Transcript
Romanian phonologyFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In the phonology of the Romanian language, the phoneme inventory consists of seven vowels, two or foursemivowels (different views exist), and twenty consonants. In addition, as with all languages, other phonemescan occur occasionally in interjections or recent borrowings.
Notable features of Romanian include two unusual diphthongs /ea/ and /oa/ and the central vowel /ɨ/.
Contents
1 Vowels
1.1 Less frequent vowels
1.1.1 ö
1.1.2 ü
1.2 Diphthongs
1.2.1 Diphthongs in borrowings
1.3 Vowel alternations
2 Consonants
2.1 Palatalized consonants
2.2 Other consonants
3 Stress
4 Prosody
4.1 Rhythm
4.2 Intonation
5 References
6 Bibliography
7 External links
Vowels
There are seven monophthongs in Romanian:[1]
Front Central Back
Close i ɨ u
Mid e ə o
Open ä
Although e, o are written above with diacritics to show their mid height and ä with a diacritic to show its centralbackness, in virtually all phonetic transcriptions of Romanian these characteristics are implied and the symbolsare written without diacritics. The same convention is applied in this article.
The table below gives a series of word examples for each vowel.
Vowel Description Examples
/a/ Open central unrounded
apă /ˈa.pə/ water
balaur /baˈla.ur/ dragon
cânta /kɨnˈta/ to sing
/e/ Mid front unrounded
erou /eˈrow/ hero
necaz /neˈkaz/ trouble
umple /ˈum.ple/ to fill
/i/ Close front unrounded
insulă /ˈin.su.lə/ island
salcie /ˈsal.tʃi.e/ willowtopi /toˈpi/ to melt
/o/ Mid back rounded
oraș /oˈraʃ/ city
copil /koˈpil/ childacolo /aˈko.lo/ there
/u/ Close back roundeduda /uˈda/ to wetaduc /aˈduk/ I bring
simplu /ˈsim.plu/ simple
/ə/ Mid central unroundedăsta /ˈəs.ta/ thispăros /pəˈros/ hairy
albă /ˈal.bə/ white (fem. sg.)
/ɨ/ Close central unroundedînspre /ˈɨn.spre/ towardcârnat /kɨrˈnat/ sausage
coborî /ko.boˈrɨ/ to descend
While most of these vowels are relatively straightforward and similar or identical to those in many other
languages, the close central unrounded vowel /ɨ/ is uncommon as a phoneme[1] and especially uncommonamongst Indo-European languages.
Less frequent vowels
ö
In addition to the seven core vowels, in a number of words of foreign origin (predominantly French, but alsoGerman) the close-mid front rounded vowel /ø/, the open-mid front rounded vowel /œ/, and the mid-centralrounded vowel /ɵ/ (different from the already existing unrounded /ə/) have been preserved, without replacingthem with any of the existing phonemes, at least in careful speech. The borrowed words have become part ofthe Romanian vocabulary and follow the usual inflexion rules, so that the new vowels, though less common,could be considered as part of the Romanian phoneme set. Romanian dictionaries use ⟨ö⟩ in their phoneticdescriptions to represent all the three vowels, which suggests that they may be actually pronounced identicallyby Romanian speakers. However, the 2005 edition of the prescriptive work Dicționarul ortografic, ortoepicși morfologic al limbii române gives for the ad-hoc phonetic symbol ⟨ö⟩ two distinct values: the mid frontrounded vowel (example: acheuleean, 'Acheulean') and the French "e caduc", that is, the mid-central rounded
vowel (example: chemin de fer, 'the card game Chemin de Fer').[2] The vowel occurs in words such as: bleu/blø/ ('light blue'), pasteuriza /pastøri za/ ('to pasteurize'), loess /løs/ ('loess'), cozeur /koˈzør/ ('pleasant talker').As it is not a native phoneme, its pronunciation may fluctuate or it may even be replaced by the diphthong /eo/.In older French borrowings it has often been replaced by /e/, /o/, or /eo/, as in șofer /ʃoˈfer/ ('driver', fromFrench chauffeur), masor /maˈsor/ ('masseur', from masseur), and sufleor /suˈfleor/ ('theater prompter', fromsouffleur).
ü
Similarly, borrowings from languages such as French and German sometimes contain the close front roundedvowel /y/: ecru /eˈkry/, tul /tyl/, fürer /ˈfyrer/. The symbol used for it in phonetic notations in Romaniandictionaries is ⟨ü⟩. Educated speakers usually pronounce it /y/, but other realizations such as /ju/ also occur.Older words that originally had this sound have had it replaced with /ju/, /u/, or /i/. For instance, Turkish külbecame ghiul /ɡjul/ ('large ring'), Turkish tütün became tutun [tuˈtun] ('tobacco'), but tiutiun [tjuˈtjun] in theMoldavian subdialect, German Düse gave duză /ˈduzə/ ('nozzle') and French bureau became birou /bi row/('desk', 'office').
Diphthongs
According to Ioana Chițoran, Romanian has two diphthongs: /ea/ and /oa/. As a result of their origin
(diphthongization of mid vowels under stress), they appear normally in stressed syllables[3] and makemorphological alternations with the mid vowels /e/ and /o/.
In addition to these, the semivowels /j/ and /w/ can be combined (either before, after, or both) with mostvowels. One view considers that only /ea/ and /oa/ can follow an obstruent-liquid cluster such as in broască
('frog') and dreagă ('to mend').[4] can form real diphthongs, while the rest are merely vowel-glide sequences.[5]
The traditional view (taught in schools) considers all of the above as diphthongs.
Falling
Diphthong Examples
/aj/ rai /raj/ 'heaven', aisberg /ˈajs.berɡ/ 'iceberg'
/aw/ sau /saw/ 'or', august /ˈaw.ɡust/ 'August'
/ej/ lei /lej/ 'lions', trei /trej/ 'three'
/ew/ greu /ɡrew/ 'heavy', mereu /meˈrew/ 'always'
/ij/ mii /mij/ 'thousands', vii /vij/ 'you come'
/iw/ fiu /fiw/ 'son', scriu /skriw/ 'I write'
/oj/ oi /oj/ 'sheep (pl.)', noi /noj/ 'we'
/ow/ ou /ow/ 'egg', bou /bow/ 'ox'
/uj/ pui /puj/ 'you put', gălbui /ɡəl buj/ 'yellowish'
/uw/ eu continuu /konˈti.nuw/ 'I continue' (partly replaced by eu continui)[6]
/əj/ răi /rəj/ 'bad (masc. pl.)', văi /vəj/ 'valleys'
/əw/ dulău /duˈləw/ 'mastiff', rău /rəw/ 'bad (masc. sg.)'
/ɨj/ câine /ˈkɨj.ne/ 'dog', mâinile /ˈmɨj.ni.le/ 'the hands'
/ɨw/ râu /rɨw/ 'river', brâu /brɨw/ 'girdle'
Rising
Diphthong Examples
/ea/ beată /ˈbea.tə/ 'drunk' (f.), mea /mea/ 'my (fem. sg.)'
