Romanians from Serbia in Denmark

encouraging their children to adopt Danish cultural values and practices, as
reflected in their giving Danish first names to their children.
The priority of sameness in terms of Danish culture and language has in
some instances led to tensions between the generations. One grandfather
recounted that he and his wife had been disqualified from playing a central
role in the upbringing of their grandchildren because the younger
generations felt it imperative that their childrenshould be taken care of by
Danish-speaking persons. According to him, this was also why his daughter
andson-in-law refused to live in the large house which he had planned as a
multi-generational homestead.
From the perspective of the younger generation, moving out of the multigenerational
homestead provides an opportunity for gaining more terrain
within the generational hierarchy and unequal power relations in the Vlach
family structure.
From Yugoslav to Serb: A Return to ‘Ancient Values’?
Given their eagerness to ensure that their children have a high degree of
Danish language proficiency, manycouples prefer to speak Danish at home.
This is different from many other diaspora groups, for whom the language
constitutes one of the most important media in preserving the native culture
(see Eastmond 1993). The conscious use of Danish in Vlach homes is
widespread among both the younger and the middle-aged generations, and
is, surprisingly, also frequent among those who most ardently stress the
need to preserve Vlach traditions. The question now is what second
language should be passed on to the children. Where Vlaski was the
language spoken at home in the first two decades of migration, many
parents and grandparents now give priority to Serbian. This issignificant, as
it is happening in a period in which the Serbian nation is often regarded
with suspicion andantipathy by the Danish public.
The new interest in Serbian language and culture is obviously connected
to the Vlachs’ shift in national affiliation. Although the new Serbian
identity was largely forced upon them, it also contributed to the
development of loyalties towards the new homeland, as the nationalist and
conservative ideology of Serbia in the 1990s provided justification for a
revival of traditional and chauvinist values, which were also popular in