Istro-Romanian language
Romance language of the Balkans / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Istro-Romanian language (Istro Romanian: rumârește, vlășește) is an Eastern Romance language, spoken in a few villages and hamlets in the peninsula of Istria in Croatia, as well as in the diaspora of this people. It is sometimes abbreviated to IR.
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (September 2009) |
Istro-Romanian | |
---|---|
rumârește, vlășește | |
Native to | Croatia |
Region | Istria |
Ethnicity | Istro-Romanians |
Native speakers | 300 (2007)[1] L2 speakers: 1,100 (2007)[1] |
Indo-European
| |
Early forms | |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | ruo |
Glottolog | istr1245 |
ELP | Istro Romanian |
Linguasphere | 51-AAD-a (varieties: 51-AAD-aa to -ab) |
Istro-Romanian is classified as Severely Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger |
While its speakers call themselves Rumeri, Rumeni, they are also known as: Vlachs, Rumunski, Ćići and Ćiribiri. The last one, used by ethnic Croats, originated as a disparaging nickname for the language, rather than its speakers.[citation needed]
Due to the fact that its speakers are estimated to be fewer than 500, it is listed among languages that are "severely endangered" in the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger.[4]
It is also considered by some Romanian scholars to be an idiosyncratic offshoot dialect of Romanian.[5]