Politics Archives

Published On - September 11, 2009

K International Language BlogTags: Hebrew, Language, Politics

Israel to Remove Languages Other Than Hebrew From Road Signs

In a move that may cause confusion among travellers and will surely cause discomfort among some of its Arab citizens, Israel’s minister of transport, Yisrael Katz, has declared that the country will get new road signs-in Hebrew only. Right now, road signs are trilingual, with the names of citi...

Published On - July 24, 2009

K International Language BlogTags: Language, Law, Politics

Slovakia and Hungary in Language Law Row

On the last day of June, Slovakia passed a law governing language use in their country. According to this article, posted on Euractiv.com, the law makes it illegal to use “incorrect” Slovak in Slovakia. The punishment is harsh with fines as high as 5,000 euros (£4,315). Basically, the law makes...

Published On - May 7, 2009

Richard Brooks Language BlogTags: French, Politics

Outrage over French Eurovision Song

This year's Eurovision Song Contest will take place on the 16th of May in Moscow and the song chosen to represent France will be sung in French (this time)....

Published On - May 7, 2009

Richard Brooks Language BlogTags: Language, Politics

Linguistic Divide in Belgium

Belgium’s European parliament election, which is due to take place on 7th June, has been riddled with feuds over the rights of Dutch and French speakers. The BBC reports that francophone political parties have been denied billboard space for their election posters in two mainly Dutch speaking muni...

Published On - March 13, 2009

Richard Brooks Language BlogTags: Language, Law, Politics

Danish Language Protection Laws Deemed Unnecessary

The Danish Culture Ministry has announced that there is no need to pass language protection laws in Denmark at this time, but that other steps should be taken to protect the Danish language. According to the Copenhagen Post Online, the announcement marks the conclusion of a special government commit...