Romanian Language L1 - Sabin Carzol

ROMANIAN LANGUAGE
For me Romanian is the distance

between the heart and its shadow
which is called soul.
Fnu Neagu Romanian author
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Objectives
Time willing to spend on learning

Romanian: 2 to 4 hours per week
Preferences:
Techniques:
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INTRODUCTION
ROMNIA
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ROMNIA
Area of the country: 237,5 sq. Km (91,699 sq. miles)
Population: 20 million (2011)
National Holiday: 1 December Great Union Day
(1918)
Religion: Orthodox
Timeline: +2 GMT
Metric System
National currency = Romanian Leu (pl. Lei) = 4,52
= 4,15 dollars
National capital: Bucureti (Bucharest)
Other big cities: Iai, Constana, Cluj-Napoca, Braov
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ROMNIA
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ROMANIAN LANGUAGE
Indo-european, neo-Latin, easternmost
Romance languange;
Related with Italian, French, Spanish,
Portuguese, Catalan;
Result of the evolution of Latin spoken
in Dacia and Moesia, colonized by the
Roman Empire;
Romanian is the closest to Latin
regarding grammar
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ROMANIAN LANGUAGE
Substratum: Dacian
Superstratum: Slavic
Influences:
Slavic,
Hungarian,
Turkish
(migrations and Church)
Romanian is a phonetic language
pronounced as written
Other languages used in Romania: German
(Transylvania)
Hungarian
(Eastern
Transylvania) Turkish (Dobrogea), French,
English and Italian (studied in schools)
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L1. ROMANIAN ALPHABET

Latin alphabet
General rule one letter corresponds
to one sound
There are also exceptions. It may be
possible that several letter to
correspond to one sound or several
sounds to one letter
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Letter
Romanian Sound English Sound
Aa atlas (atlas) after

la (that) under
cine (dog) no equivalent
Bb bunic (gradma)
bag
Cc carte (book) class
Dd drag (dear) dear
Ee elefant (elephant) elephant
Ff form (form) form
Gg gras (fat) grey
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L.1 ROMANIAN ALPHABET

Letter Romanian Sound English Sound
Hh hain (coat) hey
Ii inel (ring) Nick
n (in) no equivalent
Jj joc (game) genre
Kk kilogram kilogram
Ll lac (lake) lake
Mm mam (mother)
mum
Nn nepot (nephew)
nephew
Oo or (hour) sport
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Pp pace (peace) peace
Rrrapid (fast)rapid (rolled r)
Qq Quintillian quick
Ss sare (salt) salt
arpe (snake) shame
Tt tat (father) tough
ar (country) cats
Uu u (door) moon
Vv verde (green) vase
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Xx xilofon (xylophone) mix
Ww wattwatt
Yy yoga
yoga
Zz zebr (zebra)zebra
In foreign words, especially proper nouns, letters
like Q, W, Y, , , are used. As a rule, foreign
words are pronounced in Romanian as close as
possible to the foreign language they come from.
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- Fun facts about Romania Romanias famous Pele Castle,

located in Sinaia mountain resort, was
the first completely electrified castle in
Europe. The electricity was produced
by the castles own plant
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Vowels
1) A a
Similar to the Standard English vowel
in bud or come.
Ana arc
acum
Anne
bow now
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Vowels
2)
Similar to the English vowel sound in
nurse or under.
sta
can
mrime
this (coll.)
mug size
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Vowels
3) and
Cannot be equated with any English vowel
sound. Both letters represent the same
sound. In writing, is used if the sound
appears anywhere inside the word, whilst
is used if the word starts and ends with
the sound. In the case of compound words
where the second word originally started
with , this letter will be preserved:
Bineneles (of course).
A sound relatively close to this in English
is eugh! (used to express disgust).
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Vowels
4) E e
Similar to the vowel in egg or pen.
eclips
etern elegant
eclipse
eternal elegant
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Vowels
4) E e
Note: The only exceptions are personal
pronouns (eu, el, ea, ei, ele) and the forms of
the verb a f (to be) in the present and
imperfect tenses that start with this letter
(eti, este) and (eram, erai, era, eram, erai,
erau), in which the e is pronounced as a soft
e similar to the English yellow.
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Vowels
5) I i
Can be pronounced in two distinctive ways.
Either as a similar sound to the English
vowels in keen or seen, but shorter in length
lin spin in
slowly thorn linen
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Vowels
5) I i
Or it can be pronounced as a very soft, almost silent sound if it
appears at the end of words after the following consonants:
P capi (leaders) B arabi (arabs)
F pantof (shoes) V sclavi (slaves)
- coli (fangs) Z englezi (English people)
J coji (peels) M dormi (you sleep)
N americani (Americans) L soli (messengers)
R croitori (tailors)
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Vowels
5) I i
However, if i appears after a pair of consonants
where the latter is l or r, it is pronounced as a full i.
Cr + i
Tr + i
Pl + i
Rl + i
- sacri (sacred, pl.) dr + i codri (woods)

