Languages of Moldova
Encyclopedia
The state language of Moldova
is Moldovan
/Romanian
. Russian is also widely spoken in the country, both as a first and second language. Ukrainian
and Gagauz
are recognized minority languages, with official status in areas with high concentration of speaker populations. English and French are popular foreign languages taught at most schools in Moldova.
In 1991, the Declaration of Independence of Moldova
called the official language Romanian
.
The 1994 Constitution of Moldova
stated that "the national language of the Republic of Moldova is Moldovan
, and its writing is based on the Latin alphabet
."
Most linguists consider literary Romanian and Moldovan identical. However, calling the language Romanian might be regarded as politically incorrect
in some circumstances. In 2005, the Communist government of Moldova adopted a National Political Conception stating that one of the priorities of the national politics of the Republic of Moldova is the insurance of the existence of the Moldovan language.
2,564,542 people (75.8% of the population of the country) calls Romanian/Moldovan native language, while 2,495,977 (73.8%) speak it as first language in daily use. Apart from being the first language of use for 94.6% of ethnic Moldovans
/Romanians
, the language is also spoken as primary by 5.8% of ethnic Russians, 7.7% of ethnic Ukrainians
, 2.3% of ethnic Gagauz
, 8.7% of ethnic Bulgarians
, and 14.4% of other ethnic minorities.
Russian was granted official status in Gagauzia
, a region in the south of the country inhabited mostly by ethnic Gagauz, and in the breakaway region of Transnistria
in the east of the country.
380,796 people (11.25%) call Russian native language, while 540,990 (16%) speak it as first language in daily use. Apart from being the first language of use for 93.2% of ethnic Russians
, the languages is also spoken as primary by 4.9% of Moldovans, 50.0% of Ukrainians, 27.4% of Gagauz, 35.4% of Bulgarians, and 54.1% of other ethnic minorities.
, and has significant regional speaker population. 137,774 people declared Gagauz as their native language, but only 104,890 speak it as first language.
. In the main part of the country, 186,394 people declared it native, and (of these) 130,114 speak it as first language.
, and German in Moldova. Moldovans of older and middle generations are generally bilingual in the state language and Russian. There are also many Moldovan expats and migrant workers in Russia. Many of the younger generation, however, despite receiving 1 hour of Russian per week during school and having more Russian than Romanian language TV channels to watch, may know this language rather poorly, for example being unable to communicate in writing or even to be able to have a more sophisticated oral conversation.
Moldova
Moldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked state in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the West and Ukraine to the North, East and South. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the preceding Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, as part...
is Moldovan
Moldovan language
Moldovan is one of the names of the Romanian language as spoken in the Republic of Moldova, where it is official. The spoken language of Moldova is closer to the dialects of Romanian spoken in northeastern Romania, and the two countries share the same literary standard...
/Romanian
Romanian language
Romanian Romanian Romanian (or Daco-Romanian; obsolete spellings Rumanian, Roumanian; self-designation: română, limba română ("the Romanian language") or românește (lit. "in Romanian") is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova...
. Russian is also widely spoken in the country, both as a first and second language. Ukrainian
Ukrainian language
Ukrainian is a language of the East Slavic subgroup of the Slavic languages. It is the official state language of Ukraine. Written Ukrainian uses a variant of the Cyrillic alphabet....
and Gagauz
Gagauz language
The Gagauz language is a Turkic language, spoken by the Gagauz people, and the official language of Gagauzia, Moldova. There are two dialects, Bulgar Gagauzi and Maritime Gagauzi. This is a different language from Balkan Gagauz Turkish....
are recognized minority languages, with official status in areas with high concentration of speaker populations. English and French are popular foreign languages taught at most schools in Moldova.
Official language
The 1989 State language law of the MSSR declared Moldovan, written in the Latin script, the sole state language, intending for it to serve as a primary means of communication between all citizens of the republic. The law also speaks of a common Moldo-Romanian linguistic identity.In 1991, the Declaration of Independence of Moldova
Declaration of Independence of the Republic of Moldova
The Declaration of Independence of the Republic of Moldova was a document adopted by the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova following the failure of the August coup attempt....
called the official language Romanian
Romanian language
Romanian Romanian Romanian (or Daco-Romanian; obsolete spellings Rumanian, Roumanian; self-designation: română, limba română ("the Romanian language") or românește (lit. "in Romanian") is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova...
.
The 1994 Constitution of Moldova
Constitution of Moldova (1994)
The Republic of Moldova Constitution of 1994 is the country's supreme law of the country since August 27, 1994.- History :It was adopted on July 29, 1994 by the Moldovan Parliament and published in Monitorul Oficial al R. Moldova, N1, July 18, 1994....
stated that "the national language of the Republic of Moldova is Moldovan
Moldovan language
Moldovan is one of the names of the Romanian language as spoken in the Republic of Moldova, where it is official. The spoken language of Moldova is closer to the dialects of Romanian spoken in northeastern Romania, and the two countries share the same literary standard...
, and its writing is based on the Latin alphabet
Latin alphabet
The Latin alphabet, also called the Roman alphabet, is the most recognized alphabet used in the world today. It evolved from a western variety of the Greek alphabet called the Cumaean alphabet, which was adopted and modified by the Etruscans who ruled early Rome...
."
