Petőcz Kálmán (szerk.): National Populism and Slovak - Hungarian Relations in Slovakia 2006-2009 (Somorja, 2009)
Zsuzsanna Mészáros-Lampl: Magyars and Slovaks in Southern Slovakia - Exercising Language Rights
Magyars and Slovaks in Southern Slovakia... While discrimination based on age was more frequently perceived by Slovak respondents and although both groups of respondents equally frequently complained about discrimination based on socio-economic situation, sex and profession, ethnic Hungarians feel discriminated against generally more frequently. From the viewpoint of our principal topic, it is particularly important that the most frequent reason for discriminating against them is their native language and nationality. Almost two in five ethnic Hungarian respondents (39%) mentioned a negative experience due to speaking Hungarian; more than one in three of them (35%) feel discriminated against because they view themselves as Hungarian.3 While some Slovaks have similarly negative experience regarding the use of mother tongue and nationality, their share is substantially lower compared to that of ethnic Hungarians. Of course, discrimination has no minimum ‘tolerance’ as every single case is unjust and unjustifiable; however, statistical data again prove that oppression of Slovaks by ethnic Hungarians in southern Slovakia is a myth. Notes 1 The survey formed part of the project called Challenging National Populism and Promoting Interethnic Tolerance and Understanding in Slovakia. 2 During interviews in focus groups, several Slovak and ethnic Hungarian respondents mentioned that ‘newcomers’ (i.e. everyone who married into an ethnic Hungarian family) learned to speak Hungarian in the past; while respondents were unable to put a time frame on it, almost all of them had this kind of experience. In the words of one female respondent; “This is something completely new. Whether it was in Rožňava or at home, in the countryside, if Gypsies or Slovaks became members of a family, they learned Hungarian and no one was forced to switch languages. Everybody spoke Hungarian. Nowadays it is kind of strange as even children from Hungarian families refuse to speak Hungarian and they remind their parents and grandparents to speak Slovak because they are ashamed of speaking Hungarian. " Another female respondent expressed ambivalent feelings by saying: “My daughter learned to speak Slovak. I am proud that she had an 'A ' in Slovak language. But then she met a Slovak man and now she turned into a Slovak woman. That bothers me so. I am happy that she is happy with him but I am afraid that she will not teach her children to speak Hungarian. I feel ... I don’t know, I guess I feel betrayed. The man is agreeable but when he comes to our place, he just withdraws into a corner and does not say anything. I tune on to Pátria [the Slovak Radio’s frequency for minorities] and my daughter tells me right away: Mom, would you turn it off, please ..." 3 The focus group survey indicates important changes in terms of discrimination occurrence in certain areas, for instance during local football games. In the words of one male respondent: "I played football since I was a kid. As a football player, I have visited all surrounding villages. Ten or fifteen years ago, it was totally normal to treat us to refreshments both before and after the game: [the hosts] served us pastry and everything was jolly good. Nowadays, we hear more and more aggressive chants such as fucking Hungarians during games in the same villages. And residents of those Slovak villages gawk at us as if we ate their bread. " 179
