Government and Politics
Several political and governmental decisions have influenced the implementation of English in Romania. Just to list a few events:
The addition of article 32 of the Romania Constitution makes education free and in Romanian. It also states that, “education may also be carried out in a foreign language of international use” which lends Romania’s educational system to teach English ("Constitution of Romania"). Stressing again that as Romania modernizes the English influence will increase. |
Education
An interview with a native Romanian lends insight to English in Romanian education. Children start studying their first foreign language in second grade and a second in fifth grade. They continue studying languages through college. Common languages to study are English, German, French, Russian, Spanish, and Italian. However, English is the main language studied.
Today English is spoken by about 30 percent of Romanians and is more popular amongst the younger generation. Clearly English exerts a large influence in education.
Today English is spoken by about 30 percent of Romanians and is more popular amongst the younger generation. Clearly English exerts a large influence in education.
Foreign Aid
Romania has a history of foreign aid with English speaking America and the United Kingdom. In World War I Romania fought with the Allied Powers; the United Kingdom was one of the Allied Powers. In the beginning World War II, Britain was one of Romania’s main guarantors of territorial integrity. In 2011 Romania unanimously signed the Romania-United States agreement allowing American missiles in Romanian as a part of NATO’s missile defense system. These recent foreign aid events are examples of English’s continuous influence in Romania.
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Mass Media |
Trade |
Tourism
People from all over the world go to Romania to visit popular tourist spots like:
In an interview with a native Romanian, I asked if she had seen tourism effect English in Romania. Her response: |
"If you want to work in tourism, you have to be proficient in English."