Romanian & Gypsies incoming.
Even a mention of Nicolae Guță.
Showing posts with label Romanian. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Romanian. Show all posts
Primul Meu Video
Pentru prietenii mei din România.
Un scurt video în care vorbesc despre situația mea cu limba română din punct de vedere al unui californian.
For my Romanian friends.
A short video in which I talk about my situation with the Romanian language from the point of view of a Californian.
Comentări aici, vă rog.
Comments here, please.
Un scurt video în care vorbesc despre situația mea cu limba română din punct de vedere al unui californian.
For my Romanian friends.
A short video in which I talk about my situation with the Romanian language from the point of view of a Californian.
Comentări aici, vă rog.
Comments here, please.
Memes from Romania
Those memes known world-wide that spread like a virus on social media like Youtube and Facebook captivate our friends in that Eastern European (and very Latin) country just as much. These viral videos are made in a variety of languages, but not often do we find one in a language like Romanian.
Here are two of these memes in their Romanian translations.
The first one is a Romanian remake of Loituma Girl performance, made famous on Youtube throughout the world by the voices of a group of Finnish vocalists. Because the original video showed the animation of a girl spinning a leek, ultimately the song became known as the "Leekspin".
The Romanian version has nothing to do with leeks or spins. While the catchy melody has been kept intact, the song talks about a a Romanian girl who won't give up the rița, rița until she is married. The guy insists, but the girls claims that she's "not one of those girls" and keeps demanding marriage before giving it up.
Here are two of these memes in their Romanian translations.
The first one is a Romanian remake of Loituma Girl performance, made famous on Youtube throughout the world by the voices of a group of Finnish vocalists. Because the original video showed the animation of a girl spinning a leek, ultimately the song became known as the "Leekspin".
The Romanian version has nothing to do with leeks or spins. While the catchy melody has been kept intact, the song talks about a a Romanian girl who won't give up the rița, rița until she is married. The guy insists, but the girls claims that she's "not one of those girls" and keeps demanding marriage before giving it up.
Pentru cei care spun că-mi plac doar manelele...
Nu.
Nu-i așa.
Amu îmi place și muzica moldovenească.
Din Republica Moldova.
Nu-i așa.
Amu îmi place și muzica moldovenească.
Din Republica Moldova.
Romanian-speaking world
Whenever we hear the word "Romanian", we think of a little country in Eastern Europe. If you've never delved into foreign languages or linguistics, that's probably all that comes into your mind.
If you do have a language or linguistics background, then you know that "Romanian" refers to a Romance language spoken in the Balkans — a Romance language with influences from Slavic — cue in the inhabitants of the nation Romania.
Unconsciously, everytime I refer to Romanian myself, a picture of Romania comes up in my mind. With the attention given recently to the Moldovan accent, I'm on a mission to change that.
Everytime I say "Romanian" now, I will imply the term "Romanian-speaking world", modeled after the colonial Romance languages spoken in many countries — Spanish-speaking world, synonymous with Latin America and Spain, also including the various nations with a significant number of Spanish speakers where Spanish is not an official language, though certainly an influential one.
If you do have a language or linguistics background, then you know that "Romanian" refers to a Romance language spoken in the Balkans — a Romance language with influences from Slavic — cue in the inhabitants of the nation Romania.
Unconsciously, everytime I refer to Romanian myself, a picture of Romania comes up in my mind. With the attention given recently to the Moldovan accent, I'm on a mission to change that.
Everytime I say "Romanian" now, I will imply the term "Romanian-speaking world", modeled after the colonial Romance languages spoken in many countries — Spanish-speaking world, synonymous with Latin America and Spain, also including the various nations with a significant number of Spanish speakers where Spanish is not an official language, though certainly an influential one.
Accent moldovenesc
I'm being exposed more and more to the accent from the Moldova region in Romania. A recent example is the performance of Jaga Jaga I wrote about last time—a song originally sang in Hebrew remade in Romanian with a Moldovan accent.
I came across two other Jaga Jaga performances by different Romanian singers. The first one is sang with a standard Romanian pronunciation, which is based on the speech of Southeastern Romania, or more precisely, the Bucharest area. The second performance is one more great example of the Moldovan accent, from the Northeast, just like one described on my recent coverage of the original Romanian Jaga Jaga.
