National language ideology in Lithuanian media

Rasa Mikalauskaite
Ghent University
IPP Dutch and translation
201
I
Within the EU institutions, ideology trumps pragmatism, and the founding ideology of the
Union is Unity in Diversity. Back in !"#, $hen there $ere only si% mem&er states and four
languages, it $as an easy credo to follo$. But fast'for$ard to today and things are not so
easy( )# mem&er states and )* official languages.+
PRI !Pu"lic Radio International#
1
$ 2% May$ 201

&he 'uote (rom the article dedicated to the accession o( )roatia to the *U and !a month later$
on 1 +uly$ 201#$ succinctly ca,tures the general mood accom,anying the latest accessions to
the *U and the *U language regime-
&he institutional multilingualism
2
o( the *uro,ean Union is "ased on the !very (irst# **)
)ouncil Regulation No-1

.hich granted the status o( /o((icial and .orking language0 to the

national language!s# o( the mem"er state1 the !then (our# languages .ere there"y declared
e'ual in legal ,o.er- 2urther details .ere not sti,ulated$ mainly "ecause the system .as
remained reasona"ly .orka"le and trans,arent$ even .ith the su"se'uent enlargements o( the
the *U in 134 !the U5$ Denmark$ Ireland#$ in 1361 !Greece#$ 1367 !8,ain$ Portugal# and in
1339 !:ustria$ 2inland$ 8.eden#-
It .as only in the 13300s that institutional multilingualism "ecame ,art o( coherent
multilingualism ,olicies o( the *U-
%
:ccording to ;odak
9
the main im,etus .as ,rovided "y
the Lis"on strategy !launched in 2000 and relaunched in 200# .here"y the actively stimulated
kno.ledge o( languages .as counted among the /skills0 indis,ensa"le (or the develo,ment o(
a *uro,ean 5no.ledge <ased *conomy$ =ver the years$ /the ,olicies on multilingualism
>oscillated? "et.een economic !5<*# values and ideologies and traditional *uro,ean cultural
values such as diversity and education0- In this conte@t$ another stimulus .as the most
am"itious enlargement in the history o( the *U$ that o( 200%- In contrast to the ,revious$
smaller ones$ it "rought nine
7
ne. languages to the (amily o( the o((icial languages o( the
*uro,ean Union$ .hich raised their total num"er to 20- &he accession o( <ulgaria and
Romania in 2004 and$ recently$ )roatia in 201$ added more$ and$ together .ith Irish$ .hich
also gained the o((icial status in 2009 !took e((ect only in 2004# the *U has 2% o((icial
1
htt,ABB...-,ri-orgBstoriesB,oliticsCsocietyBgovernmentBeuro,eanCunionC,re,aresCtoCado,tC2%thCo((icialC
languageCasCcostsCmountCcallsC(orCenglishCriseC130-html
2
:n institution0s !in this case$ the *U institutions0# ,olicy on the use o( languages in "oth internal o,erations and
e@ternal communications$ as cited in <aaiD$ )ornelis$ +-;-

**) )ouncil A Regulation No-1 determining the languages to "e used "y the *uro,ean *conomic )ommunity
!1396#
%
Main ,olicy documentsA the *uro,ean )ommission0s :ction Plan 200%E2007 on /Promoting Language
Learning and Linguistic Diversity0 !*uro,ean )ommission 200# or its Ne. 2rame.ork 8trategy (or
Multilingualism0 !*uro,ean )ommission 2009#$ and MultilingualismA an :sset (or *uro,e and a 8hared
)ommitment !*uro,ean )ommission 2006#-
9
;odak$ R-
7
=ne o( the ten ne. mem"er states$ )y,rus$ /shares0 its o((icial language .ith Greece-
languages at the moment- In reaction to the ,osed challenges and changing circumstances$ the
need .as (elt to rea((irm and clearly articulate the commitment to the essential ,rinci,leA
Unity in !linguistic# diversity-
&he *U institutional multilingualism is thus (ounded on the ,rinci,le o( language equality
and the ,rinci,le o( democratic legitimacy and transparency$ i-e-$ e'ual access o( the *U
citiFens to *U institutions and the *U legislation- Gence$ the aims and o"Dectives o( the
