science

Names of the Aromanians

Names of the Aromanians is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Names of the Aromanians rather than just read about it. In short: There are several names of the Aromanians used throughout the Balkans, both autonyms (like armân) and exonyms (like Vlach). Aromanian The names armân/arumân, just as român/rumân (Romanian), derive directly from Latin Romanus ("Roman") through regular sound changes (see Name of Romania).

Key takeaways

Names of the Aromanians belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Names of the Aromanians to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Names of the Aromanians from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

There are several names of the Aromanians used throughout the Balkans, both autonyms (like armân) and exonyms (like Vlach).

Aromanian The names armân/arumân, just as român/rumân (Romanian), derive directly from Latin Romanus ("Roman") through regular sound changes (see Name of Romania). Adding "a" in front of certain words that begin with a consonant is a regular feature of the Aromanian language. In Greece variants include arumâni and armâni. An older form of "rumân", was still found in the 19th century, in folk songs in Greece. In Albania, the most common form is rămăńi, with occasional forms rumăńi and romăńi. The form, aromân, used especially by the Aromanians of Romania, is a modern creation, a blend of român (used by the Daco-Romanians) and arumân (used by the Aromanians in Greece). The form "Aromanian", created by analogy with the word "Romanian", was first used by Gustav Weigand in 1894/1895 to replace terms such as "Macedonian Vlachs" or "Macedo-Romanians".

Vlach

Vlachs was a term used in the Medieval Balkans, as an exonym of Germanic origin for all the Romanic people of the region, but nowadays, it is commonly used only for the Aromanians and Megleno-Romanians, the Romanians being named Vlachs only in historical context and in Serbia. Greeks also use the name "Koutsovlach" ("lame Vlach"; Greek: κουτσόβλαχος, romanized: koutsóvlachos, plural: κουτσόβλαχοι, koutsóvlachoi). Greek scholar Asterios I. Koukoudes considers the term to be derogatory and offensive for the Aromanians. Archbishop of Athens Spyridon Vlachos pointed out to politician Alexandros Svolos that "anyone who refers to them Koutsovlachs is a lame writer himself".

Macedo-Romanian Macedo-Romanian (macedo-român, derived from "Macedonia" and "Romanian") is a form created by the modern linguists and ethnologists in analogy with the other Eastern Romance languages: Daco-Romanian (or proper Romanian) in Dacia, Istro-Romanian in Istria and Megleno-Romanian in Meglenia. Although quite often used, it is a rather improper form, as the Aromanians can be found all across the Balkans, not only in Macedonia.

Macedonian One of the traditional names of Aromanians in the geographical region of Macedonia was Macedonians. It is widespread in Romania.

Tsintsar Another name used to refer to the Aromanians (mainly in the Slavic countries such as Serbia and Bulgaria is tsintsar (цинцар) and in Hungary cincár) derived from the way the Aromanians pronounce /tʃe/ and /tʃi/ as /tse/ and /tsi/. However, there is also a theory that says that the term is derived from the way the Aromanians say the word 'five': tsintsi, this being according to some from the fifth Roman legion which settled in Balkans at the end of their service. The Albanian variant of this name is "xinxarë" /dzi'ndzarə/.

Other names çoban – "shepherd", a term used by some of the Turks, as well as the Albanians, although Albanians also use "vllah" (derived from "Vlach") and rëmër rëmër, "Roman", an Albanian word derived from "Romanus".

References

Bibliography Capidan, Theodor (1932) Aromânii. Dialectul aromân, Academia Română. Trifon, Nicolas (2005) "The Aromanians, a people on the move".

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Names of the Aromanians

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Names of the Aromanians claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Names of the Aromanians before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Names of the Aromanians ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Names of the Aromanians

In research: Names of the Aromanians appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Names of the Aromanians in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Names of the Aromanians is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Aromanians, Ethnonyms, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Names of the Aromanians outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Names of the Aromanians in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Names of the Aromanians means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Names of the Aromanians out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Names of the Aromanians in simple terms?

There are several names of the Aromanians used throughout the Balkans, both autonyms (like armân) and exonyms (like Vlach). Aromanian The names armân/arumân, just as român/rumân (Romanian), derive directly from Latin Romanus ("Roman") through regular sound changes (see Name of Romania).

Why does Names of the Aromanians matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Names of the Aromanians?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Names of the Aromanians.