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The Vlachs, this very interesting people are not Greek at all but a race of nomads, who come down from the Balkan lands in the winter with their flock and pass the cold months in Greece. They are shepherd by business, and their tribal name has become a sort of synonym for an ancient profession. Generally they are a people as kindly as they are picturesque, patriarchally hospitable and good sportsmen, as many an English Consul knows, and by no means ill favoured"
W.A. Wigram D.D. - Hellenic Travel, Faber and Faber Ltd., London 1947 (pp.109-11)
The Aromanians are known by different names, including Vlasi (Macedonian and Serbian), Vlahi (Greek), Ulahlar (Turkish), Vllehë or Çobani (Albanian), Vlachs (English), Wlachen or Walachen (German) and Valaques (French). All of these words come from the Greek Βλάχοι (vlahoi - shepherds). The Serbs call the Aromanians Tsintsari, and they are known as Macedo-Romãni by the Romanians.
They call themselves Armãnji or Rãmãnji , and their language Armãneashti or limbã Armãneascã or Rãmãneashti
Aromanians (or Macedo-Rumans; in Aromanian they call themselves Armãnji, Rãmãnji) are a people living throughout the southern Balkans, especially in northern Greece, Albania, the Republic of Macedonia and Bulgaria, and as an emigrant community in Romania (Dobrogea). They are the second most populous group of Vlachs, behind modern-day Romanians.
Short history of Aromanian language (Armãneashti, Armãneashce, Armãnească ,Rãmãneasht)
Aromanian is an Eastern Romance language spoken in Greece, Albania, Macedonia, Romania, Bulgaria, and in Western Europe, the USA, Canada and Australia. Aromanian it's the official language in Republic of Macedonia .
They speak the Aromanian language, a Romance language related to Romanian, sometimes classified as a dialect of it.Due to the common language foundations, dating from the times of Latin language, historians believe that the language link with Romanian was interrupted between the 7th and 9th century, after the most important features of the Proto-Romanian language were formed.
The earliest known examples of written Aromanian are manuscripts of the Patriarch Fotius dating from around 860-870 AD, and manuscripts written by St. Naum of Ohrid at about the same time. During the late 18th century many books in Aromanian were published, all written in the Greek alphabet. Unfortunately many of the early works in Aromanian were burnt during wars between 1750-1788.
The first person to publish material in Aromanian in the Latin alphabet was probably Dr. Ioryi Constantin Roja at the beginning of the 19th century. During the 1980s a new Aromanian spelling system began to emerge and has been adopted in most countries where Aromanian is spoken, with the exception of Greece and Romania, where the old spelling systems are still used. The new system, which eliminates all the accented letters, with the exception of ã, was proposed by four Aromanian writers and first published in 1985.
In Macedonia , Aromanian it is official language . There are Aromanian cultural societies and associations such as the Union for Aromanian Culture from Macedonia, The Aromanian League of Macedonia, The International League of Aromanians, Comuna Armãneascã ("Frats Manachia", The Aromanian Community Manachia Brothers in Bitola), Partia-a Armãnjlor di tu Machedonia (The Party of the Aromanians from Macedonia) and Unia Democraticã a Armãnjlor di tu Machedonia (The Democratic Union of the Aromanians from Macedonia).
