Language policy in Lithuania: current issues in the legal framework

ABSTRACT

The paper analyses the current situation of the Lithuanian language policy in the 2-3rd decade of the twenty-first century, which, as in some other European countries, has been determined by the confrontation between nationalistic and neoliberal attitudes of the society and the Seimas (Parliament). The reasons for updating language policy are discussed: high emigration after EU accession and immigration from post-Soviet countries because of military tensions, as well as intensive globalisation and the development of IT. The article therefore provides an overview of important developments in the legal framework for language policy, some of which have been implemented and some of which have been discussed for decades. One of the subjects of this debate is the updating of the State Language Law itself and the revision of its fundamental statements. The impact of the solutions to the above-mentioned problems of the language policy on the prestige of the state Lithuanian language in society is discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Language policy; language status; legal regulation of language
• Lithuanian language; state language

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 See the official data about resident population by ethnicity at the beginning of the year, per cent: https://osp.stat.gov.lt/statistiniu-rodikliu-analize?hash=e31753a4-2533-4a33-9381-84bc8b942096#/ (last access: 29.02.2024).

2 See the Constitution of the State of Lithuania, 1922: https://e-seimas.lrs.lt/portal/legalAct/lt/TAD/77e174b0511711e5a4ad9dd3e7d17706?positionInSearchResults=1&searchModelUUID=7f87d2be-f754-468d-907f-ac9070c8d300/ (last access: 29.02.2024).

3 See the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania, 1992: https://e-seimas.lrs.lt/portal/legalAct/lt/TAD/TAIS.21892 (last access: 29.02.2024).

4 See the Law on the State Language of the Republic of Lithuania, 1995: https://e-seimas.lrs.lt/portal/legalActPrint/lt?jfwid=rivwzvpvg&documentId=TAIS.21941&category=TAD (last access: 29.02.2024).

5 See the Law on the Status of the State Commission of the Lithuanian Language, 1993: https://e-seimas.lrs.lt/portal/legalAct/lt/TAD/TAIS.157640?jfwid=-1fhjp40jo (last access: 28.02.2024).

6 See the Law on the State Language Inspectorate, 2001: https://www.e-tar.lt/portal/lt/legalAct/TAR.0058572509B3 (last access: 26.02.2024).

7 See the Resolution of the State Lithuanian Language Commission on the Approval of the Description of the General Qualification Requirements for Language Controllers, 2004: https://e-seimas.lrs.lt/portal/legalAct/lt/TAD/TAIS.244419?jfwid=uu1o97lmy (last access: 29.02.2024).

8 See the official data about resident population in Lithuania at the beginning of the year, number: https://osp.stat.gov.lt/pagrindiniai-salies-rodikliai (last access: 28.02.2024).

9 See the official data about resident population in Lithuania at the beginning of the year, ethnicity: https://osp.stat.gov.lt/statistiniu-rodikliu-analize?hash=e31753a4-2533-4a33-9381-84bc8b942096#/ (last access: 29.02.2024).

10 See the official data about immigrants in Lithuania, number: https://www.migracija.lt/-/lietuvoje-gyvenan%C4%8Di%C5%B3-u%C5%BEsienie%C4%8Di%C5%B3-skai%C4%8Dius-perkop%C4%97-200-t%C5%ABkstan%C4%8Di%C5%B3-1 (last access: 01.03.2024).

11 Ibidem.

12 See the Decree of the Government on the Adoption and Implementation of Categories of Proficiency in the State Language, 2003: https://e-seimas.lrs.lt/portal/legalAct/lt/TAD/TAIS.224296; respectively in 2022: https://e-seimas.lrs.lt/portal/legalAct/lt/TAD/9dcddfb4a5ed11ecaf79c2120caf5094 (last access: 27.02.2024).

13 See the Law of Ukraine on Supporting the Functioning of the Ukrainian Language as the State Language, 2019: https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/en/2704-19#Text (last access: 01.03.2024).

14 See the Saeima’s (Parliament’s) support of the transition to Latvian as the only language of instruction: https://www.saeima.lv/en/news/saeima-news/31457-saeima-supports-transition-to-latvian-as-the-only-language-of-instruction; see the Riigikogu’s (Parliament’s) support of the Bill on the transition to Estonian as the language of instruction: https://www.riigikogu.ee/en/sitting-reviews/bill-on-the-transition-to-estonian-as-the-language-of-instruction-passed-the-second-reading-in-the-riigikogu/ (last access: 28.02.2024).

15 See the Analysis of the State of Education of Lithuania’s National Minorities, 2021: https://www.nsa.smm.lt/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Tautiniu-mazumu-svietimo-bukles-analize-2022-05-23.pdf (last access: 28.02.2024).

16 See OECD PISA 2022: Results and Trends: https://www.nsa.smm.lt/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/PISA2022_Rezultatai_2022.12.06_compressed.pdf (last access: 28.02.2024).

17 See the information of the National Agency for Education about the matriculation examination: https://www.nsa.smm.lt/egzaminai-ir-pasiekimu-patikrinimai/brandos-egzaminai/ (last access: 29.02.2024).

18 See the European Commission’s Contribution to the Leaders’ Meeting in Gothenburg, 2017: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52017DC0673 (last access: 28.02.2024).

