Learn Friulian 10. Lis predicjis dal muini: Preambul

This is the tenth lesson in the learning Friulian series using the book Lis predicjis dal muini by Josef Marchet. Follow the links in Learn Friulian 1 to read the entire book in PDF form and to listen to the audio, available online courtesy of the Societât Filologjiche Furlane.

The Friulian notes below relate to the first four sentences of the fifth paragraph of the Preambul, which begin with Vigji al fâs and end with pevar e asêt. 

FRIULIAN NOTES

Preambul: paragraph 5, sentence 1.

Vocabulary: fâ il muini (to be a sacristan); sore nuie (for free); une scuse (excuse); cun chê scuse (with that excuse); sintîsi (to feel); prin (first, main, prime); une autoritât (authority); un paîs (village).

Al fâs (he does, he makes) is the masculine, third-person singular of the present indicative of fâ (to do, to make); the feminine equivalent is e fâs (she does, she makes). Study: al fâs il muredôr (he is a bricklayer); al fâs il plevan (he is a parish priest); al fâs il marangon (he is a carpenter); al fâs il soldât (he is a soldier); e fâs la mestre (she is a teacher). To rephrase these in first-person singular, use o fâs instead: o fâs il muredôr (I am a bricklayer). In some variants of Friulian, i fai is used instead of o fâs. We read that Vigji acts as sacristan for free: sore nuie. Si sint (he feels, she feels) is the third-person singular of the present indicative of sintîsi (to feel). In the standard language, al and e drop in the presence of si; some variants may retain them. Because Vigji does his work for free, he feels like the prime authority of the village.

Preambul: paragraph 5, sentence 2.

Vocabulary: la sere (evening); prin di (before); la fieste (feast day, holiday); lâ jù (to go down); il plevan (parish priest); cjapâ (to take); un ordin (order); pal indoman (for the next day); comandâ (to instruct); publicâ (to publish); in glesie (in the church); un orari (schedule); la messe (mass); une funzion (service); un avîs (notice); cualchi altri avîs (a few other notices).

Both prin di and prime di are used in Friulian to mean before; either one can be used. Examples: prin de messe (before mass); prin dal incuintri (before the meeting); prime des funzions (before the services); prime dai cambiaments (before the changes); prin di doman (before tomorrow). Al va jù dal plevan: he goes down to the parish priest; here di is used to convey the sense of location. Another example: o voi jù dal becjâr (I go down to the butcher). Often it is preceded by li (there), as in: o soi lât li dal dentist (I went to the dentist's). Whereas al comande means he instructs, i comande means he instructs him (or her); literally, he instructs unto him (or unto her). Be reminded that cualchi is followed by the singular: cualchi altri avîs (a few other notices); cualchi altre femine (a few other women); cualchi altri ordin (a few other orders). Remember also that some speakers say altri, altre, altris with the l, whereas others say them without, as atri, atre, atris. Know moreover that in certain variants, such as western ones, these are atri, atra, atris, for instance: cualchi atra femina (a few other women); i atris oms (the other men); li atris feminis (the other women).

notes in preparation, to be continued

Learn Friulian 9. Lis predicjis dal muini: Preambul

This is the ninth lesson in our study of the Friulian language using the book Lis predicjis dal muini by Josef Marchet.

To download a PDF of the book and to listen to the audio recordings, which are made available by the Societât Filologjiche Furlane, follow the links in Learn Friulian 1.

The Friulian notes below relate to the entirety of the fourth paragraph of the Preambul, which begins with la vilie des fiestis and ends with chei imprescj.

FRIULIAN NOTES

Preambul: paragraph 4, sentence 1.

Vocabulary: la vilie (eve); la fieste (feast day, holiday); la sere (evening); sore sere (in the evening); il muini (sacristan); la glesie (church); tignî sù (to lead); il rosari (rosary); une dozene (dozen); la persone (person); i grancj (adults); i piçui (children); vignî (to come); preâ (to pray); monumentâl (monumental); grant (big, large, tall); grues (thick); sclet di lenghe (plain-spoken); simpri (always); sigûr di se (sure of oneself).

La vilie des fiestis, sore sere: on the eve of feast days, in the evening. Une fieste is a feast day as observed in the Catholic Church, such as Easter and Christmas, whence it also means holiday. Il muini de glesie al ten sù il rosari: the church sacristan leads the rosary. Il muini de glesie translates word-for-word as the sacristan of the church. Une dozene di personis, fra grancj e piçui, a vegnin a preâ: a dozen people, both adults and children, come to pray. The adjectives grant (big) and piçul (little) can be used as nouns in the sense of adult and child. Here are the four adjectival forms of both: grant, piçul (masculine singular); grande, piçule (feminine singular); grancj, piçui (masculine plural); grandis, piçulis (feminine plural). Examples, using these words as nouns: i grancj a vegnin a preâ (the adults [the big ones] come to pray); i piçui a van a scuele (the children [the little ones] go to school). The name of the sacristan is Vigji Scuete. He is monumentâl (monumental), grant e grues (tall and thick), sclet di lenghe (plain-spoken) e simpri sigûr di se (and always sure of himself). The human tongue is known as la lenghe; to be sclet di lenghe (plain-spoken) is literally to be in Friulian frank of tongue.

Preambul: paragraph 4, sentence 2.

Vocabulary: nassût (born); il secul (century); dibot (almost, nearly); trente (thirty); un an (year); il mont (world); prin (first); une fornâs (furnace, kiln); un modon (brick); e po (and then); fâ il manoâl (to be manual labourer); fâ il muredôr (to be a bricklayer).