/eo/ Gheorghe /ˈɡeor.ɡe/ 'George', ne-o ploua /neo.ploˈwa/ 'it would rain us'
/eu/ (only in word combinations) pe-un /peun/ 'on a'
/ja/ biată /bja.tə/ 'poor' (f.), mi-a zis /mjaˈzis/ '(he) told me'
/je/ fier /fjer/ 'iron', miere /ˈmje.re/ 'honey'
/jo/ iod /jod/ 'iodine', chior /ˈkjor/ 'one-eyed'
/ju/ iubit /juˈbit/ 'loved', chiuvetă /kjuˈve.tə/ 'sink'
/oa/ găoace /ɡəˈoa.tʃe/ 'shell', foarte /ˈfoar.te/ 'very'
/we/ piuez /pi wez/ 'I felt (a fabric)', înșeuez /ɨn.ʃeˈwez/ 'I saddle (a horse)'
/wa/ băcăuan /bə.kəˈwan/ 'inhabitant of Bacău', ziua /ˈzi.wa/ 'the day'
/wə/ două /ˈdo.wə/ 'two (fem.)', plouă /ˈplo.wə/ 'it rains'
/wɨ/ plouând /ploˈwɨnd/ 'raining', ouând /oˈwɨnd/ 'laying (eggs)'
Triphthong Examples
/eaj/ ceainic /ˈtʃeaj.nik/ 'tea pot', socoteai /so.koˈteaj/ 'you were reckoning'
/eaw/ beau /beaw/ 'I drink', spuneau /spuˈneaw/ 'they were saying'
/jaj/ mi-ai dat /mjajˈdat/ 'you gave me', ia-i /jaj/ 'take them'
/jaw/ iau /jaw/ 'I take', suiau /suˈjaw/ 'they were climbing'
/jej/ iei /jej/ 'you take', piei /pjej/ 'skins'
/jew/ maieu /maˈjew/ 'undershirt', eu /jew/ 'I (myself)'
/joj/ i-oi da /jojˈda/ 'I might give him', picioică /pi tʃjoj.kə/ 'potato (regionalism)'
/jow/ maiou /maˈjow/ 'undershirt'
/oaj/ leoaică /leˈoaj.kə/ 'lioness', rusoaică /ruˈsoaj.kə/ 'Russian woman'
/waj/ înșeuai /ɨn.ʃeˈwaj/ '(you) were saddling'
/waw/ înșeuau /ɨn.ʃeˈwaw/ '(they) were saddling'
/wəj/ rouăi /ˈro.wəj/ 'of the dew'
/eoa/ pleoape /ˈpleoa.pe/ 'eyelids', leoarcă /ˈleoar.kə/ 'soaking (wet)'
/joa/ creioane /kreˈjoa.ne/ 'pencils', aripioară /a.ri pjoa.rə/ 'winglet'
As can be seen from the examples above, the diphthongs /ea/ and /oa/ contrast with /ja/ and /wa/ respectively,
though there are no minimal pairs to contrast /oa/ and /wa/.[7]</ref> Impressionistically, the two pairs sound
very similar to native speakers[8] Because /oa/ doesn't appear in the final syllable of a prosodic word, there areno monosyllabic words with /oa/; exceptions might include voal ('veil') and trotuar ('sidewalk'), though Ioana
Chițoran argues[9] that these are best treated as containing glide-vowel sequences rather than diphthongs. Insome regional pronunciations, the diphthong /oa/ tends to be pronounced as a single vowel /ɒ/.
Other triphthongs such as /juj/ and /oaw/ occur sporadically in interjections and uncommon words.
Diphthongs in borrowings
Borrowings from English have enlarged the set of ascending diphthongs to also include /jə/, /we/, /wi/, and /wo/,or have extended their previously limited use. Generally, these borrowings have retained their original spellings,but their pronunciation has been adapted to the Romanian phonology. The table below gives some examples.
Diphthong Examples
/jə/ yearling /ˈjər.linɡ/ 'one-year-old animal (colt)'
/we/ western /ˈwes.tern/ 'Western (movie set in the American West)'
/wi/ tweeter /ˈtwi.tər/ 'high-pitch loudspeaker'
/wo/ walkman /ˈwok.men/ 'pocket-sized tape/CD player'
Borrowings such as whisky and week-end are listed in some dictionaries as starting with the ascendingdiphthong /wi/, which corresponds to the original English pronunciation, but in others they appear with the
descending diphthong /uj/.[10]
Vowel alternations
Romanian has a broad process of alternating between a mid vowel and a "low" vowel: /ea/ alternates with /e/,
/oa/ with /o/, and /a/ with /ə/.[11]
Originally, this was the result of a phonological process wherein mid vowels (Balkan Latin, by this time, hadmerged the long and short mid vowels) lowered to [ɛ] and [ɔ] under stress; a subsequent change diphthongized
these vowels.[12] This has resulted in stress alternations,[13] as shown in the examples below, where stressedvowels and diphthongs are highlighted in bold:
Stressed Unstressed
a - əcarte 'book' cărticică 'book' (diminutive)
casă 'house' căsuță 'house' (diminutive)
ea - ebeat 'drunk' bețiv 'drunkard'
seară 'evening' înserat 'dusk'
oa - opoartă 'gate' portar 'gatekeeper'
coastă 'rib' costiță 'rib' (diminutive)
This has since been morphologized and now shows up in verb conjugations[14] and nominal inflection (e.g.
oaste/oști, 'army'/'armies')[15]
Consonants
Standard Romanian has twenty consonants, as listed in the table below.
Romanian consonants[16]
BilabialLabio-
dentalDental1
Post-
alveolarVelar Glottal
Nasal m n
Stop p b t d k ɡ
Affricate ts tʃ dʒ
Fricative f v s z ʃ ʒ h
Trill r
Approximant l
^1 All consonants marked as "dental" in this table (excluding /l/) are apico-dental.[17] /l/ is apico-alveolar.[17]
Besides the consonants in this table, a few consonants can have allophones:
Palatalized consonants occur when preceding /i/.[16][18]
/n/ becomes the velar [ŋ] before /k/, /ɡ/ and /h/;
/h/ becomes the velar [x] in word-final positions (duh 'spirit') and before consonants (hrean
'horseradish'); it becomes the palatal [ç] before [i], [j], like in the word "human" in English, and as a
realization for an underlying /hi/ sequence in word-final positions (cehi 'Czech people' is pronounced
[tʃeç], though usually transcribed [tʃehʲ]).
The Romanian consonant set is almost the same as that in Italian, with a few exceptions: The Italian palatalconsonants /ɲ/, /ʎ/ and affricate /dz/ are missing in standard Romanian, which in turn has the fricative /ʒ/ and the"glottal" /h/.
Here are some examples, with an approximate indication of how each consonant is pronounced, intended forEnglish native speakers.
Consonant Pronounced as Examples
/p/ p in speak[a] pas /pas/ step, spate /ˈspa.te/ back, cap /kap/ head
/b/ b in boy ban /ban/ money, zbor /zbor/ I fly, rob /rob/ slave
/t/ t in stop[a][b] tare /ˈta.re/ hard, stai /staj/ you stay, sat /sat/ village
/d/ d in day[b] dacă /ˈda.kə/ if, vinde /ˈvin.de/ he sells, cad /kad/ I fall
/k/ k in sky[a] cal /ˈkal/ horse, ascund /asˈkund/ I hide, sac /sak/ sack
/ɡ/ g in go gol /ɡol/ empty, pungă /ˈpun.ɡə/ bag, drag /draɡ/ dear
/ts/ ts in nuts țară /ˈtsa.rə/ country, ață /ˈa.tsə/ thread, soț /sots/ husband
/tʃ/ ch in chin cer /tʃer/ sky, vacile /ˈva.tʃi.le/ the cows, maci /matʃʲ/ poppies
/dʒ/ j in jingle ger /dʒer/ frost, magic /ˈma.dʒik/ magical, rogi /rodʒʲ/ you ask
/m/ m in man mic /mik/ small, amar /aˈmar/ bitter, pom /pom/ tree
/n/ n in name nor /nor/ cloud, inel /i nel/ ring, motan /moˈtan/ tomcat
/f/ f in fine foc /fok/ fire, afară /aˈfa.rə/ out, pantof /panˈtof/ shoe
/v/ v in voice val /val/ wave, covor /koˈvor/ carpet, mov /mov/ mauve
/s/ s in sound sare /ˈsa.re/ salt, case /ˈka.se/ houses, ales /aˈles/ chosen
/z/ z in zone zid /zid/ wall, mazăre /ˈma.zə.re/ pea, orez /oˈrez/ rice
/ʃ/ sh in shy șarpe /ˈʃar.pe/ snake, așa /aˈʃa/ so, oraș /oˈraʃ/ city
/ʒ/ s in measure jar /ʒar/ embers, ajutor /a.ʒuˈtor/ help, vrej /vreʒ/ stalk
/h/ h in hope horn /horn/ chimney, pahar /paˈhar/ glass, duh /duh/ spirit
/l/ l in like lung /lunɡ/ long, alună /aˈlu.nə/ hazelnut, fel /fel/ sort
/r/ Italian r[c] repede /ˈre.pe.de/ quickly, tren /tren/ train, măr /mər/ apple
a. a b c Note that in English p in speak and p in peak are not the same sounds: The second one is aspirated.
