Vlaheşte
Megleno-Romanian
Indo-European
Megleno-Romanian (Vlaheşte, "Vlach speech") is one of the four Eastern Romance languages, the third-smallest after Istro-Romanian (now nearly extinct). Spoken in the Meglen Valley straddling the Greece–North Macedonia border by ~5,000 ethnic Vlachs, Megleno-Romanian descended from the same medieval Vlach migrations that produced Aromanian (rup) but settled further east in the Macedonian highlands. Linguistically, Megleno-Romanian shares Eastern Romance features with Romanian (definite article suffixed, distinctive case morphology, Slavic vocabulary loans) but with significant Bulgarian/Macedonian Slavic influence. UNESCO classifies severely endangered with intergenerational transmission largely lost.
Where it is spoken
20 core words in Megleno-Romanian
Water
apâ
/ˈapɨ/
Fire
foc
/fok/
Sun
soari
/ˈsoari/
Moon
lunâ
/ˈlunɨ/
Mother
mumâ
/ˈmumɨ/
Father
tatâ
/ˈtatɨ/
Eat
mâcari
/mɨˈkari/
Drink
beari
/ˈbeari/
Love
ublami
/ˈublami/
Heart
inima
/ˈinima/
Tree
lemnu
/lemnu/
House
casa
/ˈkasa/
Dog
câni
/ˈkɨni/
Cat
mâța
/ˈmɨtsa/
Hand
mâna
/ˈmɨna/
Eye
ocl
/okl/
Hello
ubavu
/uˈbavu/
Thank you
hăirau
/hɨiˈrau/
One
unu
/ˈunu/
Good
bunu
/ˈbunu/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Indo-European languages
| Meaning | Megleno-Romanian | Aromanian | Old Italian (Dantesque) | Chavacano | Esperanto | Emilian | Romanian |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | apâ /ˈapɨ/ | apâ /ˈapɨ/ | acqua /ˈakːwa/ | agua /ˈaɡwa/ | akvo /ˈakvo/ | âcua /ˈakwa/ | apă /apə/ |
| Fire | foc /fok/ | foc /fok/ | foco /ˈfɔko/ | fuego /ˈfweɡo/ | fajro /ˈfajro/ | fôg /ˈfoɡ/ | foc /fok/ |
| Sun | soari /ˈsoari/ | soare /ˈso̯are/ | sole /ˈsole/ | sol /sol/ | suno /ˈsuno/ | sôl /ˈsoːl/ | soare /so̯are/ |
| Moon | lunâ /ˈlunɨ/ | lunâ /ˈlunɨ/ | luna /ˈluna/ | luna /ˈluna/ | luno /ˈluno/ | lónna /ˈlonːa/ | lună /lunə/ |
| Mother | mumâ /ˈmumɨ/ | mumâ /ˈmumɨ/ | madre /ˈmaːdre/ | nana /ˈnana/ | patrino /paˈtrino/ | mèder /ˈmɛdɛɾ/ | mamă /mamə/ |
| Father | tatâ /ˈtatɨ/ | tatâ /ˈtatɨ/ | padre /ˈpaːdre/ | tata /ˈtata/ | patro /ˈpatro/ | pèder /ˈpɛdɛɾ/ | tată /tatə/ |
| Eat | mâcari /mɨˈkari/ | mâcari /mɨˈkari/ | mangiare /manˈd͡ʒare/ | come /koˈme/ | manĝi /ˈmandʒi/ | magnèr /maˈɲɛɾ/ | a mânca /a mɨnka/ |
| Drink | beari /ˈbeari/ | beari /ˈbeari/ | bevere /ˈbevere/ | bebe /beˈbe/ | trinki /ˈtrinki/ | bevvre /ˈbevːɾe/ | a bea /a be̯a/ |
| Love | ublami /ˈublami/ | vreari /ˈvreari/ | amore /aˈmore/ | ama /ˈama/ | amo /ˈamo/ | amôr /aˈmoːɾ/ | iubire /jubire/ |
| Heart | inima /ˈinima/ | inimâ /ˈinimɨ/ | core /ˈkɔre/ | corazón /koraˈson/ | koro /ˈkoro/ | côr /ˈkoːɾ/ | inimă /inimə/ |
| Tree | lemnu /lemnu/ | arbur /ˈarbur/ | albero /ˈalbero/ | árbol /ˈaɾbol/ | arbo /ˈarbo/ | arbal /ˈaɾbal/ | copac /kopak/ |
| House | casa /ˈkasa/ | casâ /ˈkasɨ/ | casa /ˈkasa/ | casa /ˈkasa/ | domo /ˈdomo/ | cà /ˈka/ | casă /kasə/ |
| Dog | câni /ˈkɨni/ | câni /ˈkɨni/ | cane /ˈkane/ | perro /ˈpeɾo/ | hundo /ˈhundo/ | can /ˈkan/ | câine /kɨine/ |
| Cat | mâța /ˈmɨtsa/ | cãtushã /kɨˈtuʃɨ/ | gatto /ˈɡatːo/ | gato /ˈɡato/ | kato /ˈkato/ | gât /ˈɡat/ | pisică /pisikə/ |
| Hand | mâna /ˈmɨna/ | mânâ /ˈmɨnɨ/ | mano /ˈmano/ | mano /ˈmano/ | mano /ˈmano/ | mân /ˈman/ | mână /mɨnə/ |
| Eye | ocl /okl/ | oclju /ˈokʎu/ | occhio /ˈɔkːjo/ | ojo /ˈoho/ | okulo /oˈkulo/ | ucc /ˈutʃ/ | ochi /okʲ/ |
| Hello | ubavu /uˈbavu/ | bunâ-vã ziuâ /ˈbunɨ vɨ ˈziwɨ/ | salute /saˈlute/ | buenas /ˈbwenas/ | saluton /saˈluton/ | cciô /ˈtʃoː/ | salut /salut/ |
| Thank you | hăirau /hɨiˈrau/ | haristo /hariˈsto/ | mercede /merˈt͡ʃede/ | gracias /ˈɡɾasjas/ | dankon /ˈdankon/ | gràzie /ˈɡɾaːtsje/ | mulțumesc /mult͡sumesk/ |
| One | unu /ˈunu/ | unu /ˈunu/ | uno /ˈuno/ | uno /ˈuno/ | unu /ˈunu/ | un /ˈun/ | unu /unu/ |
| Good | bunu /ˈbunu/ | bun /bun/ | buono /ˈbwɔno/ | bueno /ˈbweno/ | bona /ˈbona/ | bón /ˈbon/ | bun /bun/ |
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