I came across two other Jaga Jaga performances by different Romanian singers. The first one is sang with a standard Romanian pronunciation, which is based on the speech of Southeastern Romania, or more precisely, the Bucharest area. The second performance is one more great example of the Moldovan accent, from the Northeast, just like one described on my recent coverage of the original Romanian Jaga Jaga.
You know you're digesting too much Romanian...
when you start putting the definite article after the noun . . . in English.
The screenshot above is part of a comment I wrote as a response to a reader on the topic of the Romanian /r/. It was an unconscious and sincere mistake, and I could not help it but to chuckle as I discovered it days later.
There is no doubt that being a polyglot impacts the way you express yourself in speech and in writing, with influences from the various languages you know popping up here and there when you least expect it. Knowing many languages certainly helps you communicate better in your native language; as a side effect, this may cause you to mix grammar or expressions inadvertently from different languages: interference. From my experience, this is not a bad thing: this makes you second-guess yourself and forces you to double check what you're saying. Ultimately, you end up improving not only your native language, but also all the languages you know.
What was going on at a subconscious level when I typed that, I wouldn't venture guessing. As for the probable cause, though: I was wanting to write the comment in Romanian (about Romanian), reading the visitor's message in Portuguese, while making a reference about Spanish. Writing it all in English. You be the judge of whether the typo is justified.
The corrected version of this would of course read "the regions", though I'm leaving this one uncorrected for posterity.
Thus, the typo would translate directly into Romanian as regiunile—regions-the, placing the definite article after the noun (contrast Italian with the article before it, le regioni).
The screenshot above is part of a comment I wrote as a response to a reader on the topic of the Romanian /r/. It was an unconscious and sincere mistake, and I could not help it but to chuckle as I discovered it days later.
There is no doubt that being a polyglot impacts the way you express yourself in speech and in writing, with influences from the various languages you know popping up here and there when you least expect it. Knowing many languages certainly helps you communicate better in your native language; as a side effect, this may cause you to mix grammar or expressions inadvertently from different languages: interference. From my experience, this is not a bad thing: this makes you second-guess yourself and forces you to double check what you're saying. Ultimately, you end up improving not only your native language, but also all the languages you know.
What was going on at a subconscious level when I typed that, I wouldn't venture guessing. As for the probable cause, though: I was wanting to write the comment in Romanian (about Romanian), reading the visitor's message in Portuguese, while making a reference about Spanish. Writing it all in English. You be the judge of whether the typo is justified.
The corrected version of this would of course read "the regions", though I'm leaving this one uncorrected for posterity.
Thus, the typo would translate directly into Romanian as regiunile—regions-the, placing the definite article after the noun (contrast Italian with the article before it, le regioni).
Jaga Jaga
And this is why I'm in love with the Romanian language—because of masterpieces like this:
Songs are undoubtedly excellent tools for learning the vernacular. This particular piece has taught me a regional variation of a common Romanian word—a variant of the word "now", according to the DEX, used in the North of Romania:
Songs are undoubtedly excellent tools for learning the vernacular. This particular piece has taught me a regional variation of a common Romanian word—a variant of the word "now", according to the DEX, used in the North of Romania:
AMÚ adv. (Pop.) Acum. – Lat. ad-modo.
Uvular r in Romanian
Keeping up with various broadcasts from Romania, I have started to notice more and more accents and registers of the language. One pronunciation aspect that has truly stood out lately is a uvular /r/, of the variety commonly identified with the French language, [ʀ] or [ʁ], heard instead of the usual Romanian /r/, [r] or [ɾ].
The first time I heard it from a reporter on the Antena 3 news, I immediately associated the pronunciation with one thing: a speech defect, having come across it in other languages. In this case, the change from [r] to [ʁ] is not limited to any one language. It's simply about being physically unable to pronounce an alveolar /r/, and so the person shifts the pronunciation to the back of the palate, with [r] becoming [ʁ] (or any of various uvular sounds); the speaker could be Italian, Spanish, Romanian, or just about a native speaker of any language in which the usual pronunciation for /r/ is alveolar.
The uvular trill gives Romanian a very distinct sound, one I was certainly unaccustomed to. I figured it was just one reporter on Romanian TV, and I didn't make much of it at the time.
The first time I heard it from a reporter on the Antena 3 news, I immediately associated the pronunciation with one thing: a speech defect, having come across it in other languages. In this case, the change from [r] to [ʁ] is not limited to any one language. It's simply about being physically unable to pronounce an alveolar /r/, and so the person shifts the pronunciation to the back of the palate, with [r] becoming [ʁ] (or any of various uvular sounds); the speaker could be Italian, Spanish, Romanian, or just about a native speaker of any language in which the usual pronunciation for /r/ is alveolar.
