| English: 'Our Language' | |
|---|---|
 Emblem ofLimba noastră | |
National anthem of Moldova | |
| Lyrics | Alexei Mateevici, 1917 |
| Music | Alexandru Cristea,c. 1942 |
| Adopted | 1995 |
| Preceded by | "Deșteaptă-te, române!" |
| Audio sample | |
U.S. Navy Band instrumental rendition inF major | |
| National anthems of Moldova | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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"Limba noastră" (Romanian:[ˈlimbaˈno̯astrə]ⓘ), known in English as "Our Language", is thenational anthem ofMoldova.[1] It has been used since 1994 and was officially adopted on 22 July 1995.[2]
For a brief period of time in the early 1990s, the national anthem of Moldova was "Deșteaptă-te, române!", which was and remains the national anthem ofRomania. The lyrics were written byAlexei Mateevici (1888–1917) a month before his death.[3] Mateevici contributed significantly to the national emancipation ofBessarabia. The music was composed byAlexandru Cristea.
The focus of "Limba noastră" is language, hence its namesake; in this case, the official language of Moldova, namelyRomanian.
TheConstitution of Moldova refers to the country's official language asRomanian, and similarly in December 2013, a decision of theConstitutional Court of Moldova ruled that the Declaration of Independence takes precedence over the Constitution and that the state language is thereforeRomanian.[4] InTransnistria and by older populations, however, the language is often referred to asMoldovan. Additionally, in Transnistria, theMoldovan Cyrillic alphabet is still used, and theRussian language is spoken by a majority in the region.
The anthem 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".
"Limba noastră" is based on a 12-verse poem. For the officially defined national anthem used today, the verses were selected and reorganised into 5 verses of 4 lines each; namely, the first, second, fifth, eighth and twelfth verses, respectively,[5] which are highlighted in bold.
| Romanian original[6][7] | Moldovan Cyrillic alphabet[8] (official inTransnistria) | IPA transcription[a] |
|---|---|---|
I | I | 1 |
| English translation | Russian translation[9][b] (official in Transnistria) |
|---|---|
I | I |
