In the Republic of Moldova, disputes about what language is considered native for the population of this country do not subside. Discussions have been going on for more than a decade. Officially, the official language of Moldova is Romanian. However, many did not agree with the decision of the local Constitutional Court.
Declaration of independence
At the dawn of perestroika, the Moldovan intelligentsia demanded that the parliament proclaim Moldovan as the state language with translation into Latin alphabet. Previously, it was used exclusively in the Old Slavonic Cyrillic alphabet. In the same period, the predominant part of the population of Transnistria and Gagauzia advocated the legitimization of Russian as a second state language. According to various estimates, in the late 80s of the last century, nine out of ten residents of Moldova spoke it. What language is spoken in this country today?
Until 2013, the Moldovan dialect was considered the main one in these territories. However, after analyzing the 1989 Declaration of Independence of the Republic, the initiators of the language reform considered the mention of the Romanian language to be a good enough reason to recognize it at the state level. If there are any discrepancies between the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, the last document shall be recognized as prevailing. The judges of the Constitutional Court were guided by this, deciding on which language in Moldova to give official status.
Historical facts
Most researchers believe that the Moldavian language is not an independent form, and therefore it is more correct to perceive it as a dialect of Romanian. It communicates and the modern population of eastern Romania. By the way, these areas were previously part of historical Moldova with centers in Bacau, Iasi and Suceava.
However, politicians and other scientists from Chisinau do not agree with this position. On the contrary, they adhere to the version that the princedom of Moldavia was the first in ancient times, which means that its inhabitants spoke Moldavian. The borders of Romania as states were defined only in the century before last. According to rough estimates, the Romanian language in a form as close as possible to the modern one was formed in the 19th century.
Despite the fact that representatives of the local intelligentsia have not yet been able to agree on what language is spoken in Moldova, both sides recognize the paradox: there is practically no difference between the Romanian and Moldavian speeches.
"Limba Moldova"
So, what language is spoken in Moldova? To date, only Romanian is officially recognized. But no one forbids the inhabitants of the Republic of Moldova to call limba moldovenească - “limba moldovenyaske” their native language. This is the name of the very Moldovan language that was considered the state language until 2013.
As already noted, many consider it a Romanian dialect. Moldavian is almost identical to the literary Romanian. By the way, philologists equate this language with Olten or Transylvanian, which are not independent forms of the Balkan-Romanesque group.
Unlike the population of Moldova, residents of unrecognized Transnistria proclaimed Moldavian as their official language. And they do not write in Latin, but in Cyrillic. It is worth noting that it was the disputes around the language issue that led to the emergence of protest movements in Gagauzia and the armed conflict in Transnistria, which has not been resolved to this day.
Why exactly the Romanian language
Shortly before the collapse of the USSR, many supporters of the idea of unification with a neighboring country appeared among Moldovans. Even the state symbols testified to the Romanian course of Moldova. Then the tricolor, consisting of blue, yellow and red canvases, was recognized as state in Moldova. The language of the national anthem was also Romanian. In the same period, the abolition of the Cyrillic alphabet took place. Instead, they began to use the Latin alphabet.
Today, most Moldovans do not support the idea of unification with Romania and the initiative of the authorities to grant the Romanian language official status. Moreover, few residents of the republic can give an affirmative answer to the question of what language is spoken in Moldova. In the south of the country, in the unrecognized autonomous Gagauzia, local authorities completely excluded the Romanian language course and the history of Romania from the school curriculum. In local educational institutions, children learn the national language “limba moldovenyaske” and the history of the Republic of Moldova.