View Message

About the "Moldovan" language
I am using this website quite often but when I saw the word "Moldovan" implying that it is a language I decided that I had to contact the admins/mods about this subject.I want to make a plea to underline this ludicrousy, eg. Dimitrie, I was myself born and raised in Moldova(country) and I can assure you that there is no such thing as "Moldovan", only Romanian. Non-officially some individuals that have been taught in the past when Soviets controlled the country indeed studied the "Moldovan" language(it was called like this for not sparking a conflict on the fact that why they're not uniting with Romania). Nowadays people are studying "The Romanian language and literature" thus I am asking the admins and mods to delete it if it is possible.In my humble opinion, this word will spark a political debate that has no place in a place like Behindthename.com a place where people study etymology and the variants of a name/surname. With all due respect, 0ffliner.
vote up1vote down

Replies

As Rachel Shaina mentioned, "Moldovan" in this context is not referring to a language, rather the inhabitants of Moldova. Same with the usage of "Dagestani" here (https://www.behindthename.com/names/usage/dagestani), as there is no "Dagestani" language (the region itself is comprised of multiple languages). The term is generally referring to names used within the vicinity of Moldova, regardless of which language of origin they might be from. As such, names of Romanian origin may be grouped in that category if they are more predominantly used by Moldovans who speak Romanian rather than people from Romania itself. Keep in mind that other languages such as Russian, Ukrainian, and Gagauz are also spoken by minorities in Moldova as well.
vote up1vote down
Hi, where are you seeing “Moldovan” referred to as a language? Can you link to the page?
vote up1vote down
I'm assuming you're referring to the submitted names that have "Moldovan" listed as a usage. No one is suggesting Moldovan is a language-- usages are not the same as languages. The description for Moldovan names says "Moldovan names are used in the country of Moldova in eastern Europe." (https://www.behindthename.com/submit/names/usage/moldovan) You will also find on the Romanian page: "Romanian names are used in the countries of Romania and Moldova in eastern Europe." You will also notice there are some submissions that say "American" as the usage. "American" is not a language, but if a name is used only in the United States and not in other English speaking countries, the correct usage is "American". So a "Moldovan name" on Behind the Name is a name that is found on people of Moldovan origin. This post is better suited to the facts board though.
vote up2vote down