Carpathian Germans known by their skills, By Marta Ďurianová, October 25 - 31, Vol 10, No 41
Its great to read an article that deals with the linguistic heritage of Slovakia, which is German besides Slovak, Hungarian and Ruthenian, in such a positive manner. One can only hope that the Czech Republic will at some point also recognise its German heritage, at least to the same extent Slovakia, Hungary and Romania do. It is important to note that Germans only made up a relatively small proportion of the population in Slovakia. But small towns in Slovakia now even have bilingual signs, while cities like Cheb/Eger or Liberec/Reichenberg, where Germans made up the overwhelming majority for centuries, do not even permit the publication of their former German names in tourist brochures for Germans. Some European countries remain at odds with the principle of linguistic plurality.
Potter,
Switzerland
