23
Working with a classical text and dictionaries
Textbook: pp. 38–39
GoalKnow methods of working with a classical text (the Valley of Talab in Navoiy’s Lison ut-tayr).
New words
classical text · mumtoz matnquest, seeking · talabhardship · ranjdiver · g‘avvos
Explanation
Lison ut-tayr (“The Language of the Birds”) is Alisher Navoiy’s epic in which birds pass through seven valleys in search of truth; the first is the Valley of Talab (Quest). In the textbook extract it is told that the seeker who enters this valley meets many hardships and obstacles and must give up worldly goods and desires to reach the aim. In reading a classical poem we keep the pauses (short stops) in the lines, find the meaning of archaic words in the dictionary, then retell each stanza in prose. For a word you do not know, read twice and guess from its place in the text, then check in the dictionary.
Worked examples
Method: find the unknown word → guess within the text → check in a dictionary → retell in your own words in prose.
Glossary: talab — seeking, striving; ranj — hardship, toil; g‘avvos — a person who dives under water.
Class activity
Dictionary relay: one group names a hard word from the text, the second finds its meaning and uses it in its own sentence.
Practice
1
How many valleys do the birds pass in Lison ut-tayr and which is first?
Seven; the first is the Valley of Talab.
2
Give the meanings of talab, ranj and g‘avvos.
Talab — seeking; ranj — hardship; g‘avvos — diver.
3
Why are pauses observed when reading a classical poem?
Because the aruz metre and line rhythm are based on pauses; they make reading rhythmic and correct.
4
What does the image of the seeker in the Valley of Talab make us think about?
That patience, resolve and endurance of hardship are needed to reach a goal.