One of my all-time favorite jokes goes a little something like this: Person: So how many languages do you speak? Me: Just a few words or fluently? Person: Fluently. -pause- Me: None! :P I got to thinking about this after some experiences I’ve had lately, and after reading this snarky asshole article from the Financial Times. Since they’re hyper-vigilant about their content, I’ll paste the … Continue reading The Languages I Speak
I’ve had a little fun with this before but one of the most interesting things about the Romanian language is how it takes twists and turns from the Latin. If you’ve been around Romanian long enough, you’ve heard of the MAPN, the acronym for one of the great tongue twisters (for English speakers) of all time, Ministerul Apărării. That translates to the “Ministry of Defense” … Continue reading Word of the Day: Neapărat
Well as I briefly mentioned here and illustrated with a photograph here, the Hungarians here in Unicorn City have been getting mighty upset about the way the Lord of Cluj has been operating lately. As sad as this is to say, stirring up the Hungarians is essentially a political move ahead of the 2012 elections, and here in Unicorn City a little dose of racism … Continue reading Word of the Day: Bozgor
Last night I was at a gathering of people, talking, chatting, selling books, networking and doing my “usual” thing, which is being busy as heck and not getting enough sleep. I got to talking to a very nice Romanian guy that I know here and we got on the subject of interesting and (somewhat) obscure or unusual words in the Romanian language. He taught me … Continue reading Word of the Day: Trudă
I can’t speak for the rest of Romania but lately here in the unicorn-infused metropolis of Cluj-Napoca I’ve been hearing the word prins used a lot in a kind of slang sense. Ordinarily this word is an adjective, coming from the past participle of the verb prinde, which means to “capture” someone, or to “seize” them, or to “arrest” them, or perhaps even to “grab” … Continue reading Word of the Day: Prins
All Things Romania 