How close is Romanian language to the Latin one?

Is Romanian the closest language to Latin? It often stands out due to its strong Latin roots and similarities.

The Latinity of the Romanian language has been, is, and will be a favorite subject of linguists. Some say so, while others do not like this idea at all. What is certain is that we cannot deny the Latin influence on the Romanian language.

If you have read our previous articles, you have certainly found out about the origin of the Romanian language and its influences.

At the same time, maybe you found the answer to the question: why does the Romanian language sound so familiar to me? Maybe because you already know a few words that belong to other Romance languages ​​such as Spanish, Italian, or French.

It seems that no other language can boast such a great Latin influence. Of course, the Romanian language cannot neglect the important role of its Slavic imprint. But Romanian and Latin are too similar to ignore.

In this article, we will tell you the story of the Romanian language and its Latin origins. If you are curious about the Romanization process, as well as the vocabulary and grammar parts of this language, you will find this article quite interesting. Ready for some linguistic and historical lessons? 😊

How Did the Romanization Take Place? Is Romanian the Closest Language to Latin?

We have all heard of the Roman Empire, as well as of their bravery. They came to conquer what was once the place of the Romanian people – Dacia. About the Dacians, the ancestors of today’s Romanians, we can say that they were brave, partying, and brave people, always ready to defend their family, the land, and the country. and their country, Dacia, was a real treasure. The riches it had attracted admirers, but also conquerors. 

It was no small surprise when the Romans managed to conquer them, under the leadership of Emperor Trajan. Therefore, following this conquest, the Romans captured Dacia not only in deeds but also in their behavior. Part of the Roman army settled here and even married citizens of Dacian origin. It was a massive number of military and civil that came to Dacia. About 55,000 people came to this territory. Thus came the intercultural exchanges, the Dacians earning, in addition to customs, beliefs, and customs, words of Roman origin, and religion.

The Roman Conquest of Dacia: Impact on Language, Culture, and Legacy

Little by little, Latin become the main language back then. The Dacians abandoned their mother tongue because its usage became less and less used. We can see that today, the Romanian language which you can also learn in online courses has very few words of Dacian origin. It is quite interesting to know that there are many theories about this process of Romanization. For example, some historians and linguists do not agree with this theory of Romanization. They consider that the Romans did not stay long enough in this territory to be able to speak of such a transformation of the language.

The changing of the mother tongue is a very complex one and it would take much more time to install it. What is certain is that we cannot dispute the importance of this process. The Roman conquest has had significant impacts on the language, customs, and lifestyle of Romanians, affecting their current way of life.

What about the Dacian language? The Dacians, Getae, Moesians, and Thracians were the speakers of this language. The discovery of only one inscription limits the documentation of the language. Some Dacian words survived the passage of time. Most of them are names of medicinal plants and herbs, and also the names of kings and important people, toponyms, and hydronyms. In modern Romanian, we can still find about 150 Dacian words. Some of them are baby, dowry, peas, old man and stork (prunc, zestre, mazăre, moș și barză).

How Did the Romanization Take Place? Is Romanian the Closest Language to Latin? Exploring Vocabulary Changes

Back to Romanization, you can see that it was a big event in the history of Romania. The vocabulary of the Romanian language has suffered a lot of changes. Over the centuries, the language has evolved from Vulgar Latin to Common Romanian. And it does not stop here – there are other stages to go through medieval Romanian, modern, and, finally, contemporary Romanian. But today we are turning our attention to the Romanization process, one of the first stages of linguistic transformation.

The Romanization process is easy to observe even in Romanian. It was quite affected by the cultural exchange between the two, and today, of the 2,500 words used daily, almost 70% are of Latin origin. Therefore, we cannot deny the Latin influence on the Romanian language.

