Fines for not knowing state official language

The post-Soviet countries protect their national languages in different ways. It seems that Latvia has chosen the most radical way. There for not knowing Latvian you can be fined. In particular, such penalty is imposed on officials and MPs, as well as those who work in public sector.

In 2012 in Latvia 1,501 people were fined for lack of knowledge or for not using state official language. Minimum fine is 25 lats (50 US dollars), maximum – 200 lats (400 US dollars). Monetary penalties are also imposed on products distributed without labeling, instructions, warranty documents, and technical passport that are not translated into Latvian.

The State Center for Language Control tests the level of language knowledge among people. The Center was established back in 1992. Its activity and powers are regulated by the law “On State Language,” which distinguishes three levels of mastering Latvian: basic, intermediate, and advanced. Depending on the job, the people of Latvia have to pass a language test and get a special certificate, which is required for employment. For example, to become a politician in Latvia you have to have excellent command of Latvian.

By the way, in the history of the Baltic countries there have already been cases of penalizing members of political elite. In October last year, the deputy Valerijs Kravcovs was fined for placing a sign on his house with the name of the street in Russian. Antons KURSITIS, head of the Control Department of the State Language Center told The Day that in the past four years 12 deputies were fined in Latvia. After the first warning, they usually study up. But in the new convocation of the Saeima (parliament) they can even lose their mandates for the second violation.

“There is only one working language in Latvia – Latvian. Good command of Latvian is mandatory for deputies of the Saeima or local councils,” said Kursitis in an interview for The Day. “If a person does not know state official language, it is practically impossible to work, make decisions, consider bills, etc.” Needless to say that all the statements made in Saeima as well as all official documentation are in Latvian.

Member of the State Language Center is convinced that in any law there should be elements of both “a carrot and a stick.” “The penalty should not be too big, so that people would understand that they should learn it (the language) and should not violate the law,” said Kursitis. According to him, if the violation of a law is not punished by a penalty it would be too difficult to monitor its observance. However, “fines are not the most important thing,” added Kursitis. “The main thing is that a person should realize the importance of the state language.”

Time has proven the effectiveness of the language policy in Latvia. In January 1989, a census of the population of the USSR showed that Latvian was native for 52 percent of Latvia’s population, while Russian was native for 42 percent of population. At that time, more than 80 percent had good command of Russian and over 60 percent had good command of Latvian. Despite this correlation, the Latvian government deliberately enhanced the status of the state language, strengthening it with various laws and regulations. In particular, according to the law “On the Latvian Radio and Television,” adopted in 1995, the first channel of public radio and television stations broadcast only in the national language, the rest should use it in at least 70 percent of their broadcasting.

Besides, among the Baltic countries Latvia has the largest number of Russian speaking citizens – about 30 percent. However, despite the strong position of the Russian language in the Latvian society, in a referendum in 2012 74.8 percent of people voted against making Russian the other state official language.

However, according to Kursitis, at the present time the problem is in a different matter. “Four percent of Latvians, who do not speak the official language, are the elderly people. Things are easier for young people because we had a reform of education and those, who graduate from schools, know the official state language. Now we have a somewhat different problem: many Latvians do not know Russian,” said the expert.

In Latvia there is a proverb: “He, who does not respect himself and his native tongue, will not have respect from others.” It is a pity that in Ukraine, not everyone shares this folk wisdom and treats Ukrainian language with such disrespect. There were laws adopted even in time of the Ukrainian SSR. In particular, in 1989 there was adopted the law “On Languages,” which was designed to strengthen the position of the Ukrainian language. However, over the past 20 years, this law, like many others that are being produced nowadays, is not actually enforced. Perhaps, this happens because Ukrainians have not used the Latvian experience: the laws should provide description of penalties for violating them. There are also cases known in Ukraine when even those politicians, who know the state official language, deliberately speak Russian.

Why have Latvians managed to strengthen the position of their state language, and Ukrainians failed to do so? Ukrainian dissident and journalist Yevhen SVERSTIUK believes that the current attitude of Latvians to their language defines “the return of Latvia to the norms of civil society.” According to him, this can be explained by the fact that from the beginning of the Soviet occupation, the Latvians were actively opposed to it. “While in Ukraine, people still have the Soviet attitude towards language: things were this way in Soviet times, things remain this way now too,” Sverstiuk explained.

Moreover, last week the Ukrainian mass media reported that the deputies wheedled money for their salary increments for the command of Russian as a foreign language.

However, when we asked Volodymyr OLIINYK, MP from the Party of Regions, to comment on this, he told us that he does not know such facts and did not use it. “I just read it on the Internet,” said Oliinyk. “However, I don’t know anyone who gets bonuses for the knowledge of a foreign language, Russian being one of them.”

What do you think about the fact that in Latvia deputies and officials get penalties for not knowing the state official language? Should the same be done in Ukraine?

“We must be careful with this issue. If any decision of such kind will be made, there must be a lengthy transitional period. In my opinion, command of Ukrainian as the state official language should be evaluated when a person takes a position in a state service.” According to Oliinyk, when a state official knows Ukrainian and does not use it, it is a violation of the oath. For this he can be held financially accountable and even get fired. “But when our colleagues suggest a new law in order to stir up the entire society, it only hurts the position of the Ukrainian language. Such things should be done gradually, so that everyone was be ready. For 20 years everyone closed their eyes to this, but now we have to do everything possible to make this transition least painful,” said MP.

If there were such penalties in Ukraine, Oliinyk would not be affected by them as he speaks good Ukrainian. But it would be interesting to see the results of his colleagues.