Learn Friulian 23. Lis predicjis dal muini: La statistiche

This is the twenty-third 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 the sixth, seventh and eighth paragraphs of La statistiche, which begin with e po a 'nd è une and end with cul non di Diu.

COMMENTARY ON THE FRIULIAN

La statistiche: paragraph 6, sentence 1.

Vocabulary: e po (and then); indi (thereof, of it/them); restâ (to remain, to stay); cjoli (to take {to marry}); il fi (son); il for (bakery); vignî sù (to come up, to arise); dî (to say); cualchi volte (sometimes); il Signôr (the Lord); fâ (to make, to do); il diaul (devil); compagnâ (to match, to pair up).

E po a 'nd è une di Gargagnà: and then there is one from Gargagnà. Friulian uses a 'nd è un and a 'nd è une as equivalent to there is one (of them). Examples: di chei oms a 'nd è un che nol è furlan (of those men there is one who is not Friulian); di chês feminis a 'nd è une che no je mai lade a marît (of those women there is one who never got married); and in the plural: di chei oms a 'nd è doi che a fasin il marangon (of those men there are two who are carpenters); di chês feminis a 'nd è tantis che a son forestis (of those women there are many who are from away). Restâ takes for auxiliary jessi (to be), so that che e je restade a Gargagnà means who stayed in Gargagnà. She who stayed in Gargagnà married the son of Toni dal For: e à cjolt il fi di Toni dal For (literally, she took the son of Toni dal For). Cjolt (taken) is the past participle of cjoli (to take). Examples: o voi tal for a cjoli il pan (I am going to the bakery to get bread); o ài cjolt il gjornâl par leilu (I took the newspaper to read it); tu mi âs cjolte la peraule di bocje (you took the word out of my mouth). Al ven sù: literally, it comes up, it arises; this is used in conjunction with di dî che (to say that), so that al ven sù di dî che is to be understood as it must be said that. Cualchi volte: sometimes; a noun following cualchi is always set in the singular. Il Signôr ju fâs: the Lord makes them. Review the direct objects pronouns lu, ju, le, lis with these examples: il Signôr lu fâs (the Lord makes him/it [masculine singular]); il Signôr ju fâs (the Lord makes them [masculine plural]); il Signôr le fâs (the Lord makes her/it [feminine singular]); il Signôr lis fâs (the Lord makes them [feminine plural]). Il diaul ju compagne: the devil pairs them up.

La statistiche: paragraph 7, sentence 1.

Vocabulary: e cussì (and so, and thus); il cont (account, reckoning); fâ (to do, to make).

Vigji tells us that we have reached the end of his reckoning of the village population: i conts a son fats (the accounts are settled; the reckoning is done). Be reminded that the masculine plural fats sounds like fas.

La statistiche: paragraph 7, sentence 2.

Vocabulary: savê se (to know if); jessi ca (to be here); fâju (to do them); ancje (also, too); chest (this); un an (year); cu (that, which); vignî (to come); al pues stâi (it may be); come nuie (easily, just like that); capitâ (to befall); restâ (to remain, to be left); la strade (way, road); madûr (ripe, mature, on in years).

O sai: I know. No sai: I do not know. O sarai: I shall be. No sarai: I shall not be. In fâju (to do them), the masculine plural ju is put for i conts from the previous sentence. Chest an cu ven: this coming year; literally, this year which comes. It is possible to say both chest an che al ven or chest an cu ven; when using cu, the atonic subject pronoun is omitted. In the central variety of Friulian, cu is used only occasionally; when it appears, it does so most often in the wording cu ven, as in: martars cu ven (this coming Tuesday); vinars cu ven (this coming Friday); chest an cu ven (this coming year); la setemane cu ven (this coming week), and so on. The days of the week in Friulian are: lunis, martars, miercus, joibe, vinars, sabide, domenie. Translated very literally to English, Vigji says: al pues stâi (it may be), come nuie (just like that), che mi capiti (that it befall me) di restâ pe strade (to be left by the wayside), che o soi madûr (for I am mature); which is to say more idiomatically in English: I could drop dead just like that 'cos I'm no spring chicken. Note the use of the present subjunctive che mi capiti (that it {may} befall me). Consider: ogni tant mi capite di cjapâ frêt (every so often it befalls me {every so often I happen} to catch cold); ogni tant al pues stâi che mi capiti di cjapâ frêt (every so often it may be that it befall me {every so often I may happen} to catch cold). Examples of madûr in the sense of ripe include: un miluç madûr (a ripe apple); miluçs madûrs (ripe apples); un piruç madûr (a ripe pear); piruçs madûrs (ripe pears). Masculine plural miluçs and piruçs are pronounced milùs and pirùs. The four forms of madûr are: madûr (masculine singular); madûrs (masculine plural); madure (feminine singular); maduris (feminine plural). When used to describe a person, madûr means mature or advanced in age: un zovin madûr (a mature young man); Vigji al è ben madûr (Vigji is on in years).

