Limba noastră

"Limba noastră" (Romanian pronunciation: [ˈlimba ˈno̯astrə] (listen); lit. 'Our language') has been the national anthem of Moldova since 1994, being officially adopted on 22 July 1995.[1]

For the Moldovan public holiday, see Limba noastră (public holiday). For the 2003 song by O-Zone, see "Nu mă las de limba noastră".
Limba noastră
English: 'Our Language'
Sheet music
National anthem of  Moldova
LyricsAlexei Mateevici, 1917
MusicAlexandru Cristea, ext. 1942
Adopted1995
Preceded by"Deșteaptă-te, române!"
"Imnul RSSM"
Audio sample
"Limba noastră" (instrumental)
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Emblem "Limba noastră"

For a short period of time in the early 1990s, the national anthem of Moldova was "Deșteaptă-te, române!", which was also (and remains today as) the national anthem of Romania.[2] The lyrics were written by Alexei Mateevici (1888–1917) a month before his death.[3] Mateevici contributed significantly to the national emancipation of Bessarabia. The music was composed by Alexandru Cristea.

History

Uniquely among national anthems, the focus of "Limba noastră" is language, in this case, the national one of Moldova, Romanian[4] (also referred to as "Moldovan" in Moldova).[lower-alpha 1] It calls for the people to revive the usage of their native language. The poem does not refer to the language by name; it is only called poetically "our language".

"Limba noastră", like "Deșteaptă-te, române!", makes reference to the awakening from the sleep of death: "a people suddenly awaken from the sleep of death" and "awaken, Romanian, from the sleep of death", respectively.

Lyrics
National anthems of Moldova
 "Deșteaptă-te, române!" 1917–1918
 "Anthem of the Moldavian SSR" 1945–1991
 "Deșteaptă-te, române!" 1991–1994
 "Limba noastră" 1994–present
Codru forests, referred to in the line "Limba noastră-i frunză verde, zbuciumul din codrii veșnici".
The Dniester river, referred to in the line "Nistrul lin, ce-n valuri pierde ai luceferilor sfeșnici."

"Limba noastră" is based on a twelve-verse poem. For the officially-defined national anthem used today, the verses were selected and reorganised into five stanzas of four verses each, specifically verses 1, 2, 5, 9, and 12 (which are highlighted in bold).

Original Romanian
Moldovan Cyrillic
English translation

Limba noastră-i o comoară
În adîncuri înfundată
Un șirag de piatră rară
Pe moșie revărsată.

Limba noastră-i foc ce arde
Într-un neam, ce fără veste
S-a trezit din somn de moarte
Ca viteazul din poveste.

Limba noastră-i numai cântec,
Doina dorurilor noastre,
Roi de fulgere, ce spintec
Nouri negri, zări albastre.

Limba noastră-i graiul pâinii,
Când de vânt se mișcă vara;
In rostirea ei bătrânii
Cu sudori sfințit-au țara.

Limba noastră-i frunză verde,
Zbuciumul din codrii veșnici,
Nistrul lin, ce-n valuri pierde
Ai luceferilor sfeșnici.

Nu veți plânge-atunci amarnic,
Că vi-i limba prea săracă,
Și-ți vedea, cât îi de darnic
Graiul țării noastre dragă.

Limba noastră-i vechi izvoade.
Povestiri din alte vremuri;
Și citindu-le 'nșirate,
Te-nfiori adânc și tremuri.

Limba noastră îi aleasă
Să ridice slava-n ceruri,
Să ne spiue-n hram și-acasă
Veșnicele adevăruri.

Limba noastră-i limbă sfântă,
Limba vechilor cazanii,
Care o plâng și care o cântă
Pe la vatra lor țăranii.

Înviați-vă dar graiul,
Ruginit de multă vreme,
Stergeți slinul, mucegaiul
Al uitării 'n care geme.

Strângeți piatra lucitoare
Ce din soare se aprinde
Și-ți avea în revărsare
Un potop nou de cuvinte.

Răsări-va o comoară
În adâncuri înfundată,
Un șirag de piatră rară
Pe moșie revărsată.[6][7]

Лимба ноастрэ-й о комоарэ
Ын адынкурь ынфундатэ,
Ун шираг де пятрэ рарэ
Пе мошие ревэрсатэ.

Лимба ноастрэ-й фок, че арде
Ынтр'ун ням, че фэрэ весте
С'а трезит дин сомн де моарте,
Ка витязул дин повесте.

Лимба ноастрэ-й нумай кынтек,
Дойна дорурилор ноастре,
Рой де фулӂере, че спинтек
Ноурь негри, зэрь албастре.

Лимба ноастрэ-й граюл пыний,
Кынд де вынт се мишкэ вара;
Ын ростиря ей бэтрыний
Ку судорь сфинцит-ау цара.

