A study by researchers of the Antal Hodinka Linguistic Research Centre has been published in the prestigious international journal Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development under the title “Toponymy, language policy, and symbolic space in Hungary, Romania, and Ukraine: legal frameworks and linguistic landscapes.” The publication is connected to the research results of the international project Language Accessibility in Public Life – Language APL project (HUSKROUA/23/S/3.1/011) and examines issues related to language rights, the use of place names, and the linguistic landscape in a comparative framework covering Hungary, Romania, and Ukraine.
The particular significance of the study lies in the fact that one of the key research areas of the Antal Hodinka Linguistic Research Centre — the study of linguistic landscapes and the public visibility of minority languages — has now been extended to a three-country comparative context. The research highlights that place names, multilingual signs, and the linguistic representation of public spaces are not merely matters of communication, but also important elements of the symbolic presence, rights enforcement, and social visibility of minority communities.
The publication of the article in a Q1- and D1-ranked journal, belonging to the leading tier of international scholarly rankings, represents a significant academic achievement for the authors, István Csernicskó and Kornélia Hires-László, as well as for the Antal Hodinka Linguistic Research Centre and Ferenc Rákóczi II Transcarpathian Hungarian College of Higher University. Linked to the scholarly outcomes of the international project, the publication demonstrates that the research carried out in Transcarpathian academic workshops is internationally relevant and contributes to the scholarly understanding of multilingualism, minority language use, language accessibility, and language policy.
