Learning Romanian language

Looking for something else i found this forum, this thread!!! I'm so surprise !
I could never thing there are people who really want to learn romanian.
I'm from Romania so if you need help...

So nice this thread !!!

Kalimera, Xtapodi

Now I understand your confusion. If you listen to songs, yes, it is posible to hear the words a little bit different. Sometimes they barely pronounce the last letter in a word for the sake of rhyme! Meaning a word ended in -i may not rhyme with the verse above, but if they don't clearly pronounce the -i, then the letter before that -i may rhyme.

And the singer from Vama Veche ( by the way, today that band no longer exists and the lead singer formed a new band called simply Vama) has a special way of singing the words, especially the ones from the end of each verse, so it is very possible that you perceive them pronounced without the last letter.

But in everyday speech, we do pronounce every letter....unless we speak very fast, in which case it's very possible that you won't understand anything!! Kind of like Greek, you know what I mean!!! LOL!

Pupici

Kalimera

Yes, I know what you mean actually!!!!

I think that at the beginning it's normal not to understand anything when people are speaking fast.... I hope that one day I'll be able to understand.
By now I can only guess the meaning of some words when I read them because they're similar to Italian... but I'm keen on learning this language!

Thanks for your help and have a nice day!
Xtapodi

Eu am tradus cantecul "zmeul" din "vama veche".. Pot sa-l pun aici, sau in un 'thread-ul' diferit? (I tried to write, I translated zmeul by vama veche.. Should I post it here, or in a different thread') I'm not really qualiifed to translate, as I'm just learning romanian.. But I've found I can read and write romanian far better than I can 'hear' it.. So i've burned some mp3's to listen to when driving, and have translated them.. They are romanian songs, and since this is really a romanian lyrics forum, I may as well be of some use, no??

dave

Hello, rudaire! You can open a new thread for each translated song, and if there are mistakes somebody will correct them, ok?

Please write as a title of the thread the name of the singer and of the song!

Originally Posted by rudaire

Eu am tradus cantecul "zmeul" din "vama veche".. Pot sa-l pun aici, sau in un 'thread-ul' diferit? (I tried to write, I translated zmeul by vama veche.. Should I post it here, or in a different thread')

Your Romanian is good enough, congratulations. But I have to make three little corrections:

1). 'din'='from', 'de'='by', so you should use <<"zmeul" de "vama veche">>.
2). In Romanian 'în+un'='într-un', 'din+un'='dintr-un' etc., so it is 'într-un', not 'în un'.
3). You use both the definite and indefinite article with the word 'thread', like saying in English 'the a thread'. If you correctly used the indefinite article 'un' why you use also the definite article '-ul'?

The correct form is: (Eu) am tradus cântecul "zmeul" de "vama veche".. Pot să-l pun aici, sau într-un 'thread' diferit?

Thank you for the corrections.. 1 and 2 i've seen and studied before, I 'm just not familiar enough with them to actually use them correctly. Using them incorrectly and being corrected helps me lock them into my daily speech more easily. Thank you.. #3 was simply an error in my part.. I'm posting my vama veche translation today.. Look for it and please correct.. than you for your help..

dave

Originally Posted by Sahrian

Your Romanian is good enough, congratulations. But I have to make three little corrections:

1). 'din'='from', 'de'='by', so you should use <<"zmeul" de "vama veche">>.
2). In Romanian 'în+un'='într-un', 'din+un'='dintr-un' etc., so it is 'într-un', not 'în un'.
3). You use both the definite and indefinite article with the word 'thread', like saying in English 'the a thread'. If you correctly used the indefinite article 'un' why you use also the definite article '-ul'?

The correct form is: (Eu) am tradus cântecul "zmeul" de "vama veche".. Pot să-l pun aici, sau într-un 'thread' diferit?

I've seen this format many times.. " Eu ti-am upgradat sarutul..."
Does the 'ti' in that sentence identify the 'owner' of the kiss? Is that the same as saying Eu am upgradat sarutul tau? If I say, mi-am citit carea (to me I read the book) does that mean exactly the same as, "am fost cartea mea (I read my book)??

