Wallachian Dialect
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The Wallachian dialect (''/'/'') is one of the several dialects of the
Romanian language Romanian (obsolete spelling: Roumanian; , or , ) is the official and main language of Romania and Moldova. Romanian is part of the Eastern Romance languages, Eastern Romance sub-branch of Romance languages, a linguistic group that evolved fr ...
(Daco-Romanian). Its geographic distribution covers approximately the historical region of
Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ; : , : ) is a historical and geographical region of modern-day Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians. Wallachia was traditionally divided into two sections, Munteni ...
, occupying the southern part of
Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
, roughly between the
Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...
and the Southern Carpathians. Standard Romanian, in particular its
phonology Phonology (formerly also phonemics or phonematics: "phonemics ''n.'' 'obsolescent''1. Any procedure for identifying the phonemes of a language from a corpus of data. 2. (formerly also phonematics) A former synonym for phonology, often pre ...
, is largely based on Wallachian. As with all other Romanian dialects, Wallachian is distinguished primarily by its phonetic characteristics and only marginally by morphological, syntactical, and lexical features. The Wallachian dialect is the only member of the southern grouping of Romanian dialects. All the other dialects and speech varieties are classified in the northern grouping, whose most typical representative is the
Moldavian dialect The Moldavian dialect is one of several dialects of the Romanian language (Daco-Romanian). It is spoken across the approximate area of the historical region of Moldavia, now split between the Republic of Moldova, Romania, and Ukraine. The deli ...
. The Wallachian and the Moldavian dialects are the only two that have been consistently identified and recognized by linguists. They are clearly distinguished in dialect classifications made by Heimann Tiktin, Mozes Gaster, Gustav Weigand, Sextil Pușcariu, Sever Pop, Emil Petrovici, Romulus Todoran, Ion Coteanu, Alexandru Philippide, Iorgu Iordan, Emanuel Vasiliu, and others, whereas the other dialects and speech varieties have proven to be considerably more controversial and difficult to classify.


Geographic distribution

The Wallachian dialect is spoken in the southern part of
Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
, in the region of
Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ; : , : ) is a historical and geographical region of modern-day Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians. Wallachia was traditionally divided into two sections, Munteni ...
. More accurately, it covers the following
counties A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...
: *in
Muntenia Muntenia (, also known in English as Greater Wallachia) is a historical region of Romania, part of Wallachia (also, sometimes considered Wallachia proper, as ''Muntenia'', ''Țara Românească'', and the rarely used ''Valahia'' are synonyms in Ro ...
(Muntenian dialect, but in Teleorman there is a little influence from Oltenian dialect): ArgeÈ™,
Brăila Brăila (, also , ) is a city in Muntenia, eastern Romania, a port on the Danube and the capital of Brăila County. The Sud-Est (development region), ''Sud-Est'' Regional Development Agency is located in Brăila. According to the 2021 Romanian ...
(mostly in southern half and central also spoken in north but with some Moldavian influences),
Buzău Buzău (; formerly spelled ''Buzeu'' or ''Buzĕu'') is a city in the historical region of Muntenia, Romania, and the county seat of Buzău County. It lies near the right bank of the Buzău River, between the south-eastern curvature of the Carp ...
(mostly in southern half and central also spoken in north but with some Moldavian influences), Călărași, Dâmbovița, Giurgiu, Ialomița, Ilfov and
Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...
, Prahova, Teleorman; *in
Oltenia Oltenia (), also called Lesser Wallachia in antiquated versions – with the alternative Latin names , , and between 1718 and 1739 – is a historical province and geographical region of Romania in western Wallachia. It is situated between the Da ...
(Oltenian dialect): Dolj, Gorj (eastern part), Mehedinți (mostly eastern part, not in Banat), Olt, Vâlcea; *in
Northern Dobruja Northern Dobruja ( or simply ; , ''Severna Dobrudzha'') is the part of Dobruja within the borders of Romania. It lies between the lower Danube, Danube River and the Black Sea, bordered in the south by Southern Dobruja, which is a part of Bulgaria. ...
(Dobrujan dialect who has some Muntenian influence but many Moesic words from their heritage):
Constanța Constanța (, , ) is a city in the Dobruja Historical regions of Romania, historical region of Romania. A port city, it is the capital of Constanța County and the country's Cities in Romania, fourth largest city and principal port on the Black ...
and the southern half of the Tulcea County (in the northern half the
Moldavian dialect The Moldavian dialect is one of several dialects of the Romanian language (Daco-Romanian). It is spoken across the approximate area of the historical region of Moldavia, now split between the Republic of Moldova, Romania, and Ukraine. The deli ...
is spoken). *in southern
Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...
(in fact Transylvanian dialect but with a group influence from Muntenian):
Brașov Brașov (, , ; , also ''Brasau''; ; ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Kruhnen'') is a city in Transylvania, Romania and the county seat (i.e. administrative centre) of Brașov County. According to the 2021 Romanian census, ...
and the southern part of the Sibiu County. *in the Timok Valley (
Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...
and
Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...
) by part of the Timok Vlachs. The other part speaks the Banat dialect. The most typical features of the Wallachian dialect are found in the central part of this area, specifically in the following counties: Argeș, Călărași, Dâmbovița, Giurgiu, Ialomița, Olt, and Teleorman.


