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Yes, but many people in Moldova call the language they speak 'Moldovan', even if it's only subtly different from Romanian. When given the option in a 2004 cens
by a-priori 13y ago
Yes, but many people in Moldova call the language they speak 'Moldovan', even if it's only subtly different from Romanian.
When given the option in a 2004 census, 60% of the population chose 'Moldovan' as their native language, compared to 16.5% who chose 'Romanian'.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moldovan_language https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moldovan_language
- cosud 13y agoSure, they can call it however they want. Technically they're the same language. There are only minor lexicographical differences, the grammar being roughly the same. Blame Stalin for the confusion.
- a-priori 13y agoTechnically, they're different, which makes the question of whether they should have a different name a political one, not a linguistic one. As the saying goes, a language is a dialect with an army and a navy.
- stefantalpalaru 13y agoCanada has an army and a navy, yet it doesn't call its official languages Canadian and Canadien.
- userulluipeste 13y agoNo, technically there is just Romanian language. The difference is purely ideological/political. If the U.S.S.R. have had more ambitious plans for Germans, there would have been more names out there for the same German language. Or for any other language for that matter.
- lotsofmangos 13y agoThe argument over Moldovan being a seperate language was promoted by Stalin, but the argument also predates Stalin by a century, so I am not sure he is to blame for this particular thing. Everything else, sure.
- liviu 13y agoIn 2004 the Communists were in power in Republic of Moldova. But in December 2013 Moldovan court rules official language is 'Romanian,' replacing Soviet-flavored 'Moldovan': http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/12/05/moldovan-court-rules-official-language-is-romanian-replacing-soviet-flavored/ http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/12/05/moldovan-court-rules... Just as there is no 'Austrian language', is German only. Or 'Switzerland language', is German, French and Italian. Edit: Of course there is heavy dialect or accent of the language in Switzerland and Austria, but I was talking about high language.
- the_mitsuhiko 13y agoJFTR: Austrian German is a protected language within the EU.
- whyenot 13y agoSwiss German is a real thing and quite different from high German.
- liviu 13y agoSure, we can argue about Italian dialects varieties, but in fact all are the same language: Italian.
- stefantalpalaru 13y agoItaly is not a good example: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Italy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Italy There are languages and dialects here that are incomprehensible to a native Italian speaker.
- stefantalpalaru 13y agoWhat would linguists say if, for political reasons, Swiss German starts being called simply "Swiss"?
- reirob 13y ago