Istro-Romanian Language - Recent History

Recent History

The number of Istro-Romanian speakers has been reduced due to their assimilation into other linguistic groups that were either already present or introduced by their respective new rulers of Istria: in the 1921 Italian census, there were 1,644 declared Istro-Romanian speakers in the area, while in 1926 Romanian scholar Sextil Pușcariu estimated their number to be closer to 3,000. In the 1991 census of Yugoslavia, only 811 Romanians were registered, and in the 2001 Croatian census only 137 inhabitants of the region declared Romanian as their mother tongue. Studies conducted in Istria in 1998 (?) by the Croatian linguist Kovačec revealed only 170 active speakers (but those counted presumably are only those still residing in the original villages where the language was actively spoken, thereby excluding those who moved to larger towns in Istria), most of them being bilingual (or trilingual), except for 27 children.

In 1922, the Italian regime of Benito Mussolini declared the village of Susnieviza — which they renamed to Valdarsa after the Arsa Valley (valle d'Arsa) region (it has since reverted to the pre-Italian name but written in Croatian as Šušnjevica) — to be the seat for the Istro-Romanians, with a designated school in the Istro-Romanian language. This was achieved through the efforts of Andrea Glavina, one of the town's native sons who had been university educated in Romania. The town of Šušnjevica (with adjacent villages) reached a population of 3,000 in 1942. After World War II and the ceding of Istria to Yugoslavia, the population of Šušnjevica alone was subsequently reduced to 200 inhabitants.

On the other hand, the major northern village Žejane and nearby hamlets at the Slovenian border are less italianized and more slavicized. Many villages in the area have names that are of Romanian origin, such as Jeian, Buzet ("lips"), Katun ("hamlet"), Letaj, Sucodru ("under a forest"), Costirceanu (a Romanian name). Some of these names are official (recognized by Croatia as their only names), while others are used only by Istro-Romanian speakers (ex. Nova Vas|Noselo).

The actual fate of the Istro-Romanian language is very uncertain, because in Istria only about 350 people partly understand it; its active bilingual speakers are fewer than 200 (that is, those who openly admit they speak it, the actual number may be greater), and fewer than 30 children know it now. Without an urgent, effective and active international support, the unique Istro-Romanian language will probably become extinct in the next generation or two. Istro-Romanian is considered an endangered language.