07 July 2025

Robarie intune buteghe di bicis, i malvivents a vevin la muse cuvierte

A robbery in a bike shop has occurred in Manià. In the news report below, the original version of which you can read on the Vôs website by following the link below, we discover some new Friulian vocabulary related to bicycles and clothing. Included is a selection of Friulian conversational items related to bicycles.

Robarie intune buteghe di bicicletis a Manià: A jerin di pôc sunadis lis cuatri di vuê cuant che al è partît l’alarme di une buteghe di bicicletis tal centri di Manià, che al à sveât une vore di residents. Fiscade la puarte di ingrès, i trê delincuents, cu la muse cuvierte e vistûts cun tutis neris e manecis, a son lâts dentri de buteghe. La robarie e je durade pôc. I laris a àn rivât a puartâ vie trê bicicletis eletrichis dal valôr di sedis mil euros. Cuant che a son rivâts i carabinîrs, i malvivents a jerin za scjampâts. / Riferiment: La Vôs dai Furlans.

Robbery in a bicycle shop in Manià: It was just past four this morning when the alarm of a bicycle shop in the centre of Manià went off, waking many residents. After breaking the entrance door, the three criminals, with covered faces and dressed in black tracksuits and gloves, entered the shop. The robbery lasted only a short time. The thieves managed to steal three electric bicycles worth sixteen thousand euros. By the time the carabinîrs arrived, the crooks had already fled.

Friulian vocabulary

  • une robarie, a robbery
  • une buteghe, a shop
  • une biciclete, a bicycle
  • sunâ, to ring out, to sound
  • al è partît, it went off
  • un alarme, an alarm
  • sveâ, to wake
  • fiscâ, to break
  • une puarte, a door
  • un ingrès, an entrance
  • un delincuent, a criminal
  • une muse, a face
  • cuviert, covered
  • vistût, dressed
  • une tute, a tracksuit
  • neri, black
  • une manece, a glove
  • lâ dentri, to go inside
  • durâ, to last
  • un lari, a thief
  • puartâ vie, to steal
  • un malvivent, a crook
  • scjampâ, to flee

Une biciclete: a bicycle. Also used: une bici (a bike). Because this is a feminine noun, we use une when speaking of one bicycle: une bici, une biciclete; and dôs when speaking of two: dôs bicis, dôs bicicletis.

A jerin di pôc sunadis lis cuatri: literally, the four {hours of the clock} had just rung out, which is to say, it was just past four o’clock.

Neri: black. The four forms of this adjective are: neri (masculine singular); neris (masculine plural); nere (feminine singular); neris (feminine plural). A black tracksuit in Friulian is: une tute nere. A black glove in Friulian is: une manece nere. In the plural: tutis neris, manecis neris.

Rivâ: When rivâ means to arrive, to come, the auxiliary in compound tenses is jessi; when rivâ means to manage, to be able, the auxiliary in compound tenses is vê. This is why we say: i carabinîrs a son rivâts (the carabinîrs arrived), but: a àn rivât a puartâ vie trê bicicletis (they managed to steal three bicycles).

Below is a photograph taken at the bike shop where the robbery occurred. What can you say about it in Friulian?

Robarie intune buteghe di bicicletis, i delincuents a vevin la muse cuvierte

Friulian pronunciation

Tonic stress falls on the syllable marked by an accent in the following words: robarìe, butèghe, biciclète, alàrme, manèce, elètric, malvivènt.

