Learn Friulian 14. Lis predicjis dal muini: La statistiche

This is the fourteenth 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 commentary below relates to the first two sentences of the second paragraph of La statistiche, which begin with l'an passât and end with pocjis diferencis.

COMMENTARY ON THE FRIULIAN

La statistiche: paragraph 2, sentence 1.

Vocabulary: l'an passât (last month); une stagjon (season); sietcent (seven hundred); otantetrê (eighty-three); in vuê (today, at present); vê di jessi (to have to be, must be).

Study the following: la setemane passade (last week); il mês passât (last month); l'an passât (last year). The Friulian for season is the feminine noun stagjon; however, as used in the text, di cheste stagjon means at this time {of year}. More examples: l'an passât di cheste stagjon o jeri in Spagne (last year at this time I was in Spain); l'an passât di cheste stagjon o jerin in visite a Dublin (last year at this time we were visiting Dublin). For information, the names of the four seasons of the year in Friulian are: la Vierte (spring); l'Istât (summer); la Sierade (autumn); l'Invier (winter). The names for spring and autumn translate literally as the opening and the closing. These names are all subject to variation depending on the speaker's provenance within Friûl. For instance, some Friulian speakers systematically pronounce ar in place of er, which will affect three of the four names, to become: la Viarte, la Siarade, l'Inviar. Some pronounce the name of the winter season with an initial u, resulting in: l'Unvier, l'Unviar. Some may refer to the autumn season by a different name: l'Atom, l'Autun. Some may pronounce the name of the summer season with an initial e, resulting in: l'Estât. Some may refer to the spring season by a different name: la Primevere, la Primavera.

In the Preambul, you learnt that Gargagnà Disore and Gargagnà Disot mean Upper Gargagnà and Lower Gargagnà, respectively. Study now some examples of how you may use disore and disot in your own use of Friulian: o voi disore (I am going upstairs); o voi disot (I am going downstairs); al è vignût disore (he came upstairs); al è lât disot (he went downstairs). In certain variants of Friulian, such as western ones, to go is said instead as 'sî rather than lâ. The 's sounds like the first letter of the English word zeal, and not like the first letter of the English word seal. (The apostrophe indicates that the initial s is voiced.) This means that al è lât disot may instead be expressed by some Friulian speakers as al è 'sût disot.

Si jere in is to be understood as meaning one was to the number of. For instance, if an event had been attended by one thousand people, you can say in Friulian: si jere in mil (there were one thousand people). O vin di jessi in is to be understood as meaning we must be to the number of. With this latter usage, we find vê di, which means to have to, must. Examples: o ài di lâ vie (I have to leave); tu âs di fâ la vore (you must do the work); o vin di contâ i fruts (we have to count the children); in vuê o vin di jessi in cent (at present we must number one hundred). Vuê is the Friulian for today; in vuê can be understood as meaning at present.

Counting in standard Friulian: un (1), doi (2), trê (3), cuatri (4), cinc (5), sîs (6), siet (7), vot (8), nûf (9), dîs (10), undis (11), dodis (12), tredis (13), cutuardis (14), cuindis (15), sedis (16), disesiet (17), disevot (18), disenûf (19), vincj (20), vincjeun (21), vincjedoi (22), vincjetrê (23), vincjecuatri (24), vincjecinc (25), vincjesîs (26), vincjesiet (27), vincjevot (28), vincjenûf (29), trente (30), cuarante (40), cincuante (50), sessante (60), setante (70), otante (80), novante (90), cent (100), dusinte (200), tresinte (300), cuatricent (400), cinccent (500), sîscent (600), sietcent (700), votcent (800), nûfcent (900), mil (1.000), cent mil (100.000), un milion (1.000.000), un miliart (1.000.000.000).

