Minority Monitor presents: Linguistic diversity under hate attacks

Language is a powerful identity marker and a community-building and binding mechanism. As a means of communication, it is a fundamental element of societal structures, enabling individuals to come together and develop a sense of interconnectedness and belonging. As a mechanism for transmitting information, it is a powerful tool for maintaining and preserving cultures in their diversity. According to recent studies, besides the 37 national languages in Europe, there are 60 regional or minority languages and another 225 autochthonous languages (European Commission, 2017).  The existence of some minority communities, however, largely depends on a given national or linguistic minority’s right and possibility to learn and use their minority language in private and in public.

There are international instruments – some directly applicable to national contexts or projected by national legislation – meant to protect the right to language, its use in private and public, and nondiscrimination based on such grounds. Hence, states shall not neglect language-based incidents but address them promptly and adequately. Unfortunately, this is still not always the case.

In support of FUEN’s MUTE HATE SPEECH campaign, the Minority Monitor project mapped and will continue to map cases of hate speech against minorities in all of its forms – written, verbal, and visual – disseminated through media, online platforms, art, street art, or aggressive acts.

Within just a month after the first call for inputs, eight member organisations from seven countries submitted 40 cases to the Minority Hate Monitor, ranging range from hate speech to assaults and vandalism, all targeting national minorities and/or their members.

FUEN continues to collect cases, which will be published on a rolling basis. Your contribution is crucial in this fight against hate speech. To provide input, please use the following reporting form: https://forms.gle/ZX4bBA1XWehqgeAb7   

The cases were processed and grouped in several thematical lines for reporting purposes. The current article introduces

Language-based hate acts

Following the FUEN’s call for information submission, between June and July 2024, ten hate cases related to the use of languages were reported to the Minority Monitor by minority organisations from Croatia, Spain (Catalunya), and Poland. Seven out of the ten incidents come from Catalunya only. The cases, dating from 2015 to 2024, reveal that when it comes to language, not only individuals but also societies and authorities can become supporters and/or perpetrators of hate acts and crimes.

Beating up youngsters on the streets for using their mother tongue, challenging the right to use minority languages in public or sanctioning individuals for claiming their linguistic rights before authorities, the cases indicate that regardless of the national and international regulations in place, their implementation is still lagging. Those who suffer and are exposed to ad-hoc discrimination, aggression and violence are, to a large extent, individuals belonging to minority communities.

Visit the Minority Monitor website to consult these cases!

Further reading:

Minority Monitor presents: Authorities and politicians promoting hate against minorities

Minority Monitor presents: From Hate Messages to Hate Crimes