LESSON NOTES Basic Bootcamp S1 #1 Self Introductions and Basic Greetings in Formal Romanian

Home , Bogdan Stancu, Carols in the City, Dan Balan, Great Union Day, Romanian alphabet, Romanian calendar

CONTENTS

2 Romanian 2 English 2 Vocabulary 2 Sample Sentences 3 Grammar 5 Cultural Insight # 1

1. Recepţionist: Bună ziua , Doamnă. Mă numesc Paul Iordache.

2. D-na Popescu: Îmi pare bine, Domnule. Mă numesc Popescu Georgiana.

3. Recepţionist: Îmi pare bine, Doamnă.

ENGLISH

1. Receptionist: Hello, madam. I'm Paul Iordache.

2. Mrs. Popescu: Nice to meet you, sir. I'm Popescu Georgiana.

3. Receptionist: Nice to meet you, Madam.

VOCABULARY

Romanian English Class bună ziua hello, good day adjective +noun

Doamnă madam, lady noun

Mă numesc… My name is… verb

îmi pare bine nice to meet you phrasal verb, phrase

SAMPLE SENTENCES

Bună ziua Domnule Bună ziua Doamnă

"Hello, sir." "Hello, madam."

ROMANIANPOD101.COM BASIC BOOTCAMP S1 #1 - SELF INTRODUCTIONS AND BASIC GREETINGS IN FORMAL ROMANIAN 2 Mă numesc Nicoleta. Îmi pare bine să vă întâlnesc.

"My name is Nicoleta." "I'm pleased to meet you."

Bună tuturor! Îmi pare bine.

"Hi everyone! Nice to meet you."

GRAMMAR

T he Focus of T his Lesson Is Introducing Yourself and Basic Greetings in Formal Romanian Bună ziua, Doamnă. "Hello, madam."

Bine aţi venit ("Welcome") to the Romanian language basics. Introducing yourself is inevitable in any situation, but is actually quite easy! Let's start with the phrase bună ziua!

Bună ziua ("Hello"/"Good day") For a more classical and frequent greeting, use bună ziua, which literally means "good day," but basically means "hello."

You can use bună ziua anytime during the daytime, in any circumstance; whether you are speaking to a friend, an elderly person, or an unknown person in an informal or formal situation, use buna ziua. It the safest and most respectable way of greeting a person while in Romania.

In the evening and when night is approaching, use bună seara, meaning "good evening." Like bună ziua, bună seara is the most common and safest way to greet someone in the evening. The only diﬀerence is that you can use also bună seara for farewells, as well at the end of the day.

Note that a title can follow both bună ziua and bună seara to be a bit more proper.

For example:

Romanian English

Bună ziua "Hello,"/ "Good day"

Bună ziua Domnule "Hello, sir"/"Good day, sir"

ROMANIANPOD101.COM BASIC BOOTCAMP S1 #1 - SELF INTRODUCTIONS AND BASIC GREETINGS IN FORMAL ROMANIAN 3 Bună ziua Doamnă "Hello, madam"/"Good day, madam"

Greeting or Farewell in the Evening or at Night

Romanian English

Bună seara "Hello"/"Good evening"

Bună seara Domnule "Hello"/"Good-bye, sir"

Bună seara Doamnă "Hello"/"Good-bye, ma'am"

Stating a Name After someone formally greets you at your hotel, someone will certainly ask you about your identity.

In many other situations, social or otherwise, to get to know someone or introduce yourself, you will ask or hear the most frequent question: "What is your name?"

To answer:

1. Use the reﬂexive verb a se numi conjugated in the correct form.

2. You can omit the personal pronoun eu, meaning "I" in English, which is only used for emphasis.

Conjugating the Verb a se numi ("to be named")

The verb a se numi means "to be named," and we translate it with the verb "to be" in English when stating a name (as shown in the dialogue translation). The infinitive verb a se numi has the reflexive pronoun se in front, telling us it is a reflexive verb.

The presence of the reflexive pronoun se in the infinitive form is what makes it distinctive. This tells us that this verb (like others with the same feature) is a "reflexive verb," which we call in Romanian verb reflexiv.

The reﬂexive pronoun se is the reﬂexive part of the verb. This lets us know to refer to the information following the verb a se numi—in other words, a name, back to the subject of the sentence.

When conjugating a reflexive verb, you should follow two steps: First you need to replace the reflexive pronoun se with the appropriate reflexive pronoun and put it in front of the conjugated verb. Then change the verb form according to the subject of the sentence.

ROMANIANPOD101.COM BASIC BOOTCAMP S1 #1 - SELF INTRODUCTIONS AND BASIC GREETINGS IN FORMAL ROMANIAN 4 Changing the Reﬂexive Part of the Verb a se numi

In the sentence (eu) mă numesc Paul, the pronoun is eu, which is first person singular. As the verb a se numi is a reflexive verb or verb reflexiv, the reflexive pronoun se becomes mă, and we put it before the conjugated verb. You will then have (eu) mă numesc.

Be aware that you only

Conjugating the Verb a se numi

After changing the reﬂexive pronoun se into the reﬂexive personal pronoun mă, which we put in front of the verb, we must conjugate the verb. The verb a se numi is conjugated at the indicative present form.

For example:

Romanian "English"

Mă numesc Georgiana. "My name is Georgiana."

Mă numesc Georgiana Popescu. "My name is Georgiana Popescu."

Te numeşti Paul Iordache "Your name is Paul Iordache"

CULTURAL INSIGHT

Romanian Given First Names

In Romania names change in popularity over the years. A bunch of evergreen names for both boys and girls, in other words names that will never fall out of fashion, are names such as George, Andrei, and Alexandru for boys and Maria, Elena, and Alexandra for girls. Sometimes parents, with a creative ﬂair, name their children after football players, pop singers, or even ﬁctional TV characters, both Romanian and international.

Nowadays baby names tend to be short and sometimes a bit unusual. Some Romanians prefer foreign names like Neil, Evan, Calvin, and Simon for boys, and Emma, Cora, Glory, and Greta for girls.

More traditional parents sometimes give their children their own mother or father's name, although this practice is rather old-fashioned. Sometimes children would get only their middle name from their grandparents. Middle names are very common and very important in oﬃcial documents. In Romania middle names are called second names and they can be used as ﬁrst names if the person decides. So, for

ROMANIANPOD101.COM BASIC BOOTCAMP S1 #1 - SELF INTRODUCTIONS AND BASIC GREETINGS IN FORMAL ROMANIAN 5 example, if a person's name is Claudia Diana, she is more likely to be called Claudia by her family and friends. But then she moves to another city where no one knows her, so she could decide to introduce her self as Diana because she likes it better. Then suddenly she is no longer Claudia.

A lot of Romanian first names end in "escu" : Ionescu, Diaconescu, Georgescu. In which case it is very easy to guess the person is Romanian. The top three most popular Romanian first names are Popa, followed by Pop and Popescu. In Romania is also very common to have a first name which can be a family name as well. For example Bogdan Tudor or Vasile Marian. Some names can be very funny and make you think about the level of inspiration that some parents can have: Floarea Floare (which in English is translated as "the flower flower"), Codruţ Dumbravă (little forest grove), Nicolae Crăciun (Nicolas Christmas), Luminiţa Întuneric (the light dark). In cases like these, it is very common to ask which one of the two is the fist name.

ROMANIANPOD101.COM BASIC BOOTCAMP S1 #1 - SELF INTRODUCTIONS AND BASIC GREETINGS IN FORMAL ROMANIAN 6 LESSON NOTES Basic Bootcamp S1 #2 Basic Romanian Phrases with the Verb a ﬁ ("to be")

CONTENTS

2 Romanian 2 English 2 Vocabulary 2 Sample Sentences 3 Grammar

# 2

1. Julie: Bună, sunt Julie. Sunt franţuzoaică.

2. Paul: Bună, sunt Paul. Sunt american.

ENGLISH

1. Julie: Hello, I am Julie. I am French.

2. Paul: Hello, I am Paul, I am American.

VOCABULARY

Romanian English Class

Eu I personal pronoun

I am (conjugated form of sunt a ﬁ ) verb, conjugated

francez French adjective

american American noun

SAMPLE SENTENCES

Sunt îngrijorat. Sunt acasă.

"I am worried." "I am home."

Sunt român dar acum locuiesc Eu sunt Ana, noua ta colegă. în Spania. "I am Ana, your new collegue." "I am Romanian but now I live in Spain ."

ROMANIANPOD101.COM BASIC BOOTCAMP S1 #2 - BASIC ROMANIAN PHRASES WITH THE VERB A FI ("TO BE") 2 Sunt f ranţuzoaică. Sunt american.

"I am French." "I am American."

Noul lui coleg este american.

"His new collegue is American."

GRAMMAR

T he Focus of T his Lesson Is Forming Basic Romanian Simple sentences and using the Verb a ﬁ ("to be").

In this lesson, you'll learn about forming basic Romanian sentences and understanding the construction of a simple phrase. The majority of Romanian simple phrases have the schema presented bellow.

(Subject) + (predicate) + (complement)

A: Word Order

To build a simple phrase, you need to use three elements:

The subject - which is a person, a thing, or a place performing the • action or receiving it

The predicate - which is the action of the sentence, talks about the • subject and has a verb • The object - which we also call the complement

Note: In Romanian grammar, a predicate can be nominal or verbal.

• copulative verb + predicative noun= nominal predicate • Verb= verbal predicate.

ROMANIANPOD101.COM BASIC BOOTCAMP S1 #2 - BASIC ROMANIAN PHRASES WITH THE VERB A FI ("TO BE") 3 B: Subject and Predicate

In the sentences below, the subjects and predicates are highlighted.

For example:

Romanian "English" Subject Verb

1 - Maria "Marie eats an Maria mănâncă mănâncă un măr. apple."

2 - Timpul trece "The time passes Timpul trece repede fast."

1. In the ﬁrst sentence, Maria is performing the action of eating. Maria is the subject and mănâncă ("eats") is the predicate.

2. In the second sentence, the time receives it's normal action of passing. Timpul ("the time") is the subject, and the predicate is trece ("passes"), which is the action of the phrase expressed by a verb.

C. Complement

The object is appropriately called the complement in Romanian and indicates the object of the verb or a circumstance, as in the sentences below.

For example:

Romanian "English" Complement

1 - Maria mănâncă un "Maria eats an apple." un măr măr.

2 - Timpul trece repede "The time passes fast." rapid

In our phrases, the complement designates something, such as the apple in the ﬁrst sentence and a way the action that is happening or done in the second.

Using the Verb a ﬁ ("to be") in a simple phrase:

Sunt franţuzoaică. "I am French."

Beginning with who you are and where you are from is a standard conversation

ROMANIANPOD101.COM BASIC BOOTCAMP S1 #2 - BASIC ROMANIAN PHRASES WITH THE VERB A FI ("TO BE") 4 starter, anywhere you might be, in your native country or in a foreign one.

In Romania, you should use the verb a ﬁ to speak of your nationality and give your name. The verb a ﬁ is the equivalent of the verb "to be" in English. This is one of the most common Romanian verbs we use to describe states, feelings, location, identity, origin, and much more. To use it properly, you must incorporate it in a phrase.

T he Verb a ﬁ in a Simple Phrase

I. Phrase with a Nominal Predicate

Word Order

(Subject) + ( a ﬁ ) + (predicative noun.)

The verb a ﬁ is a copulative verb which means that it can be used to create the predicat nominal (nominal predicate) .

Predicatul nominal is mainly associated with the verb a ﬁ and describes:

A. Who is the subject (an identity of the subject)

For example:

1. (Eu) sunt George. "I'm George."

B. How is the subject (a state of the subject)

For example:

Romana "English"

(Eu) sunt trist. "I'm sad."

(Eu) sunt obosit. "I'm tired."

(Eu) sunt fericit. "I'm happy."

(Eu) sunt sănătos. "I'm healthy."

Note! Remember that in Romanian, we do not normally use the personal pronoun (eu, tu, etc.) as a subject. We only use it to express emphasis or opposition.

ROMANIANPOD101.COM BASIC BOOTCAMP S1 #2 - BASIC ROMANIAN PHRASES WITH THE VERB A FI ("TO BE") 5 C. What is the subject (a quality or nature the subject)

For example:

1. (Eu) sunt român. "I'm Romanian."

2. (Eu) sunt profesor. "I'm a teacher."

Numele predicativ (the predicative noun) can be expressed by many diﬀerent parts of speech, such as:

Part of speech Romanian "English"

a noun (Eu) sunt student. "I am a student."

an adjective (Eu) sunt vesel. "I am happy." (a trait) (Eu) sunt trist. "I am sad."

a pronoun (Eu) sunt ca tine. "I am like you."

a numeral (Eu)sunt al doilea "I am the second."

a verb (Eu) sunt sângerând. "I am bleeding."

a adverb (Eu) sunt altfel. "I am diﬀerent."

an interjection (Eu) sunt wow! "I am wow!"

II. Phrase with a Verbal Predicate

When the verb a ﬁ has the meaning of "to exist," "to situate oneself," "to locate oneself," "to live," "to happen," or "to go" it forms a predicate by itself.

Word Order

(Subject) + (a ﬁ ) + (complement)

For example:

Meaning Romanian "English"

to exist (Eu) sunt în lume. "I exist in the world."

ROMANIANPOD101.COM BASIC BOOTCAMP S1 #2 - BASIC ROMANIAN PHRASES WITH THE VERB A FI ("TO BE") 6 to situate oneself (Eu) sunt în centru. "I am downtown." to locate oneself (Eu) sunt la nord. "I am in the north."

Conjugation of a ﬁ

The verb a ﬁ is irregular; however, it is very common and we use it extremely frequently in the Romanian language. We use it not only to state information about a thing or person, but also in other tenses. For this reason, mastering it is important, as it will aﬀect your Romanian further along in your studies.

To describe your own, or someone else's nationality, ﬁrst use the appropriate noun and verb form:

Talking... Romanian "English"

About yourself eu sunt "I am"

To your interlocutor tu eşti "you are"

About a man el este "he is"

About a woman ea este "she is"

About you and someone noi suntem "we are" else

About a group of people voi sunteţi "you are" or Dumneavostră sunteţi "you are" a person formally

About men ei sunt "they are" About women ele sunt "they are"

Telling Someone about Your Nationality/Origin

Say sunt, then add any of the appropriate nationalities, which you will ﬁnd in the table below:

"English" Romanian Masculine Romanian Feminine

"French" francez franţuzoaică

ROMANIANPOD101.COM BASIC BOOTCAMP S1 #2 - BASIC ROMANIAN PHRASES WITH THE VERB A FI ("TO BE") 7 "American" american americancă

"English" englez englezoaică

"Australian" australian australiancă

"Indian" indian indiancă

"Belgian" belgian belgiancă

"Spanish" spaniol spaniolă

"Portuguese" portughez portugheză

"Brazilian" brazilian braziliancă

"Swiss" elveţian elveţiancă

"German" german germană

"Moroccan" marocam marocană

"Italian" italian italiancă

"Mexican" mexican mexicancă

"Cuban" cubanez cubaneză

"Canadian" canadian canadiană

"Russian" rus rusoaică

"Japanese" japonez japoneză

"Chinese" chinez chineză

"Korean" coreean coreeancă

For example:

If you want to say that your friend Bob is German, you would say either:

1. Bob este german. "Bob is German."

ROMANIANPOD101.COM BASIC BOOTCAMP S1 #2 - BASIC ROMANIAN PHRASES WITH THE VERB A FI ("TO BE") 8 2. El este german. "He is German."

ROMANIANPOD101.COM BASIC BOOTCAMP S1 #2 - BASIC ROMANIAN PHRASES WITH THE VERB A FI ("TO BE") 9 LESSON NOTES Basic Bootcamp S1 #3 Useful Phrases for Learning Romanian

CONTENTS

2 Romanian 2 English 2 Vocabulary 3 Sample Sentences 3 Grammar 6 Cultural Insight

# 3

1. Student: Domnule profesor, cum se spune 'a fork' in română?

2. Profesor: O furculiţă...

3. Student: Puteţi repeta? Încet, vă rog?

4. Profesor: "o fur-cu-liţă."

5. Student: Puteţi să scrieţi, vă rog?

ENGLISH

1. Student: Teacher, how do you say "a fork" in Romanian?

2. Teacher: "O furculiţă."

3. Student: Can you repeat? Slowly, please?

4. Teacher: "O fur-cu-li-ţă."

5. Student: Can you write it down, please?.

VOCABULARY

Romanian English Class

verb (third person plural puteţi you can (formal) of "a putea")

să scrieţi to write expression

cum how adverb

ROMANIANPOD101.COM BASIC BOOTCAMP S1 #3 - USEFUL PHRASES FOR LEARNING ROMANIAN 2 furculiţă fork noun

vă rog please expression

SAMPLE SENTENCES

Puteţi asculta melodii Puteţi să scrieţi in Engleză, vă româneşti. rog?

"You can listen to Romanian “Can you write in English, songs." please?”

Eu scriu in Engleză . Cum te numeşti?

"I write in English?" "What is your name?"

Cum sunt? Spune-mi cum să f olosesc telecomanda. "How are they?" "Tell me how to use the remote control."

