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| '''Moldovan''' (also '''Moldavian''') is the official name for the ] in the ] and in its breakaway territory of ].<ref>Kogan Page 2004, p 242</ref> <ref>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 ]</ref> The ] (Title I, Article 13) states that the "Moldovan language" is the official language of the country.<ref>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.</ref> In Moldova's Declaration of Independence the same language is called ]<ref>{{ro icon}}, ]</ref>. Linguists consider standard "Moldovan" to be identical to standard Romanian, and many Moldovan officials and official bodies do or have done so as well. According to facts and scientifical evidence included in a report issued by the Academy of science of the Republic of Moldova in 1994, the correct name of the language is Romanian.<ref></ref>. Romanian linguists condemned Moldovan as an artificial language.<ref> {{ro icon}}{{cite web |url=http://www.ziare.ro/articol.php?id=1193864896 |title=Ziare.ro - Linguists condemn "Moldovan language" |accessdate=2007-11-10 |format= |work=}}</ref> The ] has included in its documents the recommendations not to make references to the so-called "Moldovan language".<ref>''Ziua'', November 14, 2007: </ref> | |||
| "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 ] (now split between Moldova and ]). There is no particular linguistic break at the ], 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 ] alphabet (currently official in the ]). Between 1940 and 1989, Soviet authorities imposed the usage of the ] alphabet. The latter remains currently in use only in breakaway region of ]. | |||
| Moldavian was assigned code <code>mo</code> in ] and code <code>mol</code> in ] and ].<ref></ref> | |||
| ==History and politics== | |||
| {{see main|History of the Moldovan language}} | |||
| The history of the Moldovan language in Moldova is closely tied to the region's political status, with long periods of rule by ] and the ] influencing the language's name and (when Cyrillic script was in use) ]. Major recent developments include the passing to a Latin script from Cyrillic in 1989 and several changes in the statutory name of the language used in Moldova. 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". | |||
| ==Linguistic aspects== | |||
| There are, however, regional differences in the colloquial spoken language. Moldovan is common in ], as well as in ] and ] region of ], and in 8 counties of ], territories that once made the medieval ]. The difference between Moldovan (spoken in e.g. ], ]) and the Romanian language (spoken in e.g. ]) could be roughly compared to that between Standard British and Scottish or American English. Others have argued that these differences might be found within any linguistic territory. | |||
| ==Controversy== | |||
| ]]] | |||
| ] | |||
| 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 Language Law of the ], which is still in force in Moldova (according to the Constitution,<ref>: ''"The law of ] ] regarding the usage of languages spoken on the territory of the Republic of Moldova remains valid, excepting the points where it contradicts this constitution."''</ref>) asserts the existence of a "linguistic Moldo-] identity".<ref>] (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."''</ref> Article 13 of the Moldovan Constitution, names it "the ] 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 ]). | |||
| In the breakaway region of ], it is co-official with ] and ]. | |||
| Despite the official nomenclature, ] "Moldovan" is widely considered to be identical to the standard Romanian.<ref>Kogan Page 2004, p 291 ; IHT, ] ], p. 2 ; Dyer 1999, 2005</ref> Writing about "essential differences", ], supporter of ], 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".<ref>King 2000</ref> | |||
| In 2002, the Moldovan Minister of Justice, ], 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".<ref>, ''Moldova Azi'', ] ]</ref> Education Minister ] 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."<ref>, ''Jurnal de Chişinău'', ] ]</ref> The President of Moldova, ], acknowledged that the two languages are identical, but said that Moldovans should have the right to call their language "Moldovan".<ref></ref> | |||
| The official language of Moldova is regulated by the ], which calls it ''Romanian''.<ref>http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?Type=REPORT&Reference=A6-2007-0427&language=EN</ref> | |||
| In the ], 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 ] 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.<ref>National Bureau of Statistics of the Republic of Moldova: </ref> | |||
| ===Moldovan language and the EU=== | |||
| When reporting on the proposal for a decision of the EU Council concerning the conclusion of the Agreement between the European Community and Republic of Moldova the rapporteur objected to the use of the term "Moldovan language".<ref></ref> This has led to speculation in the Romanian press to the conclusion that supposedly the EU (or ], ]) banned the usage of the term "Moldovan language (e.g.,<ref> {{ro icon}}</ref>) In his ], ] interview, Leonard Orban denied these allegations, stating: "It is not the European Commission who acknowledges one language or the other. I want to be very clear about it: it is a decision that belongs to every national state. When views are different, of course they have to be settled politically, not at the European Commission level, but by the states that have different views."<ref> </ref> | |||
| ==Orthography== | |||
| {{see also|Romanian alphabet|Moldovan Cyrillic alphabet}} | |||
| In the ], Soviet authorities alternately used Latin or Cyrillic for writing the language, mirroring the political goals of the moment. Between 1941 and 1989, i.e. during the Soviet rule, Moldovan Cyrillic replaced Latin as the official alphabet in Moldova (then ]). In 1989, Latin script was adopted again, along with the orthographic rules used in ] at the time. | |||
| ==See also== | |||
| *] | |||
| ==Notes== | |||
| {{reflist}} | |||
| == 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''. 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. | |||
| ==External links== | |||
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