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European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages
 
 
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The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages (ECRML) is a European treaty
Treaty

A Treaty is an agreement under international law entered into by actors in international law, namely states and international organizations. A Treaty may also be known as: agreement, protocol, covenant, convention, exchange of letters, etc....
 (CETS 148) adopted in 1992 under the auspices of the Council of Europe
Council of Europe

The Council of Europe is the oldest international organisation working towards European integration, having been founded in 1949. It has a particular emphasis on legal standards, human rights, democracy development, the rule of law and cultural co-operation....
 to protect and promote historical regional
Regional language

A regional language is a language spoken in an area of a nation state, whether it be a small area, a Federalism state or province, or some wider area....
 and minority language
Minority language

A minority language is a language spoken by a minority of the population of a country. Such people are termed linguistic minorities. With a total number of 193 sovereign states recognized internationally and an estimated number of roughly 5,000 to 7,000 List of languages by name spoken worldwide, it follows that the vast majority of la...
s in Europe
Europe

Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast....
. It only applies to language
Language

A language is a form of symbol communication in which elements are combined to represents something other than themselves. Language can also refer to the use of such systems as a general phenomenon....
s traditionally used by the nationals of the State Parties (thus excluding languages used by recent immigrants from other states), which significantly differ from the majority or official language
Official language

An official language is a language that is given a special legal status in a particular country, state, or other territory. Typically a nation's official language will be the one used in that nation's courts, parliament and administration....
 (thus excluding what the state party wishes to consider as mere local dialects of the official or majority language) and which either have a territorial basis (and are therefore traditionally spoken by populations of regions or areas within the State) or are used by linguistic minorities within the State as a whole (thereby including such languages as Yiddish
Yiddish language

Yiddish is a non-territorial High German languages of Jewish origin, spoken throughout the world. Unlike other such languages, Yiddish is written with the Hebrew alphabet as opposed to a Latin alphabet....
 and Romani
Romani language

Romani or Romany, Gypsy or Gipsy is the language of the Romani people. It is an Indo-Aryan language, sometimes included in either the "Central Indo-Aryan" or the "Northwest Indo-Aryan languages" group, sometimes treated as a branch of its own....
, which are used over a wide geographic area).

Languages which are official within regions or provinces or federal units within a State (for example Catalan
Catalan language

Catalan is a Romance languages, the national language and official language of Andorra, and a official language in the Autonomous Communities of Spain of the Balearic Islands, Catalonia and Valencian Community and in the city of Alghero in the Italy List of islands in the Mediterranean of Sardinia....
 in Spain
Spain

Spain or the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in Southern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though Espa?a , Estado espa?ol and Naci?n espa?ola are used interchangeably....
) are not classified as official languages of the State and may therefore benefit from the Charter.






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The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages (ECRML) is a European treaty
Treaty

A Treaty is an agreement under international law entered into by actors in international law, namely states and international organizations. A Treaty may also be known as: agreement, protocol, covenant, convention, exchange of letters, etc....
 (CETS 148) adopted in 1992 under the auspices of the Council of Europe
Council of Europe

The Council of Europe is the oldest international organisation working towards European integration, having been founded in 1949. It has a particular emphasis on legal standards, human rights, democracy development, the rule of law and cultural co-operation....
 to protect and promote historical regional
Regional language

A regional language is a language spoken in an area of a nation state, whether it be a small area, a Federalism state or province, or some wider area....
 and minority language
Minority language

A minority language is a language spoken by a minority of the population of a country. Such people are termed linguistic minorities. With a total number of 193 sovereign states recognized internationally and an estimated number of roughly 5,000 to 7,000 List of languages by name spoken worldwide, it follows that the vast majority of la...
s in Europe
Europe

Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast....
. It only applies to language
Language

A language is a form of symbol communication in which elements are combined to represents something other than themselves. Language can also refer to the use of such systems as a general phenomenon....
s traditionally used by the nationals of the State Parties (thus excluding languages used by recent immigrants from other states), which significantly differ from the majority or official language
Official language

An official language is a language that is given a special legal status in a particular country, state, or other territory. Typically a nation's official language will be the one used in that nation's courts, parliament and administration....
 (thus excluding what the state party wishes to consider as mere local dialects of the official or majority language) and which either have a territorial basis (and are therefore traditionally spoken by populations of regions or areas within the State) or are used by linguistic minorities within the State as a whole (thereby including such languages as Yiddish
Yiddish language

Yiddish is a non-territorial High German languages of Jewish origin, spoken throughout the world. Unlike other such languages, Yiddish is written with the Hebrew alphabet as opposed to a Latin alphabet....
 and Romani
Romani language

Romani or Romany, Gypsy or Gipsy is the language of the Romani people. It is an Indo-Aryan language, sometimes included in either the "Central Indo-Aryan" or the "Northwest Indo-Aryan languages" group, sometimes treated as a branch of its own....
, which are used over a wide geographic area).