Îmi poţi aduce o cafea, te rog? Vă rog mult.

"Can you bring me a coﬀee, "I ask you a lot." please?"

GRAMMAR

T he Focus of T his Lesson Is Usef ul Phrases f or Learning Romanian. Domnule profesor, cum se spune 'a fork' in română? "Teacher, how do you say "a f ork" in Romanian?"

While learning a language, you should always use the language whenever possible. This will allow you to engage yourself and acquire the correct habits right away while being immersed as much as possible in the language you are learning.

To immerse yourself in Romanian from day one, you should learn some basic phrases so you can use them immediately. Getting in the correct habit of using

ROMANIANPOD101.COM BASIC BOOTCAMP S1 #3 - USEFUL PHRASES FOR LEARNING ROMANIAN 3 standard phrases, their correct pronunciation, and their usage will greatly aﬀect your Romanian studies later on. Getting the right habits right away will help you avoid repeating mistakes, and avoid picking up bad habits that are diﬃcult to get rid of once you're anchored in your routine while using Romanian.

How can you learn Romanian while using Romanian? In several ways, which we'll show you below.

When trying to acquire new vocabulary, a recurring question from everyone from newbie to advanced levels is

Cum se spune ... în română? ("How do you say...in Romanian?")

We can use this question in both formal and informal Romanian uses the reﬂexive pronoun se whenever the subject is indeﬁnite. It is very common in Romanian.

For example:

1. În România, se conduce pe dreapta. "In Romania, they drive on the right."

The pronoun se refers to "people" in general. Se as an reﬂexive pronoun requires the third person singular/plural . However, it indicates an indeﬁnite number of people performing the action.

We can also use se instead of noi when the speaker refers to himself and other person(s). In other words, it means "we." However, we use noi more commonly than se in this context.

We use the verb a spune ("to say") conjugated in the "present tense," which we call indicativ prezent in Romanian.

After asking how to say a word, you might be curious about how to spell it. In this case, you need to ask how to write it, as there is no speciﬁc word for "spelling" in Romanian.

For example:

1. Cum se scrie...? "How do you write...?"

Puteţi repeta? Încet, vă rog? ("Can you repeat? Slowly, please.")

After asking how to say a word, you may have diﬃculty understanding it. We are here to rescue you with another practical phrase that asks your interlocutor to repeat what he or she just said. Here are several ways you can ask that question, depending on the formality required.

ROMANIANPOD101.COM BASIC BOOTCAMP S1 #3 - USEFUL PHRASES FOR LEARNING ROMANIAN 4 For example:

1. Puteţi repeta? "Can you repeat?"

To make your request more pleasant, I'll suggest adding the magic words va rog. You can also combine the two elements and make one question.

For example:

1. Puteţi repeta încet, vă rog? "Can you repeat slowly, please?"

To emphasize your request to slow the speed, add the word mai.

For example:

1. Puteţi repeta mai încet, vă rog? "Can you repeat more slowly, please?"

In these three options, the verb a putea conjugated in the third person singular puteţi tells us the question is in formal Romanian. This is called the formal form. Then the verb a putea is followed by the inﬁnitive verb repeta, meaning "to repeat."

For example:

1. Puteţi repeta? "Can you repeat?"

Poţi is the verb a putea conjugated in the second person singular, without the personal pronoun. This is the informal register, and Romanians refer to it as the per tu form.

For example:

1. Poţi repeta incet, vă rog? "Can you repeat slowly, please?"

2. Poţi repeta mai incet, vă rog? "Can you repeat more slowly, please?"

Language T ip

ROMANIANPOD101.COM BASIC BOOTCAMP S1 #3 - USEFUL PHRASES FOR LEARNING ROMANIAN 5 Note that when two verbs follow each other in a question or statement, the second one is often at the inﬁnitive form.

For example:

1. Puteţi repeta? "Can you repeat?"

2. Poţi repeta? "Can you repeat?"

Poţi scrie? ("Can you write it down?")

To memorize a word, you should review it a minimum of seven times. In other words, when you discover a new word, you need to use it seven times.

You could reuse it in a vocabulary exercise, mention it in a conversation, write it in a letter or a sentence, look for it while reading a text, or try any other uses you might think of. The more you think of it, the better the chance you'll memorize it at a faster pace.

People often suggest that you write down a new word to help you record it in your gray matter. Some people prefer to say it aloud, while others are more visual. Find the best method for you.

CULTURAL INSIGHT

How to Address Your Romanian Teacher

When in a classroom, adult students usually refer to their teacher using Domnule profesor for a man literally meaning "mister the teacher" or Doamnă profesoară for a woman translated as "Madam the teacher." If the teacher prefers that you call him or her something else, the teacher will certainly introduce themself the ﬁrst day and let you know how to address them.

In Romania you should always show high respect to your professor, during vacation time or an exchange program, for example, when the atmosphere is usually more relaxed. Calling your teacher by their name will be considered as rude in the majority of cases. Avoid doing that.

Children in primary schools refer to their teacher as Domnule învăţător for male instructors or Doamnă învăţătoare for female teachers, which is a common practice in all schools of Romania.

ROMANIANPOD101.COM BASIC BOOTCAMP S1 #3 - USEFUL PHRASES FOR LEARNING ROMANIAN 6 Doamnă means Lady or Madam, and Domn means Mister or Sir. For unmarried women, the word Domnişoară is used which means Miss.

The honoriﬁc and job titles are very common in Romania and people like to use them, especially with doctors and teachers, but with other professions as well.

Marital status is respected as well and some women get oﬀended if they are called Doamnă instead Domnişoară. However you should not bother too much and if you don't know the marital status, use Doamnă. This is what Romanians do when they do not know.

ROMANIANPOD101.COM BASIC BOOTCAMP S1 #3 - USEFUL PHRASES FOR LEARNING ROMANIAN 7 LESSON NOTES Basic Bootcamp S1 #4 Counting from One to Twenty in Romanian

CONTENTS

2 Romanian 2 English 2 Vocabulary 2 Sample Sentences 4 Grammar

# 4

1. Raluca: Unu, doi, trei, patru, cinci, şase, şapte, opt, nouă, zece.

2. Mihai: unsprezece, doisprezece, treisprezece, paisprezece, cincisprezece, şaisprezece, şaptesprezece, optsprezece, nouăsprezece, douăzeci!

ENGLISH

1. Raluca: One, two, three, four, ﬁve, six, seven, eight, nine, ten.

2. Mihai: Eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, ﬁfteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen and twenty!

VOCABULARY

Romanian English Class

zero zero numeral

unu one numeral, cardinal number

doi two numeral, cardinal number

trei three numeral, cardinal number

patru four numeral, cardinal number

cinci ﬁve numeral, cardinal number

șase six numeral, cardinal number

șapte seven numeral, cardinal number

opt eight numeral, cardinal number

nouă nine numeral, cardinal number

zece ten numeral, cardinal number

SAMPLE SENTENCES

ROMANIANPOD101.COM BASIC BOOTCAMP S1 #4 - COUNTING FROM ONE TO TWENTY IN ROMANIAN 2 Ieri noaptea au fost zero grade Am un euro. celsius. "I have one euro." "Last night, it was zero degrees centigrade."

Unu, doi, trei! Am doi f raţi.

"One, two, three!" "I have two brothers."

Doar doi studenți au promovat Doi bărbați. examenul. "Two men." "Only two students passed the exam."

Are trei ani. Trei bărbați.

"He is three years old." "Three men."

Sunt patru pahare pe masă. Doriți să rezervați 4 (patru) mese? "There are four glasses on the table." "Do you want make a reservation for 4 (four) tables?"

Am cinci maşini! Eu lucrez cinci ore în ﬁecare zi.

"I have ﬁve cars!" "I work ﬁve hours every day."

Aş dori şase banane. Un kilogram de mere este 6 (șase) euro. "I'd like six bananas." "A kilogram of apples is six euro."

Săptămăna are şapte zile. Anul acesta noi avem doar șapte zile libere. "The week has seven days." "This year we have only seven days oﬀ."

ROMANIANPOD101.COM BASIC BOOTCAMP S1 #4 - COUNTING FROM ONE TO TWENTY IN ROMANIAN 3 Este ora opt, e timpul sa încep Suntem opt persoane. lucrul. "We are 8 people." "It is eight o'clock; it is time to start working."

Mergeţi la camera nouă. Cartea aceasta este nouă dolari. "Go to room number nine." "This book is nine dollars."

Am zece ani. Ea a facut o rezervare pentru zece persoane. "I am ten years old." "She made a reservation for ten people."

Ai venit la ora zece.

"You came at 10 o'clock."

GRAMMAR

T he Focus of T his Lesson Is Counting Unu, doi, trei, patru, cinci, şase, şapte, opt, nouă, zece. "One, two, three, f our, ﬁve, six, seven, eight, nine, ten."

Numbers surround our daily lives. They help us function and run our lives. The applications of numbers today are as various as where we ﬁnd them. In Romania, we use the ten-digit system with the cardinal numbers below.

From Zero to Nine

Number Romanian

0 zero

1 unu, un, una, o

2 doi, două

ROMANIANPOD101.COM BASIC BOOTCAMP S1 #4 - COUNTING FROM ONE TO TWENTY IN ROMANIAN 4 3 trei

4 patru

5 cinci

6 şase

7 şapte

8 opt

9 nouă

Remember! The numbers 1 and 2 change their forms according to the gender.

Numbers 1 and 2 and T heir Forms

Number one has 4 forms in Romanian. The feminine forms are o, una and the masculine forms are un, unu. Number "two" has a feminine form which is două and a masculine form doi. We use the forms accordingly to the gender of whatever we are counting.

The words o and un can have other functions in Romanian as well, which will be covered in the further lessons. In our current lesson un and o are numerals and used strictly when the noun being counted is part of the speech.

For example:

1. Am doar o carte. "I have only one book."

2. Un smartphone este de ajuns, nu am nevoie de două. "Only one smartphone is enough, I don't need two."

Gender Singular Plural

feminine noun o carte (one book) două cărţi (two books)

masculine noun un student (one doi studenţi (two student) students)

ROMANIANPOD101.COM BASIC BOOTCAMP S1 #4 - COUNTING FROM ONE TO TWENTY IN ROMANIAN 5 neuter noun un calculator (one două calculatoare (two computer) computers)

Unu and una are used when nouns are implied, depending on their gender.

Examples: for feminine nouns

1. A: Te rog numără cărţile. A: "Please count the books." B: Una, două, trei... B: "One, two, three..." for masculine nouns

1. A: Te rog numără copacii. A: "Please count the trees." B: Unu, doi, trei... B: "One, two, three..." for neutral nouns

1. A: Te rog numără scaunele A: "Please count the chairs." B: Unu, două, trei... "One, two, three..."

From Ten to Nineteen

Now that you know the numbers from one to ten in Romanian, it is time to provide you with additional tips!

The series of numbers from ten to twenty follow a simple pattern.

Number Romanian

10 zece

11 unsprezece

12 doisprezece

ROMANIANPOD101.COM BASIC BOOTCAMP S1 #4 - COUNTING FROM ONE TO TWENTY IN ROMANIAN 6 13 treisprezece

14 paisprezece

15 cincisprezece

16 şaisprezece

17 şaptesprezece

18 optsprezece

19 nouăsprezece

20 douăzeci

Learning Romanian numbers may seem overwhelming at ﬁrst. What's the secret to mastering them? Well, just practice!

ROMANIANPOD101.COM BASIC BOOTCAMP S1 #4 - COUNTING FROM ONE TO TWENTY IN ROMANIAN 7 LESSON NOTES Basic Bootcamp S1 #5 Counting from Twenty to One Million in Romanian

CONTENTS

2 Romanian 2 English 2 Vocabulary 2 Sample Sentences 3 Grammar

# 5

1. Mihai: Douăzeci, treizeci, patruzeci, cincizeci, şaizeci, şaptezeci, optzeci, nouăzeci, and o sută!

ENGLISH

1. Mihai: Twenty, thirty, forty, ﬁfty, sixty, seventy, eighty, ninety, and one hundred!

VOCABULARY

Romanian English Class

douăzeci twenty numeral

treizeci 30, thirty numeral, cardinal number

patruzeci forty cardinal number

cincizeci 50, ﬁfty numeral, cardinal number

şaizeci sixty cardinal number

şaptezeci seventy cardinal number

optzeci eighty numeral, cardinal number

nouăzeci ninety cardinal number

o sută one hundred numeral, cardinal number

SAMPLE SENTENCES

Am douăzeci de numere de Am nevoie de douăzeci de telefon noi în lista de contacte. f otograﬁi pentru acest proiect. “I’ve got twenty new phone numbers in my phone book.” "I need twenty photos for this project."

ROMANIANPOD101.COM BASIC BOOTCAMP S1 #5 - COUNTING FROM TWENTY TO ONE MILLION IN ROMANIAN 2 Am cumpărat treizeci de cărţi Putem plăti maşina în patru pentru biblioteca personală. rate!

“I bought thirty books for my “We can pay for the car in forty personal library.” installments!”

În acest autobuz exista Am 50 de euro. cincizeci de locuri disponibile. "I have 50 euro." “There are ﬁfty available seats on this bus.”

Îmi place moda anilor şaizeci . Fratele meu are şaptezeci de kilograme “I like the fashion of the sixties.“ “My brother is seventy kilograms.”

La petrecere au venit optzeci Am optzeci de prieteni pe de persoane. Facebook.

“Eighty people came to the "I have eighty friends on party.” Facebook."

Bunica mea are nouăzeci de Oﬁciul poştal este la o sută de ani. metri de gara.

“My grandmother is ninety “The post oﬃce is one hundred years old.” meters from the train station.”

Ea m-a sunat de o sută de ori pentru a discuta despre această problemă.

"She called me one hundred times to discuss about this problem. "

GRAMMAR

T he Focus of T his Lesson Is Counting From Twenty to One Million. Douăzeci, douăzeci şi cinci, cincizeci, şaizeci şi doi, şaptezeci şi şase, optzeci şi patru, o sută! "Twenty, twenty-ﬁve, ﬁf ty, sixty-two, seventy-six, eighty-four, and one hundred!"

ROMANIANPOD101.COM BASIC BOOTCAMP S1 #5 - COUNTING FROM TWENTY TO ONE MILLION IN ROMANIAN 3 Numbers by Ten

First, refer to the table below, for each series of ten, to know how to pronounce the ﬁrst digit of a two or more digit number.

Number Romanian

"twenty" (20) douăzeci

"thirty" (30) treizeci

"forty" (40) patruzeci

"ﬁfty" (50) cincizeci

"sixty" (60) şaizeci

"seventy" (70) şaptezeci

"eighty" (80) optzeci

"ninety" (90) nouăzeci

"one hundred" (100) o sută

From Twenty to One Hundred

Counting from twenty to ninety-nine is fairly easy. Just take the tens, from twenty to ninety, and add şi which means "and," then add a number from one to nine. For example, "twenty-ﬁve" is douăzeci şi cinci.

Please observe the table below with the series of numbers from twenty to one hundred.

For example:

Numbers Romanian

"twenty" (20) douăzeci

ROMANIANPOD101.COM BASIC BOOTCAMP S1 #5 - COUNTING FROM TWENTY TO ONE MILLION IN ROMANIAN 4 "twenty-one" (21) douăzeci şi unu/ douăzeci şi una

"twenty-two" (22) douăzeci şi doi/ douăzeci şi două

"twenty-three" (23) douăzeci şi trei

"twenty-four" (24) douăzeci şi patru

"twenty-ﬁve" (25) douăzeci şi cinci

"twenty-six" (26) douăzeci şi şase

"twenty-seven" (27) douăzeci şi şapte

"twenty-eight" (28) douăzeci şi opt

"twenty-nine" (29) douăzeci şi nouă

"thirty-one" (31) treizeci şi unu / treizeci şi una

"forty-two" (42) patruzeci şi doi/ patruzeci şi două

"ﬁfty-three" (53) cincizeci şi trei

"sixty-four" (64) şaizeci şi patru

"seventy-ﬁve" (75) şaptezeci şi cinci

"eighty-six" (86) optzeci şi şase

"ninety-seven" (97) nouăzeci şi şapte

"one hundred" (100) o sută

So let's recap. What you should know is that in Romanian once you know the numbers from one to nine and the tens, counting until one hundred is very easy. Simply say şi which means "and," then add the numbers from one to nine.

For example:

Douăzeci şi cinci will literally look like this: "two-tens and ﬁve."

Note: All numbers with the numerals one and two have masculine and feminine forms.

ROMANIANPOD101.COM BASIC BOOTCAMP S1 #5 - COUNTING FROM TWENTY TO ONE MILLION IN ROMANIAN 5 From One Hundred to One Million

Counting from one hundred to one million follows a regular pattern. All you have to remember is the gender of "one hundred," "one thousand" and "one million."

For example you will say o sută and NOT un sută, because the word sută is feminine. The same goes for mie. Million is neutral in Romanian, therefore we will have un milion for singular and două milioane for plural.

The forms are presented in the chart below. Pay attention of how the words change their endings in the plural form.