Romanian /p/ is not aspirated. The same holds for /t/ and /k/.
b. a b /t/ and /d/ are only similar, not identical, to their English counterparts. While in English they are usually
alveolar, pronounced by touching the alveolar ridge with the tip of the tongue, in Romanian and other Romance
languages they are denti-alveolar, obtained by touching the roof of the mouth just behind the teeth with the flat
of the tongue. The same remark is valid for consonants /n/, /s/, and /z/, although the difference is not as
obvious.
c. ^ Somewhat as in Italian and Spanish, /r/ is usually a flap, though it may occasionally be a trill in word-initial
position.[16] It is similar to the consonant in the middle of "get up" in American English.
Palatalized consonants
In addition to appearing before /i/, palatalized consonants also appear terminally as the manifestation of certain
morphological markers, namely to indicate:[19]
Plurality in nouns and adjectives
Second person singular in verbs.
The interpretation commonly taken is that an underlying morpheme /i/ palatalizes the consonant and is
subsequently deleted. However, /sʲ/, /tʲ/, and /dʲ/ become [ʃʲ], [tsʲ], and [z], respectively,[19] with very fewphonetically justified exceptions, included in the table below, which shows that this palatalization can occur forall consonants.
Voiceless Voiced
Consonant Examples Consonant Examples
/p/ rupi /rupʲ/ 'you tear' /b/ arabi /aˈrabʲ/ 'Arabs'
/t/ proști /proʃtʲ/ 'stupid (masc. pl.)' /d/ nădejdi /nəˈdeʒdʲ/ 'hopes'
/k/ urechi /uˈrekʲ/ 'ears' /ɡ/ unghi /unɡʲ/ 'angle'
/ts/ roți /rotsʲ/ 'wheels' –
/tʃ/ faci /fatʃʲ/ 'you do' /dʒ/ mergi /merdʒʲ/ 'you go'
– /m/ dormi /dormʲ/ 'you sleep'
– /n/ bani /banʲ/ 'money (pl.)'
/f/ șefi /ʃef/ 'bosses' /v/ pleșuvi /pleˈʃuvʲ/ 'bald (masc. pl.)'
/s/ bessi /besʲ/ 'Bessi' /z/ brazi /braz/ 'fir trees'
/ʃ/ moși /moʃʲ/ 'old men' /ʒ/ breji /breʒʲ/ 'brave (masc. pl.)'
/h/ vlahi /vlahʲ/ 'Wallachians' –
– /l/ școli /ʃkol/ 'schools'
– /r/ sari /sarʲ/ 'you jump'
In certain morphological processes /ʲ/ is replaced by the full vowel /i/, for example
in noun plural genitive formation: școli - școlilor /ʃkol/ - /ˈʃko.li.lor/ ('schools - of the schools'),
when appending the definite article to some plural nouns: brazi - brazii /braz/ - /ˈbra.zij/ ('fir trees - the fir
trees')
in verb + pronoun combinations: dați - dați‑ne /datsʲ/ - /ˈda.tsi.ne/ ('give - give us').
This may explain why /ʲ/ is perceived as a separate sound by native speakers and written with the same letter asthe vowel /i/.
The non-syllabic /ʲ/ can be sometimes found inside compound words like câțiva /kɨtsʲ va/ ('a few') and oriunde/orʲ un.de/ ('wherever'), where the first morpheme happened to end in this /ʲ/. A word that contains this twice iscincizeci /tʃintʃʲ zetʃʲ/ ('fifty').
In old Romanian and still in some local pronunciations there is another example of such a non-syllabic, non-semivocalic phoneme, derived from /u/, which manifests itself as labialization of the preceding sound. The usualIPA notation is /ʷ/. It is found at the end of some words after consonants and semivowels, as in un urs,pronounced /un ˈursʷ/ ('a bear'), or îmi spui /ɨmʲ spujʷ/ ('you tell me'). The disappearance of this phoneme mightbe attributed to the fact that, unlike /ʲ/, it didn't play any morphological role. It is possibly a trace of Latin endingscontaining /u/ (-us, -um), this phoneme is related to vowel /u/ used to connect the definite article "l" to the stemof a noun or adjective, as in domn - domnul /domn - ˈdom.nul/ ('lord - the lord', cf. Latin dominus).
Other consonants
As with other languages, Romanian interjections often use sounds beyond the normal phoneme inventory ordisobey the normal phonotactical rules, by containing unusual phoneme sequences, by allowing words to bemade up of only consonants, or by consisting of repetitions. Such exceptional mechanisms are needed to obtain
an increased level of expressivity.[20] Often, these interjections have multiple spellings or occasionally none at all,
which accounts for the difficulty of finding the right approximation using existing letters.[21] The following is a listof examples.
A bilabial affricate [ʘ], pronounced by rounding the lips and strongly sucking air between them, is used
for urging horses to start walking.[20]
Whistling is another interjection surpassing the limits of the phoneme inventory. It is usually spelled fiu-
fiu.[20]
The dental click [ǀ] (see also click consonants) is used in an interjection similar to the English tut-tut (or
tsk-tsk), expressing concern, disappointment, disapproval, etc., and generally accompanied by frowning
or a comparable facial expression. Usually two to four such clicks in a row make up the interjection; only
one click is rare and more than four can be used for over-emphasis. The Romanian spelling is usually ttt
or țțț. Technically, the dental click is obtained by creating a cavity between a velar closure and the tongue
touching the alveolar ridge in the same position as for consonant [t]. When the tongue closure is released,
the air from outside is sucked in and produces the click.
The same dental click is used in another interjection, the informal equivalent of "no" (nu in Romanian).
Only one click is emitted, usually as an answer to a yes-no question. Although there is rarely any
accompanying sound, the usual spelling is nt or nț, in which the additional n has the role of showing either
the fact that the click is pronounced stronger, or that the mouth shape before the click is approximately
the same as for consonant [n].
A series of interjections are pronounced with the mouth shut. Depending on intonation, length, and
rhythm, they can have various meanings, such as: perplexity, doubt, displeasure, tastiness, toothache,
approval, etc.[21] Possible spellings include: hm, hâm/hîm, mhm, îhî, mmm, îî, hî. Phonetically similar,
but semantically different, is the English interjection ahem.
Another interjection, meaning "no", could be described as the pronunciation of [ˈʔa.ʔa] with the mouth
shut; both voicings start with glottal stops, like the English uh-oh. Possible spellings include: î-î, îm-îm,
and m-m. The stress pattern is opposite to the interjection for "yes" mentioned before, pronounced [aˈha]
with the mouth shut.
Pfu expresses contempt or dissatisfaction and starts with the voiceless bilabial fricative /ɸ/, sounding like
(but being different from) the English whew, which expresses relief after an effort or danger.
Câh/cîh expresses disgust and ends in the voiceless velar fricative /x/, similar in meaning to English ugh.
Brrr expresses shivering cold and is made up of a single consonant, the bilabial trill, whose IPA symbol is
/ʙ/. The spelling with several letters r is misleading, as the tongue doesn't play an active role; the actual
labial place of articulation is indicated by letter b.
Stress
Romanian has a stress accent, like almost all other Romance languages (with the notable exception of French).Generally, stress falls on the rightmost syllable of a prosodic word (that is, the root and derivational material but
excluding inflections and final inflectional vowels).[22] While a lexically marked stress pattern with penultimate
stress exists, any morphologically derived forms will continue to follow the unmarked pattern.[22]
In the examples below, the stress is indicated in the phonetic transcription by a small vertical line before thestressed syllable.
frate /ˈfra.te/ ('brother'), copil /koˈpil/ ('child')
strugure /ˈstru.ɡu.re/ ('grape'), albastru /al bas.tru/ ('blue'), călător /kə.ləˈtor/ ('voyager').
