Croatian national minority and indigenous community in Hungary: the definitions of contemporary identity in the example of Croats in Szombathely

U ovom radu istražuje se suvremeni identitet hrvatske autohtone manjine u Mađarskoj na primjeru hrvatske zajednice u gradu Szombathelyu. Riječ je o zajednici koja se na prostore današnje zapadne Mađarske doselila tijekom 16. stoljeća za vrijeme osmanlijskih napada na Hrvatsku. Tamošnji Hrvati stoljećima čuvaju hrvatski identitet, a to se najbolje može osjetiti kroz prisutnost hrvatskog jezika u svakodnevnoj uporabi. Kao ogranak, gradišćanski Hrvata govore gradišćanskim hrvatskim jezikom. Cilj je rada dobiti uvid u sastavnice suvremenog identiteta pripadnika hrvatske nacionalne manjine. Manjinski identitet kod pripadnika hrvatske zajednice u Szombathelyu istraživan je kroz nekoliko dimenzija. Navedene su uloge obitelji, obrazovnih institucija, Crkve, medija, udruga i političkih organizacija u očuvanju hrvatskog identiteta na tom području. Kroz intervjue sa sudionicima dobiveni su odgovori koji ukazuju na visoku razinu zabrinutosti za očuvanjem hrvatske manjine u Mađarskoj. Također, analiziran je odnos sudionika prema Hrvatskoj koju nazivaju drugim domom. Utvrđeno je kako pripadnici manjine žele kroz razne načine očuvati hrvatski identitet i prenijeti ga na mlađe naraštaje. Zaključuje se kako je nekoliko stotina godina života izvan matične domovine imalo brojne utjecaje na hrvatsku nacionalnu manjinu koja pokazuje uznapredovalu asimilaciju, napose u mlađim dobnim skupinama.This paper explores the contemporary identity of the Croatian national minority and indigenous community in Hungary on the example of the Croatian community in the city of Szombathely. This community moved to the present-day Western Hungary in the 16th century during the Ottoman attacks on Croatia. For centuries, Croats have preserved Croatian identity, which could be seen through the presence of Croatian language in everyday use. As a branch of Burgenland Croats, they speak in Burgenland Croatian. The aim of the paper is to gain insight into the components of the contemporary identity of members of the Croatian national minority. Minority identity of the members of the Croatian community in Szombathely was explored in several dimensions. The roles of families, educational institutions, Catholic Church, media, associations and political organizations are analysed and their influence on the preservation of Croatian identity in this area. Interviews with participants revealed responses that indicate a high level of concern for the preservation of the Croatian minority in Hungary. In addition, the relationship of the participants with Croatia, which is referred as „another hom“ is also analysed. It was established that members of the minority want to preserve the Croatian identity in various ways and transfer it to younger generations. It is concluded that hundreds of years of life outside the home country have had a number of influences on the Croatian national minority, which shows advanced assimilation, especially in the younger age group