Friulian conversation: bicycles

fâ un zîr in biciclete {in bici} (to go for a bicycle {bike} ride); o vin fat un zîr in bici pal centri (we went for a bike ride through city centre); o vin fat il zîr dal Friûl in bici (we biked across Friûl); lâ in bici (to go by bike); no soi bon di menâ une bici (I do not know how to ride a bike); une biciclete di corse (a racing bicycle); une bici di mont (a mountain bike); une bici di citât (a city bike); par rivâ prime o cognòs une scurte (to get there sooner, I know a shortcut); une ruede, dôs ruedis (one wheel, two wheels); un pedâl, doi pedâi (one pedal, two pedals); une siele di bici (a bike seat); un campanel di biciclete (a bicycle bell); sunâ il campanel (to ring the bell); un manuvri di biciclete (a bicycle handlebar); un ciclist, doi cicliscj (one cyclist, two cyclists); fâ une colade in bici (to fall off one's bike); sbusâ une gome (to get a flat tyre); la gome denant e je flape (the front tyre is flat); la gome daûr no je flape (the rear tyre is not flat); sglonfâ lis gomis (to inflate the tyres); robâ une bici (to steal a bike); mi àn robade la bici (my bike was stolen); un lochet di bici (a bike lock); il lari al à sfuarçât il lochet (the thief forced the lock); no si pues parcâ bicicletis sul prât (bicycles cannot be parked on the lawn).

06 July 2025

Cualchi coment su la pronunzie furlane di un letôr dal libri de Gjenesi

The commentary below concerns the Friulian pronunciation of cj. Taken into account in this commentary are the first eight verses of the thiry-second chapter of Genesis. These verses are read by the lector at the very beginning of the videoclip below.

Jevât prin dal dì, Laban al cjapà a bracecuel i siei nevôts e lis sôs fiis e ju benedì. Po Laban al partì e al tornà a cjase sô. Intant che Jacop al leve indenant pe sô strade, si presentarin i agnui di Diu. Co ju viodè, Jacop al disè: «Chest al è il campament di Diu» e i metè non al lûc Macanaim. Jacop al mandà indenant i mes par so fradi Esaù, te tiere di Seir, la campagne di Edom. Ur dè chest ordin: «I disarês cussì al gno paron, Esaù: Ve ce che ti mande a dî il to famei Jacop: Jo o ài stât forest in cjase di Laban e mi soi intardât fin cumò. O ài comprâts bûs e mus, besteam minût, fameis e siervis. O vuei fâi rivâ la gnove al gno paron par viodi se mi à a grât». I mes a tornarin di Jacop disint: «O vin stât di to fradi Esaù. Anzit al ven lui incuintri a ti e al à cuatricent oms cun sè». Jacop al cjapà un grant spavent e si sintì a glaçâ il sanc. Alore al dividè in doi campaments la int ch’e jere cun lui, la robe minude e grande. / Gjenesi XXXII,1-8

In these eight verses, there are two words, each of which appears twice, containing cj, and these are: cjapà and cjase. In these four instances, cj is pronounced three times as ç, and once as cj. Why the variation?

0.03 cjapà --> ç
0.13 cjase --> cj
0.50 cjase --> ç
1.22 cjapà --> ç

The text that the lector is reading from is composed in standard Friulian. In the standard, cj is pronounced the way the lector says it at 0.13. However, in this lector’s own variant of Friulian, cj sounds like ç, which is why he pronounces it this way in the other instances. Exceptionally, he uses the cj pronunciation at 0.13, influenced by the standard spelling in the text that he is reading from. For information, cj is replaced by the sound of ç also in the Dograva variant of Friulian.

04 July 2025

A fasin tonâ un bancomat vie pe gnot, ma no podaran doprâ i bêçs

In a recent news report, we read about a woman in Friûl who had smashed car windows to commit theft, and then withdrew money at bank machines with stolen bank cards and credit cards. We continue now on the same theme, this time with an instance of a bank machine blown up by thieves. To read the report as it originally appeared in Friulian media, follow the link below.

I laris a fasin tonâ un bancomat a Glemone vie pe gnot: Tor des trê de gnot di vuê, i laris a àn assaltât un bancomat intun centri comerciâl a Glemone. I delincuents a àn parât dentri un esplosîf intal sportel automatic e lu àn fat tonâ. Tal stes moment al à sunât l’alarme inte centrâl de vigjilance noturne. I laris a son scjampâts cui bêçs, ma cuasi dal sigûr chei bêçs no podaran doprâju, parcè che maglâts di piture verde, molade dal sisteme antilari. Il ton al à impiât il fûc, cuntune vore di dams par vie dal fum. Sul puest a son rivâts i carabinîrs e i pompîrs, e ancje i sanitaris tal câs che cualchidun si fos fat mâl. / Riferiment: La Vôs dai Furlans.

