Sticking to some of the easier parts of Romanian grammar, there is a curious construction involving personal pronouns. Although the forms used are standard Romanian, this particular bit of syntax comes straight from Slavic languages. What am I talking about? A venit la mine In the above sentence, “la mine” (literally at my or perhaps at me) actually means “my house” or “my apartment” or … Continue reading A Venit La Mine
In Romanian, the (standard) word for cork, as in the buoyant bark of a certain tree, is pluta (plew-tuh). When referring to the stopper in the top of a wine bottle (made from cork) however, the word is dop (dope). There are some interesting euphemisms using the word pluta. The one I’m most familiar with – and it may just be a regional variant – … Continue reading Word of the Day: Pluta
Just about every language on the planet, including Hungarian, uses the Greek word atom to refer to one of the smallest units of matter in existence. The word comes from a (equivalent to English “un”) and tom meaning “to cut” because originally it was thought that it was the smallest unit and was “uncuttable” or indivisible. Incidentally, the CAT scan (often called just CT now) … Continue reading Hungarian Word of the Day: Atom
Hello, My friend Justin Blair and I made the documentary “Across the Forest” about the supernatural beliefs that still exist in the villages of Transylvania. We knew of the reputation Transylvania had in the west and wanted to bring to light something more truthful than the misconceptions perpetuated by the pop culture machine. If you send me a mailing address we would be glad to … Continue reading Mailbag!
Only in Romania I think is there a specific word – zât – used to yell at animals to get them to go away. It’s pronounced something like zut! I had to laugh because Jeff Foxworthy used to do a stand-up routine about his father using a phrase in Redneck English meaning the exact same thing, which you can hear here. AND NOW YOU KNOW! Continue reading Word of the Day: Zât
All Things Romania 