Megleno-Romanian (known as vlăhește by its speakers and Megleno-Romanian or Meglenitic and sometimes Moglenitic or Meglinitic by linguists) is a Balkan Romance language, similar to Aromanian.[3] It is spoken by the Megleno-Romanians in a few villages in the Moglena region that spans the border between the Greek region of Macedonia and North Macedonia. It is also spoken by emigrants from these villages and their descendants in Romania, in Turkey by a small Muslim group, and in Serbia. It is considered an endangered language.
Megleno-Romanian is a member of the family of Romance languages. More specifically, it is an Eastern Romance language, a language formed after the retreat of the Roman Empire from the Balkans. Due to the fact that it is spoken by very few people and because of its similarities with the Aromanian, modern Romanian and Istro-Romanian languages, some linguists consider it to be an intermediary between Romanian and Aromanian, often being considered either a dialect of Romanian, a dialect of Aromanian, or an independent language. It is closer to standard Romanian than the Aromanian language, suggesting that it split from Common Romanian later than Aromanian. Megleno-Romanian has been strongly influenced by the neighbouring South Slavic varieties.
Name
The term Megleno-Romanian has been used by linguists (mainly Romanian), who noticed the similarity to the Romanian language. The Megleno-Romanians identify themselves as Vlahi (see Etymology of Vlach for more on this term).[citation needed]
Geographical distribution
Megleno-Romanian is spoken in several villages in the Pella and Kilkis regional units of Macedonia, Greece, as well as in a handful of villages across the border in North Macedonia. In one village, Huma, the language is still spoken by most inhabitants. Some people of Megleno-Romanian origin who live in the cities of Gevgelija and Skopje have preserved their native language. After World War I, some Megleno-Romanians moved to Romania, in Southern Dobruja, but were moved to the village of Cerna in Tulcea County (Northern Dobruja) after the population exchange between Bulgaria and Romania. In Cerna, about 1,200 people continue to speak Megleno-Romanian. In 1940, about 30 families moved from Cerna to the Banat region of Romania in the villages of Variaș, Biled and Jimbolia. Some speakers who identified as Muslim, from the village of Nânti (Nótia), were moved to Turkey from Greece as part of the population exchange between them of the 1920s. Some also live in Serbia, specially in the village of Gudurica.
Megleno-Romanian has some unique phonetic characteristics, not found in the other Eastern Romance languages:
long vowels: ā, ē, ī, ǭ, ō, ū
ă, â → o, a: câmp → comp (field), mânc → mānanc (I eat)
unstressed initial a disappears: eram → ram (I was), aveam → veam (We had ), aduc → duc (I bring)
Vocabulary
Megleno-Romanian inscription (Ceshma ămpiratului, "the Emperor's Fountain") on a water fountain along the way to Huma, a village in North Macedonia
Much of the vocabulary is of Latin origin and much of its phonetics and semantics is shared with Aromanian and Romanian: (n.b.: MR=Megleno-Romanian, DR=Daco-Romanian, i.e. Romanian)
basilica > MR bisearică, DR biserică (church, originally "basilica")
lumen > MR lumi, DR lume (world, originally "light")
monumentum > MR murmint, DR mormânt (grave, originally "monument")
strigis > MR strig, DR strig (I yell, originally "owl")
draco > MR drac, DR drac (devil, originally "dragon")
Megleno-Romanian also contains some words that have cognates with Albanian. These words are present in Daco-Romanian too:
MR brad; DR brad; cf. Alb. bredh (fir tree)
MR monz; DR mânz; cf. Alb. mës (colt)
MR bucuros; DR bucuros; (happy) cf. Alb bukur (beautiful)
There are also some words which are of Slavic origin and which can be found in all the Eastern Romance languages:
MR trup; DR trup (body); cf. Sl. trupŭ
MR stăpon; DR stăpân (master); cf. Old Slavic. stopanŭ, today's Bulgarian stopanin and Macedonian stopan
There are a number of Byzantine and Modern Greek words, several dozens of which are also found in Daco-Romanian (Romanian language) and Aromanian and about 80 words that were borrowed via Macedonian and Bulgarian languages and other languages of the Balkans. Prior to the creation of the modern state of Greece, Megleno-Romanian borrowed very few words directly from Greek.
