Romanian Stereotypes: True or False

 Romanian Stereotypes: True or False

Every country has a stereotype, including Romania, so today we will tell you all about Romanian stereotypes! So far Europe Language Café has talked about German, Dutch, French, English, Portuguese, Italian and Polish stereotypes. Let’s find out which of these stereotypes are true and which ones are false.

Romanians are gypsies

This is false! In fact, gypsies originate from India and are all over Europe. Roma people only account up to 2.5% of the entire population. Romanian people get very irritated about other countries portraying them all as gypsies.

Romanians hang garlic in their homes

Apparently, this is to keep vampires away! However, this is a lie as vampires do not exist…

Romanian language is Slavic

This is not true! Romanian is a Latin language similarly to Italian and French! Some words are however Slavic, but not enough for Romanians to understand other Slavic languages.

Romanians are very religious

This is true! Almost all Romanians are Orthodox. Although half of them do not attend church, they practise their religion at home.

Romania is full of stray dogs

This is quite true. This mainly refers to Bucharest, the capital of Romania, where stray dogs affect the city’s image. However, these dogs are not dangerous! Fun fact they wait for the green light before crossing the road, more than humans do!

Romania is dangerous

This is false. Of course, you have to be wary everywhere these days, however Romania is one of the safer countries.

Romanians are vampires

This is not true! This myth comes from a legend about the Emperor of Romania who apparently liked to drink blood and his dad’s name was Vlad Drakul.

Romanians speak Russian

Just like another language some people know Russian and some do not, Russian used to be taught in schools during the communism, however it is not anymore.

Romanian’s capital is Budapest

This is false, Romanian’s capital is called Bucharest and people get it confused with the capital of Hungary. So, do not forget this, as Romanians dislike this mistake!

Romania is dirty

This is false, the streets in Romania are usually very clean! And one of its cities was ranked first in Europe for air quality!

Have you ever heard of these Romanian stereotypes before? Make sure to tell us in the comments below!

Thank you very much for hanging out with Europe Language Café and see you in our next blog!

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