Members of the Bundestag want to debate the protection of the minority languages recognized in Germany next Thursday in Low German, Frisian and Danish. The occasion is the 25th anniversary of the entry into force of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages on March 1st. “It will definitely be a lively debate,” said the East Frisian SPD member of the Bundestag and Parliamentary State Secretary in the Ministry of the Interior, Johann Saathoff, the German Press Agency.
In the Bundestag, speeches are sometimes held in minority languages, such as Low German. However, the fact that speaking the language is expressly desired in a debate is a special feature.
The initiative for the 45-minute debate, which is scheduled for 2:05 p.m., goes back to the Low German parliamentary group, which Saathoff and other members of parliament founded at the beginning of the legislative period. It is precisely the small languages that make up the diversity in Germany, said Saathoff (SPD), whose mother tongue is Low German. Gyde Jensen, member of the FDP from Schleswig-Holstein, and Linda Heitmann, member of the Hamburg Greens, announced speeches “op Platt”. The representative of the South Schleswig Voters’ Association (SSW), Stefan Seidler, wants to speak Frisian and Danish in addition to Low German.
The languages of the recognized minorities Danish, Frisian, Sorbian and Romani as well as the regional language Low German (Low German) have been protected and promoted in Germany since 1999, after the relevant convention of the Council of Europe was concluded in 1998. It is valid in 25 countries.
Information from the German Bundestag on the planned debate Report by the Council of Experts on regional and minority languages (English) Website of the Oostfreeske Taal Association Website of Johann Saathoff, MP Low German dictionary of the East Frisian landscape Announcement of MP Linda Heitmann Website Nordfriisk Instituut
