Hungarian Minority Research Articles

Mniejszości narodowe i ich ochrona w prawie międzynarodowym w XX w. Kwestie definicyjne na przykładzie Polaków i Węgrów na Ukrainie

Problematyka mniejszości narodowych analizowana jest już od wielu lat. Pomimo uwzględniania różnorodnych podejść nie wypracowano jednak dotychczas jednolitej, powszechnie obowiązującej definicji. Występuje bowiem szereg czynników, które skłaniają ustawodawców do ochrony określonych cech danych grup społecznych. W artykule przeanalizowano czynniki umożliwające uzyskanie kompleksowego obrazu tego, co oznacza status mniejszości, ochrona mniejszości, a także zakres rozwoju ich praw w XX w. Współczesny kształt międzynarodowego prawa ochrony mniejszości ukształtował się po I wojnie światowej. W wyniku powstania nowych państw, przesunięcia granic zaistniało szereg nowych mniejszości. Dlatego też nieuniknione było uporządkowanie ich sytuacji w ramach uregulowań międzynarodowych. Niewątpliwie doświadczenie I wojny światowej zmieniło stosunek do mniejszości. Po II wojnie światowej dokonana została swoista ewolucja tego podejścia. Akcenty przesunięte zostały z praw zbiorowych na prawa jednostki i prawa człowieka, a prawa mniejszości znalazły się na dalszym planie. Problem ten został omówiony na przykładzie sytuacji w Europie Środkowo-Wschodniej, przede wszystkim mniejszości polskiej i węgierskiej mieszkających na Ukrainie.

As a Foreign Student of Hungarian Descent in Hungary

AbstractThe study's basis is own research conducted in April 2020, which used the methods of sociolinguistics and ethnography to examine students from abroad but with a Hungarian background who studied in Hungary in 2019/2020. Students came from different western countries for one-year of training at the Balassi Institute. The main question of the research was how the young linguistic identification and social integration of young people of Hungarian origin living in the diaspora develop under the institutional influence of Hungarian minority policy? Hungary has a great responsibility in the life of diaspora communities at the time; the scholarship training of Áron Márton for the studied students was also created for this purpose. The exercise aims to strengthen the identification of young people living in the diaspora with Hungarian roots, as well as their attachment to our country and culture. The methodology of qualitative research was applicable during the study. Within the method, the conclusions were established based on grounded theory, which requires continuous analysis. The subjects of the stratified sampling came from the advanced group of Hungarology training. The study results show that the method of training is compelling: the linguistic identification of young people from abroad has improved, the knowledge and experience gained at the Balassi Institute have since been regularly seen and incorporated into their everyday lives. Keywords sociolinguistics, foreigner student with a Hungarian background, Balassi Institution, cultures, language practice, social integration, diaspora, Program in Hungarian Language and Culture, the language of origin

A simile… A román–magyar viszony és tanulságai az alkotmányjog-történet tükrében

The study undertakes to clarify some basic issues that have been erroneously recorded in the public consciousness, to make a kind of confrontation in order to take the initial steps of improving the Romanian−Hungarian relationship. In order to achieve the above goal and basic thesis, it is a primary task to illuminate and banish the mistakes and myths recorded in the public consciousness from both sides. In this context, it is revealed that neither the topos of the “millennial Hungarian oppression” simplified to the extreme nor the thesis of the “slow − anti-Hungarian − Romanian national occupation” can be held. In the interest of constructive dialogue, it is worth returning to the position that prevailed in the Hungarian reform era, and even at the time of the unification of the Romanian states, according to which the interdependence and commonality of destiny of the two peoples is a real and common path. To this end, the study uses legal history to present the original meaning of nationalism, the majority and minority arguments made during the drafting of the Hungarian Nationality Act of 1868, the models that can be interpreted in the majority−minority relationship, and the relationship of the two states to these models then and in the present day. In this context, the constitutional conceptions of Hungary and Romania are analysed in connection with the minority issue with the intention to prove the legitimacy of the needs of the Hungarian minority. The basic premise of the study in this area is that if a minority demand was legitimate from the Hungarian side within the Hungarian state, then the argumentum a simile from the Hungarian side is necessarily legitimate within the Romanian state.

