Post by It-Alien on Aug 14, 2004 10:54:04 GMT -5
Research
Acquaviva Collecroce, the largest of three Slavic-speaking municipalities in the Italian region of Molise (Province of Campobasso), is the main focus of the research on Italian-Slavic language contact of the Chair for Slavic Linguistics of the University of Constance (Project B2 of the linguistic research area 471). In light of its degree of preservation of the Slavic language, Acquaviva stands between the more conservative Montemitro and San Felice, which is tending to give up the language. For the running research period, we have planned to also involve the dialects of Montemitro and San Felice, which until now have been given little attention.
The Language
1. Characterisation and Name
The Slavic language in Molise is a minority language with Italian as the dominant language.
The closest genetically related language is Croatian, due to the Dalmatian origin of the one-time immigrants, hence the terms "Molisian Croatian, Italo-Croatian" along with "Slavic (slavo, schiavone), Molisian Slavic" and the neologism "Slavisian".
Among the inhabitants of Acquaviva, the language is simply referred to as naš jezik 'our language', in the adverbial usage kjikjarijat na-našu 'speak in our manner'.
The inhabitants of Acquaviva, Montemitro and San Felice refer to each village respectively as naš grad 'our village'. While Acquaviva is known as Kruč in the other communities, the Slavic terms for the two remaining villages are respectively Mundimitar and Filič.
2. Status of the Language
In spite of a few attempts at creating an own literature, which started in the 19th century, Molisian Slavic still must be seen as a language which is only spoken without written norms.
The dialectal differences between the three villages are not insignificant despite the characteristic similarities at all language levels. A standardisation on the basis of the language use in Acquaviva can be seen in the first large dictionary of Molisian Slavic (Dizionario croato molisano), which has been compiled at the Chair for Slavic Linguistics of the University of Constance.
In Acquaviva the Slavic minority language has currently started to obtain an official status, for since the municipal statute was changed a few years ago, it can now be spoken at meetings of the town council, etc. Its lacking development and the language habits caused by previous restrictions and bans provide, however, for the absolute dominance of Italian in the administration, church, and school.
When dealing with Croatian visitors, a few intellectuals use a language form which has adopted some elements of standard Croatian.
Regardless of first small attempts, there are no regular Slavic language classes (in whatever variety of the language).
History
The amount of Slavic villages was larger than today in the previous centuries. According to field names, Slavic settlements reached deep into the area of Abruzzia. Names of places such as S. Giacomo degli Schiavoni or Schiavi di Abruzzo are also proof of Slavic settlements.
Pertaining to the time of their settlement, one assumes that the Molisian Slavs arrived in the early 16th century because of language peculiarities. However, a Slavic population already living there may have been overlapped. A later period of immigration is out of the question because of the lack of Turkish borrowings and the phonological and grammatical characteristics of Molisian Slavic. One can also assume that Molisian Albanians settled at a similar time.
Just like the identification of the time of their arrival, the determination of the approximate region from which the Molisian Slavs came can rely only on the special features of the minority language. It is most probable that they originated from the Dalmatian hinterland in the Neretva area (today Bosnia-Herzegovina).
The work of Milan Rešetar (1911), which was newly published in 1997 in an Italian translation under the title Le colonie serbocroate nell'Italia Meridionale, is the classic source for all data on the immigration and the historical situation in the area of Acquaviva.
Location
The three villages lie approximately 30 km from the Adriatic Sea and 60 km from the provincial capital Campobasso in the hilly Molisian countryside and (Acquaviva lies at 413 m above sea level) between the rivers Biferno and Trigno. They form a compact residential area.
They are surrounded by Italian-speaking municipalities, among which Palata, seat of the Comunità Montana Monte Mauro, to which Acquaviva also belongs, is particularly important for all research on language contact. For this reason a description of the Molisian-Italian dialect of Palata is also in the making at the Chair for Slavic Linguistics of the University of Constance.
Along with the provincial capital, the most important cities in the area are: Larino, the old seat of court, Termoli, port city and seat of the bishop, and the Abruzzian port and commercial city Vasto.
From a language-contact perspective, it is also noteworthy that several Albanian-speaking communities also exist in Molise. The closest one is Montecilfone, which lies directly on the border of Palata. We have planned to contrast the changes induced by contact in the Slavic and Albanian-speaking communities in Molise. A description of the verb system of Montecilfone has already been published.