Influences from the neighboring areas

The dialects spoken in the neighboring areas have influenced the Wallachian dialect, thus creating transition speech varieties, as follows: *in the northeastern edge there is an influence from the
Moldavian dialect The Moldavian dialect is one of several dialects of the Romanian language (Daco-Romanian). It is spoken across the approximate area of the historical region of Moldavia, now split between the Republic of Moldova, Romania, and Ukraine. The deli ...
; *in the northern area, across the southern Carpathian mountains, influences from the central and southern Transylvanian speech varieties are found; *in the northwestern part, influences are felt from the Banat dialect and the Hațeg Land speech varieties.


Subdivisions

Some researchers further divide the Wallachian dialect into finer speech varieties. This division, however, can no longer rely on clear and systematic phonetic features, but on morphological, syntactical, and lexical differences. For instance, Sextil Pușcariu and others consider a separate speech variety in
Oltenia Oltenia (), also called Lesser Wallachia in antiquated versions – with the alternative Latin names , , and between 1718 and 1739 – is a historical province and geographical region of Romania in western Wallachia. It is situated between the Da ...
. This has very few distinct features – such as the extensive use of the simple perfect tense – and is most often considered a transition speech variety from the Wallachian to the Banat dialect. Even less distinct is the particular speech variety of
Dobruja Dobruja or Dobrudja (; or ''Dobrudža''; , or ; ; Dobrujan Tatar: ''Tomrîğa''; Ukrainian language, Ukrainian and ) is a Geography, geographical and historical region in Southeastern Europe that has been divided since the 19th century betw ...
. This too is often considered a transition variety, between the Wallachian and the Moldavian dialects.


Particularities


Phonetic features

The Wallachian dialect has the following phonetic particularities that contrast it with the other dialects and varieties. Many of these phonetic features are also found in the pronunciation of Standard Romanian. *The postalveolars are preserved: . *Contrast is made between the affricate and the fricative . *Except in Oltenia, after the dentals , the vowels and the diphthong are preserved: . This occurs simultaneously with a slight palatalization of those dentals. *After the fricatives and after , the vowel changes to : . The two fricatives are pronounced slightly palatalized. *The diphthong is preserved: . *The diphthong in old Romanian becomes in certain phonetic contexts: . (It remains when it is followed by a consonant or a consonant cluster and then by , as in .) *The front vowel ending is anticipated by inserting in the words . *The labials remain unchanged before front vowels and : . In some areas of Wallachian, palatalized labials can be found today, but these appeared as a consequence of recent population migrations. *The dentals do not change before front vowels and glides: . *A devocalized is found at the end of some words: for , . *In word-initial position sometimes is pronounced weakly or completely removed: for , . Hypercorrection sometimes leads to adding a word-initial : for , , . *In Muntenia, after and , is replaced with and with in prepositions and prefixes: for standard , , , , , , . *In north-eastern and eastern Muntenia, labials followed by front sounds are palatalized: for , , , , . *In Oltenia, like in the Banat dialect, after the fricatives and the affricate , becomes , becomes , and reduces to : for , , , , , , , , , . *In Oltenia, is inserted before when this is palatalized or followed by a front vowel: for standard , , . *In southern Oltenia, a particular type of palatalization occurs when labial fricatives are followed by front vowels: becomes or even , and similarly becomes or : for , .


