The Local and Ethnic Identity of Slovaks in Northern Hungary: A Case Study

The objective of this study is the research of local and ethnical identity and interethnic relations, coexistence and acceptance of the Slovak minority living in the region of Pilis Mountains near Esztergom in northern Hungary, where live 35.4% of all people which claiming to be Slovak nationality in Hungary. In terms of social identity and system of values the surveyed community is characterized by typical identity model “Family + Municipality + Nation + State” in which family is of highest priority, however with few positive relations to external systems－as the world, Europe, work, and political life. They respect mainly the traditionally recognized values, but also values with social and egalitarian context as social justice, equality, solidarity and collectiveness. The absolute majority is locally identified with their place of residence, are a “real citizens” of the municipality and do not want to move away.The significant sign of ethnic origin of the Slovak minority is first of all the preservation of Slovak national cultural identity and upholding of traditions. In the sphere of ethnic identity, the proportion of surveyed population which feels to be Slovaks and keep Slovak traditions is considerably higher than the proportion which declares their Slovak nationality. From the viewpoint of generations, the minority of ethnic Slovaks merges with the Hungarians majority. The Slovak ethnicity is disappearing in nationally mixed marriages, as well as in the children’s generation, but they are widely open-mindedness and tolerant and there are no ethnically motivated conflicts or tensions in this villages. In terms of ethnic distance the Hungarian and Slovak ethnic groups lead the acceptance charts by a great margin, they rejects all “alien” ethnic groups with a varied intensity, but most of all the Roma(Gypsies). 本論文旨在於探索北匈牙利Pilis山脈，靠近Esztergom的斯洛伐克少數族群，其地方與族群認同、以及跨族群的關係、共存與相互接納(coexistence and acceptance)狀態。在這個地方，有35.4％的人宣稱自己是斯洛伐克人，即便他們是生活在匈牙利。 以「社會認同」與「價值體系」觀點來看，本論文所研究的社群有著典型的認同模型：「家庭＋自治＋國族＋國家」，家庭具有最高的優先性，雖然如此，與外在的體系如世界(world)、歐洲、工作與政治生活，仍有少許的正向關係。 他們相當尊重傳統的認知價值，也尊重與社會及平等主義脈絡有關的價值，如社會公正、平等、結合力與集體性等。絕大多數的人是認同其所居住的地方，並不想遷移，是自治區中的「真正公民」。最能代表斯洛伐克少數民族的族群起源，是保留斯洛伐克國家文化的認同以及支持傳統。在族群認同的層次上，本論文的研究對象覺得自己是斯洛伐克人，並保留斯洛伐克傳統的比例顯著高於宣稱斯洛伐克的民族性(nationality)之比例。從代間的觀點來看，少數的斯洛伐克族群正在融入於匈牙利的多數族群。由於通婚以及小孩的世代，斯洛伐克的族群性正在逐漸消失，如同目前正為兒童的這一代，他們心態上也變得更加開放(widely open-minded)、更包容，在村落中也較沒有因族群引起的衝突或緊張。以族群距離(ethnic distance)的觀點來看，匈牙利與斯洛伐克族群兩團體，呈現包容的樣態，但他們仍強烈拒斥所有「異」族，其中最主要乃針對洛瑪人（吉普賽人）。