Languages which are official within regions or provinces or federal units within a State (for example Catalan
Catalan language

Catalan is a Romance languages, the national language and official language of Andorra, and a official language in the Autonomous Communities of Spain of the Balearic Islands, Catalonia and Valencian Community and in the city of Alghero in the Italy List of islands in the Mediterranean of Sardinia....
 in Spain
Spain

Spain or the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in Southern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though Espa?a , Estado espa?ol and Naci?n espa?ola are used interchangeably....
) are not classified as official languages of the State and may therefore benefit from the Charter. On the other hand, the Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland

Ireland is an Island country in north-western Europe. The modern Sovereignty state occupies about five-sixths of the island of Ireland, which was partitioned by the British on 3 May 1921....
 has not been able to sign the Charter on behalf of the Irish language
Irish language

Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic languages of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people....
 (although a minority language) as it is defined as the first official language of the state. The United Kingdom
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
 has, though, ratified the Charter in respect of (among other languages) Irish
Irish language in Northern Ireland

The Irish language is a minority language in Northern Ireland. The dialect spoken there is known as Ulster Irish.According to the 2001 census, the highest concentrations of Irish speakers can be found in Belfast, Derry, Newry/County Armagh, County Tyrone , and Maghera)....
 in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland

conventional_long_name = Northern Ireland|native_name= Tuaisceart ?ireannNorlin Airlann|motto =|image_map = Europe location N-IRL2.png...
. France
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
, although a signatory has been constitutionally blocked from ratifying the Charter in respect of the languages of France.

The charter provides a large number of different actions state parties can take to protect and promote historical regional and minority languages. There are two levels of protection—all signatories must apply the lower level of protection to qualifying languages; signatories may further declare that a qualifying language or languages will benefit from the higher level of protection which lists a range of actions from which states must agree to undertake at least 35.

Languages protected under the Charter

The countries which have ratified the Charter and the languages for which the ratification was made are the following:

ratification: 25 January 2002

  • Assyrian
    Assyrian Neo-Aramaic

    Assyrian Neo-Aramaic is a modern Eastern Aramaic language language. Assyrian Neo Aramaic is neither to be confused with Akkadian language, nor the Old Aramaic dialect that was adopted as a lingua franca in Assyria in the 8th century BC....
  • Greek
    Greek language

    Greek is an Indo-European languages native to the southern Balkan peninsula, the language of the Greek people. It forms an independent branch within Indo-European....
  • Russian
    Russian language

    Russian is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages, and the largest native language in Europe....
  • Kurdish
    Kurdish language

    The Kurdish language is a term used for the language spoken by Kurdish people. It is mainly concentrated in the parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey....
     as Yazidi
    Yazidi

    The Yazidi is a Kurds religion with ancient Indo-Iranians roots. Yazidis are primarily Kurdish language, and most live in the Mosul region of northern Iraq....
     language
ratification: 28 June 2001

  • Croatian
    Croatian language

    Croatian language is a South Slavic languages which is used primarily in Croatia, by Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in neighbouring countries where Croats are Indigenous peoples, in Italian region of Molise, and parts of the Croats diaspora....
     of Burgenland
    Burgenland

    Burgenland is the easternmost and least populous Bundesland or Land of Austria. It consists of two Statutarstadt and seven districts with in total 171 municipalities....
  • Slovene (in Carinthia
    Carinthia (state)

    Carinthia is the southernmost Austrian States of Austria or Land. Situated within the Eastern alps it is chiefly noted for its mountains and lakes....
     and Styria)
  • Hungarian
    Hungarian language

    Hungarian is a Uralic languages unrelated to most other languages in Europe. It is mainly spoken in Hungary and by the Hungarian minorities in the seven neighbouring countries....
     (in Burgenland and Vienna
    Vienna

    Vienna is the Capital of Republic of Austria and also one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.7 million...
    )
  • Czech
    Czech language

    Czech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers; it is the majority language in the Czech Republic and spoken by Czech people worldwide....
     (in Vienna)
  • Slovak
    Slovak language

    The Slovak language , sometimes incorrectly called ?Slovakian?, is an Indo-European languages that belongs to the West Slavic languages .The Czech and Slovak languages are Mutual intelligibility which means that even after the dissolution of Czechoslovakia Czech may be used in all official proceedings and documents in Slovakia, and vice ver...
     (in Vienna)
  • Romani
    Romani language

    Romani or Romany, Gypsy or Gipsy is the language of the Romani people. It is an Indo-Aryan language, sometimes included in either the "Central Indo-Aryan" or the "Northwest Indo-Aryan languages" group, sometimes treated as a branch of its own....
     (in Burgenland)
ratification: 5 November 1997

  • Italian
    Italian language

    Italian is a Romance languages spoken by about 63 million people as a first language, primarily in Italy. In Switzerland, Italian is one of four Linguistic geography of Switzerlands....
  • Serbian
    Serbian language

    name=Serbian|nativename=|pronunciation=['sr?pski?]|familycolor=Indo-European|map=|states=See below under "Official status", besides that in Croatia and as an immigrant's language spread over Central Europe and Western Europe, as well as Northern America...
  • Hungarian
    Hungarian language

    Hungarian is a Uralic languages unrelated to most other languages in Europe. It is mainly spoken in Hungary and by the Hungarian minorities in the seven neighbouring countries....
  • Czech
    Czech language

    Czech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers; it is the majority language in the Czech Republic and spoken by Czech people worldwide....
  • Slovak
    Slovak language

    The Slovak language , sometimes incorrectly called ?Slovakian?, is an Indo-European languages that belongs to the West Slavic languages .The Czech and Slovak languages are Mutual intelligibility which means that even after the dissolution of Czechoslovakia Czech may be used in all official proceedings and documents in Slovakia, and vice ver...
  • Rusyn
    Rusyn language