o((icial *U multilingualism ,olicy is to u,hold the "asic democratic rights o( *uro,ean
citiFens and1 the assum,tion is that institutional multilingualism .ill also in the long term$
hel, create the *uro,ean ,u"lic s,here$ the soCcalled /community o( communication !a(ter
Ga"ermas#-
4
0
Go.ever$ at least in ,u"lic ,erce,tion$ the everCgro.ing and "arely managea"le num"er o(
the o((icial languages tends to "e (irmly associated .ith e@actly the o,,osite o( .hat has "een
envisagedA the "ureaucratic de"ris$ logginess and o,acity o( the Institutions as .ell as .ith the
e@treme lack o( economical ,ragmatism- &he academic and ,u"lic de"ate a"out the
desira"ility and$ es,ecially$ the tena"ility o( the current language regime is ongoing-
Un(ortunately$ the institutional language regime has "ecome one visi"le and tangi"le
em"odiment o( the ,erceived ine((iciency o( the *U institutions- &he eurosce,tics and critics
o( *U at large em,loy the image o( the institutional /&o.er o( <a"el0 to illustrate
meta,horically the *U0s (ailure to communicate its vision and goals-
&he criti'ue o( the *U institutional multilingualism
&he /traditional0 arguments against the institutional multilingualism (ocus on ,erverse e((ects
the a,,lication to the a(orementioned ,rinci,les "rings a"out in ,ractice- &hey either (ail to
attain the goal or result in the o,,osite o( .hat .as envisaged- &hey could "e summariFed as
(ollo.sA
6
Practical and economical ine((iciency
1- &he translation and inter,retation e@,enditure o( the *U institutions already runs
e@cessively high$
3
and .ill kee, rising due the ever increasing num"er o( languages1
2- a# :s (ar as inter,retation is concerned$ some com"inations are still unavaila"le$ and the
cum"ersome and inaccurate relay system !e-g-$ 2innish to Lithuanian via *nglish# may "e
used1 even in direct inter,reting$ the transmission o( in(ormation su((ers (rom delay1
moreover$ "oth the s,ontaneity and 'uality o( discussions is lost$ since the s,eakers tend to
sim,li(y their s,eeches .hen they kno. that they have to "e inter,reted1 in long discussions$
s,eakers o( smaller language communities .ill (ace the disadvantage o( "eing ignored due to
the tiresomeness o( interaction1 "# .hen translation o( .orking documents is needed$ some
delegations !e@am,le (rom the *P# .ill "e in disadvantage due to delay in translation-
Democratical trans,arency and language e'uality H &heoretical commitment to
multilingualism vs- everyday ,racticeA
4
<uchmIller$ )-
6
Idem-
3
&he o((icial (iguresA the total cost o( translation and inter,retation !carried out "y over 000 translators and
inter,reters$ most em,loyed "y the *uro,ean )ommission# in all the *U institutions !the *uro,ean )ommission$
*uro,ean Parliament$ )ouncil$ )ourt o( +ustice o( the *U$ *uro,ean )ourt o( :uditors$ *uro,ean *conomic and
8ocial )ommittee$ )ommittee o( Regions# is around J1 "illion ,er year$ .hich e'uals a,,ro@- 1K o( the *U
"udget or J2 ,er citiFen-
:ll o((icial languages have al.ays "een e'ual in status on ,a,er$ "ut never in reality-
Regulation No-1 itsel( ,rovides "asis (or ine'uality in :rticle 7A /&he institutions o( the
)ommunity may sti,ulate in their rules o( ,rocedure .hich o( the languages are to "e used in
s,eci(ic cases-0
10
In reality it means that only o((icial documents .ith legal ,o.er in all the
mem"er states$ resolutions and directives ,re,ared and ado,ted "y the *U$ are translated in all
the o((icial languages1 the same holds (or the documentation o( all the o((icial assem"lies o(
the *uro,ean Parliament and o((icial meetings o( the )ouncil o( Ministers$ and there is also
simultaneous inter,reting (rom and into all the languages- Mean.hile$ all the in(ormal
meetings and dayCtoCday communication .ithin the institutions is conducted in a (e.
