PROTECTION OF THE MINORITY LANGUAGES IN TRENTINO - ALTO ADIGE AND VENETO: BENEFITS AND COSTS
The article concerns the problems of linguistic minorities in two regions in Northern Italy. It gives the information on the non-binding Venetian autonomy referendum that took place in October 2017. It is specially noted that in the recent decades the Venetians have been calling on the Italian government to recognize their ethnic identity, expecting to obtain rights guaranteed by the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities. Much attention is given to the bill approved in December 2016 by Regional Council of Veneto that describes Venetians as “national minority” and announces the intention to teach the dialect (“Venetian language”) in schools and to use it in the Public Administration, following the model of Alto Adige (South Tyrol). It is stressed that now the autonomous province of South Tyrol is an example of successful integration of linguistic minorities and the coexistence of three official languages: German, Italian and Ladin. It is reported that recently the Italian government and the Regional Council of Trentino - Alto Adige promulgated a series of laws and bills that protect the Ladin language. The article draws attention to the fact that in December 2017 the Austrian government announced its intention to grant Austrian citizenship to residents of South Tyrol who declared that they belong to the German and Ladin language communities. According to the Italian government, such a decision is unacceptable, since, in particular, it will lead to the discrimination of the Italian-speaking population of the province.