Official status of Romanian language in Vojvodina
Encyclopedia
Romanian language
Romanian Romanian Romanian (or Daco-Romanian; obsolete spellings Rumanian, Roumanian; self-designation: română, limba română ("the Romanian language") or românește (lit. "in Romanian") is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova...
is one of six official languages in the Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
n province of Vojvodina
Vojvodina
Vojvodina, officially called Autonomous Province of Vojvodina is an autonomous province of Serbia. Its capital and largest city is Novi Sad...
. The official use of the Romanian language is determined in Vojvodina by the law, and established at the provincial level in the bodies of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, as well at local level in 8 municipalities.
29,512 citizens of Vojvodina dispersed within 42 settlements (forming majority in 19 settlements) declared Romanian language
Romanian language
Romanian Romanian Romanian (or Daco-Romanian; obsolete spellings Rumanian, Roumanian; self-designation: română, limba română ("the Romanian language") or românește (lit. "in Romanian") is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova...
as their mother tongue at the 2002 census, accounting for 1.45% of the total population of Vojvodina and representing the fourth largest language spoken in this province. After the granting of autonomy of Vojvodina, Romanian language became an official language of the province, together with the Latin alphabet
Latin alphabet
The Latin alphabet, also called the Roman alphabet, is the most recognized alphabet used in the world today. It evolved from a western variety of the Greek alphabet called the Cumaean alphabet, which was adopted and modified by the Etruscans who ruled early Rome...
, as determined by the Statute of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, Article 6:
Because of that, Romanian can be used on many occasions in Vojvodina at provincial as well as at local level. The National Council of the Romanian National Minority in Serbia, an institution aiming to conduct the minority autonomy in the domains of culture, education, informations and the official use of the Romanian language, represents all the Romanians in Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
.
Legal status
Article 8 of the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia (published in the "Official Gazette of RS", No. 1/90) stipulates that in the Republic of Serbia the Serbo-Croatian languageSerbo-Croatian language
Serbo-Croatian or Serbo-Croat, less commonly Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian , is a South Slavic language with multiple standards and the primary language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro...
and the Cyrillic script shall be officially used, while the Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
script shall be officially used in the manner established by the law. In addition to that, the provision in Article 8/2 precisely determines that in the regions of the Republic of Serbia inhabited by national minorities, their own languages and scripts shall be officially used as well, in the manner established by law.
Vojvodina
Vojvodina, officially called Autonomous Province of Vojvodina is an autonomous province of Serbia. Its capital and largest city is Novi Sad...
(published in the "Official Gazette of APV") determines that, together with the Serbo-Croat language and the Cyrillic script, and the Latin script as stipulated by the law, the Hungarian
Hungarian language
Hungarian is a Uralic language, part of the Ugric group. With some 14 million speakers, it is one of the most widely spoken non-Indo-European languages in Europe....
, Slovak
Slovak language
Slovak , is an Indo-European language that belongs to the West Slavic languages .Slovak is the official language of Slovakia, where it is spoken by 5 million people...
, Romanian
Romanian language
Romanian Romanian Romanian (or Daco-Romanian; obsolete spellings Rumanian, Roumanian; self-designation: română, limba română ("the Romanian language") or românește (lit. "in Romanian") is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova...
and Rusyn
Pannonian Rusyn language
Pannonian Rusyn or simply Rusyn is a Slavic language or dialect spoken by Pannonian Rusyns in north-western Serbia and eastern Croatia...
languages and their scripts, as well as languages and scripts of other nationalities, shall simultaneously be officially used in the work of the bodies of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, in the manner established by the law. The bodies of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina are: the Assembly, the Executive Council and the Provincial administrative bodies.
The National Council of the Romanian National Minority has a department that attends to the analsis and promotion of the official use of the Romanian language.
