Those who were willing to test their knowledge of the Romanian language could take part in the Great National Dictation that was staged on the occasion of the Romanian Language Day. In a congratulatory message, President Maia Sandu said that in 34 years since hundreds of thousands of people asked in the Great National Assembly Square to declare Romanian the official language and to switch over to the Latin script, the people now have the opportunity of celebrating the language in the nicest way possible, IPN reports.
The official noted that the Romanian language is one of the official languages of the European Union, where it has a respectable place and where no one risks being punished for speaking the mother tongue. In the European Union, all the languages and citizens are equal. “I trust the growing generations. You will transform Moldova into a European state with pride for our traditions, culture and language,” said President Sandu.
“The historic mission of our forerunners was to obtain the sovereignty and independence of the country, while the project of our generation for developing the Republic of Moldova is the European integration, the joining of the civilized states in which the Romanian language enjoys a respectable place alongside the other European languages,” said Minister of Education and Research Dan Perciun.
The text read to the participants in the test was the winner of an essay contest titled “Why should the Republic of Moldova be part of the European Union?”. Marilena Ciobanu, a first-year-student of “Nicolae Testemiţanu” State University of Medicine and Pharmacy, said that the text of the dictation was a patriotic one and was written heartily. “I’m an advocate of the Romanian language and of the entry into the European Union. Through my presence here, I wanted to show my support for Moldova’s path to Europeanization,” stated Marilena Ciobanu.
Contender Alexandrina Cărpineanu, a student of the Moldova State University, said that she took part in such an event for the first time and she had the same feelings as the author of the text when she was writing the dictation, while pensioner Tatiana Lupei noted that the text of the dictation was appropriate and not at all difficult, but she didn’t manage to write everything owing to the speed at which the text was read.
The winners of the Great National Dictation will be announced by September 10. They will be chosen by an expert commission constituted by the Ministry of Education and Research.
