The Maramureș dialect (''subdialectul/graiul maramureșean'') is one of the
dialects
The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , 'discourse', from , 'through' and , 'I speak') can refer to either of two distinctly different types of linguistic phenomena:
One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a ...
of the
Romanian language
Romanian (obsolete spellings: Rumanian or Roumanian; autonym: ''limba română'' , or ''românește'', ) is the official and main language of Romania and the Moldova, Republic of Moldova. As a minority language it is spoken by stable communi ...
(Daco-Romanian). Its geographic distribution covers approximately the historical region of
Maramureș
or Marmaroshchyna ( ro, Maramureș ; uk, Мармарощина, Marmaroshchyna; hu, Máramaros) is a geographical, historical and cultural region in northern Romania and western Ukraine. It is situated in the northeastern Carpathians, alon ...
, now split between
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
and
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
.
Classification
The Maramureș dialect belongs to the group of relatively fragmented
Transylvanian varieties, along with the
Crișana dialect
The Crișana dialect (''subdialectul / graiul crișean'') is one of the dialects of the Romanian language (Daco-Romanian). Its geographic distribution covers approximately the historical region of Crișana, in western Transylvania.
Classification ...
. This places the Maramureș dialect in the northern group of Romanian dialects, which also includes
Moldavian dialect
The Moldavian dialect (''subdialectul / graiul moldovean / moldovenesc'') is one of several dialects of the Romanian language (Daco-Romanian). It is spoken across the approximate area of the historical region of Moldavia, now split between the Re ...
and
Banat
Banat (, ; hu, Bánság; sr, Банат, Banat) is a geographical and historical region that straddles Central and Eastern Europe and which is currently divided among three countries: the eastern part lies in western Romania (the counties of T ...
, as opposed to the southern grouping which consists of the
Wallachian subdialect alone.
In the context of the transition-like and very fragmented speech varieties of Transylvania, the classification of the Maramureș dialect as a separate variety is made difficult—like the Crișana dialect, or even more so—by the small number of distinctive phonetic features. This difficulty made many researchers, in particular in earlier stages of the dialectal studies of Romanian, to not recognize an individual Maramureș dialect; this view was held by
Gustav Weigand
Gustav Weigand (1 February 1860 – 8 July 1930), was a German linguist and specialist in Balkan languages, especially Romanian and Aromanian. He is known for his seminal contributions to the dialectology of the Romance languages of the Balkans ...
,
Alexandru Philippide
Alexandru I. Philippide (; May 1, 1859 – August 12, 1933) was a Romanian linguist and philologist. Educated in Iași and Halle, he taught high school for several years until 1893, when he secured a professorship at the University of Iași tha ...
,
Iorgu Iordan
Iorgu Iordan (; also known as ''Jorgu Jordan'' or ''Iorgu Jordan''; –September 20, 1986) was a Romanian linguist, philologist, diplomat, journalist, and left-wing agrarian, later communist, politician. The author of works on a large variety of t ...
, and
Emanuel Vasiliu
Emanuel may refer to:
* Emanuel (name), a given name and surname (see there for a list of people with this name)
* Emanuel School, Australia, Sydney, Australia
* Emanuel School, Battersea, London, England
* Emanuel (band), a five-piece rock ban ...
among others. Subsequent analyses admit the existence of this variety, albeit with some reluctance, leading some researchers (such as
Emil Petrovici
Emil Petrovici (; 1899–1968) was a Romanian linguist, dialectologist and Slavist. He studied both Romanian and Serbian languages. His studies included Romanian phonology, and Romanian, Serbian, and other Slavic dialectology.
Petrovici, of Ser ...
and
Sextil Pușcariu) to elaborate different classifications according to different criteria, depending on which the Maramureș variety is or is not individualized. Current classifications, owed to
Romulus Todoran
Romulus () was the legendary founder and first king of Rome. Various traditions attribute the establishment of many of Rome's oldest legal, political, religious, and social institutions to Romulus and his contemporaries. Although many of these ...
,
Ion Coteanu
An ion () is an atom or molecule with a net electrical charge.
The charge of an electron is considered to be negative by convention and this charge is equal and opposite to the charge of a proton, which is considered to be positive by conven ...
and others, recognize a separate Maramureș dialect.
Geographic distribution
The Maramureș dialect is spoken in the approximate area of the Maramureș historical region, including parts of both
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
and
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
. In Romania, the dialectal area covers the north-eastern part of the
Maramureș County
Maramureș County () is a county (județ)
in Romania, in the Maramureș region. The county seat is Baia Mare.