Provincial use
Among others, decisions and laws established by the Assembly of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, bulletins and publications of the Assembly and the Executive Council, as well as other acts of provincial interest issued by the authorities of the Republic of Serbia must all be translated in Romanian. Also sessions of the Assembly are simultaneous interpreted in Romanian. The Provincial Secretariat for Regulations, Administration and National Minorities, through its sections and departments, collects and analyses data regarding the exercise of the rights of the national minorities in the domains of culture, education, information, the official use of the languages and the alphabets as well as it watches the orderliness of the laws that stipulates this. The Secretariat also prepares materials that are published in the “Official Gazette of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina”, in the Serbian language and in the languages of national minorities that are in official use in the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina. The Provincial Secretariat for Regulations, Administration and National Minorities also sends Romanian judicial interprets to the district courts in Novi SadNovi Sad
Novi Sad is the capital of the northern Serbian province of Vojvodina, and the administrative centre of the South Bačka District. The city is located in the southern part of Pannonian Plain on the Danube river....
and Pančevo
Pancevo
Pančevo is a city and municipality located in the southern part of Serbian province of Vojvodina, 15 km northeast from Belgrade. In 2002, the city had a total population of 77,087, while municipality of Pančevo had 127,162 inhabitants. It is the administrative center of the South Banat...
.
Local use
Alibunar
Alibunar is a town and municipality in South Banat District of Vojvodina, Serbia. Alibunar town has a population of 3,402, and Alibunar municipality 22,856.-Name:...
, Bela Crkva
Bela Crkva (Vojvodina)
Bela Crkva is a town and municipality in the South Banat District of Vojvodina, Serbia. The town has a population of 10,638, while the Bela Crkva municipality has 20,275 inhabitants....
, Žitište
Žitište
Žitište is a town and municipality in Central Banat District of Vojvodina, Serbia. The town has a population of 3,236, while Žitište municipality has 20,144 inhabitants.-Name:...
, Zrenjanin
Zrenjanin
Zrenjanin is a city and municipality located in the eastern part of Serbian province of Vojvodina. It is the administrative centre of the Central Banat District of Serbia...
, Kovačica
Kovacica
Kovačica is a town and municipality located in the South Banat District of Vojvodina, Serbia. According to 2002 census, the town has a population of 6,764, while Kovačica municipality has 27,890 inhabitants...
, Kovin
Kovin
Kovin is a town and municipality in South Banat District of Vojvodina, Serbia. The town has a population of 14,250, while the municipality has 36,802 inhabitants.- Name :...
, Plandište
Plandište
Plandište is a village and municipality in South Banat District of Vojvodina, Serbia. The village has a population of 4,248, while Plandište municipality has 13,355 inhabitants...
and Sečanj
Secanj
Sečanj is a village and municipality in Central Banat District of Vojvodina, Serbia. The village has a population of 2,645, while the Sečanj municipality has 16,298 inhabitants.-Name:...
. In the municipality of Vršac
Vršac
Vršac is a town and municipality located in Serbia. In 2002 the town's total population was 36,623, while Vršac municipality had 54,369 inhabitants. Vršac is located in the Banat region, in the Vojvodina province of Serbia. It is part of the South Banat District.-Name:The name Vršac is of Serbian...
, Romanian is also official in the villages with ethnic Romanian majority: Vojvodinci
Vojvodinci
Vojvodinci , , ) is a village in Serbia. It is situated in the Vršac municipality, South Banat District, Vojvodina province. The village has a Romanian ethnic majority and its population numbering 328 people .-See also:...
(Romanian: Voivodinţ), Markovac (Romanian: Marcovăţ), Straža
Straža (Vršac)
Straža or Straja is a village in Serbia. It is situated in the Vršac municipality, in the South Banat District, Vojvodina province...
(Romanian: Straja), Mali Žam
Mali Žam
Mali Žam is a village in Serbia. It is situated in the Vršac municipality, in the South Banat District, Vojvodina province. The village has a Romanian ethnic majority and its population numbering 279 people .-Name:...
(Romanian: Jamu Mic), Malo Središte
Malo Središte
Malo Središte is a village in Serbia. It is situated in the Vršac municipality, in the South Banat District, Vojvodina province. The village has a Romanian ethnic majority and its population numbering 78 people .-See also:*List of places in Serbia*List of cities, towns and villages in Vojvodina...
(Romanian: Srediştea Mică), Mesić
Mesic (Vršac)
Mesić is a village in Serbia. It is situated in the Vršac municipality, in the South Banat District, Vojvodina province. The village has a Romanian ethnic majority and its population numbering 202 people ....
(Romanian: Mesici), Jablanka
Jablanka
Jablanka is a village in Serbia. It is situated in the Vršac municipality, in the South Banat District, Vojvodina province. The village has a Romanian ethnic majority and its population numbering 247 people ....