Statistics
The number of inhabitants of the Slavic-speaking villages has sunk especially due to temporary (as guest workers) or complete emigration since the beginning of the 20th century. Today Molisian Slavic is also still spoken by a relatively large number of speakers in Australia and Argentina.
www.uni-konstanz.de/FuF/Philo/Sprachwiss/slavistik/acqua/indexE.htm
Acquaviva Collecroce, the largest of three Slavic-speaking municipalities in the Italian region of Molise (Province of Campobasso), is the main focus of the research on Italian-Slavic language contact of the Chair for Slavic Linguistics of the University of Constance (Project B2 of the linguistic research area 471). In light of its degree of preservation of the Slavic language, Acquaviva stands between the more conservative Montemitro and San Felice, which is tending to give up the language. For the running research period, we have planned to also involve the dialects of Montemitro and San Felice, which until now have been given little attention.
The Language
1. Characterisation and Name
The Slavic language in Molise is a minority language with Italian as the dominant language.
The closest genetically related language is Croatian, due to the Dalmatian origin of the one-time immigrants, hence the terms "Molisian Croatian, Italo-Croatian" along with "Slavic (slavo, schiavone), Molisian Slavic" and the neologism "Slavisian".
Among the inhabitants of Acquaviva, the language is simply referred to as naš jezik 'our language', in the adverbial usage kjikjarijat na-našu 'speak in our manner'.
The inhabitants of Acquaviva, Montemitro and San Felice refer to each village respectively as naš grad 'our village'. While Acquaviva is known as Kruč in the other communities, the Slavic terms for the two remaining villages are respectively Mundimitar and Filič.
2. Status of the Language
In spite of a few attempts at creating an own literature, which started in the 19th century, Molisian Slavic still must be seen as a language which is only spoken without written norms.
The dialectal differences between the three villages are not insignificant despite the characteristic similarities at all language levels. A standardisation on the basis of the language use in Acquaviva can be seen in the first large dictionary of Molisian Slavic (Dizionario croato molisano), which has been compiled at the Chair for Slavic Linguistics of the University of Constance.
In Acquaviva the Slavic minority language has currently started to obtain an official status, for since the municipal statute was changed a few years ago, it can now be spoken at meetings of the town council, etc. Its lacking development and the language habits caused by previous restrictions and bans provide, however, for the absolute dominance of Italian in the administration, church, and school.
When dealing with Croatian visitors, a few intellectuals use a language form which has adopted some elements of standard Croatian.
Regardless of first small attempts, there are no regular Slavic language classes (in whatever variety of the language).
History
The amount of Slavic villages was larger than today in the previous centuries. According to field names, Slavic settlements reached deep into the area of Abruzzia. Names of places such as S. Giacomo degli Schiavoni or Schiavi di Abruzzo are also proof of Slavic settlements.
Pertaining to the time of their settlement, one assumes that the Molisian Slavs arrived in the early 16th century because of language peculiarities. However, a Slavic population already living there may have been overlapped. A later period of immigration is out of the question because of the lack of Turkish borrowings and the phonological and grammatical characteristics of Molisian Slavic. One can also assume that Molisian Albanians settled at a similar time.
Just like the identification of the time of their arrival, the determination of the approximate region from which the Molisian Slavs came can rely only on the special features of the minority language. It is most probable that they originated from the Dalmatian hinterland in the Neretva area (today Bosnia-Herzegovina).
The work of Milan Rešetar (1911), which was newly published in 1997 in an Italian translation under the title Le colonie serbocroate nell'Italia Meridionale, is the classic source for all data on the immigration and the historical situation in the area of Acquaviva.
Location
The three villages lie approximately 30 km from the Adriatic Sea and 60 km from the provincial capital Campobasso in the hilly Molisian countryside and (Acquaviva lies at 413 m above sea level) between the rivers Biferno and Trigno. They form a compact residential area.
They are surrounded by Italian-speaking municipalities, among which Palata, seat of the Comunità Montana Monte Mauro, to which Acquaviva also belongs, is particularly important for all research on language contact. For this reason a description of the Molisian-Italian dialect of Palata is also in the making at the Chair for Slavic Linguistics of the University of Constance.
Along with the provincial capital, the most important cities in the area are: Larino, the old seat of court, Termoli, port city and seat of the bishop, and the Abruzzian port and commercial city Vasto.
From a language-contact perspective, it is also noteworthy that several Albanian-speaking communities also exist in Molise. The closest one is Montecilfone, which lies directly on the border of Palata. We have planned to contrast the changes induced by contact in the Slavic and Albanian-speaking communities in Molise. A description of the verb system of Montecilfone has already been published.
Statistics
The number of inhabitants of the Slavic-speaking villages has sunk especially due to temporary (as guest workers) or complete emigration since the beginning of the 20th century. Today Molisian Slavic is also still spoken by a relatively large number of speakers in Australia and Argentina.
www.uni-konstanz.de/FuF/Philo/Sprachwiss/slavistik/acqua/indexE.htm