Singular Plural

O suta "one hundred" (100) două sute "two hudred"

O mie "one thousand" (1,000) două mii "two thousand"

Un milion "one million" (1,000,000) două milioane "two million"

To create multiples of hundreds, you need to say the numbers from nine to ten in front of the word sute.

For example, "ﬁve hundred" becomes cinci sute, " four hundred" becomes patru sute, and "eight hundred" is opt sute.

To create multiples of thousands, you follow the same rule: you need to say the numbers in front of mii.

For example, "ﬁve thousand" becomes cinci mii, "one hundred thousand" becomes o sută de mii, and "eight hundred thousand" is opt sute de mii.

Remember! When the numeral which indicates the multiples of thousands and millions is bigger then 19 the preposition de, which means "of," is necessary to connect the multiple and the words mii or milioane.

Let's have a look at the chart below.

Numbers Romanian

"one hundred" (100) o sută

"two hundred" (200) două sute

"three hundred" (300) trei sute

"one thousand" (1,000) o mie

ROMANIANPOD101.COM BASIC BOOTCAMP S1 #5 - COUNTING FROM TWENTY TO ONE MILLION IN ROMANIAN 6 "two thousand" (2,000) două mii

"three thousand" (3,000) trei mii

"ten thousand" (10,000) zece mii

"twenty thousand" (20,000) două zeci de mii

"one hundred thousand" (100,000) o sută de mii

"two hundred thousand" (200,000) două sute de mii

"one million" (1,000,000) un milion

Let's have a look at the chart below to see how we can create more complicated numbers. The overall logic is the same as the previous one. Please note that we only use hyphens here to make the structure easier to understand. We write numbers in Romanian as single words.

For example:

Numbers Romanian

101 o sută unu (masculine) o sută una (feminine)

102 o sută doi (masculine) o sută două (feminine)

210 două sute zece

317 trei sute saptesprezece

425 patru sute douăzeci şi cinci

1,001 o mie unu (masculine) o mie două (feminine)

1,002 o mie doi (masculine) o mie două (feminine)

1,045 o mie

1,111 o mie o sută unsprezece

ROMANIANPOD101.COM BASIC BOOTCAMP S1 #5 - COUNTING FROM TWENTY TO ONE MILLION IN ROMANIAN 7 5,178 cinci mii o sută saptezeci şi opt

15,000 cincisprezece mii

21,000 douăzeci şi una de mii

32,000 treizeci şi două de mii

400,025 patru sute de mii douăzeci şi cinci

999,000 nouă sute nouăzeci şi nouă de mii

ROMANIANPOD101.COM BASIC BOOTCAMP S1 #5 - COUNTING FROM TWENTY TO ONE MILLION IN ROMANIAN 8 LESSON NOTES All About S1 #1 The Top Five Reasons to Study Romanian

CONTENTS

2 Grammar

# 1

A brief History of the Romanian Language

The development of a language is a long, complex process that never ﬁnishes. Just like any language in the world, Romanian is like a living organism with an old past and the language is in a state of continuous change.

The most recent linguistic theories aﬃrm that Romanian evolved from the Thraco- Dacian language spoken by a Thracian tribe called the Dacians. There are two main theories about the evolution of the Romanian language.

1. Thraco-Dacian passed through a Romanization process when a part of Dacia was occupied by the Roman Empire between 106 and 276 AD. Linguists who are adepts of this theory claim that the Thraco-Dacian language changed drastically in a very short amount of time and it started to become what we call Romanian today.

2. More recent studies say that the Thraco-Dacian language didn't change. The similarity between Romanian and Italian that we have today is explained as a similarity that existed in the past between the Thracian dialects and Latin dialects. This theory is based on archaeological evidence which says that only a part of Dacia was a Roman province. Also, it is believed that an entire people simply can not change their mother tongue so drastically in a such a very short amount of time.

Throughout history Romanian culture has been in contact with Latin, Slavic, Hungarian, Turkish, Greek, German, and French cultures. The language has assimilated external elements from these cultures. Romanian is a Balkan-Romance Language very similar to Italian language in sonority.

About Romania

Romania as a country is pretty young, but historically speaking it has very ancient origins. We can say that Romania has almost three thousand years of history. Some recent excavations throughout the country even reveal a modern human presence dating back to the Paleolithic period, meaning two hundred thousand years ago.

Preserving the remains of the ancient culture is really important for Romanians. This is why almost each big city has its own historical site in Romania.

There are two theories that explain how Romania got its name.

ROMANIANPOD101.COM ALL ABOUT S1 #1 - THE TOP FIVE REASONS TO STUDY ROMANIAN 2 1. The old theory says that the name of Romania came from the capital of the Roman empire, Rome. Recent studies questioned the fact that Romanians referred to themselves using the name of the Roman Empire. No other Roman province did so. Why would the Thraco- Dacians have been the only ones?

2. The second theory says that the name comes from a Thracian god called Arman or Armis. The name lost the ﬁrst letter a and became rrëmër or ruman which later evolved into Român. The letter a is still kept by a small group who live in the Danube area. They are called Aromanians and their language is a Romanian Dialect.

Where People Speak the Romanian Language

Romanian is the oﬃcial language of Romania and the Republic of Moldova. It is also spoken by minorities in the countries that surround Romania (Ukraine, Bulgaria, Serbia, and Hungary) and diaspora. Romanian is the native language of 24 million people (0.5 % of the world population).

Furthermore, around four million people worldwide speak Romanian as a second or cultural language.

Dialects and Accents

Romanian has three dialects: Istro-Romanian, Aromanian, and Megleno-Romanian. They are spoken north and south of the Danube by a very small population.

Romanian has several accents speciﬁc for each region. The three main accents are:

1. Moldavian

2. Transylvanian

3. Vallahian (the literary accent)

Only native speakers or those who study the Romanian language can understand the diﬀerence between them. The accents are not an impediment for understanding the language. For example, a person who uses the Moldavian accent will completely understand a person who uses the Transylvanian one.

T he top ﬁve reasons to learn Romanian are:

5. Starting from the bottom of our list, the ﬁfth reason to learn Romanian is to better appreciate Romanian society and to communicate with Romanian people, who are

ROMANIANPOD101.COM ALL ABOUT S1 #1 - THE TOP FIVE REASONS TO STUDY ROMANIAN 3 usually known for being friendly and open. Knowing Romanian will make it easy for you to interact with the locals, who will help you in exploring the Romanian culture and teach you Romanian society's rules.

4. The fourth reason is because Romanian is easy to pronounce and has a beautiful sound. As soon as you start speaking the language, you can appreciate all the musicality and the melody within it.

3. Knowing Romanian will help you learn more than just one language. It is a way to understand all the romance languages since Romanian is very similar to Italian and other languages too.

2. Romanian is also a language for business. Now, Romania is a country where a lot of investors are developing major projects. All the employers are looking for candidates who can competently communicate with the Romanian employees. So speaking Romanian will help you a lot if you are interested in an international career.

1. The ﬁrst and most important reason to learn Romanian is Romanian culture and art. Romania is the country that has the largest number of Orthodox monasteries in the world. Romania has a culture that can be discovered by visiting the traditional villages of the Carpathian mountains, medieval citadels, and castles. Romanian art and culture is full of famous geniuses and great names, and understanding them in their own language is priceless.

ROMANIANPOD101.COM ALL ABOUT S1 #1 - THE TOP FIVE REASONS TO STUDY ROMANIAN 4 LESSON NOTES All About S1 #2 Learn the Romanian writing system

CONTENTS

2 Grammar 4 Cultural Insight

# 2

T he Romanian Writing System: Introduction

Romanian is written using the Latin alphabet plus five additional letters with diacritics specific for the Romanian alphabet, Ă, Â, Î, Ș, and Ț, which have their own sounds and sometimes pose difficulties even for Romanians, especially in the written language. K, Q, W and Y are used to write loan words, proper foreign names and international neologisms like karate, Qatar, Washington, watt, Yahoo. The rule in Romanian is to pronounce the foreign words as closely to the original as possible.

The Romanian language has 7 vowels and 22 consonants. On the other hand, we also use foreign vowels like ö and ü in foreign fords like bleu (the French word for "blue") or Bruxelles. Other sounds like ci and ce are created by using two letters. These sounds are also used in the Italian language and are some of the sounds that make the two language sound very similar. For example, cinema ("cinema" in English), and cercetare ("research" in English).

T he Origin of the Romanian Writing System

The oldest known text written in a Romanian language similar is a letter from Neacşu of Câmpulung to the mayor of Braşov written in in the 16th century. However there is evidence that attests to a translation of the Bible in Romanian made at the beginning of the 12th century.

As we mentioned during the previous lesson, the language spoken by the Thraco- Dacians was Dacian and it came in contact with many diﬀerent other languages throughout the time. Few documents have been found from that era. They are subjects of research and archaeological studies. Later on, in the middle ages, Romanian regions (states at that time) were preoccupied by wars and political problems for many centuries. This is the reason why the ﬁrst documents that have been found are related to religion, politics and administration.

The ﬁrst book was printed by Deacon Coresi in the middle of 16th century. He was the ﬁrst editor who published a total of about 35 titles, and hundreds of copies were printed and distributed in all Romanian territories. This facilitated the linguistic unity of the Romanian people and the emergence of Romania's literary language.

The Cyrillic alphabet was used in Romania as a writing system between the XIV and XV centuries. The transition back to the Latin alphabet was a slow process and that took place until the middle of XIX century. Romanian writers and politicians contributed to the linguistic unity and transition to Latin alphabet. Mihail Kogălniceanu, Alecu Russo, Vasile Alecsandri. Bogdan Petriceicu Hașdeu are some

ROMANIANPOD101.COM ALL ABOUT S1 #2 - LEARN THE ROMANIAN WRITING SYSTEM 2 of them.

The ﬁrst writer who made the Romanian language a true object of art was Mihai Eminescu. He is considered the greatest Romanian writer, publicist, and poet.

The book that was used as the basis of the ﬁrst Romanian dictionary was Etymologicum Magnum Romaniae written by one of the greatest Romanian savants, Bogdan Petriceicu Hașdeu. The book was an enormous project and an unaccomplished dream as it was impossible to ﬁnish, but it was enough to put the basics of Romanian grammar together.

T he Romanian Alphabet

The Romanian Alphabet is a modiﬁcation of the Latin alphabet, and it is composed of thirty-one letters. In ancient times the letters had just one basic form, similar to our uppercase or lowercase, depending on styles of writing. During the Middle Ages, people began to alternate two diﬀerent styles of writing. One is called Majusculă, which means "uppercase." Majusculă was proper to use for the initial letters in titles of certain words. The other one is the Minusculă, which is "lowercase," and people used it for the rest of the text. In the following table, we will show you all the letters of the Romanian alphabet, including their uppercase form, lowercase form, and pronunciation.

A,a - (a) Î,î (î) Ș,ș (șe)

Ă, ă - (ă) J,j (je) T,t (te)

Â, â -) â) K,k- (ca) or (capa) Ț,ț (țe)

B,b- (be) L,l- (le) U,u (u)

C,c- (ce) M.m (me) V,v (ve)

D,d- (de) N.n (ne) W,w (dublu ve)

E,e- (e) O,o (o) X,x (ics)

F,f- (ef) P,p (pe) Y,y (i grec)

G,g- (ge) Q,q (chiu) Z,z (zet)

H,h- (haș) R,r (re)

I,i- (i) S,s (se)

ROMANIANPOD101.COM ALL ABOUT S1 #2 - LEARN THE ROMANIAN WRITING SYSTEM 3 The letters Â and Î are phonetically identically but their position inside the word is diﬀerent. Â is used when the sound is in the middle of the word.

For example: râu ("river")

Î is used at the beginning of the word.

For example: încapator ("spacious")

When a preﬁx is added, in this cases the letter Î remains the same even if its position is in the middle of the word.

For example: neîncapator ("not spacious")

CULTURAL INSIGHT

Did You Know?

The Cyrillic alphabet was used in Romania as a writing system between the 14th and 15th centuries when Romania was in contact with Slavic cultures. The transition back to the Latin alphabet began with the Moldavian chroniclers Grigore Ureche, Ion Neculce, and Miron Costin, who asserted the Romance characteristics of the language. The transition took place slowly and a transitional alphabet containing both Cyrillic and Latin letters was used. In the middle of the 19th century, the Latin alphabet was made oﬃcial by the Romanian King Alexandru Ioan Cuza.

He was also the man who made the second Romanian uniﬁcation in history, which is called "The little Uniﬁcation." In the middle of the 19th century, Moldova and Vallachia became one state that was called Romania.

The unification was always a political subject that created conflicts between political forces. There were few short periods in history when all Romanian regions where unified. At present there are two countries with the same culture where the same language is spoken. These countries are Romania and the Republic of Moldova, therefore the unification is a political debate subject even at the present. So do not be astonished if Romanians will discuss politics with you or find politics interesting. Romanians are used to living with the quote "Just because you do not take interest in politics doesn't mean politics won't take interest in you," first said by Pericles and later used by Hitler.

ROMANIANPOD101.COM ALL ABOUT S1 #2 - LEARN THE ROMANIAN WRITING SYSTEM 4 LESSON NOTES All About S1 #3 Painless Romanian Grammar

CONTENTS

2 Grammar

# 3

T he Focus of this Lesson is Romanian Grammar

Sentence Order: SVO

To begin, comparing English to Romanian is necessary to clarify that they belong to two diﬀerent language families. English is a Germanic language, whereas Romanian is a romance language. Nevertheless, these two languages have many similarities. To better understand Romanian grammar, it is useful to make some comparisons to English as well. We call both of these languages SVO languages. This acronym indicates the main grammar order of the sentences we use in the language, which in this case is subject/verb/object.

Romanian's language order is relatively unstructured. This means that there are not as many strict rules as in other foreign languages. We can change the SVO order in some situations, for example, to change the focus of a sentence.

In general the subject comes ﬁrst, followed by the verb, and then the object.

For example: Eu mănânc un măr. meaning "I eat an apple."

Eu ("I") is the subject, or the one doing the action. Mănânc ("eat") is the verb, or the action taking place. And lastly, un măr ("an apple") is the object that receives the action.

We can change the SVO order according to what we want to emphasize.

For example: Mărul pe care îl mănânc."The apple I eat." In this case, the English translation sounds a bit unnatural. However, in Romanian, it's normal to construct a sentence in this order when we wish to emphasize the object, here mărul ("the apple").

Tense

The tense of a sentence is any one of the inﬂected forms in the conjugation of a verb that indicates the time, such as past, present, or future, as well as the continuance or completion of the action or state. In other words, the tense expresses the temporal relationship between the action a sentence reports and the time of its utterance. Romanian verbs change form according to the tense and the subject. Consequently, it does not matter if we omit the subject in a sentence because we can easily recognize who is doing the action from the verb and the

ROMANIANPOD101.COM ALL ABOUT S1 #3 - PAINLESS ROMANIAN GRAMMAR 2 way we conjugate it. Romanian verbs, as with those from all the other new Latin languages, have an inﬁnitive form (dictionary form) that changes its endings when we conjugate it in a speciﬁc tense. Previously Romanian grammar had only four conjugations. According to the new Romanian grammar published by the Romanian Academy, the Romanian Language has 11 conjugations.

1 2 3 4 5 6 -a (Ø) -a (ez) - i (Ø) - i (Ø) - i (Ø) -i (esc)

a accentua ("to accentua eu ("I") te") tu a a cobori a oferi a iubi a fugi ("you") mânca ("to go ("to ("to accentue ("to run") el /ea ("to eat") down") oﬀer") love") z ("he/ accentue fug she") mănânc cobor ofer iubesc zi fugi noi mănâci cobori oferi iubești accentue fuge ("we") mănâncă coboară oferă iubesc ază fugim voi mâncăm coborîm oferim iubim accentua fugiți ("you") mâncați coborîți oferiți iubiți m fug ei/ele mănâncă coboară oferă iubesc accentua ("they") ți accentue ază

7 8 9 10 11 -i (esc) -ea (Ø) - e (Ø) -e (Ø) - e (Ø)

a aminti plăcea a face a merge a frige ("to ("to like") ("to ("to walk") ("to fry") eu ("I") remember make") tu ("you") ") plac merg frig el /ea ("he/ amintesc placi fac mergi frigi she") amintești plac faci merge frige noi ("we") amintește placem fac mergem frigem voi ("you") amintim placeți facem mergeți frigeți ei/ele amintiți plac faceți merg frig ("they") amintesc fac

With some exceptions, every verb of each group is inﬂected in the same way. Therefore, conjugating Romanian verbs like a native should be a primary goal of all

ROMANIANPOD101.COM ALL ABOUT S1 #3 - PAINLESS ROMANIAN GRAMMAR 3 students, regardless of their level or ability.

Singulars, Plurals, and Genre

When forming a plural in English, it is usually only necessary to add "-s" at the end of a word, but there are tons of exceptions (For example: "wolves" and "teeth"). Romanian has many rules for building plurals. The primary distinction is between masculine, feminine, and neuter nouns.

There are no rules to distinguish whether a noun is feminine, masculine, or neuter but basically we chose the endings to identify them. Here is a brief explanation. Feminine nouns end respectively in -a, -ă, -e take the -e or -i in their plural form. Masculine nouns end in a consonant, -e, -u, -l, -ă, -i. Their plural form ends in -i all the time.

