Wallachian dialect explained

The Wallachian dialect (//) is one of the several dialects of the Romanian language (Daco-Romanian). Its geographic distribution covers approximately the historical region of Wallachia, occupying the southern part of Romania, roughly between the Danube and the Southern Carpathians. Standard Romanian, in particular its phonology, is largely based on Wallachian.^[1]

As with all other Romanian dialects, Wallachian is distinguished primarily by its phonetic characteristics and only marginally by morphological, syntactical, and lexical features.

The Wallachian dialect is the only member of the southern grouping of Romanian dialects. All the other dialects and speech varieties are classified in the northern grouping, whose most typical representative is the Moldavian dialect.

The Wallachian and the Moldavian dialects are the only two that have been consistently identified and recognized by linguists. They are clearly distinguished in dialect classifications made by Heimann Tiktin, Mozes Gaster, Gustav Weigand, Sextil Pușcariu, Sever Pop, Emil Petrovici, Romulus Todoran, Ion Coteanu, Alexandru Philippide, Iorgu Iordan, Emanuel Vasiliu, and others, whereas the other dialects and speech varieties have proven to be considerably more controversial and difficult to classify.

Geographic distribution

The Wallachian dialect is spoken in the southern part of Romania, in the region of Wallachia. More accurately, it covers the following counties:

in Muntenia (Muntenian dialect, but in Teleorman there is a little influence from Oltenian dialect): Argeș, Brăila (mostly in southern half and central also spoken in north but with some Moldavian influences), Buzău (mostly in southern half and central also spoken in north but with some Moldavian influences), Călărași, Dâmbovița, Giurgiu, Ialomița, Ilfov and Bucharest, Prahova, Teleorman;
in Oltenia (Oltenian dialect): Dolj, Gorj (eastern part), Mehedinți (mostly eastern part, not in Banat), Olt, Vâlcea;
in Northern Dobruja (Dobrujan dialect who has some Muntenian influence but many Moesic words from their heritage): Constanța and the southern half of the Tulcea County (in the northern half the Moldavian dialect is spoken).
in southern Transylvania (in fact Transylvanian dialect but with a group influence from Muntenian): Brașov and the southern part of the Sibiu County.
in the Timok Valley (Serbia and Bulgaria) by part of the Timok Vlachs. The other part speaks the Banat dialect.

The most typical features of the Wallachian dialect are found in the central part of this area, specifically in the following counties: Argeș, Călărași, Dâmbovița, Giurgiu, Ialomița, Olt, and Teleorman.

Influences from the neighboring areas

The dialects spoken in the neighboring areas have influenced the Wallachian dialect, thus creating transition speech varieties, as follows:

in the northeastern edge there is an influence from the Moldavian dialect;
in the northern area, across the southern Carpathian mountains, influences from the central and southern Transylvanian speech varieties are found;
in the northwestern part, influences are felt from the Banat dialect and the Hațeg Land speech varieties.

Subdivisions

Some researchers further divide the Wallachian dialect into finer speech varieties. This division, however, can no longer rely on clear and systematic phonetic features, but on morphological, syntactical, and lexical differences.

For instance, Sextil Pușcariu and others consider a separate speech variety in Oltenia. This has very few distinct features – such as the extensive use of the simple perfect tense – and is most often considered a transition speech variety from the Wallachian to the Banat dialect.

Even less distinct is the particular speech variety of Dobruja. This too is often considered a transition variety, between the Wallachian and the Moldavian dialects.

Particularities

Phonetic features

The Wallachian dialect has the following phonetic particularities that contrast it with the other dialects and varieties. Many of these phonetic features are also found in the pronunciation of Standard Romanian.

