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The history of the Moldovan (Romanian) language in Moldova is closely tied to the region's political status, with long periods of occupation by [[Russia]] and the [[Soviet Union]] influencing the language's name and (when Cyrillic script was in use) [[orthography]]. Major recent developments include the return to a Latin script from Cyrillic in 1989 and several changes in the statutory name of the language used in Moldova, from Moldavian to Romanian and by some individuals back. At one point of particular confusion about identity in the 1990s, all references to geography in the name of the language was dropped, and it was officially known simply as ''limba de stat'' - "The State Language".
The history of the Moldovan (Romanian) language in Moldova is closely tied to the region's political status, with long periods of occupation by [[Russia]] and the [[Soviet Union]] influencing the language's name and (when Cyrillic script was in use) [[orthography]]. Major recent developments include the return to a Latin script from Cyrillic in 1989 and several changes in the statutory name of the language used in Moldova, from Moldavian to Romanian and by some individuals back. At one point of particular confusion about identity in the 1990s, all references to geography in the name of the language was dropped, and it was officially known simply as ''limba de stat'' - "The State Language".

==Declaration of independence of Moldova from Soviet Union==
Declaration of independence of Moldova from Soviet Union states very clearly that official language of Moldova is [[Romanian language]] and no artificial language of Moldovan exists. In the declaration of independence of Moldova from Soviet Union it is not mentioned "Moldovan language" but only [[Romanian language]]. <ref>www.europa.md/upload/File/alte_documente/Declaratia%20de%20Independenta%20a%20Republicii%20Moldova%202(1).doc REAMINTIND ca in ultimii ani miscarea democratica de eli¬berare nationala a populatiei din Republica Moldova si-a reafirmat aspiratiile de libertate, independenta si unitate nationala, exprimate prin documentele finale ale Marilor Adu¬nari Nationale de la Chisinau din 27 august 1989, 16 decem¬brie 1990 si 27 august 1991, prin legile si hotaririle Parlamen¬tului Republicii Moldova privind decretarea limbii romine ca limba de stat si reintroducerea alfabetului latin, din 31 august 1989, drapelul de stat, din 27 aprilie 1990, stema de stat, din 3 noiembrie 1990, si schimbarea denumirii oficiale a statului, din 23 mai 1991;</ref>


==Controversy==
==Controversy==
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The 1917 poem ''[[Limba noastră]]'' ("Our language") by [[Alexei Mateevici]] has been the national anthem of Moldova since 1994.
The 1917 poem ''[[Limba noastră]]'' ("Our language") by [[Alexei Mateevici]] has been the national anthem of Moldova since 1994.
It does not, however, make any claims relating to whether it is 'Romanian' or 'Moldovan' which is "our language."
It does not, however, make any claims relating to whether it is 'Romanian' or 'Moldovan' which is "our language."



==Orthography==
==Orthography==

Revision as of 20:06, 7 November 2007

Eastern Romance languages
Vulgar Latin language
Substratum
Thraco-Roman culture
Romanian
Aromanian
Megleno-Romanian
Istro-Romanian

Moldovan (also Moldavian) is the official name for the Romanian language in the Republic of Moldova and in its breakaway territory of Transnistria.[1] [2] The Constitution of Moldova (Title I, Article 13) states that the "Moldovan language" is the official language of the country.[3] In Moldova's Declaration of Independence the same language is called Romanian[4]. Linguists consider standard "Moldovan" to be identical to standard Romanian, and many Moldovan officials and official bodies do or have done so as well.[5] Linguists condemn such artificial language of Moldovan". [6]

"Moldovan" (graiul moldovenesc, in older sources limba moldovenească) can also refer to a northern variety of colloquial Romanian approximately within the territory of the former Principality of Moldavia (now split between Moldova and Romania). There is no particular linguistic break at the Prut River, which divides Moldova from Romania. Moldavian variety is considered one of the five major spoken varieties of Romanian, all five being written identically, but only about half of the speakers of this variety live in Moldova, while the other half live in the neighboring regions of Romania.

The standard alphabet of the language is the Latin alphabet (currently official in the Republic of Moldova). Between 1940 and 1989, Soviet authorities have imposed the usage of the Cyrillic alphabet. The latter remains currently in use only in breakaway region of Transnistria.

