Romanians are a people living in Central and South-Eastern Europe speaking a Romance language. The name of "România" (Romania) comes from "Român" (Romanian), which is a derivative of the Latin adjective "Romanus" (Roman). Central Europe The Alpine Countries and the Visegrád Group (Political map, 2004) Central Europe is the region lying between the variously and vaguely defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe. ... The Balkans is the historic and geographic name used to describe southeastern Europe (see the Definitions and boundaries section below). ... The Romance languages, also called Romanic languages, are a subfamily of the Italic languages, specifically the descendants of the Vulgar Latin dialects spoken by the common people evolving in different areas after the break-up of the Roman Empire. ... For other uses, see Latin (disambiguation). ...

Etymology of the ethnonym "Romanian" (român)

During the transition from Vulgar Latin to Romanian, there were some phonetical changes that modified "Romanus": Vulgar Latin, as in this political graffito at Pompeii, was the speech of ordinary people of the Roman Empire — different from the classical Latin used by the Roman elite. ...

• ending "-s" disappeared (occurred in all Romance languages)
• ending "-u" disappeared (regular change; in Old Romanian was however still present)
• "a" → "â" (regular change; vowels before nasal consonants turned into "â"/"î")
• "o" → "u" (regular change; however, in some regions of Romania, the variant with "o" was kept)

A reference of the name "Romanian" could be contained by the Nibelungenlied: "Duke Ramunc of Walachia,/with seven hundred vassals, galloped up before her/like flying wild birds men saw them ride".^[1] It is argued that "Ramunc" could represent a symbolic figure, representing Romanians. ^[2] A nasal consonant is produced when the velum—that fleshy part of the palate near the back—is lowered, allowing air to escape freely through the nose. ... The Nibelungenlied, translated as The Song of the Nibelungs, is an epic poem in Middle High German. ...

The self-designation of Romanians as Romans is mentioned in scholarly works as early as the 16th century by mainly Italian humanists travelling in Transylvania, Moldavia and Walachia. Thus, Tranquillo Andronico writes in 1534 that Romanians (Valachi) "now call themselves Romans". ^[3] In 1532, Francesco della Valle accompanying Governor Aloisio Gritti to Transylvania, Walachia and Moldavia notes that Romanians preserved the name of the Romans (Romani) and "they call themselves in their language Romanians (Romei)". He even cites the sentence "Sti rominest ?" ("do you speak Romanian ?" for originally Rom.: "ştii româneşte ?"). ^[4] Ferrante Capeci writes around 1575 that the inhabitants of those Provinces call themselves “Romanians”, ^[5] while Pierre Lescalopier notes in 1574 that those inhabiting Walachia, Moldavia and the most part of Transylvania say to be descendants of Romans, calling their language "romanechte" (French transcription for Romanian româneşte - Romanian). ^[6] Map of Romania with Transylvania in yellow Transylvania (Romanian: or ; Hungarian: ; German: ; Bulgarian: ; Serbian: / or / ) is a historical region in central and western Romania. ... For other uses of Moldavia or Moldova, see Moldova (disambiguation). ... Map of Romania with Wallachia in yellow. ...

Other first-hand evidence about the name Romanians used to call themselves comes from authors having lived in Transylvania and/or Romanian principalities: the Transylvanian Saxon Johann Lebel confirms in 1542 that common Romanians call themselves "Romuini", ^[7]Orichovius (Stanislaw Orzechowski) notes as late as 1554 that "in their own language, Romanians are called Romin, after the Romans, and Walachs in Polish, after the Italians", ^[8] Anton Verancsics writes around 1570 that Romanians living in Transylvania, Moldavia and Walachia call themselves Romans (Romanians) ^[9] and Martinus Szent-Ivany cites in 1699 Romanian expressions: "Sie noi sentem Rumeni" (for originally Rom.: "Şi noi suntem români") and "Noi sentem di sange Rumena" (for originally Rom.: "Noi suntem de sânge român") ^[10] Map of Romania with Transylvania in yellow Transylvania (Romanian: or ; Hungarian: ; German: ; Bulgarian: ; Serbian: / or / ) is a historical region in central and western Romania. ... Romanian Principalities is a historical term designating the pre-modern principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia, which alongside Transylvania form the basis of the present Romania. ... The Transylvanian Saxons (German: ; Hungarian: ; Romanian: ) are a people of German origin who settled in Transylvania (German: ) from the 12th century onwards. ...