- metri (metres) fl + i afli (you find out)
- umpli (you fill up) bl + i- umbli (you walk)
- urli (you scream)
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Vowels
6) O o
This is a very round vowel, similar to
the English mock or soft.
om
man
pom
fruit tree
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somn
sleep

Consonants
1) P p
Similar to the English consonant.
parc
park
capac cap
lid
head
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Consonants
2) B b
bou
ox
ban
coin
arab
Arab
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Consonants
3) T t
Similar to the English consonant, but
more muted.
tare
hard
etaj
floor
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atent
careful

Consonants
4) D d
more muted.
dar
adevr
gift; but
truth
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mod
mode

Consonants
5) C c
Similar to the English hard consonants c
or k (as in words copper or king) when
followed by a consonant or vowels a, o, u,
and .
camer ecou act
room echo document
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Consonants
5) C c
However, when followed by the vowels e and i, it is
pronounced as in chess and cheese. A hard c
followed by the vowels e and i is marked in writing by
che and chi and pronounces as in cat and kiss.
C + e cerere (application) as in chess
C + i cin (dinner) as in cheese
Ch + e chelner (waiter) as in cat
Ch + i chibrit (match) as in kiss
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Consonants
6) G g
Similar to the English hard consonants
g (as in grey) when followed by a
consonant or the vowels a, o, u, , , .
gata
gnd
grdin
ready
thought garden
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Consonants
6) G g
However, when followed by the vowes e and i, it is
pronounced as in generous and gym. A hard g
followed by the vowels e and i is marked in writing by
ghe and ghi and pronounced as in get and gear.
G + e generos as in generous
G + i ginere (son-in-law) as in gym
Gh + e ghete (boots) as in get
Gh + i ghinion (bad luck) as in gear
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Consonants
7)
Pronounced like ts in cats, mats.
ap
ma a
billy-goat
gut
thread
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Consonants
8) F f
fat
girl
afar
jaf
outside robbery
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Consonants
9) V v
var
summer
vecin
vis
neighbour
dream
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Consonants
10) S s
soare
sun
vas
boat
cas
house
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Consonants
11) Z z
zi
day
ziar
orez
newspaper rice
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Consonants
11)
Similar to the English sound in shell,
shame.
ase
ah
six
chess
ca
fresh cheese
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Consonants
12) J j
Similar to the English sound
pleasure or genre.
joc
ajutor
curaj
game
help
courage
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in

Consonants
12) H h
Similar to the English sound in heap or
heal.
hain hart pahar
coat map glass
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Consonants
13) M m
mam main om
mother car
man
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Consonants
14) N n
nume nervos nimic
name angry nothing
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Consonants
15) L l
lac
lume
lemn
lake world; people wood
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Consonants
16) R r
always rolled.
rus
ramur
urs
Russian branch
bear
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Pronounce these words:
Mr (apple), btrn (old), bine (good), bluz
(blouse), cma (shirt), cine (who), circ (circus),
chenar (border), rachet (rocket), achiziie
(acquisition), afacere (business), ghid (guide),
ghear (glacier), magician (magician), ngheat (ice
cream), ghind (acorn), albatri (blue, pl.), pui
(chicken), nger (angel), a cobor (to descend), bagaj
(luggage), mnu (glove), cuit (knife), arpe
(snake), mari (Tuesday), pix (ball pen), zn (fairy)
Sabin Carzol
- Fun facts about Romania The Vorone Monastery, located in

