From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Italian language in Croatia
Italian language in Croatia
The Italian language is a minority language in Croatia,
spoken by 0.46% of the total Croatian population. It is an
officially recognized minority language in Istria County,
where it is spoken by 7.69% of the population. [1]
Italian-speaking population
The 2001 Census in Croatia reported 19,636 ethnic Ital-
ians in the country (some 0.44% of the total population).
Ethnologue reported 70,000 persons whose first language
is Italian or Venetian in 1998 (referring to Eugen Mari-
nov’s 1998 data). This population was composed of 30,000
ethnic Italians[2] and 40,000 ethnic Croats and persons
declared regionally ("as Istrians"). Native Italian speak- Map of minorities in Croatia, showing the Italian majority area
ers are largely concentrated along the western coast of in Istria
peninsula Istria.
Because of Croatian trade and tourist relations with Italy, 1942 there were 4020 Italians in these newly annexed ar-
many Croats have some knowledge of the language eas: 2220 in Spalato (Split), 300 in Sebenico (Sibenik), 500
(mostly in the service and tourist industries). in Cattaro (Kotor) and 1000 in Veglia (Krk).
In Istrian contexts the word "Italian" can just as eas- Furthermore there were 10,000 Italians in the Gover-
ily refer to autochthonous speakers of the Venetian lan- natorato who took Yugoslav citizenship after World War
guage, who were present in the region before the incep- I, in order to remain there and be accepted without prob-
tion of the Venetian Republic and of the Istriot language, lems by the new Yugoslavian regime after the fall of the
the oldest spoken language in Istria, dating back to the Austro-Hungarian Empire.[4]
Romans and now spoken in the south west of Istria in In 1939 Italy conducted a covert census of the non-
Rovigno, Valle, Vodnjan, Gallesano, Fažana, Valbandon, Italian population (Croats and Slovenes) in Istria, Kvarn-
Sissano and the surroundings of Pola. er, Zadar, Trieste and Gorizia. After the census, Italian au-
The term may sometimes refer to a descendant of col- thorities publicly stated that the Italian speaking popula-
onized persons during the Benito Mussolini period (dur- tion in those areas had increased. However, data proved
ing that period immigration in Istria, Zadar/Zara and that the share of Croatian speakers did not diminish in
northern Adriatic islands, given to Italy after WWI, was that period.[5].
promoted, 44,000 according to Žerjavić,[3] mostly from For various reasons mainly related to nationalism
Calabria[citation needed]). It can also refer to Istrian Slavs and armed conflict, the numbers of Italian speakers in
who adopted Italian culture as they moved from rural to Croatia declined during the 20th century, especially after
urban areas, or from the farms into the bourgeoisie. the Second World War in a period known as the Istrian
exodus when nearly 350,000 Italians left Yugoslav dom-
History inated areas in the eastern Adriatic. The 2001 census in
Croatia reported 19,636 ethnic Italians in the country.[6]
In the past the language had a much larger population
than it does now: the Italian (Venetian speaking) popu-
lation constituted (according to the Italian linguist Bar-
Italian in use
toli) nearly one third of Dalmatians in the second half of In Istria County, local government services are provided
the 18th century. According to the Austrian census it had in Croatian and Italian, including the tri-lingual (Croa-
decreased from 22% in 1816 to 12.5% in 1853, down to a tian, Italian and English) official government website.
mere 2.9% in 1910. There are some Italian-language schools in Croat-
After World War I Italy obtained Zara and some ian/Croazian region Istra/Istria: primary schools in Bu-
northern Dalmatian islands (Cherso and Lussino). During je/Buie, Umag/Umago, Novigrad/Cittanova d’Istria,
World War II the Kingdom of Italy annexed most of Dal- Poreč/Parenzo, and secondary schools in Pula/Pola and
matia to the newly created Governatorato di Dalmazia. In Rovinj/Rovigno.
1
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Italian language in Croatia
• Istrian exodus
• Italian cultural and historic presence in Dalmatia
References
[1] Population according to ethnicity by towns/
municipalities
[2] Ethnologue Ethnologue report for Croatia
[3] Vjesnik Prešućivanje s poznatom namjerom, May
28, 2003
[4] [1]
[5] Časopis za suvremenu povijest br. 3/2002. M.
Manin: O povjerljivom popisivanju istarskih Hrvata
provedenom 1939. godine (na temelju popisnoga
The village of Grožnjan/Grisignana is the only municipality in materijala iz 1936. godine)
Croatia with a majority Italian speaking population. (Journal of Contemporary History: Secret Census of
Istrian Croats held in 1939 based on 1936 Census
In the city of Rijeka/Fiume in the Kvarner/Carnaro Data), summary in English
Croatian region, there are Italian kindergartens, elemen- [6] http://www.dzs.hr/hrv/censuses/census2001/
tary schools, a secondary school and a high school. The Popis/H01_02_02/H01_02_02.html
daily newspaper La Voce del Popolo, the main newspaper [7] http://www.dzs.hr/hrv/censuses/census2001/
for the Italian Croatians, is published in Rijeka/Fiume. Popis/H01_02_02/H01_02_02_zup18.html
In various municipalities, census data shows that [8] Grisignana (in Italian)
there are still significant numbers of Italians living in Is- [9] Unione Italiana - Talijanska unija - Italijanska Unija
tria, such as 51% of the population of Grožnjan/Grisig-
nana, 37% at Brtonigla/Verteneglio and nearly 30% in
Buje/Buie.[7] Indeed, in Grožnjan/Grisignana 66% de-
External links
clared their native language Italian and nearly all of the • Ethnologue Report for Italian
inhabitants use a local form of Venetian dialect in daily • Website of the Italian Community of Croatia and
communication.[8] Slovenia (in Italian)
In the village there it is an important section of the • Region of Istria Official Website
"Comunita’ degli Italiani" in Croatia.[9] • Official website of Italians from Grisignana/Piemonte
d’Istria
See also
• Dalmatian Italians
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Italian_language_in_Croatia&oldid=455264180"
Categories:
• Italian language
• Languages of Croatia
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