(Romanian: Jablanka), Sočica
Socica
Sočica is a village in Serbia. It is situated in the Vršac municipality, in the South Banat District, Vojvodina province. The village has a Romanian ethnic majority and its population numbering 124 people .-See also:...
(Romanian: Sălciţa), Ritiševo
Ritiševo
Ritiševo is a village in Serbia. It is situated in the Vršac municipality, in the South Banat District, Vojvodina province. The village has a Romanian ethnic majority and its population numbering 496 people ....
(Romanian: Râtişor), Orešac
Orešac
Orešac or Oreşaţ is a village in Serbia. It is situated in the Vršac municipality, in the South Banat District, Vojvodina province. The village is ethnically mixed and its population numbering 356 people .-Ethnic groups :...
(Romanian: Oreşaţ) and Kuštilj
Kuštilj
Kuštilj is a village in Serbia. It is situated in the Vršac municipality, in the South Banat District, Vojvodina province. The village has a Romanian ethnic majority and its population numbering 664 people ....
(Romanian: Coştei).
Campaign for the public use of the Romanian language as an official language
The non-governmental organisation "Municipal parliament the "free" city of Vršac" (RomanianRomanian language
Romanian Romanian Romanian (or Daco-Romanian; obsolete spellings Rumanian, Roumanian; self-designation: română, limba română ("the Romanian language") or românește (lit. "in Romanian") is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova...
: Parlamentul orăşenesc oraşul "liber" Vârşeţ) started a project aimed to encourage the public use of the Romanian language as an official language. The campaign is included in the program "Minority Rights in Practice in South Eastern Europe", initiated together by the King Baudouin Foundation
King Baudouin Foundation
The King Baudouin Foundation is a public benefit foundation in Brussels, Belgium, established in 1976.Named after Baudouin of Belgium, Belgium's late head of state, its mission is to contribute to improving the living conditions of the population. KBF, both a grantmaking and an operating...
, Open Society Found Belgrade, Charles Stewart Mott Foundation
Charles Stewart Mott Foundation
The Charles Stewart Mott Foundation is a charitable foundation founded in 1926 by Charles Stewart Mott of Flint, Michigan. Mott was the leading industrialist in Flint through his association with General Motors....
and the Citizen's Initiatives
Initiative
In political science, an initiative is a means by which a petition signed by a certain minimum number of registered voters can force a public vote...
.
In the 2002 Census, the last carried out in Serbia, 1.45% citizens of Vojvodina declared Romanian as their mother tongue (barely 0.1% of the world's Romanophones).
Usage in religious education and service
Romanian Orthodox Church
The Romanian Orthodox Church is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church. It is in full communion with other Eastern Orthodox churches, and is ranked seventh in order of precedence. The Primate of the church has the title of Patriarch...
Eparchy "Dacia Felix" based in Vršac and headed by Daniil Partoşanul, vicar bishop of the Archdiocese of Timişoara.
Starting 2006, religion in the Romanian language is taught in the state schools in Serbia. Two new textbooks for the first and the second grade were published for the students attending religion in the Romanian language. The textbooks were approved by the Commission of the Government of the Republic of Serbia for Religious Education in Elementary and Middle Schools.
Usage in arts
On 15 November 2003, the professional Romanian theatre was refounded, after almost 50 years, a theatre that performs acts in Romanian language for the Romanian-speaking communities. The theatre is based in Vršac, on the scene of the "Sterija" National Theatre.Romanian language literature is represented in Banat
Banat
The Banat is a geographical and historical region in Central Europe currently divided between three countries: the eastern part lies in western Romania , the western part in northeastern Serbia , and a small...
starting with Victor Vlad Delamarina
Victor Vlad Delamarina
Victor Vlad Delamarina was an Austro-Hungarian-born Romanian poet.Born in Satu Mic near Lugoj in the Banat, he attended primary school taught in Hungarian and German, followed by gymnasium in Lugoj...
and going further to current writers. The contribution of Vojvodina based writers is significant within the works published in the entire Banat, through authors like Vasile Barbu, president of the "Tibiscus" Literary-Artistic Society in Uzdin
Uzdin
Uzdin is a village located in the Kovačica municipality, in the South Banat District of Serbia. It is situated in the autonomous province of Vojvodina. The village has a Romanian ethnic majority and its population is 2,467 . At the turn of the 20th century, its population was about 7,000...
