Teaching Workshop: Romanian Language and Culture

The following topics, related to learning the Romanian language (basic level) and acquiring basic knowledge of Romanian culture, will be covered in the program.

Topics related to learning the Romanian language:
- Elements of phonetics and phonology: pronunciation, orthography
- Morphology: article, numeral, noun, adjective, verb (indicative: present, near past, imperfect, future; pronoun (personal, demonstrative, interrogative), simple adverbs
- Syntax: most frequent prepositions
- Elements of coordination
- Vocabulary: basic vocabulary. They will be taught to communicate in simple and habitual situations involving an exchange of information on familiar topics and activities, to describe their own background; to understand a written text taken from essays, newspapers, magazines and to translate a literary text with the support of a dictionary. Starting from the Romanian text, some general issues of Romanian grammar, morphology and syntax of the Romanian language will be addressed. One will learn phrases and expressions frequently used in common situations (introducing oneself, ordering something at the bar, asking for time, information about people, work, surroundings, etc.).

Topics related to the knowledge of Romanian culture:
- Romania. Bridge between the West and the East
- Brief aspects of the history and geography of Romania
- Traditions and customs of the Romanian people (Romanian folklore)
- UNESCO heritage sites in Romania (e.g.: Danube Delta, the fortresses of Transylvania, the painted monasteries of Bukovina)
- Romanian traditions and practices included in the UNESCO intangible cultural heritage (e.g.: Mărțișor /little March feast, the traditional technique of scoarţe tapestries)
- Romanians and the memory of Rome
- Testimonies of Italian humanists on the Romanians' Latinity
- The Italian-Romanian cultural dialogue between the two Great Wars (e.g.: Ramiro Ortiz-Romania, Nicolae Iorga - Italy)
- The great personalities of Romanian culture, in music, art, science, (Constantin Brâncuși, Emil Cioran, Mircea Eliade, George Enescu, Ciprian Porumbescu, Constantin Noica, Emil Palade)
- Romanian personalities who lived in Italy in the 19th-20th centuries: the poet and diplomat Vasile Alecsandri, the soprano Hariclea Darclée (Puccini's first Tosca), the composer Roman Vlad, the archaeologist Dinu Adămeșteanu, the artist Camilian Demetrescu, the dancer Gheorghe Iancu, the choreographer Marinel Ștefănescu.