TheCrișana dialect (subdialectul / graiul crișean) is one of thedialects of theRomanian language (Daco-Romanian). Its geographic distribution covers approximately the historical region ofCrișana, in westernTransylvania.
The Crișana dialect is part of the group of relatively fragmentedTransylvanian varieties, along with theMaramureș dialect. As such, the Crișana dialect is a member of the northern group of Romanian dialects, which also includesMoldavian andBanat, and shares with them a large number of characteristics, as opposed to theWallachian dialect.
As with all other dialects of Romanian, the one of Crișana is distinguished primarily by its phonetic features and to a lesser degree by its morphological, syntactic, and lexical features. However, in the context of the more fragmented Transylvanian speech varieties, these characteristics are less distinct than those of other dialectal areas. As a consequence, in some classifications the Crișana dialect is not individualized, such as those ofGustav Weigand,Alexandru Philippide,Iorgu Iordan andEmanuel Vasiliu. Other analyses, however, include the Crișana dialect in their classifications of four or five dialects (the fifth would be the even less distinctMaramureș dialect); this view is supported particularly by more recent studies, such as those ofRomulus Todoran,Emil Petrovici, andIon Coteanu. This divergence is a matter of definition.
The Crișana dialect has its name from the historical region ofCrișana, although the dialectal area and the historical region only partially overlap. More precisely, the dialect is spoken in the followingRomanian counties:Bihor,Sălaj,Satu Mare,Alba (north-western part),Cluj (western half),Arad (northern half, delimited by theMureș river),Hunedoara (northern part),Maramureș (south-western part).
Several varieties can be further distinguished within the Crișana dialect, specifically those ofBihor,Țara Moților, the area of theSomeș River, andȚara Oașului.
Unstressed vowels[a,e,o] often close to[ə,i,u], respectively:[pəˈhar,ˈpuni,akupeˈrit] for standardpahar,pune,acoperit.
Conversely, vowel[ə] sometimes opens to[a]:[paˈduri,kapaˈtat] for standardpădure,căpătat.
The diphthong[o̯a] is systematically monophthongised to[ɔ]:[ˈpɔtʲe,ˈkɔʒə] for standardpoate,coajă.[1]
After labials,[e] becomes[ə] and the diphthong[e̯a] is monophthongized to[a]:[mərɡ,ˈmarɡə] for standardmerg,meargă.
After the consonants[s,z,t͡s,d͡z], front vowels become central, and the diphthong[e̯a] monophthongizes to[a]:[ˈsɨŋɡur,ˈsarə,ˈzamə,t͡sɨn] for standardsingur,seară,zeamă,țin. In certain areas, the same happens with consonants[ʃ,ʒ]; in other areas, they palatalize and make the subsequent central vowels front:[ˈkwɔʒʲe,ˈuʃʲe] for standardcoajă,ușă.
The vowel[o] in word-initial positions diphthongizes to[wə]:[wəj,wərb] for standardoi,orb.
Asyllabic word-final vowels[clarification needed][ʲ,ʷ] occur:[aspusʷ] for standarda spus.
The vowel[ɨ] is used where in standard Romanian the diphthong[ɨj] appears:[ˈkɨnʲe,ˈmɨnʲ,ˈpɨnʲe] for standardcâine,mâine,pâine.
The diphthong[ja] becomes[je] in certain words:[bəˈjet,təmɨˈjet] for standardbăiat,tămâiat.
The archaic consonant[d͡z] becomes[z] in most of the dialectal area, whereas[d͡ʒ] is preserved, although infree variation with[ʒ].
The labials and the labio-dentals are palatalized in specific ways when followed by front vowels:[p,b,m] become[ptʲ,bdʲ,mnʲ], respectively;[f] becomes[hʲ] or[ʃʲ], and[v] becomes[ɦʲ] or[dʲ]. Examples:[ˈptʲele,ˈbdʲinʲe,mnʲik,ˈhʲi.e/ˈʃʲi.e,ɦʲiˈt͡səl/dʲiˈt͡səl] for standardpiele,bine,mic,(să) fie,vițel. However, the palatalization is not generalized (it is more widespread in the northern part of the dialectal area[2]) and fluctuations occur.