The most well-known and used words are the following:

– Om (man) is derived from the Latin homo

– Femeie (woman) comes from the Latin word mulier

– Cântec (song) has its origin in the Latin scales

The Impact of Romanization on Romanian Vocabulary: From Latin Roots to Modern Usage

You can easily notice the similarity between the words belonging to the two languages ​​- Romanian and Latin. We also mention other categories of words that you can easily remember:

– Words that name different parts of the body – eyes, forehead, hair, eyelash, chest, shoulder, liver, finger (ochi, frunte, păr, geană,piept, umăr, ficat, deget)

– Basic words related to people’s daily activity – house, table, window, gate, fire, earth, sun, star (casă, masă, fereastră, poartă, foc, pământ, soare, stea)

– Food – water, salt, milk, meat, vegetables, honey (apă, sare, lapte, carne, legume, miere )

– Colors – red, blue, white, black (roșu, albastru, alb, negru)

– Religious terms that appeared with the spread of Christianity: God, Christian, church, baptism, prayer (Dumnezeu, creștin, biserică, botez, rugăciune)

– Terms that refers to time – day, night, morning, evening, today, tomorrow, soon (zi, noapte, dimineață, după amiază, azi, mâine, curând)

– Seasons – winter, spring, summer, autumn (iarnă, primăvară, vară, toamnă)

– Terms that refer to animals – chicken, bird, fly, bee, pork, mouse, snake (găină, pasăre, muscă, albină, porc, șoarece, șarpe)

These are a few words, one of the most important ones. Also, you can easily learn them because there are short words that you can use in daily conversations.

What about grammar?

Of all the Romance languages, the Romanian language has the closest grammar to the Latin one. As we noticed above how the vocabulary of the Romanian language was affected, now we go through some ideas regarding grammar.

We must mention that the Romanian language preserves some unique Latin grammatical aspects, which in the other Romance languages ​​have disappeared. This is because Romanian is the only language that has pieces of what was once vulgar, popular, oral Latin.

Some ideas about the grammar of the Romanian language would be the following:

– Plural endings are similar to those in Latin where endings (e, i) are added

– Most rules regarding verb conjugations have been preserved, as well as most modes and tenses

– The neutral gender is an interesting feature, the Romanian language enjoys nouns that have both genders, masculine in the singular and plural form in the feminine case; some linguists believe that this is due to a direct continuity of the Latin language

– The noun with the three declensions

– The adjectives and their degrees of comparison

Other interesting facts about Romanization

The Romanization of Dacia is a phenomenon that left its marks both on the language and on other aspects. For example, the economy of Dacia changed. The country shortly becomes one of the best producers when it comes to grain, wheat, and other natural resources. Trade with other countries became easier and more efficient thanks to the new road that the Romans built. The Romans were the first ones that take advantage of this country’s best gifts. Their food was surely secured.

The Roman bronze coinage was produced in Dacia that became Ulpia Traiana Sarmizegetusa. The gold mines were overused too. At the Romans’ order, they explored all the natural resources and, shortly after that, the gold mines were closed. Dacia had very good quality construction materials like sandstone, limestone, and marble. Salt, silver, iron, and copper were other treasures that Dacia hid and that became part of the country s economy.

The Impact of Romanization on Dacia: Economic, Cultural, and Linguistic Transformations

As you just read, the Roman conquest had a great impact on the Dacian people. The country changed under Roman governance, having a major impact on the people, the state, the laws, the religion, and especially the language. The language you learn today in our online Romanian language courses would not look like this if these historical events had not existed. 

If we know one thing for sure about history, it is that, through words, it will remain and be resurrected by everyone who reads it. And, if we want to be closer to Latin and feel a little of its history, the Romanian language is the closest to it. That is what makes this language easy to learn and understand, and its melodicity will make you fall in love with its culture! 

You will find with us, in the online Romanian language courses, the similarities, differences, and curiosities about these two impressive languages. Also, during the classes, we will sneak some historical facts about this country and its controversial origin. We are a click away, we are waiting for you!