La statistiche: paragraph 7, sentence 3.

Vocabulary: ognidun (each one, everyone); di nô (of us); zovin (young); vieli (old); vê di (to have to, must); pensâ (to think); vuê (today); un an (year); podê (can, to be able); jessi (to be); il numar (number); chei che (those who); une mantie (handle); un bocâl (mug).

E ognidun di nô: and each one of us. Zovin o vieli che al sei: young or old as he may be; be reminded that the present subjunctive form al sei also exists in Friulian as al sedi, so that the following is equally possible: zovin o vieli che al sedi. Be further reminded that che and al typically contract in speech: zovin o vieli ch'al sei (ch'al sedi). In western Friulian, be prepared to hear: 'sovin o veçu ch'al sedi. Whereas the first letter of central zovin sounds like the first letter of English jig, the first letter of western 'sovin sounds like the first letter of English zig. Moreover, in both variants, the final in of zovin or 'sovin sounds like English ing. This nasalisation is typical of any Friulian word ending in a vowel + n, where the final n takes on an ng quality. Al à di pensâ che: he must bear in mind that, he has to take into account that; literally, pensâ means to think. Vê di followed by an infinitive means to have to, must, for instance: vê di lâ vie (to have to leave); o ài di lâ vie (I have to leave, I must go away). Vuê un an: in one year from today. Si pues jessi: one may be; it is through the use of si that impersonal one can be rendered in Friulian; consider: al pues jessi (he may be); si pues jessi (one may be). Tal numar di chei che: amongst those who; literally, in the number of those who. Whereas un bocâl is a mug, usually made of clay, its handle is une mantie, pronounced with stress on the first syllable: màn-ti-e. When one dies, he is returned to clay, which, according to Friulian gallows humour, may then be used to produce mug handles. Lâ a fâ mantiis di bocâl: to go become {to end up as} mug handles; which, in idiomatic English, is to say, to go six feet under, to push up daisies. Che a saran lâts a fâ: who will have become. The masculine plural lâts is pronounced lâs.

La statistiche: paragraph 7, sentence 4.

Vocabulary: al tocje di (it is incumbent to {you have to}); tignî (to keep, to hold); tignîsi (to keep oneself); pront (ready, prepared); tignîsi pront (to be prepared, to stay at the ready); dut (everything, all).

Vigji reminds us that, in life, one must be prepared for anything: al tocje di tignîsi pronts a dut. Pront (ready, prepared) takes masculine plural form because it is used impersonally here, in reference to all men, with a plural sense. Al tocje di derives from the infinitive tocjâ, the literal meaning of the latter being to touch; that something touches unto a one (i tocje) means that it is incumbent upon him: i tocje di lâ a vore (he has to go to work; literally, it touches unto him {it is incumbent upon him} to go to work). Another example: mi tocje di studiâ il furlan (I must study Friulian). To return to the wording of the text, al tocje di is equivalent to impersonal you must {one must}, as in: al tocje di tignîsi pronts (you must stay ready {one must stay ready}). However, to say this not as a general statement of all men, but rather to one person only, then: ti tocje di tignîti pront (said to one male) or ti tocje di tignîti pronte (said to one female); if speaking to numerous people, then: us tocje di tignîsi pronts (said to males, or to males and females together) or us tocje di tignîsi prontis (said to females).

La statistiche: paragraph 7, sentence 5.

Vocabulary: dî (to say); puar (poor); il plevan (parish priest); vieli (old); il crep (clay); un moment (moment); altri (other); cjatâ (to find); cjatâsi (to find oneself); un flic (bit, piece).

Al diseve il puar plevan vieli che...: the poor old parish priest was saying that... Al diseve is set in the imperfect indicative. More examples: al faseve (he was doing); al viodeve (he was seeing); al fevelave (he was speaking); al cjaminave (he was walking); al cjatave (he was finding). The impersonal si è means one is. In English, this will also be expressed as we are, so that si è ducj di crep means we are all of clay. Listen to the recording to hear that the speaker impersonating Vigji in fact says: si è ducju di crep. Vigji continues: di un moment al altri (from one moment to the next) si pues cjatâsi a flics (we can find ourselves broken to bits). Si pues cjatâsi is yet another impersonal usage, this one meaning: one may find himself. As for a flics, this translates as {broken} to bits, and refers to the fact that, since we are all of clay, we shall all ultimately find ourselves returned to that state, which is to say, dead.

