Siarl Ferdinand

• Doctor of Philosophy
• Lecturer at University of Szeged

The Mongol Empire, founded by Chinggis Khan (Чингис хаан)[1], was the most extense empire in history. It covered a vast area from eastern China to southern Persia, and reached Hungary in the west. The empire’s fast growth in the 13th century surprised the whole world, including Western Europe which knew little about the Mongols, often called Tartar...

It is undeniable that the Cornish language has become a more evident characteristic of Cornwall, especially since 2002. There is, however, much work to do. One of the most notable weaknesses of the Dasserghians is its lack of education through the medium of Cornish in schools. Education is not only essential in language maintenance, but it is also...

This paper presents a brief language history of the Hungarian Jewish community since their establishment in the Carpathian Basin to the present, with a special focus on Yiddish. Between the Middle Ages and the nineteenth century, Yiddish became the group’s majority language; after the 1850s, the Hungarian Jewry started a process of language substit...

The implementation of Cornish as a community language in Cornwall has become more evident, especially during the last two decades. However, since Cornish speakers constitute not much more than one percent of the total population, it is important to take into account not only their position but also the attitudes of the non-Cornish speakers in order...

Unequal Accommodation of Minority Rights - Hungarians in Transylvania is a volume designed to offer a multidisciplinary perspective on the situation of the autochthonous Hungarians living in Romania. In addition, it offers a meticulous analysis of how this community has been and is still affected by a number of social and political processes implem...

ENGLISH VERSION: During the last years, the implementation of Cornish in Cornwall has become more evident. However, since Cornish speakers constitute no much more than one percent of the total population, it is important to take into account the attitudes of the non-Cornish speakers in order to achieve some success. The attitudes of the general pop...

In this study Ferdinand and Komlosi analyze the use of Hungarian and Serbian in the city of Szabadka/Subotica, which is located in the Serbian region of Northern Vajdaság/Vojvodina. A mostly Hungarian speaking city for centuries, Szabadka/Subotica suffered the strong pro-Serbian language policy implemented by the Yugoslavian government from the end...

(Roll down for an English version) (KERNEWEK) Bys 2010, ‘Lyver Rudh an Yethow Peryllya’ gans UNESCO a amontyas Kernewek yn mysk an yethow farow. Wosa meur a fessajow krodhvol gans kernewegoryon, UNESCO a chanjyas savla Kernewek dhe ‘yeth dhasvewas’. Kynth an label ma yw gwir, nysn yw lowr dhe dheskrifa an savla an yethow awos yethow dasvewas yw y...

The following paper analyses the situation of the Csángó dialect spoken in the Romanian region of Moldavia. After a review of the global phenomenon of language death, its causes, and some resources to evaluate language vitality, the study focuses on the Csángó community and its Hungarian dialect. A short description of some fundamental facts about...

Almási, Gábor and Lav Šubarić, eds. 2015. Latin at the Crossroads of Identity. Leiden: Brill. 326 pp.

During the first decades after its independence from the USSR, Kyrgyzstan has intended to make of Kyrgyz a real state language. Since then, a new generation has been born and raised in the independent Kyrgyz Republic. Their linguistic behaviour may have a profound effect in the future of Kyrgyz. This study examines the linguistic situation in Bishk...

After almost two centuries of functioning almost exclusively through the medium of Russian, the governments of the now-independent Kyrgyzstan are trying to implement the knowledge of English among the population as an auxiliary tool of interaction with the rest of the world. Nevertheless, and despite the huge amount of money invested in English edu...

Despite being dormant during the nineteenth century, the Cornish language has been recently recognised by the British Government as a living regional language after a long period of revival. The first part of this paper discusses the history of traditional Cornish and the reasons for its decline and dismissal. The second part offers an overview of...