Romanian

[hermit]

Hace varios años estaba hablando con un hombre de Rumania, ése hablando rumano, yo con mi castellano, y es que nos entendimos
perfectamente.

Dado que era un rumano bien educado - me dejó con la idea que
una visita a Rumania sería una experiencia linguística muy rica...

[ROBINDESBOIS]

Yo estuve en Rumanía en octubre durante 5 días, y he estudiado rumano un año, sinceramente, no pienso que te entiendas en Rumanía hablando en español, a no ser que sepas lo básico del rumano. No se parece en nada al castellano, tiene más vocabulario del francés y del italiano, y aún así el 75 u 80 por ciento del vocabulario es eslavo, supongo que será por la cercanía. Ese Rumano con el que hablaste seguramente te habló en español, creeme no se parecen en nada.
Sticla botella
dinero bani
por ponerte algún ejemplo
agua apa
manzana masa
en fin, es mi opinión. Ahora bien, en inglés te entenderan mejor, pero tampoco te creas. Mejor te entienden en rumano por poco que hables.

[hermit]

Gracias, Robin.

Bueno, hace tanto tiempo que no recuerdo bien los detalles de la
conversación. ¿Hay dialectos en Rumania que serán más parecidos
al español en comparación con los demás?

[ROBINDESBOIS]

No creo, es un idioma bastante centralizado. Eso sí dependiendo de la pronunciación se les entiende mejor o peor.
De todas formas, creéme, si quieres ver países bonitos, Italia, España, Francia.

[hermit]

Right - He wasn't speaking Spanish, as you suggested, but rather I think
he was well-educated enough to choose his words to include the 20% of
Rumanian words with cognates in Spanish.

So now it's that 20% that interests me, but from your experience it sounds
like conversation with the average Rumanian would be difficult...

Having spent enjoyable time in Spain that's where I'd revisit. When I win the
Lottery I'll see all of Europe - I'm envious - you're living there...

[ROBINDESBOIS]

You will always be welcome !

[María José]

I've never been to Eastern Europe but my hairdresser is Bulgarian and has a Masters' Degree in Genetics. My baker is also Bulgarian and speaks perfect Spanish, and when I say perfect, I mean the first time I saw her I didn't realize she was a foreigner.
I have had Russian and Romanian students and this year I have a lovely twenty- year- old who looks like a model and studies fashion design who comes from Ukraine.
What surprises me when talking to these people and others I have met over the years is how high their level of education is in general. I certainly envy them that...

[Perikles]

Originally Posted by María José

I've never been to Eastern Europe but my hairdresser is Bulgarian and has a Masters' Degree in Genetics.

That is not a sentence you see every day. But an impression is all attributable to the few people you meet. I have met a dozen Romanians here in Tenerife, and I don't think any of them can read and write, and they have difficulty using cutlery. They are employed in building work because they work a hundred times harder than Canarians for half the wages. These are the other end of the educational spectrum.

[María José]

You live in Tenerife... Lucky you!!!! I went there for the first time last month and even though it was just a short break and I didn't have time to see much, I loved it.

[Caballero]

It all depends on the register of speech. Romanian has a great deal in common with English and Spanish at the most technical, academic register, and some in common with Spanish at the most basic level, if you are good at recognizing highly distorted forms. As an English speaker with some Spanish, reading Wikipedia Romania articles is certainly harder than reading Portuguese articles, but not by that much. Just read it slowly, concentrating on each word, and try to understand what it's trying to say. You should be able to at least get the gist of it. Remember that words can undergo vowel changes like "o/oa", etc., "la" isn't the same as in Spanish--I believe it is a preposition, and ignore endings on words that contain the letter "l"--it's just the suffixed definite article. Then try reading the Croatian Wikipedia, and you will be absolutely convinced that Romanian is closely related to Spanish! You will get nada out of the Croatian Wikipedia, unless you have some knowledge of a Slavic language. So, yes, if you really needed to, I can imagine it would be possible to converse with Romanian with you speaking Spanish and with them speaking Romanian--if both of you spoke very slowly and used mostly technical and scientific words.