La statistiche: paragraph 8, sentence 1.

Vocabulary: cun cheste (on that note); dâ (to give); bon (good); une sere (evening); un an (year); il non (name); Diu (God).

Cun cheste translates literally as with this, which we can understand as meaning on that note, with that said. Dâ translates literally as to give. Study: o doi (I give); ti doi (I give you [singular]); us doi (I give you [plural]). When used in the following expressions, dâ takes on the sense of to wish: dâ la buine sere (to wish a good evening); dâ il bon an (to wish a happy new year). Vigji says: us doi la buine sere (I wish you a good evening) and us doi il bon an (I wish you a happy new year). Us is the plural equivalent of ti, for instance: ti doi il benvignût and us doi il benvignût both mean I welcome you (literally, I give you the welcome), but the former is said to one person, whereas the latter is said to more than one. Cul non di Diu: in the name of God; literally, by the name of God, with the name of God.

Learn Friulian 22. Lis predicjis dal muini: La statistiche

This is the twenty-second 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 the fifth paragraph of La statistiche, which begins with di chês che a son ladis and ends with nissun si è mai impensât di vaîle.

COMMENTARY ON THE FRIULIAN

La statistiche: paragraph 5, sentence 1.

Vocabulary: lâ a marît ({of a woman} to get married); fûr di (out of); il paîs (village); un bombon di frute (a sweetheart of a girl); plen di (full of); il sintiment (wisdom); plui che no (more than); la mari (mother); pecjât che (it is a shame that); svolâ vie (to fly away {to move away, to take off}); lontan (far away).

Di chês che: of those who. Given that it is question of females, the form chês must be used; for males, chei is used, for instance: di chei che a son lâts fûr di paîs (of those who left the village). Vigji speaks of those females who got married and left town: di chês che a son ladis a marît fûr di paîs (of those who got married out of village). He names Mariute di Safit as having been one of them; in his words, she was a sweetheart of a girl (un bombon di frute), who was full of wisdom (plene di sintiment). Not only was she smart, but she was smarter than her mother (plui che no sô mari). Another example of this usage: al jere vuarp plui che no un gnotul (he was blinder than a bat). In gnotul, stress falls on the first syllable: gnò-tul. As for svolâ vie, this translates literally as to fly away, for instance: la pavee e svole vie (the butterfly flies away). Vigji uses it to convey that Mariute di Safit moved far away: e je svolade vie lontan. He describes her leaving as having been a shame: pecjât che e sei svolade vie lontan. The use of pecjât che (it is a shame that) forces e je into the subjunctive: e sei or e sedi. Other examples: (a) al è lât vie (he has left); pecjât che al sei lât vie or pecjât che al sedi lât vie (it is a shame that he has left); (b) al à vendût il cjamp (he has sold the field); pecjât che al vebi vendût il cjamp or pecjât che al vedi vendût il cjamp (it is a shame that he has sold the field).

La statistiche: paragraph 5, sentence 2.

Vocabulary: un altri (another); dome (only, just); biel (beautiful, pretty); savê (to know); tant (so much, so well); dibot (almost, nearly, practically); sclopâ (to burst); la braùre (pride).

Une altre e jere dome biele: another one was only pretty; which is to say that she had nothing else going for her other than her looks. She was pretty and knew it so full well (lu saveve tant) that she was practically bursting with pride (che dibot e sclopave di braùre). With regard to the pronunciation of braure, note that it takes three syllables, with stress on the second: bra-ù-re. The grave accent is written over the u to show that a and u do not form the diphthong au and must be pronounced separately. Some central Friulians may instead use bravure (bra-vù-re). Three imperfect indicative verbs appear here: e jere (she was); e saveve (she was knowing); e sclopave (she was bursting). If we were to take this entire sentence and render it into just one possible western Friulian style, we obtain: un'atra a era dome biela, e a lu saveva tant, che scuasin a sclopava di braùra.

La statistiche: paragraph 5, sentence 3.

Vocabulary: il tierç (third); no.. ni... ni... (neither... nor...); biel (beautiful, pretty); bon (good, kind, sweet); nissun (nobody, no one); impensâsi (to think of, to remember); mai (never, not ever); vaî (to cry, to weep, to lament).

As for the third (la tierce), she was neither pretty nor sweet (no jere ni biele ni buine). The four forms of tierç (third) are: tierç (masculine singular); tierçs (masculine plural); tierce (feminine singular); tiercis (feminine plural). To pronounce the masculine plural tierçs, omit the ç in speech and say tiers. In some central variants of Friulian, er becomes ar, so that tierç, tierçs, tierce, tiercis will sound like tiarç, tiarçs, tiarce, tiarcis. Nissun si è mai impensât di vaîle: nobody ever thought to lament her; which is to say that her absence saddened none at all for she had no endearing qualities. Recall from a previous lesson that nissun can be moved to the end of the sentence, but in this case no must be added: no si è mai impensât di vaîle nissun.