Also, I realize there has been a change with regard to spelling of words, and the a> and i> have shifted roles and we'll see words spelled different historically than we see them today.. But I thought the changes only involved the a> and i>. But my question is, the eu and ei form of 'a fi' I know as sunt. I've seen it in print as si>nt. Is this an error, or did it used to be si>nt and has changed to sunt?

multumesc...

rudaire

Originally Posted by rudaire

I've seen this format many times.. " Eu ti-am upgradat sarutul..."
Does the 'ti' in that sentence identify the 'owner' of the kiss? Is that the same as saying Eu am upgradat sarutul tau? If I say, mi-am citit carea (to me I read the book) does that mean exactly the same as, "am fost cartea mea (I read my book)??

Yes, we're talking about the Dative case here. An action performed by the subject directed towards the recepient (the best explanation I can come up with at this hour!! LOL)

Eu (subject) ți (to you) am upgradat (action) sărutul

It can be rephrased by a Genitive construction, as you noticed.

Eu(subject) am upgradat sărutul tău (genitive related to the recipient)

Originally Posted by rudaire

Also, I realize there has been a change with regard to spelling of words, and the a> and i> have shifted roles and we'll see words spelled different historically than we see them today.. But I thought the changes only involved the a> and i>. But my question is, the eu and ei form of 'a fi' I know as sunt. I've seen it in print as si>nt. Is this an error, or did it used to be si>nt and has changed to sunt?

multumesc...

rudaire

Yes again A few years ago, some spelling changes have been introduced in the norm.

--sunt for I am. It used to be sînt and even sânt
--every î sound INSIDE the word is written as â
--the î sound as first or last letter remains written as î

That's why you can find variuos forms for I am and that's why you can find different spellings when it comes to î/â

Hello! Salut! I would like to introduce myself to this group, and to express my gratitude that it exists.

I am an American living in America. My interest in learning Romanian was actually sparked (begun) by hearing some of the songs from the group, O-Zone. I "googled" lyrics in English, and even used some of them for my own music videos on YouTube. "Oriunde Ai Fi" I added the "translation" to so that people in America would appreciate the song and the video I made to go with it.

When I was younger, I studied Latin and German for several years. My German has lapsed terribly, but I have an email friend in Germany who told me she learned English (hers was excellent!) from watching our TV shows and listening to our music. So I thought...

I am taking a taped college course called "The Human Language" and in it the lecturer mentioned that Romanian was a language that was still very much like Latin. So I thought...

And then I heard some more of the O-Zone songs, the slower, sadder ones, and the lyrics in English, while lovely, didn't really convery the meaning and beauty of the original. So I thought...

For the last several weeks, I've been finding "English Lyrics" on various sites: some of them, I can tell just from my knowledge of Latin (yes, your language is very similar!) are either wrong or not quite accurate.

I believe, from what I have read elsewhere on the internet (and of course, everything you read on the internet must be true, right?) that Moldovan is a "dialect" of Romanian. Is that true? My "online translator" simply will not accept, for examply, "eu" for "I" because it only has Romanian as a translation choice. (If this is a politically sensitive question, please accept my apologies!)

I have a couple questions. I have just found this wonderful forum, and have copied many of your "lessons" into my documents so I can really learn the language. But first, a couple compliments and comments (no criticisms!):

1. Your language is really much easier to learn than English (I am told). We don't even spell "phonetic" phonetically! Your language is like Latin in many ways, and I happen to love Latin! (My nephew speaks and writes it almost as a second language -- we are an odd but lovable family!)

2. Your lessons are marvellous! Much better than "blackboard learning" as I call the "classes" I took in school. I could spend 2 years in class and still never know how to ask for a hamburger or say hello politely in a language in school. I think this "hands-on" methodi s so much more helpful!

