Premium
Preserving the linguistic treasure is an "imperative of our times," National Liberal Party (PNL) MP Ioan Balan, chairman of the Parliamentary Friendship Group with Ukraine, has voiced his hope that the Romanian language will be respected and defended in the ethnic communities of Ukraine just as the Ukrainian language is respected in Romania, told Agerpres.
In a speech to a plenary session of the Chamber of Deputies on the Day of the Ukrainian Language, Balan said that "the language of a people is its foundation and backbone."
"A day, a landmark, an important holiday in the life of the Ukrainian community is November 9, when Ukrainians all over the world celebrate the day of Ukrainian language and literature. In Romania, Law 213/2018 has enshrined this older desire of ethnic Ukrainians. The language of a nation, the language of a people is its foundation and backbone. The culture of a nation is the heart and spirit of the nation. The language is an imprint of its national identity, its resistance and its evolution in the storms of history. The language of a nation is the sanctuary and the hearth, at the same time. Built around it is the structure of resistance, the strength and the personality of the state. It is the fundamental guarantee of its evolution in modernity. (...) The Ukrainian language has evolved, strengthened and resisted," said Balan.
He added that in Romania, Ukrainians are the third largest ethnic group.
"We speak of this as an autochthonous one, with many of the settlements where they live compactly being documented for over seven centuries. But an important celebration in the life of the community is related to the celebration of their mother tongue. This is the sacred heritage of some people that has been handed down for centuries through written documents or orally. (...) It is an imperative of our times, of these times that we make permanent and consistent massive efforts to preserve and pass on the linguistic treasure of our languages to our descendants, continuing the fundamental axiom of the specific national identity in the great richness of the languages of other peoples. As an MP of Romania, I want the Romanian language to be respected and defended in the Romanian ethnic communities in Ukraine, just as the Ukrainian language is respected and defended by law in Romania," said Balan.
