Introduction
“Wor(L)ds Beyond Borders” was our online mini project which was realised on facebook. We were aiming to emphasise the power of art, creativity and sharing in the way of a small linguistic
online project. We were also aiming to learn slowly each other’s languages via insipring images, songs, poems, …
Having met in Armenia and Turkey in the past 3 years and hoping to continue sharing our stories in time, we wished to stay connected and learn more each other’s wor(L)ds even when we were not living together.
In order to get more acquainted with each other’s languages we decided to follow Sibil Çekmen’s playful idea from her past blog called “blibel“. Each week one sister from Armenia and one from Turkey were to share a word from their own language and its English translation (since English has been our helping communication language during our projects). The sharings were to start with a simple word, its dictionary meaning, their translations and could also have one of following writen/ linked/uploaded related things to the word: A Sentence, Aphorisms, Drawing, Photo, Video, Song, Poem, Story etc…
The flow of this small online project did not take the rhythm and the active participation of all the participants. It continued for about a year with few of us participating in it, some of us viewing the shared posts. However it kept our connection softly alive.
Wor(L)ds Beyond Borders — September 2014 – October 2015
1 – Tuba set up the Google Page for Wor(L)ds Beyond Borders in September 2, 2014.
2 – September 3, 2014.
Նուռ (nur) – Nar (nar) – Pomegranate
Photo inspired by Sergei Parajanov’s film, “The Color of the Pomegranate”.
Sibil
3 – September 8, 2014.
Biz – Us – ﬔնք (menk)/ ﬔզ (mez)
tr – Biz, ayın şahitliğinde, yağmurla dans eden, renklerle anlaşan barış dolu kadınlar. eng – Us, the peaceful women witnessed by the moon, getting along with each other thru colors as we dance under the rain.
biz: (zamir) çoğul birinci kişiyi gösteren söz
us: (adverb) used by speaker to refer to him/herself and one or more other people as the object of a verb or preposition
Posted image was taken by me in Aghtsk, Armenia during our residency.
Defne
4 – September 10, 2014.
Լուսին (lusin) – The Moon – Ay
The left photo is taken by me inspired by a deep feeling of love, longing and gratitude . The right one is done by my beloved the same night, from another small town in the territory of Armenia.
I share our ”source of connection” with You.
With Love
Elvira
5 – September 16, 2014.
Rüzgâr – քաﬕ (k’ami) – wind
Tuba
–
comment : ”Ba” in Kurdish… Kürtçede ise “ba”… Krderenn al “ba” ye
6 – September 21, 2014.
Deli – Lunatic – խելագար (khelagar)
Sezen Aksu, Adem Olan Anlar Hazal
–
comment : and also khelagar in sanskrit means clown, joke, play, it has also connections with Helios- the god of the sun ))), it is one of my favorite words – Lala Aslikyan
7 – September 25, 2014.
համբերություն (hamberutyun) – patience – sabır
?
8 – September 29, 2014.
երկինք (yerkinq) – sky – gökyüzü
Defne
9 – September 30, 2014.
թռչել (t’rchel) – uçmak (outchmak) – to fly
Sibil
10 – October 6, 2014.
Բարի լոյս (bari luys)… günaydın… good morning…
Sibil
11 – October 13, 2014.
cadılar… witches…կախարդներ (gakhartner)
and there is “women who run wih the wolves” to recall… bir de tabi kurtlarla koşan kadınlar var!
Defne
12 – October 14, 2014.
To wait or to act?
սպասել (esbasel)… to wait… beklemek…
Sibil
13 – October 21, 2014.
ոգեշնչված (vogeshnchvats) – inspired – ilham almış
Sibil
14 – October 31, 2014.
”Nothing lasts forever, even cold November rain.”
Rain / yağmur (yaamur) / անձրև (andzrev)
Tuba
15 – November 4, 2014.
Memories are the only thing that remain from the past.
Dolour/ թախիծ / (takhic) / keder (qeder)
Elvira
16 – November 10, 2014.
olive / zeytin / ձիթապտուղ (tsitabdugh)
leaves symbol of peace… shadows of cosy rests in summer… roots as home for many friendly creatures… fruits are basic nutritious varieties… oil for health and enriching cusines… and yet the bread for many mediteranean villagers… age old olive growth… good old friend of the mother earth…
Defne
17 – November 19, 2014.
հույս (hoois)/ hope/ umut
the future will come out of the wings of hope. this process is endless. hold on for your life.
?
18 – November 27, 2014.
հրաժեշտ (hrazhesht) /farewell/ veda
Nelli
19 – December 2, 2014.
taş (tash) / stone / քար (q’ar)
the women know
the women read
the women swallow
the stones of life…
take it or leave
it is the question
when you see
the stones of life…
Defne
20 – December 2, 2014.
su / water / ջուր (jur)
Sudur döner durur…
Tuba
21 – December 10, 2014.
Time — zaman — ժամանակ (zhamanak)
Suspend your trek O Time! Suspend your flight
O favoring hours, and stay!
Let us pause, savoring the quick delight
That fills the dearest day.
Unhappy crowds cry out to you in prayers.
Flow, Time, and set them free.
Run through their days and through their ravening cares!
But leave the happy be.
In vain I ask for hours to linger on
And Time slips into flight.
I tell this night: “Be slower!” and the dawn
Undoes the raveled night.
Let’s love, then! Love, and feel while feel we can
The moment on its run.
There is no shore of Time, no port of Man.
It flows, and we go on.
(English translation of Lamartine’s poem called “Le Lac”)
Sibil
22 – December 29, 2014.
Sky — երկինք (yerkinq) – gökyüzü
(It snows in Istanbul… I miss the sun very much.)
Sibil
23 – January 19, 2015.
Justice // Adalet // արդարություն (ardarut’yun)
Here we are again… 19th of January… It’s been 8 years since Hrant Dink was murdered… And today, once again, we will meet in Taksim and walk towards Agos, to ask for “justice”… I don’t even know what this word means anymore. Do you?
Sibil
24 – January 21, 2015.
DREAM – RÜYA – Երազ (yeraz)
This morning in my neighborhood in Istanbul… “Yeraz Kedi Evi” which means “The dream, the cat house”. What is cute about it is that “Yeraz” is in Armenian and the rest in Turkish
I don’t know who prepared it. It’s a dream house for street cats
Sibil
25 – October 5, 2015.
Mektup…Նամակ (namak) – Letter…
I am far away from my family and friends now so i started to write letters again…
Sibil