierra Lyricalia wrote:Stoskavanya wrote:Prohibits a member nation from purposely enacting measures through law
or administrative rule which aim to deliberately eradicate a living minority language, or endorse any other efforts to suppress the active use of a minority language, with the intention of causing language death in its borders,
"Ambassador, we suggest this addition, which would extend these protections to children who may have no other choice than to enroll in assimilatory schools whose purpose is precisely this kind of eradication, but which carry it out more subtly and under the guise of 'voluntary' enrollment."
That's an insightful addition, ambassador. It was my hope that in the 'Prohibits' clause in where it prohibits "(states to) endorse any other efforts to suppress the active use of a minority language" would cover this sort of thing, but I see now that though my constant editting it might of lost that effect. Added.