Interethnic relations and the lack of will of the citizens mostly affect the respect of bilingualism in Kosovo; it is the conclusion of the conference which was organized in Pristina to mark the European Day of Languages.
Language Commissioner in the Office of the Prime Minister, Slaviša Mladenović, reiterates that Kosovo has good legislative framework when it comes to respect for the right to use the language, but it is not respected sufficiently.
“As causes of disrespect of the law on languages, we have identified a lack of capacity in institutions, lack of awareness, both the public and civil servants,” said Mladenović.
President of the Association of Kosovo Municipalities Naim Ismaili believes that the use of Serbian and Albanian language, citizens need to see as an added advantage, not an obligation. Ismaili emphasizes that will represents one of the obstacles to bilingualism in Kosovo.
Director of the European Centre for Minority Issues in Kosovo Adrian Zeqiri says that interethnic relations are an obstacle to the respect of bilingualism in Kosovo.
“Bilingualism is closely related to inter-ethnic relations and there cannot be the implementation of language policies without reconciliation, good interethnic relations, especially when it comes to official languages in Kosovo,” said Zeqiri.
The conference on “Multilingualism: value and/or obligations” was organized by the Office of the Language Commissioner in cooperation with the NGO “Kosovo US Alumni”, with the support of the US Embassy in Kosovo.
Albanian and Serbian are official languages according to the Law on Use of Languages in Kosovo.
