engleski

Dialects as markers of regional identity in the Croatian region of Istria

Istria is a multicultural and multilingual region which has for centuries represented a complex mixture of cultures, ethnicities, languages and dialects. But what is also specific is that in Istria there is the most significant population within Croatia which puts a strong emphasis on their regional identity (cf. Census 1991, 2001 and 2011). This specific regional identification of the inhabitants, the so-called 'Istrianity', is mentioned also in the Statute of the Istrian Region and is promoted by the current regional policy. The reasons behind the strong regional identification are very heterogenous and complex, but what is unquestionable is the fact that the local dialects play a crucial role in the formation and preservation of the authentic regional identity. The paper will present results based on qualitative ethnographic data (semi-structured interviews) collected in the field. Even though at the official level Istria is a bilingual region (standard Croatian and standard Italian), multilingualism is a distinctive feature of everyday Istrian reality. Many local (non-standard Slavic and Romanic) Istrian varieties are in everyday use and code- switching and receptive multilingualism represent ordinary forms of communication. Based on the data collected, we intend to find out to what degree the local varieties as well as the mentioned forms of multilingual communication carry symbolic value for their speakers and act as a strong marker of their regional identification. Based on our results, we will also try to reexamine the aim and applicability of the European Charter for Regional and Minority Languages (ECRML).

dialect; multilingualism; regional identity; Istria; ethnography; anthropology

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