northeastern Romania, is also known
as the Sistine Chapel of the East. Its
frescoes feature an intense shade of
blue also known as the Vorone blue.
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Potential difficulties related to pronunciation and reading
Pronounciation:
1) Vowels and do not have a real equivalent in
English.
The vowel is similar to the final vowel in father or
mother but slightly different mr (apple), cas
(house), ru (bad). The sound and letter seldom
occur in a word-initial position. The most common
examples are the colloquial forms some of
demonstrative pronouns sta (this), tia (these), la
(that), ia (those).
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Potential difficulties related to
pronunciation and reading
The vowel or does not have an
equivalent in English. It is sometimes
exaplained as a blend between i and
u. It is a close central vowel, more
close and higher than : nc (yet),
nger (angel)
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3) Consonants r, t and d:
The consonant r is rolled and includes
a slight vibration of the tip of the
tongue. It is pronounced in all positions
ram (frame), aram (copper),
amrciune (bitterness)
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The consonants t and d are dental
consonants (their equivalents in
English are alveolar): tabu (taboo),
atent
(attentive),
atractive
(attractive), pat (bed).
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Potential difficulties related to pronunciation
and reading
Reading
1) Unique letters: Romanian has several
characters that do not exist in the English
alphabet
The letter represents a sound close to the
initial vowel in about or the final vowel in mother:
mtur (broom), ptur (blanket).
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and reading
The letters and do not have equivalent
in English. The letter never occurs at the
beginning of the word, at the beginning of
a part of a compound word or in a wordfinal position. In these positions is used:
nger
(angel),
ncnttor
(charming),
multncercat (experienced).
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and reading
The letter represents a sound similar to
English in sharp, cash: apte (seven), tire
(news), coal (school).
The letter represents the sound similar to
the English ts in its: ar (country), arar
(maple tree), stru (ostrich).
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and reading
2) The letter i in final position after
consonants stands for a very short sound. It is
a distinctive sound that marks the opposition
between the singular and plural of certain
nouns and adjectives:
Pom (tree) pomi (trees)
coal (school) - coli (schools)
So (husband) soi (husbands)
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This also applies for the 1st and 2nd
person of indicative or subjunctive
present of verbs.
ntreb (I ask) ntrebi (you ask)
Lucrez (I work) Lucrezi (you work)
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It is also possible to be present in the
verbal auxilliaries ai, vei, oi, at the
end of some pronominal forms (mi, i,
i) and at the end of some other
words.
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Potential difficulties related to pronunciation and reading
There are nouns in Romanian that have two letters i in the
word-final position. Even three letters can appear. The two-i
combination can happen when the plural ending i comes
after a stem ending in i (when it replaces another vowel, as
in fotoliu (armchair) fotolii (armchairs) or when the ending
i is joined by the definitive article i.
Ministru (minister) minitri (ministers) minitrii (the
ministers)
Membru (member) membri (members) membrii (the
members)
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The group of three i can be found in the
plural of a few nouns and adjectives
when they are used with the definitive
article i:
Copil (child) copii (children) copiii (the
children)
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Potential difficulties related to pronunciation and
reading
3) The letter e in words that come from Latin
(some personal pronouns and some forms of the
verb a f to be) stands for the the diphtong ie:
eu (I), ea (she), el (he), ei (they), eti (you are),
este (he/she is), e (he/she is).
In neologism, initial e is pronounced e: electricitate
(electricity), emoie (emotion)
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and reading
4) The ce, ci, ge, gi, che, chi, ghe, ghi groups
The groups of letter ce and ci represent the
sound like in chart, much and the groups ge
and gi stand for the sound like in germ, edge.
Ce (what); acesta (this), pace (peace), agent
(agent), gin (gin), agitat (restless)
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The group of letters che and chi represent
the sound like in chemistry and keen. The
groups ghe and ghi represent the sound
like in together, geek.
Chenar border, ochi (eye), ghete (boots),
prghie (lever)
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and reading
5) Diphthongs and triphthongs
The groups of two or three vowels forming
diphthongs and triphtongs are numerous in
Romanian. There are falling diphthongs (in
which the stress is on the first vowel) and
rising diphthongs (the stress is on the second
vowel).
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reading
Falling diphthongs (vowel + semivowel)
Au erau (they were)
i ri (bad, pl.)
u ru (bad) i mine (tomorrow)
Eu leu (lion) ei lei (lions)
Iu auriu (golden) oi gunoi (trash)
Ou macrou (mackerel) ui spui (you say)
Ai tramvai (tram)
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Rising diphthongs (semivowel + vowel)
Ea cafea (coffee) ua ziua (day)
Ia iarn (winter) u ziu (day)
Ie iepure (rabbit)
Io Iod (iodine)
Iu iute (quick)
Oa - coal (school)
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reading
Triphthongs (semivowel + vowel + semivowel)
Eai vedeai (you were seeing)
Eau vedeau (they were seeing)
Iai tiai (you were cutting)
Iau tiau (they were cutting)
Iei miei (lambs)
Oai franuzoaic (French woman)
Ioa creioane (pencils)
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reading
6) Stress and intonation
In Romanian the stress can fall on any syllable of the
word. This has been affected by contact with the
influence of other languages on Romanian. The stress
can express the difference between words with the
same spelling from a grammatical or a semantic point
of view:
Vesel (happy) Vesel (dishes)
Intr (he enters) Intr (he entered)
Sabin Carzol
- Fun facts about Romania The archetypal vampire Count Dracula, created by
Bram Stoker, was inspired by the Romanian prince
Vlad Tepes, also known as Vlad the Impaler because
he was fond of impaling his enemies and standing
them along the roads. Otherwise he is a national
hero.
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L.2 Cardinal numbers

