History/Political Science paper by Antal, János
The Ethnic Dynamics of Transylvania between 1920 and 2020 (Accepted)
Type of Abstract (select):Abstract (max. 250 words):
According to census data, Transylvania’s population in 1910 was 53.8% Romanian and 31.6% Hungarian. According to the last census, the proportion of Romanians was 70.62% while the proportion of Hungarians was 17.92% in Transylvania. The official statistics used in my analysis indicate that the historical and cultural centers of the Transylvanian Hungarian community –– Kolozsvár (in Romanian: Cluj-Napoca), Nagyvárad (in Romanian: Oradea), Szatmárnémeti (in Romanian: Satu Mare), Nagybánya (in Romanian: Baia Mare), Nagyenyed (in Romanian: Aiud), Torda (in Romanian: Turda), Zilah (in Romanian: Zalau) –– once were majority Hungarian population centers. But during recent decades, they became majority Romanian settlements. For instance, Transylvania’s unofficial capital, Kolozsvár, had a Hungarian population of 81.6% in 1910; currently, the proportion of Hungarians is 15.9%. In 2001, the law on public administration extended the social acceptance and scope of activity for minority language practices in Romania. But this law is only permissible where the proportion of any minority population reaches 20% of the total population. Among Transylvanian cities, there are currently five (i.e., Csíkszereda/Miercurea Ciuc, Marosásárhely/Targu Mures,Nagyvárad/Oradea, Szatmárnémeti/Satu Mare, and Sepsiszentgyörgy/Sfantu Gheorghe) where the proportion of Hungarians exceeded 20% at the 2011 census. As such,only these five cities qualify for minority mother tongue usage in administration and justice offices.
Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
János Antal is the officer in charge of international and interfaith dialogue at the central office of the Reformed Church in Romania, Királyhágómellék District, since 2001. He has been teaching English as a Second Language at the Partium Christian University since 2006. He has been researching particular East-Central European religious and ethnic conflicts in the context of church/state relations at the doctoral school of the Selye János University of Slovakia since 2017.