March 11 Hall, Seimas, 19
September 2008
Dear participants and guests of the Conference National
Language Policy: State, Society, and School,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Let me welcome you to the Conference focusing
on the problems of language, which is one of the key phenomena of human
existence and national identity. In todays globalised world languages are affected
by at least two tendencies. It is more convenient to reduce the number of
languages for the purpose of international communication and, naturally,
national languages seek to defend themselves since they constitute a vital part
of national identity. Major languages attempt to influence the minor ones,
which results in the increase of the number of international words while the
minor languages are trying to prevent it.
Today every tiny living being is protected
against extinction. The European Union has warned Poland of sanctions for the
construction of Via Baltica through the Rospuda River, its valley and waters
being the home of rare species of beetles. France will not be able to clean the
silt around the Mont Saint-Michel a monastery in the Atlantic Ocean, before
they move the population of miniature frogs elsewhere. And how are dying
languages being preserved?
In the Soviet Union we were being prepared for
the merger of nations while the language to be spoken by them was politely
concealed. During the years of occupation and annexation, Lithuanians defended
their language, purified it, and protected it from russification. Today, when
we are free and live in a world of flourishing commercial culture, young people
in particular embrace other languages with pleasure and use foreign words to
express their emotions by creating a Lithuanian neolanguage. This represents a
serious problem for solid institutions dedicated to regulating the use of the
official language in public life and teaching native speakers correct
Lithuanian.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
On its road to independence, Lithuania adopted
a rather farsighted law on the official language, which also protects the
rights of minority languages. Changes in life, the reality of the European
Union and neighbourhood to Poland and Russia raise a number of issues related
to speaking and writing. I believe that the Conference will discuss these
issues and our foreign specialists and speakers will offer their advice and
draw the conclusions.
I wish you effective work and interesting
discussions during the Conference.
Thank you.