A ‘Historical Reconciliation.’ The Romanian‑Hungarian Treaty of 1996

This article analyses Romania’s foreign policy during the transition from communism to democracy, between 1990 and 1996, through the lens of its relations with Hungary. These were conditioned by the historical background, antagonistic feelings best describing public opinion attitudes in the two states. The analysis considered the situation of the Hungarian minority in Romania and the way in which inter-ethnic tensions (such as the street fights in Târgu-Mureş in March 1990) influenced diplomatic cooperation, as well as the way in which the political class positioned on this issue. The study focuses on the adoption of the ‘Treaty of understanding, cooperation and good neighborliness concluded between Romania and the Republic of Hungary,’ a condition for the acceptance of the two countries in the negotiations for accession to NATO and the European Union. The tortuous process that led to the signing of this document was analyzed through the lens of specialized literature, but also by reference to some decision-makers at that time, such as the US ambassador to Romania, Alfred H. Moses, or President Ion Iliescu. As regards the reactions of politicians and the media in both states to the signing of the treaty, in the context of the Romanian electoral campaign that was taking place at that time, sources from the written press were used, Evenimentul Zilei and Adevărul being the most widely read dailies.

The Indigenous Status of the Hungarian Language Community in the Carpathian Basin : A Historical and Contemporary Interpretation.

The notion of ‘indigenous’ as described in international regulations and resolutions is adjusted to the situation of the Hungarian language community in the Carpathian Basin, with special reference to the Hungarian minorities in the countries along the Hungarian border. The regional communities of the Hungarian minorities beyond the borders should be seen indigenous groups since 1920, with the flexible semantic extension of ‘indigenousness’. Significant parts of the Hungarian language community were annexed to the newly formed non-Hungarian states. The then new state borders cut through natural geographic, and mostly homogenous Hungarian ethnic, ethnographic, regional cultural and dialectal territories. Those left behind the borders became indigenous, while staying on their homeland. This interpretation is based on the linguistic and cultural features of the minorities in question, to point to the human side of their historical developments and present state.

Колабораціонізм русинів й українців Хорватії під час сербсько-хорватської війни (1991–1995)

Колабораціонізм русинів й українців Хорватії під час сербсько-хорватської війни (1991–1995)

Hungarian-Romanian relations and the activities of the Venice commission in solving the problems of national minorities in Transylvania

At the present stage, researchers pay special attention to finding the causes of interstate and interethnic contradictions. Legislative projects of some states can significantly affect the situation of national minorities and become an object of monitoring by international organizations. The purpose of the article is to analyze the stages of the history and current state of Hungarian-Romanian relations, the experience of political and cultural coexistence of two ethnic groups in the Transylvanian region, the reason, features and main directions of the Venice Commission’s activities in solving the problems of national minorities in Transylvania. The following methods are: historical comparative analysis, systematization and generalization, retrospective method. The article shows that the Romanian Transylvania has historically determined features of linguistic and cultural specificity and is one of the regions of Europe in which the activity of the Hungarian national minority attracts the attention of the Venice Commission. The results of the analysis indicate that the Venice Commission plays the role of a legal instrument for resolving contradictions arising from the illegal presentation of laws that discriminate against certain rights, national interests of certain states or ethnic groups. The solution of the Hungarian-Romanian problem after the adoption of the Hungarian Law on Hungarians Living in Neighboring Countries is an illustrative example of the successful and operational activity of the Venice Commission, which, as a result, will be able to minimize the risk of interstate and interethnic tensions in Europe. The analysis presented in the proposed article will make it possible to find out what consequences may have, on the one hand, restrictions at various stages in the history of the rights of national minorities, in particular the use of their languages, on the other hand, options for the further dynamic development of nations and countries in the event of making reasonable compromises.