Thieves blow up a bank machine in Glemone over night: At about three o’clock last night, thieves attacked a bank machine at a shopping centre in Glemone. The criminals inserted an explosive into the automatic teller and detonated it. At the same moment, the alarm went off at the nighttime security control centre. The thieves fled with the money, but they will almost certainly not be able to use it, because it is stained with green paint, released by the anti-theft system. The explosion started a fire, with significant damage due to smoke. Carabinîrs and firemen arrived at the scene, as well as paramedics in case anyone had been injured.

Friulian vocabulary

  • un lari, a thief
  • un ton, an explosion
  • fâ tonâ, to denonate, to blow up
  • un bancomat, a bank machine
  • assaltâ, to attack
  • parâ dntri, to insert
  • un esplosîf, an explosive
  • un sportel automatic, an automatic teller
  • la vigjilance noturne, nighttime security
  • scjampâ, to flee, to escape
  • i bêçs, money
  • maglâ, to stain
  • une piture verde, a paint
  • vert, green
  • molâ, to release
  • un sisteme antilari, an anti-theft system
  • impiâ il fûc, to start a fire
  • i dams, damages
  • il fum, smoke
  • un pompîr, a fireman
  • un sanitari, a paramedic

Un bancomat: This identifies not only a bank machine, but also a bank card used at such a machine. Examples: i laris a àn fat tonâ il bancomat (the thieves blew up the bank machine); un lari mi à robât il bancomat (a thief has stolen my bank card).

Fâ tonâ un bancomat: to blow up a bank machine. In an earlier lesson, we encountered a different way of saying this in Friulian, equally valid: fâ saltâ un bancomat. Example: i laris a àn fat saltâ il bancomat (the thieves blew up the bank machine).

Noturni: This means nocturnal, of the night. The four forms of this adjective are: noturni (masculine singular); noturnis (masculine plural); noturne (feminine singular); noturnis (feminine plural).

Vert: This means green. The four forms of this adjective are: vert (masculine singular); verts (masculine plural); verde (feminine singular); verdis (feminine plural).

Doprâju: literally, to use them. Money (bêçs) is plural in Friulian.

In the image below, we see a carabinîr standing in front of a bank machine: il carabinîr al sta denant di un bancomat; il carabinîr al sta denant di un sportel automatic. From the point of view of a carabinîr, can you explain in Friulian what happened at the blown-up machine?

A fasin tonâ un bancomat vie pe gnot, ma no podaran doprâ i bêçs

Friulian pronunciation

Tonic stress falls on the syllable marked by an accent in the folliwing words: làri, bàncomat, delincuènt, sportèl. automàtic, alàrme, vigjilànce, notùrni, pitùre, sistème, antilàri. 

Supplementary reading in Friulian

Following is a fictional retelling of similar events, from the perspective of a security guard who speaks in the Dograva variant of Friulian.

Seconda volta che i laris a fan saltâ un bancomat via pa la not, uchì in centro... Vuê di bunora, che fôr al fadeva ençamò scûr, i laris a àn parât dentri un esplosîf tal sportel automatic e a lu àn fat saltâ. A ni è rivada l’alerta. A son sçampâts via cui bês, ma scuasin di sigûr chei bês a no podaran doprâju, parsé che sporçâts di pitura verda, molada dal sistema antilari. Il sclop al à impiât il fôc cun tançus dams.

Second time that thieves have blown up a bank machine during the night, here in city centre... Early this morning, when it was still dark out, thieves inserted an explosive into the automatic teller and detonated it. We got the alert. They made off with the money, but they’ll almost certainly not be able to use it because it’s dirty with green paint, released by the anti-theft system. The blast started a fire with a lot of damage.