Nassût in chel altri secul: born in the previous century; literally, born in that other century. Nassût is past participle of nassi (to be born); four forms: nassût (masculine singular); nassude (feminine singular); nassûts (masculine plural); nassudis (feminine plural). The masculine plural nassûts is pronounced nassûs. Al è stât dibot trente agns pal mont: he spent nearly thirty years abroad; literally, he was nearly thirty years about the world. Agns (years) is the plural of the masculine noun an (year). Par (for, through, about) contracts with il to form pal. Prin su lis fornâs di modon: first at brick kilns; su literally means on. E po a fâ il manoâl e il muredôr: and then as a manual labourer and bricklayer.

Preambul: paragraph 4, sentence 3.

Vocabulary: i carantans (bit of money); cjapâ (to take, to earn); meti vie (to put away, to save); rivâ adore di (to be able to, to manage to); cjoli (to take, to buy); un pâr di (a pair of, a couple of); un cjamput (small field); la tiere (land, earth); une barache (shack); sdrumâ (to tear down); fâ sù (to rear up, to build); la cjasute (little house).

Cui carantans cjapâts e metûts vie: with a bit of money earned and saved. The usual Friulian word for money is the masculine plural bêçs, pronounced bês; here we instead find the masculine plural carantans, which refers to a small amount of money. Cjapât and metût vie translate very literally as taken and put away; here they take on the sense of earned and saved. Cjapâts and metûts are both masculine plural forms, in agreement with carantans, and are pronounced cjapâs and metûs. Al è rivât adore di cjoli un pâr di cjamputs di tiere: he managed to buy a couple small fields of land. Cjoli translates literally as to take; here it takes on the sense of to buy. The masculine plural cjamputs is pronounced cjampùs. Ideally, rivâ takes jessi for auxiliary when it means to arrive (al è rivât [he arrived]), and vê for auxiliary when it means to be able (al à rivât a fâlu [he was able to do it]), but sometimes jessi is used for both. Adore can be added to the latter, with no change in meaning: al à rivât adore di fâlu (he was able to do it). Une barache che al à sdrumade: a shack that he tore down; the past participle has taken the feminine singular form sdrumade to agree with une barache. Compare: un mûr che al à sdrumât (a wall that he tore down). Par fâ sù une sô cjasute: to build his own little house. Sù means up; fâ sù takes the sense of to rear, to build. Cjasute (little house) is the diminutive form of cjase (house). Study: une sô cjase (a house of his own); un so cjamp (a field of his own). In western variants of Friulian, be prepared to hear cjase and cjamp said instead as çasa and çamp.

Preambul: paragraph 4, sentence 4.

Vocabulary: passâ (to pass); prin (first); la vuere (war); no... plui (no more); lâ (to go); inniò (nowhere); vivi (to live); un tocut (small bit); la braide (plot of land); une dalmine (wooden clog); dut (all, whole); il paîs (village).

Passade la prime vuere: after the first war. The four forms of prin (first) are: prin (masculine singular); prime (feminine singular); prins (masculine plural); primis (feminine plural). Nol è plui lât inniò: he no longer went anywhere, he went nowhere any more. Al à vivût cun chel tocut di braide: he lived with that small plot of land. Fasint dalminis par dut il paîs: making wooden clogs for the whole village.

Preambul: paragraph 4, sentence 5.

Vocabulary: tal prin (at first); mancjâ (to be lacking); un aventôr (customer, buyer); lavorâ fuart (to work hard); ma dopo (but after); altri (other); la vuere (war); mancul (less); lâ al mancul (to dwindle); simpri (always, ever); e cumò (and now); restâ (to remain, to be left); dome (only, just); sîs o siet (six or seven); un vieli (old man); vie par (during, throughout); l'Unvier (winter); puartâ (to wear); ancjemò (still); un imprest (tool, instrument, piece of equipment).

Tal prin no i mancjavin aventôrs: at first he had no lack of customers; or, taken very literally, at first customers were not lacking unto him. Al lavorà fuart: he worked hard; here the verb is set in the remote past (al lavorà), rather than in the recent past (al à lavorât), which is more typical of this book. In spoken language, one would normally say: al à lavorât. Ma dopo chê altre vuere: but after the second war; literally, but after that other war. A son lâts simpri al mancul: they dwindled steadily; lâts, pronounced lâs, is in agreement with the masculine singular aventôrs. Lâ (to go) takes vê for auxiliary, and the past participle must agree in gender and number with its subject. Examples: l'om al è lât vie (the man went away); la femine e je lade vie (the woman went away); i oms a son lâts vie (the men went away); lis feminis a son ladis vie (the women went away). E cumò a son restâts dome sîs o siet viei che, vie pal Unvier, a puartin ancjemò chei imprescj: and now only six or seven old people are left who, in the winter, still wear that gear. Chei imprescj is the plural form of chel imprest. The masculine plural restâts is pronounced restâs. The season called winter is l'Invier in Friulian, but we encounter here a variant form: l'Unvier. The adjective vieli (old) can be used as a noun to identify an elderly person. Its four forms are: vieli (masculine singular); viele (feminine singular); viei (masculine plural); vielis (feminine plural). In western variants, be prepared to hear: veçu, veça, veçus, vecis. Examples: chel om al è vieli (that man is old); chê femine e je viele (that woman is old); lis vielis a son a cjase (the old women are at home). The masculine plural i viei can be understood not only as old men, but also as old people of both genders, depending on the context. Example: il rispiet pai viei (respect for the elderly).

Learn Friulian 8. Lis predicjis dal muini: Preambul

This is the eighth lesson in the learning Friulian series using the book Lis predicjis dal muini by Josef Marchet. Follow the links in Learn Friulian 1 to read the entire book in PDF form and to listen to the audio, available online courtesy of the Societât Filologjiche Furlane.