The postalveolars pronounced as /[t͡ʃ, d͡ʒ]/ are preserved: pronounced as /[t͡ʃiˈreʃe, ˈd͡ʒemete]/.
Contrast is made between the affricate pronounced as /[d͡ʒ]/ and the fricative pronounced as /[ʒ]/.
Except in Oltenia, after the dentals pronounced as /[s, z, t͡s]/, the vowels pronounced as /[e, i]/ and the diphthong pronounced as /[e̯a]/ are preserved: pronounced as /[semn, siŋɡur, ˈse̯arə, zer, zid, ˈze̯amə, t͡ses, t͡siw, ˈt͡se̯apə]/. This occurs simultaneously with a slight palatalization of those dentals.
After the fricatives pronounced as /[ʃ, ʒ]/ and after pronounced as /[r]/, the vowel pronounced as /[ə]/ changes to pronounced as /[e]/: pronounced as /[ˈuʃe, ˈstraʒe, t͡siˈɡare]/. The two fricatives are pronounced slightly palatalized.
The diphthong pronounced as /[o̯a]/ is preserved: pronounced as /[ˈdo̯are ˈko̯aʒe]/.
The diphthong pronounced as /[e̯a]/ in old Romanian becomes pronounced as /[e]/ in certain phonetic contexts: pronounced as /[ˈled͡ʒe ˈmese ˈsemne]/. (It remains pronounced as /[e̯a]/ when it is followed by a consonant or a consonant cluster and then by pronounced as /[ə]/, as in pronounced as /[ˈle̯aɡə ˈkre̯at͡sə]/.)
The front vowel ending is anticipated by inserting pronounced as /[j]/ in the words pronounced as /[ˈkɨjne ˈmɨjne ˈpɨjne]/.
The labials pronounced as /[p b f v]/ remain unchanged before front vowels and pronounced as /[j]/: pronounced as /[piˈt͡ʃor alˈbinə ˈfjerbe ˈvitə]/. In some areas of Wallachian, palatalized labials can be found today, but these appeared as a consequence of recent population migrations.
The dentals pronounced as /[t d n]/ do not change before front vowels and glides: pronounced as /[ˈkarte ˈte̯amə de̯al dimiˈne̯at͡sə]/.
A devocalized pronounced as /[u]/ is found at the end of some words: pronounced as /[omʷ, pomʷ]/ for, .
In word-initial position sometimes pronounced as /[h]/ is pronounced weakly or completely removed: pronounced as /[ˈajnə, wot͡s]/ for, . Hypercorrection sometimes leads to adding a word-initial pronounced as /[h]/: pronounced as /[ˈharipə, ˈhale̯a, ˈhalbij]/ for,, .
In Muntenia, after pronounced as /[d]/ and pronounced as /[p]/, pronounced as /[e]/ is replaced with pronounced as /[ə]/ and pronounced as /[i]/ with pronounced as /[ɨ]/ in prepositions and prefixes: pronounced as /[də, dəˈkɨt, dəstuˈpat, dəsˈpart, dəʃˈkid, ˈdɨntre, pə]/ for standard,,,,,, .
In north-eastern and eastern Muntenia, labials followed by front sounds are palatalized: pronounced as /[ˈpʰʲjele, ˈbʰʲine, fʰʲjer, vʰʲin, ˈmʲjere]/ for,,,, .
In Oltenia, like in the Banat dialect, after the fricatives pronounced as /[s, z, ʃ, ʒ]/ and the affricate pronounced as /[t͡s]/, pronounced as /[e]/ becomes pronounced as /[ə]/, pronounced as /[i]/ becomes pronounced as /[ɨ]/, and pronounced as /[e̯a]/ reduces to pronounced as /[a]/: pronounced as /[ˈsarə, səˈkure, ˈsɨŋɡur, zɨk, zər, ˈzamə, ʒɨr, t͡sapə, t͡sɨw, t͡səˈpuʃ]/ for,,,,,,,,, .
In Oltenia, pronounced as /[j]/ is inserted before pronounced as /[k]/ when this is palatalized or followed by a front vowel: pronounced as /[wojkʲ, rajˈkiw, ˈstrajkinə]/ for standard,, .
In southern Oltenia, a particular type of palatalization occurs when labial fricatives are followed by front vowels: pronounced as /[f]/ becomes pronounced as /[fkʲ]/ or even pronounced as /[skʲ]/, and similarly pronounced as /[v]/ becomes pronounced as /[vɡʲ]/ or pronounced as /[zɡʲ]/: pronounced as /[fkʲer / skʲer, ˈvɡʲerme / ˈzɡʲerme]/ for, .

