Čakavian Čakavian is an endangered Slavic language, spoken primarily in Croatia, with smaller enclaves of speakers in Austria, Slovakia, and Hungary (the result of historical migrations from lands occupied by the Ottoman Empire beginning in the 16th century). Although traditionally considered as one of three main dialects of the Croatian language, Čakavian has significant differences from the Kajkavian and Štokavian dialect groups (the latter of which serves as the basis for the standard Croatian language), and is not fully mutually intelligible with these other varieties. Čakavian speakers also typically view their language as distinct from "Croatian", which they use to refer to the standard language or other štokavian varieties. Although there may be up to 50,000 speakers of Čakavian, and it has some presence in the media, in popular music, and to a very limited extent as part of the school curriculum (as a topic that students learn about, rather than as a medium of instruction), transmission of the language to children is rapidly decreasing. The documentation of individual Čakavian varieties consists mainly of brief phonological and grammatical descriptions (usually based on fieldwork using questionnaires to elicit specific forms of interest), with more detailed studies available for a limited number of varieties. There are also a number of dictionaries for individual local varieties. However, there are virtually no audio or video recordings with transcriptions and analysis that are publicly available. Will we lose our language? (Kastav dialect, ČA-čitalnica Kastav) Istriot The precise classification of Istriot is unclear, but it can be considered an independent Romance language that developed in Istria, with heavy influence from Venetian, Friulian, and Slavic. It is estimated to have about 400 speakers in just six towns (Bale/Valle, Fažana/Fasana Galižana/Gallesano, Rovinj/Rovigno, Šišan/Sissano, and Vodnjan/Dignano), who traditionally refer to their language using local names. The cover term "Istriot" was created by linguists to refer to this group of varieties as a whole. There is very little scholarly literature on Istriot, although there have been some local efforts to document and preserve the language. The ELIC Corpus will include Istriot data collected earlier for the DERSII project, led by Zvjezdana Vrzić, which has not yet been fully transcribed or analyzed. Valle, yesterday, today, and forever (Istrioto DERSII) Istro-Romanian Istro-Romanian, one of four members of the Daco-Romance branch, probably now has fewer than 60 speakers living in two areas in Croatia: in Šušnjevica and some smaller surrounding villages in Istria, west of the Učka mountain range, and in the village of Žejane in Primorsko-Goranska county, on the northeastern side of the Učka range. The language was probably brought to the Istria-Kvarner region in the late 15th-early 16th centuries by members of pastoral communities who had previously lived to the southeast of this region (in present-day Bosnia, Serbia, and Croatia). As with Istriot, the term Istro-Romanian is used by linguists, while the speakers themselves refer to their languages as Vlaški (in the Šušnjevica area) and Žejanski. There is relatively little published literature on Istro-Romanian, and most of the information that is available is based on material collected in the 1960s. The ELIC Corpus will include more recently collected data from the project Preservation of the Vlaški and Žejanski language led by Zvjezdana Vrzić and funded by the NSF, the Croatian Ministry of Culture, and local government bodies. How to make cabbage and polenta (Očuvanje vlaškog i žejanskog jezika) Istro-Venetian (including Fiuman) While Venetian as a whole is not endangered, the varieties spoken in Istria-Kvarner have developed since the Middle Ages in close contact with Slavic varieties, and have more recently come under pressure from standard Italian, which is in official use in the region and is taught in schools. There are probably fewer than 20,000 Istro-Venetian speakers today. Although not part of Istria proper, the variety spoken in Rijeka (Fiume) and known as Fiuman is similarly of Venetian origin and also developed in close contact with Slavic. However, due to the history and geography of the region, Fiuman developed more or less independently from other Istro-Venetian varieties, which are now concentrated in western Istria. Fiuman appears to be severely endangered; up until the 20th century it was the main language of Rijeka, but has now been almost completely replaced by Croatian and Italian. Elsewhere in the Kvarner region, Venetian is still used by a small number of elderly speakers in the town of Krk. Istro-Venetian is used to some extent in the media, in literature, and in popular music, and there is an annual Istro-Venetian festival in Buje to promote the preservation of the Istro-Venetian language and culture. However, there is very little scholarly literature or documentation of current language usage.