Gr. prósfatos > MR proaspit; DR proaspăt (fresh)
Gr. keramídi > MR chirămidă; DR cărămidă (brick)
Gr. lemoni > MR limonă, via Bulg. limon (lemon); cf. DR lămâie
The most important influence on Megleno-Romanian was the East South Slavic languages, this influence being more profound than that exerted by Greek on Aromanian. Most Slavic terms are of Macedonian and Bulgarian origins. The linguist Theodor Capidan argued that the words borrowed show some phonetic features of the Bulgarian language dialect spoken in the Rhodope Mountains. There are many instances where basic words of Latin origin that can still be found in Daco-Romanian and Aromanian were replaced by Slavic words. In some cases, standard Romanian also independently borrowed the same word.
^Megleno-Romanian at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
^Romanian language – Britannica Online Encyclopedia
^Narumov, B. P. (2001). Мегленорумынский язык / Диалект. Романские языки. pp. 671–681.
^Atanasov, Petar (2002). Meglenoromâna astăzi. Bucharest: Romanian Academy.
Further reading
Capidan, Theodor, Meglenoromânii
vol. I: Istoria și graiul lor [Their history and speech], București, Cultura Națională, 1925;
vol. II: Literatura populară la meglenoromâni [Popular literature of the Megleno-Romanians], București, Cultura Națională / Academia Română, Studii și Cercetări VII, 1928;
vol. III: Dicționar meglenoromân [Megleno-Romanian dictionary], București, Cultura Națională / Academia Română, Studii și Cercetări XXV, 1935
External links
Megleno-Romanian language test of Wikipedia at Wikimedia Incubator
, by Dr. Emil Tarcovnicu (in Romanian)
Megleno-Romanian Swadesh list of basic vocabulary words (from Wiktionary's Swadesh list appendix)
Asterios Koukoudis, Studies on the Vlachs
April 29, 2023
megleno, romanian, language, megleno, romanian, known, vlăhește, speakers, megleno, romanian, meglenitic, sometimes, moglenitic, meglinitic, linguists, balkan, romance, language, similar, aromanian, spoken, megleno, romanians, villages, moglena, region, that, . Megleno Romanian known as vlăhește by its speakers and Megleno Romanian or Meglenitic and sometimes Moglenitic or Meglinitic by linguists is a Balkan Romance language similar to Aromanian 3 It is spoken by the Megleno Romanians in a few villages in the Moglena region that spans the border between the Greek region of Macedonia and North Macedonia It is also spoken by emigrants from these villages and their descendants in Romania in Turkey by a small Muslim group and in Serbia It is considered an endangered language Megleno RomanianvlăheșteNative toGreece North Macedonia Romania Turkey 1 SerbiaEthnicityMegleno RomaniansNative speakers5 000 2002 2 Language familyIndo European ItalicRomanceEastern Romance 1 Balkan Romance 1 Megleno RomanianEarly formCommon RomanianLanguage codesISO 639 3 a href https iso639 3 sil org code ruq class extiw title iso639 3 ruq ruq a Glottologmegl1237ELPMegleno RomanianLinguasphere51 AAD bbThe extent of Megleno Romanian in purple and Aromanian in gold Romanian schools for Aromanians and Megleno Romanians in the Ottoman Empire 1886 Contents 1 Classification 2 Name 3 Geographical distribution 4 Phonology 4 1 Consonants 4 2 Vowels 5 Vocabulary 6 See also 7 References 8 Further reading 9 External linksClassification EditMegleno Romanian is a member of the family of Romance languages More specifically it is an Eastern Romance language a language formed after the retreat of the Roman Empire from the Balkans Due to the fact that it is spoken by very few people and because of its similarities with the Aromanian modern Romanian and Istro Romanian languages some linguists consider it to be an intermediary between Romanian and Aromanian often being considered either a dialect of Romanian a dialect of Aromanian or an independent language It is closer to standard Romanian than the Aromanian language suggesting that it split from Common Romanian later than Aromanian Megleno Romanian has been strongly influenced by the neighbouring South Slavic varieties Name EditThe term Megleno Romanian has been used by linguists mainly Romanian who noticed the similarity to the Romanian language The Megleno Romanians identify themselves as Vlahi see Etymology of Vlach for more on this term citation needed Geographical distribution EditMegleno Romanian is spoken in several villages in the Pella and Kilkis regional units of Macedonia Greece as well as in a handful of villages across the border in North Macedonia In one village Huma the language is still spoken by most inhabitants Some people of Megleno Romanian origin who live in the cities of Gevgelija and Skopje have preserved their native language After World War I some Megleno Romanians moved to Romania in Southern Dobruja but were moved to the village of Cerna