Romanian - Folk Dance Federation of California, South Inc.

Folk Dance Federation of California, South, Inc.

Romanian
By Dick Oakes

A a, Ă ă, Â â, B b, C c, D d, E e, F f, G g,
H h, I i, Î î, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o, P p,
R r, S s, Ș ș, T t, Ț ț, U u, V v,
X x, Z z

The Romanian (Român) language is quite phonetic and uses accents on some vowels and on some consonants. It is a Romance language spoken by about 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova.

Letters not listed below are pronounced approximately as in English.

A, a - a as in father

Ă, ă - a as in around

Â, â - i as in girl (see Î)

E, e - e as in let

I, i - i as in machine

Î, î - i as in girl

O, o - o as in note; also o as in gone

U, u - u as in duke

C, c - c as in cello (ch) when before E or I, otherwise c as in cat

Ch, ch - ch as in chaos (k)

G, g - g as in germ (j) when before E or I, otherwise g as in go

Gh, gh - gh as in ghost (g)

J, j - z as in azure (zh)

Ș, ș - s as in sugar

Ț, ț - tz as in quartz (ts)

DIPTHONGS AND TRIPTHONGS:

The Romanian language has many dipthongs (and tripthongs), which are pronounced separately but in rapid succession. The weaker vowel almost becomes semiconsonantal. Examples are:

ai - ai as in kaiser

au - au as in sauerkraut

ău - a as in about combined with u as in flute

ea - ea as in bread

ei - ei as in seine

eu - eu as in feud

ia - ya as in yacht

ie - ye as in yes

io - yo as in yoke

iu - yu as in yule

îi - i as in hike

îu - similar to eu in feud

oa - wa as in wash

oi - oi as in spheroid

ou - ou as in dough

uă - wu as in wuther

eai - yi as in yikes

eau - yow as in yowl

ieu - ieu as in lieu

The letter i at the end of a word is silent unless preceded by another letter i (ii) . Three i letters (iii) are pronounced "iji."

COMBINATIONS:

Ci, ci - chi as in chief

Ce, ce - che as in chess

Chi, chi - chi as in Chianti

Ghe,ghe - ghe as in ghetto

Ghi, ghi - gee as in geese

Ge, ge - ge as in genesis

Gi, gi - gi as in giraff

NOTE:

The -ul ending, pronounced "-oo" (colloquial) or "-ool" (more formal usage) is a form of the Romanian definite article, the equivalent of the english "the;" hence alunelu = "hazelnut," alunelul = "the hazelnut."

A, a	- a as in father
Ă, ă	- a as in around
Â, â	- i as in girl (see Î)
E, e	- e as in let
I, i	- i as in machine
Î, î	- i as in girl
O, o	- o as in note; also o as in gone
U, u	- u as in duke

C, c	- c as in cello (ch) when before E or I, otherwise c as in cat
Ch, ch	- ch as in chaos (k)
G, g	- g as in germ (j) when before E or I, otherwise g as in go
Gh, gh	- gh as in ghost (g)
J, j	- z as in azure (zh)
Ș, ș	- s as in sugar
Ț, ț	- tz as in quartz (ts)

DIPTHONGS AND TRIPTHONGS:

The Romanian language has many dipthongs (and tripthongs), which are pronounced separately but in rapid succession. The weaker vowel almost becomes semiconsonantal. Examples are:

ai	- ai as in kaiser
au	- au as in sauerkraut
ău	- a as in about combined with u as in flute
ea	- ea as in bread
ei	- ei as in seine
eu	- eu as in feud
ia	- ya as in yacht
ie	- ye as in yes
io	- yo as in yoke
iu	- yu as in yule
îi	- i as in hike
îu	- similar to eu in feud
oa	- wa as in wash
oi	- oi as in spheroid
ou	- ou as in dough
uă	- wu as in wuther
eai	- yi as in yikes
eau	- yow as in yowl
ieu	- ieu as in lieu

The letter i at the end of a word is silent unless preceded by another letter i (ii) . Three i letters (iii) are pronounced "iji."

COMBINATIONS:

Ci, ci	- chi as in chief
Ce, ce	- che as in chess
Chi, chi	- chi as in Chianti
Ghe,ghe	- ghe as in ghetto
Ghi, ghi	- gee as in geese
Ge, ge	- ge as in genesis
Gi, gi	- gi as in giraff

NOTE:

	The -ul ending, pronounced "-oo" (colloquial) or "-ool" (more formal usage) is a form of the Romanian definite article, the equivalent of the english "the;" hence alunelu = "hazelnut," alunelul = "the hazelnut."