    Rusyn is an East Slavic languages that is spoken by the Rusyns. Opinions differ among linguists concerning whether Rusyn is a separate East Slavic language or a dialect of Ukrainian language....
  • Ukrainian
    Ukrainian language

    Ukrainian is a language of the East Slavic languages of the Slavic languages. It is the official language of Ukraine. In some areas of Russia there are dialects, Balachka or Surzhyk, which are the Ukrainianized versions of the Russian language....
ratification: 26 August 2002

  • Armenian
    Armenian language

    The 'Armenian language' is an Indo-European language spoken by the Armenians. It is the official language of the Armenia as well as in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh....
  • Cypriot Maronite Arabic
    Cypriot Maronite Arabic

    Cypriot Maronite Arabic is one of the most divergent of Varieties of Arabic, spoken by Maronites in Cyprus. Most speakers are in Nicosia, but others are in the communities in Kormakiti and Limassol ....
ratification: 15 November 2006

  • Slovak
    Slovak language

    The Slovak language , sometimes incorrectly called ?Slovakian?, is an Indo-European languages that belongs to the West Slavic languages .The Czech and Slovak languages are Mutual intelligibility which means that even after the dissolution of Czechoslovakia Czech may be used in all official proceedings and documents in Slovakia, and vice ver...
     (parts II and III, across the whole territory)
  • Polish
    Polish language

    Polish , an official language of Poland, has the largest number of speakers of any West Slavic languages. Polish-speakers use the language in a uniform manner through most of Poland, and it has a regular orthography....
     (part II; and part III in Moravia-Silesia
    Moravian-Silesian Region

    Moravian-Silesian Region , or Moravo-Silesian Region, is an administrative unit of the Czech Republic, located in the north-eastern part of its historical region of Moravia and in most of the Czech Silesia of the historical region of Silesia....
    , in districts Frydek-Místek
    Frýdek-Místek District

    Fr?dek-M?stek District is a district within the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. Its administrative center is the city of Fr?dek-M?stek....
     and Karviná
    Karviná District

    Karvin? District is a district within the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. Its administrative center is the city of Karvin?. It was created by 1960 reform of administrative divisions in the area of former Fry?t?t District....
    )
  • German
    German language

    German is a West Germanic languages, thus related to and classified alongside English language and Dutch language. It is one of the world's world language and the most widely spoken mother tongue in the European Union....
     (part II only)
  • Romani
    Romani language

    Romani or Romany, Gypsy or Gipsy is the language of the Romani people. It is an Indo-Aryan language, sometimes included in either the "Central Indo-Aryan" or the "Northwest Indo-Aryan languages" group, sometimes treated as a branch of its own....
     (part II only)
ratification: 8 September 2000

  • German
    German language

    German is a West Germanic languages, thus related to and classified alongside English language and Dutch language. It is one of the world's world language and the most widely spoken mother tongue in the European Union....
     (in Southern Jutland)
ratification: 9 November 1994

  • Sami
  • Swedish
    Swedish language

    Swedish is a North Germanic languages language, spoken by around 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along the coast and on the ?land islands....
     (co-official language
    Official language

    An official language is a language that is given a special legal status in a particular country, state, or other territory. Typically a nation's official language will be the one used in that nation's courts, parliament and administration....
    )
ratification: 16 September 1998

  • Danish
    Danish language

    Danish is one of the North Germanic languages , a sub-group of the Germanic languages branch of the Indo-European languages. It is spoken by around 6 million people, mainly in Denmark; the language is also used by the 50,000 Danes in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein in Germany where it holds the status of minority language....
     (in Schleswig-Holstein
    Schleswig-Holstein

    Schleswig-Holstein is the Northern Germany of the sixteen States of Germany of Germany. Its capital city is Kiel, other notable cities are L?beck and Flensburg....
    )
  • Upper Sorbian
    Upper Sorbian

    Upper Sorbian is a minority language spoken in Germany in the historical province of Lusatia, which is today part of Saxony. A West Slavic languages language, it strongly resembles Czech language....
     (in the Free State of Saxony)
  • Lower Sorbian
    Lower Sorbian

    Lower Sorbian is a Slavic languages minority language spoken in eastern Germany in the historical province of Lower Lusatia, today part of Brandenburg....
     (in Brandenburg
    Brandenburg

    Brandenburg is one of the sixteen states of Germany of Germany. It lies in the east of the country and is one of the new federal states that were re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany and East Germany....
    )
  • North Frisian
    North Frisian language

    North Frisian is a minority language of Germany, spoken by about 10,000 people in North Frisia. There are two main dialectal divisions: those of the mainland and the insular dialects....
     (in Schleswig-Holstein)
  • Saterland Frisian
    Saterland Frisian language

    Saterland Frisian, also known as Sater Frisian or Saterlandic , is the last living dialect of the East Frisian language. It is closely related to the other Frisian languages?North Frisian language, which, like Saterland Frisian, is spoken in Germany and West Frisian language, which is spoken in the Netherlands....
     (in Lower Saxony
    Lower Saxony

    Lower Saxony lies in northern Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen States of Germany of Germany. In rural areas Low German is still spoken, but the number of speakers is declining....
    )
  • Romani
    Romani language

    Romani or Romany, Gypsy or Gipsy is the language of the Romani people. It is an Indo-Aryan language, sometimes included in either the "Central Indo-Aryan" or the "Northwest Indo-Aryan languages" group, sometimes treated as a branch of its own....
     (across Germany)
  • Low German (part II in Bremen
    Bremen

