Ēezar Kurti
LEARN ALBANIAN
To my parents and my sister Bardha
MĖSIMI I DYZETĖ - LESSON 40
1. KTHIMI I GJERGJ KASTRIOTIT NĖ
KRUJĖ
THE RETURN OF GERGJ KASTRIOTI
IN KRUJE
(Excerpt from "History of
Skenderbeg" by Fan S. Noli)
A.
Nė mur, pėrsipėr vatrės, varej njė shpatė e kohėve tė vjetra, qė s’e ngre dot njeriu i sotėm as me dy duar. Qe shpata e Kastriotėve, e mbajtur brez pas brezi prej trimave qė nxori ajo derė e shkėlqyer.
Turqit osmanė e shkelėn dhe e plaēkitėn kėshtjellėn, por shpatėn s’e nganė, se asnjė s’qe i zoti ta pėrdorte.
Vojsava e varfėr ngre kryet shpesh dhe e shikon atė shpatė dhe sytė i mbushen me lot. Qan nėna pėr njė bir, qan dhe shpata pėr njė burrė!...
Ē’u bė ai djalė, ku ėshtė ai trim? Gjer kur do tė valojė mbi fortesėn e Krujės ai flamur i urryer i tiranit tė huaj? Gjer kur do ta presė nėna tė birin, Kruja tė zotin, Shqipėria tė atin, bota trimin qė s’ka shok.
Por pėrnjėherėsh hapet dera dhe hyn brenda njė luftėtar i hijshėm, fisnik e madhėshtor, hundėshkabė, sypetrit, me mjekėr tė gjatė tė dre-dhur, i veshur me ēelik, i armatosur gjer nė dhembė...
Vojsava kthehet, e shikon, pėrpiqet tė ngrihet, por qėndron si e ngrirė nga kjo pamje e papritur. Fėrkon sytė, se mos sheh ėndėrr. Luftėtari ėshtė gjallė i shoqi, Gjon Kastrioti, por mė i ri, mė i bukur, mė i lartė.
"Nė mos je hije a fantazmė, qė vjen tė gėnjesh njė plakė tė varfėr, njė qyqe tė neveritur, ti je im bir, ti je Gjergji im... Fol! Fol! Mos mė mundo...".
Por luftėtari nuk flet dot. Ai, tė cilit s’i vrenjteshin sytė kur i binin shigjetat dhe gjylet si breshėr mbi supet, as nga qindra tė vrarė e tė
plagosur rrotull, qan tani si ēilimi, bie mė gjunjė, i puth dorėn
princeshės sė nderuar, por lotėt e mbytin e s’thotė dot: "Unė jam". Po nėna e mori vesh. E njohu nga syri, e njohu nga fytyra, e njohu nga sjellja. Pastaj e njohu mė mirė Shqipėria dhe bota nga ato qė bėri. Ai qe i tėrė dhe i gjallė, Gjergj Kastrioti...
B. TRANSLATION:
An old sword, that today’s man could not lift with both hands, hung
above the fireplace. It was the sword of the Castriot family, used for
generations by the brave men that wonderful family had raised.
The Ottoman Turks occupied and looted the castle but did not move the
sword, since none of them were able to use it.
Poor Vojsava often lifts her head and looks at the sword and gets
teary-eyed. The mother cries for her son, the sword cries for a man!
Where is that boy, what happened to that brave man? How long will the
odious flag of the foreign tyrant flutter over the castle of Kruje?
How long will this mother have to wait for her son, the Kruje for her
lord, Albania for her father, the world for the indispensable brave man?
All of a sudden, the door opens and a handsome warrior enters, noble,
magnificient, hook-nose, eagle-eyed, with a long curly beard, dressed to the
teeth in a suit of armor.
Vojsava turns and looks at him, tries to stand up, but instead remains as
if frozen from this unexpected sight. She wipes her eyes, thinking it is a
dream. The warrior is alive and strangely resembles her husband, Gjon
Castrioti, but younger, better looking and taller.
"You are not a shadow or a phantom that comes to fool an old lady?
You are my son, you are my Gjergj... Speak, speak please don’t torture
me..."
But the warrior cannot speak. He, whose eyes did not blink from the
arrows and the cannon balls that fell like hailstones on his shoulders, or from
the sight of hundreds of dead and wounded bodies, now cries like a child,
kneeling as he kisses the hand of the princess, but cannot speak through his
tears: "It is me." And the mother understands. She recognizes him by
his eyes, from his face, she recognizes him from his manners. Albania and the
world recognizes him more for his deeds. He was there entirely and alive,
Gjergj Kastrioti himself...
(Translated by I. Hajrizi).
VOCABULARY:
pėrsipėr - above
vatėr-a - fireplace
varem - to hang
shpatė - sword
kohėt e vjetra - old, antique
ngre - to lift
njeri i sotėm - today’s men
as - nor, neither
me dy dyar - with both hands
qe - was
i mbajtur - used
brez pas brezi - for generations
trim - brave man
derė - family
i shkėlqyer - splendid, wonderful
shkel - to occupy
plaēkit - to loot, to pillage
kėshtjellė-a - castle
ngas - to touch
se (sepse) - because
asnjė - nobody
i zoti - to be able
pėrdor - to use
i(e) varfėr - poor
ngre kryet - to lift the head
sytė i mbushen me lotė - to get teary-eyed
qaj - to cry
burrė-i - man, brave man
gjer kur - how long
zot - lord
valon - to flutter
flamur-i - flag
i(e) urryer - odious, hateful
i huaj - foreign
tiran-i - tyrant
pres - to wait
i zoti - able, talented
qė s’ka shok - indispensable
por - but
pėrnjėherėsh - all of a sudden
i(e) hijshėm - handsome
fisnik - honorable, gentleman
madhėshtor - grand, magnificent
hundėshkabė-a - hook-nosed
sypetrit - hawk-eyed
syshqiponjė - eagle-eyed
mjekėrr - beard
i dredhur - curled, curly
i veshur me ēelik - in a suit of armor
i armatosur gjer nė dhėmbė - dressed to the teeth
kthehem - to turn back, to return
pėrpiqem - to try
qėndroj - to stay up
i ngrirė - frozen
pamje - sight, view
i papritur - sudden, unexpected
fėrkoj sytė - to wipe the eyes
sheh endėrr - to dream
luftėtar-i - warrier
ėshtė gjallė i shoqi - strongly resembles her husband
nė mos je - if you are not
hije-a - shadow
fantazėm-a - phantom, ghost
gėnjej - to fool
plakė-a - old lady
qyqe-ja - cuckoo (here: lonesome lady)
i neveritur - repugnant (here: abandoned)
mos mė mundo - don't torture me
nuk flet dot - cannot speak
vrenjt sytė - to blink
shigjetė-a - arrow
gjyle - cannon ball
si breshėr - like hailstones
sup-i - shoulder
qindra - hundreds
i vrarė - killed, dead
i plagosur - wounded
si ēilimi - like a child
bie nė gjunjė - kneel down
puth dorėn - to kiss the hand
princeshė - princess
i(e) nderuar - honorable
mbytem nga lotėt - to break into tears
marr vesh - to understand
fytyrė - face
sjellje - manners
nga ato qė bėri - from his deeds
qe i tėrė dhe i gjallė - he was there entirely and alive
Ēezar
Kurti – "Learn
Albanian – Mėsoni shqip" – Legas, (P.O. Box 040328, Brooklyn,
New York 11204), 1996.
Copyright©1997-2006 by Ēezar Kurti.