Moldavian was assigned code mo in ISO 639-1 and code mol in ISO 639-2 and ISO/DIS 639-3.[7]

History and politics

Main article: History of the Moldovan language

The history of the Moldovan (Romanian) language in Moldova is closely tied to the region's political status, with long periods of occupation by Russia and the Soviet Union influencing the language's name and (when Cyrillic script was in use) orthography. Major recent developments include the return to a Latin script from Cyrillic in 1989 and several changes in the statutory name of the language used in Moldova, from Moldavian to Romanian and by some individuals back. At one point of particular confusion about identity in the 1990s, all references to geography in the name of the language was dropped, and it was officially known simply as limba de stat - "The State Language".

Declaration of independence of Moldova from Soviet Union

Declaration of independence of Moldova from Soviet Union states very clearly that official language of Moldova is Romanian language and no artificial language of Moldovan exists. In the declaration of independence of Moldova from Soviet Union it is not mentioned "Moldovan language" but only Romanian language. [8]

Controversy

See also: Moldovenism
Major varieties of the Romanian language

The matter of whether or not "Moldovan" is a separate language is a contested political issue within and beyond the Republic of Moldova.

The 1989 law on language of the Moldavian SSR, which is still effective in Moldova according to the Constitution,[9] asserts the real existence of "linguistic Moldo-Romanian identity".[10] Title I, Article 13 of the Moldovan Constitution, names it "the national language of the country" (the original Moldovan/Romanian uses the term limba de stat, which literally means the language of the state, or official language, thus avoiding the term national, whose sense is that of ethnicity). In the breakaway region of Transnistria, it is co-official with Ukrainian and Russian.

Despite the official nomenclature, standard "Moldovan" is widely considered to be identical to standard Romanian[11]. Writing about "essential differences", Vasile Stati, supporter of Moldovenism, is obliged to concentrate almost exclusively on lexical rather than grammatical differences. Whatever language distinctions may once have existed, these have been decreasing rather than increasing: "... in the main, Moldovan in its standard form was more Romanian by the 1980s than at any point in its history".[12]

In 2002, the Moldovan Minister of Justice, Ion Morei, said that Romanian and Moldovan are the same language and that the Constitution of Moldova should be amended, not necessarily by changing the word Moldovan into Romanian, but by adding that "Romanian and Moldovan are the same language".[13] Education Minister Valentin Beniuc said, "I have stated more than once that the notion of a Moldovan language and a Romanian language reflects the same linguistic phenomenon in essence."[14] The President of Moldova, Vladimir Voronin, acknowledged that the two languages are identical, but said that Moldovans should have the right to call their language "Moldovan".[15]

The official language of Moldova is regulated by the Academy of Sciences of Moldova, which calls it Romanian. The name Romanian is also used in all schools and universities in Moldova.

In the 2004 census, out of the 3,383,332 people living in Moldova, 16.5% (558,508) chose Romanian as their mother tongue, whereas 60% chose "Moldovan". While 40% of all urban Romanian/Moldovan speakers chose Romanian as their mother tongue, in the countryside barely one in seven Romanian/Moldovan speakers indicated Romanian as his mother tongue.[16]

There are, however, few regional differences between the colloquial spoken languages of Moldova and Romania, as might be found within any linguistic territory, and the common speech of areas such as Chişinău or Transnistria can be distinguished from the speech of Iaşi, a Romanian city that is also part of the former Principality of Moldavia, while the difference in the common speech between Iaşi and the capital of Romania Bucharest is even greater. In general, before 1988-89, the less educated, the greater the difference from standard Romanian, and the more words were borrowed ad hoc from Russian into the daily speech.

The 1917 poem Limba noastră ("Our language") by Alexei Mateevici has been the national anthem of Moldova since 1994. It does not, however, make any claims relating to whether it is 'Romanian' or 'Moldovan' which is "our language."

