From Wikinfo
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The issue of Slavicisms in Romanian has been heavily politicized since the 19th century and many Romanians prefer to avoid discussing the topic altogether. The anti-Slavic purism was first encouraged by certain Western powers in the 19th century. Primarily Catholic Austria-Hungary was competing with the Orthodox Russian Empire for influence in the Balkans. Austrians and Hungarians wanted to prevent Romanians from siding with the Russian Empire in their struggle against the Turks and the Hungarians. Magyarisation was encouraged instead. Later the NATO countries were interested in weakening the Russian influence in Eastern Europe. Seeking financial support from the West since the 19th century, Romanian politicians and intellectuals have made consistent attempts to get rid of Slavic heritage in Romania. As a result, many, but not all, Slavic words in Romanian now have neological Latin-based pairs. They are not completely identical in meaning, however. For instance, the words iubire "love" and prieten "friend", both of Slavic origin, are more frquent as they express deeper and more sincere feelings that the more recent Latin-based terms amor and amic, which are perceived as conveying pretentious, pompous and/or fake feelings.
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