Go to the next Friulian lesson, where you will learn how Vigji describes himself in Friulian as being so advanced in age that he could drop dead at any minute.

Learn Friulian 21. Lis predicjis dal muini: La statistiche

This is the twenty-first 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 the fourth paragraph of La statistiche, which begins with sposalizis vot and ends with ce muse che e à.

COMMENTARY ON THE FRIULIAN

La statistiche: paragraph 4, sentence 1.

Vocabulary: un sposalizi (marriage); vot (eight); trê (three); une fantate (girl); lâ a marît ({of a woman} to get married); fûr di (out{side} of); il paîs (village); cuatri (four); une foreste (woman from away); vignî (to come); stâ culì (to stay {live} here).

Vigji tells us that there were eight marriages in the past year: sposalizis vot. In the audio, we hear the speaker interpreting Vigji pronounce the word sposalizi as sposalissi, with the third of the four syllables taking the stress. Lâ a marît means to get married, but it can only be used when speaking of a woman, given that it translates literally as to go unto husband. Study: la fantate e je lade a marît (the girl got married); lis fantatis a son ladis a marît (the girls got married). Fûr di paîs: out of village. A person from away, if male, is un forest: this can refer just as much to one from a different country as to one from another Friulian village. It is pronounced with stress on the second syllable. In the feminine, it becomes une foreste. Vigji tells us that four women from away came to live in the village: cuatri forestis (four women from away) a son vignudis (came, have come) a stâ culì (to live here).

Note on western Friulian: Be prepared to hear fûr (out) pronounced by western speakers as four, which contains a diphthong: the ou begins as the sound of Friulian o and glides into that of u. This phenomenon affects many high-frequency words in western Friulian. For instance, central fûr (out), cûr (heart), sûr (sister), daûr (behind), al mûr (he dies) become western four, cour, sour, davour, al mour. Not all words of the sort are affected, however; for instance, dûr (hard), mûr (wall) and sigûr (sure) are used in both central and western Friulian. Note that central mûr becomes western mour only when it means dies (al mour [he dies], e mour [she dies]), not when it means wall (un mûr, i mûrs [a wall, the walls]).

La statistiche: paragraph 4, sentence 2.

Vocabulary: ce che (that which); valê (to be worth); savê (to know); dî (to say); ancjemò (yet); ator par (around); la glesie (church); viodi (to see); un sôl (just one, a single one); un altri (another); parê (to seem, to appear); un ûf (egg); fâ l'ûf (to make a baby {to get pregnant}); a pene (so soon as); rivâ (to arrive); un misteri (mystery); la nature (nature).

Vigji now tells of what he knows about the four women who have come from outside the village to live in Gargagnà. He first admits to not yet knowing much: ce che a son (what they are like) e ce che a valin (and what they are worth {and what they bring to the table}) jo no savarès a dî ancjemò (I could not say just yet). Valê is the Friulian for to be worth, for instance: chest cuadri nol vâl nuie (this painting is not worth anything, this painting is worthless); Vigji gives valê a figurative meaning, so that what these four women are worth refers to what they are made of, what they bring to the table, of what benefit they will be to Gargagnà. As for savê, this most often means to know, but it also takes on the sense of can, to be able; Vigji uses it in the present conditional: o savarès, no savarès (I could, I could not).

A new example of a contraction of indi (thereof) is now used: ator pe glesie (around the church) o 'ndi viôt une sole (I see just one of them). The contracted 'ndi equates here to of them. Say o 'ndi as though it were one word: ondi; this can be heard in the audio recording. Pe is the contraction of par and la, but not all Friulians use pe; others use pa la and par la. For instance, whereas ator pe glesie can be heard in central Friulian, be prepared to hear western speakers use ator pa la glesia. Study the present indicative of viodi (to see): o viôt (I see); tu viodis (you [singular] see); al viôt (he sees); e viôt (she sees); o viodìn (we see); o viodês (you [plural] see); a viodin (they see). Some Friulians use what sounds like jodi in place of viodi; for instance, western nissun a lu à pi jodût is equivalent to central nissun lu à plui viodût (nobody has seen him again). For information: nissun takes a double negation if it occurs after the verb, but not before it: nissun lu à plui viodût, no lu à plui viodût nissun.

