Constructing Armân/Vlach Ethnic Identity
Constructing Armân/Vlach Ethnic Identity

Summary/Abstract: Constructing identity (ethnicity, in this case) is subject to the action of several elements shaping the complex relationships between the individual and the communities of which he/she is a member, with direct and indirect effects: the SELF (beliefs, awareness) about himself; others about the SELF; institutional (official) statements about the SELF; (statements of) the SELF about himself to others. Linguistics and cultural and social anthropology are sometimes in contradiction in defining identity, as loyalty towards ethnicity does not exclude differences in national affiliation. I will analyze the identity as a complex of perspectives and assertions, starting from a corpus of data (gathered from my previous research) and from the related bibliography, trying to sort out my hypothesis of the four perspectives on identity. The present study tries to answer, from a linguistic perspective, the questions whether the geolinguistic approach is sufficient in order to define ethnic identity, and if its limitations, as shown in the bibliography (from Gustav Weigand’s field research in late 19th century to Thede Kahl’s in the early 21st century) can be surpassed.

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