Torsello, Davide - Pappová, Melinda: Social Networks in Movement. Time, interaction and interethnic spaces in Central Eastern Europe - Nostra Tempora 8. (Somorja-Dunaszerdahely, 2003)

Interethnic spaces

144 László Szarka

from Hungary, which misses all features of dialects, the monolingualism of non-Hungarian persons living in bilingual zones, the by-law-imposed bilingualism at official occasions, figurate all as the linguistic demonstrators of a complex space-identity system.

Local traditions always have their interethnic and ethniccentred reference-system: national or religious celebrations, rites and memorial events all call for taking up a position from the side of the non-Hungarian majority population as well. In most of the cases, however, this entails a passive non-attendance from their side.

In this context the symbolical space-occupying events, programs and traditions all aiming at defining, defending or re-conquering ethnic and cultural borders are very important spatial elements of the Hungarian minority identity.

Behind the great social changes of the last decade, ambiguous, but at the same time, radical economic changes are also present; every segment of the economic life previously supervised by the state, i.e. production, labour market, sale, market, investment, all have been removed from state control. Apart from compensation, reprivatisation and privatisation, “wild privatisation", bankruptcy, big rate sale-offs and conscious disorganising efforts, positive processes have also appeared: private small and family enterprises, local and community budget management, regional thinking and development projects, etc.

These factors can speed up the generation-change processes and the internal and external immigration within the Hungarian minority societies. The urbanisation based on the socialist model has proved inefficient; fortunately, radical systematisation and settlement reorganising plans have only been partly realised. The majority of Central Eastern European villages remained at a very low level of urbanisation, which according to Western European norms corresponds to the situation of thirty-forty years ago. Town-structures had been estranged from local traditions and community needs by inhabitable falanster-sites. These precedents typical of the entire Central Eastern Europe will also affect