In western variants of Friulian, be prepared to hear the following: un (1), doi (2), trê (3), cuatri (4), sinc (5), seis (6), siet (7), vot (8), nouf (9), deis (10), undis (11), dodis (12), tredis (13), cutuardis (14), cuindis (15), sedis (16), disasiet (17), disavot (18), disenouf (19), vinç (20), vinçaun (21), vinçadoi (22), vinçatrê (23), vinçacuatri (24), vinçasinc (25), vinçaseis (26), vinçasiet (27), vinçavot (28), vinçanouf (29), trenta (30), cuaranta (40), sincuanta (50), sessanta (60), setanta (70), otanta (80), novanta (90), sent (100), dusinta (200), tresinta (300), cuatrisent (400), sincsent (500), seissent (600), sietsent (700), votsent (800), noufsent (900), mil (1.000), sent mil (100.000), un milion (1.000.000), un miliart (1.000.000.000).

La statistiche: paragraph 2, sentence 2.

Vocabulary: pôc (few, little); une diference (difference).

Pôc must agree in number and gender with the noun it modifies: o vin pôc lat (we have little milk, we have not much milk); o ài pôc timp (I have little time, I have not much time); e je restade pocje aghe (there is little water left, there is not much water left); a son vignûts pôcs oms (few men came, not many men came); a son vignudis pocjis feminis (few women came, not many women came). 

Looking to the second-to-last example above, the masculine plural pôcs is pronounced pôs. As you will have by now come to expect, the masculine plural vignûts is pronounced vignûs. In addition, many Friulians pronounce om (and plural oms) as omp (and plural omps). This means that you may hear Friulians say what sounds like: a son vignûs pôs omps. Moreover, we encountered an instance in the Preambul of where the plural form umigns was used instead of oms, meaning that another possibility is: a son vignûs pôs umigns. Vigji tells us that, after counting the deaths, births and marriages in Gargagnà Disore, the number of people in the village has not changed much from the one year to the next.

In western variants of Friulian, be prepared to hear diference (and plural diferencis) pronounced diferensa (and plural diferensis). For those Friulians who, as mentioned above, systematically pronounce ar in place of er, this affects how they will pronounce this word. It is not necessary to know how every Friulian pronounces each word in his variant; rather, you need only understand the broader tendencies that occur to be able to navigate them when they are encountered. If you are unsure of what variant to adopt yourself, the surest path forward is to follow the usage of this book together with its audio recordings.

Learn Friulian 13. Lis predicjis dal muini: La statistiche

This is the thirteenth 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 commentary below relates to the first paragraph of the predicje called La statistiche, which begins with cussì o sin and ends with ni timbris. You are encouraged to read the Preambul (follow the link above for related commentary) before moving on to the predicjis.

COMMENTARY ON THE FRIULIAN

La statistiche: paragraph 1, sentence 1.

Vocabulary: cussì (so, thus); rivâ (to arrive); il cjâf (head); rivâ in cjâf di (to come to the end of); altri (other); un an (year).

In this first sentence of this first predicje, Vigji tells us that they, in the village, have come to the end of another year. Study: o soi rivât (I have arrived; masculine singular); o soi rivade (I have arrived; feminine singular); o sin rivâts (we have arrived; masculine plural); o sin rivadis (we have arrived; feminine plural). The masculine plural rivâts is pronounced rivâs. In some variants of Friulian, such as western ones, all the foregoing may instead be said: i soi rivât, i soi rivada, i sin rivâts, i sin rivadis. The written text employs rivâ in cjâf di (to come to the end of), but used in the audio recording is rather rivâ in cjâf a; no matter: whether used with di or a, the meaning is the same. This expression is formed from the masculine noun cjâf, meaning head. In western variants, be prepared to hear this pronounced çâf. Depending on the context, in cjâf di or in cjâf a can also take on the sense of within. Examples: o soi rivât in cjâf a un altri mês (I have come to the end of another month); al sarà muart in cjâf a un an (he will be dead within a year). Be reminded that many Friulian speakers pronounce altri as atri; the speaker interpreting Vigji in the audio recording says altri.

La statistiche: paragraph 1, sentence 2.

Vocabulary: par vie che (because, given that); la plêf (parish church); fâ la statistiche (to do {to compile} the statistics); ancjemò (yet, still); la parochie (parish); noaltris (we); par intant (for the time being); nestri (our); la vile (village).