languages only$ i-e-$ *nglish$ 2rench and German$ .hich are also used (or ,re,aring dra(ts o(
o((icial documents$ and only these languages are de (acto .orking or ,rocedural languages-
&he declared e'uality o( the languages is de (acto ignored- *ven the status o( German is not as
secured as that o( *nglish and 2rench1 German "arely survives as a ,rocedural language$ in
s,ite o( Germany0s economical .eight and ,olitical status .ithin the *U- In ,ractice$ contrary
to the actual .orking language regime is /the result o( the "alance o( ,olitical ,o.er and
economical im,ortance o( the dominant nationCstates o( the *U0-
:s o( late$ the de"ate is "eing dominated "y the omni,resence and omni,otence o( *nglish
.hich has
&he ar"itrarity o( the choice o( o((icial languages H democratic legitimacy and language
e'uality
&he claims to democratic legitimacy o( the *U institutional multilingualism are seriously
undermined "y the ,resence o( regional and minority languages .hose s,eakers do not enDoy
e'ual access to *uro,ean institutions or legislation- &he mem"er states are allo.ed to select
one national language to "ecome an o((icial language o( the *U$ and their choice is motivated
"y the ,olitics o( national interest and ,restige- Predicta"ly$ small languages .ith (e. native
s,eakers are (avoured over larger linguistic communities- 2or e@am,le$ Irish is the o((icial
(irst state language o( Ireland$ is only s,oken "y a"out %K o( the Irish !1-7 million ,eo,le#- In
contrast$ a"out 10 million ,eo,le s,eak )atalan$ the second o((icial state language o( 8,ain-
:t the national level$ too$ historical and ,olitical considerations in res,ect to minority
languages ,revail over the democratic ,rinci,les- &he *uro,ean )harter (or Regional and
Minority languages$ ado,ted under the aus,ices o( the *uro,ean )ouncil in 1332$ and signed
"y countries$ is still not rati(ied "y 6 signatories !including Lithuania#-
11
Unsur,risingly$ the loudest critical voices have al.ays "een <ritish- Unsur,risingly$ "ecause
o( their /traditional0 eurosce,ticism that has "ecome a common,lace1 and "ecause they are
likely to "e the sole .inners o( the *U language de"ate$ since virtually all ,ro,osals (or
reducing the num"er o( languages include *nglish at least as one o( the lingua (rancas
12
- &he
,osition o( *nglish .ithin the *U institutions has also "een cata,ulted to the level o(
linguistic mono,oly "y the in(lu@ the ne. *uro,eans$ the maDority o( .hich utiliFe *nglish as
their second language- &he s,eakers o( *U are understanda"ly less enthusiast$ although only
the 2rench$ the Germans and$ to even lesser degree$ the 8,anish and the Italians$ are in
,osition !at least theoretically# to counter the dominance o( *nglish-
1
;hat a"out the /ne. *uro,eans0L
10
8ee A note 2-
11
*uro,ean )harter (or Regional or Minority Languages
)*&8 No-A 1%6
12
:mmon$ Ulrich-
1
Idem-
!Ne.# *uro,eans and their languages
I( .e are to trust the most recent *uro"arometer /&he *uro,eans and their languages0
1%
Dust
over hal( o( res,ondents in *U19 !the *uro,e o( 19# !9K# and NM812 !the ne. mem"er
states as o( 2012# !9%K# agree that *uro,ean institutions should ado,t a single language .hen
communicating .ith citiFens- =n average$ the outcome is the same (or the old and ne.