Orthography

Main articles: Romanian alphabet and Moldovan alphabet

Between 1940 and 1989, i.e. during the Soviet rule, Cyrillic replaced Latin as the official alphabet in Moldova (then Moldavian SSR). In 1989, Latin replaced Cyrillic in turn, adopting entirely the contemporary orthographic rules of Romanian. However, a short time after that, the Romanian Academy reformed the orthography in order to bring it closer to the standard of the pre-communist era: e.g., the Romanian phoneme previously exclusively transcribed as î (except the derivatives of "român") was to be written â or î, depending on its location in the word; also, the third person plural form of the verb "to be" was to be spelled "sunt" instead of "sînt". The â/î reform had no impact upon the pronunciation (unlike the "sunt/sînt" change).

Eventually, with the publication of the "Dicţionarului ortografic al limbii române (ortopepic, morfologic, cu norme de punctuaţie)" by the Moldovan Academy of Sciences (the regulating body of Moldova) in 2000, the recomandation became mandatory in Moldova also.[17]

The result of this reform is some ambiguity in the orthographic practices of both countries. While in Romania, some popular publications (such as Academia Caţavencu, Cotidianul, Ziarul de Iasi) refused to apply the new rules based on linguistic arguments, in the Republic of Moldova the issue is seen as mirroring a political attitude. In fact, almost all Moldovan newspapers in Romanian opposing the national ideology of the ruling communist party consistently follow the official orthography used in Romania (e.g., Timpul, Jurnal de Chişinău, Ziarul de Gardă, Flux, etc.), while the papers voicing pro-governmental positions (e.g., Moldova Suverană and rarely Comunistul) use a mixed orthography from article to article.

In the countryside, some elderly people might prefer writing in Cyrillic script, while knowing the Latin script nonetheless.[18]