Historical Romanian documents display two spelling forms of "Romanian": "român" and "rumân". For centuries, both spelling forms are interchangeably used, sometimes in the same phrase. ^[11]

In the Middle Ages the ethno-linguistical designation rumân/român also denoted common people. During the 17th century, as serfdom becomes a widespread institution, common people increasingly turns into bondsman. In a process of semantic differentiation in 17th-18th centuries the form rumân, presumably usual among lower classes, got merely the meaning of bondsman, while the form "român" kept an ethno-linguistic meaning.^[12] After the abolition of the serfage by Prince Constantine Mavrocordato in 1746, the form "rumân" gradually disappears and the spelling definitively stabilises to the form "român", "românesc".^[13] Constantine Mavrocordato (Constantin Mavrocordat in Romanian), succeeded his father, Nicholas Mavrocordato, as prince of Walachia in 1730. ...

Etymology of "Romania" (România)

Neacşu's letter, the oldest surviving document written in Romanian has the oldest appearance of the word "Romanian"

The earliest preserved document written in the Romanian language is a 1521 letter that notifies the mayor of Braşov about an imminent attack by the Turks. This document is also notable for having the first occurrence of "Romanian" in a Romanian text, Wallachia being called here the Romanian Land—Ţeara Rumânească (Ţeara < Latin Terra = land). As in the case of the ethnonym "român/rumân", Romanian documents use both forms, Ţara Românească and Ţara Rumânească, for the country name. This image is in the public domain because its copyright has expired in the United States and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years. ... This image is in the public domain because its copyright has expired in the United States and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years. ... NeacÅŸus letter is the oldest surviving document written in Romanian NeacÅŸu was a 16th century Wallachian trader. ... Romanian (limba română, IPA: ) is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people[1], primarily in Romania and Moldova. ... Events January 3 - Pope Leo X excommunicates Martin Luther in the papal bull Decet Romanum Pontificem. ... County BraÅŸov County Status County capital Mayor George Scripcaru, Democratic Party, since 2004 Area 267. ... Map of Romania with Wallachia in yellow. ...

A common Romanian area embracing Wallachia, Moldavia and Transylvania is mentioned by the chronicler Miron Costin in the 17th century. ^[14] Miron Costin (1633 - 1691) was a Moldavian politician and chronicler, his main work: Letopiseţul Ţărîi Moldovei (The Chronicles of the land of Moldavia) continues that of Grigore Ureche describing the period from, 1594 till 1660 and was published in 1675. ...

In the first half of the 18th century the erudite prince Dimitrie Cantemir systematically used the name Ţara Românească for designating all three Principalities inhabited by Romanians.^[15] Dimitrie Cantemir (-Romanian, Дмитрий Кантемир in Russian, KantemiroÄŸlu in Turkish, Kantymir in Polish), (October 26, 1673 - 1723) was a Moldavian Voivode (Prince; March-April 1693 and 1710-1711), philosopher, historian, composer, linguist and scholar. ...

The name "România" as common homeland of the Romanians is documented in the early 19th century.^[16]

The etymology of "România" didn't follow the Romanian pattern of word formation for country names, which usually adds the suffix -ia to the ethnonym, like in "grec" → "Grecia", "bulgar" → "Bulgaria", "rus → "Rusia", etc. Since it is a self-designation, the word "România" has an older history, coming from "românie" which in turn resulted as a derivation of the word "român" by adding the suffix -ie, like in ""moş → moşie", "domn" → "domnie" or "boier" → "boierie" (lord → lordship). Initially, "românie" may indeed have meant "Romanianship", ( just like "rumânie" meant "serfdom" before disappearing) being then used in the eve of the 19th century to designate the common homeland of Romanians.

The name "Romania" (România) was first brought to Paris by young Romanian intellectuals in the 1840s, where it was spelled "Roumanie" in order to differentiate Romanians (fr.: Roumains) from Romans (fr.: Romains). The French spelling version (Roumanie) spread then over many countries, such as Britain, Spain, Italy, Germany. This article is about the capital of France. ...

In English, the name of the country was originally borrowed from French "Roumania" (<"Roumanie"), then evolved into "Rumania", but was eventually replaced after World War II by the name used officially: "Romania". With a few exceptions such as English and Hungarian ("Románia"), in most languages, the "u" form is still used (German and Swedish: Rumänien; Bulgarian: Румъния; Serbian: Румунија / Rumunija, Polish: Rumunia, etc). In Portuguese, to distinguish them from the Romans, the Romanians are called romenos and their country Roménia. The e reflects the distinct quality of the romanian â, even though it's not very similar. Portuguese has nearly the same sound as the romanian â, but it only appears in unstressed position. Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000...