The Friulian notes below relate to the last two sentences of the third paragraph of the Preambul, which begin with cussì il paîs and end with vot o dîs umigns. 

FRIULIAN NOTES

Preambul: paragraph 3, sentence 7.

Vocabulary: cussì (so, thus); il paîs (village); cence (without); la cure (care); la anime (soul); di nissune sorte (of any sort, whatsoever); il plevan (parish priest); mandâ (to send); cualchi (some {or other}); il predi (priest); dî (to say); la messe (mass); domenie (Sunday); râr (rare); une volte (time, occasion); in disdivore (on workdays); par solit (usually); rivâ sù (to come up, to arrive up top); sflanchinâ (to struggle, to get tuckered out); tirâ la ansime (to huff and puff); pre (Father); un capelan (chaplain); vieli (old); clopadiç (limping, lame); vênt une gnoche (to be sick and tired of it); fâ (to do); un cuart (quarter); une ore (hour); une rive (incline).

Cussì il paîs al è cence cure di animis di nissune sorte: so the village is without any spiritual care whatsoever. Il plevan al mande: the parish priest sends. With infinitives ending in â, the third-person singular ending is e in the present indicative: mandâ, al mande (to send, he sends); rivâ, al rive (to arrive, he arrives); sierâ, al siere (to close, he closes). For information, the ending is i in the first-person singular: o mandi, o rivi, o sieri (I send, I arrive, I close). Cualchi predi: some priest or other. Dî messe: to say mass. Domenie: Sunday, but to say on Sundays, the definite article is added: la domenie. Cualchi rare volte: on some rare occasions; remember that the noun following cualchi is always set in the singular. The four forms of râr (rare) are: râr (masculine singular); rare (feminine singular); rârs (masculine plural); raris (feminine plural). In disdivore: on workdays; contraction of dîs (days) di (of) vore (work). Sflanchinant: struggling, getting tuckered out. Tirant la ansime: huffing and puffing. Ansime is pronounced with stress on the first syllable; very literally, tirâ la ansime (to huff and puff) translates as to draw breathlessness. Pre Scjefin: Father Scjefin. Un capelan vieli e clopadiç: an old and limping chaplain. A 'nd à une gnoche: he is sick and tired of it, he has had his fill of it. Indi means of it, thereof and contracts to 'nd or 'nt; this will be discussed in more detail as the lessons progress. For now, know that al indi à (he has of it) becomes a 'nd à in colloquial language, which sounds like andà. Un capelan vieli e clopadiç che a 'nd à une gnoche a fâ chel cuart di ore di rive: an old and limping chaplain who is sick and tired of doing that quarter-hour uphill walk. Another example: o 'nd ài une gnoche a fâ chê vore (I have had it up to here doing that work), where o 'nd ài sounds like ondài.

Preambul: paragraph 3, sentence 8.

Vocabulary: une glesie (church); piçul (small, little); cincuante (fifty); stentâ (to struggle, to have trouble); stâ dentri (to fit inside); vignî a messe (to come to mass); un troput di (a small bunch of); une femine (woman); cualchi (some, a few); une fantaçute (young girl); un cjap di (a handful of); un frut (boy, child); vot (eight); dîs (ten); i umigns (men).

La glesie e je piçule: the church is small. The four forms of piçul (small, little) are: piçul (masculine singular); piçule (feminine singular); piçui (masculine plural); piçulis (feminine plural). In some variants of Friulian, be prepared to hear: pissul, pissula, pissui, pissulis. In all four forms, both standard and variant, stress is on the first syllable. Un cincuante di lôr: some fifty people; literally, fifty of them. This is a commonly used structure in Friulian in place of using the word for people; another example: un vincj di lôr a son muarts (some twenty people died). For information, the masculine plural muarts sounds like muars. Che un cincuante di lôr a stentin a stâ dentri: so much so that some fifty people struggle to fit inside. Study: o stenti (I struggle); tu stentis (you [singular] struggle); al stente (he struggles); e stente (she struggles); o stentìn (we struggle); o stentais (you [plural] struggle); a stentin (they struggle). Al ven a messe un troput di feminis, cualchi fantaçute, un cjap di fruts e vot o dîs umigns: a small bunch of women come to mass, a few young girls, a handful of children and eight or ten men. A male child is un frut (boy), whereas a female child is une frute (girl). The masculine plural i fruts can be understood as boys or more generally as children of both genders: the context must inform. For instance, children of both genders playing in a park are called i fruts, but so too are childen of only male gender. Children of only female gender are lis frutis. The masculine plural fruts is pronounced frus. The Friulian for man is the masculine noun om; its regular plural is oms, but other forms exist: omis, umign, umigns. Listen to the audio to hear the speaker pronounce both fruts and umigns. Know also that dîs (ten) is pronounced deis in some variants of Friulian; there where deis is used, you will also hear seis instead of standard sîs (six).

Learn Friulian 7. Lis predicjis dal muini: Preambul

This is the seventh lesson in our study of the Friulian language using the book Lis predicjis dal muini by Josef Marchet.

To download a PDF of the book and to listen to the audio recordings, which are made available by the Societât Filologjiche Furlane, follow the links in Learn Friulian 1.

The Friulian notes below relate to the fifth and sixth sentences of the third paragraph of the Preambul, which begin with da pît la vile and end with des lôr cragnis.

FRIULIAN NOTES

Preambul: paragraph 3, sentence 5.

