Aromanian (Armãneashti, Armãneashce, Rrãmãneasht)

Aromanian is an Eastern Romance language spoken in Greece, Albania, Macedonia, Romania, Bulgaria, and in Western Europe, the USA, Canada and Australia.

The Aromanians are known by different names, including Vlasi (Macedonian and Serbian), Vlahi (Greek), Ulahlar (Turkish), Vllehë or Çobani (Albanian), Vlachs (English), Wlachen or Walachen (German) and Valaques (French). All of these words come from the Greek Βλάχοι (vlahoi - shepherds). The Serbs call the Aromanians Tsintsari, and they are known as Macedo-Romãni by the Romanians. They call themselves Armãnji, and their language armãneashti or limbã armãneascã.

The earliest known examples of written Aromanian are manuscripts of the Patriarch Fotius dating from around 860-870 AD, and manuscripts written by St. Naum of Ohrid at about the same time. During the late 18th century many books in Aromanian were published, all written in the Greek alphabet. Unfortunately many of the early works in Aromanian were burnt during wars between 1750-1788.

The first person to publish material in Aromanian in the Latin alphabet was probably Dr. Ioryi Constantin Roja at the beginning of the 19th century. During the 1980s a new Aromanian spelling system began to emerge and has been adopted in most countries where Aromanian is spoken, with the exception of Greece and Romania, where the old spelling systems are still used. The new system, which eliminates all the accented letters, with the exception of ã, was proposed by four Aromanian writers and first published in 1985.

Aromanian pronunciation

Aromanian

Sample text in Aromanian

Tuti iatsãli umineshtsã s-fac liberi shi egali la nãmuzea shi-ndrepturli. Eali suntu hãrziti cu fichiri shi sinidisi shi lipseashti un cu alantu sh-si poartã tu duhlu-a frãtsãljiljei.

Translation

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
(Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)

Longer sample text (Tower of Babel)

Links

Society Farsarotul - the oldest and largest Arumanian association in America
http://www.farsarotul.org

On the standardization of the Aromanian system of writing, by Tiberius Cunia
http://www.farsarotul.org/nl23_3.htm

Aromanian Vlachs: The Vanishing Tribes
http://www.vlachophiles.net

Online Aromanian radio
http://www.rri.ro

Bana Armaneasca - Aromanian newspaper in pdf format
http://www.geocities.com/armaneasca/

Related languages

Aranese, Aromanian, Asturian, Catalan, Corsican, French, Friulian, Galician, Genoese, Italian, Jèrriais, Latin, Lombard, Mirandese, Moldovan, Neapolitan, Occitan, Piedmontese, Portuguese, Romanian, Romansh, Sardinian, Sicilian, Spanish, Venetian, Walloon

Other languages written with the Latin alphabet