Stress is not normally marked in writing, except occasionally to distinguish between homographs, or indictionaries for the entry words. When it is marked, the main vowel of the stressed syllable receives an accent(usually acute, but sometimes grave), for example véselă - vesélă ('jovial', fem. sg. - 'tableware').
In verb conjugation, noun declension, and other word formation processes, stress shifts can occur. Verbs canhave homographic forms only distinguished by stress, such as in el suflă which can mean "he blows" or "heblew" depending on whether the stress is on the first or the second syllable, respectively. Changing thegrammatical category of a word can lead to similar word pairs, such as the verb a albi /al bi/ ('to whiten')compared to the adjective albi /ˈalbʲ/ ('white', masc. pl.). Stress in Romanian verbs can normally be predictedby comparing tenses with similar verbs in Spanish, which does indicate stress in writing.
Secondary stress occurs according to a predictable pattern, falling on every other syllable, starting with the first,
as long as it does not fall adjacent to the primary stress.[23]
Prosody
Rhythm
Languages such as English, Russian, and Arabic are called stress-timed, meaning that syllables are pronouncedat a lower or higher rate so as to achieve a roughly equal time interval between stressed syllables. Anothercategory of languages are syllable-timed, which means that each syllable takes about the same amount of time,regardless of the position of the stresses in the sentence. Romanian is one of the syllable-timed languages, alongwith other Romance languages (French, Spanish, etc.), Telugu, Yoruba, and many others. (A third timing systemis mora timing, exemplified by Classical Latin, Fijian, Finnish, Hawaiian, Japanese, and Old English.)
The distinction between these timing categories may sometimes seem unclear, and definitions vary. In addition,the time intervals between stresses/syllables/morae are in reality only approximately equal, with many exceptionsand large deviations having been reported. However, while the actual time may be only approximately equal, the
differences are perceptually identical.
In the case of Romanian, consonant clusters are often found both in the syllable onset and coda, which requirephysical time to be pronounced. The syllable timing rule is then overridden by slowing down the rhythm. Thus, itis seen that stress and syllable timing interact. The sample sentences below, each consisting of six syllables, areillustrative:
Mama pune masa – Mom sets the table
Mulți puști blonzi plâng prin curți – Many blond kids cry in the courtyards
The total time length taken by each of these sentences is obviously different, and attempting to pronounce one ofthem with the same rhythm as the other results in unnatural utterances.
To a lesser extent, but still perceivably, the syllables are extended in time also on one hand by the presence ofliquid and nasal consonants, and on the other by that of semivowels in diphthongs and triphthongs, such asshown in the examples below.
Romanian English
pic - plic bit - envelope
cec - cerc cheque - circle
zic - zinc I say - zinc
car - chiar I carry - even
sare - soare salt - sun
sta - stea to stay - star
fi - fii be (inf.) - be (imperative)
A simple way to evaluate the length of a word, and compare it to another, consists in pronouncing it repeatedlyat a natural speech rate.
Intonation
A detailed description of the intonation patterns must consider a wide range of elements, such as the focus of thesentence, the theme and the rheme, emotional aspects, etc. In this section only a few general traits of theRomanian intonation are discussed. Most importantly, intonation is essential in questions, especially because,unlike English and other languages, Romanian does not distinguish grammatically declarative and interrogativesentences.
In non-emphatic yes/no questions the pitch rises at the end of the sentence until the last stressed syllable. Ifunstressed syllables follow, they often have a falling intonation, but this is not a rule.
— Ai stins lumina? [ai stins lu↗mi↘na] (Have you turned off the light?)
— Da. (Yes.)
In Transylvanian speech these yes/no questions have a very different intonation pattern, usually with a pitch peakat the beginning of the question: [ai ↗stins lumi↘na]
In selection questions the tone rises at the first element of the selection, and falls at the second.
— Vrei bere sau vin? [vrei ↗bere sau ↘vin] (Do you want beer or wine?)
— Bere. (Beer.)
Wh-questions start with a high pitch on the first word and then the pitch falls gradually toward the end of thesentence.
— Cine a lăsat ușa deschisă? [↗cine↘ a lăsat ușa deschisă] (Who left the door open?)
— Mama. (Mom did.)
Repeat questions have a rising intonation.
— A sunat Rodica adineauri. (Rodica just called.)
— Cine a sunat? [cine a su↗nat] (Who called?)
— Colega ta, Rodica. (Your classmate, Rodica.)
Tag questions are uttered with a rising intonation.
— Ți-e foame, nu-i așa? [ți-e foame, nu-i a↗șa] (You're hungry, aren't you?)
Unfinished utterances have a rising intonation similar to that of yes/no questions, but the pitch rise is smaller.
— După ce m-am întors... [după ce m-am în↗tors...] (After I came back...)
Various other intonation patterns are used to express: requests, commands, surprise, suggestion, advice, and soon.
References
1. a b Chițoran (2001:7)
2. ^ Academia Română, Dicționarul ortografic, ortoepic și morfologic al limbii române, Ediția a II-a revăzută și
adăugită, Editura Univers Enciclopedic, București, 2005 (Romanian)
3. ^ Chițoran (2002a:204)
4. ^ Chițoran (2002b:213)
5. ^ See Chițoran (2001:8–9) for one overview regarding Romanian semivowels
6. ^ (Romanian) Academia Română, Gramatica limbii române, Editura Academiei Române, București, 2005, Vol.
I "Cuvântul", p. 549
7. ^ Chițoran (2002a:203)
8. ^ Chițoran (2002a:206)
9. ^ Chițoran (2002b:217)
10. ^ The entries for week-end (http://dexonline.ro/search.php?cuv=weekend) in several dictionaries specify the
pronunciation /ujkend/.
11. ^ Chițoran (2002b:206). The diphthongs pattern together with /a/
12. ^ Chițoran (2002b:215)
13. ^ Chițoran (2002b:209)
14. ^ Chițoran (2002b:210)
15. ^ Chițoran (2002b:211)
16. a b c Chițoran (2001:10)
17. a b Ovidiu Drăghici. "Limba Română contemporană. Fonetică. Fonologie. Ortografie. Lexicologie"
(http://cis01.central.ucv.ro/litere/idd/cursuri/an_1/limba_rom_cont/lrc_an1_draghici.pdf). Retrieved April 19,
2013.
18. ^ Petrovici (1956) argues that the palatalized consonants are underlying, though this analysis creates more
problems than it solves.
19. a b Chițoran (2001:11)
20. a b c (Romanian) Academia Română, Gramatica limbii române, Editura Academiei Române, București, 2005,
Vol. I "Cuvântul", p. 659
21. a b (Romanian) Academia Română, Gramatica limbii române, Editura Academiei Române, București, 2005,
Vol. I "Cuvântul", p. 660
22. a b Chițoran (2002b:208)
23. ^ Chițoran (2002:88)
Bibliography
Chițoran, Ioana (2001), The Phonology of Romanian: A Constraint-based Approach, Berlin & New
York: Mouton de Gruyter, ISBN 3-11-016766-2
Chițoran, Ioana (2002a), "A perception-production study of Romanian diphthongs and glide-vowel
sequences", Journal of the International Phonetic Association 32 (2): 203–222,
doi:10.1017/S0025100302001044 (http://dx.doi.org/10.1017%2FS0025100302001044)
Chițoran, Ioana (2002b), "The phonology and morphology of Romanian diphthongization", Probus 14
(2): 205–246, doi:10.1515/prbs.2002.009 (http://dx.doi.org/10.1515%2Fprbs.2002.009)
(Romanian) Emanuel Vasiliu, Fonologia limbii române, Editura Științifică, București, 1965
External links
Very detailed Romanian grammar, with some notes on phonetics and morpho-phonology (PDF; 183
pages; 4.6 MB) (http://www.seelrc.org:8080/grammar/pdf/stand_alone_romanian.pdf)
(Romanian) DEX online, a collection of Romanian language dictionaries; one-letter entries indicate the
possible pronunciations (http://dexonline.ro/)
Romanian Language Sounds (http://www.etc.tuiasi.ro/sibm/romanian_spoken_language/index.htm)
Sounds of the Romanian Language Project (SROL)
Rhymes Dictionary - dictionar de rime (http://www.spunetiparerea.ro/dictionar-de-rime/cauta-rime.php)
Romanian Rhymes Dictionary - allows the user to obtain words which rhyme with the search word
(possible indication of pronunciation rules)
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Romanian_phonology&oldid=610356560"
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Romanian phonology
Information about Romanian phonology
Romanian phonology
This article discusses the phonology of the Romanian language. For otherdetails on this language (history, grammar) the reader is referred to that
article.
