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Programme: accepted abstracts

Abstract ID: 1266

Part of Session 116: God in the City (Other abstracts in this session)

The role of religious practices for sustainability of a minority group: the case of Catholic and Muslim Albanians in Croatian urban settings

Authors: Jernej, Mirna; Šimičić, Lucija
Submitted by: Šimičić, Lucija (Institute for Anthropological Research, Croatia)

Our research is theoretically informed by the idea that sustainability of a group depends on the combination of its strength and vitality as well as its ability to counter possibly negative „environmental effects“ such as an intense contact with other (more powerful) language(s) or culture(s) (Ehala, 2010). In this framework the strength of a group can be assessed in terms of a group's presence and functioning in different social domains, religion being one of them, while vitality refers to internal and external perception of a group's status including its language. According to Ehala (2010), strength of a group may influence its vitality, but vitality of a group does not necessarily depend on its strength.

Although Albanian minority in Croatia makes up a mere 0.34% in total population, Albanian is the third largest mother tongue in the country reported by 0.33% of population (2001 Census). The Albanian community is characterized by both Christian (Catholic) and Islamic religious identity. The aim of this paper is to explore the extent to which religious affiliation and religious practices of Albanian ethnic group members play in language maintenance and in the construction of their ethnolinguistic identity in two urban contexts in Croatia, namely in the Croatian capital of Zagreb and in the Istrian town of Rovinj.

Research was carried out by means of observation and semi-structured interviews with members of both Catholic and Muslim Albanians in Zagreb and Rovinj. In order to obtain a more complete picture of the relation between religious involvement and linguistic practices of Albanians in Croatia, both religious leaders and believers were interviewed across the groups.

Characterized by asymmetrical relation of (a single) ethnic and (double) religious identities, Albanian minority in Croatian urban settings offers an interesting site for the observation of identity construction and cultural maintenance via linguistic use in religious contexts. Preliminary results show that religion plays a crucial role in the preservation not only of language, but also of social cohesion within the community thus enhancing its sustainability.

Reference

Ehala, M. (2010) Refining the notion of ethnolinguistic vitality. International Journal of Multilingualism. 1-16. DOI: 10.1080/14790711003637094.