by Molly Schwerha | It has been nearly twenty years since the European community came together in Strasbourg (November 1992) and under with the auspices of the Council of Europe authored the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages ( European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages ). This was a significant step in building a broader understanding of the importance of protecting the historical regional or minority languages of Europe. Member states of the Council of Europe enacted the Charter to protect and promote Europe’s diverse cultural heritage. They agreed that using a regional minority language in public and private life should be a fundamental right and that actions needed to be taken to do so. Minority languages should be taught more in education to help keep them from becoming endangered. Promote these languages and encourage their use in speech, writing, public and private. Great principles in theory, however, it is what is practiced t...