, Pavel Gătăiantu, Ana Niculina Ursulescu, Virginia Popovici, Slavco Almăjan and Marina Puia Bădescu. There is a state-financed publishing house, namely Libertatea. "Casa de Presă şi Editură Libertatea" publishes 20 titles each year. For the 45th edition of the Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
Book Fair, the publishing house prepared a CD with the most successful nine titles, under the slogan "3,000 pages for the third millennium" . Moreover, there are also other publishing houses based in Vojvodina, as for example "Editura Fundaţiei".
Usage in education
In Vojvodina there are 37 education facilities that use Romanian as their teaching language, including two high schools.145 Romanian students from Vojvodina and the Timok Valley took part in interviews for scholarships in Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n highschools and universities for the school year 2005–2006.
Regarding post-secondary education, there is a pedagogical school in Vršac
Vršac
Vršac is a town and municipality located in Serbia. In 2002 the town's total population was 36,623, while Vršac municipality had 54,369 inhabitants. Vršac is located in the Banat region, in the Vojvodina province of Serbia. It is part of the South Banat District.-Name:The name Vršac is of Serbian...
as well as a Romanian language departament at the University of Novi Sad
Novi Sad
Novi Sad is the capital of the northern Serbian province of Vojvodina, and the administrative centre of the South Bačka District. The city is located in the southern part of Pannonian Plain on the Danube river....
. School curricula are made in the Romanian language from kindergarten and to highschool; there is also an Institute where Romanian language textbooks are prepared.
There are four schools that teach exclusively in Romanian language, in the places with ethnic Romanian majority: Grebenac
Grebenac
Grebenac is a village in Vojvodina, Serbia. It is situated in the Bela Crkva municipality, in the South Banat District, Vojvodina province. The village has a Romanian ethnic majority and its population is 1,017 .-External links:*...
(Romanian: Grebenaţ), Nikolinci
Nikolinci
Nikolinci is a village in Serbia. It is situated in the Alibunar municipality, in the South Banat District, Vojvodina province. The village has a Romanian ethnic majority and its population is 1,240 ....
(Romanian: Nicolinţ), Kuštilj
Kuštilj
Kuštilj is a village in Serbia. It is situated in the Vršac municipality, in the South Banat District, Vojvodina province. The village has a Romanian ethnic majority and its population numbering 664 people ....
(Romanian: Coştei) and Lokve (Romanian: Sân-Mihai).
Usage in media
Libertatea (Serbia)
Libertatea is Romanian language weekly newspaper published in Pančevo , in the Serbian region of Vojvodina.It shouldn't be confused with its namesake, Bucharest tabloid Libertatea.-External links:*...
(Pančevo). Other Romanian publications include Tinereţea (issued by the Libertatea group) and Cuvântul Românesc (Vršac). Radio Novi Sad and TV Novi Sad both have Romanian language sections, broadcasting Romanian-aimed schedule 6 hours a day on the radio and one to one and a half hour on TV daily. BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
Romanian is retransmitted by Radio FAR in Alibunar
Alibunar
Alibunar is a town and municipality in South Banat District of Vojvodina, Serbia. Alibunar town has a population of 3,402, and Alibunar municipality 22,856.-Name:...
on FM. Also, Vojvodina receives the channel 1 (În direct, România) of Radio România Internaţional
Radio Romania International
Radio România Internaţional is a Romanian radio station owned by the Romanian public radio broadcaster Societatea Română de Radiodifuziune that broadcasts abroad.According to the Romanian law nr...
(24/24), and the Romanian national TV station TVR1
Televiziunea Româna
Televiziunea Română , more commonly referred to as TVR , is the short name for Societatea Românǎ de Televiziune ; acronym: SRTV. SRTV is the national state-owned public service television broadcaster of Romania...
. Also, further Romanian language channels can be received through the DTH service offered by the Serbian subsidiary of the Romanian telecommunications company RCS & RDS (Digi TV
Digi TV
Digi TV is a DTH platform of RCS&RDS, a Romanian cable, telephony, and Internet provider.- Countries where Digi TV is available :* Romania - about 1,100,000 customers* Hungary - about 420,000 customers* Slovakia - about 320,000 customers...
), as follows: Antena 1, Minimax Romania, Jetix
Jetix (Romania)
Jetix was a children's television programming brand owned by The Walt Disney Company broadcast in Romania by all major cable TV and DTH operators. The Romanian version of the channel was included in the list of channels of various Moldovan cable operators as well as in the basic package of the...
