The Ministry of Education and Research of Estonia submitted the bill of legislative amendments to the Language Act and the Public Transport Act. It would affect the language requirements for taxi drivers and food couriers, writes Estonian media ERR.
The proposed changes in the legislature would, among other things, affect the audio advertisements in malls and other public places. To come into force, the bill would need to be debated at the Riigikogu, pass three Riigikogu votes, and receive presidential assent.
Minister of Education and Research Tõnis Lukas told that these changes are necessary because society has changed, and many factors that weren’t important ten years ago have surfaced. As the Language Board of Estonia indicated, there are plenty of complaints about misunderstandings that involve a lack of Estonian language knowledge. It concerns mostly the service sector – taxi drivers and food couriers, especially those who work via applications. Lukas said that the aim is to make Estonian more visible and dominant, and it would protect the Estonian consumer.
If the bill passes all necessary levels, it would mean that all taxi drivers must have Estonian language skills at the B1 level.
It will also affect those who obtained a license before the law comes into force. To keep the license they’ll have to confirm their language skills. To some extent, this requirement will apply to food couriers as well.
The bill would also require internet domain names and email addresses of state and local government institutions only, with only Estonian words and abbreviations to be permitted in that case. That is an addition to the law and would address several state institutions which do indeed have a foreign-language domain name. For example, the Ministry of the Environment (Keskonnaministeerium) uses envir.ee.