Moldovan Linguistic System: Historical, Socio-Political, and Linguistic Aspects

Abstract

This article examines the status of the Moldovan linguistic system in relation to the Romanian language. A comprehensive analysis of the Moldovan idiom is conducted within the frameworks of historical, socio-political, and linguistic perspectives. The study provides an elaborate description of the history of the formation and development of the Moldovan idiom, systematically categorizing the viewpoints of Soviet, Moldovan, and Romanian linguists regarding its status. Special attention is given to the issue of the devaluation of the linguistic term ‘Moldovan language’ in the Republic of Moldova, while highlighting its preservation in statistical documents of the Russian Federation. The empirical foundation of this research consists of materials from sociolinguistic interviews conducted in 2024 in various cities of the Republic of Crimea among representatives of the Moldovan community. The novelty of this work lies in its pioneering comprehensive investigation into the status of the Moldovan idiom, utilizing data on the evaluation and identification of the native language obtained through surveys of Crimean Moldovans. Conclusions are drawn that the Moldovan idiom indeed possesses a number of specific characteristics at the phonetic, lexico-semantic, and grammatical levels, and that representatives of the Moldovan community in the Republic of Crimea continue to be custodians of the distinctive traditions of their native language.