Izgubljeni u prijevodu: pitanje etničkog identiteta govornika istrorumunjskoga jezika između politizacije i zbilje
Lost in translation: The question of the ethnic identity of the speakers of the Istroromanian language between politicization and reality

Summary/Abstract: The term Istroromanian is a scientific convention for the designation of one of the four primary Romanian dialects, which is spoken in two geographically separated areas in the northeastern part of the Istrian peninsula: in the north in the village of Žejane, and in the south in Šušnjevica and the surrounding villages, located on the edge of the Čepić' field. The native speakers, the number of which is rapidly decreasing, use the names Zheyanski or Vlashki for the designation of their own language, while the younger population no longer regards the language as an important part of their identity. The Istroromanian community has attracted many linguists, historians, ethnologists and other scientists in trying to capture the Istromanians' identity, especially with regard to the language, since the second half of the 19th century. However, a discrepancy can be seen in the existing scholarship concerning their ethnic identity, mostly in the works of Croatian and Romanian scholars, with the ideological echoes noticeable even in the most recent scientific studies on this subject. On this occasion we will try to present the factors which form the ethnic identity of Istroromanian speakers and show the accompanying ideological repercussions based on the different designations of it in the existing scientific literature and their comparison with the reality.

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