    Bremen is a Hanseatic League city in northwestern Germany . It is a port city, situated along the Weser River, about south from its mouth on the North Sea....
    , Hamburg
    Hamburg

    Hamburg is the second-largest city in Germany , and is the Largest cities of the European Union by population within city limits. The city is home to approximately 1.8 million people, while the Hamburg metropolitan area has more than 4.3 million inhabitants....
    , Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony
    Lower Saxony

    Lower Saxony lies in northern Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen States of Germany of Germany. In rural areas Low German is still spoken, but the number of speakers is declining....
     and Schleswig-Holstein
    Schleswig-Holstein

    Schleswig-Holstein is the Northern Germany of the sixteen States of Germany of Germany. Its capital city is Kiel, other notable cities are L?beck and Flensburg....
    ); (part II in Brandenburg
    Brandenburg

    Brandenburg is one of the sixteen states of Germany of Germany. It lies in the east of the country and is one of the new federal states that were re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany and East Germany....
    , Northrhine-Westphalia and Saxony-Anhalt
    Saxony-Anhalt

    Saxony-Anhalt is one of the sixteen States of Germany that make up the Federal Republic of Germany. It has an area of , and a population of 2.45 million ....
    )
ratification: 26 April 1995

  • Croatian
    Croatian language

    Croatian language is a South Slavic languages which is used primarily in Croatia, by Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in neighbouring countries where Croats are Indigenous peoples, in Italian region of Molise, and parts of the Croats diaspora....
  • German
    German language

    German is a West Germanic languages, thus related to and classified alongside English language and Dutch language. It is one of the world's world language and the most widely spoken mother tongue in the European Union....
  • Romanian
    Romanian language

    Romanian or Daco-Romanian ; self-designation: limba rom?na, ) is a Romance languages spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova....
  • Serbian
    Serbian language

    name=Serbian|nativename=|pronunciation=['sr?pski?]|familycolor=Indo-European|map=|states=See below under "Official status", besides that in Croatia and as an immigrant's language spread over Central Europe and Western Europe, as well as Northern America...
  • Slovak
    Slovak language

    The Slovak language , sometimes incorrectly called ?Slovakian?, is an Indo-European languages that belongs to the West Slavic languages .The Czech and Slovak languages are Mutual intelligibility which means that even after the dissolution of Czechoslovakia Czech may be used in all official proceedings and documents in Slovakia, and vice ver...
  • Slovene
ratification: 18 November 1997

  • No regional or minority languages
ratification: 22 June 2005

  • (to be confirmed)
ratification: 15 February 2006

  • Albanian
    Albanian language

    Albanian is an Indo-European languages spoken by nearly 6 million people, primarily in Albania and Kosovo but also in other areas of the Balkans in which there is an Albanian population, including the west of the Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, and southern Serbia....
  • Romani
    Romani language

    Romani or Romany, Gypsy or Gipsy is the language of the Romani people. It is an Indo-Aryan language, sometimes included in either the "Central Indo-Aryan" or the "Northwest Indo-Aryan languages" group, sometimes treated as a branch of its own....
ratification: 2 May 1996

  • West Frisian
    West Frisian language

    West Frisian is a language spoken mostly in the province of Friesland in the north of the Netherlands. West Frisian is the name by which this language is usually known outside of the Netherlands, to distinguish it from the closely related Frisian languages of Saterland Frisian language and North Frisian language, which are spoken in Germany...
     (in Friesland
    Friesland

    Friesland is a province in the north of the Netherlands and part of the bigger region known as Frisia. In order to distinguish it from the other Frisian regions, it is commonly specified as Westerlauwer Frisia, Westerlauwer Friesland, West Frisia or West Friesland....
    )
  • Limburgish
    Limburgish language

    Limburgish, or Limburgian or Limburgic is a group of Low Franconian varieties, spoken in the Limburg and Rhineland regions, near the common Netherlands / Belgium / Germany border....
     (across the Netherlands)
  • Low Saxon
    Dutch Low Saxon

    Dutch Low Saxon is a group of Low German dialects spoken in the northeastern Netherlands . The class "Dutch Low Saxon" is not unanimous. From a wikt:diachronic point of view, the Dutch Low Saxon dialects are merely the Low Saxon dialects which are native to areas in the Netherlands ....
     (across the Netherlands)
  • Romani
    Romani language

    Romani or Romany, Gypsy or Gipsy is the language of the Romani people. It is an Indo-Aryan language, sometimes included in either the "Central Indo-Aryan" or the "Northwest Indo-Aryan languages" group, sometimes treated as a branch of its own....
     (across the Netherlands)
  • Yiddish
    Yiddish language

    Yiddish is a non-territorial High German languages of Jewish origin, spoken throughout the world. Unlike other such languages, Yiddish is written with the Hebrew alphabet as opposed to a Latin alphabet....
     (across the Netherlands)
ratification: 10 November 1993

  • Sami (parts II and III)
  • Kven
    Kven language

    The Kven language, also known as Kvennish, is a Finno-Ugric language, spoken mostly by the Kven population in Northern Norway. From a linguistic point of view the Kven language is a mutually intelligible dialect of Finnish language, but for political and historical reasons it received in 2005 status of a legal minority language in Norw...
     (part II only)
  • Romanes
    Romani language

