Writing System and Orthography of the Romanian Language

The Romanian language utilizes a writing system and orthographic conventions that are vital for the correct representation and understanding of its lexicon. The Romanian alphabet, a version of the Latin alphabet, is central to this system and consists of 31 letters. Five unique letters, namely Ă, Â, Î, Ș, and Ț, are incorporated to represent specific phonetic sounds that are distinct from other Romance languages.

Historical Development of the Writing System

The Romanian writing system has evolved significantly, particularly in its orthographic representation. Historically, Romanian was written using the Cyrillic script until the mid-19th century, after which the transition to the Latin alphabet was completed, symbolizing a shift towards Romanian linguistic independence. This transformation was influenced by the desire to emphasize Romania's Latin roots and cultural connections with Western Europe.

Orthographic Features

Romanian orthography is characterized by certain distinctive features:

Diacritics: The letters Ă, Î, Â, Ș, and Ț employ diacritics, which are crucial for denoting specific phonemes. These diacritics distinguish Romanian orthography from other alphabetical systems using the Latin script.
Historical and Phonetic Justifications: The use of both Î and Â is a reflection of the language's historical development, with both letters representing the same phonetic sound. The differentiation in usage signifies the linguistic tradition and cultural heritage of Romanian.

Unicode and Digital Representation

The representation of Romanian orthographic characters in digital formats initially faced challenges due to discrepancies in Unicode standards. The glyphs for "ș" and "ț" were initially mapped to S and T with cedilla (U+015F/U+0163), but this rendered inconsistencies in software platforms, such as those provided by Adobe Systems. This issue was later rectified with updates to include "Ș" and "Ț" with comma below (U+0218/U+021A) in widely-used operating systems like Microsoft Windows.

Influence and Comparison

The orthography of the Romanian language can be compared to orthographic systems of other languages in the region, such as Hungarian and Bulgarian, where the alphabets are adapted to reflect specific phonetic sounds unique to their languages. The Romanian orthography emphasizes its Latin origin and connection to the Romance language family, distinguishing it linguistically and culturally from neighboring Slavic languages.

Romanian Language

The Romanian language is a Romance language primarily spoken in Romania and Moldova. It is part of the Eastern Romance branch and is known for its unique Latin roots intertwined with Slavic, Greek, Turkish, Hungarian, and Albanian influences. The language serves as the official language in both Romania and Moldova, where it is sometimes referred to as Moldovan, a term that denotes the same linguistic entity with regional variations.

Dialects of Romanian

Romanian consists of four main dialects:

Dacoromanian: This is the basis of the standard Romanian language, predominantly spoken in Romania and Moldova. It includes several regional variants and represents the language commonly known as Romanian.
Aromanian (Macedoromanian): Spoken in scattered communities across Greece, North Macedonia, Albania, Bulgaria, Kosovo, and Serbia, Aromanian is a distinct dialect that shares historical roots with Dacoromanian.
Meglenoromanian: Nearly extinct, this dialect is spoken in northern Greece and southeastern North Macedonia. Its speakers are part of a small ethnic group with a unique linguistic identity.
Istroromanian: Also nearly extinct, Istroromanian is found in Istria, a peninsula that lies within Croatia and Slovenia. This dialect is one of the smallest branches of the Romanian language.

Mutual intelligibility among these dialects varies, with Dacoromanian being the most widely understood and used.

Historical Background

The origins of the Romanian language date back to the Roman occupation of Dacia, a region that comprises modern-day Romania and parts of surrounding countries. The Romanization of the local Dacian tribes led to the development of a unique Romance language north of the Jireček Line, which demarcates the influence of the Latin and Greek languages in the Balkans.

The Romanian language has evolved over centuries, absorbing elements from various languages due to historical changes in the region, including the Ottoman Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and neighboring Slavic nations.