, UTV
UTV Romania
- External links :*...
, DDTV
DDTV
DDTV is the second TV channel owned by Dan Diaconescu .-External links:* http://www.ddtv.home.ro* mms://82.76.12.224:8081 Live feed...
, OTV
Oglinda TV
OTV is a controversial Romanian TV channel owned by Dan Diaconescu, best known for its talk show, "Dan Diaconescu Live". It was banned between 2002 and 2003, officially for inciting to racial hatred and calling for discrimination during an unmoderated show with extreme-right politician Corneliu...
, Discovery Civilisation
Discovery World (TV channel)
Discovery World is a European television network known as Discovery Civilisation from 1999 - 2008. Discovery World offers an experience of the very best factual programming from around the globe. Discovery World showcases a rich and colourful selection of high quality factual programmes from around...
, Discovery Science
Discovery Science
Discovery science is a scientific methodology which emphasizes analysis of large volumes of experimental data with the goal of finding new patterns or correlations, leading to hypothesis formation and other scientific methodologies.Discovery-based methodologies are often viewed in contrast to...
, Discovery Travel & Living
Discovery Travel & Living
Discovery Travel & Living is a channel brand from Discovery Communications. This name is used in countries of Europe, Latin America and Asia. In other parts of the world the channel is known as TLC . It features travel shows rather than the documentaries on Discovery Science.Discovery Travel &...
, Animal Planet
Animal Planet
Animal Planet is an American cable tv specialty channel that launched on October 1, 1996. It is distributed by Discovery Communications. A high-definition simulcast of the channel launched on September 1, 2007.-History:...
, Animax
Animax
is a Japanese anime satellite television network, dedicated to broadcasting anime programming. A subsidiary of Japanese media conglomerate Sony, it is headquartered in in Minato, Tokyo, Japan, with its co-founders and shareholders including Sony Pictures Entertainment and the noted anime studios...
, Zone Reality
Zone Reality
Zone Reality is a European reality television channel.Zone Reality broadcasts in both analogue and digital to over 120 million viewers throughout Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America....
, National Geographic Channel
National Geographic Channel
National Geographic Channel, also commercially abbreviated and trademarked as Nat Geo, is a subscription television channel that airs non-fiction television programs produced by the National Geographic Society. Like History and the Discovery Channel, the channel features documentaries with factual...
, Eurosport
Eurosport
Eurosport is a pan-European television sport network operated by French broadcaster TF1 Group. The network of channels are available in 59 countries, in 20 different languages providing viewers with European and international sporting events...
, Viasat History
Viasat History
Viasat History is a pan Nordic television channel showing documentaries about history, culture and society which is very similar to the History Channel....
and Viasat Explorer
Viasat Explorer
Viasat Explorer is a television channel owned by Modern Times Group showing documentaries about wild animals, extreme sports, adventure, travel and technology. It was launched in January 2002 in Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland. On November 1, 2003 it expanded into Ukraine, Russia, Kazahstan,...
in the basis package, as well as Pro TV Internaţional
Pro TV International
PRO TV Internaţional is a Romanian TV network owned by PRO TV Group. It is the international service of PRO TV and broadcasts programmes of PRO TV, Acasă TV and PRO Cinema to Romanian audiences abroad in Europe, North America, and Israel.-Coverage:...
, Antena 3
Antena 3 (Romania)
Antena 3 is a Romanian TV channel, which focuses on news and current events. It was launched in May 2005 and is part of the Intact group. Antena 3 is also distributed in Serbia in the Romanian language-extra package of the DTH platform Digi TV...
, Realitatea TV
Realitatea TV
Realitatea TV is a Romanian news television network. The channel is distributed by many cable operators in Romania and Moldova. Its main owner is Romanian businessman Elan Schwartzenberg....
, TVS Oradea, TVS Craiova, Etno TV, Favorit TV
Favorit TV
Favorite TV is a Romanian folk music channel located in Bucharest owned by Centrul National Media.-External links:*...
, Taraf TV in a special Romanian package.
Victoria, an 24h Romanian language radio was launched in 2006. It broadcasts on 96,1 FM informative, musical and cultural formats, being the sole minority Romanian language radio in Serbia broadcasting 24/7. The radio station can also be listened through the Internet.