Nevertheless, there are several exceptions, making this general rule only a basic identiﬁcation guideline. There are some irregularities and those will be explained in detail in later on.

Neuter nouns are a challenge for Romanian language students. They have a masculine form in singular and feminine form in plural. Here are some categories of neuter nouns:

• neologisms • sports names • materials • human qualities which have no plural form in Romanian (like curaj, "courage")

Also we should keep in mind that Romanian adjectives and articles follow the nouns they refer to, which means that they change their ending according to the gender of the noun. This is why knowing the gender of nouns in Romanian is considered one of the ﬁrst steps to learning the language.

ROMANIANPOD101.COM ALL ABOUT S1 #3 - PAINLESS ROMANIAN GRAMMAR 4 LESSON NOTES All About S1 #4 Learn Romanian Pronunciation

CONTENTS

2 Grammar

# 4

T he Focus of this Lesson is Pronunciation

It is well known that Romanian pronunciation is one of the easiest aspects of the language. Romanian is a language where words are rarely diﬃcult to pronounce or to hear due to the fact that a great majority of Romanian words end in vowels.

Sounds and Syllables

Romanian sounds are made of a combination of consonants, vowels, and semivowels. The Romanian alphabet has twenty consonants (b, c, d, f, g, h, l, m, n, p, q, r, s, ș, t, ț, v, w, x, y, and z) four semivowels (-e, -i, -o, and -u) and seven vowels (a, e, i, o, u, ă, and î).

Vowels can make syllables by themselves. Consonants need a vowel in order to create a syllable. For example, the word apă ("water") is made up of two syllables, a- and -pă. The ﬁrst syllable is a, formed from one vowel and the second syllable is pă, a consonant followed by a vowel.

Semivowels are sounds that form diphthongs and triphthongs together with vowels.

Diphthongs and Triphthongs

Diphthongs are syllables composed of a vowel and a semivowel. There are two types of diphthongs according to the place of the semivowel in the syllable. The semivowel can come as a ﬁrst or second sound.

For examples:

(semivowel + vowel) - ea : caféa ("coﬀee")

(vowel+ semivowel)- au : auriu ("golden")

Triphthongs are a succession of sounds. These sounds are two semivowels and a vowel and always come in this order: semivowel + vowel + semivowel

For examples:

- oai- franţuzoaică ("French woman")

- ioa- creioane ("pencils")

ROMANIANPOD101.COM ALL ABOUT S1 #4 - LEARN ROMANIAN PRONUNCIATION 2 T he letter i in the ﬁnal position

When situated in the ﬁnal position, the letter i can be placed after a consonant or after a vowel. In both cases i stands for a very short sound.

Here is an example where -i is added at the end of the word in order to make the distinction between plural and singular.

For example: liber ("free," singular) - liberi ("free," plural)

In Romanian, nouns can have two letter i in the word-ﬁnal position. In cases like that, the second i is the short one.

For example: ministru ("minister") - miniştri ("ministers") - miniştrii ("the ministers")

Some words can have three letters i in ﬁnal position. In this case the last i is not read and the ﬁrst two ii are pronounced as the syllabic i sound. Therefore iii is read as ii.

For example: copil ("child")- copii ("children") - copiii ("the children").

Stress

The best way to remember the stress mechanism is to listen to native speakers, but aside from that, we could say that comparing the words in English and Romanian could help you find your way through it. If we consider the word naval and "naval," meaning in both cases "pertaining to ships," the stress is on the first "- a" in the two-syllable English word. However, in the Romanian word, it falls on the second -a. In Romanian the stress can fall on any syllable of the word. The stress is important because it can be the only difference between two words spelled identically but with different grammatical forms.

For example: copii ("copies") - copii ("childre"n)

Potential diﬃculties

The vowels ă and î/â can pose potential diﬃculties in pronunciation and reading,

ă in pronounced like the ﬁnal vowel in "father" or "water," but is slightly diﬀerent, as

ROMANIANPOD101.COM ALL ABOUT S1 #4 - LEARN ROMANIAN PRONUNCIATION 3 in apă ("water"). The vowel â or î has no English equivalent. It can be explained as as a blend between i and u. Here are two Romanian words with the sound â/î: înger ("angel"), mână ("hand").

ROMANIANPOD101.COM ALL ABOUT S1 #4 - LEARN ROMANIAN PRONUNCIATION 4 LESSON NOTES All About S1 #5 The Top Five Must-Know Romanian Phrases

CONTENTS

2 Grammar

# 5

T he Focus of this Lesson is the Top Five Phrases f or Learning Romanian

Here we'll introduce ﬁve phrases in Romanian that will take you a long way and help you out in a variety of situations!

Bună ("Hi, hello")

This is the most common form of greeting in Romanian. However, bună is only used in informal situations, such as with friends or relatives. In English it is translated as "hi"or "hello." In formal Romanian, it is replaced by the expression bună ziua, "good morning," or bună seara "good evening."

Îmi pare bine să te/vă cunosc ("Nice to meet you")

Îmi pare bine să vă/te cunosc is the equivalent of "Nice to meet you," but literally it means, "To me it seems good to know you." When meeting someone new, it is proper to say bună, îmi pare bine sa te cunosc in a casual conversation and bună ziua, îmi pare bine să vă cunosc in a formal situation.

Mulțumesc/Cu plăcere ("T hank you, you're welcome")

Whenever we want to thank someone in Romanian, the word to use is mulțumesc. When you want to say "Thank you very much," it is necessary to add mult or foarte mult so it becomes mulțumesc mult or mulțumesc foarte mult. When replying to mulțumesc we should say cu plăcere, meaning "you're welcome." Cu plăcere literally means "with pleasure."

Scuzați-mă / scuză-mă ("Excuse me")

Scuzati-ma and scuza-ma both mean "excuse me." Scuzați-mă is proper in formal Romanian whereas scuză-mă in used for informal situations. This expression is part of common life and can be used to get someones attention. For example, you can use it to call the waiter over at a restaurant, to get the attention of a shop clerk, or to get the attention of a passerby when you want to ask a question. There are many other ways to apologize in Romanian, and we will cover more of them in our other lessons.

Vă rog /te rog("please")

The meaning of vă rog and te rog is "please." Both expressions are used when asking a favor or request. They are the equivalent of "please" in English and can also be used when asking for a tangible object. The thing that we are asking for comes before vă rog. For example, in a café, it is normal to hear the phrase O

ROMANIANPOD101.COM ALL ABOUT S1 #5 - THE TOP FIVE MUST-KNOW ROMANIAN PHRASES 2 caféa, vă rog, which means "A coﬀee, please." This quick and polite way to ask for something can be very useful for those who are new to Romanian. Vă rog is proper in formal Romanian whereas te rog in used for informal situations.

ROMANIANPOD101.COM ALL ABOUT S1 #5 - THE TOP FIVE MUST-KNOW ROMANIAN PHRASES 3 LESSON NOTES All About S1 #6 Can you Answer These Five Questions About Romania?

CONTENTS

2 Grammar

# 6

T he Focus of this Lesson is Five T hings you have to know about Romania

What do you know about Romania?

Test your knowledge! Through this mini-test, you will build your basic knowledge of Romania by quizzing yourself on ﬁve areas about Romania:

1. Geography

2. Pop culture

3. Travel

4. Economics

5. Society and Tradition

1. Geography Question

The territory of Romania is divided into counties and it is 238,391 square kilometers. The population is estimated at 21,623,849.

How many counties are there in Romania?

A: 31 counties.

B: 41 counties.

C: 45 counties.

2. Pop Culture Questions

Romania is a center for culture and entertainment, such as sports, cinema and music. Romanian popular culture has some big names in some of these entertainment ﬁelds. Recognizing which name is not Romanian is very easy.

Speaking of sports, who of the f ollowing is not Romanian?

A: Simona Halep

B: Nadia Comăneci

ROMANIANPOD101.COM ALL ABOUT S1 #6 - CAN YOU ANSWER THESE FIVE QUESTIONS ABOUT ROMANIA? 2 C: Sania Mirza

Speaking of music, who of the f ollowing is not Romanian?

A: George Enescu

B: Bogdan Ota

C: Dario Marianelli.

Speaking of music again, who of the f ollowing is not a Romanian singer?

A: Lucia Popp

B: Mariana Nicolaesco

C: Angela Gheorghiu

3. Romanian Travel Question

Romanian tourism is concentrated on sightseeing locations and the country's rich history. Romania is considered at the moment a new tourist attraction and the number of foreign tourists is growing every year. The top natural attractions are the Danube Delta, Carpathian Mountains, and the Black Sea. The top most visited historical attractions are the cities of Sibiu, Sighisoara, and Brașov, Bran Castle, Peleț Castle, and The Painted Monasteries.

Which of the f ollowing cities was ranked by Forbes the as eighth most idyllic place to live?

A: Sibiu

B: Cluj - Napoca

C: Bucharest

Where can we see bears in the wild?

A: Timisoara

B: Brașov

C: Iași

Which one of the f ollowing castles is considered Dracula's castle?

A: Peleș Castle

ROMANIANPOD101.COM ALL ABOUT S1 #6 - CAN YOU ANSWER THESE FIVE QUESTIONS ABOUT ROMANIA? 3 B: Corvin Castle

C: Bran Castle

4. Romanian Economy Question

The Romanian economy after the Revolution in 1989 has changed and developed as that's when a democratic regime was installed. Since then Romania has been passing through a transitional period with many reforms. At present Romania is part of the European Union and NATO. The integration made exchange between Romanian and foreign enterprises possible. Due to all these changes the Romanian economy is in a continuous process of growth and development.

What are the most important economic sectors in Romania?

A: The secondary sector (industry)

B: The primary sector (agriculture)

C. The service sector

5. Romanian Society Question

One of the most important aspects of Romanian culture and society is the cuisine. Thanks to regional traditions that date back centuries, Romanian cuisine is varied and people consider meals an important moment of the day. The roots of Romanian cuisine are Thraco-Dacians and throughout time contact with diﬀerent other cultures created the diverse blend of dishes that we have today.

Can every Romanian prepare home-made wine and pie crusts?

A: True

B: False

Do Romanians eat soup every day?

A: True

B: False

Answers:

Romanian Geography Question

How many counties are there in Romania?

ROMANIANPOD101.COM ALL ABOUT S1 #6 - CAN YOU ANSWER THESE FIVE QUESTIONS ABOUT ROMANIA? 4 B: 41 counties.

The most populated city in Romania is the capital Bucharest with 1,924,959 inhabitants.

Romanian Pop Culture Question

Speaking of sports, who of the f ollowing is not Romanian?

C: Sania Mirza

Speaking of music, who of the f ollowing is not Romanian?

C: Dario Marianelli.

Speaking of music again, who of the f ollowing is not a Romanian singer?

A: Lucia Popp

Romanian Travel Question

Which of the f ollowing cities was ranked by Forbes the 8th most idyllic place to live?

A: Sibiu

Where can we see bears in the wild?

B: Brașov

Which one of the f ollowing castles is considered Dracula's castle?

C: Bran Castle

Romanian Economy Question

What are the most important economic sectors in Romania?

A: Secondary sector (industry)

The Romanian economy is oriented towards the secondary sector. It employed 35.8 percent of the total labor force in 2012.

Romanian Society Question

Can every Romanian prepare home-made wine and pie crusts?

B: False

ROMANIANPOD101.COM ALL ABOUT S1 #6 - CAN YOU ANSWER THESE FIVE QUESTIONS ABOUT ROMANIA? 5 Do Romanians eat soup every day?

B: False

ROMANIANPOD101.COM ALL ABOUT S1 #6 - CAN YOU ANSWER THESE FIVE QUESTIONS ABOUT ROMANIA? 6 LESSON NOTES All About S1 #7 The Top Five Romanian Dishes You Have to Try

CONTENTS

2 Grammar

# 7

T he Focus of this Lesson is the Top 5 Romanian Dishes

Romanian Cuisine: Origins and Inﬂuences

People tend to believe that Romania does not have its own distinguished cuisine. The stereotype is related to Romania's past. The truth is far from the misconception, especially when it is related to the country's culture and history. The roots of Romanian cuisine are Thraco-Dacian but throughout time contact with different cultures created the diverse blend of dishes that we have today. It is easy to understand the influences if you read more about Romanian history and take a look at the map. The big Romanian regions are Transylvania, Moldova, and Vallachia. Transylvania is surrounded by the Carpathian mountains situated in the north west of the country. The cuisine here has Hungarian influence. Moldova and Vallachia are the regions where dishes have Turkish and Greek influences.

The Republic of Moldova is a country which was a Romanian territory before the second world war. Over there, Romanian cuisine has Ukrainian, Bulgarian, and Russian inﬂuences.

The variety of dishes is so large that even natives discover new tastes when they travel around Romania. For someone who has tasted Southern and Eastern European cooking, Romanian cuisine might be difficult to distinguish. Mici and stuffed cabbage for example, are dishes that are traditional in almost all Balkan countries. The only differences are the unique techniques, the spices, and the quantity of the ingredients. All these are enough to create "the secrets of the Romanian cuisine," which seems simple at a glance but is in fact quite complicated.

Table Etiquette

Knowing European etiquette is more then enough for creating a good impression when eating in Romania. Before you start eating you must say Poftă bună! which is translated as "Enjoy your meal!" and before drinking Romanians say Noroc! which is translated as "Good Luck!" You must wait until everyone has their meal. If you are invited to eat with a Romanian family they might give you permission to eat before everyone is served, but it is always polite to wait. The ﬁrst dish is soup or stew. Don't make noise when you eat it. It is considered impolite. The second dish is usually a plate that has meat or ﬁsh in it. You must use your fork and knife to eat it. Most of the time bread will be served, and you should put your bread beside your plate and break a little piece using both hands every time you want to eat it.

If spaghetti is served and you are given a spoon, feel free to use it when you twirl the pasta. Rice should be eaten with a fork. If you are served the traditional dishes chifetele, sarmale, or rulade you should cut them with your fork.

ROMANIANPOD101.COM ALL ABOUT S1 #7 - THE TOP FIVE ROMANIAN DISHES YOU HAVE TO TRY 2 If you wish to pour water or wine into your glass you should check other people's glasses ﬁrst, and if these are not full you should pour the drink in their glasses and only then into yours. When wanting to use a tooth pick you can do it at the table but you should cover your mouth with your other hand. Any sort of guttural sound is inappropriate, such as slurping or sniﬄing.

Romanian Cuisine: Tastes and Traditions

Romanian traditional home cuisine is healthy. Vegetables and fruits are a must on the table. Various types of preserved fruits and vegetables are eaten at home even now when we can find fresh vegetables in the supermarkets. To have meat on the table was considered a luxury in the past and it was eaten only on Sundays and holidays. For Christmas the tradition was to sacrifice a pig and for Easter a lamb was sacrificed. Pork and lamb meat are cooked in various ways.

The luxury of the past became the normal of the present and as some Romanians like to say, "our favorite vegetable is meat." Therefore in most traditional restaurants the dishes are based on meat and many variations on Romanian cuisine can be tasted only at home where the healthy styles of cooking are still eaten.

Every single region, district, city, and even family will have their own traditions and recipes which have been transmitted from generation to generation. In Romania we say that if the same ingredients and the same recipe are give to two women, the dishes will have a completely diﬀerent taste. That's why Romanians love to eat at home and are very used to "mama's food." Eating in restaurants is a weekend pleasure and most of the time it is a good opportunity to taste international cuisine.

Regional Dishes

Top Five:

Ciorbă de perișoare - Romanian meatball sour soup with vegetables. Usually served as a ﬁrst course, it is among the top favourite dishes in Romania.

Sarmale - Cabbage or grape leaves stuffed with a composition made of rice, meat and vegetables. There are different types of sarmale and different dimensions, specific to every region. Some people prefer the vegan sarmale in which mushrooms are used instead of meat.

Ardei umpluți - Romanian stuﬀed peppers ﬁlled with rice, meat and vegetables. Meat can be replaced by mushrooms.

Mămăligă cu brânză și smântână - Cornmeal mush with traditional Romanian cheese and sour cream. Extremely simple to cook. This combination can be found throughout the entire country.

Mici - Grilled meat rolls made by using one type of meat or a combination. They can be prepared at home or found in almost every Romanian supermarket as a semi-prepared food. They can be served in diﬀerent ways. Mici are the number one

ROMANIANPOD101.COM ALL ABOUT S1 #7 - THE TOP FIVE ROMANIAN DISHES YOU HAVE TO TRY 3 street food in Romania and are highly loved and appreciated. They are eaten at Romanian festivals with mustard and beer.

Pește cu mujdei și mămăligă - Fish grilled or fried combined and served with garlic sauce and cornmeal mush. People who like cheese might combine the entire dish with cheese as well.

Other common dishes are:

Salată de vinete ("eggplant salad")

This comes in two diﬀerent forms, simple and with mayonnaise. This is an appetizer that you can put on a piece of bread and eat with telemea (Romanian traditional cheese) or with raw vegetables.

Salată de boeuf ("beef salad") Finely chopped meat with vegetables and mayonnaise. This salad is prepared for special occasions and holidays. There are various recipes. The ingredients that are used and preparation methods are diﬀerent. It was ﬁrst invented by a Belgian cook who worked for a restaurant in Moscow at the end of the 19th century. Since then, the recipe has spread all around Eastern Europe.

