Language Research

Russian became the official language of Moldova in 1944 upon Moldova's annexation to the USSR from Romania. Before this time, Romanian was the nation's official language (Also, during Soviet rule, Romanian-language materials published within the country were printed only in Cyrillic; this form of the Romanian language came to be known as "Moldovan").

During this period, fluency in Russian was essential for the people of the Moldovan Soviet Socialist Republic to perform social and professional functions, and to acquire government jobs. As a result, a large percentage of the non-Russian ethnic populations became bilingual, proficient in Russian as well as their own ethnic language. As time passed, however, the practical need for non-Russian ethnic groups, especially new generations, to know or learn their native language was non-existent, and resulted for many in the loss or suppression of that segment of their ethnic identity.

Since the acquisition of national independence in 1990, the Romanian language has been reinstated as the national language of Moldova, in an attempt by the Moldovan ethnic majority to encourage nationalism and independence, and to regain lost cultural heritage. Due to a number of cultural and political forces, many ethnic groups became bi- or tri-lingual, speaking their own language, as well as Russian, Moldovan, and/or another language of the former USSR. While under Soviet rule, Moldova's population developed into an extensively bilingual society, with Russian as the dominant language. Beginning in 1989, the national liberation movement served, in part, to return the nation to its pre-Soviet cultural past. Part of that process involved designating Romanian as the official language-an action overwhelmingly supported by ethnic-Moldovans. The lack of opposition initially encountered in non-Moldovan ethnic groups was, in part, a reflection of the bi- and tri-lingual abilities of the populace, who did not perceive such a change as a threat to their culture. Mistakes and delays experienced as the government initiated the language change began to aggravate the socio-political situation, however, and social opposition to the new language grew. New laws adopted to regulate the national-linguistic environment did not satisfy any ethnic community, and resulted in political demonstrations of opposition.

Legislation was adopted in an attempt to facilitate the language transition. The laws attempted to acknowledge the interests of all national ethnic groups, while establishing a functional national language. The passing of legislation was confronted, however, not only by socio-political difficulties, but also conceptual and mechanical problems, including the country's lack of preparedness for initiating a new official language, due to lack of training material, as well as methodological and professional systems. Thus, although Romanian replaced Russian as the official language of Moldova, it was not done without difficulty or conflict. The process also served to create rifts between formerly integrated multi-ethnic communities.

The social attitudes of and towards ethnic groups in Moldova have changed dramatically in recent years. While under Soviet rule, the Moldovan government had no motivation to define or highlight ethnic majority and minority groups; under Soviet socialization practices, intensive migration and ethnic integration were encouraged in order to form a "Soviet" nation characterized by a uniform Russian speaking community. Due to Soviet policy, there was no established standards allowing native Moldovans - the ethnic majority - to become the political majority and respected social force in the nation.

As a result of the Soviet policy, Russian-speaking immigrants, although an ethnic minority, were able to obtain the highest social and political roles in the republic; there was no need for them to integrate psychologically or socially into the established cultural community, as the language and culture of the community had been modified to their advantage. Resulting from this policy was suppressed frustration and bitterness toward the Russian ethnic minority as they usurped the social and political roles of the Moldovan ethnic majority.

With the acquisition of independence, the native ethnic majority of Moldova has gained power, in order to avoid past difficulties experienced due to ethnic suppression, the government must prepare the nation for the change in the social and cultural roles by assisting in the adaptation of different ethnic groups to the political, cultural, linguistic and civil differences they are to experience under the new government.

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