Experts don't expect "monolingual civilization"

Experts don't expect "monolingual civilization"

At the same time, experts believe it is "unlikely that a monolingual civilization will emerge," while languages of national minorities in Serbia "are not under threat of extinction" - as is the case with minority languages in some areas elsewhere in Europe, and worldwide.

Suzana Paunović, head of the Office for Human and Minority Rights, said that members of national minorities in Serbia's education system are taking lessons in own languages, "and when this is not possible, primarily because of the number of students, they are provided with mother tongue lessons with elements of national culture."

There are over 10,000 children in primary schools educated in ten languages of national minorities in Serbia, the office said its latest data showed.

Lessons are held in 13 minority languages for over 45,000 children in primary and over 13,000 students in secondary schools.

Paunović was also quoted as saying by Tanjug that there are over 100 print media in 16 minority languages in Serbia.

Moreover, 42 units of local self-government have some ten national minority languages in their official use, Paunovic told the news agency.

In 2006, Serbia ratified the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.

Worldwide, a language becomes extinct almost every day, and linguists believe that out of 6,000 languages now in existence, "more than half, and even up to 90 percent " will disappear by the end of the 21st century.