Notes

  1. ^ Kogan Page 2004, p 242
  2. ^ http://ec.europa.eu/translation/language_aids/recognition/field_guide_main_languages_of_europe_en.pdf A Field Guide to the Main Languages of Europe - Spot that language and how to tell them apart], on the website of the European Commission
  3. ^ From 1989 until 1994 there was a tendency in the official circles to use more the term "Romanian", until the point that from 1992 the term "Moldovan" was no longer in official use. After 1994, "Moldovan" made a come back and was used in some instances. These grew after 2001, but fell back to the pre-2001 levels two years later. Very often officials prefer to use "official language" or "state language" to avoid making a public choice.
  4. ^ Template:Ro iconDeclaraţia de independenţa a Republicii Moldova, Moldova Suverană
  5. ^ Omniglot http://www.omniglot.com/writing/moldovan.htm
  6. ^ http://www.ziua.ro/display.php?data=2007-11-01&id=228768 Lingvistii condamna "limba moldoveneasca" Circa 160 de lingvisti au participat miercuri, la Suceava, la un Colocviu de Stiinte ale Limbajului, adoptand o rezolutie prin care dezavueaza campania antistiintifica directionata impotriva denumirii de limba romana si folosirea sintagmei "limba moldoveneasca", transmite Mediafax. Potrivit coordonatorului manifestarii, Sanda Maria Ardeleanu, prorectorul Universitatii "Stefan cel Mare" din Suceava, participantii la Colocviu au remarcat progresul pe care il cunoaste limba romana ca limba de comunicare in Republica Moldova si Ucraina. In rezolutie se precizeaza, insa, ca se continua o campanie antistiintifica, directionata impotriva denumirii de limba romana. "Astfel, s-a ajuns la folosirea sintagmei neadecvate, nefondate stiintific si istoric, limba moldoveneasca, singurul argument fiind legatura cu numele statului, Republica Moldova", se arata in rezolutie. Potrivit universitarului sucevean, se neglijeaza ca exista tari unde denumirea limbii nu corespunde cu denumirea statului (Austria, Argentina, Brazilia), "limba romana este unitara si unica pe intreg spatiul unde se vorbeste, denumirea de limba romana este folosita de savantii filologi din tarile occidentale incepand cu anul 1580". Participantii la Colocviu au adresat un apel guvernantilor din Romania, Republica Moldova si Ucraina, pentru a lua in considerare opiniile savantilor privitoare la glotonimul limba romana si nu teoriile nefondate stiintific si istoric. Sanda Maria Ardeleanu a mentionat ca rezolutia va fi transmisa Parlamentului European, comisarului european pentru multilingvism, Leonard Orban, Comisiei pentru multilingvism si altor institutii europene, pentru a se analiza problematica si masurile ce se impun in politicile lingvistice europene. (D.E.)
  7. ^ SIL International: ISO 639 code sets: Documentation for ISO 639 identifier: mol
  8. ^ www.europa.md/upload/File/alte_documente/Declaratia%20de%20Independenta%20a%20Republicii%20Moldova%202(1).doc REAMINTIND ca in ultimii ani miscarea democratica de eli¬berare nationala a populatiei din Republica Moldova si-a reafirmat aspiratiile de libertate, independenta si unitate nationala, exprimate prin documentele finale ale Marilor Adu¬nari Nationale de la Chisinau din 27 august 1989, 16 decem¬brie 1990 si 27 august 1991, prin legile si hotaririle Parlamen¬tului Republicii Moldova privind decretarea limbii romine ca limba de stat si reintroducerea alfabetului latin, din 31 august 1989, drapelul de stat, din 27 aprilie 1990, stema de stat, din 3 noiembrie 1990, si schimbarea denumirii oficiale a statului, din 23 mai 1991;
  9. ^ Constitution of the Republic of Moldova, Title 7, Article 7: "The law of 1 September 1989 regarding the usage of languages spoken on the territory of the Republic of Moldova remains valid, excepting the points where it contradicts this constitution."
  10. ^ Legea cu privire la funcţionarea limbilor vorbite pe teritoriul RSS Moldoveneşti Nr.3465-XI din 01.09.89 Vestile nr.9/217, 1989 (Law regarding the usage of languages spoken on the territory of the Republic of Moldova): "Moldavian SSR supports the desire of the Moldovans that live across the borders of the Republic, and considering the really existing linguistical Moldo-Romanian identity - of the Romanians that live on the territory of the USSR, of doing their studies and satisfying their cultural needs in their maternal language."
  11. ^ Kogan Page 2004, p 291 ; IHT, 16 June 2000, p. 2 ; Dyer 1999 , 2005
  12. ^ King 2000
  13. ^ Ion Morei: The Moldovan language is identical to the Romanian language, Moldova Azi, 10 September 2002
  14. ^ Din nou fără burse, Jurnal de Chişinău, 25 May 2004
  15. ^ Mediafax interview
  16. ^ National Bureau of Statistics of the Republic of Moldova: Census 2004
  17. ^ Introduction of „Dicţionarului ortografic al limbii române (ortopepic, morfologic, cu norme de punctuaţie)”, published by the Moldovan Academy of Sciences, following the decision of 15 November 2000
  18. ^ Language in Moldova - observations in streets and houses in the Republic of Moldova by Diana Nissler

References

  • Dyer, D. (1999). The Romanian Dialect of Moldova: A Study in Language and Politics. Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen Press. (ISBN 0-7734-8037-4)
  • Dyer, Donald Leroy, ed. Studies in Moldovan. New York: Columbia University Press (East European Monographs), 1996. (ISBN 0-88033-351-0)
  • Stati, V.N. Dicţionar moldovenesc-românesc. [=Moldovan-Romanian dictionary.] Chişinău: Tipografia Centrală (Biblioteca Pro Moldova), 2003. (ISBN 9975-78-248-5)
  • Dumbrava, V. (2004). Sprachkonflikt und Sprachbewusstsein in der Republik Moldova: Eine empirische Studie in gemischtethnischen Familien (Sprache, Mehrsprachigkeit und sozialer Wandel). Bern: Peter Lang. (ISBN 3-631-50728-3)
  • Movileanu N. Din istoria Transnistriei (1924-1940), Revista de istorie a Moldovei, 1993, #2.
  • Negru E. Introducerea si interzicerea grafiei latine in R.A.S.S.M, 1999, Revista de istorie a Moldovei, #3-4.
  • (2004). Europe Review 2003/2004. Kogan Page.
  • King, C. The Moldovans: Romania, Russia and the Politics of Culture, Hoover Institution Press, 2000, ISBN 0-8179-9792-X.
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