Vigji then speaks of misteris di nature (mysteries of nature): it seemed to him that one of the women fell pregnant so soon as she had arrived in the village: une altre (another woman) mi pâr che (it seems to me that) e à fat l'ûf (she made a chick; she went in the family way) a pene rivade (so soon as she had arrived). Fâ l'ûf: literally, to make the egg; a colourfully rustic way of saying to get pregnant. The masculine noun ûf (egg) is pronounced as written, but its plural form ûfs sounds like ûs. In western Friulian, be prepared to hear singular ouf and plural ous. Consider: In central Friulian, nûf ûfs (nine eggs) sounds like nûf ûs, but in western Friulian, it sounds like nouf ous.

La statistiche: paragraph 4, sentence 3.

Vocabulary: lâ (to go); la scuele (school); fâ scuele (to teach school); viodi (to see); nome (only, just); a buinore (in the morning); di sere (in the evening); cuant che (when); partî (to leave); rivâ (to arrive, to come); la metraie (machine gun); la lambrete (Lambretta {scooter}); rivâ dongje (to show up); il mês (month); passât (passed, past, gone by); savê (to know); ancjemò (yet); la muse (face).

Learn the present indicative conjugation of lâ (to go): o voi (I go); tu vâs (you [singular] go); al va (he goes); e va (she goes); o lin (we go); o lais (you [plural] go); a van (they go). In Friulian, to go to school as a student is lâ a scuele, for instance: la fantate e va a scuele (the girl goes to school); but fâ scuele means to teach school, in the capacity of a teacher: la mestre e fâs scuele (the mistress teaches school). For a male teacher, Friulian employs il mestri (master); for a female teacher, la mestre (mistress) is used. Learn or review the present indicative conjugation of fâ (to do, to make): o fâs (I do); tu fasis (you [singular] do); al fâs (he does); e fâs (she does); o fasìn (we do); o fasês (you [plural] do); a fasin (they do). Vigji tells us that one of those new women in town goes to teach school: e va a fâ scuele.

Si le viôt: one sees her. To form in Friulian the equivalent of the impersonal one of English, the third-person singular form of verb is employed with si, for instance: si viôt (one sees); si à (one has); si fâs (one does); si va (one goes), and so on. A direct object, if present, can be placed in one of two positions. The first, as we find here in the words of Vigji, goes between si and the verb: si lu viôt (one sees him); si le viôt (one sees her); si ju viôt (one sees them [masculine]); si lis viôt (one sees them [feminine]). The second suffixes the direct object to the verb: si viodilu, si viodile, si viodiju, si viodilis; this causes a final t to change to d, with an insertion of i before the suffix.

Perhaps you will recall from lesson 1 that Marchet used the wording no si cjatilu (one finds it not), when speaking of the impossibility of finding Gargagnà on maps of Friûl. Know now that this can also be said: no si lu cjate. The t of cjate does not change to d when suffixing because it is not the final letter: it is buffered by the final e, which, however, must still change to i. More examples: si vent: si lu vent, si vendilu (one sells: one sells it); si spint: si lu spint, si spindilu (one spends: one spends it); si fâs: si lu fâs, si fasilu (one does: one does it); si dîs: si lu dîs, si disilu (one says: one says it); si cjape: si lu cjape, si cjapilu (one takes: one takes it); si mangje: si lu mangje, si mangjilu (one eats: one eats it); si trate: si lu trate, si tratilu (one treats: one treats it). The final t of met (puts) does not change: no si met: no si lu met, no si metilu (one puts not: one puts it not).

Nome or dome: only, just; Vigji uses both forms in his sermons. Nome a buinore e di sere: only in the morning and in the evening. In western variants of Friulian, be prepared to hear: dome di bunora e di sera. Cuant che e partìs o che e rive: when she leaves or arrives. The conjunction when is cuant che in Friulian, with che being mandatory: cuant che al rive (when he arrives); cuant che e rive (when she arrives). Che is omitted when the verb is set in the interrogative: cuant rivial? (when does he arrive?); cuant rivie? (when does she arrive?). In Vigji's words cuant che e partìs o che e rive, note that che is repeated after o, to link back to cuant. Partî (to leave) conjugates so in the present indicative: o partìs (I leave); tu partissis (you [singular] leave); al partìs (he leaves); e partìs (she leaves); o partìn (we leave); o partîs (you [plural] leave); a partissin (they leave). Cun chê metraie di lambrete: with that machine gun of a scooter. The feminine noun lambrete derives from the Italian trademark Lambretta, a brand of motor scooters.

Of the last of the new women in the village to be described by Vigji, he tells us: chê altre e je rivade dongje (the other one showed up) chest mês passât (this past month) e jo no sai ancjemò (and I do not know yet) ce muse che e à (what to make of her [literally, what face she has]). The human face is referred to in Friulian by the feminine noun muse. For instance, une muse taronde is a round face, whereas une muse scuadrade is a square face.