Phonemes
The phoneme inventory of Romanian consists of seven vowels, four semivowels, and twenty consonants. In
addition, as with all languages, other phonemes can occur occasionally in interjections or recent borrowings.
Vowels
There are seven vowel phonemes in Romanian:
Front Central Back
Close i ɨ u
Mid e ə o
Open a
While most of the Romanian vowels are relatively straightforward and similar or identical to those in many
other languages, the close central unrounded vowel /ɨ/ might represent a problem for foreign learners since it
is missing from most other European languages, including most dialects of English. A practical way tounderstand the articulation of this vowel is as follows: First pronounce vowel /i/ as in "ease." Then, without
changing the shape of your lips, try to pronounce vowel /u/ as in "ooze." The sound produced is a good
approximation of /ɨ/.
The table below gives a series of word examples for each vowel.
Vowel Description Examples
/a/ Open central unroundedapă /ˈa.pə/ water balaur /baˈla.ur/ dragon
cânta /kɨnˈta/ to sing
/e/ Mid front unroundederou /eˈrow/ hero necaz /neˈkaz/ trouble
umple /ˈum.ple/ to fill
/i/ Close front unrounded
insulă /ˈin.su.lə/ island
salcie /ˈsal.ʧi.e/ willow topi /toˈpi/ to melt
/o/ Mid back rounded
oraş /oˈraʃ/ city
copil /koˈpil/ child acolo /aˈko.lo/ there
/u/ Close back roundeduda /uˈda/ to water aduc /aˈduk/ I bring
simplu /ˈsim.plu/ simple
/ə/ Mid central unroundedăsta /ˈəs.ta/ this păros /pəˈros/ hairy
albă /ˈal.bə/ white (fem. sg.)
/ɨ/ Close central unrounded
înspre /ˈɨn.spre/ toward
cârnat /kɨrˈnat/ sausage coborî /ko.boˈrɨ/ to descend
Less frequent vowels
In addition to the seven core vowels, in a number of words of foreign origin (predominantly French) theclose-mid front rounded vowel /Ã / has been maintained without replacing it with any of the existing
phonemes, at least in careful speech. These words have become part of the Romanian vocabulary and followthe usual inflexion rules, so that vowel /Ã /, though less common, could be considered as part of the
Romanian vowel set. Examples: bleu /blà / (light blue), pasteuriza /pas.tà .ri za/ (to pasteurize), loess /là s/(loess).
Similarly, recent borrowings from languages such as French and German contain the close front rounded
vowel /y/: ecru /eˈkry/, tul /tyl/, fürer /ˈfy.rer/. Older words that originally had this sound have had it
replaced with /ju/, /i.u/, /u/, or /i/. For instance, Turkish kül became ghiul /gjul/ (large ring), GermanDüse gave duză /ˈdu.zə/ (nozzle), French bureau became birou /bi row/ (desk, office), etc.
Non-syllabic vowels
A particular variant of vowel /i/, marked in IPA as /ʲ/, is found after consonants in word-final positions andrarely inside words. This phoneme is shorter and weaker than a normal vowel, and cannot support a syllable
by itself. It often manifests itself as a palatalization of the preceding consonant. Its role is often to mark theplural of nouns and adjectives, or the second person of verbs in the indicative or subjunctive mood.
The following examples show that /ʲ/ can occur after all consonants; however, a /ʲ/ placed after /d/ and /s/turns them almost invariably into /z/ and /ʃ/, respectively.
Voiceless Voiced
Consonant Examples Consonant Examples
/p/ rupi /rupʲ/ you tear /b/ arabi /aˈrabʲ/ Arabs
/t/ proşti /proʃtʲ/ stupid (masc. pl.) /d/ nădejdi /nəˈdeʒdʲ/ hopes
/k/ urechi /uˈrekʲ/ ears /g/ unghi /uŋgʲ/ angle
/ʦ/ roţi /roʦʲ/ wheels –
/ʧ/ faci /faʧʲ/ you do /ʤ/ mergi /merʤʲ/ you go
– /m/ dormi /dormʲ/ you sleep
– /n/ bani /banʲ/ money (pl.)
/f/ şefi /ʃef/ bosses /v/ pleşuvi /pleˈʃuvʲ/ bald (masc. pl.)
/s/ bessi /besʲ/ Bessi /z/ brazi /braz/ fir trees
/ʃ/ moşi /moʃʲ/ old men /ʒ/ breji /breʒʲ/ brave (masc. pl.)
/h/ vlahi /vlahʲ/ Wallachians –
– /l/ şcoli /ʃkol/ schools
– /r/ sari /sarʲ/ you jump
In certain morphological processes /ʲ/ is replaced by the full vowel /i/, for example
in noun plural genitive formation: şcoli - şcolilor /ʃkol/ - /ˈʃko.li.lor/ (schools - of the schools),
when appending the definite article to some plural nouns: brazi - brazii /braz/ - /ˈbra.zij/ (fir trees -
the fir trees)in verb + pronoun combinations: daţi - daţi-ne /daʦʲ/ - /ˈda.ʦi.ne/ (give - give us).
This may explain why /ʲ/ is perceived as a separate sound by native speakers and written with the same letter
as the vowel /i/.
The non-syllabic /ʲ/ can be sometimes found inside compound words like câţiva /kɨʦʲ va/ (a few) and
oriunde /orʲ un.de/ (wherever), where the first morpheme happened to end in this /ʲ/. A word that containsthis phoneme twice is cincizeci /ʧinʧʲ zeʧʲ/ (fifty).
In old Romanian and still in some local pronunciations there is another example of such a non-syllabic, non-
semivocalic phoneme, derived from /u/, which manifests itself as labialization of the preceding sound. Theusual IPA notation is /ʷ/. It is found at the end of some words after consonants and semivowels, as in un urs,
pronounced /un ˈursʷ/ (a bear), or îmi spui /ɨmʲ spujʷ/ (you tell me). The disappearance of this phonememight be attributed to the fact that, unlike /ʲ/, it didn't play any morphological role. It is possibly a trace of
Latin endings containing /u/ (-us, -um), this phoneme is related to vowel /u/ used to connect the definite article
"l" to the stem of a noun or adjective, as in domn - domnul /domn - ˈdom.nul/ (lord - the lord, cf. Latindominus).
Diphthongs and triphthongs
Romanian makes use of many diphthongs and triphthongs. The semivowels included in these are not marked
in writing, which represents a difficulty for those who learn the language. Traditionally Romanian lacks letters
w and y which could have helped in distinguishing vowels from semivowels at least in some cases.
Descending diphthongs
Descending (falling) diphthongs, which have the structure V-S (vowel-semivowel), are formed using one of
the semivowels /j/ and /w/. All combinations are possible except /uw/:
Diphthong Examples
/aj/ rai /raj/ heaven, aisberg /'ajs.berg/ iceberg
/aw/ sau /saw/ or, august /'aw.gust/ August
/ej/ lei /lej/ lions, trei /trej/ three
/ew/ greu /grew/ heavy, mereu /me'rew/ always
/ij/ mii /mij/ thousands, vii /vij/ you come
/iw/ fiu /fiw/ son, scriu /scriw/ I write
/oj/ oi /oj/ sheep (pl.), noi /noj/ we
/ow/ ou /ow/ egg, bou /bow/ ox
/uj/ pui /puj/ you put, gălbui /gəl'buj/ yellowish
/əj/ răi /rəj/ bad (masc. pl.), văi /vəj/ valleys
/əw/ dulău /du'ləw/ mastiff, rău /rəw/ bad (masc. sg.)
