How does Romanian sound to foreigners? Its unique phonetics can be both intriguing and challenging.
Romanian, like French and Spanish, shares a Latin ancestor, making it closely related to these Romance languages. At this time, Romanian is very close to them, with a special mention of Italian. Moreover, Romanians can easily comprehend and comprehend the conversations of two Italians if they listen to each other.
Additionally, Romanian is closest to Italian in vocabulary among all the mentioned languages. So, linguistic researchers estimate that the two languages share up to 77% of their vocabulary, with slight differences in terminology.
In detail, Romanians often perceive conversations between Italians and Spaniards differently from foreigners, not seeing them as similar.
How does Romanian sound to foreigners?
The perception of a language for foreigners is influenced by subjective elements and is highly divided in opinions. Foreigners may perceive a language differently based on their background and native language’s sound, affecting their perception of the language.
How does Romanian sound to foreigners? At this point, its distinct phonetic features create a unique and sometimes surprising impression.
By all means, in the case of Romanian, the situation is special. Romanian, derived from Vulgar Latin, originated in a region distinct from the Mediterranean Romance languages. Over time, the Romanian language was inevitably influenced by the languages of its surrounding peoples in terms of vocabulary and sound. Moreover, Slavic languages have primarily influenced Romanian, along with Hungarian, Turkish, and German.
Consequently, the Romanian language, despite its beauty and melodies, lacks the sonority of Italian or French.
As can be seen, the Slavic influence and the harsh pronunciation of certain consonants, like the consonant L, indicate a significant Russian influence. Moreover, some foreigners claim that Romanian sounds like an Italian or Latin, spoken by a Russian or a Serb.
Others confessed that to them the Romanian they heard spoken by natives had an overwhelming similarity to Portuguese. Romanian and Portuguese are considered the harshest-sounding languages, with their harsher sounds including Ș, Ț, Ă, and Î.
Foreigners often perceive Romanian as having a sonority that is neither as soft as French nor as sharp as Spanish. The text suggests a dialect that resembles Italian, spoken with Russian, or a combination of both accents.
What is the perception of Romanians by Americans?
Native English speakers often perceive Romanian as a Slavic language when hearing it for the first time, despite exceptions and nuances.
Romanian is a distinct language from their own, as they soon realize when they hear languages like Russian, Polish, or Czech.
Russians arriving in Romania are surprised to discover a language completely different from their own, with only a few borrowed vocabulary items.
English speakers initially associate the language with a Slavic one, but later realize it is more closely linked to Portuguese.
At least, the sonority of the Romanian language varies based on the listener’s native language and the region where it is spoken.
Southeast Romanian, spoken in Bucharest, is closer to Italian than the north, which has more Hungarian and Germanic influences.
Regardless of all these details and questions, Romanian is indeed a language that is as beautiful as it is interesting. The melodiousness of a Romanian poem is captivating even if the listener doesn’t understand the language.
At the same time, it is a language that gives you the words to express absolutely every feeling, mood, and sensation on the face of the earth. Moreover, expressing emotions with pride can help you express emotions that are not possible to express in any language other than Romanian.
Untranslatable words exist in the Romanian language, as certified by Unesco. Further details will be provided in a future post.
Until then, if you want to discover the mysteries and treasures of this wonderful language, write to us here for a free 30-minute Romanian lesson.
How does Romanian sound to foreigners? At this time, its melodic intonation and unique sounds often surprise those unfamiliar with the language.