[Alb-Educ] poetry in albania

[Mithat Gashi]

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Poems by Albanian schoolchildren 
from the village Zajaz
 
 About the poems by Albanian schoolchildren
By Lumnije Jusufi

Poetry and the writing of literary texts are very important to Albanians.
Even before they can read and write, schoolchildren receive from their
primary-school teachers poems, often by well-known authors, which they are
expected to learn by heart. The teachers, as well as the children's
parents and brothers and sisters, then practise the poems with them.
Consequently, even quite young children are able to recite poems by heart.
As early as the 4th class at primary school, that is to say, when they
about ten years old, the schoolchildren start writing poems and texts of
their own. Looking at a text objectively, analysing and interpreting it -
the approach mainly adopted in Germany - is totally alien to Albanian
children. Their main task at school is to write their own texts. This is
required in almost all school tests. Consequently, they are closely
associated with the writing of poems and other types of text. In contrast
to the situation in many western European countries, poems written by
primary-school pupils and other young people are the norm in Albania.

These four poems were written by pupils at a secondary school in the
village of Zajaz:

 
 
I am small
I am small
And in my seventh year
Can read well
In the Abetare *

With boundless joy
Reading story upon story
And poem upon poem
About the place I call home

I go to school,
Learn with all my might
And yet further increase
My parents' delight 

By Lindita Dervishi



Jam e vogël
Jam e vogël
Shtatë vjeçare
Lexoj mirë
Në abetare

Lexoj vjersha
E tregime
Me dëshirë
Për vendlindjen time.

Shkoj në shkollë
Dhe mirë mësoj
Prindërit e mi
Shumë i gëzoj.

Lindita Dervishi 



Note: Abetare
The "Abetare" is the book from which the Albanian schoolchildren in the
first class at primary school learn to read and write. Its status is very
different, though, from the German primer (elementary textbook). The
Abetare is often felt to be synonymous with the Albanian language, poets
frequently even using it as a metaphor for Albanian culture and education
as a whole. 





I love my native country
I love my native country
And respect it profoundly,
With a love so great
To it my songs I dedicate.

Known as Drogomisht i vogël
by the Albanian people,
Over there and clearly visible,
Stands my village on the hill.*


By Sheza 



 E dua vendlindjen
E dua vendlindjen
Shumë e respektoj
Me dashuri të madhe
Këngë i këndoj

Jetoj në një fshat
Atje në një kodër
Ai e ka emrin
Dragomisht i vogël

Sheza Limani 
 



Note: Drogomisht i vogël is a small village near Zajaz. Zajaz is about 12
km north of Kiçevo. Look at the map! 





Our language*
Oh, how wonderful it sounds,
Calm comes over me when it surrounds.
From my mother Albanian I first heard
From her the language I have learned.

Reading and writing the alphabet,
Is a skill I shall never forget,
Proudly I learn its every secret.

A friendly pupil,
I have a wish to fulfil:
To acquire a still greater command
Of the expressions used in my land


By Shkumbin Rrushaj




Gjuha jonë
Oh sa bukur tingëllon
Çdo herë gjuha më qetëson
Nga nëna shqipen e dëgjova
Dhe prej saj e mësova

Shkronjat i mësova
Ti shkruaj e lexoj
Krenari e madhe
Që prej tyre mësoj

Jam nxënës i ndershëm
E kam shumë dëshirë
Shprehjet e gjuhës sime
Ti shqiptoj më mirë 

Shkumbin Rrushaj 





Notes: language
For many Germans it is difficult to understand the feeling of wishing to
love and praise the native language and country. After all, you do not
miss what you have already got. By this I mean that, up until recently (in
part, this still applies), education in Albania, Albanian culture,
Albanian history and traditions were banned. As a result of a thousand
years of suppression, the Albanians identify particularly closely with
their culture, language, and history. This explains why Albanians consider
dedicating a poem or a song to their native language or country almost a
virtue. This is true in particular of the Albanians who live outside the
borders of present-day Albania. 





Farewell my dear teacher
Farewell my dear teacher
In my thoughts you will always feature
As I learn at a school of a different kind
You will never be far from my mind.

For as long as I live
I'll try to keep alive
The memory of four years without interruption
In which I benefited from your instruction.

The advice that you gave us
Was for us to learn
And respect our elders.

I am grateful for the knowledge
Of our language's golden letters
I acquired under your tutelage.


By Adelina Fejza





Lamtumirë mësuese e dashur
Lamtumirë mësuese e dashur
tani në shkollë tjetër 
   do të mësoj
por dije mësuese
se kurrë s'do të harroj

S'do të harroj mësuese
gjatë tëre jetës sime
katër vjet të tëra
ti më dhe mësime

Ti na këshillove
që ne të mësojmë
dhe më të vjetërit
duhet ti nderojmë

Të qofsha fal mësuese
që më dhe dituri