Morphological and syntactical features

The possessive article is variable:,,, (the same as in standard Romanian), whereas it is invariable in all other dialects.^[2]
When the object of a verb is another verb, the latter is in its subjunctive form:, ('I want to leave, he knows how to swim').
The following subjunctive forms are found:,,,, .
The following imperative forms are found:, .
Feminine names in the vocative case end in -o: Leano, Anico.
An additional vowel alternation occurs from pronounced as /[a]/ to pronounced as /[ə]/ to mark the plural.
Verbs of the 2nd conjugation group tend to switch the 3rd, and vice versa:,,, and, ('to fall, like, see; sew, weave', compare with standard,,, and,).
The imperfect of verbs in the 3rd person plural ends in pronounced as /[a]/ in Muntenia and pronounced as /[aw]/ in Oltenia: vs. ('they were working', compare with standard). This makes the Muntenian plural homonymous with the singular in the 3rd person.
The syllable -ră- in the plural forms of the pluperfect is dropped:,, ('we/you/they had sung', compare with standard,,).
In Muntenia, an additional -ără is attached to the compound perfect of verbs:, ('I/we sang', compare with standard,).
In Muntenia, the present indicative, the subjunctive, and the gerund of some verbs have pronounced as /[j]/ or pronounced as /[i]/ instead of the last consonant in the root:,,,,,,, (compare with standard,,,,,,,).
In Oltenia, the simple perfect is frequently used in all persons and reflects the aspect of a recently finished action. For speakers of other Romanian dialects, this is by far the single most known particularity of the Oltenian speech, which most readily identifies its speakers.
In Oltenia, feminine nouns ending in -ă tend to form the plurals with the ending -i to avoid the homonymy that would occur in nouns whose root ends in pronounced as /[s, z, ʃ, ʒ, t͡s, d͡z]/: – ('house – houses', compare with standard –).
In Oltenia, the demonstrative adjective is invariable:,, ('these boys/girls/roads', compare with standard / and colloquial /).
In Oltenia, verbs of the 4th conjugation group do not take the infix -esc- in their indicative and subjunctive forms:,,,, (compare with standard,,,,).
In Oltenia, the adverb is used without negation: ('She has only one child', compare with standard). This phenomenon is also increasingly found in Muntenia.

Lexical particularities

The demonstrative article is,,, in Muntenia, and,,, in Oltenia (compare with standard,,,).
An intermediate polite pronoun is found:, ('you', standard Romanian has,, and on a three-stage scale of increasing politeness).
Demonstrative adverbs use the emphasis particle -șa:,,,, (compare with standard,).
There is a tendency to add the prefix în-/îm- to verbs:,, ('to drill, walk, scent', compare with standard,,).
In Oltenia, the derivation with the suffix -ete is very productive: ('male sparrow', standard), ('corner',), ('pumpkin',). It also appears in proper names: Ciuculete, Ionete, Purcărete.
Other specific words: ('corn cob', standard), ('mouse trap',), ('coffin',), ('flower pot',), ('swelling',), etc.

Sample

Wallachian dialect: pronounced as /[sə ˈdut͡ʃe pəˈrint͡sɨ koˈpiluluj la ˈmo̯aʃə ku koˈpilu ‖ ˈdut͡ʃe ploˈkon ˈpɨjne vʲin ˈkarne t͡sujkə ‖ ʃɨ ˈmo̯aʃa ɨj ˈpune uŋ kʷoˈvriɡ ɨŋ kap ʃɨl ˈsaltə̃ sus ɨl də də ˈɡrinda ˈkasɨ ʃɨ zɨt͡ʃe ‖ sə trəˈjaskə neˈpotu ʃɨ pəˈrint͡sɨ]/

Standard Romanian: English translation: "The child's parents go to the midwife with the child. They bring as a present bread, wine, meat, țuică. And the midwife puts a pretzel on his head and hoists him up, touches him to the house's girder, and says: Long live the child and his parents!"

Bibliography

Vasile Ursan, "Despre configurația dialectală a dacoromânei actuale", Transilvania (new series), 2008, No. 1, pp. 77–85
Ilona Bădescu, "Dialectologie", teaching material for the University of Craiova
Elena Buja, Liliana Coposescu, Gabriela Cusen, Luiza Meseșan Schmitz, Dan Chiribucă, Adriana Neagu, Iulian Pah, Raport de țară: România, country report for the Lifelong Learning Programme MERIDIUM

Notes and References

Mioara Avram, Marius Sala, May we introduce the Romanian language to you?, The Romanian Cultural Foundation Publishing House, 2000,,, p. 111
[Matilda Caragiu Marioțeanu]