Go to the next Friulian lesson, where Vigji speaks in Friulian of a villager who was so full of herself that she was bursting with pride; and of another who was so lucklustre that nobody even thought to mourn her absence when she left the village.

Learn Friulian 20. Lis predicjis dal muini: La statistiche

This is the twentieth 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 the third paragraph of La statistiche, which begins with di batisims o 'ndi vin fats cutuardis and ends with a 'nd è tante che si vûl.

COMMENTARY ON THE FRIULIAN

La statistiche: paragraph 3, sentence 1.

Vocabulary: un batisim (baptism); cutuardis (fourteen); un frutin (baby); tornâ a lâ (to go back); a pene (so soon as, no sooner); rivâ (to arrive, to come); spaventât (frightened); salacor (perhaps); il mondat (vile world); indulà (where); colâ (to fall); cui (who); savê (to know); vê reson (to be right); a dî la veretât (to tell the truth); capitâ (to end up); une fameuçate (wretched family); imbastît malementri (badly put together).

This third paragraph both begins and ends with an example of a contracted form of indi (thereof). Di batisims o 'ndi vin fats cutuardis; this is a typically Friulian construction, where that which is spoken of is moved to the head of the sentence and then repeated by way of a pronoun. Taken literally: di batisims (of baptisms) o 'ndi vin fats (we have done thereof; we have done of them) cutuardis (fourteen). O 'ndi vin fats sounds like ondi vin fas, and the masculine plural fats is in number and gender agreement with batisims. It is, of course, entirely possible to say in Friulian: o vin fats cutuardis batisims (we have done fourteen baptisms), but the formation used by Vigji immediately sets the topic by fronting it to the head of the sentence; remember also that, in his mind, Vigji is considering his parish ledger, which he has organised by categories (deaths, baptisms, marriages). Consider another example: di glesiis o 'ndi vin fatis sù dôs (we have built two churches [of churches we have built two of them]).

Two babies died after birth; Vigji employs a figurative turn of phrase to refer to their death: a son tornâts a lâ (they went back). Tornâ is used in Friulian to convey the sense of again, back, for instance: tornâ a fâ (to redo, to do over again); tornâ a dî (to repeat, to say again); tornâ a dâ (to return, give back); o ài tornât a dâtal (I have given it back to you; dâtal = dâ + ti + lu). The babies went back, so to speak, right after birth, or as Vigji puts it: a pene rivâts (so soon as they had arrived, no sooner come). He figures that they were perhaps frightened (spaventâts) by the vile world (dal mondat) into which they had fallen (indulà che a jerin colâts). Colâ (to fall) takes jessi for auxiliary: o soi colât (I fell, I have fallen); il poç dulà che al jere colât (the well into which he had fallen). There are a number of words in this paragraph ending in âts, which are: tornâts, rivâts, spaventâts, colâts, capitâts. In all these, the masculine plurals âts is pronounced âs, as in: tornâs, rivâs, spaventâs, colâs, capitâs. Mention must also be made of fats, which sounds like fas.

A word on mondat (vile world): The at suffix can be used to emphasise the negative characteristics of a thing. For instance, il mont is the world, but il mondat is the vile world. In the feminine, ate is used instead: une bestie is a beast, but une besteate is a ferocious beast. On the opposite end, ut and ute are used to emphasise reduced dimensions, and even as a term of endearment: une besteute (a little animal, a bug); un agnulut (a little angel); une cjasute (a little house).

Vê reson: to be right. Friulian employs its equivalent for to have, which is vê, in a number of high-frequency expressions that require to be in English. The justification for this is that Friulian uses a noun in the expression where English uses an adjective. Other examples include: vê tuart (to be wrong); vê cjalt (to be hot); vê frêt (to be cold); vê dîs agns (to be ten years old). Study now the following: o ài reson, no ài reson (I am right, I am not right); tu âs reson, no tu âs reson (you [singular] are right, you are not right); al à reson, nol à reson (he is right, he is not right); e à reson, no à reson (she is right, she is not right); o vin reson, no vin reson (we are right, we are not right); o vês reson, no vês reson (you [plural] are right, you are not right); a àn reson, no àn reson (they are right, they are not right).

Cui sa che: who knows if. Following this, the subjunctive must be used. In the third-person plural, no àn reson (they are not right) becomes subjunctive no vebin reson or no vedin reson; likewise, third-person plural no àn vude reson (they were not right) becomes subjunctive no vebin vude reson or no vedin vude reson. Vigji says: e cui sa che no vebin vude reson (and who knows if they might not have been right). Che a dî la veretât: because to tell the truth. Vigji then tells us that the two babies had come into unfortunate living situations: a jerin capitâts (they had ended up, they had landed) in dôs fameuçatis (in two wretched families) imbastidis malementri (badly put together). Consider the following: a son capitâts (they ended up, they have ended up); a jerin capitâts (they had ended up). Another example: o soi lât (I went, I have gone); o jeri lât (I had gone).