Vigji talks about the parish statistics, which have not yet been done in the church. Par vie che means because, given that, owing to the fact that, amongst other possible formulations in English. Example: par vie che al plûf o torni cjase (because it is raining I am going home). If used with a noun, then par vie di is used instead: par vie de ploie o torni cjase (because of the rain I am going home). Study: nol è stât fat il calcul (the calculation has not been done); no je stade fate la stime (the estimate has not been done); no son stâts fats i calcui (the calculations have not been done); no son stadis fatis lis stimis (the estimates have not been done). Using ancjemò, the sense of yet is added: nol è ancjemò stât fat il plan di vore (the work plan has not yet been done). In western variants of Friulian, be prepared to hear ancjemò pronounced ençamò. O fasarìn (we shall do, we shall make) is the first-person plural of the future indicative of fâ (to do, to make). As for noaltris, this is the stressed first-person plural subject pronoun meaning we {ourselves}, so that o fasarìn noaltris means we ourselves shall do. Noaltris exists in different forms depending on the speaker's variant: nô, noaltris, noatris, nualtris, nuatris... The stressed subject pronouns are: jo (I), tu (you [singular]), lui (he), jê (she), noaltris (we), voaltris (you [plural]), lôr. The unstressed forms, in the same order, are: o, tu, al, e, o, o, a. For instance, whereas o fâs means I do, jo o fâs means I myself do, as opposed to someone else; and whereas tu âs means you have, tu tu âs means you yourself have, as opposed to someone else. Another example: lui al è vieli ma jê e je zovine (he is old but she is young), where the stressed pronouns are included for contrast. Chê de nestre vile: that of our village. The feminine singular chê stands in for la statistiche.

La statistiche: paragraph 1, sentence 3.

Vocabulary: notâ (to note); il zes (chalk); daûr (behind); la puarte (door); i nassûts (those who were born); i muarts (those who died); i sposalizis (those who got married); come che (just as); fâ (to do); par antîc (in the old days, in the past); cuant che (when); nassi (to be born); murî (to die); coventâ (to be needed); la cjarte (paper); il timbri (stamp).

Study the following: o ài notât (I noted); tu âs notât (you [singular] noted); al à notât (he noted); e à notât (she noted); o vin notât (we noted); o vês notât (you [plural] noted); a àn notât (they noted). These may also, depending on the context, be understood as I have noted, you have noted, he has noted, and so on. Notâ cul zes: to note with chalk; the speaker interpreting Vigji pronounces the first letter of zes like the first letter of the English word jump. Daûr la puarte means behind the door; this will also very commonly be expressed as daûr de puarte, where daûr di is used instead. Examples: daûr dal arbul (behind the tree); daûr de taule (behind the table); daûr dai arbui (behind the trees); daûr des taulis (behind the tables). In western variants of Friulian, be prepared to hear daûr pronounced davour; for instance, daûr de puarte may instead be said davour da la puarta. Note that the ou of the variant form davour is a diphthong, which begins as o and glides into u, so that davour sounds like da-vò-ur; it is not to be confused with the ou of French. Ducj i nassûts: all those who were born; to pronounce this, imagine ducj i to be rather one word: ducji, and then pronounce nassûts as nassûs. Muarts is pronounced muars. A fasevin (they used to do) is third-person plural of the imperfect indicative of fâ (to do). Study: o fasevi (I used to do); tu fasevis (you [singular] used to do); al faseve (he used to do); e faseve (she used to do); o fasevin (we used to do); o fasevis (you [plural] used to do); a fasevin (they used to do). In certain western variants, be prepared to hear, in the same order: i fadevi, i ti fadevis, al fadeva, a fadeva, i fadevin, i fadevis, a fadevin, where there is even an internal change from s to d. Another imperfect indicative appears in the text: no coventavin (were not needed), which is the negation of a coventavin (were needed). Study: al covente un timbri (a stamp is needed); nol covente nissun timbri (no stamp is needed); al coventave un timbri (a stamp was needed); e covente une autorizazion (an authorisation is needed); no covente nissune autorizazion (no authorisation is needed); e coventave une autorizazion (an authorisation was needed); a coventin doi timbris (two stamps are needed); a coventavin doi timbris (two stamps were needed). To be clear, un timbri means a stamp in the sense of an ink impression; a postage stamp is rather un bol.