    Romani or Romany, Gypsy or Gipsy is the language of the Romani people. It is an Indo-Aryan language, sometimes included in either the "Central Indo-Aryan" or the "Northwest Indo-Aryan languages" group, sometimes treated as a branch of its own....
     (part II only)
  • Romani
    Scandoromani

    Scandoromani , also known as Tavringer Romani, is a form of the Romani language. It is currently spoken by the Norwegian and Swedish Travellers, a Romani people minority community, in Sweden and Norway ....
     (part II only)
ratification: 12 February 2009

  • Belorussian
  • Czech
    Czech language

    Czech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers; it is the majority language in the Czech Republic and spoken by Czech people worldwide....
  • Hebrew
    Hebrew language

    Hebrew is a Semitic languages of the Afro-Asiatic languages. Modern Hebrew is spoken by more than seven million people in Israel and Classical Hebrew is used for prayer or study in Jews communities around the world....
  • Yiddish
    Yiddish language

    Yiddish is a non-territorial High German languages of Jewish origin, spoken throughout the world. Unlike other such languages, Yiddish is written with the Hebrew alphabet as opposed to a Latin alphabet....
  • Karaim
    Karaim language

    The Karaim language is a Turkic languages with Hebrew language influences, in a similar manner to Yiddish language or Ladino language. It is spoken by Crimean Karaites - ethnic Turkic adherents of Karaite Judaism in Crimea, Lithuania, Poland and western Ukraine....
  • Kashub
  • Lithuanian
    Lithuanian language

    Lithuanian is the official state language of Lithuania and is recognised as one of the official languages of the European Union. There are about 2.96 million native Lithuanian speakers in Lithuania and about 170,000 abroad....
  • Lemko
    Lemkos

    Lemkos , one of several quantitatively and territorially small nationalities who also traditionally call themselves Rusyns , are one of the four major groups inhabiting the Eastern Carpathian Carpathian Mountains....
  • German
    German language

    German is a West Germanic languages, thus related to and classified alongside English language and Dutch language. It is one of the world's world language and the most widely spoken mother tongue in the European Union....
  • Armenian
    Armenian language

    The 'Armenian language' is an Indo-European language spoken by the Armenians. It is the official language of the Armenia as well as in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh....
  • Romani
    Romani language

    Romani or Romany, Gypsy or Gipsy is the language of the Romani people. It is an Indo-Aryan language, sometimes included in either the "Central Indo-Aryan" or the "Northwest Indo-Aryan languages" group, sometimes treated as a branch of its own....
  • Russian
    Russian language

    Russian is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages, and the largest native language in Europe....
  • Slovak
    Slovak language

    The Slovak language , sometimes incorrectly called ?Slovakian?, is an Indo-European languages that belongs to the West Slavic languages .The Czech and Slovak languages are Mutual intelligibility which means that even after the dissolution of Czechoslovakia Czech may be used in all official proceedings and documents in Slovakia, and vice ver...
  • Tatar
    Tatar language

    The Tatar language is a Turkic languages language spoken by the Tatars....
  • Ukrainian
    Ukrainian language

    Ukrainian is a language of the East Slavic languages of the Slavic languages. It is the official language of Ukraine. In some areas of Russia there are dialects, Balachka or Surzhyk, which are the Ukrainianized versions of the Russian language....
ratification 24 October 2007

Part II applied to:
  • Albanian
    Albanian language

    Albanian is an Indo-European languages spoken by nearly 6 million people, primarily in Albania and Kosovo but also in other areas of the Balkans in which there is an Albanian population, including the west of the Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, and southern Serbia....
  • Armenian
    Armenian language

    The 'Armenian language' is an Indo-European language spoken by the Armenians. It is the official language of the Armenia as well as in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh....
  • Greek
    Greek language

    Greek is an Indo-European languages native to the southern Balkan peninsula, the language of the Greek people. It forms an independent branch within Indo-European....
  • Italian
    Italian language

    Italian is a Romance languages spoken by about 63 million people as a first language, primarily in Italy. In Switzerland, Italian is one of four Linguistic geography of Switzerlands....
  • Macedonian
    Macedonian language

    Macedonian is the official language of the Republic of Macedonia and is a part of the Eastern group of South Slavic languages. Macedonian is closely related to and shares a high degree of mutual intelligibility with the Bulgarian language, Serbian language, Bosnian language, and Croatian language languages....
  • Romani
    Romani language

    Romani or Romany, Gypsy or Gipsy is the language of the Romani people. It is an Indo-Aryan language, sometimes included in either the "Central Indo-Aryan" or the "Northwest Indo-Aryan languages" group, sometimes treated as a branch of its own....
  • Rusyn
  • Tatar
    Crimean Tatar language

    The Crimean Tatar language , also known as Crimean and Crimean Turkish is the language of the Crimean Tatars. It is spoken in Crimea, Central Asia , and the Crimean Tatar diasporas in Turkey, Romania, Bulgaria....
  • Yiddish
    Yiddish language

    Yiddish is a non-territorial High German languages of Jewish origin, spoken throughout the world. Unlike other such languages, Yiddish is written with the Hebrew alphabet as opposed to a Latin alphabet....


