Hai Davai: Analyzing Language Use and National Identity in Young Adults Living in the South of Moldova

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Ruck, Rebecca Frances
- Affiliation: College of Arts and Sciences, Center for Slavic, Eurasian, and East European Studies, Russian, Eurasian and East European Concentration

Abstract

This paper examines the relationship between national identity, language, and education in the first generation of college students to grow up in an independent Moldova. As Moldovan elites struggled to establish a Moldovan national identity distinct from both Russia and Romania, they passed the Language Law of 1989, which made Romanian the official language of Moldova. The 1994 Constitution of Moldova further established that minority language speakers in Moldova have the right to use their language and the right to choose the language in which they are educated. To assess the influence of educational institutions on Moldovan youth national identity formation, I surveyed undergraduate students attending B.P. Hasdeu State University in Cahul, Moldova. Students. On a broader scale, I explore how attending linguistically segregated educational institutions and courses have contributed to youths' struggle to form a Moldovan national identity.

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