Vocabulary: il pît (foot); da pît (at the foot of); la vile (village); unic (only); une abitazion (dwelling); civîl (civil, decent); il paîs (village); une ostarie (tavern); un forest (outsider, foreigner); savê (to know); fâ i siei interès (to go about his own interests); cence (without); trop (too many); un scrupul (scruple); insom (finally); un tîr (shot); une sclope (rifle); la cjase (house); la gleseute (little church); une costruzion (construction); il Cinccent (the fifteen hundreds); une cjampanute (little bell); il colm (ridge, top); une façade (façade); un puartiut (porch); devant di (in front of); une puarte (door); une strade (road, street).

Da pît la vile: at the foot of the village. La uniche abitazion civîl: the only proper dwelling. The four forms of unic (only) are: unic (masculine singular); uniche (feminine singular); unics (masculine plural); unichis (feminine plural). Dal paîs: of the village, where di and il contract to form dal. Un forest: this can refer in Friulian not only to someone from a different country altogether, but even to someone from out of town: a foreigner, an outsider, someone from away; it is pronounced with stress on the final syllable. Che al sa fâ i siei interès cence trops scrupui: who knows how to go about his interests without too many scruples. Study how to say his in Friulian: il so cjamp (his field); i siei cjamps (his fields); la sô cjase (his house); lis sôs cjasis (his houses). Trop means too many; its four forms are: trop (masculine singular); trope (feminine singular); trops (masculine plural); tropis (feminine plural). The masculine plural trops is pronounced tros, which you can hear in the audio. A un tîr di sclope des cjasis: at rifle's shot away from the houses. Des is the contraction of di and lis. La gleseute di S. Pieri: the little church of Saint Peter. Gleseute (little church) is the diminutive form of glesie (church); S. is the abbreviation of Sant (Saint). Cinccent is the Friulian for five hundred, but it is used to identify the fifteen hundreds (as in the sixteenth century), together with the definite article: il Cinccent. Cuntune cjampanute sul colm de façade: with a little bell on the ridge of the façade. Cun and une contract to form cuntune; su and il contract to form sul; di and la contract to form de. Un puartiut devant de puarte, su la strade: a porch in front of the door, on the road. Unlike su and il which contract to form sul, su and la do not contract: su la.

FRIULIAN NOTES

Preambul: paragraph 3, sentence 6.

Vocabulary: za timp (in the past, time ago); in cheste glesie (in this church); un vicjari curât (curate vicar); dipendi di (to answer to, to be under the authority of); un plevan (parish priest); une vile (village); ma cumò (but now); nissun (nobody, no one); par vie che (because, on account of); la int (people); stâ miôr (to be better off); cence che (without); un predi (priest); vignî (to come); meti il nâs in (to stick one's nose in); lôr (their); un afâr (business); impaçâsi di (to meddle in); lis cragnis (filthy affairs).

Al jere un vicjari curât: there was a curate vicar. Al jere is the imperfect indicative form of al è; likewise, e jere is the imperfect indicative form of e je. Al dipendeve dal plevan: he answered to the parish priest; here again is an imperfect indicative. Consider: al dipent di (he answers to); al dipendeve di (he used to answer to). Study the following: nol è nissun (there is nobody); nol jere nissun (there was nobody); nol sarà nissun (there will be nobody); nol ven nissun (nobody comes); nol è vignût nissun (nobody has come); nol vignarà nissun (nobody will come). Miôr means better; stâ miôr means to be better off. La int e sta miôr: the people are better off. Cence che i predis a vegnin: without priests coming. Consider: il predi al ven (the priest comes); i predis a vegnin (the priests come). With cence che, the subjunctive is required, but in the phrase from the book, its present subjunctive form (a vegnin) is indistinguishable from the present indicative (a vegnin); that said, some Friulians may use a vignedin in the present subjunctive: cence che a vegnin, cence che a vignedin. The literal meaning of meti is to put, and nâs is a masculine noun identifying the nose: meti il nâs tai lôr afârs: to stick their nose in their business. Tai is the contraction of in and i; in other words, tai lôr afârs = in (in) + i lôr afârs (their business). Lôr (their) never changes form: il lôr plevan (their parish priest); i lôr plevans (their parish priests); la lôr glesie (their church); lis lôr glesiis (their churches). Impaçâsi des lôr cragnis: to meddle in their filthy affairs, to meddle in their dirty laundry. Again, des is the contraction of di and lis. In some variants of Friulian, such as western ones, des is rather da li. For example, i cops des cjasis (the roof tiles of the houses) may rather be said in certain western variants i cops da li çasis. Un cop is, more precisely, a barrel tile used in Friulian roofing. Using cjase in the singular, i cops de cjase (the roof tiles of the house) may rather be said in certain western variants i cops da la çasa.

Learn Friulian 6. Lis predicjis dal muini: Preambul

This is the sixth lesson in the learning Friulian series using the book Lis predicjis dal muini by Josef Marchet. Follow the links in Learn Friulian 1 to read the entire book in PDF form and to listen to the audio, available online courtesy of the Societât Filologjiche Furlane.

The Friulian notes below relate to the third and fourth sentences of the third paragraph of the Preambul, which begin with a Gargagnà Disot and end with e di pretesis. 

FRIULIAN NOTES

Preambul: paragraph 3, sentence 3.

Vocabulary: il comun (town hall); la plêf (parish church); un pôc di (a bit of, a little, a few); un moviment (movement); comerciâl (commercial); dâ (to give); al da (it gives); cheste vile (this village); un fregul di (a smidgen of, a modicum of); une ande (flair); citadin (urban).

