论语言权的国际法保护

The Protectionof Linguistic Rights under International Law

语言多样性是文化多样性的基本内容之一,但许多弱势语言正面临着强势语言的侵袭,有被替代、灭绝之虞。本文首先辨析了语言权、语言权利和语言人权这三个不同层面的术语,然后按时间顺序梳理了国际法对语言权的保护情况,并分别罗列及梳理了普遍性国际组织和会议、区域性国际组织、非政府组织针对语言权不同方面制定的法律文献。

Linguistic diversity is one of the fundamental ingredients of cultural diversity.Nowadays,a great many languages with underprivileged position have been replaced or extinguished by the powerful and privileged languages.According to the prediction made by ad hoc expert group in the endangered languages of UNESCO(United Nations Education,Science and Culture Organization),90%of world languages will be replaced by stronger or privileged languages by the end of the 21st century.The distinction of three items concerning the basic concept,namely,linguistic rights,language rights and linguistic human rights,may contribute to a better understanding of linguistic rights as a basic human right.A chronological ordering of the linguistic rights protection under international law from the preWorld War I to post-World WarⅡ,and listing and analysis of the legal documents about the linguistic rights defined by the universally international organizations and conferences,regional international organizations and the NGOs.can also be conducive to a better knowledge of the history of protection.Prior to World WarⅠ,linguistic rightsas a new right for the minoritieshave not been given due attention and were not directly protected,except accompanied by some other rights such as religious right of the minorities.By the end of World War I,under the supervision of the League of Nations,language belonging to the rights of the minority groups was internationally recognized and thus protected.Though there is no protection system universally applied to the rights of the minority groups,the treaty signed among the minority ethnics signified a primary progress.By the end of the World War II,with rapid awakening and the propagation of human rights,the universal protection accorded to the individual rights and liberty has assumed apparent shift.In the human rights conferences hosted by the international organizations under the auspices of the UN,such shift can be manifested by the commitment to the individual rights in terms of the languages.Under the auspices of the UN and other human rights organizations,a series of international conventions,declaration or legal documents concerning the language rights,linguistic equality and liberty have been successively drafted or promulgated.It has been a common cause of modern human beings to preserve the diversity of culture and language among peoples.By sorting through some drafted and promulgated legal literature,including but not limited to the legal literature concerning language rights made in the universal international organizations and conferences,regional international organizations and conferences,and some NGOs,we can safely conclude that the legal literature with regard to the language rights consists primarily of the following five types;respect for the language equality;language education and study;language use and communications;language protection and development;and the safeguarding of the litigious rights.