Histria Books is pleased to announce the release of The Origins of the Changos by Dumitru Martinas. The book is published by the Center for Romanian Studies, an independent academic research institute dedicated to promoting knowledge of the history and culture of Romania. Titles from the Center for Romanian Studies are published in exclusivity by Histria Books.
Choice magazine calls The Origins of the Changos, a “densely argued study is presented in a dispassionate and scholarly manner, based in large measure on technical ethnographic, phonetic, and linguistic matters…” The term Chango (Csángó) is the name of a population whose ethnic origin has been the subject of much controversy. The term originates from the Magyar language in which it means “mixed” or “impure.” Most Changos live on the territory of Romania, the largest number in Moldavia. Many are bilingual, speaking Romanian and Magyar, and their religion is Catholic. This book makes an important contribution to the scholarly discussion of the origin of the Changos and sheds new light on the history of this little known, but fascinating people.
The only work on the subject written by a Chango scholar, this book disputes the theory that the Changos are of Magyar origin, a theory based, to a large extent, upon their Catholicism, demonstrating that they are, in fact, of Romanian origin. Dumitru Mărtinaș bases his argument on linguistic evidence, reaching the conclusion that “the study of the old Transylvanian dialect of the Changos illustrates and demonstrates the Transylvanian Romanian origin of the people who speak it.”
The Origins of the Changos, 240 pp., Softbound, ISBN 978-1-59211-079-7, is available at HistriaBooks.com and from all major book retailers. Titles published under the various imprints of Histria Books are distributed worldwide by the Casemate Group. For information on publishing with Histria Books, please visit HistriaBooks.com or contact us at info@histriabooks.com.