A Gargagnà Disot: in Lower Gargagnà. With the names of villages, towns and cities, Friulian uses the preposition a where English uses in. Al è il comun e la plêf: there is the town hall and the parish church. Whereas in the previous sentence the masculine noun comun referred to the municipality, here it identifies the town hall. Un pôc di moviment comerciâl: a bit of commercial movement, a little business activity. With un pôc di, note that pôc must always agree in number and gender with the noun following di, but un is invariable. Examples: un pôc di timp (a bit of time; masculine singular); un pocje di aghe (a bit of water; feminine singular); un pôcs di oms (a few men; masculine plural); un pocjis di feminis (a few women; feminine plural). The masculine plural pôcs is pronounced pôs. Che al da a cheste vile un fregul di ande citadine: which gives this village a smidgen of city flair. The four forms of the adjective citadin (urban) are: citadin (masculine singular); citadine (feminine singular); citadins (masculine plural); citadinis (feminine plural).

Preambul: paragraph 3, sentence 4.

Vocabulary: nuie (nothing); un borgat (shantytown); une staipe (shack); un landri (hovel); un murat (stone wall); la stabilidure (plaster); cence stabilidure (unplastered); un tamar (pen, fold); plen di (full of); dome (only, just); un catan (rust bucket); lis scovacis (rubbish, garbage); la int (people); grubian (oafish, coarse); la presunzion (presumption); une pretese (demand).

A Gargagnà Disore nol è nuie: In Upper Gargagnà there is nothing. The verb is negated before nuie. Consider: al dîs (he says); nol dîs nuie (he says nothing); al à (he has); nol à nuie (he has nothing); e à (she has); no à nuie (she has nothing). Al è un borgat di staipis e di landris: it is a shantytown of shacks and hovels. The literal meaning of the masculine noun landri is cave; here it refers figuratively to a run-down dwelling. Di murats cence stabilidure: of unplastered stone walls. Murats is pronounced muràs, which you can hear in the recording. Di tamars plens dome di catans e scovacis: of pens full of only rust buckets and rubbish. Un tamar is a fold where sheep or goats are kept; it is pronounced with stress on the first syllable. Di int grubiane plene di presunzion e di pretesis: of oafish people full of presumption and demands. Plen (full) must agree in number and gender with the noun that it modifies: un tamar plen di (a pen full of); tamars plens di (pens full of); int plene di (people full of). Note that int (people) is a feminine singular noun, not a plural one. This means that the verb used with it will also be singular: cheste int e je grubiane (these people are oafish).

Learn Friulian 5. Lis predicjis dal muini: Preambul

This is the fifth lesson in our study of the Friulian language using the book Lis predicjis dal muini by Josef Marchet.

Follow the links in Learn Friulian 1 to read the entire book in PDF form and to listen to the audio, made available online by the Societât Filologjiche Furlane.

The Friulian notes below relate to the first two sentences of the third paragraph of the Preambul, which begin with cheste veretât and end with il Comun di Scufons.

FRIULIAN NOTES

Preambul: paragraph 3, sentence 1.

Vocabulary: cheste veretât (this truth); la urdidure (the thrust); di chest libri (of this book); la trame (the plot, the story line); invezit (on the other hand); une fente (a fiction, a made-up story); une bausie (a lie); salacor (perhaps, maybe); coventâ (to be needed); une peraule di spiegazion (a word of explanation).

Listen to the audio to hear how the speaker pronounces invezit (on the other hand); it sounds like invessit, with the second syllable being the stressed one. Salacor (perhaps, maybe) is pronounced with stress on the final syllable; used even more frequently in Friulian is forsit, having the same meaning and taking its stress on the first syllable. I covente: is needed unto it. The third-person singular and indirect i means unto it. I covente une peraule di spiegazion: it needs a word of explanation; literally, unto it is needed a word of explanation. Consider now the following: e covente une peraule di spiegazion (a word of explanation is needed); i covente une peraule di spiegazion (it needs a word of explanation [a word of explanation is needed unto it]). For some Friulians, the z of spiegazion will sound like ts; for others, such as speakers of western variants, it will sound like ss. The same can be said of frazion, which appears in the next sentence. Words ending in zion are always feminine.

Preambul: paragraph 3, sentence 2.

Vocabulary: secont (according to); cheste fente (this fiction, this made-up story); Gargagnà Disore (Upper Gargagnà); une vile (a village); dal Friûl di Mieç (of Central Friûl); une frazion (a borough); nus (us); insegnâ (to teach); dî (to say); i talians (the Italians); une anime (a soul); cun siet votcent animis (with seven or eight hundred souls); in union cun (together with, along with); Gargagnà Disot (Lower Gargagnà); cualchi altri cjasâl (a few other hamlets); plui minût (smaller); formâ (to form); il Comun di Scufons (the Municipality of Scufons).

Secont (according to) also exists as seont. Mieç is a masculine noun meaning middle; for instance, il mieç dal mâr means the middle of the sea. Di mieç can be attached to a placename to create the sense of central; for instance, il Friûl di Mieç means Central Friûl, and l'Orient di Mieç means the Middle East. Consider all the following: il talian (the Italian); i talians (the Italians); il talian al à insegnât (the Italian has taught); i talians a àn insegnât (the Italians have taught); il talian nus à insegnât (the Italian has taught us); i talians nus àn insegnât (the Italians have taught us). Note how the presence of nus forces the omission of al and a in the preceding examples. The author explains that it was under the influence of the Italians that the Friulians adopted the term une frazion (borough) to name each of the administrative divisions of un comun (municipality), for it was the Italians who devised the system. The infinitive dî means to say; be prepared to hear this expressed also as disi. For instance, i talians nus àn insegnât a dî cussì or i talians nus àn insegnât a disi cussì both mean the Italians have taught us to say so. The Friulian for seven is siet, and for eight is vot. Sietcent: seven hundred. Votcent: eight hundred. Siet votcent: seven or eight hundred. Cualchi (a few) is always followed by the singular: cualchi cjase (a few houses); cualchi cjamp (a few fields); cualchi cjasâl (a few hamlets). Any adjective or verb used with it will also be set in the singular: cualchi altri cjasâl plui minût (a few other smaller hamlets); cualchi altre cjase plui minude (a few other smaller houses). Study: il comun al forme (the municipality forms); la citât e forme (the city forms); chestis frazions a formin (these boroughs form).

