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Viewing Romanian: From Ancient Dacia to Around the WorldRomanian: From Ancient Dacia to Around the World
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By Jacob Lumbroso Romanian, like Spanish, French, Portuguese, and Italian is a Romance language. The Romanian language is closest to the Italian language. Around 24 to 28 million people speak Romanian. The majority of these speakers reside primarily in Romania, as well as in neighboring Moldova, where it is referred to as 'Moldovan'. It also spoken in the autonomous regions of Vojvodina in Serbia. The origin of the Romanian people has been a source of dispute, and two primary theories exist. The first theory sees a Romanian continuity with the inhabitants of Dacia and the adjacent regions. The second theory holds that present day Romanians are in fact the descendants of Romanic peoples that migrated from former Roman provinces south of the Danube in the Balkans regions. Economic and political changes have spread Romanian speakers throughout various countries, including Italy, Spain, Israel, Portugal, the United Kingdom, the United States, and other regions of Europe. The history of Romania, which among the various reaches of ancient Roman rule uniquely bears the name of Rome, is fascinating. Present day Romania was inhabited in ancient times by the Dacians. Defeated by the Roman army in 106 CE, Dacia became a Roman province. Heavy Roman colonization brought the Latin language into the realm of administration and commerce in the region. Roman rule ended in 271 CE with the increasing pressure brought upon by migrating Gothic tribes. The geographical isolation of Dacia may have been the impetus for Romanian likely being the first Latin-based language to evolve. Though largely uniform in comparison to other languages, the Romanian language has been influenced by Slavic, Greek, Turkish, and Hungarian languages due to various political changes. Romanian-speaking minorities are to be found in various places in Europe including Serbia, the Ukraine, Hungary, and Bulgaria, in addition to the large immigrant communities already mentioned. Of special note is the immigration of Romanian Jews to Israel, which has created a proportionally significant number of Romanian speakers. Approximately ten percent of Romanian speakers reside in Moldovan territory where Romanian (albeit under the name Moldovan) is the official language. It is used in all spheres of life including schools, the media, and educational institutions. Interestingly the term 'Romanian language' is used for several largely mutually unintelligible dialects, which are termed independent languages. About the Author: Jacob Lumbroso is a world traveler and an enthusiast for history and foreign cultures. He writes articles on history and languages for http://www.ultimatelanguagestore.com, and has used Pimsleur courses to learn various languages. Article Source: A Language Guide - http://www.a-language-guide.com |
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