Simkovicova: New Language Act Won't Mean Penalties for Ordinary People (2)

Bratislava, October 25 (TASR) - The amendment to the State Language Act is not directed against ethnic minorities; it fully respects international agreements and the need to develop the languages of ethnic minorities in Slovakia, stressed Culture Minister Martina Simkovicova (an SNS nominee) on Friday. The aim of the legislation is to strengthen the standing of the Slovak language in public. "We take objection to disinformation spread on social media, according to which fines might also be extended to individuals who publish their own private texts with grammatical errors or spelling mistakes. The fines will apply to entrepreneurs, businesses and legal entities only," stated Simkovicova. "Practice has revealed that there are businesses, even public administration bodies, that repeatedly violate the State Language Act despite multiple warnings, which means that they are essentially ignoring the law. This is the result of the limited powers of the Culture Ministry as a regulator." Simkovicova conceded that the amendment will require stricter compliance with the State Language Act from the media and organisers of public events. The new legislation also aims to eliminate the use of foreign words that have percolated into public and official communications despite the fact that full-fledged equivalents exist in Slovak. In addition, the amendment is supposed to simplify the geographical designation of towns, villages, cities, streets, squares and cultural monuments. "It's unacceptable to have names in Slovak displayed in a less visible manner than those in the languages of ethnic minorities. It's also unacceptable to have restaurant menus without a Slovak version," warned the minister. She added that the legislation was inspired by laws in Poland and France and is in full accordance with the Government Manifesto. mf/df