Learn Friulian 18. Lis predicjis dal muini: La statistiche

This is the eighteenth 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 book and listen to the audio, available online courtesy of the Societât Filologjiche Furlane. The commentary below relates to that part of the second paragraph of La statistiche where Vigji speaks of il Temul di Rutizze and Miliut Fasanel.

COMMENTARY ON THE FRIULIAN

La statistiche: paragraph 2, sentence 3, part d.

Vocabulary: il temul (boor, brute, hulk); brusâsi (to burn oneself); i bugjei (guts); la puinte (dregs, swill); restâ (to remain {to die}); sot (under); il fier (iron); un ospedâl (hospital).

In the last lesson, you discovered that the Friulian for gut is the masculine noun budiel, which is expressed by some as bugjel. In the plural, it becomes budiei or bugjei. As for brusâsi i budiei or brusâsi i bugjei, this means to burn one's guts; if taken very literally, it translates as to burn unto oneself the guts. Consider now: si è brusât il dêt (he burnt his finger, he has burnt his finger); si è brusâts i dêts (he burnt his fingers, he has burnt his fingers). Not only does Friulian require the agreement of the past participle in number and gender with a direct object that precedes it, but many Friulians will also apply an agreement with the direct object following it. Examples: il miluç, lu ài mangjât (the apple, I have eaten it); o ài mangjât il miluç (I have eaten the apple); i miluçs, ju ài mangjâts (the apples, I have eaten them); o ài mangjâts i miluçs (I have eaten the apples); la patate, le ài mangjade (the potato, I have eaten it); o ài mangjade la patate (I have eaten the potato); lis patatis, lis ài mangjadis (the potatoes, I have eaten them); o ài mangjadis lis patatis (I have eaten the potatoes). The masculine plural brusâts, mangjâts, dêts, miluçs are pronounced brusâs, mangjâs, dês, milùs.

If you are familiar with other Romance languages, the mandatory agreement of the past participle in number and gender with a direct object preceding it should be unsurprising. What may be more surprising is the agreement of the past participle with a direct object following it. When this occurs (and not all Friulians observe it), we can perhaps view the past participle as functioning almost like an adjective. For instance, it may be helpful to consider o ài mangjadis lis patatis as meaning not only I have eaten the potatoes, but also I have the potatoes eaten, I have got the potatoes eaten.

For information, viodi is the Friulian for to see; its past participle is viodût (seen). In a western style of Friulian, be prepared to hear jodi (to see) and jodût (seen). For instance, whereas we have the following in standard Friulian: lu ài viodût, ju ài viodûts, le ài viodude, lis ài viodudis, be prepared to encounter the following in western Friulian: i lu ài jodût, i ju ài jodûts, i l'ài joduda, i li ài jodudis. The masculine plural viodûts (standard) sounds like viodûs, whereas jodûts (western) sounds like jodûs.

Restâ sot i fiers: to die under the knife. As Vigji tells us, whereas the one burnt his guts by drinking the swill made by Baduscli, the other died under the knife during some medical intervention; literally: al è restât (he remained {he died}) sot i fiers (under the irons {under the iron implements}) tal ospedâl (in the hospital). The masculine singular fier means iron; in the plural, it refers figuratively to surgical tools. For those Friulians who replace er with ar, they will instead say singular fiar and plural fiars. Review: The plural of the masculine noun ospedâl (hospital) is ospedâi. This masculine plural formation is entirely regular in Friulian, where the ending changes from âl in the singular to âi in the plural.

The Friulian for under is sot di or simply sot, for instance: sot dal arbul (under the tree); sot dai arbui (under the trees); sot de cjadree (under the chair); sot des cjadreis (under the chairs); sot il cjapiel (under the hat); sot i cjapiei (under the hats); sot la taule (under the table); sot lis taulis (under the tables).

Learn Friulian 17. Lis predicjis dal muini: La statistiche

This is the seventeenth lesson in our study of the Friulian language using the book Lis predicjis dal muini by Josef Marchet. To download the book and listen to the audio recordings, made available by the Societât Filologjiche Furlane, follow the links in Learn Friulian 1. The commentary below relates to that part of the second paragraph of La statistiche where Vigji names Rose dal Puint, his comari, amongst the dead.

COMMENTARY ON THE FRIULIAN

La statistiche: paragraph 2, sentence 3, part c.

