Romanian

Romanian is a Romance language, spoken by over 25 million people in Eastern Europe, and is the official language of Romania and Moldova.

Romanian developed from Latin, the language of the Roman Empire, and shares many features with other Romance languages such as Italian, French, Spanish, and Portuguese. Romanian uses the Latin alphabet, with a few additional letters (ă, â, î, ș, and ț) to represent specific sounds in the language. The additional letters are formed using diacritics, such as a breve (ă) or a comma (ș, ț).

Romanian grammar is characterized by its use of noun cases (nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, and vocative), which is rare among Romance languages. Nouns also have a gender system, with masculine, feminine, and neuter genders, and the language uses definite and indefinite articles. Romanian verbs are conjugated according to tense, mood, person, and number.

How hard is it to learn Romanian?

Romanian has a complex grammar and is written in the Latin alphabet, which may be familiar to English speakers. However, there are some differences between English and Romanian, such as the use of inflections to indicate grammatical categories and the use of the letter "ă" to indicate a nasal vowel sound.

It can take an English speaker approximately 24-30 weeks of study to reach proficiency in Romanian.

Why should I learn Romanian?

Knowledge of Romanian can open up new professional opportunities, particularly if you work in fields such as international business, diplomacy, or academia. Romania is the largest economy in Southeast Europe and has a growing tech industry, creating potential career prospects for those with language skills.

Romanian is a Romance language, and learning it can help you better understand other Romance languages such as Italian, French, Spanish, and Portuguese. This can be particularly useful if you're interested in learning multiple languages or if you already speak a Romance language, as you'll likely find it easier to learn Romanian due to the shared vocabulary and grammatical structures.

Romanian has a fascinating mix of Latin roots and Slavic influences, making it a unique and interesting language to study. Its noun case system and vocabulary borrowed from neighboring languages offer a distinctive learning experience, especially for those who have studied other Romance languages.