Matilda Caragiu Marioțeanu (20 July 1927 – 11 March 2009; ) was a

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

n linguist. She studied in the

University of Bucharest The University of Bucharest (UB) () is a public university, public research university in Bucharest, Romania. It was founded in its current form on by a decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza to convert the former Princely Academy of Bucharest, P ...

, where she became a professor, having also taught at the

University of Salzburg The University of Salzburg (, ), also known as the Paris Lodron University of Salzburg (''Paris-Lodron-Universität Salzburg'', PLUS), is an Austrian public university in Salzburg, Salzburg municipality, Salzburg (federal state), Salzburg State, ...

and the

Goethe University Frankfurt Goethe University Frankfurt () is a public research university located in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It was founded in 1914 as a citizens' university, which means it was founded and funded by the wealthy and active liberal citizenry of Frankfurt ...

as an invited professor. Caragiu Marioțeanu was the sister of actor Toma Caragiu and sculptor . Caragiu Marioțeanu published a multitude of works about the

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...

and Aromanian languages as well as about the

Aromanians The Aromanians () are an Ethnic groups in Europe, ethnic group native to the southern Balkans who speak Aromanian language, Aromanian, an Eastern Romance language. They traditionally live in central and southern Albania, south-western Bulgari ...

in general, having been one herself. Her ''Dodecalogue of the Aromanians'' played an important role for the plot of ''

I'm Not Famous but I'm Aromanian ''I'm Not Famous but I'm Aromanian'' (; ) is a 2013 Romanian comedy drama and romance film which was the first film in the Aromanian language. The movie tells the story of Toni Caramușat, a famous film director, fascinated by the idea of finding ...

'' (2013), the first film in Aromanian. She also collaborated in the publication of several manuals for learning Romanian, translated Aromanian

fairy tale A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, household tale, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic, enchantments, and mythical or fanciful bei ...

s and stories into Romanian and wrote two volumes of Aromanian verses. For her research, Caragiu Marioțeanu became a titular member of the

Romanian Academy The Romanian Academy ( ) is a cultural forum founded in Bucharest, Romania, in 1866. It covers the scientific, artistic and literary domains. The academy has 181 active members who are elected for life. According to its bylaws, the academy's ma ...

and received the National Order of Merit in 2000.

Biography

Early life and education

Matilda Caragiu Marioțeanu was born on 20 July 1927 in

Argos Orestiko Argos Orestiko (, before 1926: Χρούπιστα – ''Chroupista''; ) is a town and a municipality in the Kastoria regional unit of Macedonia, Greece. The Kastoria National Airport (also known as Aristotelis Airport) is located in Argos Oresti ...

(), in

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

. Of Aromanian parents, she had two siblings, actor Toma Caragiu and sculptor . In 1928, she and her family moved together with some forty other Aromanian families to (now Zafirovo,

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

), in

Southern Dobruja Southern Dobruja or South Dobruja ( or simply , ; or , ), also the Quadrilateral (), is an area of north-eastern Bulgaria comprising Dobrich and Silistra provinces, part of the historical region of Dobruja. It has an area of 7,412 square km an ...

, where Caragiu Marioțeanu went to primary school. She and her family were exiled from Southern Dobruja following the region's return to

in 1940, after which they moved to

Oltenița Oltenița () is a Municipiu, city in Călărași County, Muntenia, Romania, on the left bank of the river Argeș (river), Argeș, where its waters flow into the Danube. Geography The city is located in the southwestern part of the county; it sta ...

Bacău Bacău ( ; , ; ; ) is the main city in Bacău County, Romania. With a population of 136,087 (as of 2021 census), Bacău is the 14th largest city in Romania. The city is situated in the historical region of Moldavia, at the foothills of the ...

Ploiești Ploiești ( , , ), formerly spelled Ploești, is a Municipiu, city and county seat in Prahova County, Romania. Part of the historical region of Muntenia, it is located north of Bucharest. The area of Ploiești is around , and it borders the Ble ...

and, in 1947,

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

. Caragiu Marioțeanu went to high school in

Silistra Silistra ( ; ; or ) is a town in Northeastern Bulgaria. The town lies on the southern bank of the lower Danube river, and is also the part of the Romanian border where it stops following the Danube. Silistra is the administrative center of the ...

, Bacău and Ploiești. She graduated from the Faculty of Letters of the

in 1951.

Career and profession

Starting her career while still a student in 1950, Caragiu Marioțeanu was a professor in several faculties (in the Faculty of Letters, the Faculty of Philology and the Faculty of Romanian Language and Literature) of the University of Bucharest until her retirement in 1982. She taught courses and

seminar A seminar is a form of academic instruction, either at an academic institution or offered by a commercial or professional organization. It has the function of bringing together small groups for recurring meetings, focusing each time on some part ...

s on the

history of the Romanian language The history of the Romanian language started in Roman provinces north of the Jireček Line in Classical antiquity. There are three main hypotheses around its exact territory: the autochthony thesis (it developed in left-Danube Dacia only), the dis ...

, historical

grammar In linguistics, grammar is the set of rules for how a natural language is structured, as demonstrated by its speakers or writers. Grammar rules may concern the use of clauses, phrases, and words. The term may also refer to the study of such rul ...

