Slavomolisano

Slavomolisano, also known as Molise Slavic or Molise Croatian (Croatian: moliški hrvatski; Italian: croato molisano), is a variety of Shtokavian Croatian spoken by Italian Croats in three villages – Montemitro (Mundimitar), Acquaviva Collecroce (Živavoda Kruč) and San Felice del Molise (Štifilić) – in the province of Campobasso, in the Molise Region of southern Italy. There are fewer than 1,000 active speakers, and fewer than 2,000 passive speakers.

It has been preserved since a group of Croats emigrated from Dalmatia due to the advancing Ottoman Turks. The residents of these villages speak a Shtokavian Younger Ikavian dialect with a strong Southern Chakavian adstratum. The Molise Croats consider themselves to be Slavic Italians, with South Slavic heritage and who speak a Slavic language, rather than simply ethnic Slavs or Croats. Some speakers call themselves Zlavi or Harvati and call their language simply na našo ("our language").

History

According to evidence Croats arrived in Molise in the early 16th century. The documents from the episcopal archive of Termoli indicate that Molise Croats arrived 1518 in Stifilić (San Felice). A stone inscription on the church in Palata, destroyed in 1930s, read Hoc Primum Dalmatiae Gentis Incoluere Castrum Ac Fundamentis Erexere Templum Anno 1531 (Residents of Dalmatia first settled the town and founded the church in 1531). The absence of any Turkish word additionally proves this dating.