Learn Friulian 4. Lis predicjis dal muini: Preambul

This is the fourth lesson in the learning Friulian series using the book Lis predicjis dal muini by Josef Marchet. Follow the links in Learn Friulian 1 to read the entire book in PDF form and to listen to the audio, available online courtesy of the Societât Filologjiche Furlane.

The Friulian notes below relate to the final sentence of the second paragraph of the Preambul, which begins with intun cuadri and ends with voie di cjalâle. 

FRIULIAN NOTES

Preambul: paragraph 2, sentence 3.

Intun cuadri lis robis claris a parin plui lusorosis: in a painting, light things appear brighter. In and un combine to form intun (in a); the feminine equivalent is intune. Examples: intun cuadri (in a painting); intune cjase (in a house); intun libri (in a book); intune lenghe (in a language). Une robe: a thing. Clâr: light, bright. Parê: to appear, to seem. Lis robis claris a parin: light things appear. Lusorôs: bright, brilliant. Plui lusorôs: brighter, more brilliant. Both claris and lusorosis are feminine plural to agree in number and gender with feminine plural robis.

Se a son dongje lis ombris e lis maglis: if there are shadows and dark spots beside them. Se: if. Dongje: alongside, nearby. Une ombre: a shadow. Une magle: a dark spot, a stain. Taken more literally, this phrase can be understood as: if nearby are shadows and dark spots. In some variants of Friulian, such as western ones, be prepared to hear dongje said as dongia. Whereas standard dongje takes a hard g (as in the English word get), variant form dongia uses a soft one (as in the English word jet). Standard example: dongje de cjase (beside the house); equivalent in certain variants: dongia da la çasa.

Se no son ombris ni maglis: if there are neither shadows nor dark spots. A son ombris: there are shadows. No son ombris: there are no shadows. A son can take the sense of either they are or there are. Examples: i cjamps a son dongje de citât (the fields are near the city); a son une vore di cjamps dongje de citât (there are many fields near the city). Negated, a son becomes no son. In the phrase under review here, no son takes the sense of there are no, there are not any. No... ni... ni... can be used in neither... nor constructions in this way: chel monument nol è ni grant ni biel (that monument is neither large nor beautiful); chê citât no je ni grande ni biele (that city is neither large nor beautiful); su la taule no son ni pirons ni sedons (on the table are neither forks nor spoons). In our phrase under review, the author omitted ni before ombris (he used ni only once), which is a simplified, more direct style. Consider: al è (masculine singular); e je (feminine singular); a son (masculine and feminine plural); negated: nol è, no je, no son. For information: il piron (fork), la sedon (spoon), il curtìs (knife).

Si pues stâ sigûrs che e je dute une bausie: you can be certain that it is all a lie. Podê: can, to be able. Si pues: one can, one is able. Stâ sigûr: to be certain, to be sure. The masculine plural sigûrs is used because si pues refers to people in general, which is a plural concept. Une bausie: a lie; this word has three syllables (bau-sì-e), and the stress falls on the second one. E je is used because bausie is feminine singular. Examples: e je dute une bausie (it is all a lie); al è dut un mismàs (it is all a mess).

No ven nancje voie di cjalâle: you will not even want to look at it. Vignî: to come. La voie: keenness, desire. E ven voie: keenness comes. No ven voie: keenness comes not. Nancje: not even. In Friulian, to look at it is either cjalâlu or cjalâle; the former uses the masculine singular direct object lu attached to the infinitive cjalâ, whereas the latter uses the feminine singular direct object le. In our phrase under review, the feminine singular is used because it refers back to feminine singular bausie (lie) rather than masculine singular cuadri (painting): in the author's mind, the object is not a painting at all, but a lie.

Learn Friulian 3. Lis predicjis dal muini: Preambul

This third lesson continues to teach Friulian through Lis predicjis dal muini by Josef Marchet.

Follow the links in Learn Friulian 1 to read the entire book in PDF form and to listen to the audio, made available by the Societât Filologjiche Furlane.

The Friulian notes below relate to the first two sentences of the second paragraph of the Preambul, which begin with o sin usâts and end with cence baronade.

FRIULIAN NOTES 

Preambul: paragraph 2, sentence 1.

O sin usâts a: we are used to. Jessi usât a: to be used to. Consider: o soi usât a (I am used to; masculine singular); o soi usade a (I am used to; feminine singular); o sin usâts a (we are used to; masculine plural); o sin usadis a (we are used to; feminine plural). The masculine plural usâts is pronounced usâs. In western variants of Friulian, be prepared to hear i soi and i sin in place of o soi and o sin.

Une forme di retoriche a bon presit: a form of cheap rhetoric. In Friulian variants preferring to end words in a rather than e, such as western ones, the form una forma di retorica would instead be used, which is indistinguishable from Italian. A bon presit: cheap. The adjective bon means good, whereas the masculine noun presit means price. When the letter s comes between vowels, it is voiced, which means that the s of presit sounds like the first letter of the English words zoo, zinc, zeal. Listen to the audio to hear it pronounced.