The Hungarian Community of Transylvania in Its Relations With the Romanian Communist Authorities From the 1950s to the 1980s

The historical experience of Hungarian-Romanian relations in previous eras affected the relations of the Hungarian national minority of Transylvania with the Romanian communist authorities from the 1950s to the 1980s. The concept of Romania as a unitary national state excluded the idea of Hungarian territorial autonomy even within its narrowest borders; Transylvanian Hungarians were declared an integral part of the Romanian political nation. This caused growing resistance from the consolidated Hungarian minority with a highly developed national identity and with the intelligentsia, which perceived itself as the guardian of the 1000-year-old Hungarian state and cultural traditions in Transylvania. The reaction of the Transylvanian Hungarian intelligentsia to the growing Romanian nationalist challenge changed as the Ceauşescu regime evolved, giving rise to different behavioral strategies. In the late 1960s, when Romania’s independent policy was internationally recognised the dominant attitude was to influence the situation through dialogue with the authorities. Later, from the end of the 1970s, the participation of Transylvanian Hungarians in the Romanian dissident movement intensified. The policy of the K.d.r regime concerning the Hungarians in Romania also changed depending on the state of Hungary–Romania relations.

The Ethnopolitics of the HZDS-SNS-ZRS Coalition Government in Slovakia from 1994 to 1998

This article discusses the ethnopolitics of Vladimír Mečiar’s government in Slovakia in the period of years between 1994-1998, with a particular focus on the Hungarian minority. The introduction outlines ethnic heterogeneity in Slovakia, giving a brief historical background for some minorities. The next part covers the result of the 1994 parliamentary election, which led to the formation of the HZDS-SNS-ZRS coalition government headed by Vladimír Mečiar as Prime Minister. The study also includes the ideological profiles of the governmental parties, which are linked by strong accentuation of nationalism and statism. The article seeks to analyse the ethnopolitics of the government in the above-mentioned election term, evaluate its positive and negative aspects. In particular, the affairs, new legislation adopted and its impact on the largest Hungarian minority living in Slovakia.

Where Were the Voters? A Spatial Analysis of the 2019 Slovak Presidential Election

This paper endeavours to deliver a comprehensive spatial depiction of Slovakia’s presidential election held on 16th and 30th March 2019. At first, the text briefly considers electoral and institutional framework of presidential elections and its background. Within the context of the first round, the paper subsequently analyses the electoral support of four key candidates who had obtained at least 10 per cent in order to clarify the overall electoral support. At the municipal level, the analysis of aggregated data then brings a complex mapping of regional electoral support towards the presidential candidates. Our negative binomial regression models, based on socio-economic variables and the results of the 2016 parliamentary election, yield no satisfactory results. Nonetheless, among others, it was revealed that the final two contenders did not lose their voters from the previous round. In comparison to Šefčovič, Čaputová succeeded in acquiring lower levels of new electoral support (up to 20 per cent) but across the whole country. Afterwards, the Hungarian minority was proved a determinative factor for the win, contrarily to the socio-economic indicators as explicative variables of which the university degree and age were found the most significant.

University education and Hungarian minority in Slovakia 1918-1938

University education and Hungarian minority in Slovakia 1918-1938

Research Questions and Methodological Approaches in the Literature on the History of the German Minority in Hungary between 1945 and 1955

In my study, I summarise the content issues, methodological approaches and the most important results of the historical literature dealing with the history of the German minority in Hungary during the decade after the Second World War. It can be said that the historical research on the expulsion of Germans from Hungary up to 1990, the change of regime, was characterised by a positivist, descriptive, event-centric approach. The questions of this research were basically organised by the outcome of Potsdam and how this related to Hungary. In connection with both the content and methodological issues, I will touch on – in my opinion – the missing aspects, the possibility of more complex research approaches.

Minority Petitions Against Yugoslav Authorities Before the League of Nations

This article deals with Yugoslavia’s tactics against Bulgarian and Hungarian minority petitions, which were filed before the League of Nations and later promoted before the European Congress of Nationalities. The analysis is based on the documents preserved in the Records of the Permanent Delegation in Geneva, which is the most reliable source on the tactics since other significant Yugoslav institutions have hardly been preserved at all.