/ɨj/ câine /'kɨj.ne/ dog, mâinile /'mɨj.ni.le/ the hands
/ɨw/ râu /rɨw/ river, brâu /brɨw/ girdle
Ascending diphthongs
Ascending (rising) diphthongs, which have the structure S-V (semivowel-vowel) use a set of as much as four
semivowels: /e/, /j/, /o/, and /w/.
Diphthong Examples
/ea/ stea /stea/ star, mea /mea/ my (fem. sg.)
/eo/ Gheorghe /'geor.ge/ George, ne-o ploua /neo.plo'wa/ it would rain us
/eu/ (only in word combinations) pe-un /peun/ on a
/ja/ ziar /zjar/ newspaper, mi-a zis /mja'zis/ (he) told me
/je/ fier /fjer/ iron, miere /'mje.re/ honey
/jo/ iod /jod/ iodine, chior /'kjor/ one-eyed
/ju/ iubit /ju'bit/ loved, chiuvetă /kju've.tə/ sink
/oa/ oameni /'oa.menʲ/ people, foarte /'foar.te/ very
/wa/ ziua /'zi.wa/ the day, steaua /'stea.wa/ the star
/wə/ două /'do.wə/ two (fem.), plouă /'plo.wə/ it rains
/wɨ/ plouând /plo'wɨnd/ raining, ouând /o'wɨnd/ laying (eggs)
Diphthongs /oa/ and /wa/, although similar and never occurring simultaneously, are different, as it is proved
below. In the word
subsuoară /sub.su'oa.rə/ armpit,
after pronouncing vowel /u/ the mouth opens perceptibly for semivowel /o/. In some regional pronunciations
the diphthong /oa/ tends to be pronounced as a single vowel /ɒ/ possibly under the influence of the same
sound in Hungarian, but such shift does not happen to diphthong /wa/. The example below shows thatsemivowel /w/ and vowel /o/ are produced in a different manner:
roua /'ro.wa/ the dew.
However, there is no minimal pair of words which would show that by switching the diphthong the meaning ischanged.
That the semivowel /o/ is close to vowel /o/ is proved by words like cocoaşe /ko'koa.ʃe/ (hunches), in which
the two phonemes are only separated by the consonant /k/, allowing comparison. When vowel /u/ is taken asreference, as in the word cucoane /ku'koa.ne/ (ladies), a distinct vocalic shift can be noticed.
Diphthongs in borrowings
Borrowings from English have extended the set of ascending diphthongs to also include /jə/, /we/, /wi/, and
/wo/. Generally, these borrowings have retained their original spellings, but their pronunciation has been
adapted to the Romanian phonology. The table below gives some examples.
Diphthong Examples
/jə/ yearling /'jər.liŋg/ one-year-old animal (colt)
/we/ western /'wes.tern/ Western (movie set in the American West)
/wi/ tweeter /'twi.tər/ high-pitch loudspeaker
/wo/ walkman /'wok.men/ pocket-sized tape/CD player
Borrowings such as whisky and week-end are listed in some dictionaries as starting with the ascending
diphthong /wi/, which corresponds to the original English pronunciation, but in others they appear with the
descending diphthong /uj/, closer to the actual way these words are pronounced by Romanian nativespeakers.
Triphthongs: S-V-S
There are numerous triphthongs in which the main vowel is clamped between two semivowels:
Triphthong Examples
/eaj/ ceainic /'ʧeaj.nik/ tea pot, socoteai /so.ko'teaj/ you were reckoning
/eaw/ beau /beaw/ I drink, spuneau /spu'neaw/ they were saying
/jaj/ mi-ai dat /mjaj'dat/ you gave me, ia-i /jaj/ take them
/jaw/ iau /jaw/ I take, suiau /su'jaw/ they were climbing
/jej/ iei /jej/ you take, piei /pjej/ skins
/jew/ maieu /ma'jew/ undershirt, eu /jew/ I (myself)
/joj/ i-oi da /joj'da/ I might give him, picioică /pi'ʧjoj.kə/ potato (regionalism)
/jow/ maiou /ma'jow/ undershirt
/oaj/ leoaică /le'oaj.kə/ lioness, rusoaică /ru'soaj.kə/ Russian woman
/waj/ înşeuai /ɨn.ʃe'waj/ (you) were saddling
/waw/ înşeuau /ɨn.ʃe'waw/ (they) were saddling
/wəj/ rouăi /'ro.wəj/ of the dew
Other triphthongs can be built on the same S-V-S pattern, such as /juj/ and /oaw/, but they only occur
sporadically in interjections and uncommon words.
Triphthongs: S-S-V
These triphthongs start with a glide through two semivowels.
Triphthong Examples
/eoa/ pleoape /'pleoa.pe/ eyelids, leoarcă /'leoar.kə/ soaking (wet)
/joa/ creioane /kre'joa.ne/ pencils, aripioară /a.ri'pjoa.rə/ winglet
Triphthong /jea/ occurs in the word ea /jea/ she, or in certain areas as a replacement for diphthong /ja/.
Consonants
Standard Romanian has twenty consonants, as listed in the table below.
BilabialLabio-
dentalDental
Post-
alveolarVelar Glottal
Plosive p b t d k g
Affricate ʦ ʧ ʤ
Nasal m n
Fricative f v s z ʃ ʒ h
Liquid l r
Besides the consonants in this table, a few consonants can have allophones:
/k/ and /g/ are palatalized before vowels /e/ and /i/, their semivocalic counterparts or the non-syllabic /
ʲ/;
/n/ becomes the velar [ŋ] before /k/, /g/ and /h/;
/h/ becomes velar or palatal depending on the following sound.
The Romanian consonant set is almost the same as that in Italian, with a few exceptions: The Italian palatal
consonants /ɲ/, /ʎ/ and affricate /ʣ/ are missing in standard Romanian, which in turn has the fricative /ʒ/ and
the glottal /h/.
Here are some examples, with an approximate indication of how each consonant is pronounced, intended for
English native speakers.
Consonant Pronounced as Examples
/p/ p in speak (1) pas /pas/ step, spate /'spa.te/ back, cap /kap/ head
/b/ b in boy ban /ban/ money, zbor /zbor/ I fly, rob /rob/ slave
/t/ t in stop (1)(2) tare /'ta.re/ hard, stai /staj/ you stay, sat /sat/ village
/d/ d in day (2) dacă /'da.kə/ if, vinde /'vin.de/ he sells, cad /kad/ I fall
/k/ k in sky (1) cal /'kal/ horse, ascund /as'kund/ I hide, sac /sak/ sack
/g/ g in go gol /gol/ empty, pungă /'puŋ.gə/ bag, drag /drag/ dear
/ʦ/ ts in nuts ţară /'ʦa.rə/ country, aţă /'a.ʦə/ thread, soţ /soʦ/ husband
/ʧ/ ch in chin cer /ʧer/ sky, vacile /'va.ʧi.le/ the cows, maci /maʧʲ/ poppies
/ʤ/ j in jingle ger /ʤer/ frost, magic /'ma.ʤik/ magical, rogi /roʤʲ/ you ask
/m/ m in man mic /mik/ small, amar /a'mar/ bitter, pom /pom/ tree
/n/ n in name nor /nor/ cloud, inel /i'nel/ ring, motan /mo'tan/ tomcat
/f/ f in fine foc /fok/ fire, afară /a'fa.rə/ out, pantof /pan'tof/ shoe
/v/ v in voice val /val/ wave, covor /ko'vor/ carpet, mov /mov/ mauve
/s/ s in sound sare /'sa.re/ salt, case /'ka.se/ houses, ales /a'les/ chosen
/z/ z in zone zid /zid/ wall, mazăre /'ma.zə.re/ pea, orez /o'rez/ rice
/ʃ/ sh in shy şarpe /'ʃar.pe/ snake, aşa /a'ʃa/ so, oraş /o'raʃ/ city
/ʒ/ s in measure jar /ʒar/ embers, ajutor /a.ʒu'tor/ help, vrej /vreʒ/ stalk
/h/ h in hope horn /horn/ chimney, pahar /pa'har/ glass, duh /duh/ spirit
/l/ l in like lung /luŋg/ long, alună /a'lu.nə/ hazelnut, fel /fel/ sort
/r/ Italian r (3) repede /'re.pe.de/ quickly, tren /tren/ train, măr /mər/ apple
(1) Note that p in speak and p in peak are not the same sounds: The second is aspirated. Romanian /p/ is not
aspirated. The same holds for /t/ and /k/.