Name
In Hungarian language, Hungarian it is known as ''Máramaros megye'', in Ukrainian language, Ukrainian as Мараморо́щ ...
, along the valleys of the
Tisza
The Tisza, Tysa or Tisa, is one of the major rivers of Central and Eastern Europe. Once, it was called "the most Hungarian river" because it flowed entirely within the Kingdom of Hungary. Today, it crosses several national borders.
The Tisza be ...
,
Vișeu
The Vișeu ( hu, Visó) in northern Romania is a left tributary of the river Tisza. Its source is in the Rodna Mountains. It passes through the following villages, communes and cities: Borșa (city), Moisei (commune), Vișeu de Sus (city), Vișe ...
,
Mara, and
Cosău
The Cosău ( hu, Kaszó) is a right tributary of the river Mara in Romania. It discharges into the Mara near Ferești
Ferești is a commune in Vaslui County, Western Moldavia, Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located a ...
; many people are concentrated in
Sighetu Marmației
Sighetu Marmației (, also spelled ''Sighetul Marmației''; german: Marmaroschsiget or ''Siget''; hu, Máramarossziget, ; uk, Сигіт, Syhit; yi, סיגעט, Siget), until 1960 Sighet, is a city (Municipalities of Romania, municipality) in ...
,
Vișeu
The Vișeu ( hu, Visó) in northern Romania is a left tributary of the river Tisza. Its source is in the Rodna Mountains. It passes through the following villages, communes and cities: Borșa (city), Moisei (commune), Vișeu de Sus (city), Vișe ...
and
Borșa
Borșa (; Hungarian: ''Borsa'', German: ''Borscha'', yi, בורשא ''Borsha'') is a town in eastern Maramureș County, Maramureș, Romania, in the valley of the river Vișeu and near the Prislop Pass. Linking Transylvania to Bukovina, Prislo ...
. In Ukraine, speakers are found in the eastern part of the
Zakarpattia Oblast
The Zakarpattia Oblast ( uk, Закарпатська область, Zakarpatska oblast) is an administrative oblast located in western Ukraine, mostly coterminous with the historical region of Carpathian Ruthenia. Its administrative centre is ...
(
Northern Maramureș
) is a geographic-historical region comprising roughly the eastern half of the Zakarpattia Oblast in southwestern Ukraine, near the border with Romania. Until 1920, it was part of the Maramureș subregion of Transylvania, at which time the former M ...
); their number is decreasing.
Subdivisions
Although spoken on a small area, the Maramureș dialect can be further divided, by using particularities that are mostly lexical, into three branches:
*a wide central part of the area, which is the most representative;
*the north-western part has influences from the variety spoken in the
Oaș Country
Oaș Country (Romanian: ''Țara Oașului'', Hungarian: ''Avasság'') is an ethnographic and historical region of Romania located in the North-East part of Satu Mare County, 50 km from the city of Satu Mare, also 50 km from the city o ...
;
*the south-eastern part.
Particularities
Many particularities are shared with the
Crișana dialect
The Crișana dialect (''subdialectul / graiul crișean'') is one of the dialects of the Romanian language (Daco-Romanian). Its geographic distribution covers approximately the historical region of Crișana, in western Transylvania.
Classification ...
as well as with the other neighboring
Transylvanian varieties, and some with the
Moldavian dialect
The Moldavian dialect (''subdialectul / graiul moldovean / moldovenesc'') is one of several dialects of the Romanian language (Daco-Romanian). It is spoken across the approximate area of the historical region of Moldavia, now split between the Re ...
.
Phonetic features
*Mid vowels close to , respectively, or to intermediate positions. The most frequent is the change of to : for standard ''de'', ''de la''.
*When appears in two consecutive syllables, the first opens to : (standard ''fete'' ).
*The diphthong monophthongizes to : for standard ''ușoară'' , ''noapte'' .
*After the consonants front vowels become central, whereas the diphthong monophthongizes to : for standard ''singur'', ''seară'', ''zeamă'', ''jir'', ''țin'', ''zi''.
*Consonants are less palatal than in the standard language and have the effect of centralizing a following to : for standard ''cer'', ''ger''.
*After labials, becomes and the diphthong is monophthongized to : for standard ''merg'', ''meargă'', ''pe''.
*The stressed diphthong monophthongizes to in word-final positions: for standard ''avea'', ''vrea''.
*The diphthong becomes in certain words: for standard ''băiat'', ''muiat''.
*Devocalized are found in word-final positions: for standard ''păcurar'', ''cer''.
*The diphthong monophthongizes to : for standard ''câine'', ''mâine'', ''pâine''.
