Contents

Editorial- 3

LINGUISTIC RIGHTS — FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS

John Packer and Guillaume Sieminski

The Language of Equity: The Origin and Development of the

Oslo Recommendations Regarding the Linguistic Rights of

National Minorities- 5

The High Commissioner on National Minorities requested the Foundation on Inter- Ethnic Relations (FIER) to take up the initiatives of developing guidelines to constitute an expert interpretation of existing standards which could serve to facilitate the development and implementation of appropriate policies and laws pertaining to the linguistic rights of national minorities. The result of this process is a set of language related recommendations which focus on a number of spheres of regulation and activity of particular importance to the maintenance and development of the linguistic identity of persons belonging to national minorities. The authors present the origin and development of the Oslo Recommendations regarding the linguistic rights of national minorities and come to the conclusion that they are not -and never were intended to be- new standards.

Jim Cummins

Bilingualism and Second Language Learning- 25

Interest in the phenomena of bilingualism and second language learning among both researchers and policy-makers has continued to grow during the past five years. The continued salience of these phenomena is due in part to the rapid growth in cultural and linguistic diversity in industrilized societies brought about by increased immigration and refugee resettlement programs. Policy-makers are naturally concerned to maximize the efficiency and effectiveness of programs that teach the dominant societal language(s) to both children and adults.

Increased economic and scientific interdependence in the international arena also creates greater demand for competent bilinguals who canfacilitate cross-cultural cooperation. In particular, the spread of English as a second language throughout the world raises both technical issues related to language teaching pedagogy and sociopolitical issues related to cultural and economic hegemony.

Miklós Kontra

Language Rights Arguments in Central Europe and the USA:

How Similar Are They?- 43

The author has come to the conclusion that the implicit dangers of misunder- standing between a Central European scholar and a West European or North American scholar, when discussing language rights, are considerably greater than it is usually assumed. Miscommunication may result from differences in shared basic knowledge or assumptions, but also from inaccurate printed information. It is a curious feature of the various discourses on language rights and bilingualism that one can come across arguments which seem to be identical, but are used for diametrically opposed purposes.

DOCUMENT

Ordinance nr. 137/2000 regarding the prevention and sanctioning

of all forms of discrimination- 62

Protocol nr. 12 to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights

and Fundamental Freedoms- 70

Explanatory Report to the Protocol nr. 12 to the Convention for the

Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms- 72

Comment

István Haller

Sanctioning all forms of discrimination- 81

The author offers a comparison between the Romanian Governments’ Ordinance on sanctioning all forms of discrimination and similar international documents.

TRANSYLVANIAN CONVERGENCIES

Gábor Vincze

From National Minority to ”Romanians of Hungarian Nationality”- 85

The author presents the evolution of the treatment of the Hungarian minority from Romania between 1944-1989, underlining the essential trends of the nationalist governments. He demonstrates that despite the ideological contradictions, all forms of dictatorship, extreme right or extreme left, have been oppressive towards minorities. The author also emphasizes the historical and cultural mistrust of the majority towards minorities.

Gabriel Andreescu

Pages from the Romanian-Hungarian Reconciliation: 1989-1999.

The Role of Civic Organizations- 128

The author offers a comprehensive overview of the contribution made by the Romanian civil society to the Romanian-Hungarian dialogue, underlining the essential role of various NGOs in conflict prevention, mediation and building of a Romanian model of inter-ethnic relations. Without the support of NGOs, political parties would difficulty have accepted mutual compromises.

Michael Shafir

Xenophobic Moevements and the Dilemmas of ”Inclusion” and ”Exclusion”: The Case of the Hungarian Minority in Romania.- 159

The author presents the differences between the inclusionary and exclusionary strategies towards national minorities in the context of demands raised by Romania’s largest national minority, the Hungarian community and its political representatives. Analyzing attitudes and policies of both mainstream democratic and marginal xenophobic parties, the author comes to the conclusion that the dividing line between their policies towards the Hungarian minority are rather unclear The author concludes by expressing his skepticism towards the real existence of a Romanian model of inter-ethnic relations.

FACES OF EUROPE

Anna Maria Traversa

The Vallée D’Aosta — a range of resources- 181

The article is the first work in the European Languages collection published by the European Bureau for Lesser Used Languages. The author gives an overview of Val d’Aosta, its history, assets and linguistic arrangements.

REVIEWS

Steliu Lambru

Jenő Szűcs: The Historical European Regions- 195

Cornelia Cistelecan

Doina Cornea, La face cachée des choses (1990-1999)- 199