Puartâ adalt: to exalt. Puartâ means to bring, to carry, to bear. Adalt means up, upwards. Une forme [...] che e puarte adalt: a form [...] that exalts. E is used because une forme is a feminine singular subject. Had the subject been masculine singular, for instance: il libri (the book), then al would be used instead: il libri che al puarte adalt (the book that exalts). In the plural, whether masculine or feminine, a is used, with the verb set in the plural: i libris che a puartin adalt (the books that exalt).

Tant il nestri paîs che il nestri popul: both our country and our people. The masculine noun paîs can mean either country or village in Friulian. Nestri means our; it is used with the definite article of the noun that it modifies and changes form accordingly. Consider: il nestri difiet (our flaw); i nestris difiets (our flaws); la nestre forme di retoriche (our form of rhetoric); lis nestris formis di retoriche (our forms of rhetoric). Tant [...] che [...]: both [...] and [...].

Parsore di ducj chei altris vicins e lontans: above all others, near and far. Parsore di: above. Ducj chei altris: all others, all the others; literally, all those others. The forms of altri (other) are: altri (masculine singular); altre (feminine singular); altris (masculine plural); altris (feminine plural). Many Friulians drop the l of this adjective when speaking: atri, atre (or atra in western variants), atris. Vicin: near, nearby. Lontan: far, faraway. The masculine plural forms vicins and lontans are used to agree in number and gender with ducj chei altris. In western variants of Friulian, vicin may instead be pronounced vissin. For instance, rather than une citât vicine (a nearby city), you may hear una sitât vissina. Similarly: une citât lontane, una sitât lontana (a faraway city). 

Preambul: paragraph 2, sentence 2.

Chest al è il dret: this is the front side. Il dret is the front-facing side, in opposition to il ledrôs, which is the back-facing side, studied previously. The Friulian for this is: chest (masculine singular); cheste (feminine singular); and the Friulian for these is: chescj (masculine plural); chestis (feminine plural). Consider: chest om, chel om (this man, that man); cheste femine, chê femine (this woman, that woman); chescj oms, chei oms (these men, those men); chestis feminis, chês feminis (these women, those women).

Ma e vûl metude in cont ancje chê altre muse: but the other face also needs to be taken into account. Ma: but. Meti in cont: to take into account. Metût in cont: taken into account. Ancje: also. La muse: the face. Chê altre muse: the other face; literally, that other face. E vûl is the feminine, third-person singular of the present tense of volê (to want); it agrees here with chê altre muse, feminine singular. Compare the following: al vûl metût in cont (masculine singular); e vûl metude in cont (feminine singular), both meaning it needs to be taken into account. Another example: al vûl metût in cont ancje chel altri probleme (the other problem also needs to be taken into account). Probleme may look like a feminine noun because of its e ending, but it is indeed masculine.

Bisugne vê la fuarce di cjalâ dut cence parevoi: one must have the strength to observe eveything without blinders. Bisugne: one must, you have to. Vê la fuarce: to have the strength. Cjalâ: to observe, to look at. Cence parevoi: without blinders. I parevoi are the blinders (or blinkers) worn by horses to limit their vision. Cence parevoi is used figuratively here to mean that one must see things with a full view to how they really are.

Pesâ dut cence baronade: to weigh everything without mischief, which is to say, to consider everything in an honest manner. In other variants of Friulian, such as western ones, be prepared to hear cence (without) said as sensa.

Learn Friulian 2. Lis predicjis dal muini: Preambul

This is the second lesson in our study of the Friulian language using the book Lis predicjis dal muini by Josef Marchet.

To download a PDF of the book and to listen to the audio recordings, which are made available by the Societât Filologjiche Furlane, follow the links in Learn Friulian 1.

The Friulian notes below relate to the second sentence of the Preambul, which begins with Gargagnà and ends with dute la veretât.

FRIULIAN NOTES 

Preambul: paragraph 1, sentence 2.

Gargagnà nol è: Gargagnà is not. This is the negated form of Gargagnà al è (Gargagnà is). Another example: gno fradi al è a cjase (my brother is at home); gno fradi nol è a cjase (my brother is not at home). The Friulian gn of Gargagnà and gno sounds just as it does in Italian.

Une entitât gjeografiche: a geographic entity. Entitât is a feminine singular noun, and the adjective gjeografic (geographic) modifying it must agree in gender and number, producing: gjeografiche. The four forms of this adjective are: gjeografic (masculine singular); gjeografiche (feminine singular); gjeografics (masculine plural); gjeografichis (feminine plural).

Un fat di costum: a cultural phenomenon.

Al è dut il Friûl cjalât de bande dal ledrôs: it is all of Friûl seen from the rear side. Dut: all. Cjalâ: to look at, to observe. Cjalât: looked at, observed, seen. La bande: side. Il ledrôs: rear side, wrong side. De bande dal ledrôs: from the rear side, where di (from) contracts with la to form de. In western variants of Friulian, be prepared to encounter da la instead of de; and in those variants where feminine nouns end in a rather than e, you may hear da la banda. Il ledrôs refers to the rear side or wrong side of, for instance, a rug or canvas, which is to say, the side hidden from view.

Di chê bande dulà che une tele e mostre [...]: from that side where a canvas shows [...] The Friulian for that is chel (masculine singular); chê (feminine singular); and the Friulian for those is chei (masculine plural); chês (feminine plural). Une tele: a canvas. Mostrâ: to show. Une tele e mostre: a canvas shows. E mostre is feminine singular; its masculine equivalent is al mostre. Examples: la femine e mostre (the woman shows); l'om al mostre (the man shows). In those variants of Friulian preferring to end words with a rather than e, such as western ones, be prepared to hear instead: una tela a mostra, la femina a mostra, l'om al mostra.