Spelling reforms

After the take of the power by the Communists, an spelling reform simplified the Romanian alphabet substituting î for â. The name of the country was officially Republica Populară Romînă. Soon a exception was made to allow â for român and its derivations, while î kept used elsewehere. Since, and even after the post-Communist spelling reform, român is spelled with a. Anthem Zdrobite cătuÅŸe (1947 - 1953) Te slăvim Românie (1953 - 1968) Trei Culori (1968-1989) Capital Bucharest Language(s) Romanian Government Socialist republic Head of State  - 1947–1965 Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej  - 1965-1989 Nicolae CeauÅŸescu Legislature Marea Adunare NaÅ£ionalÇŽ Historical era Cold War  - Monarchy abolished... The aim of spelling reform is to make spelling easier for learners and users by removing its difficulties. ... Note: This page or section contains IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. ... The circumflex ( ˆ ) is a diacritic mark used in written Greek, French, Esperanto, Norwegian, Romanian, Slovak, Vietnamese, Japanese romaji, Welsh, Portuguese, Italian, and other languages. ... The circumflex ( ˆ ) is a diacritic mark used in written Greek, French, Esperanto, Norwegian, Romanian, Slovak, Vietnamese, Japanese romaji, Welsh, Portuguese, Italian, and other languages. ...

"Romania" and other derivatives of "Romanus" as terms used also

• Since 7th century, name for region surrounding Ravenna (Romagna in Italian) where the Byzantines keep off the Germanic rulers.

• It has been an alternative name for the Byzantine Empire (also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, Ρωμανία Rōmanía in Greek - compare with the name Ρουμανία Roumanía for Romania). The name was also kept by non-Latin peoples, such as the Byzantines, who used to call themselves "Romioi" (Ρωμιοί, also the origin of the first name Romeo). In the Arabic and Ottoman Turkish languages, it came to mean farther Eastward regions of the empire, like Rûm and Rumelia in Asia. Rumi was also an Arabic word for Christian.

• It has been an alternative name for the Latin Empire, centred on Byzantium, set up by Roman Catholic Crusaders of the Fourth Crusade with the intention of replacing the Eastern Orthodox Byzantine Empire with a Roman Catholic empire.

• In Romance linguistics it designates all Romance linguistic areas.

• The word Romanus is also kept elsewhere in other parts of the Roman Empire in the name of the Romansh language of Switzerland.

• In the Balkans there are Romanic people that have an ethnonym derived from "Romanus", including Aromanians (armâni, arumâni or rămăni) and Istro-Romanians (rumâri). The Megleno-Romanians originally used the form rămâni, but it was lost by the 19th century and used the word Vlaşi borrowed from Bulgarian/Macedonian.

Province of Ravenna Ravenna is a city and comune in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. ... Emilia-Romagna is an administrative region of Northern Italy comprising the two historic regions of Emilia and Romagna. ... “Byzantine” redirects here. ... °Å#REDIRECT Romeo and Juliet gsgfhasfhhfdhjsehewbbshhhdbfsh ... Ottoman Turkish (Turkish: or , Ottoman Turkish: ‎ ) was the variant of the Turkish language that was used as the administrative and literary language of the Ottoman Empire. ... Rûm, also Roum or Rhum (in Arabic الرُّومُ ar-Rūm, Turkish Rum), is a very indefinite term used at different times in the Muslim world for Europeans generally and for the Byzantine Empire in particular, for the Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm in Asia Minor, and for Greeks inhabiting... Map of Rumelia as of 1801 Rumelia (turkish: Rum: Roman El: Land Rumeli: Lands of Rome), the area that was the East Roman or Byzantine Empire, a name commonly used, from the 15th century onwards, to denote the part of the Balkan Peninsula subject to the Ottoman Empire. ... The Latin Empire, Empire of Nicaea, Empire of Trebizond and the Despotate of Epirus. ... Byzantium (Greek: Βυζάντιον) was an ancient Greek city, which, according to legend, was founded by Greek colonists from Megara in 667 BC and named after their king Byzas or Byzantas (Βύζας or Βύζαντας in Greek). ... The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ... This article is about the medieval crusades. ... The Entry of the Crusaders into Constantinople (Eugène Delacroix, 1840). ... Eastern Orthodoxy (also called Greek Orthodoxy and Russian Orthodoxy) is a Christian tradition which represents the majority of Eastern Christianity. ... The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ... The Romance languages (sometimes referred to as Romanic languages) are a branch of the Indo-European language family, comprising all the languages that descend from Latin, the language of the Roman Empire. ... Romansh (also spelled Rumantsch, Romansch or Romanche) is one of the four national languages of Switzerland, along with German, Italian and French. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Aromanians (also called: Macedo-Romanians or Aroumans; in Aromanian they call themselves Armãnji, Rrãmãnji) are a people living throughout the southern Balkans, especially in northern Greece, Albania, the Republic of Macedonia and Bulgaria, and as an emigrant community in Romania (Dobruja). ... Map of Istro-Romanian-speaking villages, made by Puşcariu in 1926. ... Map of Balkans with regions inhabited by Megleno-Romanians in dark yellow Megleno-Romanians (In Megleno-Romanian: Vlashi, in Greek: Βλαχομογλενίτες Vlachomoglenítes) is an exonym for a people inhabiting six villages in the Moglená (Μογλενά) region of Macedonia spanning the Pella and Kilkis prefectures of Macedonia, Greece, as well as the...

