Use of Mother Tongue at the level of Local Administrative Units. Cost Estimation Cover Image

Utilizarea limbii materne la nivelul unităților administrative locale. Estimare Costuri
Use of Mother Tongue at the level of Local Administrative Units. Cost Estimation

Author(s): István Horváth, Zsombor Csata, István Gergő Székely
Subject(s): Inter-Ethnic Relations, Ethnic Minorities Studies
Published by: ISPMN Institutul pentru Studierea Problemelor Minorităţilor Naţionale
Summary/Abstract: The study aims to operationalize and estimate the costs of implementing the rights of citizens belonging to a national minority to use their mother tongue in public administration. Identifies the areas of activity in which these obligations are generated, the forms of institutional organization through which the local administrative units manage them, the approximate volume of situations managed and the approximate additional costs compared to the situation where the local administration would use only the state language. The study is based on fieldwork that took place between July and October 2019, in which we used a complex survey tool and conducted interviews with local council representatives belonging to localities where the proportion of Hungarian residents exceeds 20%. The results show that the implementation of bilingual communication in local and county administrations involves significant costs, so - at least from the perspective of distributive justice - it is unfair for these costs to be borne exclusively by local governments.

  • Page Count: 56
  • Publication Year: 2021
  • Language: Romanian