Season 2
iunie 19, 2018
1. Basics in Romanian / Noțiuni de bază, în limba română
The following notes will aid you in case you're having trouble with the lesson, but feel free to skip them and continue with the lesson. Once you have a broader context, they will help you put everything together.
Apart from a few exceptions, Romanian consonants sound virtually identical to their English counterparts. Vowels, on the other hand, have slightly different pronunciations using a more relaxed/open mouth.
The rule between them is that Î is only used at the start and end of a word. In the middle, you would use Â.
începe (to begin) - start
Romanian alphabet
Romanian uses an extended Latin alphabet. Compared to the English alphabet, it has the following five extra letters.
| Letter | English name |
|---|---|
| Ă | A-breve |
| Â | A-circumflex |
| Î | I-circumflex |
| Ș | S-comma (not to be confused with Ş - S-cedilla) |
| Ț | T-comma (not to be confused with Ţ - T-cedilla) |
Pronunciation
Apart from a few exceptions, Romanian consonants sound virtually identical to their English counterparts. Vowels, on the other hand, have slightly different pronunciations using a more relaxed/open mouth.
The following tables will aid you in pronouncing what are most probably the most unfamiliar sounds to English speakers, yet they are by no means complete.
Vowels
| Sound | IPA phoneme | English example |
|---|---|---|
| A | a | father |
| Ă | ə | above |
| Â / Î | ɨ | roses |
| I | i | creed |
| O | o | door |
| U | u | loom |
Consonants
C and G followed by either E or I change their sounds.
| Sound | IPA phoneme | English example |
|---|---|---|
| C | k | car |
| Ce / Ci | tʃ | chalk |
| Ge / Gi | dʒ | general |
| J | ʒ | exposure |
| Ș | ʃ | sharp |
| Ț | ts | pizza |
 or Î
Although  and Î sound precisely the same, Romanian use of both letters stems from etymology. So, by using a simple rule to swap between the two, Romanian has been able to retain some similarity with Latin, where most etymons use Ainstead of  and I instead of Î.
The rule between them is that Î is only used at the start and end of a word. In the middle, you would use Â.
începe (to begin) - start
hotărî (to decide) - end
mânca (to eat) - middle
neînfricat (fearless) - here we use î because the word stems from înfricat with the preposition ne
Eu, ea, e, este
Although Romanian has exceptionally few pronunciation exceptions, there is one which is noticeable from the very beginning. Eu (I/me), el (he/him), ea (she/her), ei (they/them masc.), ele (they/them fem.), e (is), and este (is) are all pronounced starting with /ie/ instead of simply /e/.
Personal pronouns
Compared to English, Romanian's personal pronouns lack a precise translation for it. When having a subject that you would normally use it for, you can either use demonstrative pronouns (acesta (this masc.), aceea (that fem.) etc.), or simply refrain from using a pronoun.
| English | Romanian |
|---|---|
| I | eu |
| you | tu |
| he / she / it | el / ea / N/A |
| we | noi |
| you (pl.) | voi |
| they (masc. / fem.) | ei / ele |
To be
In Romanian, the subject of any setence has to be in agreement with the verb representing the action it is performing. This agreement is called conjugation and comes with its own set of rules and exceptions. Below you will find the conjugation table for a fi (to be).
| English | Romanian |
|---|---|
| I am | eu sunt |
| you are | tu eşti |
| he / she is | el / ea este |
| we are | noi suntem |
| you are (pl.) | voi sunteţi |
| they are (masc. / fem.) | ei / ele sunt |
Hello, my name is Jack Sparrow. I'm a 50 year old self-employed Pirate from the Caribbean.