*uro,e- Go.ever$ the (igure !"elo.# reveals the tendencyA the most ans.ers /totally disagree0
and the least o( /totally agree0 come (rom the ne. mem"er states-
=n the other hand$ another relevant *uro"arometer survey /=n Ne. *uro,eans
19
0 concludesA
MNe. *uro,eans "y ancestry aloneM in turn$ stand out "y "eing the most likely !%2K# to
mention mastering the national language as an im,ortant element o( national identity$
com,ared to "oth M=ld *uro,eansM !2K# and MNe. *uro,eans "y o,enness aloneM
17
!9K#-
N-< Lithuania !93K# as .ell as *stonia !77K# are among the countries .hose residents
consider the national language as a core element o( national identity-
1%
ec-euro,a-euB,u"licNo,inionB---Be"sBe"sN67Nen-,d(
19
ec-euro,a-euB,u"licNo,inionBarchivesBe"sBe"sN%7Nen-,d(
17
&hese are ,eo,le .ho develo,ed strong ties to a country other than their country o( residence- &his can "e so
(or (our di((erent reasonsA they have .orked or studied in another country (or some time$ or have a ,artner (rom
another country$ or they may o.n ,ro,erty a"road !20K o( the sam,le#-
It is a ,ossi"le that there is a correlation "et.een these outcomes$ and the ne. *uro,eans tend
to a,,reciate less a single lingua (ranca !most likely *nglish# (or the communication at the *U
level$ "ecause they attach e@traordinary im,ortance to their national language-
;e .ill analyse the relevant content o( a Lithuanian daily /Lietuvos rytas0 to see i( .e can
detect any ,attern in the ne.s coverage relating !as much as ,ossi"le# to the status 'uo o( the
*U language regime-
II
&he Lithuanian ,ers,ective
&he daily /Lietuvos rytas0
14
!LR# is ,art o( the largest media hu" in Lithuania !the LR concern
o.ns$ "esides the titular ne.s,a,er$ a &O station$ and$ curiously$ a ,o,ular "asket"all clu"#- It
is an inde,endent daily o( li"eral orientation$ (ounded in 1363
16
- :ccording to the &N8 L&
!National Readers0 8urvey#$
13
it is the most ,o,ular Lthuanian daily .ith the share o( 2$1K
o( the Lithuanian ,o,ulation reading it or accessing it online-
It re,resents the mainstream ,u"lic o,inion in Lithuania-
In this ,a,er$ the online version o( LR ne.s,a,er is used- &he search (unction or the current
,ur,ose the search .as limited to the years 2010C2011 multi,le search terms .ere used$ to
yield more resultsA /lietuviu kal"a *8 instituciDose0 !Lithuanian !language# in the *U
institutions#$ /nauDosios *8 kal"os0 !ne. *U languages#$ /*8 instituciDu kal"u ,olitika0 !the
language ,olicy o( *U institutions#$ /*uro,os <a"elio "okstas0 ! *uro,e0s to.er o( <a"el#$
/maFumu kal"os *80 !minority languages in the *U#- 8ince only several contri"utions dealt
directly .ith languages as used in the *U institutions$ some e@tra,olation .as necessary
!/attitudes and sentiment mining0#$ and ne.s items .ith the usage o( languages and
translation .ithin the *U conte@t .ere also included- :"out t.enty articles .ere retrieved$
!covering the years 2010C201#$ ranging (rom ,urely in(ormative to o,inion articles- &he
selected items in order o( relevance-
,earning+$ e-g- /Oilnius University to ,re,are translators (or the u,coming *U ,residency01
the training o( 9 ne. translators .ill "e (inanced "y the *U 8tructural 2unds1 the languages
instructed .ill "e *nglish$ 2rench$ German and Italian- !2010C02C20#-
/*U "ureaucracy lacks ,ro,er terminology in Lithuanian01 : ,resentation given at the
Lithuanian Parliament "y the ,resident o( the Lithuanian language )ommissionA the status o(
Lithuanian has risen considera"ly$ yet there are still ,ractical ,ro"lems o( translating the *U
terms into Lithuanian1 Lithuanian ,oliticians encouraged to use Lithuanian instead o( *nglish
or 2rench and actively ,romote ne. terms in ,u"lic- Partici,ants o( the discussion need not
.orry that a /surrogate0$ arti(icial Lithuanian should come to re,lace the real Lithuanian-
&ranslation directory is to "e created$ "ased on the e@isting Lithuanian term"ank .ith 00 000
