Gheorghe Moroșanu†
In this article we discuss some controversial orthographic rules for the Romanian language regarding the letters ˆı and ˆa, both of which represent a single sound, similar to the one corresponding to the letter i in the English word pencil, but with a slightly di!erent pronunciation nuance. The rules, established by the orthographic reforms of the Romanian Academy in 1904 and 1993, refer to the positions of the twin letters ˆı and ˆa in Romanian words that imply the corresponding sound. We show that these rules are illogical and sometimes lead to writing di”culties for Romanian speakers. Therefore, we strongly propose the use of the letter ˆı everywhere, except for the words romˆan, Romˆania and their derivatives, which recall the Latin origin of the Romanian language. Let us note that in 1953 the same Academy had proposed the use of the letter ˆı everywhere, including in the words romˆın, Romˆınia and their derivatives, so our proposal is not completely new. But our logical analysis of the orthographic rules of 1904 and 1993 legitimizes our proposal, which guarantees clarity and simplicity. Please note that the full article that follows is written in Romanian, as it is of interest mainly to Romanian speakers.
Keywords: Romanian language; orthographic rules regarding the twin letters ˆı and ˆa; logical analysis and proposal
MSC: 03B65
DOI 10.56082/annalsarscimath.2025.2.125
† gheorghe.morosanu@ubbcluj.ro, Department of Mathematics, Babes, -Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania & Academy of Romanian Scientists, Bucharest
PUBLISHED in Annals Academy of Romanian Scientists Series on Mathematics and Its Application, Volume 17 no 2, 2025
