How many languages are spoken in Romania?

 

What languages do they speak in Romania?

What languages are spoken in Romania?

1.   Official languages: Romanian (>90%)

2.   Minority languages: Romani, Hungarian, Slovak, Ukrainian, Croatian, Bulgarian, Turkish, German, Serbian, Russian.

3.   Main Foreign languages: English(29%) French (24%) Italian (7%) German (6%)

4.   Sign languages: Romanian sign Language.

Romania country is located in Eastern Europe. Romania has a population of around 19.5 million. This population represents a decrease from 2011 as the country is currently undergoing negative migration and sub-replacement fertility rates. Approximately 10% of the population of Romania is made up of ethnic minorities. This diversity is reflected in the languages of the country.

Romania’s Official Language

The Official Language Of Romania is Romanian

Romanian is official language of the country. That belongs to the Balkan-Romance group, which descends from Vulgar Latin and dates back to the 5th century AD. Over the centuries, the language borrowed vocabulary from the Slavic languages, Turkic, Hungarian, French, and Italian. Of all the Romance languages, it has the most similarities with the Italian language. In Romanian language the first grammar book was published in 1780. Approximately 91% of the Population speak Romanian as their principal language within the country. Public education, all government publications, and legal contracts are written in Romanian language.

The Most Widely Spoken Language Of Romania is Hungarian

Hungarian is the most widely spoken minority language in Romania. Approximately 6.8% of the population speaks this language within Romania, the majority of which people who speak this language live in Transylvania. This disbursement reflects the history of the country as Transylvania was once part of the Kingdom of Hungary. Hungarian language belongs to the Uralic language family. Written records of this language date back to the 900’s AD, using the Old Hungarian alphabet. Today, it is written using the Latin alphabet and has been influenced by French, German, and Italian. Hungarian is used in some local level public offices of Romania where the ethnic Hungarian population exceeds 20%.

Other Minority Languages Of Romania

Except Hungarian, there are several other minority languages are spoken throughout Romania. Romani language is the first of these languages, spoken by 1.1% of the population within Romania. And that language is used in local government administrative offices, including the educational system, throughout 79 communes and in 1 town. These locations are concentrated in Calarasi County and Mures County. And there are also other minority languages that include: Ukrainian (57,593 speakers), German (45,129 speakers), Russian (29,890 speakers), Turkish (28,714 speakers), and Tatar (21,482 speakers) within Romania.

And there are also other much smaller population sizes within countries that speak a number of other languages including Serbo-Croatian (26,732 speakers, both Serbians and Croatians), Slovak (16,108 speakers), Bulgarian (6,747 speakers), and Greek (4,146 speakers). The Greeks, Turks, and Crimean Tatars mainly live in Northern Dobruja region of Romania.

Foreign Languages Of Romania
What Foreign languages are spoken in Romania?

The multilingualism of Romania does not stop with its official and minority languages. There are several foreign languages also play an important part in the society. Approximately 29% of the Romanian population can speak the English language. English is the primary foreign language that is taught in the public school system of the country, and also from primary to upper secondary grade levels.

English language is followed closely by the French language, which is spoken by 24% of the population of the country. And in the public school system this is the second most popular foreign language class. In non-French speaking country Romania is noted as having the largest number of French learners. This fact has grabbed the attention of many international companies, which are now turning their attention to the outsourcing potential within Romania.

Other less common foreign languages within Romania are Italian, spoken by 7% of the population, and German, spoken by 6% of the population of Romania.