terms1 !2010C0%C04#-
Education+A /: Lithuanian student among the "est young translators at +uvenes &ranslatores01
000 ,artici,ants to the translators0 com,etition (rom all over *uro,e in <russels- !201C0%C
11#-
14
htt,ABB...-lrytas-ltB
16
htt,ABB...-,resseuro,-euBenBcontentBsourceCin(ormationB%6921ClietuvosCrytas
13
htt,ABB...-tns-ltBltBne.sBtnsCltC,o,uliariausiuC2012CmCvasarosC,eriodoCleidiniuC,enketukaiB
/8tudies a"road E an introduction into linguistic and cultural diversity0 !a Doint ,rogram o(
sociolinguistics and multilingualism at universities o( 8.eden$ *stonia$ Germany and
Lithuania# !201C07C03#-
/: ne. *nglish language ,rogramme /*U la. and governance0 at the M- Romeris
University0- !&he ,rogramme .holeheartedly em"raced "y Gead o( Lithuanian <arristers
"oard$ due to the steady increase o( court cases .ith *U la. involved# !201C09C23#-
-uman interest+A Lithuanian language led translators to the discovery o( "ro.n "read .ith
"eer0 !three translators$ a 8.ede$ an Italian and an :merican$ .orking at the *U institutions
learned Lithuanian and got in(atuated "y the di((icult and ancient language#0 !201C0%C01#-
.pinions+A /Don0t ,ush sausage do.n the throat o( vegetarians0 !a ,olemic rant against
militant language ,urists .ho (anatically ,rotect Lithuanian against the in(luence o( *nglish#1
Europe+A /: *uro,e0s ne. to.er o( <a"el didn0t rise0 !an intervie. .ith :nna GrFy"o.ska$
Gead o( the Programming Unit o( DG (or Inter,retation and )on(erences at the *P# &he
intervie.ee ,lays do.n the .orries a"out the shortage o( translators into LithuanianA the
institutions are .ellC,re,ared to tackle the enormous load o( translation- &he discussions
a"out reducing the num"er o( languages e((ectively used are redundant- &he cost o(
translation !some 4 Litas ,er *U citiFen a year# is ,er(ectly Dusti(iedA /the cost of conducting
all political communication in only one dominant language be it English or French or
any other - would be much greater, says the intervie.ee .ho .as "orn in the country
.here such dominant language .as Russian- 8he minimiFes the shortcomings o(
inter,retation !one e@,resses himBhersel( most (reely in hisBher o.n language$ and the 'uality
o( inter,reters is high#- In in(ormal meetings$ kno.ing other languages is de(initely an
advantage- 8urely$ "e(ore the *nlargement !in 200%#$ a ne. to.er o( <a"el .as ,redicted$ "ut
the ,redictions (ell shortA people still speak different tongues, and they still understand
each other. 201C09C02#-
/:ctuality0A /;hat do e@actly Lithuanian Poles .antL0 !201C06C03#1 /*uro,ean )ommission
has e@amined a Polish ,etition concerning the education re(orm$ no legal ste,s .ill "e taken-0
/Russian language .ill not "ecome Latvia0s second o((icial language0 !2012C02C13#-
Preliminary conclusions
&he vie. on ,ractical and economical ine((iciency-
&he a"sence o( negative common,laces usually associated .ith institutional multilingualism
in the ;estern media- Practical inconveniences are overlooked$ the cost o( translation at the
*U institutions is Dusti(ied "y invoking ideology rather than economical ,ragmatismA
reminiscences to the recent totalitarian ,ast still a,,eal to the *ast *uro,ean$ ,ostC8oviet
sensi"ilities- &he ,ractical ,ro"lems in rendering the <russels0 Dargon into Lithuanian are
a,,roached ,ositively and ,oliticians are asked to ,o,ularise the ne. terms1 the details o(
re,resenting the Lithuanian language at the heart o( *uro,ean Union

&he theory and ,ractice o( language e'uality at the *U institutions-
&he (irst conclusion is the ,ositivity$ matterCo(C(actness o( the toneA *U language ,olicies and
the ,resence o( Lithuanian language at the *U institutions "elong to the normal state o( a((airs
and is ,art o( daily ne.s coverageA Lithuania (or the u,coming ,residency o( the *U$ young
Lithuanians taking ,art in allC*uro,ean translation com,etitions$ ,er(ecting their *nglish in