Languages and actors in the linguistic landscape in the Slovak-Hungarian ethnically mixed area in Slovakia

AbstractThe aim of this paper is to characterize the linguistic landscape of municipalities in Slovakia inhabited by Hungarian minority. Empirical data come from two sources: from BA and MA theses, which were defended in 2015 – 2020 at the Institute of Hungarian Linguistics and Literary Studies at the Faculty of Central European Studies, Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra and from research project VEGA “Minority variety of the Hungarian language in Slovakia”. As part of the above field research, the linguistic landscape of 82 municipalities in which the Hungarian population makes up at least 20% of the population was mapped. The results fundamentally confirm the research findings of P. Laihonen, who studied linguistic landscape in two municipalities. In all municipalities, the most frequent language was Slovak, this applies to all types of analyzed signs with texts (inscriptions of state and municipal authorities, commercial and private signs). Slovak occurs on at least 80% of signs, the representation of Hungarian as the second most frequent language is between 25 – 55%. The most bilingual Slovak-Hungarian signs are in the southwest of Slovakia, where the largest Hungarian minority lives and where Hungarians form the local majority. On bilingual Slovak-Hungarian signs, the preferred language is Slovak, in terms of information content, it is a duplicate publication of information. Municipal authorities and the commercial sphere have the greatest influence on the formation of the linguistic landscape.

The application of functional cognitive linguistic pedagogy under the conditions of linguistic minorities

Abstract The paper gives an overview of the general and special factors of L2 learning of Hungarian minorities across the borders of Hungary, that is, in Slovakia. Indigenous minorities like Hungarians in Slovakia are strongly interested in fluent state language knowledge. Still, the state school system failed to work out and implement a suitable language pedagogy for linguistic minorities, since the state curriculum comprised only one type of Slovak lessons, the one for pupils speaking Slovak as their mother tongue. This curriculum does not consider the special needs for bilingual pupils (on different levels of bilingualism) and those growing up in pure minority environment. The paper introduces functional cognitive linguistics as a usage-based theory and descriptive activity that gives new methods for L2 learning and teaching, building on the vernacular linguistic and conceptual knowledge of the pupils, focusing on the meaning – form pairs of linguistic expressions both in the vernacular and the second (state) language. In the second part, certain grammatical units are discussed as the topic of functional language pedagogy: lexical units and their grammatical adjustment to the syntactic and semantic structure of the sentence, or metaphor in use. In the third part, the topics of the previous section are treated in a comparative Hungarian – Slovak style, as examples of L2 teaching methodology.

Individual language management and language strategies of Hungarian students in Bratislava

Abstract The paper focuses on the individual language management of Hungarian minority students from Southern Slovakia who migrated to study at university in the capital city of Slovakia, Bratislava. It presents language strategies of five students, based on their language biographies. Each student was interviewed three times during their first three years of study. The language problems of these students include maintaining their mother tongue and improving their skills in Slovak as well as balancing between the two languages in various spheres of life. Factors affecting the language use of the students are family, institutions, peer group and overcoming fear. The students deal with their everyday multilingualism according to several models, which can be described on the axis between Hungarian only to Slovak only, but the students mostly find themselves somewhere in between the two, depending on various spheres (family, university, jobs, peers).

Hungarian dialects in Slovakia. Present and future

Abstract The present situation of Hungarian dialects in Slovakia is similar in many respects to that of the dialects of other Hungarian regions (including dialects in Hungary and the cross-border dialects as well), but it also differs from them in other respects. It is well known that there are more differences between Slovakia Hungarian dialects and dialects in Hungary and fewer differences between the former and other minority Hungarian dialects. Intense change in the dialects and the spread of the standard at the expense of the dialects are all-Hungarian phenomena, but the extent of these varies greatly between the situation in Hungary and that of the minorities. The language use of the Hungarian minorities is more dialectal and the spread of the standard is slower among them in Hungary, but their common feature is that changes usually approach the standard. In our study, we discuss the present situation of Hungarian dialects in Slovakia, and attitudinal studies on Slovakia Hungarian dialects and the effect of attitudes on the use of dialectal elements in everyday language use.

