Buying bilingualism: Fake language certificates have put South Tyrol’s bi- and trilingualism system under pressure. How to move on?

South Tyrol’s bi- and trilingualism certificate system was designed to protect equality between German, Italian, and Ladin speakers in public offices and services. Now, fraud investigations have exposed flaws in the system and forced a wider debate about how language skills should be assessed in public service. To provide food for thought, a short series of MIDAS blog articles will look at how language skills of public employees are currently assessed in various multilingual territories. This opening article outlines the South Tyrolean legal framework, highlights its strengths and weaknesses, and asks how the system can protect minority language rights while keeping public services functioning.

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https://www.eurac.edu/en/blogs/midas/buying-bilingualism-fake-language-certificates