international ,rograms$ ac'uiring multicultural skills to ,artici,ate in the (uture *U
governance- It is seen as a logical outcome o( the Lithuanian mem"ershi, o( the *uro,ean
Union- &he status o( Lithuanian one o( the 2% o((icial languages is sel(Cevident and is actually
considered as a deserved recognition o( the e@traordinary language o( Lithuania-
&he Lithuanian ne.s coverage im,licitly$ i( not e@,licitly$ em"races the o((icial rationale
"ehind the *U institutional multilingualism- &he ,ro"lem o( the nominal and real e'uality o(
all the !national# languages is not touched u,on-
&he recognition o( the national language at *U level and minority languages-
;e o"serve irritated reactions to the claims coming (rom voci(erous language minorities$ "e it
in Lithuania itsel( or in the neigh"ouring Latvia !Latvian )onstitutional re(erendum 2012
20
#
&he e@clusive status o( Lithuanian as the sole o((icial language o( the country !and the sole
language o( Lithuania recogniFed at *U level# is not 'uestioned$ Polish is ,erceived as a
threat to it$ there is a (eeling o( solidarity .ith the Latvians are (orced to de(end their language
(rom the threat o( Russian-
&he su,eriority o( the national language !over the country0s minority languages# is not
'uestioned- :t the same time$ the admiration is e@,ressed to.ards (oreigners .ho ,roved
ca,a"le o( learning the /di((icult and ancient0 Lithuanian-
III-
It is reasona"le to assume that ne. mem"ers to a clu" .ill al.ays gladly em"race .hatever
,rivileges granted to them "y the mem"ershi,- Go.ever$ it is ,ossi"le that$ to many
ne.comers$ including Lithuania$ the sym"olic signi(icance o( their national language "eing
recogniFed at the highest *uro,ean level$ .ill not (ade-
&here are a (e. ,ossi"le e@,lanations o( historical$ ,olitical and cultural nature-
East-West diide!
It could "e argued that the nations in the /ne. *uro,e0 !)entral and *astern *uro,e# are
inclined to associate very closely their national identity and national language$ .hich is
su,,osedly not !or no longer# the case in the .est o( the continent- &he distinction "et.een
ethnic !e@clusive$ "ased on ethnie and language # and civic !inclusive$ "ased on civil contract#
nationalism in *ast and ;est res,ectively is o(ten "eing made a(ter Gans 5ohn$ *rnest
Gellner$ +ohn PlamenatF$ i.a. !/:ncient hatreds0 in the *ast vs /reason and rationalism0 in the
;est#-
21
&he negative connotations aside$ the distinction seems to hold groundA the
com,rehensive study /&he ,olitics o( language and nationalism in modern )entral *uro,e0
22
also recogniFes that /the ,henomenon o( language ,olitisation is "e the most visi"le in )entral
*uro,e$0!)amusellaA2%# .here certain historical circumstances lead to nationC"uilding
through enthnolinguistic nationalism- &he resulting nationCstates .ere "ased o( the /normative
isomor,hism o( language$ nation and state$0 Lithuania among them-
20
: constitutional re(erendum on the P:mendments to the )onstitution o( the Re,u"lic o( LatviaP .as held on
16 2e"ruary 2012->1? Pro,osed amendments included :rticles %$ 16$ 21$ 101 and 10% o( the )onstitution o(
Latvia "y adding the condition a"out Russian as the second o((icial language$ as .ell as ,rescri"ing t.o .orking
languages Q Latvian and Russian (or sel(Cgovernment institutions- &he re(erendumMs 'uestion .as PDo you
su,,ort the ado,tion o( the Dra(t La. P:mendments to the )onstitution o( the Re,u"lic o( LatviaP that ,rovides
(or the Russian language the status o( the second o((icial languageLP
htt,ABBen-.iki,edia-orgB.ikiBLatvianNconstitutionalNre(erendumN2012
21
G- 5ohn- /&he :ge o( NationalismA &he 2irst *ra o( Glo"al Gistory0 !1372#1 *- Gellner- /Nations and
Nationalism0!136#1 +- PlamenatF-/&.o ty,es o( nationalism-0!134#-
22
&omasF 5amusella-
"he recognition of the national language at E# leel is highly symbolic and equals the
political recognition of the nationhood and the nation-state.