La statistiche: paragraph 3, sentence 2.

Vocabulary: altri (other); dodis (twelve); vîf (alive, living); Diu lu vueli (may God will it); cressi (to grow up); pulît (properly, right); la anime (soul); il cuarp (body); dal sigûr (surely, certainly); viodi (to see); i umigns (men); deventâ (to become); vê dibisugne di (to need); la int (people); dret (upright); stuart (crooked, twisted); tant (much, many); volê (to want).

Chei altris dodis: the other twelve; literally, those other twelve. Friulian generally employs a form of chel (that) when used alongside altri to mean the other. Examples: chel altri nol è vignût (the other one did not come); di chê altre bande (on the other side); chei altris cinc oms (the five other men); chês sîs feminis (the six other women). Be reminded that many Friulians pronounce altri as atri, which extends through its declined forms. For instance, in western Friulian, be prepared to hear di chê atra banda (on the other side), rather than di chê altre bande.

The four forms of the adjective vîf (alive, living) are: vîf (masculine singular); vîfs (masculine plural); vive (feminine singular); vivis (feminine plural). Examples: il vier al è vîf (the worm is alive); i arbui a son vîfs (the trees are alive); la jerbe e je vive (the grass is alive); lis plantis a son vivis (the plants are alive). Negated: il vier nol è vîf, al è muart (the worm is not alive, it is dead); i arbui no son vîfs, a son muarts (the trees are not alive, they are dead); la jerbe no je vive, e je muarte (the grass is not alive, it is dead); lis plantis no son vivis, a son muartis (the plants are not alive, they are dead).

As for volê, this is the Friulian for to want, to will. Study: o vuei (I want); tu vuelis, tu vûs (you [singular] want); al vûl (he wants); e vûl (she wants); o volìn (we want); o volês (you [plural] want); a vuelin (they want). For instance, the Friulian for God wills is Diu al vûl; and for God wills it, the Friulian is Diu lu vûl. However, to say may God will it, we must employ the present subjunctive: che Diu lu vueli. In the same way that English can omit may to simplify to God will it, Vigji omits che to simplify to Diu lu vueli, when he says: Diu lu vueli che a cressin pulît cu la anime e cul cuarp (God will it that they grow up right in body and soul). In fact, a cressin is also in the present subjunctive here; however, its form is indistinguishable from the present indicative. That said, some Friulians may use the alternate form a cressedin in the present subjunctive: Diu lu vueli che a cressedin pulît cu la anime e cul cuarp.

The future indicative of jessi (to be) is as follows: o sarai (I shall be); tu sarâs (you [singular] will be); al sarà (he will be); e sarà (she will be); o sarìn (we shall be); o sarês (you [plural] will be); a saran (they will be). When Vigji says: no sarai a viodi, he means I shall not be there to see; in other words, he will have died by the time the other twelve become adults, without knowing how they turn out: ce umigns che a deventaran (literally, what men they will become, which is to say, what they will grow up to be like). Deventâ (to become) conjugates so in the future indicative: o deventarai (I shall become); tu deventarâs (you [singular] will become); al deventarà (he will become); e deventarà (she will become); o deventarìn (we shall become); o deventarês (you [plural] will become); a deventaran (they will become).

Vê dibisugne di: to need; literally, to have need of. Dibisugne is a feminine noun. Example: o ài dibisugne di bêçs (I need money; bêçs sounds like bês). Si à dibisugne di: one needs. Int drete e int stuarte: upright people and crooked people. Both dret and stuart take the feminine singular form drete and stuarte to agree in number and gender with int, which is a feminine singular noun. For instance, to say in Friulian the people have come, be sure to use feminine singular forms: la int e je vignude. This is why Vigji also uses the feminine singular form chê when he says: che di chê stuarte (because of the crooked ones) a 'nd è tante (there are as many of them) che si vûl (as one wants).

Go to the next Friulian lesson, where you will read how Vigji, in a very colourful manner, tells us in Friulian that a certain woman in the village got pregnant.

Learn Friulian 19. Lis predicjis dal muini: La statistiche

This is the nineteenth 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 lists amongst the dead of his village Zuan Menizze.