Vocabulary: la comari (godmother); il puint (bridge); restâ (to remain, to be left); la scugjele (bowl); in man (in hand, holding); intant che (whilst, as); lavâ la massarie (to do the washing up).

Comari is composed of co and mari, which is to say, co-mother; its masculine equivalent is copari (co-father): these are used in Friulian to mean godmother and godfather. Vigji says mê comari (my godmother), without the use of any definite article. Friulian must normally place the definite article before the possessive pronoun: il gno libri (my book); la mê machine (my car); but with words identifying family members in the singular, it is omitted: gno pari (my father); mê mari (my mother); gno fradi (my brother); mê sûr (my sister); gno fi (my son); mê fie (my daughter); gno nono (my grandfather); mê none (my grandmother); gno copari (my godfather); mê comari (my godmother). Exception: il gno om (my husband); la mê femine (my wife). Though omitted in the singular, the definite article reappears in the plural: i miei fradis (my brothers); lis mês sûrs (my sisters), and so on.

Vigji tells us that, when his godmother died, she was left with a bowl in her hand whilst doing the washing up. Though it does not appear in the text, the Friulian for kitchen is la cusine. Stress is on the second syllable: cu-sì-ne. Example: mê comari e jere in cusine (my godmother was in the kitchen). In a western style of Friulian, be prepared to hear: mê comari a era in cusina. Study now this use of restâ (to be left), where jessi must be used as auxiliary: al è restât (he was left); e je restade (she was left); a son restâts (they were left [masculine]); a son restadis (they were left [feminine]). The masculine plural restâts is pronounced restâs. Examples: gno copari al è restât cu la manarie in man (my godfather was left with the axe in his hand); mê none e je restade cu la cite in man (my grandmother was left holding the pot). Manarie has four syllables, with stress on the second: ma-nà-ri-e.

The Friulian for bowl is la scudiele or, as Vigji says it, la scugjele. Another example of variation between di and gj is in the word diestri (right), which some may instead say as gjestri. Example: la man diestre or la man gjestre (the right hand). Another example is with the masculine noun budiel (gut), which some may instead say as bugjel. Example: gjavâi i budiei al pes or gjavâi i bugjei al pes (to remove the guts from a fish, to gut a fish). In this last example, take note of the Friulian formation: gjavâ means to remove and i means unto it, so that gjavâi means to remove {from} unto it. Friulian is pleonastic, in that it includes {from} unto it despite the presence of {from} unto the fish later in the phrase: gjavâi (to remove {from} unto it) i budiei (the guts) al pes ({from} unto the fish). Vigji himself uses bugjei, an example of which you will read in the next lesson.

The feminine noun massarie, composed of four syllables and taking stress on the third (ma-ssa-rì-e), refers to the entire array of kitchen materials used for cooking and eating: pots and pans (citis e padielis), glasses and cups (tacis e cjicaris), plates and bowls (plats e scudielis), cutlery (possadis), and so on. Cjicare is pronounced with stress on the first syllable: cjì-ca-re. The act of doing the washing up in the kitchen after a meal is: lavâ la massarie. Study the following: e lave la massarie (she is doing the washing up); e lavave la massarie (she was doing the washing up); e lavarà la massarie (she will do the washing up). Another example: o ài dome voie di butâmi tal jet ma e je la massarie ancjemò di lavâ (I just want to go off to bed but the washing up is still to be done).

Review: To say he died or he has died in Friulian, use: al è muart; the feminine equivalent is e je muarte (she died, she has died). Example: il gno vieli al è muart cul martiel in man (my old man died with the hammer in his hand). These also function as the Friulian equivalents for he is dead and she is dead. Examples: mê comari e je muarte (my godmother is dead); mê comari e je muarte di plui di cinc mês (my godmother has been dead for more than five months). In a western style of Friulian, this last example may be encountered as: mê comari a ei muarta di pi di sinc meis.

Go to the next Friulian lesson, where you will learn an informal Friulian expression used when talking about going under the knife during a medical operation.

Learn Friulian 16. Lis predicjis dal muini: La statistiche

This is the sixteenth 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 book and listen to the audio, available online courtesy of the Societât Filologjiche Furlane. The commentary below relates to that part of the second paragraph of La statistiche where Vigji speaks of la viele di Treseman.