The uvular trill gives Romanian a very distinct sound, one I was certainly unaccustomed to. I figured it was just one reporter on Romanian TV, and I didn't make much of it at the time.
Hristos a înviat
That is the message seen today all over the Romanian media. It is a signal for Christians to rejoice, as the message announces Jesus's resurrection — "Christ has arisen!" becomes a chant on Easter Sunday.
The verb used is a învia, not from the Latin INVIARE (from which we get Spanish/Portuguese enviar, French envoyer, Italian inviare, "to send"), but a compound consisting of în "in" + Latin VIVERE "to live", as seen in earlier forms of the Romanian verb, înviere, învie. (DEX)
"Happy Easter" we would say in English.
Paști Fericite.
The verb used is a învia, not from the Latin INVIARE (from which we get Spanish/Portuguese enviar, French envoyer, Italian inviare, "to send"), but a compound consisting of în "in" + Latin VIVERE "to live", as seen in earlier forms of the Romanian verb, înviere, învie. (DEX)
"Happy Easter" we would say in English.
Paști Fericite.
Hai Nevasta mea
Narcisa has released new material: Hai Nevasta Mea from an upcoming album.
We see here one of the many words from Slavic in Romanian — nevastă (wife), derived from Old Slavic nevĕsta. (DEX)
I had the opportunity to exchange some emails with Narcisa. She was supportive of my liking for manele, while most other Romanians advise me to never ever listen to this music genre ("if it can be called music" said one person) in my right mind. Narcisa's manele have been the focus of various posts, some of which erupted in discussions, both public and private, about why manele are evil, and why I, as a foreigner who speaks Romanian, should stay away from them. I disagreed with that sentiment, and I started receiving emails with, let's say, rather unpleasant content in Romanian — being called a Gypsy activist was among the good sounding names. For reasons I've stated before, I enjoy manele and will continue to use them as reference in my writings as they relate to the Romanian culture and language when deemed appropriate.
Felicitări, Narcisa.
We see here one of the many words from Slavic in Romanian — nevastă (wife), derived from Old Slavic nevĕsta. (DEX)
I had the opportunity to exchange some emails with Narcisa. She was supportive of my liking for manele, while most other Romanians advise me to never ever listen to this music genre ("if it can be called music" said one person) in my right mind. Narcisa's manele have been the focus of various posts, some of which erupted in discussions, both public and private, about why manele are evil, and why I, as a foreigner who speaks Romanian, should stay away from them. I disagreed with that sentiment, and I started receiving emails with, let's say, rather unpleasant content in Romanian — being called a Gypsy activist was among the good sounding names. For reasons I've stated before, I enjoy manele and will continue to use them as reference in my writings as they relate to the Romanian culture and language when deemed appropriate.
Felicitări, Narcisa.
"Tatăl Meu" Recited
I've written extensively about my experiences with the Romanian language, in both English and in Romanian. However, I haven't, as of yet, presented anything spoken, and I know certain people were wondering about the missing oral part of the picture.
For this recording, I am reciting the lyrics to a piece sung by Nicoleta Guță. I imagine these lyrics as a poem I enjoy, which is the reason I selected them.
Feel free to critique or correct.
For this recording, I am reciting the lyrics to a piece sung by Nicoleta Guță. I imagine these lyrics as a poem I enjoy, which is the reason I selected them.
Feel free to critique or correct.
Romanglish
Most of the translations found available on these social sites are a collaborative volunteer effort by native speakers of a given language.
On Facebook, for instance, you enable the Translations interface, you select your language, and you're able to right-click on any one line, and suggest or correct a translation.
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| Translation interface after right-clicking a word |
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| Comentează much more fitting than 1 comentariu. |
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| Genuine Romanglish |
The correct form in Romanian would be folosind, versus the original English "using". The person doing the translation simply typed folosing, possibly influenced by the English form, and at the same time creating an interesting hybrid.
The equivalent mix, switching the languages, would give us the English "usind": to use + Romanian gerund marker -ind.
Mulțumesc
I would like to thank all the Romanians who have sent me messages praising my writing and my passion for their language. I want to thank those who have mentioned me publicly in their own blogs showing their admiration for this linguistically inclined Californian who is reading Harry Potter in Romanian, who watches Romanian reality shows, and who, according to them, writes Romanian flawlessly. My opinion would be that I'm far from perfection, but I assure you the continuous contact with the Romanian community will help me approach it.