Morphological and syntactical features

*The possessive article is variable: , , , (the same as in standard Romanian), whereas it is invariable in all other dialects. Matilda Caragiu Marioțeanu, ''Compendiu de dialectologie română'', 1975, p. 173 *When the object of a verb is another verb, the latter is in its subjunctive form: , ('I want to leave, he knows how to swim'). *The following subjunctive forms are found: , , , , . *The following imperative forms are found: , . *Feminine names in the vocative case end in ''-o'': ''Leano'', ''Anico''. *An additional vowel alternation occurs from to to mark the plural. *Verbs of the 2nd conjugation group tend to switch the 3rd, and vice versa: , , , and , ('to fall, like, see; sew, weave', compare with standard , , , and , ). *The imperfect of verbs in the 3rd person plural ends in in Muntenia and in Oltenia: vs. ('they were working', compare with standard ). This makes the Muntenian plural homonymous with the singular in the 3rd person. *The syllable ''-ră-'' in the plural forms of the pluperfect is dropped: , , ('we/you/they had sung', compare with standard , , ). *In Muntenia, an additional ''-ără'' is attached to the compound perfect of verbs: , ('I/we sang', compare with standard , ). *In Muntenia, the present indicative, the subjunctive, and the gerund of some verbs have or instead of the last consonant in the root: , , , , , , , (compare with standard , , , , , , , ). *In Oltenia, the simple perfect is frequently used in all persons and reflects the aspect of a recently finished action. For speakers of other Romanian dialects, this is by far the single most known particularity of the Oltenian speech, which most readily identifies its speakers. *In Oltenia, feminine nouns ending in ''-ă'' tend to form the plurals with the ending ''-i'' to avoid the homonymy that would occur in nouns whose root ends in : ''–'' ('house – houses', compare with standard ''–'' ). *In Oltenia, the demonstrative adjective is invariable: , , ('these boys/girls/roads', compare with standard ''/'' and colloquial ''/''). *In Oltenia, verbs of the 4th conjugation group do not take the infix ''-esc-'' in their indicative and subjunctive forms: , , , , (compare with standard , , , , ). *In Oltenia, the adverb is used without negation: ('She has only one child', compare with standard ). This phenomenon is also increasingly found in Muntenia.


Lexical particularities

*The demonstrative article is , , , in Muntenia, and , , , in Oltenia (compare with standard , , , ). *An intermediate polite pronoun is found: , ('you', standard Romanian has , , and on a three-stage scale of increasing politeness). *Demonstrative adverbs use the emphasis particle ''-șa'': , , , , (compare with standard , ). *There is a tendency to add the prefix ''în-/îm-'' to verbs: , , ('to drill, walk, scent', compare with standard , , ). *In Oltenia, the derivation with the suffix ''-ete'' is very productive: ('male sparrow', standard ), ('corner', ), ('pumpkin', ). It also appears in proper names: ''Ciuculete'', ''Ionete'', ''Purcărete''. *Other specific words: ('corn cob', standard ), ('mouse trap', ), ('coffin', ), ('flower pot', ), ('swelling', ), etc.


Sample

Wallachian dialect: Standard Romanian: English translation: "The child's parents go to the midwife with the child. They bring as a present bread, wine, meat, '' țuică''. And the midwife puts a pretzel on his head and hoists him up, touches him to the house's girder, and says: Long live the child and his parents!"


See also

* Romanian phonology


References


Bibliography

*Vasile Ursan
"Despre configurația dialectală a dacoromânei actuale"
''Transilvania'' (new series), 2008, No. 1, pp. 77–85 *Ilona Bădescu
"Dialectologie"
teaching material for the University of Craiova *Elena Buja, Liliana Coposescu, Gabriela Cusen, Luiza Meseșan Schmitz, Dan Chiribucă, Adriana Neagu, Iulian Pah
''Raport de țară: România''
country report for the Lifelong Learning Programme MERIDIUM {{Romanian language Romanian language varieties and styles Wallachia