Several foreign diplomatic missions accredited in Bucharest marked Romanian Language Day on Monday with original posts on their social media pages, featuring a fragment from Ion Creanga's Childhood Memories, a dialogue with Artificial Intelligence showcasing Romanian words that cannot be translated, and references to the Latin roots of the Romanian language.

In a video posted on the U.S. Embassy in Bucharest's Facebook page, the mission's cultural attaché, Tabatha Fairclough, engages in a dialogue with the AI assistant installed on her phone, asking it to translate English expressions word for word into Romanian.

The application responds with short, one-word Romanian translations for which there is no direct equivalent in English.

'How do you say 'I have a profound, bittersweet ache of nostalgia for a place and time far away, filled with love and longing'?,' the U.S. official asks.

The AI application simply replies: 'dor.'

The AI translates 'a state of absolute peaceful alignment with the world, cosy warmth, unhurried tranquillity and a sole-level quiet' into Romanian as 'tihnă.'

'A feeling of pure, gentle affection and sweetness that makes a person immensely precious to your heart' is rendered by the AI as 'drag.'

When the cultural attaché, expresses her bewilderment at the AI's reply to her request to translate back into English the Romanian words so rich in layered meanings, the application responds in English: 'I regret, I might have to decline that. Some beauty only exists in the Romanian language.'

'Today, even AI is giving up elaborate translations to appreciate the expressiveness and beauty of the Romanian language. Happy Romanian Language Day!,' is the message conveyed by the U.S. diplomatic mission.

***

The Embassy of the United Kingdom paid tribute to the Romanian language with the story of the cherry-stealing episode from Ion Creanga's Childhood Memories, narrated by Ambassador Giles Portman against a backdrop of traditional folk music.

'On Romanian Language Day, we wanted to rediscover one of the best-known stories in Romanian literature. So we challenged Ambassador Giles Portman and Deputy Head of Mission Rebecca Shah to read an excerpt from the famous 'Cherry Stealing' episode of Ion Creanga's Childhood Memories. It wasn't exactly easy, but we had fun trying to bring to life, as faithfully as possible, Nica's story and the colourful expressions that have made generations of Romanians smile. We hope you enjoy listening to them as much as we enjoyed filming them. Happy Romanian Language Day to the language and to everyone who speaks it, learns it, loves it and cherishes it!,' the Embassy said on its Facebook page.

***
The French Embassy in Bucharest chose to highlight the similarities between French and Romanian, focusing in particular on the words 'lumina' (light), 'libertate' (liberty) and 'poem'.

'On Romanian Language Day, we celebrate a language that brings us closer together. Romanian and French share the same Latin heritage. Over the centuries, the two languages have evolved differently, but they have preserved their common roots. Lumina - lumière; libertate - liberté; poem - poème. Beyond their differences, these words remind us that languages can be bridges connecting cultures and people. On Romanian Language Day, the Embassy of France in Romania celebrates the beauty of the Romanian language and the profound bond between our two cultures. Happy Romanian Language Day!,' the diplomatic mission said on Facebook.

***

The Embassy of Spain in Bucharest noted, in its turn, that Romanian Language Day is celebrated both in Romania and the Republic of Moldova and is part of the identity of both countries, as well as of Europe's linguistic heritage.

The diplomatic mission also pointed out that Romanian is a Latin language and shares thousands of words with Spanish.

'Languages are more than words: they are memory, identity and culture. They are also bridges between peoples,' the Spanish Embassy said in a Facebook post. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Oana Ghita; EN - writing by: Simona Klodnischi)