A szlovákiai magyar kisebbség nyelvi jogai 1989 és 2025 között: jogfejlődés, a jogszabályok végrehajtása és a nyelvi egyenlőség korlátai
The Language Rights of the Hungarian Minority in Slovakia Between 1989 and 2025 from the Perspective of Constitutional Law, International Minority Protection, and Sociology of Law

Author(s): Iván Gyurcsík
Subject(s): Language acquisition, Ethnic Minorities Studies
Published by: Fórum Kisebbségkutató Intézet
Keywords: language rights; Hungarian minority in Slovakia; minority protection; minority languages; asymmetric bilingualism; linguistic pluralism; implementation gap; Council of Europe
Summary/Abstract: This study examines the development of the language rights of the Hungarian minority in Slovakia between 1989 and 2025 from the perspectives of constitutional law, international minority protection and legal sociology. It analyses the evolution of Slovak language legislation, the impact of the Council of Europe, the OSCE and the European Union, the Hungarian-Slovak Treaty and the practical implementation of minority language rights. The paper argues that the Slovak language regime is best characterised as a model of asymmetric bilingualism and limited linguistic pluralism. Although the legal framework has gradually expanded since the democratic transition, significant differences remain between formal legal guarantees and their practical enforcement. The study concludes that the future of minority language rights will depend less on further legislative reforms than on institutional capacity, demographic developments, bilingual public administration and the effective implementation of existing legal guarantees.

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