Romanian, the forgotten Romance language

What do Romanian, French, Portuguese, and Italian have in common? You will discover the answer to this question, but also many other curiosities by reading the article below.

Romania, the country you have certainly heard a lot about. Dracula, Untold and delicious food are just a few things you can think of when you say Romania. About the Romanian language, however, we can say that it is… unique! You may find it sounds weird, but as time goes on and you listen to and learn new words, you will love the Romanian language!

If you want a reference point regarding the Romanian language, we can help you, telling you more about its origin. Did you know that the Romanian language is part of the great family of Romance languages?

If an idea came and you now think that some words sounded, really familiar, well, you might know them from other languages ​​like French, Spanish, or even Italian. The Romanian language did not benefit from very good publicity, being often called “the forgotten Romance language”, but we make sure that our readers find out about it!

This explains why the Romanian language is spoken by a fairly large number of people – 24 million natives and another 4 who chose it as a second language. And, at the same time, it explains why Romanians find it easy to learn so many foreign languages, especially Romance languages ​​- they are similar to each other!

And this is good news for you too – once you discover the Romanian language, it will be easier for you to learn words in other Romance languages ​​and use them on your next holiday in Europe!

How was the Romanian language formed?

What are its influences? What language sisters does it have? These questions and many more are bothering linguists nowadays. Why is this happening? Well, the Romanian language is Romance, but it also enjoys Slavic influences and this creates confusion.

We cannot put it only in the category of Slavic languages, nor only in those of Romance languages. Thus, the Romanian language proves once again that it is unique and full of surprises!

To better understand this we need to take a look at the troubled history of the Romanian language. Starting with the period of the Roman Empire, what is to be the future Romanian people came into contact with different peoples.

What we know today as Romania in the past was Dacia, and its inhabitants are called Dacians. These brave people have been heard and written about, and they remain in history. If you haven’t heard of them yet, we’ll help you get a picture of them. It is said that these were beautiful, brave people, and if you travel today through certain areas of Romania, you can meet farmers who have kept certain features of these ancient Dacians.

The main occupation of the Dacians was agriculture. This was present in their lives, they build their houses from straw and earth, making clothes from wool obtained from sheep. Wood and clay were used for furniture, dishes, weapons, and in terms of food, they raised animals such as cattle, horses, sheep, but also fished.

The Dacian people were also partying, like our Romanian friends today. They loved to sing and dance, but they also worshiped gods such as Zalmoxis whom you may have heard of.

Why are these ancestors important in our discussion about the influences of the Romanian language? Well, these Dacian people were doing so well that it also attracted the envy of other peoples. The Romans were part of these enemy peoples and, after many attempts, Emperor Trajan managed to conquer them in 106 BC.

In addition to the expected consequences – they took the riches, they took people in their army, the Romanization process began. This process was one of great importance – imagine that, although they had Dacia in their hands for about 160 years, the Latin influences are still felt today, 1700 years later! What a people, isn’t it?

Many Roman soldiers remained in Dacia, some of them even marrying women of Dacian origin. Thus they had cultural exchanges related to language, customs, and beliefs. The biggest change was in the field of religion, the Romans becoming Christians and holding services in Latin. Soon, the Dacians also adopted this religion.

What about the Slavs?

If so far we have answered your curiosities about the Latinity of the Romanian language, we come back and tell you that we must not neglect the other important influence, the Slavic one. This influence was largely achieved through the popular way, the Slavs coming into contact with different peoples, including the old Romanian people.

As early as the Dacian period, the Slavs circled these people, but the first words of such origin appear only in the seventh century. It will become a liturgical language in the Romanian Lands, being used to perform services. In addition to the use of the Slavic language in the church, the administration of the country was borrowed from these people.

How does the Romanian language sound like today?

We can say, following this article, that the Romanian language, through its words, expresses a part of its history. Its history is a wild one, many peoples trying to conquer it. Some have succeeded, others have not, but surely each change has left its mark on the Romanian language, a language that, although it has borrowed something from each one, is unique and melodious.

Romanian is waiting to be learned! If you want to prepare for your trip to Romania, do not hesitate to use our online Romanian language courses.