Cassubian road signs in Poland:
Lithuanian road signs in Poland:
German road and communal signs in Poland:
Signs in Lithuania with Polish names visibly removed:
On the bilingual signs in Poland you see letters such as ú,š,è,ü, which don't exist in the Polish alphabet. Yet Polish graphic designers and their computers were somehow able to put them on a road sign. I find the argument that some Polish letters don't exist in the Lithuanian alphabet rather silly. Are Lithuanian graphic designers and their computers really so far behind the times that they can't tackle the staggering feat of putting a Polish letter on a road sign?
Why aren't they fighting it in the European courts?
They are. EU Commissioner of Human Rights is looking into the problem:
"The Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention concluded in the case of Lithuania that the absence of bilingual public signs in certain areas was incompatible with the convention. There appeared to be a contradiction between the Law on the State Language and the Law on National Minorities which ought to be addressed."
"When visiting Lithuania recently I learned that the spelling of Polish names on passports and other official documents had became a controversial issue. However, the government in Vilnius has now submitted a proposal to parliament which, if adopted, would be seen as a constructive step towards fuller respect for minority rights."
coe.int/t/commissioner/Viewpoints/100125_en.asp