COMMENTARY ON THE FRIULIAN

La statistiche: paragraph 2, sentence 3, part b.

Vocabulary: la viele (old woman); la spale (shoulder); nonante (ninety); un carnevâl (carnival); cence (without); puar (poor, unfortunate); la femine (woman); une cjame (load, burden); une strussie (hardship); di ogni fate (of every sort); la famee (family); bastart (bastard {wretched}); dulà che (where); tocjâ (to touch, to befall); vivi (to live); cualchi (some odd, a few); un centenâr (about a hundred); un miâr (about a thousand); un rosari (rosary); dal sigûr (surely, for sure); il purgatori (purgatory); nancje cun (not even with); la ponte (tip); il dêt (finger); piçul (little, small).

In Friulian, an old woman is la viele, and an old man is il vieli. Moreover, the usual word for mother in Friulian is la mari, and for father it is il pari; however, colloquially, la viele and il vieli can also be used: il gno vieli al è muart l'an passât (my old man died last year). Vigji tells us in a colourful way that when the old woman died, she was ninety years old: e veve su lis spalis nonante carnevâi (she had ninety Carnivals on her shoulders). Carnival is a Christian, pre-Lenten festivity, and the old woman had seen ninety of them. For ninety, Vigji uses the variant form nonante, rather than novante. Though she had lived through ninety Carnivals, Vigji tells us that the poor woman (puare femine) had never lived it up in her life: cence vê mai fat carnevâl (without ever having lived it up). Fâ carnevâl is to be understood broadly, in the sense of to live it up, to revel, to celebrate. The four forms of puar are: puar (masculine singular); puare (feminine singular); puars (masculine plural); puaris (feminine plural). Stress is always on the u, for all forms: pù-ar. Not only does puar mean poor in the sense of poverty-stricken, it is also used to describe someone as being deserving of pity.

Masculine nouns ending in âl, such as carnevâl, form their plural by changing the final l to i. Examples: carnevâl, carnevâi (carnival, carnivals); cjavâl, cjavâi (horse, horses); pâl, pâi (pole, poles); gjornâl, gjornâi (newspaper, newspapers). It also applies to masculine adjectives: nemì mortâl, nemîs mortâi (mortal enemy, mortal enemies). In fact, the general rule is that it applies to masculine words ending in l where a vowel precedes it: arbul, arbui (tree, trees); cîl, cîi (sky, skies); pericul, pericui (danger, dangers); om fedêl, oms fedêi (faithful man, faithful men). Such adjectives in the feminine are handled so: condane capitâl, condanis capitâls (capital punishment, capital punishments); femine fedêl, femine fedêls (faithful woman, faithful women).

By une cjame di strussiis, Vigji means a load of hardships. These hardships were of every sort: di ogni fate. To form the plural of a regular feminine noun ending in e, the final e changes to is, as in: cjase, cjasis (house, houses); strade, stradis (road, roads); femine, feminis (woman, women). When the ending in the singular is ie, the plural becomes iis, as in: strussie, strussiis (hardship, hardships); fie, fiis (daughter, daughters); bestie, bestiis (beast, beasts). Vigji explains that the reason for the old woman's hardships was on account of chê famee bastarde (that wretched family) dulà che i jere tocjât (where it had befallen her) di vivi (to live). Bastart is obviously cognate with English bastard, but it is better understood here as meaning wretched. As for tocjâ, this translates literally as to touch, but it here takes on the sense of to befall: dulà che (where) i (unto her) jere (it had) tocjât (befallen) di vivi (to live).

If centenârs means hundreds and miârs means thousands, then centenârs di miârs means hundreds of thousands. This is used in the text in conjunction with cualchi, which, as you will remember, requires the use of the singular after it: cualchi centenâr di miârs (a few hundred thousand). The first instance of tocjâ encountered above means to befall; we now find another instance thereof, this time in its literal sense: no à tocjât purgatori (she did not touch purgatory). We are certain that the subject of this is feminine singular because of the use of no à, rather than nol à. Consider: la viele no à tocjât purgatori (the old woman did not touch purgatory); il vieli nol à tocjât purgatori (the old man did not touch purgatory). In the plural: chei no àn tocjât purgatori (those people did not touch purgatory). Looking back to the text, the che that appears before dal sigûr (surely) can be understood as meaning so that.

