Editing Ladin language (section)

==Status==
[[File:Scuola ladina.JPG|thumb|Plaque of a Ladin school in Santa Cristina.]]
Ladin is officially recognised in Trentino and South Tyrol by provincial and national law. Italy signed the [[European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages]] of 1991, but it has not ratified it so far. The charter calls for [[minority rights]] to be respected and [[minority language]]s, to which Ladin belongs, to be appropriately protected and promoted. Starting in the 1990s, the Italian parliament and provincial assembly have passed laws and regulations protecting the Ladin language and culture. A cultural institute was founded to safeguard and educate in the language and culture. School curricula were adapted in order to teach in Ladin, and street signs are being changed to bilingual.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.canazei.dk/public/image/canazei_sign.jpg |title=Canazei – Skiferie i Canazei i Italien |year=2011 |publisher=Canazei.dk |language=da |access-date=13 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110911165500/http://www.canazei.dk/public/image/canazei_sign.jpg |archive-date=11 September 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Ladin is also recognized as a protected language in the [[Province of Belluno]] in [[Veneto]] region pursuant to the Standards for Protection of Historic Language Minorities Act No. 482 (1999). In comparison with South Tyrol and Trentino, the wishes of the Ladins have barely been addressed by the regional government. In a popular referendum in October 2007, the inhabitants of [[Cortina d'Ampezzo]] overwhelmingly voted to leave Veneto and return to South Tyrol.<ref>{{cite news|title=Cresce la Voglia di Trentino Alto Adige Quorum Raggiunto a Cortina d'Ampezzo|url=http://www.repubblica.it/2007/10/sezioni/cronaca/referendum-cortina/referendum-cortina/referendum-cortina.html#Scene_1|access-date=22 May 2011|newspaper=La Repubblica|date=28 October 2007|language=it}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Cortina Vuole Andare in Alto Adige|url=http://www.corriere.it/cronache/07_ottobre_29/cortina_referendum.shtml|access-date=22 May 2011|newspaper=Corriere della Sera|date=29 October 2007|language=it}}</ref> The redrawing of the provincial borders would return Cortina d'Ampezzo, [[Livinallongo del Col di Lana]] and [[Colle Santa Lucia]] to South Tyrol, to which they traditionally belonged when part of the [[County of Tyrol]] or the [[Bishopric of Brixen]].
[[File:Trilingual road sign in Val Gardena.jpg|thumb|Trilingual traffic sign.]]
Although the Ladin communities are spread out over three neighbouring regions, the ''Union Generala di Ladins dles Dolomites'' is asking that they be reunited.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.generela.info/| title = Homepage of the Union Generala di Ladins dles Dolomites| access-date = 15 May 2011| archive-date = 7 October 2008| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081007222049/http://www.generela.info/| url-status = dead}}</ref> The [[Ladin Autonomist Union]] and the [[Fassa Association]] run on a Ladin list and have sought more rights and autonomy for Ladin speakers. Ladins are also guaranteed political representations in the assemblies of Trentino and South Tyrol due to a reserved seats system.

In South Tyrol, in order to reach a fair allocation of jobs in public service, a system called "ethnic proportion" was established in the 1970s. Every 10 years, when the general census of population takes place, each citizen has to identify with a linguistic group. The results determine how many potential positions in public service are allocated for each linguistic group. This has theoretically enabled Ladins to receive guaranteed representation in the South Tyrolean civil service according to their numbers.

The recognition of minority languages in Italy has been criticised since the implementation of Act No. 482 (1999), especially due to alleged financial benefits. This applies also to the Ladin language, especially in the province of Belluno.<ref>[http://www.treccani.it/magazine/lingua_italiana/speciali/minoranze/Toso_minor_ling.html] Fiorenzo Toso, Univ. di Sassari: ''I benefici (soprattutto di natura economica) previsti dalla legge482/1999 hanno indotto decine di amministrazioni comunali a dichiarare una inesistente appartenenza a questa o a quella minoranza: col risultato, ad esempio, che le comunità di lingua ladina si sono moltiplicate nel Veneto'' (financial benefits provided by the law 482/1999 led dozens of municipalities to declare a non-existent affiliation to some minority, resulting e.g. in a multiplication of the Ladin-speaking communities in the Veneto region)</ref>