Learn Friulian 12. Lis predicjis dal muini: Preambul

This is the twelfth 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 commentary below relates to the final paragraph of the Preambul, which begins with cussì mo and ends with chest librut.

COMMENTARY ON THE FRIULIAN

Preambul: paragraph 6, sentence 1.

Vocabulary: cussì mo (and so, and thus); cualchidun (someone); vê il pinsîr (to have the thought); rincurâ (to round up, to scrape together); meti insiemi (to put together); almancul (at least); un braç di (an armful of); une predicje (sermon); publicâ (to publish); ancje (also, even); cualchi (some or other); un sfuei (leaflet); come (as, like); une testemoneance (testimony); la vite (life); furlan (Friulian); un moment speciâl (a special moment); nestri (our); la storie (history); prin (first); un an (year); dopo la vuere (after the war); un esempli (example); la lenghe (language); ancjemò (still, yet); net (clean); cence (without); une messedance (mixture); une contaminazion (contamination).

Vût (had) is the past participle of vê (to have), so that al à vût means he had, he has had. Cualchidun is taken as a masculine subject pronoun, so that somebody had the thought becomes cualchidun al à vût il pinsîr. The arm of the human body is referred to in Friulian by the masculine noun braç; the plural braçs is pronounced bras. Un braç di is to be understood as an armful of. Study the following: dut chest (all this; masculine singular); dute cheste (all this; feminine singular); ducj chescj (all these; masculine plural); dutis chestis (all these; feminine plural). Examples: dut chest pan (all this bread); dute cheste aghe (all this water); ducj chescj libris (all these books); dutis chestis cjasis (all these houses). Possible variant forms: dut chistu, duta chista, duçus chisçus, dutis chistis. Che a son stadis publicadis: which have been published; the feminine plural form agrees in number and gender with predicjis. Study: il libri che al è stât publicât (the book that was published); la storie che e je stade publicade (the story that was published); i libris che a son stâts publicâts (the books that were published); lis storiis che a son stadis publicadis (the stories that were published). The masculine plural stâts publicâts is pronounced stâs publicâs. Nestri (our), like other possessive pronouns, is preceded by the definite article. Study: il nestri tratôr (our tractor); la nestre machine (our car); i nestris cjamps (our fields); lis nestris stradis (our streets). Regarding che al, che e, che a, be prepared to hear these contracted in the spoken language to ch'al, ch'e, ch'a, which sound like cal, che, ca. For instance, though possible to pronounce each word separately in i libris che a son stâts scrits (the books that were written), it is more typical to say what sounds like: i libris ca son stâs scris.

Preambul: paragraph 6, sentence 2.

Vocabulary: un troi (path); rivâ (to arrive); un librut (little book).

Par chest troi: literally, by this path, but the sense is rather one of: in this vein, in this spirit, with this intent. Librut (little book) is the diminutive of libri (book). Throughout the Preambul, a number of diminutives are encountered: librut (little book), cjasute (little house), gleseute (little church), from libri, cjase, glesie. The masculine singular diminutive ending is ut, where as the feminine singular one is ute. In the plural, these become: libruts, cjasutis, gleseutis, with libruts taking the pronunciation librùs. Al è rivât chest librut: this little book has arrived, this little book has come about.

The author of Lis predicjis dal muini signs off in the Preambul as pre Josef Marchet, meaning Father Josef Marchet. Marchet was born in 1902 and died in 1966, at the age of 63. Not only was he a Roman Catholic priest, but he was also the founder of the Friulian newspaper La Patrie dal Friûl.

Learn Friulian 11. Lis predicjis dal muini: Preambul

This is the eleventh 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 commentary below relates to the second half of the fifth paragraph of the Preambul, which begins with parcè che al va dit and ends with fâsi sintî a doprâlu.

COMMENTARY ON THE FRIULIAN

Preambul: paragraph 5, sentence 5.

