Bezera: There is a lot of room to work on the Law on the Use of Languages

Linguist Nora Bezera emphasized that there is a lot of room to work on the Law on the Use of Languages in Kosovo. The fact that the law was adopted shows that there was institutional will to implement it, but the biggest problem is the lack of personnel.

Bezera told Kosovo Online that Kosovo institutions have not sufficiently considered how to implement the Law on the Use of Languages.

She added that the Law on the Use of Languages is largely applied, but the standards of the Serbian language are not respected, which creates problems.

"We all know that the Law on the Use of Languages was adopted a long time ago, but there is always more room to work on it better. The fact that it was adopted suggests that there was a desire and will from the institutions to implement it. However, the institutions have not thought much about how to do that, and the main issue is the lack of Serbian language translators, which is probably the biggest problem. Although the law is implemented, the standards of the Serbian language are not respected, translations are poor, and mistakes occur," Bezera emphasized.

When asked how to overcome the language barrier, Bezera mentioned that one of the ways is through the "Balkanology" department at the University of Pristina, where the Serbian language is also taught.

"A small sign of willingness is the opening of the 'Balkanology' department, within which the Serbian language is studied at the University of Pristina. The first generation of students will soon emerge from this program. They are currently in their third year, and in a year, we will see what we have achieved," Bezera said.

Bezera, who is from the Office of the President of Kosovo, assessed that although there is room for improvement in the law, there are institutions in Kosovo that pay significant attention to this issue.

"Although there is much room to do more, we also have some institutions that implement this law very well. An example is the Office of the Prime Minister; I have heard that they are making efforts and are dedicated to implementing the Law on the Use of Languages. We have also had the Office of the President for a long time; you can check the website, there is no act published that is not translated into all three languages," Bezera said.