References

1. ^ Der herzoge Ramunch vzer Vlâchen lant/mit Sibenhunduert mannen chom er fvr si gerant/sam die wilden vogele so sah man si varn Das Niebelungenlied
2. ^ "Der Nibelunge not", XII, ed. K. Lachmann, Berlin, 1878, p. 174; Francis P. Magoun jr. in "Geographical and Ethnic Names in the Nibelungenlied", p. 129-130; Fritz Schuster cu "Herzog Ramunc aus dem Walachenland", in "Sudost-Forschungen", XI, 1946-1952, p. 284-290)
3. ^ "nunc se Romanos vocant" A. Verres, Acta et Epistolae, I, p. 243
4. ^ "...si dimandano in lingua loro Romei...se alcuno dimanda se sano parlare in la lingua valacca, dicono a questo in questo modo: Sti Rominest ? Che vol dire: Sai tu Romano,..." Cl. Isopescu, Notizie intorno ai romeni nella letteratura geografica italiana del Cinquecento, in Bulletin de la Section Historique, XVI, 1929, p. 1- 90
5. ^ “Anzi essi si chiamano romanesci, e vogliono molti che erano mandati quì quei che erano dannati a cavar metalli...” in Maria Holban, Călători străini despre Ţările Române, vol. II, p. 158–161
6. ^ "Tout ce pays la Wallachie et Moldavie et la plus part de la Transivanie a esté peuplé des colonie romaines du temps de Traian l’empereur…Ceux du pays se disent vrais successeurs des Romains et nomment leur parler romanechte, c'est-à-dire romain … " Voyage fait par moy, Pierre Lescalopier l’an 1574 de Venise a Constantinople, fol 48 in Paul Cernovodeanu, Studii si materiale de istorie medievala, IV, 1960, p. 444
7. ^ "Ex Vlachi Valachi, Romanenses Italiani,/Quorum reliquae Romanensi lingua utuntur.../Solo Romanos nomine, sine re, repraesentantes./Ideirco vulgariter Romuini sunt appelanti", Ioannes Lebelius, De opido Thalmus, Carmen Istoricum, Cibinii, 1779, p. 11–12
8. ^ "qui eorum lingua Romini ab Romanis, nostra Walachi, ab Italis appellantur" St. Orichovius, Annales polonici ab excessu Sigismundi, in I. Dlugossus, Historiae polonicae libri XII, col 1555
9. ^ „...Valacchi, qui se Romanos nominant...„ “Gens quae ear terras (Transsylvaniam, Moldaviam et Transalpinam) nostra aetate incolit, Valacchi sunt, eaque a Romania ducit originem, tametsi nomine longe alieno...“ De situ Transsylvaniae, Moldaviae et Transaplinae, in Monumenta Hungariae Historica, Scriptores; II, Pesta, 1857, p. 120
10. ^ "Valachos...dicunt enim communi modo loquendi: Sie noi sentem Rumeni: etiam nos sumus Romani. Item: Noi sentem di sange Rumena: Nos sumus de sanguine Romano" Martinus Szent-Ivany, Dissertatio Paralimpomenica rerum memorabilium Hungariae, Tyrnaviae, 1699, p. 39.
11. ^ "am scris aceste sfente cǎrţi de învăţături, sǎ fie popilor rumânesti... sǎ înţeleagǎ toţi oamenii cine-s rumâni creştini" "Întrebare creştineascǎ" (1559), Bibliografia româneascǎ veche, IV, 1944, p. 6. "...că văzum cum toate limbile au şi înfluresc întru cuvintele slǎvite a lui Dumnezeu numai noi românii pre limbă nu avem. Pentru aceia cu mare muncǎ scoasem de limba jidoveascǎ si greceascǎ si srâbeascǎ pre limba româneascǎ 5 cărţi ale lui Moisi prorocul si patru cărţi şi le dăruim voo fraţi rumâni şi le-au scris în cheltuială multǎ... şi le-au dăruit voo fraţilor români,... şi le-au scris voo fraţilor români" Palia de la Orǎştie (1581–1582), Bucureşti, 1968. " În Ţara Ardealului nu lăcuiesc numai unguri, ce şi saşi peste seamă de mulţi şi români peste tot locul...", Grigore Ureche, Letopiseţul Ţării Moldovei, p. 133-134.