ROMANIANPOD101.COM ALL ABOUT S1 #7 - THE TOP FIVE ROMANIAN DISHES YOU HAVE TO TRY 4 LESSON NOTES All About S1 #8 The Top Five Things you Need to Know About Romanian Society

CONTENTS

2 Grammar

# 8

Top 5 T hings You Need to Know About Romanian Society

Society is a very broad topic, and is hard to summarize in a single lesson. That's why we are narrowing it down to the top ﬁve most important aspects of Romanian society.

But before we start the with our top ﬁve list it is important to know that Romanian culture exists in two countries, Romania and the Republic of Moldova.

One Culture, Two Countries: Romania and T he Republic of Moldova

In order to understand why these two countries have the same culture, we need to brieﬂy present their history.

Throughout time certain Romanian territories where occupied by diﬀerent empires. One of those territories is called now The Republic of Moldova, a country situated at the east Romanian border. It was occupied twice:

• 1812- 1917 by the Tsarist Empire • 1940- 1991 by the Soviet Union

When the Soviet Union was dissipated, the occupied territory became a country with the name of the Republic of Moldova. The language spoken there is Romanian but the majority of the population understands and/or speaks Russian as well.

Now here we have the top ﬁve most important aspects of Romanian culture.

1. Major Cities And How they Work

Bucharest is the capital and commercial center of Romania. It is the country's largest and most populated city with over 1.9 million people. Bucharest is the center of politics, for here is the Romanian government and Parliament, the Prime Minister and the President of the Romanian Republic. Unlike other European capitals, Bucharest's history goes back only some centuries and it was ﬁrst mentioned in 1459 in a document from the court of the Prince Vlad the Impaler of Vallachia, who inspired the creation of Dracula.

The ﬁrst impression that we get when visiting the city is that it's massive and rigid because of the communist architectural style. The communist era left big traces and during that period many old buildings where destroyed. However the city

ROMANIANPOD101.COM ALL ABOUT S1 #8 - THE TOP FIVE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT ROMANIAN SOCIETY 2 retains the Old City and the ruins of the Old Princely Court (though it was poorly maintained during the communist period). Bucharest has a growing cultural scene with its own unique atmosphere which is a combination between interwar and communist culture. The Parliament Palace is the largest and heaviest administrative building on Earth (bigger then Cheops' pyramid). A great part of the old city was demolished in order to construct it. Several hundred architects worked for the project in the communist period to accomplish the wish of Ceausescu (the last Romanian dictator).

IAȘI (Jassy), is recognized as the second major city of Romania after Bucharest, located in the Moldova region. Throughout history Iasi has been considered one of the leading centers of Romanian culture and development. Many Romanian academics, poets, writers, artists, and musicians started their careers here and it used to be referred to as the biggest source of Romanian talents. Iasi is one of the oldest city of Romania and is deeply rooted in history. Archaeological research mentions the presence of prehistorical communities.

Some of the greatest tourist attractions of the city are Princely Saint Nicolas Church, St. Paraschiva Metropolitan Cathedral, Trei Ierarhi Church, the Palace of Culture, The Great Synagogue, Central University Library Technical University library. Almost all are located on the Golden Plateau.

CLUJ-NAPOCA and TIMIȘOARA are both western centers of culture, economy, development and big university centers. Timisoara was ﬁrst mentioned in documents in 1212. The center of the city has buildings from the Austrian Empire Era. Cluj-Napoca is one of the oldest Romanian cities, with a history that goes back about 8,000 years.

SIBIU and BRAȘOV are situated in the center of the country. They are close to great tourist attractions like Bran Castle, Peleș Castle, and Râșnov Citadel.

Sibiu is a small city where the medieval area was very well preserved even during the communist regime. Brașov is surrounded by the Southern Carpathians where the trade routes between the Ottoman Empire and Western Europe intersected. Both cities are recommended points for starting to explore Romania.

2. Family Lif e

The Romanian lifestyle is a mix between the oriental and occidental lifestyles. In Romania, it is possible to meet very traditional families with more than three children. These types of families usually live in the countryside areas where people produce their own food. The majority of Romanian families, though, have one or two children. Romania is a hierarchical society where age and status must be respected. Romanians are very attached to their towns and families. It is common for children to live with their parents until they get married or until they move in another city for their studies. Romanian cuisine is an important aspect of Romanian culture because every dish can be identiﬁed with a region or even a family, and also because meal time is family time in Romania.

ROMANIANPOD101.COM ALL ABOUT S1 #8 - THE TOP FIVE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT ROMANIAN SOCIETY 3 Holidays and family events are moments when the whole family gathers. Family members eat together at the table. Friends and extended family are invited to the house and/or to a restaurant.

3. Work Culture and Economy

Romania is a developing country, the 27t h largest in the European Region and 50th largest in the world. The communist regime ruled in Romania until 1989. The economy was one of the areas aﬀected by the regime.

After the revolution, a series of reforms were carried out which led to economic improvement. The country's economic growth was registered as being among the fastest in Europe until 2009. Currently Romania is a regional leader in ﬁelds like vehicles production and IT.

Bucharest is one of the most developed cities in Eastern Europe and the most developed in Romania. The other cities at the top of the list are Timișoara, Brașov, and Sibiu.

The top products exported are cars, vehicle parts, reﬁned oil and petroleum, and rubber tires. The top export destinations are countries from the European Union.

Tourism started to develop after the fall of the communist regime and year by year the number of tourists is growing.

However Romania's economy is in need of a lot of improvement. Their status as a transitional economy is apparent. Anti- corruption organisations were created in recent years but despite the progress, the remnants of the Communist regime are still strong and it will take some more time to get rid of them.

4. Politics

As we mentioned before, uniﬁcation was always a political topic that preoccupied Romanian politicians. There were three uniﬁcations in the history of Romanian principalities.

The first one was called the Big Unification of King Michael the Brave. Almost every Romanian city has a a Unification Square where we can admire his statue.

In 1859 on January 24th King Alexandru Ioan Cuza uniﬁed two Romanian principalities (Moldova and Vallachia). The second Big Uniﬁcation was done in 1918 on December 1st by King Carol the 1st. For this reason the 1st of December is a National Holiday in Romania. In 1940, Romania lost some of its territories after Hitler's pact with Stalin.

The monarchy in was abolished in 1947 making the country a communist republic until December 1989, when the most cruel Romanian revolution took place. The dictator Ceausescu and his wife were executed. A democratic Romanian republic

ROMANIANPOD101.COM ALL ABOUT S1 #8 - THE TOP FIVE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT ROMANIAN SOCIETY 4 based on a multi-party system was installed afterwards.

The current President of the Romanian Republic is Klaus Iohannis who leads the National Liberal Party, the right wing. On the other hand the center-left political party is the Social Democratic Party of Romania. The parliament is based on a bicameral legislature.

Government in Romania changes constantly but corruption is still a part of the Romanian political landscape, and during the years many scandal investigations have involved politicians, administrators, and businessmen.

5. Romanian Lif estyle

The Romanian lifestyle changed drastically when the communist regime was installed. Today, after 26 years, the traces can still be felt.

After a period of restriction, fear, and brainwashing, the Romanian pre-communist lifestyle suﬀered changes but didn't completely disappear.

The family is very important and manners are a must, especially when talking with someone older. Romanians express themselves freely and criticize a lot, but they will rarely be direct in public. The fear of public expression still exists among a large number of Romanian people.

Romanians have a passion for arts, fashion, music, gastronomy, parties, and gatherings. It is very common to invite friends and family to your home or a restaurant for conversation, accompanied by a glass of wine or beer. Among friends and family Romanians feel free to express themselves, ask for advice, and share opinions.

Vacations and holidays are the perfect time to spend with family or friends. Some of the top outdoor activities loved by Romanians are ﬁshing, skiing, swimming, mountain climbing, and playing European football or volleyball.

As a result, Romanians are generally friendly and open minded, and they easily tolerate other opinions and cultures. If you go to live or travel in Romania you might be surprised to see that they will try to speak French, English, or German with you. Making guests feel comfortable is what Romanians are good at.

ROMANIANPOD101.COM ALL ABOUT S1 #8 - THE TOP FIVE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT ROMANIAN SOCIETY 5 LESSON NOTES All About S1 #9 Top Five Important Dates During the Romanian Calendar Year

CONTENTS

2 Grammar

# 9

T he Focus of this Lesson is the Top Five Important Dates During the Romanian Calendar Year

In Romania there are nine national holidays. On these days, schools, government institutions, banks, and most companies are oﬃcially closed, and most employees get the day oﬀ. Here's a list of Romanian holidays:

1. January 1st - Anul Nou ("New Year's Day")

2. January 24th - Ziua Unirii ("Uniﬁcation Day")

3. March, April or May - Paștile (variable date-"Easter")

4. May 1st - Ziua Muncii("Labor Day")

5. May, June, July - Rusaliile (variable day- "Pentecost")

6. August 15th - Adormirea Maicii Domnului ("Assumption of the Virgin Mary")

7. November 30th- Sf Andrei ("Saint Andrew's Day," Romania's Patron Saint)

8. December 1st - Ziua Natională a României ("National Romanian Day")

9. December 25th - Crăciunul ("Christmas")

In this lesson, the most popular and interesting celebrations will be covered.

Anul Nou ("New Year's Day")

In Romania, Anul Nou ("New Year's Day") is the day for rest, eating, and meeting family or friends. Young people like taking part in social activities. Many Romanians consider the winter holidays the most beautiful part of the year. New Year's Eve and New Year's Day are part of it. Holidays nowadays have become very commercial, but Romanians like to keep tradition alive. Some villages keep alive some old rituals like performing the Plugul ("the big plow"), Mask dances, and Goat Dance or Bear Dances. There are various places to spend the new year and everyone is free to choose where to go. Concerts and ﬁreworks shows are held in the cities' squares. Romanians like to wait until midnight and drink champagne with friends and make wishes for the new year.

Paștile ("Easter")

ROMANIANPOD101.COM ALL ABOUT S1 #9 - TOP FIVE IMPORTANT DATES DURING THE ROMANIAN CALENDAR YEAR 2 In Romania, Churches hold special Easter services that start on the Easter Eve. The services finish after midnight. Easter in Romania is a strictly religious holiday which is celebrated with the family. Even people who never go to church during the year will be present at the service that night to take the Holy Light which comes from directly from Jerusalem. After mass, people come back home and eat the first Easter meal, which usually is very light. They bump painted eggs together and say Hristos a Înviat! ("Christ is risen!"). On Easter morning, many families go to morning mass. When they come back home, they eat a rich traditional lunch. The dishes that are never missing from the table are sarmale (stuffed cabbage leaves) and cozonac (sweet bread similar to the Italian panettone). In the afternoon people visit relatives and the visits continue the next day.

Lamb meat is a must on the table and Romania has huge variety of lamp recipes. They all diﬀer from region to region. The color used for the painted eggs is traditionally red (the color of the blood), but these days Romanians use other colors as well.

Adormirea Maicii Domnului ("Assumption of the Virgin Mary")

On this day, Romanians celebrate the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and it is one the most important feasts of the Orthodox calendar. In Romania, Saint Mary is the protector of the Navy, so August 15 is the day of the Romanian Naval Forces as well. The celebration is strictly religious. People go to churches or monasteries to pray. People who have the name Maria or a derivation of this name are celebrated. Those with the name Maria will receive wishes, cards and even gifts from family members. Food is not an important aspect, but those who are called Maria should prepare to receive guests.

Ziua Naționala a României ("National Romanian Day")

The holiday is also called "Great Union Day" and commemorates the great national assembly of ethnic Romanians which declared the Union of Transylvania with Romanian Kingdom during the reign of Carol the 1st in 1918. The holiday is celebrated in all Uniﬁcation Squares in Romania with parades and/or speeches. The largest parades, speeches and concerts are held in Bucharest and Alba Iulia. Even on TV they celebrate this date by broadcasting historical documentaries or images of the main commemorations in Alba-Iulia and Bucharest with the most important Romanian leaders.

Crăciunul ("Christmas")

Christmas is one of the most important religious holidays in Romania. The celebration basically starts on the night of December 24 when young people gather together and go around their neighborhood or hospitals, asylums, or other institutions to bring the Christmas spirit by singing carols. Romanians consider the religious aspect the most important part of the holiday. All Romanians put decorations up in their homes, prepare a Christmas tree, buy presents for friends and relatives, and look for the best food in stores. On the night of Christmas Eve it

ROMANIANPOD101.COM ALL ABOUT S1 #9 - TOP FIVE IMPORTANT DATES DURING THE ROMANIAN CALENDAR YEAR 3 is very common to go to mass. This festivity is heartily felt by Romanians because they can have a family reunion while eating a long and rich Christmas lunch with traditional Romanian food. Staying with relatives, preparing food all together, and singing carols are the other important aspects of this celebration. The old tradition of singing carols is kept even in the cities. A very old Romanian custom which is practiced even today in Romanian villages before Christmas day is the sacriﬁce of a pig or Ignatius. Romanian women start cooking three days before Christmas to prepare various kinds of pork sausages, sarmale (stuﬀed cabbage leaves), cozonaci (sweet breads with nuts and raisins) and many other traditional dishes.

ROMANIANPOD101.COM ALL ABOUT S1 #9 - TOP FIVE IMPORTANT DATES DURING THE ROMANIAN CALENDAR YEAR 4 LESSON NOTES All About S1 #10 Top Five Things You Need to Know About Romanian Pop Culture

CONTENTS

2 Grammar

# 10

T he Focus of this Lesson is Romanian Pop Culture

T he Top 5 things to know about pop culture in Romania: music, movies, T V, popular foreigners, popular Romanian men/women and sports ﬁgures abroad.

Romanian culture is not only what's between the walls of museum and churches or appearing in textbooks and documentaries. Romanian pop culture today is on the cutting edge of many forms of entertainment, from music to sports, movies to fashion. The creativity of Romanian people is still giving many gifts to mankind.

By the way, it is important to consider that the entertainment industry in Romania is strongly inﬂuenced by both European and American cultures.

1. Popular Music

Romanian music now offers many talented singers and bands covering different genres, from melodic music and opera to rock. Inna, Antonia, Alexandra Stan, Nicoleta Nuca, Dan Bittman, Horia Brenciu, Dan Bălan, Smiley, and Paula Seling are very popular in Romania but some of them have had considerable success abroad during the last few years. Holograf, Cargo, Mădălina Manole are Romanian bands and celebrities who were very popular in their day and many people still listen to their songs. Nowadays among opera singers Angela Gheorgiu is probably the most beloved artist. Inna is a singer who became famous on YouTube. She was the first European female singer who surpassed one billion views. Her fame grew and she sold millions of records worldwide, and at the end of 2011 she became the richest recording artist in Romania and Eastern Europe.

The male music world is undoubtedly dominated by international star Dan Bălan. He was born in the Republic of Moldova, where he started his career as a instrumentalist, songwriter, and singer. Later he moved to Romania with his group O-zone where he created and released albums. Among the songs he wrote and produced was the international hit Dragostea din tei known as the Numa Numa song, one of the best-selling songs in the history of world music. It sold more than 12 million copies in Europe, Asia and Latin America. The Numa numa song was translated into more than fourteen languages.

Dan Balan started his solo career in 2006. Since then he produced and wrote other hits like Crazy Loop, Freedom, Lendo Calendo, Funny Love, Lyubi, Domoy and others. He worked with recording companies in the U.K, U.S, Italy, Russia and collaborates with international artists like Lady Gaga, Rihanna and others. He sings in Romanian, English, Spanish, and Russian.

A current Romanian rising star is Nicoleta Nuca with her single Nu sunt.

ROMANIANPOD101.COM ALL ABOUT S1 #10 - TOP FIVE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT ROMANIAN POP CULTURE 2 2. Popular Movies

Hollywood movies are very popular in Romania, however Romanian has it's own ﬁlm culture which is populated by great names such as Horațiu Malaele with his Nunta Mută ("Silent Wedding") or Radu Mihaileanu with The Concert. All genres are covered, from comedies to horror movies. One example of a horror movie is Miss Christina directed by Cristian Mugiu. Other Romanian ﬁlms on the top of the list are:

Filantropica - Director Nae Caramﬁl

Closer to the Moon - Romanian-American production, Director Nae Caramﬁl

Nașa - Directors: Virgil Nicolaescu and Jesus del Carro

Mamaia - Director Jesus del Carro

California Dreamin' - Director Cristian Nemescu

3. Popular Television

Romanian television is populated by talk shows, sports shows, comedy programs, music programs, and TV news, but mainly by American TV shows or Romanian shows adapted from American or English formats. Recently Romanians started to be very addicted to reality shows as well, probably because Romanian people have some attitudes and reactions that are very interesting and amusing when seen on a TV screen. Among Romanian TV shows we chose the most popular one: Romania's Got Talent. This is the Romanian version of the program ﬁrst originating in the United Kingdom. It consists of a contest between aspiring talents selected by public audition.