Dentals[t,d] palatalize when followed by front vowels:[ˈfratʲe,ˈbadʲe] for standardfrate,bade.
The affricate[t͡ʃ] remains unchanged, while[d͡ʒ] becomes[ʒ]:[ˈsɨnʒe,ˈfuʒe] for standardsânge,fuge.
The sequence[sl] receives anepenthetic[k] and becomes[skl]:[sklab,skləˈninə] for standardslab,slănină.
InȚara Moților, a specific kind ofrhotacism occurs, by which intervocalic[n] is replaced with[r] in old words:[ˈwamirʲ,lumnʲirə] for standardoameni,lumină. An identical phenomenon, which may be historically related, occurs inIstro-Romanian.
InȚara Oașului, when[l] is followed by a consonant, it isvelarized to[ɫ] or even[w]:[aɫb/awb] for standardalb.
In Țara Oașului, the consonant[r] is realized with multiple vibrations.[specify]
The possessive article is invariable:a meu,a mea,a mei,a mele ("mine", compare with standardal meu,a mea,ai mei,ale mele).
Someverbs of the 1st and 4th conjugation groups do not take the-ez and-esc suffixes:lucră,străluce ("he works", "it shines", compare with standardlucrează,strălucește). On the other hand, the suffix-esc does occur sometimes where in the standard language it doesn't:împărțăsc,înghițăsc,simțăsc ("I divide", "I swallow", "I feel", compare with standardîmpart,înghit,simt).
The auxiliary used for the compound perfect of verbs in the 3rd person iso for the singular andor / o for the plural:[ozɨs,orzɨs] ("he said", "they said", compare with standarda zis,au zis).
The conjunction used for subjunctives isși:și facă ("for him to do, that he does", compare with standardsă facă).
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[ˈeje], where the standard language hassă dea,să stea,să bea,să vrea, ending in[ˈe̯a].
The past tense of the optative-conditional mood is formed using the auxiliarya vrea and the infinitive, for instanceo vu cânta, totally different from the standardar fi cântat.
When the object of a verb is another verb, the latter is in its infinitive form.
In some constructions, analytic forms are preferred to synthetic ones, e.g. the prepositioncătă ("towards", standardcătre) is used instead of the dative:[ozɨsˈkətəˈminʲe] ("he said to me", compare with standardmi-a zis).
In certain areas, the imperative is formed using the long infinitive:nu plecareți!,nu vă lăudareți! (standard:nu plecați!,nu vă lăudați!).
In the northern and central parts of the dialectal area, certain verb forms have[n] replaced with other sounds:[spuj,viw,viˈind] ("I say", "I come", "coming", compare with standardspun,vin,venind). This feature is shared with theWallachian dialect.
Particular forms of the indefinite pronouns (and their corresponding adjectives) occur:oarecine ("someone", standardcineva),oarece ("something", standardceva).
Other specific words:arină ("sand", standardnisip),brâncă ("hand",mână),cotătoare ("mirror",oglindă),ștergură ("towel",prosop),vă! ("go!",du-te!),tulai! ("oh!",vai!), no( used to express feelings or situations), etc.
Standard Romanian:Atunci iar a ieșit și s-a uitat. Am ridicat mâna. Și domnul a zis: Așa câine încă n-am văzut. Și-atunci câinele a venit cu oile și s-a uitat la mine [așteptând să vadă] ce-i mai spun. Că el a știut că-i mai spun ceva.
English translation: "Then it went out again and watched. I raised my hand. And the gentleman said: I've never seen a dog like this. And then the dog brought the sheep back and looked at me [waiting to see] what else I was going to say. Because it knew I was going to say something again."
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(in Romanian)