2- $istoric reanchism!
In *U countries .ith vocal national minorities claiming the recognition o( their linguistic
rights !and (urther cultural autonomy#$ the e@clusive status o( the titular language may "e seen
as an /o((icial0 con(irmation o( a ,roDected monolingualBmonoethnical national identity
!)atalan in 8,ain#- In the e@C8oviet Union countries there is the additional as,ect o( .hat
could "e called the historical revanchism .hich$ in case o( the <altic countries Latvia and
*stonia$ takes the (orm o( the /ethno,olitics o( e@clusion0 .hen the (ormer can "e denied
minority language rights and ,rotection$ "ecause they are not true language minorities$ "ut
/maDoritiFed minority0$ since their language is "eing understood "y the maDority o( the titular
,o,ulation- !PavlenkoA 10#
:s Lithuania0s RussianCs,eaking ,o,ulation is small !6 K com,ared to more than 0 K
*stonia and Latvia#$ it .as less di((icult to "ecome /the most success(ul country o( the
*uro,ean ,art o( the e@C8oviet Union /in im,lementing the shi(t to.ards the titular language
and assimilating its nonCtitular ,o,ulation0$ and that o.ing to /high levels o( national
consciousness >and? language loyalty-0 !PavlenkoA1%#
&he historical revanchism in Lithuania is not directed at the di((use Russian minority$ "ut at
the ,olitically organiFed and active Polish minority .ith its claims (or linguistic rights$ e-g- to
grant the ,ossi"ility to use the Polish orthogra,hy in names and ,lace names-
2

2%

"he recognition of the national language at E# leel proides a likehood of legitimacy to
e%ert pressure on linguistic minorities and counter their claims for recognition.
- "he e%cellence of &ithuanian language
/Perha,s the most im,ortant conclusion to "e dra.n a"out Lithuania is that the core o(
Lithuanian identity is neither the national myth nor sym"ols related to the myth- More so than
most nations$ language is central to determining inclusion-0 &erry D- )lark
29

Gistorically$ the Lithuanian nation "uilding in the RIRth century relied heavily on the s,ecial
status attri"uted to the Lithuanian language- :ccording to 8,ires$
27
/the Lithuanian case .as
s,ecial "ecause o( the amount and ty,e o( attention that .as (ocused on the Lithuanian
language$ and the 'ualities that .ere ascri"ed to that language-0 &hose 'ualities re(er to the
anti'uity o( the language$ the (act most Lithuanians are keenly a.are o( and the o"Dect o(
2
Lithuanian constitutional la. sti,ulates that everyone !not only Poles# .ho has Lithuanian citiFenshi, and
resides .ithin the country has to Lithuanianise their name !i-e- s,ell it in the Lithuanian ,honetics and al,ha"et#1
(or e@am,le$ the name 5lecFko.ski has to "e s,elled 5leSkovski in o((icial documents-=n :,ril 2%$ 2012 the
*uro,arliament acce,ted (or (urther consideration the ,etition !num"er 096B2011# su"mitted "y a &omasF
8narski a"out the language rights o( Polish minority$ in ,articular a"out en(orced LithuaniFation o( Polish
surnames-
2%
&he *conomistA /&he ro.s are longCrunning and seemingly arcane- =ne is a"out s,ellingA Lithuanian la. says