Most linguists consider literary Romanian and Moldovan identical. However, calling the language Romanian might be regarded as politically incorrect
Political correctness
Political correctness is a term which denotes language, ideas, policies, and behavior seen as seeking to minimize social and institutional offense in occupational, gender, racial, cultural, sexual orientation, certain other religions, beliefs or ideologies, disability, and age-related contexts,...
in some circumstances. In 2005, the Communist government of Moldova adopted a National Political Conception stating that one of the priorities of the national politics of the Republic of Moldova is the insurance of the existence of the Moldovan language.
2,564,542 people (75.8% of the population of the country) calls Romanian/Moldovan native language, while 2,495,977 (73.8%) speak it as first language in daily use. Apart from being the first language of use for 94.6% of ethnic Moldovans
Moldovans
Moldovans or Moldavians are the largest population group of Moldova...
/Romanians
Romanians
The Romanians are an ethnic group native to Romania, who speak Romanian; they are the majority inhabitants of Romania....
, the language is also spoken as primary by 5.8% of ethnic Russians, 7.7% of ethnic Ukrainians
Ukrainians
Ukrainians are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine, which is the sixth-largest nation in Europe. The Constitution of Ukraine applies the term 'Ukrainians' to all its citizens...
, 2.3% of ethnic Gagauz
Gagauz people
The Gagauz people are Turkic speaking group living mostly in southern Moldova , southwestern Ukraine , south-eastern Romania and northeastern Bulgaria. Unlike most other Turkic speaking people, the Gagauz are predominantly Orthodox Christians...
, 8.7% of ethnic Bulgarians
Bessarabian Bulgarians
The Bessarabian Bulgarians are a Bulgarian minority group of the historical region of Bessarabia, inhabiting parts of present-day Ukraine and Moldova.- Location and number :-Modern Ukraine:...
, and 14.4% of other ethnic minorities.
Official minority languages
In localities with significant minority populations, other languages are granted official status alongside the state language.Russian
Russian is provided with the status of a "language of interethnic communication", and since Soviet times remains widely used on many levels of the society and the state. According to the above-mentioned National Political Conception, Russian-Moldovan bilingualism is characteristic for Moldova.Russian was granted official status in Gagauzia
Gagauzia
Gagauzia , formally known as the Autonomous Territorial Unit of Găgăuzia , is an autonomous region of...
, a region in the south of the country inhabited mostly by ethnic Gagauz, and in the breakaway region of Transnistria
Transnistria
Transnistria is a breakaway territory located mostly on a strip of land between the Dniester River and the eastern Moldovan border to Ukraine...
in the east of the country.
380,796 people (11.25%) call Russian native language, while 540,990 (16%) speak it as first language in daily use. Apart from being the first language of use for 93.2% of ethnic Russians
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
, the languages is also spoken as primary by 4.9% of Moldovans, 50.0% of Ukrainians, 27.4% of Gagauz, 35.4% of Bulgarians, and 54.1% of other ethnic minorities.
Gagauz
Gagauz is an official minority language in GagauziaGagauzia
Gagauzia , formally known as the Autonomous Territorial Unit of Găgăuzia , is an autonomous region of...
, and has significant regional speaker population. 137,774 people declared Gagauz as their native language, but only 104,890 speak it as first language.
Ukrainian
Ukrainian has co-official status in the breakaway region of TransnistriaTransnistria
Transnistria is a breakaway territory located mostly on a strip of land between the Dniester River and the eastern Moldovan border to Ukraine...
. In the main part of the country, 186,394 people declared it native, and (of these) 130,114 speak it as first language.
Foreign languages
While since 1990s most Moldovans learn English as their first foreign language in schools, very few speak it at a sufficiently advanced level to be able to communicate and understand it freely. Sometimes French, Italian, or Spanish are taught first. These languages are used by the Moldovan expats and working migrants in other countries, including France, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, but they usually do not speak them when they leave Moldova for the first time, instead learning them on arrival. The expats and the working migrants in Portugal, Greece, Turkey, Cyprus, Germany learn those countries' respective languages, and as a result it is not unusual to find speakers of Portuguese, Greek, TurkishTurkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
, and German in Moldova. Moldovans of older and middle generations are generally bilingual in the state language and Russian. There are also many Moldovan expats and migrant workers in Russia. Many of the younger generation, however, despite receiving 1 hour of Russian per week during school and having more Russian than Romanian language TV channels to watch, may know this language rather poorly, for example being unable to communicate in writing or even to be able to have a more sophisticated oral conversation.
See also
- 2004 Moldovan Census2004 Moldovan CensusThe 2004 Republic of Moldova Census was carried between October 5 and October 12, 2004. The breakaway Transnistria failed to come into an agreement with the central government in Chişinău, and carried out its own census during between November 11 and November 18, 2004...
- Culture of MoldovaCulture of MoldovaThe culture of Moldova is a combination of Romanian culture and Soviet culture. The traditional Latin origins of Romanian culture reach back to the 2nd century, the period of Roman colonization in Dacia....
- Ethnic groups of Moldova
- Romanian languageRomanian languageRomanian Romanian Romanian (or Daco-Romanian; obsolete spellings Rumanian, Roumanian; self-designation: română, limba română ("the Romanian language") or românește (lit. "in Romanian") is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova...
- Russian languageRussian languageRussian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
- Ukrainian languageUkrainian languageUkrainian is a language of the East Slavic subgroup of the Slavic languages. It is the official state language of Ukraine. Written Ukrainian uses a variant of the Cyrillic alphabet....
- Gagauz languageGagauz languageThe Gagauz language is a Turkic language, spoken by the Gagauz people, and the official language of Gagauzia, Moldova. There are two dialects, Bulgar Gagauzi and Maritime Gagauzi. This is a different language from Balkan Gagauz Turkish....