Languages at Berkeley: Romanian
Page created by Suzan Negip-Schatt
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Where can you learn Romanian, or learn about Romanian, at UC Berkeley?
- Institute for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies - This is a good resource for events and research related to Eastern Europe.
- UC Berkeley Library - Research Tools for Slavic and East European Studies - This contains some links to a few Romanian publications hosted by the library.
A few expressions in Romanian:
| English | Romanian |
|---|---|
| Hello/Hi | Salut/Bună. |
| What’s your name? | Cum te numești? |
| My name is .... What’s yours? | Mă numesc… Și tu? |
| Nice to meet you. | Îmi pare bine de cunoștință. |
| Thank you. | Mulțumesc. |
| I was born in Romania, but now I live in Berkeley. | M-am născut în România dar acum locuiesc la Berkeley. |
| One, two, three, four, five | Unu, doi, trei, patru, cinci |
| Go Bears! | Hai Bears! |
Is it difficult to translate any of these expressions into Romanian? Why?
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Romanian, like all Romance languages has both a formal and an informal register. The translations provided are informal. This is the way you would address your friends, family, people your age whom you know.
The expression “Go Bears” was translated with the interjection “hai” which is used when cheering for a sports team. However, “Bears” cannot be translated without sounding awkward as it is the name of an animal, which in Romanian would not make any sense (unless specified that it refers to a sport’s team).
Something else about Romanian…
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Many people still don’t realize that Romanian is a Romance language, in fact, the only one in Eastern Europe. We call ourselves “the Latin Drop in the Slavic Sea” because all countries that surround us are Slavic (with the exception of Hungary). It is an easy language to learn particularly when you have already studied another Romance language - Spanish and especially Italian- are quite close.
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Are you still curious why you should learn Romanian? Here are the top 10 reasons:
- 10. Understand Italians (although they may not understand you).
- 9. Learn any Latin language easily (Once you know Romanian, any Latin language is easy).
- 8. Speak with your Romanian boyfriend or girlfriend effortlessly.
- 7. Get around Transylvania easily without being bothered by Dracula.
- 6. Meet fun and interesting people that want more than French and Spanish.
- 5. Know the only Romance language in Eastern Europe!
- 4. Be prepared to try a new skiing Mecca - the gorgeous Carpathian mountains - the Alps of the Balkans.
- 3. Get Medieval - Learn about Sighisoara - A World Heritage Site - the most medieval city in Europe
- 2. Plenty of Castles…No Dragons…Bran Castle, associated with Vlad Dracul is in Transylvania.
- 1. Tzuica, sarmale, mamaliga…need we say more?
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