"Limba noastră" ("Our Language"; Romanian pronunciation:[ˈlimbaˈno̯astrə]ⓘ) is the national anthem of Moldova. It has been used since 1994 and was officially adopted on 22 July 1995.[1]
For a short period of time in the early 1990s, the national anthem of Moldova was "Deșteaptă-te, române!", which was and remains the national anthem of Romania. The lyrics were written by Alexei Mateevici (1888–1917) a month before his death.[2] Mateevici contributed significantly to the national emancipation of Bessarabia. The music was composed by Alexandru Cristea.
Lyrics
The focus of "Limba noastră" is language; in this case, the national language of Moldova, which is referred to as either Romanian[3] or Moldovan.[a] 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 poetically called "our language".
Codru forests, referred to in the line "Our language is the greenest leaf of the everlasting codrii".
The Dniester river, referred to in the line "Gentle river Dniester’s ripples hiding starlight bright and shining."
"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 verses of four lines each; namely, the first, second, fifth, eighth and twelfth verses, respectively,[5] which are highlighted in bold.
Romanian original[6][7]
Moldovan Cyrillic[8] (official in Transnistria)
IPA transcription[b]
English translation[9][c]
I Limba noastră-i o comoară în adîncuri înfundată Un șirag de piatră rară pe moșie revărsată.
II Limba noastră-i foc ce arde într-un neam, ce fără veste S-a trezit din somn de moarte ca viteazul din poveste.
III Limba noastră-i numai cîntec doina dorurilor noastre Roi de fulgere, ce spintec nouri negri, zări albastre.
IV Limba noastră-i graiul pîinii cînd de vînt se mișcă vara În rostirea ei bătrînii cu sudori sfințit-au țara.
V Limba noastră-i frunză verde zbuciumul din codrii veșnici Nistrul lin, ce-n valuri pierde ai luceferilor sfeșnici.
VI Limba noastră-i vechi izvoade povestiri din alte vremuri Și citindu-le ’nșirate te-nfiori adînc și tremuri.
VII Limba noastră îi aleasă să ridice slava-n ceruri Să ne spuie-n hram și-acasă veșnicele adevăruri.
VIII Limba noastră-i limbă sfîntă limba vechilor cazanii Care-o plîng și care-o cîntă pe la vatra lor țăranii.
IX Înviați-vă dar graiul ruginit de multă vreme Ștergeți slinul, mucegaiul al uitării ’n care geme.
X Strîngeți piatra lucitoare ce din soare se aprinde Și-ți avea în revărsare un potop nou de cuvinte.
XI Nu veți plînge-atunci amarnic că vi-i limba prea săracă Și-ți vedea, cît îi de darnic graiul țării noastre dragă.
XII Răsări-va o comoară în adîncuri înfundată Un șirag de piatră rară pe moșie revărsată.
I Лимба ноастрэ-й о комоарэ ын адынкурь ынфундатэ Ун шираг де пятрэ рарэ пе мошие ревэрсатэ.
II Лимба ноастрэ-й фок че арде ынтр-ун ням, че фэрэ весте С-а трезит дин сомн де моарте ка витязул дин повесте.
III Лимба ноастрэ-й нумай кынтек дойна дорурилор ноастре Рой де фулӂере, че спинтек ноурь негри, зэрь албастре.
IV Лимба ноастрэ-й граюл пыйний кынд де вынт се мишкэ вара Ын ростиря ей бэтрыний ку судорь сфинцит-ау цара.
V Лимба ноастрэ-й фрунзэ верде збучумул дин кодрий вешничь Ниструл лин, че-н валурь пиерде ай лучеферилор сфешничь.
VI Лимба ноастрэ-й векь извоаде повестирь дин алте времурь Ши читинду-ле ’нширате те-нфиорь адынк ши тремурь.
VII Лимба ноастрэ ый алясэ сэ ридиче слава-н черурь Сэ не спиуе-н храм ши-акасэ вешничеле адевэрурь.
12 [rə.sə.ˈri.va o ko.ˈmo̯a.rə] [ɨn a.ˈdɨŋ.kurʲ ɨn.fun.ˈda.tə] [un ʃi.ˈrag de ˈpja.trə ˈra.rə] [pe mo.ˈʃi.e re.vər.ˈsa.tə]
I Our language is a treasure that surges from deep shadows of the past A necklace of rare gems that scattered all over the domain.
II Our language is a burning flame amidst a people that without warning Awoke from the sleep of death like the brave hero of the tales.
III Our language is made of songs from our soul’s deepest desires Flash of lightning striking swiftly through dark clouds and blue horizons.
IV 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.
V Our language is the greenest leaf of the everlasting codrii Gentle river Dniester’s ripples hiding starlight bright and shining.
VI Our language is full of legends stories from the days of old Reading one and then another makes one shudder, tremble and moan.
VII Our language is singled out to lift praises up to heaven Uttering with constant fervour truths that never cease to beckon.
VIII Our language is more than holy words of homilies of old Wept and sung perpetually in the homesteads of our folks.
IX Resurrect now this our language rusted through the years that have passed Wipe off filth and mould that gathered when forgotten through our land.
X Gather now the sparkling stone catching bright light from the sun You will see the endless flooding of new words that overflow.
XI 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.
XII A treasure will spring up swiftly from deep shadows of the past A necklace of rare gems that scattered all over the domain.
Images
Moldovan stamp depicting a Romanian language class. The teacher is explaining the lesson. On the blackboard is written a quatrain from "Limba noastră".
Moldovan stamp bearing the first verses of the anthem.
Mateevici, author of the poem. In the background are written quatrains from "Limba noastră".
A "Limba noastră" social ad in Chișinău (with the word ROMÂNĂ) sprayed onto it.
^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.[4]
^"20 de ani fără "Deșteaptă-te, române!"". Adevărul. June 2014.
^"De Ziua Limbii Române, "Limba noastră" va răsuna din turnul Primăriei Cluj". Ziua de Cluj. 30 August 2017. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
^"Poezia "Limba noastră", de Alexei Mateevici, a împlinit un secol". 10tv.md. June 2017.
^"Moldovan court rules official language is 'Romanian,' replacing Soviet-flavored 'Moldovan'"
^"The State Anthem of the Republic of Moldova". Presidency of the Republic of Moldova. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
^"Limba noastră". Poezie. 21 February 2010. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
^"Limba noastră". Versuri si Creatii. Archived from the original on 5 September 2019. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
^"Лимба матернэ — флоаре етернэ". Лимба молдовеняскэ (in Romanian). 24 April 2015. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
^Minahan, James B. (23 December 2009). The Complete Guide to National Symbols and Emblems [2 volumes]. ABC-CLIO. pp. 468–469. ISBN 978-0-313-34497-8.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Limba noastră.
Romanian Wikisource has original text related to this article:
Limba noastră
Wikisource, "Limba noastră", full text of Mateevici's poem (in Romanian)
State Symbols of the Republic of Moldova – The official page of the Republic of Moldova features a page about the flag and anthem, which include vocal and instrumental versions
President's House – The official website of the President of Moldova has a page with information about the anthem. The Romanian version of the page also contains the music score of the anthem.
Moldova: Limba noastră – Audio of the national anthem of Moldova, with information and lyrics (archive link)
"Romanian Nationalism in the Republic of Moldova" by Andrei Panici, American University in Bulgaria, 2002