12. ^ Stelian Brezeanu, Romanitatea Orientalǎ în Evul Mediu, Editura All Educational, Bucureşti, 1999, p. 229-246
13. ^ In his well known literary testament Ienăchiţă Văcărescu writes: "Urmaşilor mei Văcăreşti!/Las vouă moştenire:/Creşterea limbei româneşti/Ş-a patriei cinstire." In the "Istoria faptelor lui Mavroghene-Vodă şi a răzmeriţei din timpul lui pe la 1790" a Pitar Hristache writes: "Încep după-a mea ideie/Cu vreo câteva condeie/Povestea mavroghenească/Dela Ţara Românească.
14. ^ Aşa şi neamul acésta, de carele scriem, al ţărâlor acestora, numele vechiŭ şi mai direptŭ ieste rumân, adecă râmlean, de la Roma. Acest nume de la discălicatul lor de Traian, şi cât au trăit (....) tot acest nume au ţinut şi ţin pănă astăzi şi încă mai bine munténii decât moldovénii, că ei şi acum zic şi scriu ţara sa rumânească, ca şi românii cei din Ardeal. (...)Şi aşa ieste acestor ţări şi ţărâi noastre, Moldovei şi Ţărâi Munteneşti numele cel direptŭ de moşie, ieste rumân, cum să răspundŭ şi acum toţi acéia din Ţările Ungureşti lăcuitori şi munténii ţara lor şi scriu şi răspundŭ cu graiul: Ţara Românească. In De neamul moldovenilor
15. ^ "Hronicon a toată Ţara Românească (care apoi s-u împărţit în Moldova, Munteniască şi Ardealul) ...", D. Cantemir, Hronicul vechimei româno-moldo-vlahilor, in Operele Principelui Dimitrie Cantemir, Academia Română, Bucuresti, 1901, p. 180.
16. ^ The first known mention of the term "Romania" in its modern denotation dates from 1816, as the Greek scholar Dimitrie Daniel Philippide published in Leipzig his work "The History of Romania", followed by "The Geography of Romania". On the tombstone of Gheorghe Lazăr in Avrig (built in 1823) there is the inscription: "Precum Hristos pe Lazăr din morţi a înviat/Aşa tu România din somn ai deşteptat."

This article is about the capital of Germany. ... Ienăchiţă Văcărescu (1740-1797) Romanian poet and boyar of Phanariote origin. ... Leipzig ( ; Sorbian/Lusatian: Lipsk from the Sorbian word for Tilia) is, with a population of over 506,000, the largest city in the federal state of Saxony, Germany. ... “Tombstone” redirects here. ... Gheorghe Lazăr, 5 June 1779 - 17 September 1821 was a romanian scholar, the founder of the first romanian speaking school in Bucharest in 1818. ... Avrig (Hungarian: Felek, German: Freck) is a city in the Romania, close to the F&#259;g&#259;ra&#351; Mountains. ...

See also

• Origin of the Romanians
• History of Romania
• Romanians, Vlachs
• Names of the Aromanians

The Romanians (also sometimes referred to along with other Balkan Latin peoples as Vlachs) are a nation speaking Romanian, a Romance language, and living in Central and Eastern Europe. ... This article provides only a brief outline of each period of the History of Romania; details are presented in separate articles (see the links in the box and below). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... There are several names of Aromanians used throughout the Balkans, both autonyms (like armân) and exonyms (like Vlach). ...

External links

• Origin of the name of Romania
• Baldwin I of Romania