Editing Moldovan language (section)

== Controversy ==
{{Main|Controversy over national identity in Moldova}}
{{See also|Moldovenism}}
[[File:Md2002 kramar.jpg|alt=|thumb|right|Demonstration in [[Chișinău]], January 2002. The text on the inscription is "Romanian people—Romanian language".]]

The matter of whether or not Moldovan is a separate language continues to be contested politically within and beyond the Republic of Moldova. The 1989 Language Law of the [[Moldavian SSR]], which is still in effect in Moldova, according to the Constitution,<ref>[http://www.parlament.md/law/constitution/t7/ Constitution of the Republic of Moldova, Title 7, Article 7]. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060208223502/http://www.parlament.md/law/constitution/t7/ |date=8 February 2006 }}: "The law of 1 September 1989 regarding the usage of languages spoken on the territory of the Republic of Moldova remains valid, excepting the points where it contradicts this constitution."</ref> asserts a "linguistic Moldo-Romanian identity".<ref name="lege-rssm"/> Article 13 of the Moldovan Constitution used to name it "the national language of the country" (the original uses the phrase {{lang|ro|limba de stat}}, which literally means 'the language of the state') until 2023. In March 2023 the Parliament of Moldova has approved a law on referring to the national language as Romanian in all legislative texts and the constitution following the 2013 decision of the Constitutional Court of Moldova that gives primacy to the text of the 1991 Declaration of Independence of Moldova that calls the national language Romanian.<ref name="const-court"/> The law was approved by the parliament on 16 March, and the President of Moldova promulgated the law on 22 March.<ref name="romanian-law-prom"/>

Moldavian is one of [[Transnistria]]'s official languages, alongside [[Ukrainian language|Ukrainian]] and [[Russian language|Russian]].<ref name="constitMFA" />

[[standard language|Standard]] Moldovan is widely considered to be identical to standard Romanian.<ref>Kogan 2004, p. 291; IHT{{clarify|date=March 2013}}, 16&nbsp;June&nbsp;2000, p.&nbsp;2; Dyer 1999, 2005.</ref> Writing about "essential differences", [[Vasile Stati]] is obliged to concentrate almost exclusively on lexical rather than grammatical differences. Whatever language distinctions may once have existed, these have been decreasing rather than increasing. King wrote in 2000 that "in the main, Moldovan in its standard form was more Romanian by the 1980s than at any point in its history".<ref>{{harvnb|King|2000}}.</ref>

In 2002, the Moldovan [[Ministry of Justice (Moldova)|Minister of Justice]] [[Ion Morei]] said that Romanian and Moldovan were the same language and that the Constitution of Moldova should be amended to reflect this—not by substituting ''Romanian'' for the word ''Moldovan'', but by adding that "Romanian and Moldovan are the same language".<ref>{{Cite news |date=10 September 2002 |title=Ion Morei: limba moldoveneasca este identica cu cea romana |trans-title=Ion Morei: The Moldovan language is identical to the Romanian language |work=Moldova Azi |url=http://www.azi.md/news?ID=20643 |url-status=dead |access-date=2 December 2005 |archive-date=24 October 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081024104525/http://www.azi.md/news?ID=20643 }}</ref> The education minister [[Valentin Beniuc]] said: "I have stated more than once that the notion of a Moldovan language and a Romanian language reflects the same linguistic phenomenon in essence."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lozinschi |first=Raisa  |date=25 May 2004 |title=Din nou fără burse |language=ro |work=Jurnal de Chișinău |url=http://www.jurnal.md/articol.php?id=1708&editie=283 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070311131712/http://www.jurnal.md/articol.php?id=1708&editie=283 |archive-date=11 March 2007}}</ref> The president of Moldova [[Vladimir Voronin]] acknowledged that the two languages are identical, but said that Moldovans should have the right to call their language "Moldovan".<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.mediafax.ro/ |title=Ştiri de ultima ora si ultimele ştiri |website=Mediafax |access-date=16 March 2021 |archive-date=7 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211107163052/https://www.mediafax.ro/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In the [[2004 Moldovan Census|2004 census]], of the citizens living in Moldova, 60% identified Moldovan as their native language; 16.5% chose Romanian. While 37% of all [[urban area|urban]] Romanian/Moldovan speakers identified Romanian as their native language, in the countryside 86% of the Romanian/Moldovan speakers indicated Moldovan, a historic holdover.<ref name="Census 2004"/> Independent studies found a Moldovan linguistic identity asserted in particular by the rural population and post-Soviet political class.<ref>{{harvnb|Ciscel|2008|p=104}}.</ref> In a survey conducted in four villages near the border with Romania, when asked about their native language the interviewees identified the following: Moldovan&nbsp;53%, Romanian&nbsp;44%, and Russian&nbsp;3%.<ref>{{harvnb|Arambașa|2008|pp=358, 364}}.</ref>

In November 2007, when reporting on EU Council deliberations regarding an agreement between the European Community and Moldova, the Romanian reporter Jean Marin Marinescu included a recommendation to avoid formal references to the "Moldovan language".<ref>{{cite web |format=DOC |first=Marian-Jean |last=Marinescu |url=http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-%2F%2FEP%2F%2FNONSGML+REPORT+A6-2007-0427+0+DOC+WORD+V0%2F%2FEN |title=Report on the proposal for a Council decision concerning the conclusion of the Agreement between the European Community and Republic of Moldova on the readmission of persons residing without authorisation |publisher=European Parliament Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs |date=7 November 2007 |access-date=14 July 2016 |archive-date=24 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924202422/http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-%2F%2FEP%2F%2FNONSGML+REPORT+A6-2007-0427+0+DOC+WORD+V0%2F%2FEN |url-status=live }}</ref> The Romanian press speculated that the [[European Union|EU]] banned the usage of the phrase "Moldovan language".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Vulpe |first=Marius |date=2007-10-20 |title=Orban a eliminat "limba moldovenească" de pe site-ul Comisiei Europene |language=ro |work=Adevarul |url=http://www.adevarul.ro/articole/orban-a-eliminat-limba-moldoveneasca-de-pe-site-ul-comisiei-europene/329489 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071202010520/http://www.adevarul.ro/articole/orban-a-eliminat-limba-moldoveneasca-de-pe-site-ul-comisiei-europene/329489 |archive-date=2 December 2007}}</ref> However, the European Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighbourhood Policy, [[Benita Ferrero-Waldner]], denied these allegations. She said that the Moldovan language is referred to in the 1998 Cooperation Agreement between the [[European Union|EU]] and [[Moldova]], and hence it is considered a part of the [[Acquis communautaire|acquis]], binding on all [[European Union member state|member states]].<ref>[http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getAllAnswers.do?reference=E-2007-5014&language=EN Answer given by Mrs&nbsp;Ferrero-Waldner on behalf of the Commission] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210228100914/https://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getAllAnswers.do?reference=E-2007-5014&language=EN |date=28 February 2021 }}, 19 December 2007.</ref>