In the 17th and 18th centuries, this language was used as a lingua franca in various parts of southeastern Europe, and it was necessary to speak it in order to achieve a higher social status or to receive education.
Early Aromanian grammars and language booklets show an awareness of a more "Latin" or "Romance" identity.
This was strengthened by the emergence and independence of Romania, which began to influence lands still belonging to the Ottoman Empire with propaganda and to initiate educational policies with the Aromanians of Macedonia, Thessaly and Epirus.
A Greek–Romanian conflict finally erupted during the Macedonian Struggle that led to battles and fights between distinctly oriented Aromanians and the break-up of Greek–Romanian diplomatic relations in 1906.
In Greece, there are also areas where the Aromanians have preserved various distinct cultural features, especially in the regions of Grevena, Veria and near Athens.