Nancje cu la ponte: not even with the tip. A finger of the hand is called un dêt, but so is a toe of the foot; where necessary for clarity, the following can be said: i dêts de man (the fingers of the hand); i dêts dal pît (the toes of the foot). The plural dêts is pronounced dês. The little finger and the little toe are called il dêt piçul, whereas the thumb and the big toe are called il poleâr; again, de man (of the hand) and dal pît (of the foot) can be added where context has not made it clear which is being spoken of. Another example: la ponte dal poleâr dal pît diestri (the tip of the big toe of the right foot); in addition to diestri (right), you will also encounter the forms dret and gjestri. The Friulian for left is çamp, so that la ponte dal dêt piçul de man çampe means the tip of the little finger of the left hand.

Information about western Friulian: Whereas in the central variant used by Vigji an old man is un vieli and an old woman is une viele, be prepared to hear un veçu and una veça in western variants. For instance, in the west, you may encounter something of the sort: la veça a no à toçât il purgatori nença cu la ponta dal deit pissul, which equates to standard la viele no à tocjât il purgatori nancje cu la ponte dal dêt piçul. In the western example, you will notice that the feminine, third-person singular and unstressed subject pronoun a (which is e in the standard) is retained before no, whereas it drops in the standard. The plurals of standard un vieli and une viele are i viei and lis vielis; the plurals of western un veçu and una veça are i veçus and li vecis.

Go to the next Friulian lesson, where you will learn various Friulian words related to the kitchen, including how to speak of doing the washing up.

Learn Friulian 15. Lis predicjis dal muini: La statistiche

This is the fifteenth lesson in our study of the Friulian language using the book Lis predicjis dal muini by Josef Marchet. To download the book and listen to the audio recordings, made available by the Societât Filologjiche Furlane, follow the links in Learn Friulian 1. The first two sentences of the second paragraph of La statistiche were studied in the last lesson; the remainder of the paragraph is composed of a third, rather long sentence, where Vigji talks about the villagers who have died. This sentence will be taken by smaller portions (parts a-e). The commentary below relates to i doi agnuluts and la frutate di Paiarin, beginning with o 'ndi vin lassâts pe strade nûf.

COMMENTARY ON THE FRIULIAN

La statistiche: paragraph 2, sentence 3, part a.

Vocabulary: indi (thereof, of it, of them); lassâ (to leave); la strade (way, road); nûf (nine); doi (two); un agnulut (little angel); la frutate (girl {daughter}); murî (to die); la Svuizare (Switzerland); coventâ (to be needed); mandâ (to send); une cristianute (little Christian girl); ator pal mont (abroad); avonde (enough); vivi (to live {on}); cun dut il teren (with all the land); lavorâ (to work, to till).

Indi is the Friulian for thereof, or more simply put: of it, of them. It is unusual to encounter it in this form in spoken usage, where it is subject to contraction. The way indi contracts varies. One common contraction is through the omission of the initial i. For instance, o 'ndi ài siet means I have seven of them, where o 'ndi (o + indi) sounds like ondi. When used with al, the final l of al will also drop: a 'ndi cjol doi means he takes two of them, where a 'ndi (al + indi) sounds like andi. Another contraction can see the omission of the final i, in addition to the initial one. For instance, o 'nd ài siet again means I have seven of them, where o 'nd ài sounds like ondài. But if the verb thereafter begins with a consonant, the final d will change to t, as in: a 'nt cjol doi (he takes two of them), where a 'nt sounds like English ang. This nasalisation of nt to what sounds like English ng is highly typical of Friulian. Other contractions, less common, include ind (before a vowel) and int (before a consonant), with omission of the unstressed subject pronoun, for instance: ind ài siet (I have seven of them); int cjol doi (he takes two of them). Int sounds like English ing.

The feminine noun strade is most often used in the sense of road, street, but here it takes the sense of way, wayside, so that lassâ pe strade, where pe is the contraction of par and la, means to leave by the wayside. This is a euphemism related to death: to have left someone by the wayside means that the person has died. O 'ndi vin lassâts pe strade nûf: nine people have died on us; literally, we have left nine of them by the wayside. Lassâts, pronounced lassâs, is here in masculine plural form because the dead are to the number of nine. Study: o 'ndi vin cjolt un (we took one of them); o 'ndi vin cjolte une (we took one of them); o 'ndi vin cjolts doi (we took two of them); o 'ndi vin cjoltis dôs (we took two of them). In the first of the foregoing examples, the item taken is expressed by a masculine noun in Friulian, whereas in the second it is expressed by a feminine one. In the third and fourth examples, two items were taken. The masculine plural cjolts sounds like cjols. In Friulian, both one and two have a masculine and feminine form: un libri, doi libris (one book, two books); une cjase, dôs cjasis (one house, two houses).

