Nonsens Poems

“Gadji beri bimba glandridi laula lonni cadori
Gadjama gramma berida bimbala glandri galassassa laulitalomini
Gadji beri bin palea glassala laula lonni cadorsu sassala bim”

What does this poem excerpt sound like to you? Do you recognize words or sounds?
This poem excerpt comes from the phonetic poem “Gadji Beri Bimba”. It was first presented in 1916 by its author, Hugo Ball. Class 5 listened to this poetry recital and then tried to read Hugo Ball’s poem themselves – that was pretty crazy and not that easy!
Following Hugo Ball, the children also went in search of new, onomatopoeic neologisms and words from other languages. The children then wrote their own nonsense poems from their word creations and discoveries and recited them in the class – great fun for everyone involved!
Are you wondering why the children deal with this in ethics class?
Playing with the meanings of words and reinterpreting or reinterpreting words is an exciting activity that allows us to experience the familiar as strange – and vice versa. It sharpens our awareness of what we know as well as what is unknown to us and therefore annoys us. This is another contribution to the current philosophical question: Where and what is the stranger?