4. Popular Foreigners

Among popular actors in Romania are Hollywood big names such as Johnny Depp, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, and Jennifer Aniston. In sports we have the tennis player Roger Federer, and soccer players Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi who have fans in Romania at the moment. However it is the ﬁeld of music where there is the largest numbers of foreign artists. Recently Romanians listen to singers like Taylor Swift, Adele, and Birdy, or to everlasting phenomenon like Madonna and Michael Jackson; and they also appreciate new stars of pop music such as Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, and John Legend or bands like One Direction, Maroon 5, and Take That.

5. Popular Romanian Men/Women Abroad and Sports Figures

Besides all those famous Romanians from the past such as Prince Vlad the Impaler, Constantin Brancuși, Maria Tănase, Nicolaie Ceaușescu and so on, nowadays Romania has some new famous ﬁgures who are loved throughout the world.

Concerning sports, Romania football players such as Adrian Mutu, Ștefan Radu and Bogdan Stancu are probably the most known at the present because they are

ROMANIANPOD101.COM ALL ABOUT S1 #10 - TOP FIVE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT ROMANIAN POP CULTURE 3 employed by foreign teams. In tennis Romania is represented by Simona Halep, in boxing by Mihai Nistor, and in gymnastics by Sandra Izbașa.

Finally the symbol of Romanian female beauty for the last sixty years is no longer alive. Her name was Maria Tănase. She was a Romanian singer who developed an international career. At present the Romanian actress and fashion model Mădălina Ghenea is considered one of the most beautiful women in the world.

ROMANIANPOD101.COM ALL ABOUT S1 #10 - TOP FIVE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT ROMANIAN POP CULTURE 4 LESSON NOTES All About S1 #11 Top Five Tools for Learning Romanian

CONTENTS

2 Grammar

# 11

T he Focus of this Lesson is the Top Five Tools f or Learning Romanian

There are some useful tools that can be used while studying Romanian, but these will help you only if you commit yourself and have a little time.

The ﬁrst step is to recognize your level of Romanian, and to do that it is necessary to check the "Common European Framework of Reference." Here we can ﬁnd all the levels from A1 to C2 with detailed explanations concerning what skills are required for each level. Here is an excerpt.

Can understand with ease virtually everything heard or read. Can summarize information from different spoken and written sources, reconstructing Mastery arguments and accounts in a coherent C2 presentation. Can express himself/ herself spontaneously, very fluently, and precisely, differentiating finer shades of meaning even in more complex situations.

ROMANIANPOD101.COM ALL ABOUT S1 #11 - TOP FIVE TOOLS FOR LEARNING ROMANIAN 2 Can understand a wide range of demanding, longer texts and recognize implicit meaning. Can express himself/herself fluently and spontaneously without much obvious searching for Effective expressions. Can use Operational language flexibly and C1 Proficiency effectively for social, academic, and professional purposes. Can produce clear, well- structured, detailed text on complex subjects, showing controlled use of organizational patterns, connectors, and cohesive devices.

Can understand the main ideas of complex text on both concrete and abstract topics, including technical discussions in his/her ﬁeld of specialization. Can interact with a degree of ﬂuency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with Vantage B2 native speakers quite possible without strain for either party. Can produce clear, detailed text on a wide range of subjects and explain a viewpoint on a topical issue giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options.

ROMANIANPOD101.COM ALL ABOUT S1 #11 - TOP FIVE TOOLS FOR LEARNING ROMANIAN 3 Can understand the main points of clear standard input on familiar matters regularly encountered in work, school, leisure, etc. Can deal with most situations likely to arise whilst travelling in an area where the language is spoken. Can T hreshold produce simple B1 connected text on topics that are familiar or of personal interest. Can describe experiences and events, dreams, hopes, and ambitions and brieﬂy give reasons and explanations for opinions and plans.

Can understand sentences and frequently used expressions related to areas of most immediate relevance (e.g., very basic personal and family information, shopping, local geography, employment). Can communicate in simple Waystage A2 and routine tasks requiring a simple and direct exchange of information on familiar and routine matters. Can describe in simple terms aspects of his/her background, immediate environment, and matters in areas of immediate need.

ROMANIANPOD101.COM ALL ABOUT S1 #11 - TOP FIVE TOOLS FOR LEARNING ROMANIAN 4 Can understand and use familiar everyday expressions and very basic phrases aimed at the satisfaction of needs of a concrete type. Can introduce him/herself and others and can ask and answer questions Breakthrough A1 about personal details such as where he/she lives, people he/she knows and things he/ she has. Can interact in a simple way provided the other person talks slowly and clearly and is prepared to help.

Once you know your level, or have decided which one to reach, the second step is to look for a good manual and reference aids. Here are some links:

• http://rolang.ro/learn-romanian-manual.php

Academia Romana , http://www.acad.ro/ (Academia Română has been the • most important institution and reference point for the Romanian Language since 1879) • "Romanian an Essential Grammar" by Ramona Gönczöl-Davies

"The Grammar of Romanian" edited by Gabriela Panã Dindelegan—A Oxford • grammar book with the most comprehensive and sophisticated description of present day standard Romanian.

2. Online Dictionaries

Learning Romanian, one of the first things that must be remembered is the feminine and masculine, and the plural or singular forms of nouns. The best way to recognize them is to check a good dictionary to find the right form. A good dictionary is not only a tool for understanding the meaning of words, but also gives clarification about spelling and verbs' conjugations. Here the web offers very good Romanian dictionaries:

ROMANIANPOD101.COM ALL ABOUT S1 #11 - TOP FIVE TOOLS FOR LEARNING ROMANIAN 5 Word Reference (http://www.wordreference.com) provides many languages • in addition to Romanian as well as translations from English to Romanian and vice versa. This website also oﬀers a very useful forum.

http://www.dictionare.com/english/dictionary.htm Besides a good • Romanian-English and English-Romanian translation dictionary this website also provides conjugation, declination forms and vocabulary sections.

Dictionar explicativ român (https://dexonline.ro/) for those who have a • higher knowledge of Romanian language, this on-line dictionary is completely in Romanian and also provides grammar sections.

3. Grammar/Verbs Checker

For any speciﬁc clariﬁcation about Romanian grammar you can always refer to Romanian an Essential Grammar by Ramona Gönczöl-Davies or "The Grammar of Romanian" edited by Gabriela Panã Dindelegan. Both books are written in English, especially created for people who want to learn Romanian. However every single student of Romanian will surely say that the most challenging part of the language is the verbs and their conjugations. For this reason whenever you are in doubt please look at http://www.dictionare.com/english/dictionary.htm. Type the verb, and the conjugations for all the persons and all the tenses immediately appear.

4. Romanian Folk Songs and Lyrics/Comics/ Movies

Learning with songs is a fun way to improve your skills in Romanian. Songs are a part of culture and you can get only beneﬁts from the music. On the web you can ﬁnd a lot of websites with Romanian songs in karaoke form. Reading while you're singing is amusing but after you should check the lyrics to better understand the meaning and the usage of words. The Romanian language in songs can be very simple but also very complicated and poetic. The singers we recommend are Dan Bittman, Horia Brenciu, Smiley, Nicoleta Nuca, Holograf, and Mădălina Manole. These are only a few examples, but the Romanian music panorama is very vast, from pop music to folk, rock to opera.

Another useful tool that can help you become familiar with conversational and casual Romanian is animation. Almost all Disney movies and series are dubbed in Romanian. So if you like Disney movies, ﬁnd the ones in Romanian.

For those who are more conﬁdent with the language and want to practice reading, we recommend to watch movies with Romanian subtitles. It is easy to ﬁnd subtitles because in Romanian only kids' movies are dubbed. A trick is to watch a series in a language that you don't understand using the Romanian subtitles. This is very useful for those who are advanced enough and understand written Romanian and want to develop the speed reading.

ROMANIANPOD101.COM ALL ABOUT S1 #11 - TOP FIVE TOOLS FOR LEARNING ROMANIAN 6 5. Pronunciation Tool

Finally, when being exposed to new Romanian words either written or oral, you might ﬁrst learn how to pronounce them. In this case the most useful website to use is: https://translate.google.com/

There are only two easy steps:

1. Chose the Romanian language

2. Then enter the word or phrase you want to learn how to pronounce in the box.

3. Finally click either on the button "speak" to hear the word or phrase or click on the "download" button to listen and save the audio ﬁle of the word or phrase you added in the text box.

This tool gives you a decent pronunciation of standard Romanian and will surely help you improve your pronunciation.

ROMANIANPOD101.COM ALL ABOUT S1 #11 - TOP FIVE TOOLS FOR LEARNING ROMANIAN 7 LESSON NOTES All About S1 #12 Top Five Romanian Classroom Phrases

CONTENTS

2 Grammar

# 12

T he Focus of this Lesson is the Top Five Romanian Classroom Phrases

When taking your Romanian class, there are some words and phrases that are probably very familiar to you. In case you have not started your class yet here follows a list of the ﬁve most used phrases you can say or will hear during a Romanian lesso.

1. Scuzați, puteți repeta vă rog? ("Can you repeat that, please?")

When teachers are speaking there will be surely some words or phrases you can't catch. When you want to ask "Can you repeat that, please?" the right sentence to use is Scuzați, puteți repeta vă rog?

This sentence is in the courtesy form, since with a teacher it is customary to use the polite pronoun Dumneavoastră and conjugate the verbs in the second person plural. In our phrase the pronoun is implied. Dumneavoastră is the equivalent of "you" in English.

Scuzaţi is an expression to draw someone's attention, "excuse me"; puteți is the verb a putea, "can," for the ﬁrst person plural conjugated in present tense. Repeta means "to repeat," and ﬁnally vă rog is the Romanian expression for "please."

2. Vă rog mergeți la pagina...; puteți citi? ("Please look at page...; can you read?")

Studying Romanian, you might use a manual or a textbook. Pages' numbers also help a student in memorizing how to count in Romanian. When opening the book you will be asked by something like Vă rog, mergeți la pagina numarul 11, "Please look at page number 11." Vă rog is "please." In Romanian we use the verb a merge, "to walk," instead of the verb "to look at," a privi. Since a class is usually composed of more than one person mergeți refers to the second plural person voi (the plural "you" in English) and it's the conjugation for the verb a merge. Consequently the teacher will probably ask someone to read by saying his/her name followed by the phrase poți citi? "Can you read?" Poți is the present tense for the second singular person of the verb a putea, "can'"; citi means "to read."

3. Cum se spune ..... în română? ("How do we say ..... in Romanian?")

When looking for the meaning of a word it is customary to look it up in a dictionary without interrupting the lesson. However, there are some special expressions that you won't ﬁnd easily, and for this reason it is appropriate to say Scuzati, cum se spune.... in română? "Excuse-me, how do we say... in Romanian?" Cum is "how" in Romanian and se spune is the translation for "we say." Se spune is an impersonal form in which the verb a spune, "to say," is conjugated in the third singular person,

ROMANIANPOD101.COM ALL ABOUT S1 #12 - TOP FIVE ROMANIAN CLASSROOM PHRASES 2 el/ea spune.

4. Ce înseamnă? ("What does it mean?")

In Romanian the verb "to mean" is a însemna, and "what" is translated as ce. The inﬁnitive verb a însemna changes into înseamna when conjugated in the present tense for the third singular person. That is why "what does it mean" is ce înseamna?

5. Ați înteles? Există întrebări? ("Do you understand? Any questions?")

At the end of an Romanian lesson the teacher will probably ask the class ați înteles? It literally means "Have you understood?" In English it is more appropriate to use the simple tense, but in Romanian we use the past tense. Ati înteles is the past tense of the verb a întelege, "to understand" in the second plural person voi ("you" in English). Another common sentence you are going to hear at the end of a Romanian class is există întrebări? "Any questions?" Există literally means "exist" and întrebări is the plural form of the feminine noun a întreba, "question."

ROMANIANPOD101.COM ALL ABOUT S1 #12 - TOP FIVE ROMANIAN CLASSROOM PHRASES 3 LESSON NOTES All About S1 #13 Ten Romanian Phrases Your Teacher Will Never Teach You

CONTENTS

2 Grammar

# 13

T he Focus of this Lesson is Ten Romanian Phrases Your Teacher Will Never Teach You

In this lesson we will see some of the most fun and useful expressions taken from daily Romanian conversation, because Romanian language students know how important it is to get past the slang barrier. These phrases are hard to ﬁnd in a dictionary and would rarely be mentioned during a Romanian class. The following sentences and words may be a bit slangy, but they are part of standard Romanian, and that means that Romanians understand and use them in daily life.

1. Tip/Tipă

Tip/tipă is a Romanian noun that means "guy" or "girl" in English. Tip replaces the word bărbat ("man") which is quite a long word. Tipă replaces the word femeie ("woman"). When referring to a third party it is commonly used as un tip or o tipă. For example am cunoscut o tipa interesantă means "I met an interesting girl," and şeful meu este un tip sever means "My boss is a strict guy."

2. Fain/ce fain!

The adjective fain is mainly translated as "beautiful," "very good," or "cool." The plural form is faini. It can be used as an adjective or as an exclamation to express a positive opinion like acest aparat de fotograﬁat este foarte fain, "this camera is really cool," or when someone says maine merg la Sibiu, "Tomorrow I'm leaving for Sibiu" it is simply answered by Ce fain!, "How cool!" as normally happens during a conversation in English. Fain can be replaced with the word tare, and ce fain can be replaced with ce tare! The feminine form is faină, with the plural form faine, and it is used to describe feminine subjects that we ﬁnd cool.

3. Ce tare!

If you are students of the Romanian language you probably know that the word tare means "hard" or "solid" and ce means "how" in this case. All together, ce tare is a very common and funny expression that means "how cool" or "so great." When used as slang, tare is mainly translated as "cool." When you want to express your excitement, astonishment, and joy about something, say ce tare!

A normal conversation would sound like this:

A: Am facut skydiving ieri. "Yesterday I went skydiving." B: Wow...ce tare! "Wow... how cool!"

4. Vai ş-amar!

ROMANIANPOD101.COM ALL ABOUT S1 #13 - TEN ROMANIAN PHRASES YOUR TEACHER WILL NEVER TEACH YOU 2 Vai ş-amar literally means "oh and bitter" and indicates that someone, something, or a situation is really bizarre and very disappointing.

Here are some moments in which you can use the exclamation vai ş-amar:

• When you are stuck in a traﬃc jam • When you hear bad news on TV • When someone is acting bizarre • When you listen to a disappointing story • When you are in a crowded place • When someone gives you poor service

5. Pe bune?!

The expression pe bune is what in English is mainly translated as "really," "seriously," or "for real?" It can be used as a exclamation, statement or question depending on what we want to express. When someone says Maine merg in Spania, "Tomorrow I am leaving for Spain," you can simply answer with pe bune?! to express your astonishment.

Pe bune ca voi spune adevarul, "I am really going to say the truth," is a statement where pe bune emphasises your intention.

6. Gură cască

The expression gură cască is the equivalent of the English expression "head in the clouds" and it is literally translated as "open mouth." When someone says gură cască in Romanian it means that the person to whom this expression is addressed is confused, distracted, or thoughtless. Usually Romanian use this expression to describe someone who lost or forgot something.

A normal conversation would sound like this:

Daughter: Oh nu! Mi-am uitat portofelul acasă. "Oh no! I forgot my wallet at home."

Mother: Daca eşti gura gasca... "That happens..." (lit. "When you have your head in the clouds.")

ROMANIANPOD101.COM ALL ABOUT S1 #13 - TEN ROMANIAN PHRASES YOUR TEACHER WILL NEVER TEACH YOU 3 We should also remember that gura cască can be perceived as being rude. That's why in Romania only family members and close friends are usually allowed to say this to someone.

7. A se prinde.

A se prinde is a reﬂexive verb which means "to catch himself/herself/itself." When used as slang, though, it means "to understand." For example, M-am prins ce vroia să spună, "I understood what (he/she) wanted to say." Therefore this verb is used when you understood an explanation or when you catch a lie. By adding nu ("no") in the front of m-am prins we will have nu m-am prins and we change the meaning of the phrase. Use nu m-am prins if you want to say "I didn't understand."

8. Vrăjeală!/Abureala!

The word vrăjeală means "witchery" and the verb a vraji means "to bewitch." The word is translated as "vapor" or "damp." A ﬁtting situation to use these words is when someone is saying something very odd that you don't believe. For instance, if someone says Am auzit că salariile vor creşte cu 10 la sută, "I heard that salaries will rise 10 percent," a Romanian person would probably answer vrajeală or abureală. We can also add the verb a lăsa, "to leave." Then we have a lăsa abureala or a lăsa vrăjeala which are the equivalent of the English expression "to stop saying nonsense." Therefore when someone says lasă abureala, he/she means "stop saying nonsense."

9. A da papucii

A da papucii is used when someone is ending a serious relationship, but the literal meaning is pretty fun: "to give the shoes." For example, Alexandra i-a dat papucii lui George, "Alexandra ended her relationship with George," or i-am dat papucii luna trecută, "I ended the relationship a month ago." When the relationship between two people is not going well you will probably hear ma gândesc să îi dau papucii, which means "I am thinking of ending the relationship."

10. Baftă!

Baftă is a slang word that Romanians use a lot to say "good luck." Baftă! is synonym of the Romanian word noroc which means "chance." Baftă can be used only in casual conversations. For example, if your friend will take an exam you can say Baftă! and he will answer with mulţumesc, "thank you."

