Romanian leaders stress importance of national language

Romanian President Klaus Iohannis on Monday encouraged Romanian families worldwide to teach their children the national language, while Prime Minister Victor Ponta stressed the Romanian language is the cornerstone of the national identity.

"Today, August 31, we celebrate one of the most important elements that define our national identity. The Romanian language expresses our culture, values and the richness of our traditions, uniting us all those who speak it in a large spiritual community, regardless of where we live," the head of the state said in the message, on the occasion of the Romanian Language Day.

"I encourage Romanian families everywhere to teach their children Romanian and urge them not only to know, but also to love their mother tongue," said Iohannis.

Ponta said in his turn that the Day of Romanian Language is a spiritual celebration of all Romanians from Romania, the Republic of Moldova and everywhere else.

"It is a day when we celebrate our common heritage and value, when we can proudly say that the Romanian language is the cornerstone of our identity," Ponta wrote in his Facebook post on Monday.

Senate Chairman Calin Popescu Tariceanu wrote in his Facebook that "it is our duty to show the highest respect to our ancestral language by speaking it correctly and teaching our children to do the same."

"Together with the national flag and the national anthem, the language of the Romanian people represents a symbol of our nation and an identity element in a world undergoing globalisation," he stressed.

The Romanian Language Day was created under a Parliament's law in 2013. The Romanian language is a Romance language spoken by around 24 million people as a native language, primarily in Romania and Moldova.

Romanian speakers are also scattered across many other European countries, as well as Australia, Israel, the United States, Canada, Brazil, Mexico and Argentina.