State Language Inspectorate proposes 500,000-dram fine for foreign-language signs

Armenia's State Language Inspectorate has conducted 105 inspectoral checkups in different companies since the beginning of the year, acting officer to the Head of State Language Inspectorate Sergo Yeritsyan told a press conference today.

In his words, the Inspectorate has also sent 500 clarifications over language-related violations, as well as 500 warning letters to companies for using foreign-language signs.

Consequently, Inspectorate has imposed fines on a company, while another case has been taken to the court.

According to him, 20-25- per cent of the companies and institutions warned against those violations have proved to have a positive attitude to the use of foreign-language signs.

Citing limited authority the Inspectorate has due to omissions in legislation, Mr Yeritsyan said that the they have prepared a new statute that envisages some amendments to a series of laws regulating the sphere of language use, among them also the "Law about Language," the "Law About Legal Violations" and the "Law About Advertisement."

With those amendments the Inspectorate proposes to define about 500,000 dram in fines for the use of foreign-language signs.
Currently the fines range from 30,000-150,000 drams.