19 See the information of the National Agency for Education about the foreign language teaching 2023/2024: https://rsvis3.emokykla.lt/cognos/bi/?perspective=classicviewer&id=i2B100E837E5B43368B756F1E3EA1EE07&objRef=i2B100E837E5B43368B756F1E3EA1EE07&action=run&format=HTML&cmPropStr=%7B%22id%22%3A%22i2B100E837E5B43368B756F1E3EA1EE07%22%2C%22type%22%3A%22report%22%2C%22defaultName%22%3A%224.%20U%C5%BEsienio%20kalb%C5%B3%20mokymas%22%2C%22permissions%22%3A%5B%22execute%22%2C%22read%22%2C%22traverse%22%5D%7D (last access: 26.02.2024).

20 See the Procedure for approval, entry into force and implementation of the Administrative Offences Code Law: https://www.e-tar.lt/portal/lt/legalAct/4ebe66c0262311e5bf92d6af3f6a2e8b (last access: 28.02.2024).

21 For more information on the SLI’s powers, see the Law on the State Language Inspectorate, 2001: https://www.e-tar.lt/portal/lt/legalAct/TAR.0058572509B3 (last access: 26.02.2024).

22 See the Term Bank Law: https://www.e-tar.lt/portal/en/legalAct/TAR.D1F51C2190D5 (last access: 31.01.2024).

23 See the Guidelines for the Development of the Lithuanian Language in the Digital Environment and the Advancement of Language Technologies, 2021–2027: https://e-seimas.lrs.lt/portal/legalAct/lt/TAD/911407f20ee911ebbedbd456d2fb030d (last access: 19.02.2024).

24 See the State Language Constitutional Law, project 1, 2023: https://e-seimas.lrs.lt/portal/legalAct/lt/TAP/97124620e4ee11eda305cb3bdf2af4d8); project 2: https://e-seimas.lrs.lt/portal/legalAct/lt/TAP/0f73da300e7411ee9ac6bb8cb9c06455?jfwid=aai7tfnmk (last access: 16.02.2024).

25 See the List of Constitutional Laws, 2012: https://e-seimas.lrs.lt/portal/legalAct/lt/TAD/TAIS.420310 (last access: 02.03.2024).

26 See the Law on the Writing of Names and Surnames of Persons, 2022: https://e-seimas.lrs.lt/portal/legalAct/lt/TAD/32ec5f92790211ecb2fe9975f8a9e52e (last access: 18.02.2024).

27 See the Decree of the Government on the Approval of the Rules for Writing a Person’s First and Last Name in a Person’s Certificate of Personal Authority and other Documents, 2022: https://e-seimas.lrs.lt/portal/legalAct/lt/TAD/efc0e036c6e811ecb69ea7b9ba9d787b?jfwid=16u850×981 (last access: 18.02.2024).

28 See the Law on the Amendment of the Spelling of a Person’s Name and Surname in Documents, project, 2023: https://e-seimas.lrs.lt/portal/legalAct/lt/TAP/4a3471b0e3ff11eda305cb3bdf2af4d8?jfwid=jwc71ihra (last access: 18.02.2024).

29 See His Majesty’s Passport Office Guidance on names that cannot be used in passports, 2022: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/63999781e90e077c2502f71b/Names_-_names_that_cannot_be_used_in_passports__V9_FOR_GOV.UK_publication_.pdf (last access: 18.02.2024).

30 See the Law on Approval, Entry into Force and Implementation of the Civil Code, 2023: https://e-seimas.lrs.lt/portal/legalAct/lt/TAD/TAIS.107687/asr (last access: 27.02.2024).

31 See the Amendment to Article 2.40 of the Civil Code Legislation, 2021: https://e-seimas.lrs.lt/portal/legalAct/lt/TAP/67c13430a80511eb98ccba226c8a14d7?jfwid=yerqnfucf (last access: 27.02.2024).

32 See the Law No. I-779 amending article 16 of the Law of the State Language, 2021: https://e-seimas.lrs.lt/portal/legalAct/lt/TAP/d6526900a80511eb98ccba226c8a14d7?jfwid=pohw8qco9 (last access: 22.02.2024).

33 See the Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights, 1997: https://e-seimas.lrs.lt/portal/legalAct/lt/TAD/TAIS.6020/asr (last access: 22.02.2024).

34 See the State Language Inspectorate’s Information about Taking State Language Knowledge Exams, 2024: https://vki.lrv.lt/lt/informacija-kitakalbiams/valstybines-kalbos-mokejimo-egzaminu-laikymas/?lang=en (last access: 22.02.2024).

35 See the Law on Education, as last amended in 2015: https://e-seimas.lrs.lt/portal/legalAct/lt/TAD/df672e20b93311e5be9bf78e07ed6470?jfwid=2r1mldso (last access: 22.02.2024).

36 See Note 23.

37 See the Strategic Planning for 2021–2035, Estonia: https://www.hm.ee/en/ministry/ministry/strategic-planning-2021-2035 (last access: 22.02.2024).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Laima Kalėdienė

Laima Kalėdienė is a senior researcher emerita at the Institute of the Lithuanian Language (Vilnius). Her research interests: sociolinguistics, dialectology, corpus linguistics.

Ona Aleknavičienė

Ona Aleknavičienė is a senior researcher at the Institute of the Lithuanian Language (Vilnius), where she works at the Heritage Research Centre. Her research interests: history of language policy, history of written Lithuanian language, literature, and culture.