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A database of selected, reviewed, tested, assessed and validated e-learning based language teaching sources addressed to Higher education students for the learning of 18 different European languages.

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Romanian words of Dacian origin

Date of Publication

25.01.2019

Target Group

Lecturers
Students

Domain Area

Arts & Music
Teacher Education

Learning Scenario

Classroom Context

Target Language

Romanian

Language of Instruction

Any language

CEFR level

C1
C2

Type of Material

Activity/task
Audio
Video

Linguistic Features

Vocabulary

Skills

Listening
Speaking

Description

The video „How many words from the Dacian language do we use today?” (5:36) is centred around the set of words of Dacian origin in the contemporary Romanian language. From the beginning of the audio material it is stated that the deconstruction of the Dacian lexis is a complicated and risky task for several reasons: the Romanian language has suffered numerous influences along the centuries; moreover, Dacians did not leave any substantial written texts. However, there is a series of words which, according to linguists, were inherited by Romanian from the Dacian language. A useful tool in this respect is the comparison between Albanian, which is considered the successor of the Dacian language. The video combines information presented as maps, word lists (read out loud – which could also be used also for training pronunciation), toponyms.

Case study

The video is mostly informative, however, it requires previous knowledge in the history of Romanian, as well as history of the Balkan area. The video has several errors in terms of historical and etynological information, appears to have been created without using reliable scientific resources and circulates pro-chronic theories, e.g „the Albanians are the descendants of teh Dacians”. The general information is limited and presents a llist of about 100 words of „Dacian origin”. The words in the two languages – Romanian and Albanian – are all counted in, which is an erroneous premise. the list does not provide additional information (morphological, meaning, context etc.), and the students assessed the resources as repetitive and irrelevant. Given the set of problems presented, the video can be used as a starting point and a challenge ofr the students to correct errors and draw a parallel between false theories and reliable scientific facts confirmed by specialists in the history of Romanian. Anna Oczko, The Faculty of Letters / The Institute of Romance Philology, Jagiellonian University, Krakow

Guidelines

1. Teacher announces the topic – Romanian words of the Dacian origin.
2. Warm up activity. Teacher asks the following questions: What language family does the Romanian language belong to? What language has it inherited and borrowed words from? What do you know about the Dacian language?
3. Teacher hands out a worksheet with the following questions: When was the Dacian language spoken on the territory of the modern Romania? Why is it complicated to identify which words come from the Dacian language? How many words that exist in Albanian and Romanian cannot be found in the languages around them? Which of the words below, according to the video, come from the Dacian language? Which of them do not have a clear etymology? Biserică, adică, moș, țară, traistă, pălărie, poștă, baltă, miere, balaur, masă, mazăre, fereastră, ban, copil, stâncă, graniță, mânz, afin, podea, muguri, pământm pârâu, burduf, vatră. What percentage from the vocabulary of the Romanian language comes from the Dacian language, according to the video?
4. Students watch the recording 2-3 times. Teacher asks students to answer all questions from the handouts. Teacher checks students’ answers and offers comments in reference to the specialized information contained in the video.
5. Teacher asks the following questions: How can we check the origins of a word? What dictionaries can we use? Teacher asks students to look up the origin of the words from the handout in teams of three in the Etymological online dictionary. Teacher asks students to mark the words whose origin mentioned in the dictionary does not correspond to the information presented in the video. Teacher asks the following question: why do you think there are differences in reference to the etymology of the words of a language?
6. Teacher asks students to prepare and present examples of words from their languages with different origins.
Achieved results:
- the use of the specialized vocabulary from the target field
- the development of the skill of listening to a specialized text and extracting the relevant information
- the accumulation of knowledge in the field of linguistics and history.
Risks that have to be taken into account:
- students might face difficulties in understanding the text without any written support; teacher should give them more time to complete the task;
- students could face difficulties in understanding some terms typical of the target field; teacher should offer the necessary explanations.

Review

Category
Rate
Comprehensive approach
Capacity to match the needs of lecturers and students

5

Added value
The provided tangible improvements

4

Motivation enhancement
The capacity to motivate students to improve their language skills

5

Innovation
Effectiveness in introducing innovative, creative and previously unknown approaches to LSP learning

3

Transferability
Measurement of the transferable potential and possibility to be a source of further capitalisation/application for other language projects in different countries

5

Skills assessment and validation
Availability of appropriate tools for lecturers to monitor students’ progress and for students to assess own progress and to reflect on learning

4

Adaptability
Flexibility of the contents and possibilities for the LSP lecturers to adapt the contents to their and to students’ need

5

Usability
Assess the technical usability from the point of view of the lecturer and the student

5

Accessibility
Assess the accessibility from the point of view of the lecturer and the student

5

Comments:
The video „How many words from the Dacian language do we use today?” (5:36) is centred around the set of words of Dacian origin in the contemporary Romanian language. From the beginning of the audio material it is stated that the deconstruction of the Dacian lexis is a complicated and risky task for several reasons: the Romanian language has suffered numerous influences along the centuries; moreover, Dacians did not leave any substantial written texts. However, there is a series of words which, according to linguists, were inherited by Romanian from the Dacian language. A useful tool in this respect is the comparison between Albanian, which is considered the successor of the Dacian language. The video combines information presented as maps, word lists (read out loud – which could also be used also for training pronunciation), toponyms.
We believe that this material can be used during the lessons of the specialized vocabulary in the field of Humanities for the following reasons: 1. The recording uses a great number of terms widely used in linguistics and history, as well as concepts such familie de limbi, reconstructive lexicala, latinizata, etimologie etc. The material offers opportunities to operate with some important tools of linguistic and historical research while watching the video. Thus, we recommend using the recording for students in Humanities, level B2-C2. Technically, it is very easy to use. Lecturers and students easily have access to the link. This resource can also easily fit in a task-based learning approach, as it is organised into different sections/questions which allow the lecturer to prepare different tasks for either the different sections or even the video as a whole. Within this approach, students will feel more motivated to complete the tasks given.
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