3. I found (on page 15 of this forum) an answer to one question I had wanted to ask, and that was about the apparent silent -i at the end of some words. As in the previous poster's experience, I found this "true" in O-Zone's songs (I do hope O-Zone is well known enough for you to know what I am taling about). But your explanation pretty well fit into what I thought, since I already knew you pronounce every letter: that for "poetic" purposes it might be muted for effect.

Now, I have two questions. If they have already been asked and answered, I apologize. There are 449 posts on this thread and I have only gone through the first 120.

The first has to do a bit with culture and language (I think the two are very tightly connected):

1. The Linden Tree

First, what is the translation in Romanian/Molvodan? For some time, I thought the word "dragostea" was it, but I know now how very wrong I was. In the popular song, though, "Love From the Linden Tree" is given as the English title, and "dragostea din te" didn't seem to have the tree in the title. (I must admit, I have been trying to learn the language by "comparison" study, using the lyrics and occasionally the Translator online for guidance, but both methods fall very short!)

Second, can you try to convey the "meaning" (implications) of this tree? In America, "the cherry tree" means George Washington cut it down but he was so honest, he admitted to it. "Roses" mean love (colors and meanings vary). I have found (again, on the ever-reliable internet) that the linden tree is significant as a symbol of love. Are there stories/fables/myths/religious significances to it?

2. In my "Human LAnguage" course, the lecturer discusses "vowel shifts" and I found mention of that in an earlier post. May I ask (and please, ignore and forgive me if this is a sensitive question) if the recent vowel shifts in Romanian are similar to the differences between Romanian and Moldovan? And can anyone in Moldova (I am speaking of the new country) understand Romanian and vice versa?

Oh, one more question: I have heard "por favor" or what sounds just like it, used. Am I hearing that correctly? Is it Romanian or borrowed from Spanish (which uses the same phrase)? (Oh, that was two questions. I am sorry.)

Thank you for all your eforts to teach us your language. I am touched and impressed by the pride you take in your native tongue, and I am so grateful to be able to learn some of it.

Mulţumesc mult!
Tiber

i apologize, but I have one more question, and if it was answered in posts 121-448, I apologize, but:

Are there two or three ways to pronounce "eu"? There seem to be in the songs I have heard, but I wonder if that's for lyrical reasons only?

Mulţumesc mult!

Tiber

Dear stranger, welcome to this group!I will try answer some of your questions.
First, indeed the linden comes from our folk literature.In fairy-tales Mr Charming lives in this tree, later in our poetry came to symbolize the loneliness of a dreamer that never reaches his ideal love. According to others, linden symbolizes the "axis mundi" that guides the couple towards the sacred center of the world. The linden has a long tradition in our love poetry, but the poet who gave to it so many meanings in so many beautifull love poems is Mihai Eminescu.So the apropriate title of the Romanian song you refer to would be "Love from the linden tree" and it is certainly linked to the old folk fairy tales which makes love a way that links humans to heavens.
"Por favor" is Spanish, it means Please, but we often use such Spanish or Italian short and common sentences, as we understand both languages without any study.Yes, Romanian is a Latin language, even though the origin is not standard Latin, but vulgar Latin as we call it, which means the language used by people, I suppose you already know the meaning of Latin "vulgus" ....which is not ....vulgar!
I hope I answered your questions, but I must inform you that our best on-line Romanian teacher is Dya.I am sure you will meet her very soon!
We are thrilled that so many strangers, from all over the world, are interested in our language.We do help them with respect and pleasure.

There are Romanian words that are written only with initial vowel "e" but you read them using diphthong "ie" such as: eu (I) el (he) ei (they), este (is), eram (was) etc.
So you could hear both "eu" phonetically read, and "ieu" which respects the pronunciatian rule.

Welcome to the forum, Tiber!