Лимба ноастрэ-й фрунзэ верде,
Збучумул дин кодрий вешничь,
Ниструл лин, че'н валурь перде
Ай лучеферилор сфешничь.

Лимба ноастрэ-с векь извоаде.
Повестирь дин алте времурь;
Ши читинду-ле 'нширате,
Те 'нфиорь адынк ши тремурь.

Лимба ноастрэ ый алясэ
Сэ ридиче славэ 'н черурь,
Сэ не спуе 'н храм ши-акасэ
Вешничеле адевэрурь.

Ынвияци-вэ дар граюл,
Руӂинит де мултэ време,
Штерӂець слинул, мучегаюл
Ал уйтэрий ‘н каре ӂеме.

Лимба ноастрэ-й лимбэ сфынтэ,
Лимба векилор казаний,
Каре-о плынг ши каре-о кынтэ
Пе ла ватра лор цэраний.

Стрынӂець пятра лучитоаре
Че дин соаре се апринде
Ши-ць авя ын ревэрсаре
Ун потоп ноу де кувинте.

Ну вець плынӂе-атунч амарник,
Кэ ви-й лимба пря сэракэ,
Ши-ць ведя, кыт ый де дарник
Граюл цэрий ноастре драгэ.

Рэсэри-ва о комоарэ
Ын адынкурь ынфундатэ,
Ун шираг де пятрэ рарэ
Пе мошие ревэрсатэ.[8][lower-alpha 2]

A treasure is our language that surges
From deep shadows of the past,
Chain of precious stones that scattered
All over our ancient land.

A burning flame is our language
Amidst a people waking
From a deathly sleep, no warning,
Like the brave man of the stories.

Our language is made of songs
From our soul's deepest desires,
Flash of lightning striking swiftly
Through dark clouds and blue horizons.

Our language is the tongue of bread
When the winds blow through the summer,
Uttered by our forefathers who
Blessed the country through their labour.

Our language is the greenest leaf
Of the everlasting codris,
Gentle river Dniester's ripples
Hiding starlight bright and shining.

Utter no more bitter cries now
That your language is too poor,
And you will see with what abundance
Flow the words of our precious country.

Our language is full of legends,
Stories from the days of old.
Reading one and then another
Makes one shudder, tremble and moan.

Our language is singled out
To lift praises up to heaven,
Uttering with constant fervour
Truths that never cease to beckon.

Our language is more than holy,
Words of homilies of old
Wept and sung perpetually
In the homesteads of our folks.

Resurrect now this our language,
Rusted through the years that have passed,
Wipe off filth and mould that gathered
When forgotten through our land.

Gather now the sparkling stone,
Catching bright light from the sun.
You will see the endless flooding
Of new words that overflow.

A treasure will spring up swiftly
From deep shadows of the past,
Chain of precious stones that scattered
All over our ancient land.[9]

Images
  • Moldovan stamp depicting a Romanian language class. The teacher is explaining the lesson. On the blackboard is written a quatrain from the "Limba noastră".
  • Moldovan stamp bearing the first verses of the anthem.
  • Mateevici, author of the poem. In the background are written quatrains from the "Limba noastră".
  • A "Limba noastră" social ad in Chișinău, with the word "Română" sprayed onto it.

See also

Notes
  1. The constitution of the Republic of Moldova refers to the country's language as Moldovan, whilst the 1991 Declaration of Independence names the official language Romanian. In December 2013, a decision of the Constitutional Court of Moldova ruled that the Declaration of Independence takes precedence over the Constitution and that the state language is therefore Romanian, not "Moldovan".[5]
  2. The Moldovan Cyrillic alphabet was officially used between 1924 and 1932 then in 1938 to 1989 during the Soviet Union (as the lyrics were written in 1917), and is still used officially in the region of Transnistria.

References
  1. "20 de ani fără "Deșteaptă-te, române!"". adevarul.ro. June 2014.
  2. "Moldova: Limba noastră". NationalAnthems.me. Retrieved 2012-02-25.
  3. "De Ziua Limbii Române, "Limba noastră" va răsuna din turnul Primăriei Cluj". ziuadecj.realitatea.net. 2017-08-30.
  4. "Poezia "Limba noastră", de Alexei Mateevici, a împlinit un secol". 10tv.md. June 2017.
  5. "Moldovan court rules official language is 'Romanian,' replacing Soviet-flavored 'Moldovan'"
  6. "Limba noastră". Poezie. 2010-02-21. Retrieved 2019-08-23.
  7. http://www.versuri-si-creatii.ro/poezii/m/alexei-mateevici-6zudscu/limba-noastra-6zutscu.html
  8. "Лимба матернэ — флоаре етернэ". Лимба молдовеняскэ (in Moldovan). 2015-04-24. Retrieved 2019-08-23.
  9. Minahan, James B. (2009-12-23). The Complete Guide to National Symbols and Emblems [2 volumes]. ISBN 9780313344978.
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