Vocabulary: parcè che (because); al va dit che (it must be said that); i parevoi ({horse} blinders, blinkers); il smuars ({horse} bit); la bocje (mouth); il rivuart (deference, reserve); nissun (nobody); i zovins (young people); i viei (old people); i puars (poor people); i siôrs (rich people); i ignorants (ignorant people); i studiâts (educated people); nancje par (not even for); la parintât (relatives); la fie (daughter); il predi (priest).

In some variants of Friulian, such as western ones, parcè che is pronounced parsé che. Al va dit che translates word-for-word as it goes said that, where dit is the past participle of dî (to say); this is a Friulian manner of expressing it must be said that. That Vigji has neither parevoi (blinders) nor smuars (bit) in his mouth means that he does not refrain from saying what he thinks. Both i parevoi and il smuars are pieces of horse headgear. In bocje: in {his} mouth. In certain western variants of Friulian, the mouth is instead referred to as la boça. We read that Vigji has no deference towards anybody (nol à rivuart par nissun), meaning that he will criticise any and all, followed by examples of people about whom this is certainly true (see the vocabulary list above), each being separated by ni (nor), as in neither the young nor the old... Nancje par (or in certain western variants nença par) is used three times; note the contraction of par and la to form pe, and of par and i to form pai; but note also that there is no contraction of par with any definite article before sô fie (his daughter): with the names of family members in the singular, the definite article is omitted before the possessive pronoun: so pari (his/her father); sô mari (his/her mother); so fi (his/her son); sô fie (his/her daughter), amongst others. In the plural, it reappears: i siei fîs (his/her sons); lis sôs fiis (his/her daughters). This is why, in the singular, we should have nancje par sô fie, but in the plural, rather nancje pes sôs fiis. In certain western variants, these two latter examples may become nença par sô fia, nença pa li sôs fiis; in such variants, the four contractions of par are pal, pa la, pai, pa li, whereas in the central one used in this book, these are rather pal, pe, pai, pes.

Preambul: paragraph 5, sentence 6.

Vocabulary: co (when); parê (to seem, to appear); just (fair, just); une robe (thing, something); une robe cualunche (some or other thing); sunâ (to ring, to sound); sunâ par timp (to call time-out); cence nissune remission (without any mercy).

Both cuant che and co mean when as conjunctions, but the latter is never followed by che. For instance, cuant che al lavore and co al lavore both mean when he works. Whereas al pâr means it seems, i pâr means it seems to him, and no i pâr means it does not seem to him. The four forms of the adjective just (fair) are: just (masculine singular); juste (feminine singular); juscj (masculine plural); justis (feminine plural). Supplementary examples: no mi pâr just ce che tu disis (what you say does not seem fair to me); no i pâr juste cheste decision (this decision seems unfair to him); no ur parin justis chês decisions (those decisions seem unfair to them). Al sune par timp: he calls time-out, which is to say that he speaks up. Cence remission: without mercy, or with the adjective nissun added: cence nissune remission (without any mercy). As a subject pronoun, nissun means (nobody, not anybody), but as an adjective, it takes the sense of no, not any. Examples: nol ven nissun (nobody comes); nol è nissun probleme (there is no problem). Nissun has only two forms, both singular: nissun (masculine) and nissune (feminine). Note that probleme is indeed a masculine noun, despite ending in e, typical of feminine nouns.

Preambul: paragraph 5, sentence 7.

Vocabulary: bon (good); un cristian (Christian); la fede (faith); fer (firm); sclet (pure); cence (without); une complicazion (complication); une buerisine (breeze, whim); politic (political); un judizi (judgement); in fin dai conts (in the end); podê dîju (to be able to say them); il plevan (parish priest); la maniere (manner, way); presentâ (to present); une peraule (word); il lengaç (language, jargon); taiâ (to cut); sponzi (to sting); cualchi volte (sometimes); tant ordenari (so vulgar); fâsi sintî (to make oneself be heard); doprâ (to use).