*Etymologic is preserved in words like ''îmblu'', ''îmflu'', ''întru'' (standard ''umblu'', ''umflu'', ''intru'').
*Archaic are preserved in words like (compare with standard ).
[Matilda Caragiu-Marioțeanu, ''Compendiu de dialectologie română'', Editura Științifică și Enciclopedică, 1975, p. 171 ]
*The consonants are palatalized when followed by front vowels: for ''lemne'', ''vine''.
*The palatalization of labials before front vowels takes specific forms:
** becomes : for standard ''piele'';
** becomes : for standard ''bine'';
** becomes : for standard ''mic'';
** becomes : for standard ''să fie'';
** becomes : for standard ''vierme''.
Morphological and syntactical features
*The possessive article is invariable: ''a meu'', ''a mea'', ''a mei'', ''a mele'' ("mine", compare with standard ''al meu'', ''a mea'', ''ai mei'', ''ale mele'').
*The proximal
demonstrative pronoun
Demonstratives (abbreviated ) are words, such as ''this'' and ''that'', used to indicate which entities are being referred to and to distinguish those entities from others. They are typically deictic; their meaning depending on a particular frame ...
s are closer to their Latin etymons: ''aista'', ''aiasta''.
*Some
verbs
A verb () is a word (part of speech) that in syntax generally conveys an action (''bring'', ''read'', ''walk'', ''run'', ''learn''), an occurrence (''happen'', ''become''), or a state of being (''be'', ''exist'', ''stand''). In the usual descrip ...
of the 1st and 4th conjugation groups do not take the ''-ez'' and ''-esc'' suffixes: ''lucră'', ''mă rușin'', ''străluce'' ("he works", "I feel shy", "it shines", compare with standard ''lucrează'', ''mă rușinez'', ''strălucește''). On the other hand, the suffix ''-esc'' does sometimes occur in verbs conjugated without it in the standard language: ''împărțăsc'', ''omorăsc'', ''simțăsc'' ("I divide", "I kill", "I feel", compare with standard ''împart'', ''omor'', ''simt'').
*Certain verb forms have replaced with other sounds: ("I say", "I come", "coming", compare with standard ''spun'', ''vin'', ''venind''). This feature is shared with the
Wallachian dialect
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 t ...
.
*The auxiliary used for the compound perfect of verbs in the 3rd person is ''o'' for the singular and ''or / o'' for the plural: ("he said", "they said", compare with standard ''a zis'', ''au zis'').
*The following forms occur for the 3rd person of the subjunctive, both singular and plural: ''să deie'', ''să steie'', ''să beie'', ''să vreie'', ending in , where the standard language has ''să dea'', ''să stea'', ''să bea'', ''să vrea'', ending in .
*The pluperfect can also be built analytically: ''m-am fost dus'', ''am fost venit'' ("I had gone", "I had come", compare with the standard syntactic forms ''mă dusesem'', ''venisem'').
*Verbs ''a aduce'' "to bring" and ''a veni'' "to come" have particular imperative forms: ''adă'', ''vină'' (standard ''adu'', ''vino'').
*There is a general tendency toward shorting the words: ''o fo'' (standard ''a fost''), ''Gheo'' (instead of ''Gheorghe'', a male first name), etc.
Lexical particularities
*Specific words: ''a cușăi'' ("to taste", standard ''a gusta''), ''cocon'' ("child", standard ''copil''), ''pup'' ("flower bud", standard ''boboc''), ''potică'' ("drugstore", standard ''farmacie''), ''zierme'' ("snake", standard ''șarpe'').
Sample
Maramureș dialect:
Standard Romanian: ''Se roagă lui Dumnezeu, își face cruce și zice: Doamne, ajută-mi. Și femeia ia un ou și-l sparge de car, ca să-i fie ușoară arătura, ca și oul.''
English translation: "She prays to God, she crosses herself, and says: God, help me. And the woman takes an egg and breaks it on the cart, so that the plowing will be light
asylike the egg."
Bibliography
*Ilona Bădescu
"Dialectologie" teaching material for the University of Craiova
*Vasile Ursan
"Despre configurația dialectală a dacoromânei actuale" ''Transilvania'' (new series), 2008, No. 1, pp. 77–85
*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
Further reading
*Mioara Avram, Marius Sala, ''Enciclopedia limbii române'', Editura Univers Enciclopedic, 2001
See also
*
Romanian phonology
In the phonology of the Romanian language, the phoneme inventory consists of seven vowels, two or four semivowels (different views exist), and twenty consonants. In addition, as with other languages, other phonemes can occur occasionally in in ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maramures dialect
Romanian language varieties and styles
Maramureș