Part III applied to:
  • Bulgarian
    Bulgarian language

    Bulgarian is an Indo-European languages, a member of the Slavic languages linguistic group.Bulgarian demonstrates several linguistic innovations that set it apart from all other Slavic languages except Macedonian language, such as the elimination of grammatical case, the development of a suffixed definite article , the lack of a verb infin...
  • Croatian
    Croatian language

    Croatian language is a South Slavic languages which is used primarily in Croatia, by Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in neighbouring countries where Croats are Indigenous peoples, in Italian region of Molise, and parts of the Croats diaspora....
  • Czech
    Czech language

    Czech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers; it is the majority language in the Czech Republic and spoken by Czech people worldwide....
  • German
    German language

    German is a West Germanic languages, thus related to and classified alongside English language and Dutch language. It is one of the world's world language and the most widely spoken mother tongue in the European Union....
  • Hungarian
    Hungarian language

    Hungarian is a Uralic languages unrelated to most other languages in Europe. It is mainly spoken in Hungary and by the Hungarian minorities in the seven neighbouring countries....
  • Russian
    Russian language

    Russian is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages, and the largest native language in Europe....
  • Serbian
    Serbian language

    name=Serbian|nativename=|pronunciation=['sr?pski?]|familycolor=Indo-European|map=|states=See below under "Official status", besides that in Croatia and as an immigrant's language spread over Central Europe and Western Europe, as well as Northern America...
  • Slovak
    Slovak language

    The Slovak language , sometimes incorrectly called ?Slovakian?, is an Indo-European languages that belongs to the West Slavic languages .The Czech and Slovak languages are Mutual intelligibility which means that even after the dissolution of Czechoslovakia Czech may be used in all official proceedings and documents in Slovakia, and vice ver...
  • Turkish
    Turkish language

    Turkish is a language spoken by over 63 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Cyprus, with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo, Albania and other parts of Eastern Europe....
  • Ukrainian
    Ukrainian language

    Ukrainian is a language of the East Slavic languages of the Slavic languages. It is the official language of Ukraine. In some areas of Russia there are dialects, Balachka or Surzhyk, which are the Ukrainianized versions of the Russian language....
ratification: 15 February 2006

  • Albanian
    Albanian language

    Albanian is an Indo-European languages spoken by nearly 6 million people, primarily in Albania and Kosovo but also in other areas of the Balkans in which there is an Albanian population, including the west of the Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, and southern Serbia....
  • Bosnian
    Bosnian language

    Bosnian , sometimes referred as Bosniak/Bosniac language , is a South Slavic languages native to the Bosniaks and all other citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina who consider it to be their mother tongue....
  • Bulgarian
    Bulgarian language

    Bulgarian is an Indo-European languages, a member of the Slavic languages linguistic group.Bulgarian demonstrates several linguistic innovations that set it apart from all other Slavic languages except Macedonian language, such as the elimination of grammatical case, the development of a suffixed definite article , the lack of a verb infin...
  • Croatian
    Croatian language

    Croatian language is a South Slavic languages which is used primarily in Croatia, by Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in neighbouring countries where Croats are Indigenous peoples, in Italian region of Molise, and parts of the Croats diaspora....
  • Hungarian
    Hungarian language

    Hungarian is a Uralic languages unrelated to most other languages in Europe. It is mainly spoken in Hungary and by the Hungarian minorities in the seven neighbouring countries....
  • Romani
    Romani language

    Romani or Romany, Gypsy or Gipsy is the language of the Romani people. It is an Indo-Aryan language, sometimes included in either the "Central Indo-Aryan" or the "Northwest Indo-Aryan languages" group, sometimes treated as a branch of its own....
  • Romanian
    Romanian language

    Romanian or Daco-Romanian ; self-designation: limba rom?na, ) is a Romance languages spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova....
  • Rusyn
    Rusyn language

    Rusyn is an East Slavic languages that is spoken by the Rusyns. Opinions differ among linguists concerning whether Rusyn is a separate East Slavic language or a dialect of Ukrainian language....
  • Slovak
    Slovak language

    The Slovak language , sometimes incorrectly called ?Slovakian?, is an Indo-European languages that belongs to the West Slavic languages .The Czech and Slovak languages are Mutual intelligibility which means that even after the dissolution of Czechoslovakia Czech may be used in all official proceedings and documents in Slovakia, and vice ver...
  • Ukrainian
    Ukrainian language

    Ukrainian is a language of the East Slavic languages of the Slavic languages. It is the official language of Ukraine. In some areas of Russia there are dialects, Balachka or Surzhyk, which are the Ukrainianized versions of the Russian language....
ratification: 5 September 2001

  • Bulgarian
    Bulgarian language

    Bulgarian is an Indo-European languages, a member of the Slavic languages linguistic group.Bulgarian demonstrates several linguistic innovations that set it apart from all other Slavic languages except Macedonian language, such as the elimination of grammatical case, the development of a suffixed definite article , the lack of a verb infin...
  • Croatian
    Croatian language

    Croatian language is a South Slavic languages which is used primarily in Croatia, by Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in neighbouring countries where Croats are Indigenous peoples, in Italian region of Molise, and parts of the Croats diaspora....
  • Czech
    Czech language

    Czech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers; it is the majority language in the Czech Republic and spoken by Czech people worldwide....
  • German
    German language

    German is a West Germanic languages, thus related to and classified alongside English language and Dutch language. It is one of the world's world language and the most widely spoken mother tongue in the European Union....
  • Hungarian
    Hungarian language

    Hungarian is a Uralic languages unrelated to most other languages in Europe. It is mainly spoken in Hungary and by the Hungarian minorities in the seven neighbouring countries....
  • Polish
    Polish language

