Atâta timp cât repetiția continuă, actorul memorează replica.

It is a set expression meaning as long as, so long as, or for as long as.

Word-for-word, it is not something you usually translate literally. Romanian speakers understand atâta timp cât as one conjunction that introduces a time clause, often with a slight conditional flavor too.

Yes, it is basically a fixed expression.

Some nearby alternatives are:

• cât timp = how long or sometimes as long as, depending on context
• în timp ce = while

The difference is that în timp ce usually just shows two actions happening at the same time, while atâta timp cât often emphasizes duration: for the whole time that... It can also sound a bit closer to as long as this remains true.

Because repetiția is the definite singular form of repetiție.

• repetiție = a rehearsal / a repetition
• repetiția = the rehearsal / the repetition

Romanian usually puts the definite article at the end of the noun instead of using a separate word like English the.

Because Romanian attaches the definite article to the noun.

For example:

• actor = actor

• actorul = the actor

• replică = a line / a reply
• replica = the line / the reply

So Romanian does not need a separate word like English the in these cases.

No. Here replica does not mean an English replica in the sense of copy.

In Romanian, replică can mean:

• reply
• retort
• in theater, line or spoken part

In this sentence, because of actorul and repetiția, it clearly means the actor’s line.

Both are present tense, third-person singular.

• repetiția continuă = the rehearsal continues / is continuing
• actorul memorează = the actor memorizes / is memorizing

Like Romanian in general, the present tense can often match either the English simple present or present continuous, depending on context.

Because Romanian often leaves out subject pronouns when they are not needed.

The verb form already tells you it is third person singular, so actorul is enough as the subject. Adding el would usually give extra emphasis or contrast.

So Romanian commonly says:

• Actorul memorează replica

  rather than

• El memorează replica

unless there is a special reason to stress he.

Here it is a verb: the present tense form of a continua = to continue.

So:

• repetiția continuă = the rehearsal continues

This can be confusing because continuă can also be an adjective form meaning continuous or ongoing in the feminine singular.

A useful comparison:

• repetiția continuă = the rehearsal continues
• repetiția este continuă = the rehearsal is continuous

In your sentence, there is no este, so continuă is understood as the verb.

Because the sentence begins with a subordinate clause:

• Atâta timp cât repetiția continuă = subordinate clause
• actorul memorează replica = main clause

In Romanian, when this kind of clause comes first, a comma is normally used before the main clause.

If you reverse the order, the comma is often omitted:

• Actorul memorează replica atâta timp cât repetiția continuă.

Yes. Romanian word order is more flexible than English.

You can say:

• Atâta timp cât repetiția continuă, actorul memorează replica.
• Actorul memorează replica atâta timp cât repetiția continuă.

Both are grammatical. The version with the subordinate clause first puts more attention on the time frame or condition. The version with the main clause first feels a bit more direct.

Mostly from sentence structure and meaning.

In this sentence:

• actorul comes before the verb memorează, so it is naturally understood as the subject
• replica comes after the verb, so it is understood as the direct object

Also, semantically it makes sense: an actor memorizes a line, not the other way around.

Romanian can have flexible word order, but in a neutral sentence like this one, the pattern is still very similar to English: subject + verb + object.

The main ones are:

• ă = /ə/, like the a in about
• â = /ɨ/, a sound that does not really exist in standard English
• ț = /ts/, like the end of cats

So for example:

• cât has the special â sound
• repetiția contains ț, pronounced ts
• continuă ends with ă, the uh-like sound

A rough guide to a few words:

• repetiția ≈ re-pe-TSI-a
• continuă ≈ kon-ti-NU-uh
• replica ≈ RE-pli-ka