Possibilities of Hungarian Language Education in Transcarpathia in the Light of a Disrespected Language Law

Abstract

Abstract. So what has the Language Law promised us? On the one hand, it has promised that every man can freely define their mother tongue and can choose the language of communication. However, these nice principles are impossible to realize in practice because the Constitution adopted in 1996 clearly states that Ukraine is a monolithic state. From this derives that the Ukrainian language is the mother tongue for everyone. But if one is allowed to choose which is one’s mother tongue then one will choose the language into which they were born. That way the language would be one’s first language. On the other hand, it has promised to define the concept of ‘regional languages’ which is extremely crucial in a country that is monolithic only by the Constitution, otherwise numerous minorities live in it. In addition, these are not immigrant but autochthonous minorities which were formed in various centuries as a result of historical, political, and economic processes. Because of this, they live in a block, and consider themselves native; therefore the law about the regional languages is essential for them.