I'd like to say mersi to those Romanians who have sent private messages congratulating me on the site.
I'd like to say mersi to those Romanians who have sent private messages congratulating me on the site.
Social media done right
For anyone involved with languages, that is.
One of my main resources in learning a language (or, as I'd like to say "becoming familiar with a new Latin dialect", but let's stick to standard terminology) is surrounding myself with that language as much as possible. Not just read the language, not just hear it or speak it, but actually live it. This experience mimics being in the country where the language is spoken. For learners of English, for instance, this is very easy to accomplish because English, being just about the world's lingua franca at present time, is everywhere, even if the country is not an English-speaking one. The rest of us can achieve that as well; it simply requires creativity, and a little bit of hard work.
Certainly, you won't show up to class or work, and start talking to your teacher or boss in Catalan out of nowhere. Instead, you substitute your native language wherever you have the freedom to replace it with the language you're focusing on: the magazines and books you read, the news you watch, the people you surround yourself with, and, even the dreams you have (this will actually happen naturally when you do everything else just mentioned).
One of my main resources in learning a language (or, as I'd like to say "becoming familiar with a new Latin dialect", but let's stick to standard terminology) is surrounding myself with that language as much as possible. Not just read the language, not just hear it or speak it, but actually live it. This experience mimics being in the country where the language is spoken. For learners of English, for instance, this is very easy to accomplish because English, being just about the world's lingua franca at present time, is everywhere, even if the country is not an English-speaking one. The rest of us can achieve that as well; it simply requires creativity, and a little bit of hard work.
Certainly, you won't show up to class or work, and start talking to your teacher or boss in Catalan out of nowhere. Instead, you substitute your native language wherever you have the freedom to replace it with the language you're focusing on: the magazines and books you read, the news you watch, the people you surround yourself with, and, even the dreams you have (this will actually happen naturally when you do everything else just mentioned).
Cavalerii de Smarald
Another fiction book I would like to get into, perhaps once I am finished with my Harrius Potter experiment.
Les Chevaliers d'Émeraude is the original French title of the series, written by the Québécoise author, Anne Robillard — "The Knights of Emerald" is the English title. My interest, however, is not to read it in French, but, rather, to acquire the Romanian translation: Cavalerii de Smarald.
The first volume is subtitled Sub Semnul Stelei de Foc, or Le Feu Dans le Ciel in French. The Romanian translation differs somewhat from the French, which shows that some liberties were taken by the translators: "Under the Sign of the Star of Fire" versus the original "The Fire in the Sky".
As with anything else that's included in this blog, works of this nature always arouse comparisons to the other Romance languages and Latin. The title in Romanian parallels a Latin rendition very closely. We can appreciate from this title the unique preservation, within Romance, of the Latin genitive case in Romanian — Rom. stelei "of the star" vs. Lat. STELLAE "of the star".
So, yes, I eventually hope to get to this book. Who knows? Could it bring another dual-language experience, French-Romanian this time? We'll have to wait and see.
The first volume is subtitled Sub Semnul Stelei de Foc, or Le Feu Dans le Ciel in French. The Romanian translation differs somewhat from the French, which shows that some liberties were taken by the translators: "Under the Sign of the Star of Fire" versus the original "The Fire in the Sky".
As with anything else that's included in this blog, works of this nature always arouse comparisons to the other Romance languages and Latin. The title in Romanian parallels a Latin rendition very closely. We can appreciate from this title the unique preservation, within Romance, of the Latin genitive case in Romanian — Rom. stelei "of the star" vs. Lat. STELLAE "of the star".
| Romanian | Sub semnul stelei de foc |
| Latin | SUB SIGNO STELLAE DE FOCO |
So, yes, I eventually hope to get to this book. Who knows? Could it bring another dual-language experience, French-Romanian this time? We'll have to wait and see.
Miss Fata de la Țară
A literal translation of this title would be "Miss Girl from the Countryside". If a similar émission were to make it to the US, it would probably be called "Miss Country".
To find a girl from the countryside, take her to city, and turn her into a model — that is exactly the focus of this Romanian reality show, one that I have been following for the past few months. I have explained before that fiction reading doesn't truly interest me, unless a given work is written in a foreign language I am focusing on. I apply the same concept to the music I listen to, and the shows I watch on TV, extending all the way to films and any material that I select as part of my leisure.