Fer (firm) takes the following four forms: fer (masculine singular); ferme (feminine singular); fers (masculine plural); fermis (feminine plural). We read that Vigji is a good Christian of firm and pure faith. He is without buerisinis politichis, which is to say, political whims. The masculine plural direct object ju means them, so that dîju means to say them and presentâju means to present them; its singular equivalent is lu (it), so that doprâlu means to use it. Judizis che al podarès dîju il plevan: judgements that the parish priest could repeat (literally, could say them). The masculine noun lengaç means language in the sense of jargon; in the sense of national tongue, the feminine lenghe is used instead: la lenghe furlane (the Friulian language). Though the parish priest may in theory agree with Vigji's views, we read that the language used by the latter cuts (al taie) and stings (al sponç) and is so vulgar (tant ordenari) that the former could not allow himself to be heard using it. Al podarès (he could) and nol podarès (he could not) are both the masculine, third-person singular of the present conditional of podê (can, to be able).

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 commentary below relates to the first half of the fifth paragraph of the Preambul, which begins with Vigji al fâs and ends with pevar e asêt. 

COMMENTARY ON THE FRIULIAN

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).

Preambul: paragraph 5, sentence 3.

Vocabulary: di chê bande (while at it); profitâsi (to take advantage); tirâ (to pull, to draw); lunc (long); tirâle in lunc (to drag things out); strucjâ fûr (to pour out); dut ce che (everything that); bulî (to boil); il stomi (stomach); une opinion (opinion); une critiche (criticism); une sentence (verdict); sul cont di (regarding, about); une persone (person); un fat (event).

The present participle of infinitives ending in â takes the form ant; for instance: strucjant (pouring); publicant (publishing); fevelant (speaking); cjapant (taking); sierant (closing). Fûr means out, forth, so strucjant fûr means pouring out. Dut ce che means everything that; for instance: dut ce che al fâs (eveything that he does); dut ce che o ài (everything that I have). In some variants of Friulian, such as western ones, ce is in fact said se. Whereas al bol means it boils, i bol means it boils unto him (or unto her); by adding tal stomi (in the stomach), where tal is the contraction of in and il, we obtain, from the text: dut ce che i bol tal stomi (everything that boils in his stomach; literally, everything that boils unto him in the stomach). Study the use in the text of i siei (masculine plural) and lis sôs (feminine plural) before the nouns opinions, coments, critichis, sentencis; both i siei and lis sôs here mean his. Sul cont des personis: about the people, with regard to the people. Sul cont dai fats: about the events, with regard to the events. Des is the contraction of di and lis, whereas dai is the contraction of di and i. The masculine plural fats is pronounced fas.

Preambul: paragraph 5, sentence 4.

Vocabulary: cussì (so, thus); vignî fûr (to come out); ogni (every); une volte (time, occasion); une predicje (sermon); il muini (sacristan); curt (short); sclet (frank); cuinçâ (to season); cuinçât (seasoned); il sâl (salt); il pevar (pepper); l'asêt (vinegar).

Ogni volte: every time. Cussì e ven fûr une predicje: so out comes a sermon. Une predicje dal muini: a sacristan's sermon, a sermon from the sacristan. Predicje is pronounced with stress on the first syllable. In the feminine singular are curte, sclete, cuinçade, which all agree in gender and number with predicje. We read that Vigji's sermons are seasoned with sâl e pevar e asêt (salt and pepper and vinegar), which is to say that they are very biting indeed. The s of asêt occurs between vowels, which means that it is voiced as in the first letter of the English word zeal, and not as in the first letter of the English word seal.

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 commentary below relates to the entirety of the fourth paragraph of the Preambul, which begins with la vilie des fiestis and ends with chei imprescj.

COMMENTARY ON THE FRIULIAN

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 irregular plural of the masculine noun an (year). Agns sounds like ains; you will also hear it pronounced without its final s, to sound like ain. 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 commentary below relates 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. 

COMMENTARY ON THE FRIULIAN

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 commentary below relates 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.

COMMENTARY ON THE FRIULIAN

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 St 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.

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 commentary below relates 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. 

COMMENTARY ON THE FRIULIAN

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 commentary below relates to the first two sentences of the third paragraph of the Preambul, which begin with cheste veretât and end with il Comun di Scufons.

COMMENTARY ON THE FRIULIAN

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).