EN VIII Romanian Language and Literature flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Theme

The central idea or general truth explored in a literary text, expressed as a noun phrase (e.g., love, identity, war). It is broader than the plot and is not a moral lesson.

Narrator

The voice that tells a story. A first-person narrator uses 'I' and is a character; a third-person narrator stands outside the action and may be omniscient, limited, or objective.

Climax

The turning point of highest tension in a plot, where the main conflict reaches its peak and the outcome begins to be decided. It follows the rising action and precedes the falling action.

Direct characterization

A technique in which the narrator or another character explicitly states a character's traits, as in 'She was generous and brave.' The reader does not need to infer the trait.

Indirect characterization

A technique in which a character's traits are revealed through actions, speech, thoughts, appearance, or others' reactions, so the reader must infer the trait from evidence.

Metaphor

A figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things without using 'like' or 'as', as in 'the moon is a silver coin.' It asserts an identity rather than a resemblance.

Simile

A figure of speech that compares two unlike things using 'like' or 'as', as in 'her voice was like velvet.' It makes the comparison explicit through a connective.

Personification

A figure of speech that gives human qualities or actions to non-human things, as in 'the wind whispered through the trees.' It is a type of metaphor common in poetry.

Tone vs. mood

Tone is the author's or narrator's attitude toward the subject (ironic, nostalgic); mood is the feeling the text evokes in the reader (eerie, uplifting). Tone is in the text; mood is in the reader.

Setting

The time and place in which a narrative's action occurs. It can serve as background, as a symbol, or as an active force that shapes characters and events.

Inverted pyramid

A news-report structure that places the most important information first (who, what, when, where, why, how) and the least important details last, so editors can cut from the bottom.

Main idea

The central claim or purpose of an informative text, usually stated in one sentence. It is supported by details such as facts, examples, statistics, and quotations.

Fact vs. opinion

A fact is a verifiable statement that can be checked; an opinion is a judgment, belief, or evaluation signaled by evaluative adjectives, modal verbs (should, must), or hedges.

Author's purpose

The reason an author writes a text: to inform (explain or describe), to persuade (argue or convince), to entertain (amuse), or to instruct (tell how to do something).

Bias

A one-sided presentation of information revealed by loaded language, omission of counterarguments, one-sided sources, or sweeping generalizations such as 'all' and 'never'.

Editorial

A newspaper article that expresses the opinion of the editorial board on a current issue. It argues a position and is distinct from a news report, which aims to be neutral.

Text structure patterns

Common organizational patterns in informative texts: chronological (time order), cause–effect, problem–solution, compare–contrast, description/list, and question–answer. Recognizing the pattern helps locate the main idea.

Lead paragraph

The opening paragraph of a news report that summarizes the most important facts (who, what, when, where, why, how). It often contains the main idea of the article.

Romanian noun genders

Romanian nouns are masculine (un om / doi oameni), feminine (o casă / două case), or neuter (un scaun / două scaune). Neuter nouns take masculine forms in the singular and feminine forms in the plural.

Enclitic definite article

In Romanian the definite article is attached to the end of the noun: băiat → băiatul, casă → casa, scaun → scaunul. The indefinite article (un, o) stands separately before the noun.

Conjunctiv mood

The Romanian verb mood expressing possibility, wish, intention, or purpose, usually introduced by 'să' (e.g., 'Vreau să merg'). It has its own present and perfect forms.

Perfect compus

The Romanian past tense formed with the auxiliary 'a avea' (am, ai, a, am, ați, au) plus the past participle. It expresses a completed past action, e.g., 'Am citit cartea.'

Imperfect tense

A Romanian past tense expressing an ongoing, habitual, or background action in the past, e.g., 'Citeam când a sunat telefonul.' It contrasts with the perfect compus, which presents completed actions.

Simple vs. compound sentence

A simple sentence (propoziție simplă) has one predicate; a compound sentence (propoziție compusă or frază) has two or more predicates and therefore two or more clauses.

Cohesion devices

Linguistic links that hold a text together: lexical repetition, synonyms and antonyms, pronouns and possessives (anaphora/cataphora), and connectors such as dar, însă, deci, prin urmare, totuși.

Word formation

The processes that create new Romanian words: derivare (prefix or suffix, e.g., ne- + fericit → nefericit), compunere (floarea-soarelui), and conversiune (change of grammatical class).

Thesis statement

A single sentence in an essay's introduction that states the claim and the main supporting lines. It must be arguable rather than a plain fact and is restated in the conclusion.

Paragraph formula

A body paragraph built as topic sentence → evidence (quotation, example, statistic) → explanation linking evidence to the claim → concluding or transition sentence. Each paragraph develops one idea.

Literary present tense

The convention of discussing plot events in the present tense in a literary essay, e.g., 'The narrator describes...' rather than 'described.' It keeps analysis immediate and consistent.

Argumentative essay structure

An essay that states a position, gives at least two arguments with evidence, acknowledges and refutes one counterargument, and concludes by reinforcing the position. It differs from a descriptive composition.

Comma before 'și'

In Romanian, no comma is placed before 'și' when it joins two homogeneous parts or two clauses. A comma appears before 'și' only when it introduces a new independent clause after an inserted phrase.

Hyphen vs. dash

The hyphen (cratima) marks elision, as in nu-l, s-a, într-o, and is written without spaces. The dash (linia de pauză) marks dialogue or a strong pause and is spaced.