And so, here is where Miss Fata de la Țară comes in. Thanks to the helpfulness of the internet, I have been watching the show's episodes as they're uploaded to the official website. While not the only television broadcast I watch in Romanian, it is the only one I have kept on top of lately.
To find a girl from the countryside, take her to city, and turn her into a model — that is exactly the focus of this Romanian reality show, one that I have been following for the past few months. I have explained before that fiction reading doesn't truly interest me, unless a given work is written in a foreign language I am focusing on. I apply the same concept to the music I listen to, and the shows I watch on TV, extending all the way to films and any material that I select as part of my leisure.
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| Contrary to what some Romanians have told me, this is not a show de căcat. |
Dual language reading
I'm usually not the type to read novels. Most of the material I do read is academic in nature — non-fiction rather than fiction. I do make exceptions, however, though in order for me to take interest in any sort of fiction writing, it has to be in a foreign language. Killing two birds with one stone, if you will — the first objective is to get some practice in the target language; enjoying the story is a secondary effect, but a good plot is always welcomed.
My latest venture in the world of fantasy reading involves a well-known story: Harry Potter.
Why Harry Potter of all things, you may ask? The answer is simple. One, I have never watched any of the Harry Potter movies nor read any of the books. Number two, most importantly, it is one of the few books readily available in a number of languages. You see, the dual language reading I've been doing does not involve English at all — I am reading Harry Potter in Romanian and in Latin.
My latest venture in the world of fantasy reading involves a well-known story: Harry Potter.
Why Harry Potter of all things, you may ask? The answer is simple. One, I have never watched any of the Harry Potter movies nor read any of the books. Number two, most importantly, it is one of the few books readily available in a number of languages. You see, the dual language reading I've been doing does not involve English at all — I am reading Harry Potter in Romanian and in Latin.
I'm more Romanian than thou
Recently, I came across a new blog that is virtually the cultural equivalent of Filius Lunae's raw linguistics focus for Romanian: I'm more Romanian than Thou. The blog's author, Sam, is an American who moved to Romania, and, from there, shares her his views and experiences as a foreigner adapting to Romanian life. She He claims, as the blog's tagline:
her his points clearly said in jest, but with some truth, certainly. Number one is undoubtedly reminiscent of core discussions on Filius Lunae:
The About section is just as interesting, with a touch of funny:
You might be born in Romania, carry a Romanian passport and know ALL the words to Partidul, Ceausescu, Romania... but guess what?Apparently, what has gathered the most attention for the site is Sam's article "How I Learned Romanian in 37 Easy Steps". Some of
STILL MORE ROMANIAN THAN YOU!
Step 1 – Speak Italian and Spanish and then laugh and dismiss with a wave the Romanian language. After all they’re all Romance languages, no? Practically all the same.From reading various comments on the site, the blog draws in a large Romanian audience who are interested in the way Romanian matters are discussed from the point of a view of a non-Romanian.
The About section is just as interesting, with a touch of funny:
Why in the world do you live in Romania?
Good question! Well, a few years ago I was reading about a great opportunity to travel and WORK in Romania and make lots of money! The guy promised me that I’d be a hostess or a waitress or something. So I scraped up all the money I had and borrowed from everyone I know….
But when I got here it was all a trick! The evil men stole my passports and now I’m forced to dance *sob* and sometimes *sob* do even worse things with the horrible, fat, smelly customers.
A doua manea
Here is a second manea that is among my favorites. Like many manele that deal with the subject of family, with titles ranging from "You are my brother" and "My father" to "I miss my children", and even one titled "Neighbor", this particular manea is about a woman's Gypsy husband, suspected of cheating on her.
It starts off with the wife yelling at her companion, accusing him of being with another woman. After attempting to get the truth out of him, and wanting to know where he was azi noapte (last night), she ends up realizing that it's time to move on. The title, Țigane, tu ai amantă, translates to "Gypsy man, you have a lover".
The singer in this song, Narcisa, and Nicolae Guță, from my previous entry, are both well-known maneliști – singers of manele – in Romania.
It starts off with the wife yelling at her companion, accusing him of being with another woman. After attempting to get the truth out of him, and wanting to know where he was azi noapte (last night), she ends up realizing that it's time to move on. The title, Țigane, tu ai amantă, translates to "Gypsy man, you have a lover".
The singer in this song, Narcisa, and Nicolae Guță, from my previous entry, are both well-known maneliști – singers of manele – in Romania.