in Tulcea County Northern Dobruja after the population exchange between Bulgaria and Romania In Cerna about 1 200 people continue to speak Megleno Romanian In 1940 about 30 families moved from Cerna to the Banat region of Romania in the villages of Variaș Biled and Jimbolia Some speakers who identified as Muslim from the village of Nanti Notia were moved to Turkey from Greece as part of the population exchange between them of the 1920s Some also live in Serbia specially in the village of Gudurica Phonology EditConsonants Edit Labial Dental Alveolar Post alveolar Palatal Velar GlottalNasal m n ɲStop voiceless p t c kvoiced b d ɟ ɡAffricate voiceless t s t ʃvoiced d z d ʒFricative voiceless f s ʃ c h voiced v z ʒTrill rApproximant lateral l ʎcentral j wSounds h as well as b d ɣ can also occur from Greek borrowings 4 5 Vowels Edit Front Central BackClose i iː u uːClose mid e eː e o oːOpen mid ɛ ɔ ɔːOpen a aːMegleno Romanian has some unique phonetic characteristics not found in the other Eastern Romance languages long vowels a e i ǭ ō u ă a o a camp comp field manc mananc I eat unstressed initial a disappears eram ram I was aveam veam We had aduc duc I bring Vocabulary Edit Megleno Romanian inscription Ceshma ămpiratului the Emperor s Fountain on a water fountain along the way to Huma a village in North Macedonia Much of the vocabulary is of Latin origin and much of its phonetics and semantics is shared with Aromanian and Romanian n b MR Megleno Romanian DR Daco Romanian i e Romanian basilica gt MR bisearică DR biserică church originally basilica lumen gt MR lumi DR lume world originally light monumentum gt MR murmint DR mormant grave originally monument strigis gt MR strig DR strig I yell originally owl draco gt MR drac DR drac devil originally dragon Megleno Romanian also contains some words that have cognates with Albanian These words are present in Daco Romanian too MR brad DR brad cf Alb bredh fir tree MR monz DR manz cf Alb mes colt MR bucuros DR bucuros happy cf Alb bukur beautiful There are also some words which are of Slavic origin and which can be found in all the Eastern Romance languages MR trup DR trup body cf Sl trupŭ MR stăpon DR stăpan master cf Old Slavic stopanŭ today s Bulgarian stopanin and Macedonian stopanThere are a number of Byzantine and Modern Greek words several dozens of which are also found in Daco Romanian Romanian language and Aromanian and about 80 words that were borrowed via Macedonian and Bulgarian languages and other languages of the Balkans Prior to the creation of the modern state of Greece Megleno Romanian borrowed very few words directly from Greek Gr prosfatos gt MR proaspit DR proaspăt fresh Gr keramidi gt MR chirămidă DR cărămidă brick Gr lemoni gt MR limonă via Bulg limon lemon cf DR lămaieThe most important influence on Megleno Romanian was the East South Slavic languages this influence being more profound than that exerted by Greek on Aromanian Most Slavic terms are of Macedonian and Bulgarian origins The linguist Theodor Capidan argued that the words borrowed show some phonetic features of the Bulgarian language dialect spoken in the Rhodope Mountains There are many instances where basic words of Latin origin that can still be found in Daco Romanian and Aromanian were replaced by Slavic words In some cases standard Romanian also independently borrowed the same word Bulgarian Slavic drob gt MR drob Bulgarian neviasta gt MR niveastă bride Bulgarian gora gt MR goră forest See also EditIstro Romanian language Substrate in Romanian Balkan sprachbund Origin of the Romanians Thraco Roman Daco Roman Romance languages Legacy of the Roman EmpireReferences Edit a b c Ethnologue entry Megleno Romanian at Ethnologue 18th ed 2015 subscription required Romanian language Britannica Online Encyclopedia Narumov B P 2001 Meglenorumynskij yazyk Dialekt Romanskie yazyki pp 671 681 Atanasov Petar 2002 Meglenoromana astăzi Bucharest Romanian Academy Further reading EditCapidan Theodor Meglenoromanii vol I Istoria și graiul lor Their history and speech București Cultura Națională 1925 vol II Literatura populară la meglenoromani Popular literature of the Megleno Romanians București Cultura Națională Academia Romană Studii și Cercetări VII 1928 vol III Dicționar meglenoroman Megleno Romanian dictionary București Cultura Națională Academia Romană Studii și Cercetări XXV 1935External links Edit Megleno Romanian language test of Wikipedia at Wikimedia Incubator Megleno Romanii by Dr Emil Tarcovnicu in Romanian Megleno Romanian Swadesh list of basic vocabulary words from Wiktionary s Swadesh list appendix Asterios Koukoudis Studies on the Vlachs Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Megleno Romanian language amp oldid 1135139402, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