Originally Posted by Tiber

In my "Human LAnguage" course, the lecturer discusses "vowel shifts" and I found mention of that in an earlier post. May I ask (and please, ignore and forgive me if this is a sensitive question) if the recent vowel shifts in Romanian are similar to the differences between Romanian and Moldovan? And can anyone in Moldova (I am speaking of the new country) understand Romanian and vice versa?

I don't understand at what "vowel shifts" do you refer, but "Moldovan" is the same language as Romanian with the difference that sometimes they put emphasis on some regional aspects of the language (in vocabulary and pronunciation, but these aspects are unimportant) and usually speak it with Russian accent. Anyway there is no problem in mutual understanding, the language being practically the same, as I said before.

I was the first to mention a 'vowel shift', and what I meant was that many words that were once spelled with a> in the middle are now spelled with i> in the middle, and at least one word (sunt) has dropped the a> or i> and moved to a u... While the 'u' being brought in is uncommon, I believe many words with a> and i> have been affected by spelling changes, or the 'vowel' has shifted..

d

Originally Posted by Sahrian

Welcome to the forum, Tiber!



I don't understand at what "vowel shifts" do you refer, but "Moldovan" is the same language as Romanian with the difference that sometimes they put emphasis on some regional aspects of the language (in vocabulary and pronunciation, but these aspects are unimportant) and usually speak it with Russian accent. Anyway there is no problem in mutual understanding, the language being practically the same, as I said before.

Originally Posted by rudaire

I was the first to mention a 'vowel shift', and what I meant was that many words that were once spelled with a> in the middle are now spelled with i> in the middle, and at least one word (sunt) has dropped the a> or i> and moved to a u... While the 'u' being brought in is uncommon, I believe many words with a> and i> have been affected by spelling changes, or the 'vowel' has shifted..

d

My apologies for don't remembering. This is a question of writting, not of speaking. Actually the 'vowel shift' intention was to return somehow to the forms used before the Soviet occupation, read 'to the more latin forms used before in writting', so there isn't something really new.
In practice, now some people say 'sînt', other 'sunt'. But there is no problem of understanding because of this.
AFAIK in the Republic of Moldova they officially still use the 'old' spelling ('sînt').

am nevoie de urmatoarele cuvinte in engleza:

blat de prajitura
visine
zmeura
frisca
frisca nebatuta
frisca lichida
smantana
acru
a fierbe
a se solidifica ( a se intari)
a se ingrosa
castron
cratita
a incalzi pe foc fara fierbere
a clocoti
piure de fructe
galbenus
albus

va multumesc

Is there a difference in meaning between the following two sentences? Tu poti sa mergi acum. Tu poti merge acum. I notice I'll see the 'conjugated present' forms of verbs after poti sa, pot sa, putem sa, poate sa etc.. But I'll see the infinitive forms of verbs if the sa is NOT used.... Do they mean exactly the same thing, or is there a subtle difference.. Also, I'll see infinitives used in another common application, but cannot remember where.. Can you tell me the most common places I'd find infinitives used? After trebuie if sa is not following it?

d

Originally Posted by Sahrian

Welcome to the forum, Tiber!



I don't understand at what "vowel shifts" do you refer, but "Moldovan" is the same language as Romanian with the difference that sometimes they put emphasis on some regional aspects of the language (in vocabulary and pronunciation, but these aspects are unimportant) and usually speak it with Russian accent. Anyway there is no problem in mutual understanding, the language being practically the same, as I said before.

Moldovan as you call it , it is in fact a Romanian with local expresions. So you may speak Romanian in Moldova or peuple that speak moldovan in Romania.
In fact Moldova and East Romania were one country until 1918 with one kind of peuple.

Originally Posted by TiberRiver

i apologize, but I have one more question, and if it was answered in posts 121-448, I apologize, but:

Are there two or three ways to pronounce "eu"? There seem to be in the songs I have heard, but I wonder if that's for lyrical reasons only?

Mulţumesc mult!

Tiber

No "eu" it is always "eu" with the same pronunciation. In Moldova it is a sound a litlle soft like "ieu" but it is the same word and it is write in th same way