István Csernicskó, Kornélia Hires-László, Zoltán Karmacsi, Anita Márku, Réka Máté and Enikő Tóth-Orosz: Ukrainian Language Policy Gone Astray

Abstract

Abstract. The book deals with current language policy issues, analysing the Law of Ukraine “On Supporting the Functioning of the Ukrainian Language as the State Language” adopted by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine in 2019 (URL1). The volume, written by Transcarpathian Hungarian linguists, begins with a foreword by Petteri Laihonen, in which he notes that language policy in Ukraine is largely charged with emotions and passions, and that while the language legislation was being drafted, news of fist fights in the Kyiv parliament's chamber were spreading around the world. The new law makes the use of the state language compulsory in all areas of social life and restricts minority language rights, including the use of minority languages as languages of instruction. The law does not resolve the social tensions around the language issue, but is a source of further conflict.