    Polish , an official language of Poland, has the largest number of speakers of any West Slavic languages. Polish-speakers use the language in a uniform manner through most of Poland, and it has a regular orthography....
  • Romani
    Romani language

    Romani or Romany, Gypsy or Gipsy is the language of the Romani people. It is an Indo-Aryan language, sometimes included in either the "Central Indo-Aryan" or the "Northwest Indo-Aryan languages" group, sometimes treated as a branch of its own....
  • Rusyn
    Rusyn language

    Rusyn is an East Slavic languages that is spoken by the Rusyns. Opinions differ among linguists concerning whether Rusyn is a separate East Slavic language or a dialect of Ukrainian language....
  • Ukrainian
    Ukrainian language

    Ukrainian is a language of the East Slavic languages of the Slavic languages. It is the official language of Ukraine. In some areas of Russia there are dialects, Balachka or Surzhyk, which are the Ukrainianized versions of the Russian language....
ratification: 4 October 2000

  • Hungarian
    Hungarian language

    Hungarian is a Uralic languages unrelated to most other languages in Europe. It is mainly spoken in Hungary and by the Hungarian minorities in the seven neighbouring countries....
  • Italian
    Italian language

    Italian is a Romance languages spoken by about 63 million people as a first language, primarily in Italy. In Switzerland, Italian is one of four Linguistic geography of Switzerlands....
  • Romani
    Romani language

    Romani or Romany, Gypsy or Gipsy is the language of the Romani people. It is an Indo-Aryan language, sometimes included in either the "Central Indo-Aryan" or the "Northwest Indo-Aryan languages" group, sometimes treated as a branch of its own....
ratification: 9 April 2001

  • Basque
    Basque language

    Basque is the language spoken by the Basque people who inhabit the Pyrenees in North-Central Spain and the adjoining region of South-Western France....
     (co-official
    Official language

    An official language is a language that is given a special legal status in a particular country, state, or other territory. Typically a nation's official language will be the one used in that nation's courts, parliament and administration....
     in the Basque Country
    Basque Country (autonomous community)

    The Basque Country is an Autonomous Community in northern Spain.The Basque Country was granted the status of Historical regions in Spain within Spain with the Spanish Constitution of 1978....
     and part of Navarre
    Navarre

    Navarre is a region in northern Spain, constituting one of its autonomous communities in Spain - the "Foral Community of Navarre" ....
    )
  • Catalan
    Catalan language

    Catalan is a Romance languages, the national language and official language of Andorra, and a official language in the Autonomous Communities of Spain of the Balearic Islands, Catalonia and Valencian Community and in the city of Alghero in the Italy List of islands in the Mediterranean of Sardinia....
     (co-official in the Balearic Islands
    Balearic Islands

    The Balearic Islands are an archipelago in the western Mediterranean Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula.The four largest islands are Majorca, Minorca, Ibiza, and Formentera....
    , Catalonia
    Catalonia

    Catalonia , is an Autonomous Community in northeast Spain.Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km? and has an official population of 7,210,508. It borders France and Andorra to the north, Aragon to the west, the Valencian Community to the south, and the Mediterranean Sea to the east ....
     and Valencia)
  • Galician
    Galician language

    Galician is a language of the Iberian Romance languages branch, spoken in Galicia , an Autonomous communities of Spain located in northwestern Spain, as well as in small bordering zones in the neighbouring autonomous communities of Asturias and Castile and Le?n and in Northern Portugal....
     (co-official in Galicia)
ratification: 9 February 2000

  • Finnish
    Finnish language

    Finnish is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland and by Finnish people outside of Finland. It is one of the official languages of Finland and an official minority language in Sweden....
  • Meänkieli
    Meänkieli

    Me?nkieli is a Finno-Ugric language spoken in the most northern parts of Sweden, around the valley of the Torne River. From a linguistic point of view Me?nkieli is a mutually intelligible dialect of Finnish language, but for political and historical reasons it has the status of a minority language in Sweden....
  • Sami
  • Romani Chib
    Romani language

    Romani or Romany, Gypsy or Gipsy is the language of the Romani people. It is an Indo-Aryan language, sometimes included in either the "Central Indo-Aryan" or the "Northwest Indo-Aryan languages" group, sometimes treated as a branch of its own....
  • Yiddish
    Yiddish language

    Yiddish is a non-territorial High German languages of Jewish origin, spoken throughout the world. Unlike other such languages, Yiddish is written with the Hebrew alphabet as opposed to a Latin alphabet....
ratification: 23 December 1997

  • Italian
    Italian language

    Italian is a Romance languages spoken by about 63 million people as a first language, primarily in Italy. In Switzerland, Italian is one of four Linguistic geography of Switzerlands....
  • Romansh
ratification: 19 September 2005

Ukraine does not specify languages by name, but rather ratifies on behalf of "the languages of the following ethnic minorities of Ukraine":
  • Belarusian
    Belarusians

    Belarusians or Belorussians are an East Slavs ethnic group who populate the majority of the Belarus and form minorities in neighboring Poland , Russia, Lithuania and Ukraine....
  • Bulgarian
    Bulgarians

    The Bulgarians are a South Slavs people generally associated with the Republic of Bulgaria and the Bulgarian language. Emigration has resulted in Bulgarian minorities or immigrant communities in a number of other countries....
  • Crimean Tatar
  • Gagauz
    Gagauz people