COMMENTARY ON THE FRIULIAN

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

Vocabulary: un biadat (poor thing); visâsi (to figure, to reckon); jessi (to be); il mont (world); nome (only, solely); par intric (for no good reason, in vain); tant (much, many); fâ (to do, to make); la vite (life); nissun (none, not one); dret (right); cjatâ (to find); trê (three); un toc (piece, bit); lis sinis de ferade (railway tracks); scugnî (must, to have to); puartâ vie (to carry away); cence (without); la lûs (light); la crôs (cross); tant che (as, like); une bestie (beast); par gno cont (in my opinion, in my view); la zornade (day); plui (most); neri (black, dark); dut (all, whole); la anade (year).

Zuan Menizze figured that he had no reason to be in this world: si è visât di jessi (he reckoned that he was) in chest mont (in this world) nome par intric (solely as a nuisance). Visâsi, here taken as to reckon, is more frequently used in the sense of to remember or to realise. Examples: ti visistu di me? (do you remember me?); mi visi di te (I remember you); lu ài dit cence visâmi (I said it without realising it). The Friulian word mont exists as both a masculine and feminine noun; when masculine, it means world; when feminine, it means mountain. Consider: in chest mont (in this world); fâ il zîr dal mont (to go round the world); parsore de mont (over the mountain); lis spicis des monts (the peaks of the mountains, the mountaintops). Both dome and nome mean only, solely; Vigji uses both in his predicjis. Par intric: for no good reason, in vain; by extension, as a nuisance.

A new example of a contraction of indi (thereof) is encountered when Vigji says: cun tantis che a 'nd à fatis in vite sô (with all the things that he got up to in his life). Taken literally: cun tantis (with so many) che a 'nd à fatis (whereof he did) in vite sô (in his life). To express whereof, Friulian employs the equivalent of that thereof: che a 'nd, which is the contraction of che + al + indi. Che a 'nd à sounds like cànda. Tantis and fatis are feminine plural in form to agree in number and gender with the unstated but understood robis (things), which is to say: cun tantis robis (with so many things). Not one of those many things that he got up to were good: e nissune di drete (and not a one right).

Vigji tells us where the poor man was found: su lis sinis de ferade (on the railway tracks). First, consider more examples of cjatâ (to find), noting agreements: lu ài cjatât (I found him); le ài cjatade (I found her); lu vin cjatât (we found him); le vin cjatade (we found her); ju àn cjatâts (they found them); lis àn cjatadis (they found them). A single train track is une sine in Friulian; two sinis together form une ferade, which is to say, a railway. Lis sinis de ferade: railway tracks. Review: The Friulian for two takes both a masculine and feminine form, so that two trains is doi trens, but two tracks is dôs sinis.

The man was found in three pieces (in trê tocs) and, because of the circumstances of his death, he had to be carried away without any liturgical accompaniment: cence lûs (without light) e cence crôs (and without cross), tant che une bestie (like a beast). Scugnî is equivalent to vê di; both mean must, to have to. Examples: o scugnìn puartâlu vie, o vin di puartâlu vie (we must carry him away, we have to carry him away); o vin scugnût puartâlu vie, o vin vût di puartâlu vie (we had to carry him away); o scugnarìn puartâlu vie, o varìn di puartâlu vie (we shall have to carry him away). Reminder: In western variants of Friulian, i replaces o in the first-person plural. Example: i vin scugnût partâlu via (we had to carry him away). Moreover, be prepared to hear partâ and via in western Friulian, rather than puartâ and vie.

Two words for day in Friulian: dì (masculine or feminine; see below) and zornade (feminine). Likewise, two words for year in Friulian: an (masculine) and anade (feminine). The latter forms zornade and anade are used by Vigji to talk about the experience of the day and of the year, the quality of the duration thereof: chê e je stade (that was) la zornade plui nere (the darkest day) di dute la anade (of the whole year). The different forms of neri (black, dark) are: neri (masculine singular); nere (feminine singular); neris (masculine and feminine plural). As for par gno cont (in my opinion, in my view), the masculine noun cont means account, reckoning, so that par gno cont translates literally as by my account, by my reckoning. As to whether dì is masculine or feminine: in the singular, it occurs as both; in the plural, it is masculine. Examples: une dì o chê altre (someday or other); chê altre dì (the other day); vie pal dì (during the day); il dì di Pasche (Easter day); chei doi dîs (those two days); in chescj dîs (these days).

Go to the next Friulian lesson, where you will discover how many baptisms had been performed in Vigji's village; you will also learn how to describe people in Friulian as being either upright or crooked.

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 central or 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 central 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).

Go to the next Friulian lesson, where Vigji speaks in Friulian of a man who ended his life on the railway tracks.

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; and son is normally the masculine noun fi. That said, the feminine frute (girl, female child) and frutate, the latter being of greater age than the former, can be used colloquially in the sense of daughter; and the masculine frut (boy, male child) and frutat, the latter being of greater age than the former, 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 central 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.