ROMANIANPOD101.COM ALL ABOUT S1 #13 - TEN ROMANIAN PHRASES YOUR TEACHER WILL NEVER TEACH YOU 4 LESSON NOTES All About S1 #14 Top Five Mistakes You Should Never Make in Romanian

CONTENTS

2 Grammar

# 14

T he Focus of this Lesson is T he Top Five Mistakes You Should Never Make in Romanian

There is a very famous proverb in Romania that says Din greşeli învăţăm (literally, "by making mistakes we learn"). We know that 'practice makes perfect,' but there are some mistakes that can easily be avoided. In this lesson you will ﬁnd the top ﬁve most common mistakes that Romanian language students usually make and we will provide you with some useful tips.

1. Verb Agreement

It is well known that the biggest problem when learning Romanian is verbs and their conjugations. Verbs change their endings according to the six different subjects (eu, tu, el, ea, noi voi, ei, and ele) and to tenses prezent, trecut, viitor, that is "present," "past," and "future" in English. It is very easy to make mistakes here, even for Romanian language speakers, but using the right verb agreement definitely makes you more confident with the language. Considering a normal conversation in Romanian, the politeness level of sentences is also very important. Romanians tend to be formal in some situations and using tu, "you," and Dumneavostră, the polite "you," requires the right verb agreement. For instance, if you are talking to a professor and ask cum eşti?, "how are you," (using tu), instead of cum sunteţi? (using Dumneavoastră), you are making a common mistake that influences the politeness level of your speech.

Romanians study verbs for years at school, but you don't have all that time to learn, so you might:

Practice every day, for example with the vast number of exercises you can • ﬁnd on the web.

When talking, ﬁrst think about the inﬁnitive form of the verb, then the tense • you want to change it into, and then which person you need.

When in doubt you can check the verb in a dictionary, there are always • some pages dedicated to tense templates.

2. Gender and Number

Especially for Romanian speakers, gender and number agreement errors are very common because there is no general rule that determines whether a noun is masculine, feminine, or neuter. Grammatically speaking adjectives and articles change their endings according to the gender and number of a noun; consequently it is very important not to make mistakes when expressing even a simple sentence.

ROMANIANPOD101.COM ALL ABOUT S1 #14 - TOP FIVE MISTAKES YOU SHOULD NEVER MAKE IN ROMANIAN 2 To avoid these mistakes you can consult a handy, pocket-size Romanian dictionary that you can carry with you, or ﬁnd an online dictionary on your phone.

3. Cases

In Romanian the noun and other nominal parts of speech (article, adjective, pronoun, and numeral) change their form. The form changing is called declination and the forms are called cases.

Cases are important because they show the relationship between the nominal and other words of the sentence as well as their function in the sentence. There are diﬀerent type of functions that a nominal can have:

• subject • direct object • indirect object • object

Cases and declination exist in many languages, including English. There are two cases in English:

1. the nominative (used to express the function of subject and object)

2. the genitive (used to express possession):

For example: nominative: ("Ana has a car.") genitive: ("Ana's car is red.")

Romanian's case system is more complex. It has ﬁve cases.

1. Nominative (used to express the subject)

2. Genitive (used to express the indirect object)

3. Dative (used to express possession)

ROMANIANPOD101.COM ALL ABOUT S1 #14 - TOP FIVE MISTAKES YOU SHOULD NEVER MAKE IN ROMANIAN 3 4. Accusative (used to express the direct object)

5. Vocative (used to express invocation or direct address)

For examples: nominative: Ana este în grădină. ("Ana is in the garden.") accusative: Văd pe Ana. ("I can see Ana.") genitive: Maşina Anei este aici. ( "Ana's car is here.") dative: Îi dau maşina Anei! ("I give the car to Ana.") vocative: Ano, vino aici! or Ana, vino aici! ("Ana, come here!")

Cases' functions in a sentence are often diﬃcult to understand even for native speakers, so don't worry if you can't pick them up quickly. Here are some tricks that will make them sound far easier then you think. Vocative is rarely used in colloquial Romanian. For example, native speakers will always say Ana, vino aici! instead of Ano, vino aici! ("Ana, come here!"). Also, you should remember that in form the genitive and the dative are identical, and so are the nominative and the accusative, only their functions are diﬀerent.

4. Unique signs and sounds

Romanian is a phonetic language, therefore every word is pronounced as it is written. However, you will have to learn few rules about pronunciation like where to place the accent, how to pronounce the diphthongs and triphtongs, and the letter combinations ce, ci, ge, gi, che, chi, ghe, ghi.

For example: ce- cerere "demand" ci- cireaşă "cherry" ge- geantă "bag" gi- a fugi "to run" che- ochelari "glasses" chi- ochi "eyes" ghe- Gheorghe

ROMANIANPOD101.COM ALL ABOUT S1 #14 - TOP FIVE MISTAKES YOU SHOULD NEVER MAKE IN ROMANIAN 4 ghi- unghie "nail"

The combination ge is often confounded with ghe, ce with che, ci with chi, and gi with ghi. Especially in writing, "h" is sometimes forgotten. Also the difficulties you will meet depend on how many foreign languages you've mastered and your native language. For example, Japanese people will find it difficult to roll and pronounce the Romanian r. For English native speakers the sounds â and î will be a real challenge since there is no correspondent in English.

5. T he Hyphen

How and when to use the hyphen is sometimes a problem that even native speakers have. Learning how to use it correctly is a sign of language proﬁciency. In Romanian the hyphen is the orthographical sign with the most functions. It is used to mark the boundary between two words for a more rapid writing and reading. Therefore, the hyphen makes the Romanian language sound more ﬂowing.

For example:

1. Spune ce îl vei întreba pe Vlad. "Tell me what you will ask Vlad."

2. Spune ce-l vei întreba pe Vlad. "Tell me what you will ask Vlad."

Sometimes the hyphen is used incorrectly or not used at all, so, for example, the written sentence will become Spune cel vei întreba pe Vlad. When Romanian children learn how to use a hyphen they keep in mind one simple rule: it usually replaces a vowel.

ROMANIANPOD101.COM ALL ABOUT S1 #14 - TOP FIVE MISTAKES YOU SHOULD NEVER MAKE IN ROMANIAN 5 LESSON NOTES All About S1 #15 Top Five Pet Phrases from the Romanian Teachers

CONTENTS

2 Grammar

# 15

T he Focus of this Lesson is the Top Five Pet Phrases f rom the Romanian Teacher

Here is a list of some additional phrases chosen because of their practical use, the frequency of questions about their meaning or translation, their frequent use in Romania, and their cultural aspects.

1. Noroc! Sănătate!

When toasting in Romania people usually say Noroc! Sometimes it is followed by Noroc şi sănătate," or simply Sănătate! Noroc means "luck" in Romanian and Sănătate means "health." By saying Noroc, Sanatate or both of them to the other people who are holding their drinks you are wishing them to luck and health. By the way the word sănătate in Romanian can have another usage that has nothing to do with "cheers." It's used when someone sneezes, like "bless you." In this case, ﬁrst we say sănătate to the person who sneezed and then they should answer with mulţumesc, "thank you."

2. Nu e nici o problemă/E în regulă!

In Romanian the expression nu e nici o problemă is frequently used. In English this is literally "there is no problem"; sometimes it is also said as nici o problemă. When everything is okay, you can also use the Romanian E in regulă! The phrase e în regulă means "it is okay," but recently the use of the English "okay" has also spread among Romanians. So, if you are suggesting a place or something to do don't be surprised if you are told "okay" by Romanians.

3. Succes!/Într-un ceas bun!

Whenever you want to say "good luck" to someone in Romania you only need to say succes. Succes is a neutral noun and means "success." Moreover there is expression in Romanian which has actually the same meaning: într-un ceas bun! If we literally translate într-un ceas bun it means "in a good hour." A suitable situation where you can use this phrase could be when wishing good luck to a friend before an extremely important even in their life, for example, when a business is started. Before other events like school exams or job interviews you will wish for "success."

4. Iubirea mea/Scumpete/Te Iubesc/Te ador

Romanians are renowned as warm and poetic people. In a couple they call each other Iubirea mea ("my love") , or simply iubire ("love") and Scumpete (literally "expensiveness"). These words are used in moments when feelings are expressed. There are basically two sentences that clearly give a diﬀerent level of intensity. One is Te iubesc, "I love you," which is the mostly used between romantic

ROMANIANPOD101.COM ALL ABOUT S1 #15 - TOP FIVE PET PHRASES FROM THE ROMANIAN TEACHERS 2 couples but also with relatives and friends. However in general Romanians express their feelings very rarely, especially with family and friends. It is thought that the feeling already exists and so it is not necessary to express it with words, but with actions.

On the other hand, te ador ("I adore you") expresses the very deep feelings between a man and a woman, and for Romanians it has a very strong poetic meaning. If you say that to someone it means that you have fallen deeply in love with that person.

5. A fost foarte bine!/M-am distrat de minune!

In Romania it is very easy to have a really good time with friends and whenever you want to express how great it was you can use the phrase a fost foarte bine! A fost foarte bine can be translated as "it was very good." A fost is the verb a ﬁ in past tense and foarte bine means "very good." This expression can be used after a pleasant experience, from the most intimate to the simplest.

Breaking down the second phrase, m-am distrat de minune, first we have m-am distrat which is the reflexive verb a se distra, "to enjoy," "to have fun," and the past tense of the first singular person eu. De minune in Romanian literally means "of wonder" but it stands for "great" or "wonderful" and is frequently used.

A fost foarte bine! and M-am distrat de minune! are equivalent to "I had good time!" or "I had a wonderful time." If you use one of these two expressions with your Romanian friends, they will deﬁnitely be glad.

ROMANIANPOD101.COM ALL ABOUT S1 #15 - TOP FIVE PET PHRASES FROM THE ROMANIAN TEACHERS 3 LESSON NOTES Pronunciation S1 #1 Learning to Pronounce the Romanian Alphabet

CONTENTS

2 Grammar

# 1

T he Focus of T his Lesson Is the Romanian Alphabet

When you ask foreigners what the Romanian language sounds like, the most common answer will be "like Italian." Many people who discover the language for the ﬁrst time are astonished by this similarity. Some of the most common descriptions of the Romanian language will include "poetic," "calm and musical" and "solemnly archaic." Well, there's a reason for this.

Romanian is a language where you will rarely hear words that are diﬃcult to pronounce due to the vowels, and the combinations of vowels which are called diphthongs and the triphthongs. Also, many Romanian words end in vowels, so you may say a whole sentence as one smooth single word.

For example: O sete de lume şi soare. meaning "A thirst of the world and sunshine." (from a poem by Lucian Blaga)

So there is no need to worry—by engaging yourself in learning Romanian pronunciation, you won't ﬁnd yourself hopelessly repeating the same sound in order to say it right. You are about to learn one of the most poetic languages in the world!

Romanian is the oﬃcial language of Romania and Republic of Moldova. There are many theories about its origins. Some scholars say Romanian's main ancestor is the Latin language and others say it is the Thraco- Dacian language.

It is estimated that there are about forty four million native speakers of the language in the world and for another four million Romanian is a second language.

Keep in mind that you are going to study literary Romanian, which is what you will hear on the television, radio and in the city. Pronunciation may vary according to the speaker's sex, age, culture, geographical region, the social environment, physical conditions and characteristics, and last but not least, on their mood. Romanian is very rich in dialect and regional languages, but once you master literary Romanian, you won't have problems with communicating in any part of Romania since almost all Romanian speakers use the literary Romanian accent and even if they don't use it, Romanian accents are very easy to comprehend. It takes time for a non-native to tell the diﬀerence between them.

In this lesson we will learn the basic structure of the Romanian alphabet.

The Romanian alphabet is composed of thirty-one letters, which we call graphemes. See the following table:

Romanian Alphabet

ROMANIANPOD101.COM PRONUNCIATION S1 #1 - LEARNING TO PRONOUNCE THE ROMANIAN ALPHABET 2 Grapheme Pronunciation English Example

1 -A [a] "barbarian"

2 -Ă [ə] "father"

3 -Â, [ɨ] no English equivalent

4 -B [b] "Baltic"

5 -C [k] "scanner"

5 -C [k'] "keen"

5 -C [t∫] "charter"

6 -D [d] "deer"

7 -E [e] "eﬀect"

7 -E [je] "yes"

8 -F [f] "f avour"

9 -G [g] "gastronomic"

[g'] "get"or "gift"

[ dʒ] "job"

10 -H [h] "ha!"

10 -H [mute]

11 -I [i] "individual"

12 -Î [ɨ] no English equivalent

13 -J [ ʒ] "treasure"

"keen" (used for loan words and 14 -K [k] foreign names)

ROMANIANPOD101.COM PRONUNCIATION S1 #1 - LEARNING TO PRONOUNCE THE ROMANIAN ALPHABET 3 15 -L [l] "life"

16 -M [m] "mother"

17 -N [n] "Nordic"

18 -O [o] "opera"

19 -P [p] "picture"

"Qatar" (used for loan words and 20 -Q [k] foreign names)

rolled r as in the food name 21 -R [r] tortillas

22 -S [s] "salmon"

23 -Ș [ʃ] "shopping"

24 -T [t] "stone"

25 -Ț [ts] "pizza"

26 -U [u] "group"

27 -V [v] "vision"

"Wagner" (used for loan words 28 -W [v] and foreign names)

"William" (used for loan words 28 -W [w] and foreign names)

29 -X [ks] "six"

29 -X [gz] "exercise"

ROMANIANPOD101.COM PRONUNCIATION S1 #1 - LEARNING TO PRONOUNCE THE ROMANIAN ALPHABET 4 "New York" (used for loan words 30 -Y [j] and foreign names)

31 -Z [z] "zipper"

Please remember!

Q, W, Y and K are used to write loan words, and international names. The • rule in Romanian is to pronounce the foreign words as closely to the original as possible.

The foreign vowels Ü and Ö are used to write and pronounce foreign • words like Müller or Böhm but are NOT part of the oﬃcial Romanian alphabet, therefore we didn't include them in our table.

H is NOT pronounced in the groups of letters che, chi, ghe, and ghi. For • example ochi ("eye"), ureche ("ear"), înghetata ("ice-cream"), ghiozdan ("backpack").

Letters with diacritical marks

A letter with a diacritical mark is a letter with a certain type of sign. It can be placed above or below the letter and gives information about how the letter should be pronounced.

Romanian has ﬁve letters of this kind: Ă, Â/Î, Ş, Ţ.

Ă, Â and Î are letters with accents below the letter.

Ş, Ţ have cedillas. A cedilla is a mark similar to a comma placed under the letter.

Remember that Â/Î are pronounced the same but they are used diﬀerently according to the position inside the word. The rules are simple:

- Î is used at the word's beginning and end.

Examples: început (beginning), a urî to hate

- Â is used inside the word. România ("Romania")

Native speakers know how to pronounce the Romanian words even when diacritical marks are not used. Especially when using the computer, writing the diacritics may take time because most Romanian people use the American QWERTY keyboard. In

ROMANIANPOD101.COM PRONUNCIATION S1 #1 - LEARNING TO PRONOUNCE THE ROMANIAN ALPHABET 5 order to write the Romanian diacritical marks, one must install a keyboard with Romanian National Standards which is QWERTZ. Therefore in unoﬃcial writing, Romanians don't use the diacritical marks. They use the letters A, I, S and T instead. In oﬃcial writing, however, using the diacritics is very important and sometimes may even create misunderstandings and problems if not used.

For example, the last name Ţonescu without diacritical mark becomes Tonescu. Both last names exist in Romanian and people who have these types of names are much more concerned about whether their name is written correctly or not.

Okay, so we concluded that there are thirty-one letters in the Romanian alphabet. Now, if we consider the sounds in the Romanian language we will note a small diﬀerence. The number of sounds in the Romanian language is thirty three. Why? Because some letters, depending on their position in a word, can have two or more pronunciations.

In Romanian, we can divide the thirty three sounds into three groups:

1. Seven Vowels

2. Twenty two Consonants

3. Four semi-vowels

ROMANIANPOD101.COM PRONUNCIATION S1 #1 - LEARNING TO PRONOUNCE THE ROMANIAN ALPHABET 6 LESSON NOTES Pronunciation S1 #2 The Pronunciation of Vowels in Romanian

CONTENTS

2 Grammar

# 2

T he Focus of T his Lesson Is Vowels and Semivowels

In this lesson we are going to focus on vowels and semivowels in the Romanian language.

Let's start with the deﬁnitions:

- a vowel is any sound that, when we pronounce it, makes air go out of the mouth cavity or mouth and nasal cavity together without encountering any obstacles.

- a semivowel is any sound that is similar to the vowels when they are pronounced. They are shorter and not as intense as the vowels. Together with the vowels they form the diphthongs and triphthongs that will be explained in Pronunciation Series Season 1 Lesson 4

In the Romanian language, there are seven vowels and four semivowels. Take a look at the tables:

Romanian vowels

Letter - Articulation place and Symbol mouth and Romanian English opening Articulatio Examples Examples level n

ROMANIANPOD101.COM PRONUNCIATION S1 #2 - THE PRONUNCIATION OF VOWELS IN ROMANIAN 2 [a] Pronounced with a wide- open mouth mamă cavity and ("mother") your tongue -A tată placed on 1 central ("father") "alphabet" the bottom open casă "application" of your ("home") mouth. No avion speciﬁc ("plane") diﬀerence from other languages.