(2) Consonants /t/ and /d/ are only similar to their English counterparts. While in English they are alveolar,
pronounced by touching the alveolar ridge with the tip of the tongue, in Romanian and other Romance
languages they are dental, obtained by touching the roof of the mouth just behind the teeth with the flat of the
tongue. The same remark is valid for consonants /n/, /s/, and /z/, although the difference is not as obvious.
(3) Consonant /r/ is an alveolar trill, informally also called "rolled r," present in a number of languages such as
Italian, Spanish, or Russian. Romanian phonetics sources classify this sound as dental. It is sometimes
compared with the consonant in the middle of "get up" in informal American English (spelled "geddup" to
mark the changed pronunciation); this phrase could be transcribed phonetically in Romanian as "gherap."
Other consonants
Although not a central part of the Romanian phoneme inventory, other consonants are often used in certain
interjections:
The dental click /ǀ/ (see also click consonants) is used in an interjection similar to the English "tut-tut"
(also spelled "tsk-tsk"), expressing concern, disappointment, disapproval, etc, and generally
accompanied by frowning or a comparable facial expression. Usually two to four such clicks in a rowmake up the interjection; only one click is rare and more than four can be used for over-emphasis. The
Romanian spelling is usually "ttt" or "ţţţ." Technically, the dental click is obtained by creating a cavity
between a velar closure and the tongue touching the alveolar ridge in the same position as for
consonant /t/. When the tongue closure is released, the air from outside is sucked in and produces the
click.
The same dental click is used in another interjection, the informal equivalent of "no" ("nu" in Romanian).
Only one click is emitted, usually as an answer to a yes/no question. Although there is rarely anyaccompanying sound, the usual spelling is "nt" or "nţ," in which the additional "n" has the role of
showing either the fact that the click is pronounced stronger, or that the mouth shape before the click is
approximately the same as for consonant /n/.
An interjection that is reluctant to receiving a generally accepted written form is the one pronounced as
/a'ha/, but with the mouth shut, and starting with a glottal stop. A possible spelling is "mhm," but in
literature "îhî" is generally preferred, although phonetically it is different. This interjection is used
as an approval, the answer "yes," or as a sign that the listener is following the story. Phoneticallysimilar, but semantically different, is the English interjection "ahem."
Another interjection, meaning "no," could be explained as the pronunciation of /'a a/ with the mouth
shut. Note that the stress pattern is opposite to the previous example, and that the two voicings start
with glottal stops, like the English "uh-oh." Possible spellings include: "î-î," "îm-îm," and
"m-m."
Other interjections employing particular consonants are:
"Pfu," to express contempt or dissatisfaction, starting with the voiceless bilabial fricative /ɸ/, soundinglike (but being different from) the English "whew," which expresses relief after an effort or danger.
"Câh," to express disgust, ending in the voiceless velar fricative /x/, similar in meaning to English
"ugh."
"Hm" or "hmm," to show that the speaker is thinking before giving an answer, or to convey the
meaning of "let's see...," is pronounced with the mouth shut releasing the air flow through the nose,
without a glottal stop. Depending on the intonation this interjection can take up other meanings aswell.
"Brrr," to express shivering cold, is made up of a single consonant, the bilabial trill, whose IPA
symbol is /ʙ/. The spelling with several letters r is misleading, as the tongue doesn't play an active
role; the actual labial place of articulation is indicated by letter b.
Prosody
Stress
Romanian has a stress accent, like almost all other Romance languages (with the notable exception of
French). The position of the stress in a word is usually unpredictable, as it can fall on almost any syllable,
making it an intrinsic property of the word. Except for one-syllable words, the stress must be learned witheach word. In the examples below, the stress is indicated in the phonetic transcription by a small vertical line
before the stressed syllable.
frate /'fra.te/ brother, copil /ko'pil/ child
strugure /'stru.gu.re/ grape, albastru /al'bas.tru/ blue, călător /kə.lə'tor/ voyager
Stress is not normally marked in writing, except occasionally to distinguish between homographs, or in
dictionaries for the entry words. When it is marked, the main vowel of the stressed syllable receives an accent
(usually acute, but sometimes grave), for example véselă - vesélă (jovial, fem. sg. - tableware). If theaccent must be placed on low-case letter "i," the dot is normally replaced by the accent: copÃi - cópii
(children - copies).
In verb conjugation, noun declension, and other word formation processes, stress shifts can occur. Verbs can
have homographic forms only distinguished by stress, such as in "el suflă" which can mean "he blows" or "he
blew" depending on whether the stress is on the first or the second syllable, respectively. Changing the
grammatical category of a word can lead to similar word pairs, such as the verb "a albi" /al'bi/ (to whiten)compared to the adjective "albi" /'albʲ/ (white, masc. pl.).
Rhythm
Languages such as English, Russian, and Arabic are called stress-timed, meaning that syllables are
pronounced at a lower or higher rate so as to achieve a roughly equal time interval between stressed syllables.
Another category of languages are syllable-timed, which means that each syllable takes about the sameamount of time, regardless of the position of the stresses in the sentence. Romanian is one of the syllable-
timed languages, along with other Romance languages (French, Spanish, etc.), Telugu, Yoruba, and many
others. (A third timing system is mora timing, exemplified by Classical Latin, Fijian, Finnish, Hawaiian,
Japanese, and Old English.)
The distinction between these timing categories may sometimes seem unclear, and definitions vary. In
addition, the time intervals between stresses/syllables/morae are in reality only approximately equal, withmany exceptions and large deviations having been reported. However, while the actual time may be only
approximately equal, the differences are perceptually identical.
In the case of Romanian, consonant clusters are often found both in the syllable onset and coda, which
require physical time to be pronounced. The syllable timing rule is then overridden by slowing down the
rhythm. Thus, it is seen that stress and syllable timing interact. The sample sentences below, each consisting of
six syllables, are illustrative:
Mama pune masa. -- Mom sets the table.
Mulţi puşti blonzi plâng prin curţi. -- Many blond kids cry in the courtyards.
The total time length taken by each of these sentences is obviously different, and attempting to pronounce one
of them with the same rhythm as the other results in unnatural utterances. Note that the second sentence
features in several places the non-syllabic vowel /ʲ/ which has the effect of lengthening the syllable time.
To a lesser extent, but still perceivably, the syllables are extended in time also on one hand by the presence of
liquid and nasal consonants, and on the other by that of semivowels in diphthongs and triphthongs, such as
shown in the examples below.
Romanian English
pic - plic bit - envelope
cec - cerc check - circle
zic - zinc I say - zinc
car - chiar carriage - even
sare - soare salt - sun
sta - stea to stay - star
fi - fii be (inf.) - be (imperative)
A simple way to evaluate the length of a word, and compare it to another, consists in pronouncing it
repeatedly at a natural speech rate.
Intonation
A detailed description of the intonation patterns must consider a wide range of elements, such as the focus of
the sentence, the theme and the rheme, emotional aspects, etc. In this section only a few general traits of the
Romanian intonation are discussed. Most importantly, intonation is essential in questions, especially because,
unlike English and other languages, Romanian does not distinguish grammatically declarative and interrogativesentences.
