Formal and legal recognition of the historical presence of the Slovene language community in the Val Canale (Kanalska dolina / Ger. Kanaltal / Fur. Val Cjanâl) was not achieved until Law 482/1999, concerning the protection of the historic language minorities in Italy and specifically by Law 38/2001, concerning the linguistic equality of the Slovene minority in Italy. In this paper, the current regulatory regime is compared against the valley's actual linguistic landscape. The focus is on the situation of Slovene compared to the other languages present in the Val Canale. Certain issues concerning developments in the field of education are emphasized.
|