The Influencing Factors of Dropout and Persistence of Central European Hungarian Minorities in Higher Educational Institutions

The statistics show that minority Hungarians’ education and participation in higher education, lags far behind the majority of society in Central Europe. Furthermore, we also know that the smaller the community, the more educated they are. The explanation for this could be, those who are less educated are more prone to assimilate. As a result, the existential question from these minority groups comes down to the growth of their level of education, a condition of which is university students’ acquisition of diplomas. Those factors deserve more scrutiny, in their identification, that increase the chances of getting a diploma. The goal of our study is (1) to identify the students who are persistent and at risk of dropping out, (2) to define the risk factors, and (3) at the same time to uncover the protective/ supporting factors as well. The theoretical background for our research was constituted by the institutional integrational model. The database used for this study contains data collected during a survey of Hungarian students from four different countries in Central Europe (IESA 2015, N= 2017). We found from our research that though the effect of intergenerational connections among students at Central European minority schools proved significant, the effect of place of residence, of settlement type, and of relationships within the family was even stronger.

New state borders and (dis)loyalties to Czechoslovakia in Subcarpathian Rus, 1919–25

ABSTRACT This article aims to discuss how useful the data from the censuses and election results of the early 1920s are in reconstructing the loyalties and disloyalties of the Subcarpathian population towards the Czechoslovak state. It argues that the priority for the new state was territorial expansion, which would allow it to function in economic and military terms, even though it was clear that such a course of action would mean the inclusion of a disloyal Hungarian minority within the new state. Although the Jewish minority was also viewed with suspicion by the largely Czech administrators, it was soon realized that its recognition in a census would diminish the strength of the Hungarian minority. Even though the Hungarian rural population voted in large numbers for pro-government parties in the elections of 1924 and 1925, despite the lack of Hungarian candidates on the ballots, there was no serious effort on the part of the Czechoslovak state to turn them into loyal citizens. In the case of the Rusyn population, the Czech authorities expected their loyalty almost automatically in gratitude for their liberation from ‘the Hungarian yoke’. However, it soon became clear that the political ambitions of the Rusyn elite were not a priority for the Czechoslovak state, and most of the Rusyn population also started to adopt disloyal attitudes, either in the form of communism or nationalism. The results of the 1921 census served the government as justification for its decision to grant the Rusyn political elites less territory than they demanded and to weaken the Ukrainian movement within the Rusyn public. The reason for the spectacular communist victory among Rusyns in the 1924 and 1925 elections was a combination of the generally precarious social situation and some Rusyns’ refusal to endorse the existing form of the Czechoslovak state. Although almost a similar number of Rusyns were loyal to the Czechoslovak state, this was not enough for the Czech administrators to grant autonomy to Subcarpathia or to include within it the eastern strip of Slovakia, which the Rusyn leaders had demanded.

Designing Legitimate Institutions for Non-Territorial Autonomies. Insights from the Debates within the Hungarian Communities of Serbia and Romania

Abstract In this paper, I examine some problematic aspects of minority self-governments, more specifically non-territorial cultural or national-cultural autonomy, through an analysis of the cases of the Hungarian minorities in Romania and Serbia. Although the Hungarian minority élites have put forward demands and plans for various forms of autonomy in both countries after 1990, only one particular form of minority self-government, namely national-cultural autonomy, proved to be acceptable for the majority, and eventually such a system was only implemented in Serbia but not in Romania. The focus in the article is more on the form than on the content of autonomy as the design of the institutions of self-government is of central importance also with regard to the power relations within the imagined political community of the minority. Despite the differences between the legal-institutional systems of minority protection of the two states, the patterns of minority élite behaviour were rather similar in the two analysed cases, the institutional form of the envisaged autonomy becoming a very divisive issue and exerting a strong impact on the internal political dynamics of the minorities.