In non-emphatic yes/no questions the pitch rises at the end of the sentence until the last stressed syllable. If
unstressed syllables follow, they often have a falling intonation, but this is not a rule.
— Ai stins lumina? [ai stins lu↗mi↘na] (Have you turned off the lights?)
— Da. (I did.)
In Transylvanian speech these yes/no questions have a very different intonation pattern, usually with a pitch
peak at the beginning of the question: [ai ↗stins lumi↘na]
In selection questions the tone rises at the first element of the selection, and falls at the second.
— Vrei bere sau vin? [vrei ↗bere sau ↘vin] (Do you want beer or wine?)
— Bere. (Beer.)
Wh-questions start with a high pitch on the first word and then the pitch falls gradually toward the end of thesentence.
— Cine a lăsat uşa deschisă? [↗cine↘ a lăsat uşa deschisă] (Who left the door open?)
— Mama. (Mom did.)
Repeat questions have a rising intonation.
— A sunat Rodica adineauri. (Rodica just called.)
— Cine a sunat? [cine a su↗nat] (Who called?)
• • [ e]
— Colega ta, Rodica. (Your classmate, Rodica.)
Tag questions are uttered with a rising intonation.
— Ţi-e foame, nu-i aşa? [ţi-e foame, nu-i a↗şa] (You're hungry, aren't you?)
Unfinished utterances have a rising intonation similar to that of yes/no questions, but the pitch rise is
smaller.
— După ce m-am întors... [după ce m-am în↗tors...] (After I came back...)
Various other intonation patterns are used to express: requests, commands, surprise, suggestion, advice, andso on.
External links
Very detailed Romanian grammar, with some notes on phonetics and morpho-phonology (PDF; 183pages; 4.6 MB)(Romanian) DEX online, a collection of Romanian language dictionaries; one-letter entries indicate the
possible pronunciations
Phonologies of the world's languagesAbkhaz Arabic Bengali Catalan Czech Danish Dutch English: Old/Modern/Australian Esperanto FinnishFrench: Standard/Quebec German: Bernese/Standard Greek: Ancient/Koine/Modern Gujarati Hawaiian
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International Phonetic Alphabet
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The InternationalPhonetic Alphabet
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International Phonetic Alphabet
Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode.
The InternationalPhonetic Alphabet
HistoryNonstandard symbolsExtended IPA
Naming conventionsIPA for English The
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Romanian}}} Official status
Official language of: Moldova [2]
Romania
Vojvodina (Serbia)
European UnionRegulated by: Academia Română
Language codesISO 639-1: ro
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by a constriction or closure at one or more points along the..... Click the link for more information.Semivowels (also glides, more rarely: semiconsonants) are non-syllabic vowels that form diphthongs with
syllabic vowels. They may be contrasted with approximants, which are similar to but closer than vowels orsemivowels and behave as consonants.
..... Click the link for more information.consonant is a sound in spoken language that is characterized by a closure or stricture of the vocal tract
sufficient to cause audible turbulence. The word consonant..... Click the link for more information.phoneme is the smallest unit of speech that distinguishes meaning. Phonemes are not the physical segments
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ANASAYFA HAKKIMIZDA ÜNİVERSİTELER GALERİ BAŞVURU İLETİŞİM
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Romanya Eğitim
Alba Lulia 1 Aralık
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günleri
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Yemekleri
Romence Öğren, Başlangıç Kelimeleri ve Türkçe Anlamları
Romanya’nın resmi dili Romence’dir. Aynı zamanda Moldova’nın da resmi dili
Romence’dir. Portekizce, Fransızca gibi dillerle beraber, Hint-Avrupa dillerinin Latin
kolundandır.
Romence, ya da Rumence, Latince’ye gramer açısından çok benzeyen ve Latince etkisi de
yoğun hissedilen bir dildir. Bu nedenle Romanya’da eğitim yapan ve Latin kökenli diller
konuşan öğrencilerin çoğu, Romence öğrenirken zorluk çekmezler. Türkçe’yle de ortak
sözcüklere sahip olan Romence alfabesi Kiril alfabesi değildir. İçerdiği farklı harflerden
dolayı, Latin alfabesidir de diyemeyiz ancak farklı harflerin sayıları da çok fazla değildir.
Romen alfabesi şu harflerden oluşur:
“a a â b c d e f g h î i j k l m n o p r s ? t ? u v x z”
Romanya’da eğitim ve öğrenim hayatlarını sürdürmekte olan ya da sürdürecek olan
öğrenciler için, Romence içerdiği benzerlikler açısından kolay bir dil sayılabilir.
Alfabesindeki özel harfler ve okunuşlar dışında diğer Latin alfabelerine benzerliği de
öğrenmekte kolaylık sağlamaktadır.
Galati Üniversitesi
İash Gheorghe Asachi
Teknik Üniversitesi
İash Grigore T. Popa
Tıp ve Veterinerlik
Üniversitesi
İash İon Lonescu de la
Brad Tarım ve
Veterinerlik
Köstence Denizcilik
Üniversitesi
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Üniversitesi
Oredea Üniversitesi
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Piteşti Üniversitesi
Ploieşti Gaz Petrol
Üniversitesi
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Üniversitesi
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Üniversitesi
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Mare Üniversitesi
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Üniversitesi
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Manior Üniversitesi
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Ziraat Bilimleri ve
Veterinerlik
Üniversitesi
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Kodu
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fiyatlari
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Romence Öğren,
Başlangıç Kelimeleri
ve Türkçe Anlamları
Romen alfabesindeki bazı harflerin üzerinde şapka işareti, bazı harflerin altında virgül
işareti, vardır. Türkçe’deki ç, ğ ö, ü, y harfleri yokken, ş harfi ve x harfleri vardır. Q ve w
harfleri de Romen alfabesinde yer almaz.
Romence’deki çok sayıda harfin Türkçe’deki gibi telaffuz edilmesi de, Türk öğrencilerin
Romence öğrenmekteki bir başka avantajlarıdır.
Romence’ye yeni başlayanlar için birkaç Romence – Türkçe örnek verecek olursak:
Sayılar:
Zero: Sıfır
Unu: Bir
Doi: İki
Trei: Üç
Patru: Dört
Cinci: Beş
Şase: Altı
Şapte: Yedi
Opt: Sekiz
Noua: Dokuz
Günlük Pratik Konuşmalar:
Merhaba: Buna
Günaydın: Buna dimineata
Tünaydın: Bunu ziua
İyi akşamlar: Bunu ziua
İyi geceler: Noapta Buna
Benim adım Marie: Numele meu este Marie
Senin ismin ne? : Care este numele tau?
Nasılsın? : Ce mai faci?
Ben iyiyim: Sunt bine
Hoşçakal : La revedere
Teşekkür ederim : Multumesc
Çok teşekkür ederim : Multumesc mult
Rica ederim : Cu placere
Lütfen : Te rog
Nerelisiniz? : De unde eşti?
Ben Fransalıyım : Sunt din Franta
Üzgünüm : Pardon
Bana yardım edebilir misiniz lütfen? : Ma poti ajuta, te rog?
Afedersiniz : Ma scuzati
Yardımcı olabilir miyim? : Te pot ajuta ?
Bu doğru : Este adevarat
Hiç de fena değil : Nu este rau
Memnun oldum : Este o placere
Hizmetinizde : La dispozitia dumneavoastra
Size nasıl yardımcı olabilirim?: Cu ce va pot ajuta?
Özür dilerim : Îmi pare rau
Bence öyle : Cred
İyi fikir : O idee buna
Gidelim : Sa mergem
Karnım aç : Mi-e foame
Susadım : Mi-e sete
Hakkımızda
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Süt, et vs.fiyatları
Romanya Resmi Dili ve Eğitim Dili
Romanya resmi tatil günleri
Romanya Rumen Yemekleri
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