Numbers can be simple or compound. The
simple numerals are numbers from 0 to 10
as well as the multiples of 100:
1 unu 6 - ase 100 o sut
2 doi7 - apte1.000 o mie
3 trei 8 opt 1.000.000.000 un milion
4 patru9 nou 1.000.000.000.000 un
miliard
5 cinci 10 - zece
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The compound numerals are all other numbers:
Examples:
11 unsprezece
12 doisprezece
13 treisprezece
14 paisprezece
15 cincisprezece
16 - aisprezece
17 - aptesprezece
18 optsprezece
19 nousprezece
20 douzeci
21 douzeci i unu
22 douazeci i doi
23 douazeci i trei
30 treizeci
40 patruzeci
50 cincizeci
101 o sut unu
111 o sut unsprezece
200 dou sute
300 trei sute
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The compound numerals are all other numbers:
Examples:
1001 o mie unu
1111 o mie o suta unsprezece
2000 dou mii
4890 patru mii opt sute nouzeci
10000 zece mii
52367 cincizeci i dou de mii trei sute aizeci i
apte
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Numbers are used different in spoken language than in written language:
NumberWritten Spoken
11 unsprezece unpe
12 doisprezece doipe
13 treisprezece treipe
14 paisprezece paipe
15 cincisprezece cinpe
16 aisprezece aipe
17 aptesprezece aptipe
18 Optsprezece optipe
19 Nousprezece noupe
21 Douzeci i unu
douiunu
22 Douzeci i doi doudoi
33 Treizeci i trei treitrei
54 Cincizeci i patru
cinzepatru
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The numerals unu (1) and doi (2) have feminine
and masculine/neuter form, according to the nouns
with which they are used.
Unu is un for masculine and neuter objects in the
singular and o for the feminine objects in the
singular.
Un copil
o fat
un creion
(a child, m.sing.) (a girl, f. Sing.) (a pencil, n. Sing.)
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Doi will have the forms dou for feminine
and neuter plural nouns and doi for
masculine plural nouns including for the
numeral 12 (doisprezece/dousprezece):
Dou creioane (two pencils, n.pl.)
Doi copii (two children, m.pl.)
Doisprezece baiei (twelve boys, m.pl.)
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Dou fete (two girls, f. Pl.)
Dousprezece creioane (twelve pencils, n.pl.)
Dousprezece fete (twelve girls, f.pl.)
Exercise:
Say all the numbers that can be formed with
the following digits:
3 and 6 1 and 9 5 and 0
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Tips on how to learn

Romanian
Get an English Romanian dictionary
Learn a number of Romanian words per week
Keep a notebook and practice the language on
the go
Record yourself correctly saying important
Romanian words or phrases and play them back
while relaxing
Use sticky notes to label objects in your home
with the Romanian translation
Resist speaking in English with Romanian friends
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Tips on how to learn

Romanian
Create a routine when studying
Set a long-term goal and a short-term
goal
Read about the Romanian people,
culture and history
Practice mentally
Read Romanian newspapers, watch
Romanian TV
Be patient...
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Thank you!!
Resources:
Romanian vocabulary - https://
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwuzvanVG40
Useful Romanian words - https://
www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgjMsEaXCkg
Romanian numbers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-5Lv6JgXXc
Romanian words with pronounciation
http://
www.goethe-verlag.com/book2/EN/ENRO/ENRO002.
HTM
Sabin Carzol

Romanian Language L1 - Sabin Carzol

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ROMANIAN LANGUAGE

For me Romanian is the distance

Time willing to spend on learning

L1. ROMANIAN ALPHABET

L1. ROMANIAN ALPHABET

Romanian Sound English Sound

Aa atlas (atlas) after

L.1 ROMANIAN ALPHABET

L1. ROMANIAN ALPHABET

L.1 ROMANIAN ALPHABET

- Fun facts about Romania Romanias famous Pele Castle,

L.1 ROMANIAN ALPHABET

L.1 ROMANIAN ALPHABET

L.1 ROMANIAN ALPHABET

L.1 ROMANIAN ALPHABET

L.1 ROMANIAN ALPHABET

L.1 ROMANIAN ALPHABET

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- sacri (sacred, pl.) dr + i codri (woods)

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- Fun facts about Romania The Vorone Monastery, located in

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L.2 Cardinal numbers