"evropuli qartia saqarTvelo "European Charter for Regional or ...

gal and administrative authorities, as well as in the society’s economic,
social and cultural life. The Charter aims at safeguarding regional or minority
languages in Europe and promoting formation of national identity
(rather than protecting linguistic rights of linguistic minorities).
Accordingly, the focus is on the cultural aspects of the issue and
the use of the regional and minority languages in all the spheres of life
of the speakers of these languages.
The charter does not establish any individual or collective rights
for the speakers of regional or minority languages (explanation 10 and
11). Also, cf.: The aim of the "European Charter for Regional or Minority
Languages" is the protection of the historical regional or minority
languages of Europe, some of which are in danger of eventual extinction
346 . Also, see paragraphs 31 and 32: "the charter covers only historical
languages, that is to say languages which have been spoken over a
long period in the state in question 347
. These languages must clearly differ
from the other language or languages spoken by the remainder of the
population of the state. The charter does not concern local variants or
different dialects of one and the same language".
It is often emphasized in other documents of the Council of Europe
that the "European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages"
aims to protect the languages in regions that have been traditionally used
for centuries and where they represent an integral part of regional
348
(integral, summative) identity .
It is often emphasized by certain experts as well that the primary
goal of the European agreement is the protection of the historical region-
346 It is the survival of historical languages endangered due to political and social reasons
that international organizations such as UNESCO and “Volkswagen Stiftung” are
especially concerned about (that is quite another story how the finances are used, see T.
Putkaradze, Native Language and Dialects of Georgians Kutaisi, 2008, pp. 21-25, 45).
347 The charter covers only historical languages, that is to say languages which have
been spoken over a long period in the state in question (explanation 31).
348 ttp://assembly.coe.int/Mainf.asp?link=/Documents/WorkingDocs/Doc08/EDOC11480.htm:
The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages (Motion for a resolution,
Doc. 11480; 7 January 2008).
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