Two diminutives appear in this portion of text: un agnulut (a little angel; derived from un agnul, meaning an angel); une cristianute (a little Christian girl; derived from une cristiane, meaning a Christian woman). The masculine diminutive ends in ut, whereas the feminine one ends in ute. Had it been question of a little Christian boy, we should rather have un cristianut, derived from un cristian (a Christian man). Of the nine villagers that died, two were little angels (agnuluts, pronounced agnulùs), which is to say, babies. A third was Toni Paiarin's daughter (la fantate di Toni Paiarin), whom Vigji refers to as chê cristianute (that little Christian girl). Everybody in the village was Christian, of course, and indeed in all of Friûl, but cristian is also used more broadly simply to mean person. Regarding the word for daughter, this is normally the feminine noun fie in Friulian; and son is normally the masculine noun fi. That said, the feminine frutate (girl) can be used colloquially in the sense of daughter, as it is in the book; and the masculine frutat (boy) can be used in the sense of son.

We read that Paiarin's daughter died in Switzerland: e je muarte in Svuizare. The verb here is murî (to die), and its past participle is muart. Study: al è muart (he died, he is dead); e je muarte (she died, she is dead); a son muarts [masculine], a son muartis [feminine] (they died, they are dead). Another example: gno pari al è muart tal doi mil e vincjesîs (my father died in two thousand and twenty-six).

With regard to the fact that Paiarin had sent his daughter off to Switzerland, Vigji asks: ce coventavial? (what was the use?, what need was there?). Friulian employs interrogative forms, created by moving the unstressed subject pronoun to the end of the verb. Consider: al covente, covential?, ce covential? (it is needed, is it needed?, what is it needed for?); al coventave, coventavial?, ce coventavial? (it was needed, was it needed?, what was it needed for?). This will be explored in more detail as the lessons progress. Al mandàs is the masculine, third-person singular of the imperfect subjunctive of mandâ (to send). Ce coventavial che al mandàs...?: What was the need that he should send...? Another interrogative is encountered: no aial avonde par vivi? (has he not enough to live on?). Study: al à, aial?, no aial? (he has, has he? has he not?).

Vigji then states the wherefore of his amazement: cun dut il teren che al lavore (with all the land that he works). The masculine noun teren, cognate with English terrain, refers to the arable land belonging to Paiarin and tilled by him. Vigji questions why he should not have been able to make enough money on his own, without having to send his daughter abroad (ator pal mont), where she ultimately died.

Go to the next Friulian lesson to discover how Vigji uses the Friulian word for carnival to describe an old woman as having been ninety years old when she died.

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 book and 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.

Go to the next Friulian lesson, where you will learn a colloquial Friulian euphemism related to death.

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 the book and 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.

Go to the next Friulian lesson, where Vigji speaks of the number of people living in his village. You will learn how to count in Friulian, not only in standard form but also in western variants of Friulian.

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 book and 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.

Go to the next Friulian lesson, where you will begin to read the first predicje of the book, called La statistiche, narrated by Vigji himself. You are encouraged to listen as many times as possible to the audio recording, available on the website of the Societât Filologjiche Furlane. Vigji talks about the births, deaths and marriages that have taken place in the past year in his village, in a very lively Friulian style.

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 the book and 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).

Go to the next Friulian lesson, where you will read the final part of the Preambul. You will learn how Friulian forms diminutives by looking at a number of words encountered in the text.

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 book and 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 (everything 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.

Go to the next Friulian lesson, where you will learn how to describe Vigji's plain-spoken language as being that which cuts and stings. You will also continue to learn more Friulian grammar.

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 the book and 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); pal mont (abroad); 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 was nearly thirty years abroad. 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).

Go to the next Friulian lesson, where you will read more about the personality of Vigji, the sacristan-narrator of the book, including what to expect when he begins giving his stinging opinions on life in his village.