o((icial documents$ such as ,ass,orts and "irth certi(icates$ may "e .ritten only in the Lithuanian al,ha"et$
.hich lacks the letter ; and most o( the diacritical marks o( Polish- &hat is a nuisance (or those .ith nonC
Lithuanian names- PolandMs ,resident$ <ronisla. 5omoro.ski$ .ho visited Lithuania last month$ .ould s,ell his
name 5omorovski i( he chose to live there- >T?0 htt,ABB...-economist-comBnodeB219%3364
29
&erry D- )lark
27
8,ires$ 8-
,articular national ,ride-
24
It is admittedly the most archaic IndoC*uro,ean language still
s,oken-
26
:mong IndoC*uro,ean languages$ Lithuanian is e@traordinarily conservative$
retaining many archaic (eatures other.ise (ound only in ancient languages such as 8anskrit or
:ncient Greek- 2or this reason$ it is one o( the most im,ortant sources in the reconstruction o(
the ProtoCIndoC*uro,ean language-
23
"he official recognition at E# leel satisfies the need to communicate the pride the
&ithuanians feel about the national language to the rest of Europe.
:rgua"ly$ (or many ne. *U mem"er states !such as Lithuania# even the e,hemerical status o(
a *U /o((icial and .orking language0 e'uals to a very real visi"le and tangi"le achievement- It
doesn0t satis(y ,ragmatic or ,ractical needs or guarantee actual recognition and yet it grants a
certain (eeling o( accom,lishment- &he sym"olical signi(icance o( the recognition and the
(eeling o( historical Dustice "eing done is ,ro"a"ly the main source o( satis(action-
<i"liogra,hy
:mmon$ Ulrich- Language con(licts in the *uro,ean Union *U institutionsA .n finding a
politically accepta&le and practica&le solution for EU institutions that satisfies diverging
interests.+ International +ournal o( :,,lied Linguistics Ool- 17 No- - 2007-
<aaiD )+ !2012#- &he *U Policy on Institutional MultilingualismA <et.een Princi,les and
Practicality- Language U La.$ Ool- 1- !urnAn"nAdeA0003C0C6%#
<uchmIller$ )atherine- Democracy and Linguistic +ustice in the *uro,ean Union- Living
Revie.s in Democracy- Ool !2012#
)lark$ D- &erry- Nationalism in PostC8oviet Lithuania :(ter Inde,endenceA /aking and
0rotecting the 1ation in 0ostcolonial and 0ostcommunist 2tates. &he University o( Michigan
Press$ 2007-
8,ires$ 8- !1333#$ Lithuanian Linguistic Nationalism and the )ult o( :nti'uity- Nations and
Nationalism$ 9A %69E900- doiA 10-1111BD-19%C9046-1333-00%69-@
5rFyFano.ski$ MichaV and ;odak$ Ruth- Political strategies and language ,oliciesA the
European Union ,is&on strategy and its implications for the EU+s language and
multilingualism policy. Lang Policy !2011# 10A119E17-
)amusella$ &omasF- &he Politics o( Language and Nationalism in Modern )entral *uro,e
Palgrave Macmillan$ 2012-

Pavlenko$ :neta- Multilingualism in PostC8oviet )ountries- Multilingual Matters$ 2006-
24
Interestingly$ the e,isode dedicated to Lithuania in the travel ,rogram o( the 2lemish Dournalist and artist +an
Leyers a"out the ne. *U mem"er states .as called /&he language o( Lithuania0 !OR& !the 2lemish ,u"lic
television# /De droom van Lud.ig0 !200%##-
26
htt,ABB...-"ritannica-comB*<checkedBto,icB%661BLithuanianClanguage
23
htt,ABBen-.iki,edia-orgB.ikiBLithuanianNlanguage