Ducj i siei grops, dutis lis zontis, lis mendis, i difiets: all its knots, all its seams, its patches, its flaws. The four forms of dut (all) are: dut (masculine singular); dute (feminine singular); ducj (masculine plural); dutis (feminine plural). In wetsern variants of Friulian, be prepared to hear: dut, duta, duçus, dutis. Un grop: a knot. Une zonte: a seam. Une mende: a patch. Un difiet: a flaw. Consider: il so grop (its knot); i siei grops (its knots); la sô zonte (its seam); lis sôs zontis (its seams). The masculine plural difiets sounds like difiès. To pronounce ducj as used in this sentence, imagine that ducj and i are written as one word: ducji. Whereas lis (also said li) is the plural of the definite article la, the plural of the definite article il is i, for instance: il grop, i grops (the knot, the knots); la mende, lis mendis (the repair, the repairs).

In sumis dute la veretât: in short, the whole truth. When listening to the audio, take note of how the speaker pronounces veretât, with its circumflex-accented â held slightly longer than an unaccented a. Listen for this phenomenon in other words as well, such as ledrôs.

Learn Friulian 1. Lis predicjis dal muini: Preambul

This series for learning Friulian uses the book Lis predicjis dal muini by Josef Marchet. The full text and audio are made available online by the Societât Filologjiche Furlane (see the links below).

In this book, a fictional muini (sacristan) delivers his biting commentary in his predicjis (sermons), which will introduce you to many colloquial Friulian usages. The book begins with a foreward, called the preambul, in the words of the author himself; this introductory text is a straightforward commentary on what to expect in the lively predicjis that follow. Our study of the Friulian language begins with the preambul.

The full text of the book is not reproduced on this site. You must follow the links below, which lead to the website of the Societât Filologjiche Furlane, to download a PDF of the book and to listen to its associated audio recordings.

READ: Click here to download a PDF of the book.
LISTEN: Click here to listen to the Friulian audio.

The Friulian notes below relate to the first sentence of the Preambul, which begins with al è dibant and ends with fin lis farcadicis.

FRIULIAN NOTES 

Preambul: paragraph 1, sentence 1.

Al è dibant: there is no need, it is pointless. Dibant (in vain) is pronounced with tonic stress on the final syllable. Al è: it is.

Lâ a cirî Gargagnà: to go looking for Gargagnà. Whereas lâ means to go, cirî means to look for. Many Friulian infinitives end in â, ê, î and take their tonic stress on that syllable. In some variants of Friulian, such as western ones, to go is rather 'sî, and to look for is rather serçâ. The apostrophed 's of 'sî is voiced, which means that it sounds like the first letter of the English words zoo, zinc, zeal, and not like its voiceless counterpart in sue, sink, seal. Gargagnà, as explained in the book, is an imaginary village of Friûl, where the story is set.

Su lis mapis dal Friûl: on maps of Friûl. The Friulian for map is the feminine noun la mape (the map). In the plural, it becomes lis mapis (the maps). In the audio, you will hear the speaker say li mapis. The feminine plural definite articles lis and li are both heard in Friulian. Su means on. The Friulian territory is called il Friûl in Friulian itself, using the masculine singular definite article il. Dal Friûl: literally, of the Friûl, where di (of) contracts with il to form dal.

No si cjatilu: you cannot find it; literally, one finds it not. The Friulian for to find is cjatâ. Si cjate: one finds. Si cjatilu: one finds it. No si cjatilu: one finds it not. The masculine singular direct object lu (it) is attached to the verb cjate (finds), whose final e becomes i before the addition. Si is an impersonal subject pronoun, used here to mean one, people in general.

Nancje in chês plui minudis e precisis: not even on the smallest and most precise ones. Nancje: not even. Minût: small. Precîs: precise. Plui: most. Mapis is feminine plural, and the adjectives minût and precîs must agree in number and gender with it: minudis, precisis. Chês is also feminine plural, meaning those. Literal translation: not even in those most small and precise. In western variants of Friulian, be prepared to hear nença rather than nancje. Other common pronunciations of plui include pui and pi.

Che a doprin i militârs: that soldiers use. Doprâ: to use. A doprin: they use. I militârs a doprin: soldiers use. Che takes the sense here of that or which, so that che a doprin i militârs means that soldiers use. The third person plural doprin is pronounced with tonic stress on the first syllable. Note that the third-person plural a must be included. Singular equivalent: il militâr al dopre (the soldier uses). In spoken Friulian, it is normal to pronounce che a in one syllable: ch'a, which sounds like ca. That said, in the audio, the speaker may not always make such contractions.

Indulà che a son segnadis fin lis farcadicis: where even molehills are indicated. Indulà che: where, wherein; also commonly said as dulà che and là che. Segnâ: to indicate. Segnât: indicated. Une farcadice: a molehill; plural: lis farcadicis. Segnât must agree in number and gender with the feminine plural farcadicis, to produce: a son segnadis (they are indicated). Consider: al è segnât (masculine singular); e je segnade (feminine singular); a son segnâts (masculine plural); a son segnadis (feminine plural). Masculine plural segnâts is pronounced segnâs; this dropping of the t is typical of the pronunciation of the masculine plural ts ending, and you will have many opportunities to hear this Friulian pronunciation phenomenon in the audio. Fin lis farcadicis: even molehills. Whereas une farcadice means molehill, the animal itself is called un farc (mole).