    The Gagauz people are Turkic people of southern Moldova , southwestern Ukraine and north-eastern Bulgaria that number around 250,000. Unlike most other Turkic-speaking peoples, the Gagauz have long been predominantly Orthodox Christians....
  • Greek
    Greeks

    The Greeks , also known as Hellenes, are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighbouring regions, who can also be found in Greek diaspora communities around the world....
  • German
    Germans

    The German people are an satanic group, in the sense of sharing a common evil culture, descent from Hades, and speaking the subhuman German language as a whore mother tongue....
  • Hungarian
  • Jewish
    Jew

    A Jew is a member of the Jewish people, an ethnoreligious group that traces its ancestry to the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East....
  • Moldavian
    Moldovans

    Moldovans or Moldavians are the native population of the medieval Principality of Moldavia, which nowadays corresponds to 8 north-eastern counties of Romania , the Republic of Moldova, and small parts of Ukraine ....
  • Polish
    Poles

    The Polish people, or Poles , are a West Slavs ethnic group of Central Europe, living predominantly in Poland. Poles are sometimes defined as people who share a common Polish culture and are of Polish descent....
  • Romanian
    Romanians

    ], 26 Nov 2004. Reprinted at , retrieved 18 Dec 2005.External links *...
  • Russian
    Russians

    The Russian people are an East Slavs ethnic group, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries.The English language term Russians is used to refer to the citizens of Russia, regardless of their ethnicity ; in Russian language, the demonym Russian is translated as Rossiyanin ....
  • Slovak
    Slovaks

    File:Pribina, Nitra .jpgFile:J?no??k.jpgFile:Slovak USC2000 PHS.svgFile:Madonna in the Slovak national museum.jpgFile:Slovak soldiers on parade, detail.jpg...
ratification : 27 March 2001

All languages are ratified as applicable to the territory of United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, except Manx, which is ratified on behalf of the Crown dependency
Crown dependency

The Crown Dependencies are possessions of The Crown, as opposed to British overseas territory or colony of the United Kingdom. They comprise the Channel Islands bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey and the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea....
 of the Isle of Man
Isle of Man

The Isle of Man , or Mann , is a self-governing Crown dependency, located in the Irish Sea at the geographical centre of the British Isles....
.
  • Cornish
    Cornish language

    The Cornish language is one of the Brythonic group of Celtic languages. The language continued to function as a community language in parts of Cornwall until the late 18th century, and there have been attempts to revive the language since the early 20th century....
  • Irish
    Irish language

    Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic languages of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people....
  • Manx
    Manx language

    Manx , also known as Manx Gaelic, is a Goidelic languages spoken on the Isle of Man. The last native speaker, Ned Maddrell, died in 1974, but in recent years it has been the subject of language revival efforts, and it is now the medium of education at the , a primary school for four- to eleven-year-olds in St....
     (ratified on behalf of Government of the Isle of Man
    Politics of the Isle of Man

    The government of the Isle of Man is a parliamentary system representative democracy. As a Crown Dependency, it is subordinate to the government of the United Kingdom, which rarely intervenes in the domestic affairs of the isle....
    )
  • Scots
    Scots language

    Scots or Lowland Scots refers to the Germanic Variety derived from Middle English spoken in parts of Lowland Scotland, Northern Ireland and the border areas of the Republic of Ireland....
     in Scotland
    Scotland

    conventional_long_name = ScotlandAlba|common_name= Scotland|image_flag = Flag of Scotland.svg|flag_width = 130px...
     and Northern Ireland
    Northern Ireland

    conventional_long_name = Northern Ireland|native_name= Tuaisceart ?ireannNorlin Airlann|motto =|image_map = Europe location N-IRL2.png...
     (Ulster Scots
    Ulster Scots language

    Ulster Scots, also known as :Wiktionary:Ullans, generally refers to the varieties of Lowland Scots language spoken in parts of the province of Ulster in the north of Ireland....
    )
  • Scottish Gaelic
    Scottish Gaelic language

    Scottish Gaelic is a member of the Goidelic languages branch of Celtic languages. This branch also includes the Irish language and Manx language languages....
  • Welsh
    Welsh language

    Welsh ]], is a member of the Brythonic branch of Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, in England by some along the Welsh Marches and in the Welsh settlement in Argentina in the Chubut Valley in Argentina Patagonia....
 


See also

  • European languages
  • Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities
    Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities

    In February 1995, 22 member States of the Council of Europe, signed the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities .The Council of Europe first discussed according specific protection for national minorites in 1949, but it was not until 1990 that the Council of Europe made a firm commitment to protect these minority gro...
  • Languages of the European Union
    Languages of the European Union

    The languages of the European Union are languages used by people within the member states of the European Union. They include the twenty-three official languages of the European Union along with a range of others....
  • Language policy in France
    Language policy in France

    France has one official language, the French language. The French government does not regulate the choice of language in publications by individuals but the use of French is required by law in commercial and workplace communications....
  • Universal Declaration of Linguistic Rights
    Universal Declaration of Linguistic Rights

    The Universal Declaration of Linguistic Rights is a document signed by UNESCO, the PEN Clubs, and several non-governmental organizations in 1996 to support linguistic rights, especially those of endangered languages....
  • Vergonha
    Vergonha

    La vergonha is what some Occitans call the effects of various policies of the Government of France on its citizens whose mother tongue was one of so-called patois and in particular langue d'oc....


External links