Three students from the Turkish section win Cicéronnades awards

Organized by the Académie d'Orléans-Tours, the second edition of this eloquence competition in modern and ancient languages took place from March 7 to April 7, 2023, on the annual Printemps des Poètes theme of "Borders". It brought together 1,601 candidates who put into voice the text of their choice in 13 different languages.

This year, Ms. Suat Istanbullu wanted to get her beginner Turkish students involved. Her support enabled them to share their speaking skills through this experience. Three students were winners in the "Higher Education" category in Turkish:

• 1st prize Tamara Aslanov (Inalco)
• 2nd prize Boglarka Hernyak (Inalco)
• 3rd prize Latinka Varadinova (Inalco)

The texts selected by the students

Sonbaharda Bir Salı, Gülten Akın, 1952

Gün Salı haftanın en uzun günü
Saat diyordu, günün en güzel saati
Hürriyet canım Hürriyet ver elini
Kat kat duvarlar ardında
Kendimi bildim bileli bekledim seni
Kayıtsız seyrediyordu yol boyu
Yaprakların düşüşünü üçer beşer
Bilirim diyordu içinden, bilirim
Kişiye istediğini vermezler
Yürüdü düşünceleri bozbulanık
Ürkek serçeler geçti başının üstünden
Bir büyük şehrin kalabalığında
Yaşadığını duyuyordu her şeye rağmen

An autumn Tuesday, Gülten Akın, 1952

It's Tuesday, the longest day of the week.
Time said she, it's the best hour of the day
Hürriyet, my dear Hürriyet, give me your hand.
Behind the walls, layer after layer
I've been waiting for you forever, as far as I can remember.
She watched nonchalantly on the road
The leaves falling, by threes by fives
I know, she said to herself, I know.
They don't give the person what they want
She walked on, her thoughts completely blurred
Fearful sparrows flew overhead
In the crowds of a big city
She felt she was living in spite of everything

Yaşar Nabi Nayır (1908 - 1981), Kahramanlar, s. 100

MESAFELER
Mesafeler gözlerin gibi sonsuzdur senin,
Seyrettikçe kıpkızıl yanar göz bebeklerim.
Bense engin denize bakan bir pencerenin
Önünde gelmeyecek saatleri beklerim.

Suları nasıl boşa akarsa bir derenin
Benim ziyan olacak öyle hep emeklerim.
Uzaktan bir el gibi beni çağırır engin,
Ben bir sandalcıyım ki, kırılmış küreklerim.

Beynimi bir örümcek gibi örer geceler,
Selâmlarım hüzünle uzağa gidenleri,
- Ölçüler, dimağımda, karışık bilmeceler -

Seyrederken ilerde kaybolan trenleri,
Ufukta mendil gibi sallanan yelkenleri,
Keder kalbimi sıcak bir kurşun gibi deler.

Dinmeyen bir hasrettir içimde mesafeler.

Yaşar Nabi Nayır (1908 - 1981), Les Héros, p. 100

DISTANCES
Distances are infinite like your eyes,
The more I look the more my pupils burn.
And I, in front of a window overlooking the vast sea.
I wait for the hours that will never come.

Like the waters of a stream that flow in vain
My efforts will always be in vain as well.
The wide sea calls to me from afar like a hand,
I am but a boatman, my oars are broken.

Nights weave my brain like a spider,
I greet with sadness those who go far away,
- Measures, in my mind, are confused riddles -

Watching the trains disappearing in the distance,
Sails flapping like handkerchiefs on the horizon,
Grief pierces my heart like a burning bullet.

Distances are a nostalgia in me that never dries up.

About the Cicéronnades

Candidates declaim one of the required texts (in verse or prose, on the annual Printemps des Poètes theme) on camera, without scenery and in a fixed shot; their video is then examined by a jury made up of teachers and native speakers.

The competition is open to:

• Cycle 4 middle school students (from 5th grade upwards); students in general and technological high schools and vocational high schools; students up to and including 3rd year university;
• French schools in all departments; French schools abroad; foreign schools.

The 2024 edition will take place from March 9 to 25 on the theme "Grace". Practical information will be published from October 2023.


See the trailer for the 2023 edition of the Cicéronnades on Youtube.