New Slovak language law irks Hungarians

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A new law requiring the Slovakian language to be given precedence in Slovakia has angered the Hungarian minority.

About 10 percent of the population is Hungarian, concentrated in the southern part of the country. The two groups have lived together relatively peacefully for centuries.

The language law took effect Sept. 1, Der Spiegel reports. It applies to all public occasions and spaces, including billboards and inscriptions.

In Komarno, the Slovakian part of a town split in two when the Austro-Hungarian Empire was broken up after World War II, Hungarians are in the majority. Janos Selye High School began the school year with a law-breaking display of Hungarian pride.

At an assembly, the 600 pupils listened to a poem read by a student, followed by speeches from their principal and the principal of a school in Hungary, all in Hungarian. The students left to the strains of a Hungarian patriotic song.