Writing
Speakers of Vlaški and Žejanski (Vlashki and Zheyanski, also, Istro-Romanian) use their language primarily for everyday verbal communication. As a result, there is no standard spelling system, devised for the needs of the speakers. The spelling system we use to write Vlaški and Žejanski on this website represents one possible proposal for such a practical orthography.
The language exists in written form in academic publications, but different researchers developed different writing systems to fit their specific needs and preferences. Because we make available written materials from different sources on this website, it is a good idea to gain some familiarity with them.
Different spelling systems
Allowing for smaller variations, the spelling systems developed by researchers in the past can be divided into two basic types: Modified Romanian and Mixed. A third system, based on the Croatian alphabet, is used on this website and in other materials prepared in the scope of the Preservation of the Vlaški and Žejanski Language project.
1. Modified Romanian Orthography (e.g., Morariu, 1928; Cantemir, 1959)
This spelling system is based on the Romanian alphabet and includes several special characters and character combinations to represent those sounds of Vlaški/Žejanski that do not exist in Romanian. Its main disadvantage is that there is no one-to-one relationship between sounds and letters/letter combinations used to represent it: The same sound can be represented with more than letter/letter combination.
2. Mixed Orthography (e.g., Puşcariu, 1926; Kovačec, 1998; Sârbu and Frăţilă, 1998; Filipi 2002)
This spelling system, first introduced by the well-known Romanian linguist Sextil Puşcariu, combines characters used in Romanian and Slavic (Croatian) languages with a few special characters. It represents an attempt to make the cumbersome Modified Romanian Orthography more efficient and has the longest tradition of use in scholarly materials on the language. There are many variations on this system and the actual number and type of characters used differs depending on the needs and preferences of the scholar.
3. Modified Croatian Orthography (Vrzić, 2009)
This spelling system seeks to further simplify and unify the Mixed Orthography. It has been devised with the goal of providing a system that could be easily read and written by the majority of today's Vlaški and Žejanski speakers. It reduces the number of special characters to only three (â, å, ę) and uses Croatian letters, with which most speakers are already familiar, to represent all other sounds of the language.
Spelling systems reference table
This table compares the three different spelling systems briefly described above to each other. Click here to print out the table below for your own use and here to hear the sounds of the language with examples.
|
Modified Romanian Orthography Morariu (1928) |
Mixed Orthography Kovačec (1998) |
Modified Croatian Orthography Vrzić (2009) |
Example |
|---|---|---|---|
|
a |
a |
a |
acmo / acmo / akmo |
|
a (boldface type) |
å |
å |
ab / åb / åb |
|
ă |
â |
â |
cănd / când / kând |
|
b |
b |
b |
bât |
|
c (before a, å, â, o, u, or a consonant) |
c (before a, å, â, o, u, or a consonant) |
k |
ca / cå / kå |
|
ce, ci, cĭ (word final) |
č |
č |
cira / čirå / čirå |
|
d |
d |
d |
dintru / dintru / dintru |
|
- |
(ḑ) |
(dz) |
- / ḑero / dzero (very rare) |
|
e |
e |
e |
fecior / fečor / fečor |
|
e (boldface type) |
ę |
ę |
sera / sęra / sęra |
|
f |
f |
f |
fini / fini / fini |
|
g |
g |
g |
grumb / grumb / grumb |
|
gh (before i, e, ę, or a consonant) |
g |
g |
blage / blågę / blågę |
|
g |
γ |
g |
grije / γriže / griže |
|
- |
(ğ) |
(đ) |
- / ğoventu / đoventu (very rare) |
|
h |
h |
h |
hiti |
|
i |
i |
i |
inche / inkę / inkę |
|
ĭ, i |
i̭ |
j |
ĭo / i̭o / jo |
|
î |
â |
â |
în / ân / ân |
|
ch (before i, e, ę) |
k (+i, e, ę) |
k |
che / ke / ke |
|
ch (before i, e, ę), chi (before a, å, â, o, u) |
t" |
ć |
chia / t"å / ćå |
|
l |
l |
l |
la / la / la |
|
l' |
l' |
lj |
l'epur / l'epur / ljepur |
|
m |
m |
m |
manchie / månt"e / månće |
|
n |
n |
n |
nevu / nęvu / nęvu |
|
n' |
ń |
nj |
n'ive / ńive / njive |
|
o |
o |
o |
opt / opt / opt |
|
p |
p |
p |
per / per / per |
|
r |
r |
r |
rada / råda / råda |
|
s |
s |
s |
sare / såre / såre |
|
ş |
ş |
š |
şti / şti / šti |
|
t |
t |
t |
tari / tari / tari |
|
ţ |
ţ |
c |
ţire / ţire / cire |
|
u |
u |
u |
ur / ur / ur |
|
ŭ, u |
ṷ |
u |
gŭanti / γṷånti / guånti |
|
v |
v |
v |
vir / vir / vir |
|
z |
z |
z |
zice / ziče / ziče |
|
j |
ž |
ž |
juca / žucå / žukå |
1 A word, as it would be written following the Modified Romanian Orthography, is given first. After a slash, the same word is written using the Mixed Orthography and then the Modified Croatian Orthography.