, general

dialectology Dialectology (from Ancient Greek, Greek , ''dialektos'', "talk, dialect"; and , ''-logy, -logia'') is the scientific study of dialects: subsets of languages. Though in the 19th century a branch of historical linguistics, dialectology is often now c ...

and that of several

Eastern Romance languages The Eastern Romance languages are a group of Romance languages. The group comprises the Romanian language (Daco-Romanian), the Aromanian language and two other related minor languages, Megleno-Romanian and Istro-Romanian. The extinct Dalmat ...

, contemporary

and Romanian for foreigners. Caragiu Marioțeanu also taught as an invited professor at the

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

from 1970 to 1973 and at the

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

in 1983. She obtained a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

in 1967 with her thesis ''Fonomorfologie aromână. Studiu de dialectologie structurală'' ("Aromanian Phono-Morphology. Study of Structural Dialectology"), which was published the next year. It is a study carried out from 1951 to 1960 on the way of speaking Aromanian of her own family following changes in grammar structure,

lexicon A lexicon (plural: lexicons, rarely lexica) is the vocabulary of a language or branch of knowledge (such as nautical or medical). In linguistics, a lexicon is a language's inventory of lexemes. The word ''lexicon'' derives from Greek word () ...

and

phonetics Phonetics is a branch of linguistics that studies how humans produce and perceive sounds or, in the case of sign languages, the equivalent aspects of sign. Linguists who specialize in studying the physical properties of speech are phoneticians ...

they experienced as a result of contact with

Romanians Romanians (, ; dated Endonym and exonym, exonym ''Vlachs'') are a Romance languages, Romance-speaking ethnic group and nation native to Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. Sharing a Culture of Romania, ...

Research and publications

Caragiu Marioțeanu was a prolific academic and researcher. She published in 1962 a study on the Aromanian Missal, an old Aromanian-language liturgical manuscript, including a

glossary A glossary (from , ''glossa''; language, speech, wording), also known as a vocabulary or clavis, is an alphabetical list of Term (language), terms in a particular domain of knowledge with the definitions for those terms. Traditionally, a gloss ...

and a

philological Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also defined as the study of ...

study, for which she was awarded by the

Ministry of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

. In 1975, she published ''Compendiu de dialectologie română (nord și sud-dunăreană)'' ("Compendium of (Northern and Southern Danubian) Romanian Dialectology"), for which she received the Timotei Cipariu Award from the

. She collaborated in the works ''Istorie a limbii române'' ("History of the Romanian Language") and ''Crestomația romanică'' ("Romance Chrestomathy"). Caragiu Marioțeanu also published ''Dicționar aromân (macedo-vlah), DIARO'' ("Aromanian (Macedo-Vlach) Dictionary, DIARO") in 1997 and ''Toma Caragiu – Ipostaze'' ("Toma Caragiu – Hypostases") in memory of her deceased brother in 2003. Remarkable among Caragiu Marioțeanu's work is her 1993 ''Dodecalog al aromânilor sau 12 adevăruri incontestabile, istorice și actuale, asupra aromânilor și asupra limbii lor'' ("Dodecalogue of the Aromanians or 12 Indisputable Truths, Historical and Current, About the Aromanians and About Their Language"), which includes her personal views and beliefs on the Aromanians and their language. First published in a magazine and later as a volume of its own, it has been translated into English and French. The plot of the first Aromanian-language film, ''

'' (2013), directed by

Toma Enache Toma Enache (born 1 November 1970) is a Romanian film director and actor. Being of Aromanian ethnicity, he directed ''I'm Not Famous but I'm Aromanian'', the first film in the Aromanian language. Enache has also directed two other films. Activi ...

, is based on protagonist Toni Caramușat's search for a thirteenth truth on the Aromanians, with the previous twelve being those constituting Caragiu Marioțeanu's ''Dodecalogue''. Caragiu Marioțeanu collaborated in the publication of several manuals for learning Romanian. These are ''Cours de langue roumaine. Introduction a l'étude du roumain a l'usage des étudiants étrangers'' (1967, 1972, 1978; in French), ''A Course in Contemporary Romanian. An Introduction to the Study of Romanian'' (1969, 1980; in English) and ''Rumänisch für Sie. Ein moderner Sprachkurs für Erwachsene'' (first volume published in 1976 and the second in 1979, with both re-published in 1993 and 1996; in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

). She also translated Aromanian

s and stories into Romanian and wrote two volumes of Aromanian verses. Caragiu Marioțeanu became a corresponding member of the Romanian Academy on 12 November 1993, being elected as a titular member in 2004. On 1 December 2000, she was awarded the National Order of Merit in the rank of "Commander" by the

President of Romania The president of Romania () is the head of state of Romania. The president is directly elected by a two-round system, and, following a modification to the Romanian Constitution in 2003, serves for five years. An individual may serve two ter ...

Emil Constantinescu Emil Constantinescu (; born 19 November 1939) is a Romanian professor and politician, who served as the President of Romania, from 1996 to 2000. After the Romanian Revolution, Romanian Revolution of 1989, Constantinescu became a founding member ...

"for special merits in the development of science and culture". Caragiu Marioțeanu died on 11 March 2009 in her house in Bucharest.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Caragiu Marioteanu, Matilda 1927 births 2009 deaths People from Argos Orestiko Greek people of Aromanian descent Greek emigrants to Romania Romanian people of Aromanian descent University of Bucharest alumni Linguists from Romania Aromanian linguists Romanian philologists Aromanian philologists Dialectologists Aromanian studies Corresponding members of the Romanian Academy Recipients of the National Order of Merit (Romania) Titular members of the Romanian Academy Academic staff of the University of Bucharest Academic staff of the University of Salzburg Academic staff of Goethe University Frankfurt