Vlach language in Serbia

Major varieties (graiuri) of the Romanian and Vlach languages
Blue: Southern varieties
Red: Northern varieties

Vlach, (rumînjeašće/ljimba rumînjaskă),[1][2] (Serbian: влашки / vlaški) are the terms used to designate the language spoken by the Vlachs of Serbia.[3]

Status

Serbian statistics list Vlach as minority language in Serbia and it's recognized by the Serbian Law. The Vlach language have official status, but it is not standardized. In the 2011 census, 35,330[4] people in Serbia declared themselves ethnic Vlachs and 43,095[5] people declared themselves native speakers of the Vlach language. The declared Vlach speakers are mostly concentrated in Eastern Serbia, mainly in the Timočka Krajina region.

The "National Council of Vlachs" listed Serbian in its statute as the official language of the Vlach minority until the standardization of the Vlach language.[6]

Name

The term Vlach is the English transcription of the Serbian term for this language (vlaški). The term Vlach language(s) is also often used to refer to Eastern Romance languages in general, which includes Romanian. There are considerable differences between these Vlach languages (the Greek, Macedonian and Albanian Vlachs, versus the Vlachs of Istria, versus the Vlachs of Eastern Serbia) and untutored native speakers have difficulties understanding each other.

Usage in media

Radio Zaječar and Radio Pomoravlje broadcasting programme in the Vlach language.

Maps

See also

References