language(s) barrier

Moldova is a country which has been taken over by every invader to pass through. The constitution was ratified in 1991, liberating it from the Soviet Republic. Prior to World War II, Moldova was part of Romania. The National Language is Moldo-Romanian which is a dialect of Romanian. Under the Soviet rule, Moldovan was written with the cyrillic alphabet. Older signs still display Romanian written in Russian characters. Tricky.

Signs, menus and advertisements are in both languages. As a former Exec. Director of a not for profit specializing in community festivals and tourism development, it is hard to imagine all of our advertising having been in two languages, Not only would the ad design be cluttered and commercial length be extended/ more costly but it would be very inefficient to do everything twice.

Very few people we have encountered speak English. People appreciate attempts at their language if you have chosen the correct one. It is hard to imagine not knowing both if you are from here, however, there is a major language divide most people claim to speak only one of the two.

We have met many people (including two doctors and most cab drivers) who refuse to speak Romanian. We were told by a Moldovan cardiovascular surgeon and her husband that Romanian is the farmers’ language and Russian is a noble language. We are looking for a straight answer from the other side of the court.  As a foreigner, this is very difficult to navigate. Not only do I feel inadequate in either language and frequently confuse the two, but the implication of choosing the wrong language is offensive and has been cause for the cold shoulder.

My new policy is to say thank you in both languages and then shrug.

Спасибо (‘spa-see-ba’ in Russian)  Mulţumesc  (‘Moul-tsu-mesk’ in Romanian)

At this tactic people nod and sometimes smile because they know I am a foreigner on a slippery language slope.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moldova

Vă mulţumim pentru interesul dumneavoastră în Republica Moldova

Благодарю вас за вашу заинтересованность в Молдове

Thank you for your interest in Moldova.

anti-communism graffiti in underground street-crossing tunnel

This statue commemorates when the facsists were driven out of Moldova.

Xander is in the baby carrier (which makes us a walking conversation piece) and Chloe and I are hand-in-hand.