[ə] Pronounced with your lips and jaw relaxed. Place your tongue in the apă ("water") -Ă center of limbă central your mouth. ("language") "about" 2 half -open The tip of the casă "a house" tongue is ("home") gently viaţă ("life") touching the lower front teeth. Don't move or ﬂex your tongue.

ROMANIANPOD101.COM PRONUNCIATION S1 #2 - THE PRONUNCIATION OF VOWELS IN ROMANIAN 3 [ɨ] As we Pronounced mentioned it with your lips before, -â and jaw English has this letter relaxed. The no equivalent does not mouth is for this occur in râu ("river") almost Romanian the world gând 3 closed. Place sound. The ﬁnal and ("thought") your tongue English initial a râde ("to in the center sound eugh! positions. laugh") of your (used to mouth and express central don't move disgust) is close or ﬂex the similar to the tongue. Â/Î

1. [e] pronounced with the -E mouth half bine ("well," anterior open just like "good") half open when you cine ("who") start smiling. economic Articulate ("economical with the ") "effect" in the case tongue in a engleza of some anterior ("English") personal position 4 pronouns without and f orms touching the eu ("I") of the palate. el este ("he "yes" verb a fi is") (to be) -E [je]articula ei ("they" is te [i] first masculine) pronounce then [e]. ele ("they" d as -JE Together feminine) they will create [je].

ROMANIANPOD101.COM PRONUNCIATION S1 #2 - THE PRONUNCIATION OF VOWELS IN ROMANIAN 4 [i] Place your tongue in a high front -I position with vis ("dream") "individual" 5 anterior respect to inimă "king" close the palate. ("heart") "listen"

început ("beginning") -Î a înnot ("to central swim") [ɨ] same as - close înnorat â ("cloudy") a învăţa ("to learn")

[o] is articulated with the lips rounded and the tongue -O Ovidius raised higher posterior ochi ("eye") "order" 6 then the half open zona ("zone") "ﬂoor" posterior zoo ("zoo") position for standard English

[u] Contract your lips and push them out to lupta ("ﬁght") the ulterior -U maximum, ("afterward") posterior "put" 7 and your lumina close "illumination" tongue ("light") should reach ultimul ("the the posterior last") position in your mouth.

ROMANIANPOD101.COM PRONUNCIATION S1 #2 - THE PRONUNCIATION OF VOWELS IN ROMANIAN 5 Romanian Semivowels

Letter Articulatio Romanian English n Examples examples

[e'] Move your tongue upward, close to the palate (the a vedea ("to -E upper wall of see") pre-vocalic the mouth). teama Stretch your ("fear") 1 f ront lips as if you "play" a avea ("to half -open are smiling have") and then a vrea ("to pronounce want") the vowel that comes after -E.

ROMANIANPOD101.COM PRONUNCIATION S1 #2 - THE PRONUNCIATION OF VOWELS IN ROMANIAN 6 [i] 1. Place your tongue in a high front position with respect to the palate, and the lips -I slightly open 1.pre and as when you post start smiling. vocalic The vowel anterior that comes in close front of after - a iubi ("to I will help love") you form the 2. ﬁnal semi vowel. "yes" position af ter a 2 consonant 2. Place your anterior tongue in a close unchi high front (considerd ("uncle") position with a short calmi ("calm") respect to semivowel ani ("years") the palate, or a non- albi ("white and the lips syllabic plural") slightly open vowel in as when you some start smiling. sources) The consonant that comes in front will give a palatalized character and make the sound -I very short.

ROMANIANPOD101.COM PRONUNCIATION S1 #2 - THE PRONUNCIATION OF VOWELS IN ROMANIAN 7 [o] Tighten your lips into the shape of a circle. Your tongue should be close to the -O oaie bottom of pre-vocal ("sheep") 3 your mouth, posterior şcoală "oath" and while half open ("school") articulating the sound pronounce the vowel that comes after.

[u] pronounce the vowel that comes before -U then contract -U your lips and oua ("eggs") pre and push them a ploua ("to post "want" 4 out to the rain") vocalic "cow" maximum, aur ("gold") posterior and your close tongue should reach a high front position in your mouth.

In the beginning it will be diﬃcult to recognize the diﬀerence between a vowel and a semivowel but you do not have to worry about remembering all these rules by heart. They just give you an introduction of what Romanian sounds like.

The most important thing is to hear as much Romanian as you can. Then you will not only understand how Romanian words are pronounced, but you will also start remembering them.

Also don't worry if you say eu and not yeu when you say the word for "I" in

ROMANIANPOD101.COM PRONUNCIATION S1 #2 - THE PRONUNCIATION OF VOWELS IN ROMANIAN 8 Romanian. People will still understand you.

Please consult a dictionary for the pronunciation and grammar books from more rules and explanations.

As we saw, based on the description above, we can group the vowels into the so- called vowel trapezoid, where we have:

● Three central vowels: [a] , [ə], []

● Two anterior vowels: [i], [e]

● Two posterior vowels: [o], [u]

You can ﬁnd the international phonetic alphabet here: http:// www.internationalphoneticalphabet.org/

Search for the Romanian vowel symbols and listen, this will help you to learn the diﬀerence between the vowels of your native language and Romanian vowels.

As you could observe in words like oua ("eggs"), a ploua ("to rain"), aur ("gold"), oaie ("sheep"), and şcoală("school"), many Romanian words have diphthongs (a semivowel plus one vowel) or diftong in Romanian. This is one of the characteristics of both spoken and written Romanian that distinguishes it most from the other Romance languages, and we will present more information about them in later lessons.

ROMANIANPOD101.COM PRONUNCIATION S1 #2 - THE PRONUNCIATION OF VOWELS IN ROMANIAN 9 LESSON NOTES Pronunciation S1 #3 The Pronunciation of Consonants in Romanian

CONTENTS

2 Grammar

# 3

T he Focus of T his Lesson Is Pronouncing the Romanian Consonants

In this lesson, you are going to learn the pronunciation of consonants in Romanian.

A consonant is a sound we articulate with a closed or half-closed vowel tract. We can close the vowel tract in a certain place or in a certain way using of the following: our lips, tongue, teeth, or palate.

As we already mentioned, Romanian consists of twenty-two consonants. According to the way we articulate the consonants, we can place them in two major groups:

Voiceless Consonants

Voiceless consonants are determined by a relaxation of the vocal cords while articulating the sound. Therefore the vocal cords are not vibrating. For example, while pronouncing the sounds -t or -s,we can feel that our vocal cords aren't involved in creating the sound. We can pronounce them in a very relaxed position and we barely change the position of our lips. It is not the same for consonants like -j and -m (they are both voiced consonants).

Voiced Consonants

Voiced consonants are sounds where there is a partial closure of the epiglottis while articulating the sound; the air exits almost freely through the mouth and the vocal cords vibrate. There is also a contraction of the channel. The position of the lips and tongue changes more than in the voiceless consonants. Two examples are -m and -v.

This is the simplest classification that is learned in Romanian schools, and for more complex classifications you can consult Romanian grammar books. Do not be astonished if you see different classifications in almost every grammar book that you read. Romanian grammar has undergone many changes in the last ten years. But this should not surprise you because every language is in a continuous process of change.

Here is a table with all the Romanian consonants.

Sound Letter Type Romanian English Example Example

1 [b] -B voiced bancă "Baltic" ("bank")

2 [k] -C voiceless cap ("had") "scanner"

ROMANIANPOD101.COM PRONUNCIATION S1 #3 - THE PRONUNCIATION OF CONSONANTS IN ROMANIAN 2 -Ch ochi 3 followed ("eye") [k'] voiceless "keen" by i or e

-C cinema followed ("cinema") 4 [t∫] voiceless "charter" by i or e

5 [d] -D voiced drag "door" ("dear")

6 [f] -F voiceless ﬂoare "f avour" ("ﬂower")

7 [g] -G voiced galben "gastrono ("yellow") mic"

-Gh unghie "get"or followed ("nail") "gift" 8 [g'] voiced by i or e

-G imagine followed ("image") 9 [ dʒ] voiced "job" by i or e

10 [h] -H voiceless "ha!"

11 [ ʒ] -J voiced joc "treasure" ("game")

12 [l] -L voiced lac ("lake") "life"

13 [m] -M voiced mamă "mother" ("mother")

14 [n] -N voiced nor "Nordic" ("cloud")

15 [p] -P voiceless corp "picture" ("body")

rolled r as in the rapid 16 [r] -R voiced food ("rapid") "tortillas"

ROMANIANPOD101.COM PRONUNCIATION S1 #3 - THE PRONUNCIATION OF CONSONANTS IN ROMANIAN 3 17 [s] -S voiceless sare "salmon" ("salt")

18 [ʃ] -Ș voiceless şarpe "shopping ("snake") "

19 [t] -T voiceless tânăr "stone" ("young")

20 [ts] -Ț voiceless ţara "pizza" ("country")

21 [v] -V voiced viziune "vision"

22 [z] -Z voiced brânză "zero" ("cheese")

ROMANIANPOD101.COM PRONUNCIATION S1 #3 - THE PRONUNCIATION OF CONSONANTS IN ROMANIAN 4 LESSON NOTES Pronunciation S1 #4 Diﬃcult Romanian Pronunciations

CONTENTS

2 Grammar

# 4

T he Focus of T his Lesson Is Pronouncing the Diphthongs, Triphthongs, and Vowels in Hiatus

In this lesson, we are going to learn how to pronounce the combinations of two or three vowels in the Romanian language and how we read vowels in hiatus.

Diphthongs and Triphthongs

A diphthong is a juncture of two vowels within the same syllable. A triphthong is a juncture of three vowels in a syllable. The main characteristic of the diphthongs and triphthongs is that we pronounce them in one breath, making brand new sounds. The ﬁrst sound or second sound in the diphthong becomes a semivowel, because it loses half of its vowel quality. The ﬁrst and last sound of a triphthong become semivowels because they lose half of their vowel quality. We cannot break a diphthong or triphthong into syllables.

Diphthongs

There are two types of diphthongs according to the placement of the semivowel in the syllable. The semivowel can come as a ﬁrst or second sound.

For example:

(vowel + semivowel)- au : auriu ("golden") - descendant diphthong

(semivowel + vowel) - ea : cafea ("coﬀee") - ascendant diphthong

Here is a table with all the Romanian diphthongs:

Descendant Romanian Example English Translation diphthongs

ai mai "May"

au august "August"

ei lei "lions"

eu leu "lion"

ii mii "thousands"

iu viu "alive"

ROMANIANPOD101.COM PRONUNCIATION S1 #4 - DIFFICULT ROMANIAN PRONUNCIATIONS 2 oi noi "we" ou nouraş "little cloud" ui pui "chickens"

ăi răi "bad" (masculine plural)

âu rău "bad" (masculine singular)

âi pâine "bread"

âu râu "river"

Ascendent Romanian Example English Translation diphthongs

ea dimineaţă "morning"

eo vreodată "ever"

ia iarna "winter"

ie miere "honey"

io Iordania Jordan

iu iunie "June"

oa oameni "humans"

ua ziua "the day"

uă două "two," feminine form

Note: In some loan words you may ﬁnd diphthongs that were not presented in our tables.

Triphthongs

A triphthong always come in this order: semivowel + vowel + semivowel

For example:

ROMANIANPOD101.COM PRONUNCIATION S1 #4 - DIFFICULT ROMANIAN PRONUNCIATIONS 3 - oai- franţuzoaică ("French woman")

- ioa- creioane ("pencils")

Triphthongs Romanian English Translation

eau eu vreau "I want"

eai tu spuneai "you were saying"

oai Englezoaică "English woman"

iai tu scriai "you were writing"

iau eu iau "I take"

iei miei "lambs"

ioa inimioară "little heart"

Hiatus

Hiatus is the name for two contiguous vowels within the same word in which both of the vowels preserve their vowel quality. That is the main diﬀerence between a diphthong and a hiatus. When breaking the word into syllables, the hiatus is the place where we break the word. Here are some examples.

For example:

Romanian Pronunciation "English"

filosofie [fi-lo-so-fi-e] "philosophy"

ştiinţă [şti-in-ţă] "science"

aer (a-er) "air"

eroină [e-ro-i-nă]

violoncel [vi-o-lon-cel] "cello"

To pronounce a hiatus, keep your mouth open longer than usual. In some cases, the hiatus can cause diﬃculties and mistakes in pronunciation, as in the examples below.

For example:

ROMANIANPOD101.COM PRONUNCIATION S1 #4 - DIFFICULT ROMANIAN PRONUNCIATIONS 4 1. A-us-tria and not Aus-tri-a "Austria."

2. na-ţi-u-ne and not na-ţiu-ne. "nation"

In these cases, especially when speaking quickly, the speaker might merge the sounds -a and -u (in the ﬁrst example) and -i and -u in (the second example). Diphthongs are formed and the words are mispronounced.

In order to avoid it, pay attention to native Romanian pronunciation.

You should also know that even if you make these kind of mistakes and pronounce, for example, Austria with an English accent, Romanian people will understand what you are trying to say.

ROMANIANPOD101.COM PRONUNCIATION S1 #4 - DIFFICULT ROMANIAN PRONUNCIATIONS 5 LESSON NOTES Pronunciation S1 #5 Stress in Romanian Words

CONTENTS

2 Grammar

# 5

T he Focus of T his Lesson Is the Romanian Accent

Accent

One of the most important features of vowels in the Romanian language is stress. It is very important to pay attention to the position of the accent, since moving the accent within the word is in general not allowed. Few Romanian words have an accent that can be moved from one syllable to a diﬀerent one.

Romanian has dynamic and expiratory characteristics, therefore the stressed syllable has a higher intensity and a longer duration compared with other syllables of the same word.

The stress in Romanian can fall on diﬀerent syllables. We don't have graphical marks for accents when writing, so you may have to consult a good dictionary for the exact pronunciation.

Accent sometimes plays a role in semantic or grammatical diﬀerentiation.

The fall of the accent can be the only diﬀerence between two identically written words or grammatical forms.

For example:

• veselă "happy" - veselă "plates"

el cântă (indicative present) "he is singing" - el cântă (indicative simple • perfect) "he has sung"

In Romanian we also have words where moving the accent from one syllable to another is allowed.

For example:

• manager and manager - "manager" • Antic and antic - "antique"

1. Accent on the last syllable - Cuvinte oxitone ("oxytone words")

ROMANIANPOD101.COM PRONUNCIATION S1 #5 - STRESS IN ROMANIAN WORDS 2 The accent on the last syllable is frequently seen in Romanian. They are called cuvinte oxitone in Romanian.

For example:

Cuvinte oxitone "English"

a avea "to have"

aviator "aviator"

a coborî "to go down"

a zidi "to buid"

export "export"

This group includes masculine and neuter nouns, the inﬁnitive forms of the verbs that end with - a, -î, -i, -ea, and the feminine nouns ending with -a, -ea in their singular form.

2. Accent on the penultimate syllable - Cuvinte paroxitone (Paroxytone words)

The second big group of Romanian words have an accent on the penultimate syllable (cuvinte proparoxitone). Here are some examples:

For example:

Cuvinte paroxitone "English"

a face "to make"

credit "credit"

debit "debit"

problemă "problem"

reporter "reporter"

antipatie "antipathy"

academie "academy "

ROMANIANPOD101.COM PRONUNCIATION S1 #5 - STRESS IN ROMANIAN WORDS 3 If we break the word antipatie into syllables, anti- pa-ti-e, we will observe that the accent is on the letter i, which is in the penultimate syllable.

This group includes masculine, feminine, and neuter nouns and the inﬁnitive forms of the verbs that ﬁnish in -e.

3. Accent on the third to last syllable -Cuvinte Proparoxitone (Proparoxytone words)

Another large group of Romanian words have their accent on the third to last syllable (cuvinte proparoxitone). Here are some examples.

For example:

Parola proparoxitone English

ancoră "anchor"

diplomă "diploma"

epocă "period"

acvilă "aquila"

This group includes feminine words.

4. Accent on the f ourth to last syllable - Cuvinte Propoparoxitone

Finally, we have the words that have an accent on the fourth to last syllable, (cuvinte propoparoxitone), as in words like those in the table below.

For example:

Parola propoparoxitone English

lapoviţă "sleet"

bivoliţă "buﬀalo cow"

Cuvintele propoparoxitone are usually polysyllabic feminine nouns that are rarely used in daily vocabulary. Among them, there are a large number of archaic words.

Note: The great majority of the words in Romanian are cuvintele oxitone and paroxitone, which means they have an accent on the last or penultimate syllables.

ROMANIANPOD101.COM PRONUNCIATION S1 #5 - STRESS IN ROMANIAN WORDS 4 You will learn how to recognize and use accents well through experience, and you'll often hear native Romanian speakers make mistakes. Nevertheless, we suggest beginners pay attention to the accent of the word when consulting the dictionary.

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