Friulian 28. Lis predicjis dal muini: Lis litaniis

This is the twenty-eighth lesson in our study of the Friulian language using the book Lis predicjis dal muini, written by Josef Marchet. Follow the links in Friulian 1 to read the book and listen to its full audio version, available online courtesy of the Societât Filologjiche Furlane. The commentary below relates to the second half of the fourth paragraph and the entire remainder of Lis litaniis, which begins with lôr a porconavin and ends with us doi la buine sere, concluding the rant.

COMMENTARY ON THE FRIULIAN

Lis litaniis: paragraph 4, sentence 6.

Vocabulary: porconâ (to swear, to use foul language); la rabie (anger); la gjonde (joy); la maluserie (melancholy); la ligrie (mirth); la sêt (thirst); la cjoche (drunkenness); fevelâ (to speak, to talk); ridi (to laugh); cjantâ (to sing); rutâ (to burp).

Vigji tells us that the young soldiers used foul language under any and all conditions: lôr a porconavin di rabie (they were swearing out of anger), a porconavin di gjonde (swearing out of joy), a porconavin di maluserie (swearing out of melancholy), a porconavin di ligrie (swearing out of mirth), a porconavin di sêt (swearing out of thirst), a porconavin di cjoche (swearing out of drunkenness), a porconavin fevelant, ridint, cjantant, rutant (swearing while talking, laughing, singing, burping)... The use of the imperfect indicative a porconavin conveys that this was an on-going past-time action, as in they were swearing. Had they used some bit of foul language and then stopped, the Friulian would rather be a àn porconât (they swore). Be reminded that the adjective for drunk in Friulian is cjoc. Examples: e je cjoche (she is drunk); a jerin cjocs in bale (they were drunk as skunks). As a feminine noun, cjoche means drunkenness; this word can be used in the expression cjapâ une cjoche, meaning to get drunk. Example: al cjapave simpri une biele cjoche in ostarie (he would always get right drunk at the tavern).

Lis litaniis: paragraph 4, sentence 7.

Vocabulary: la misericordie (mercy); la palote (shovel, spade); cu la palote (by the spadeful {in large amounts}); la raze (race, kind, sort); il nemâl (animal).

Misericordie cu la palote: good gracious and then some; used by Vigji to express annoyance and surprise at the young soldiers' excessive use of foul language. The masculine noun nemâl means animal, though some Friulians use animâl instead; its plural form is nemâi or animâi. Ce raze di nemâi: what a pack of animals. The feminine noun raze is pronounced as though written rasse; in biology, it means breed or race (une raze di cjans [a dog breed]), but in general usage it takes on the meaning of sort or kind with a derogatory sense (ce raze di nemâi [what a sort {what a pack, what a bunch} of animals]).

Lis litaniis: paragraph 4, sentence 8.

Vocabulary: biât (sorry, wretched); la coiarie (boors, hicks, plebs); cussì (so); stupit (stupid, foolish); crodi (to believe {to think}); semeâ (to seem, to appear); svelton (slick, sharp); blestemâ (to swear); fevelâ (to speak, to talk); malementri (badly, foully).

Ce biade coiarie: what a wretched lot of boors, what a sorry pack of hicks. Coiarie takes four syllables, with tonic stress on the third: co-ia-rì-e. The four forms of biât (sorry, wretched) are: biât (masculine singular); biâts (masculine plural); biade (feminine singular); biadis (feminine plural). The masculine plural biâts is pronounced as though written biâs. In certain variants of Friulian, ce (what) is pronounced sé. As an example, ce âstu fat? (what have you done?) may be expressed by some Friulians, such as speakers of western variants, as sé àtu fat? Of the adjective stupit (stupid, foolish), the four forms are: stupit (masculine singular); stupits (masculine plural); stupide (feminine singular); stupidis (feminine plural). In all four, the tonic accent falls on the first syllable stu. Moreover, the masculine plural stupits is pronounced as though written stùpis. Cussì stupide che e crôt di semeâ sveltone a blestemâ e a fevelâ malementri: so stupid that they think they look slick by swearing and mouthing off. Because coiarie (boors, hicks) is a feminine singular noun, the feminine singular verb e crôt is used, as are the feminine singular adjectives stupide and sveltone. Semeâ (to seem, to appear) will also be encountered in Friulian under the forms someâ and sameâ. The usual adjective for smart or clever in Friulian is svelt, which also happens to mean quick or fast; as for svelton, it means slick or sharp in reference to those who are savvy and streetwise.

Lis litaniis: paragraph 4, sentence 9.

Vocabulary: salacor (perhaps, maybe); la dì prime (the day before); la lenghe (tongue); stes (very same); in coro (in choir); cjantâ la Diessile (to sing the Dies Irae).

E salacor la dì prime: and maybe the day before. In the singular, dì (day) is now masculine now feminine, but only masculine in the plural. Cun chê lenghe stesse: with that very tongue. The feminine noun lenghe means tongue, not only in the sense of language but also in reference to the body part: la lenghe furlane (the Friulian tongue {the Friulian language}); o ài scugnût muardimi la lenghe par tignî il segret (I had to bite my tongue to keep the secret). A jerin stâts in coro a cjantâ la Diessile: they had been in the choir singing the Dies Irae. The colloquial term Diessile (or variant form Diessila) refers to the Dies Irae, the proper name of the Latin sequence used in the Requiem Mass of the Catholic Church. The colloquial name, either masculine or feminine, derives from the words dies illa found at the start of the sequence. By extension, it also refers to one's day of death, as in this example from il Nuovo Pirona: il diessile al ven par ducj (judgement day comes for all, the day of death comes for all).

Lis litaniis: paragraph 5, sentence 1.

Vocabulary: scometi (to bet); il fantat (lad); nancje voaltris (not even you lot); mai (never); pensâ (to think); la figurate (bad impression, bad look); un grubian (boor, hick, clod); tacâ (to start, to begin); sberghelâ (to holler); biel (nice, lovely); une cjantose (little song); plen di (full of); la finece (refinement); la poesie (poetry); plasê (to be pleasing); tant (so much).

Ce vino di scometi: what do you want to bet; literally, what have we to bet. Vino (have we) is the interrogative form of o vin (we have). Fantats: lads; be reminded that this is pronounced as though written fantàs. Che nancje voaltris no vês mai pensât ce figurate di grubians che o fasês: that not even you lot have ever thought about what sorry clods you come across as. Fâ une figurate: to make a terrible impression, to make an exhibition of oneself. Cuant che o tacais a sberghelâ chês bielis cjantosis: when you start to holler those lovely little songs. Tacâ (to start, to begin) in the present indicative: o tachi, tu tachis, al tache, e tache, o tacais, o tachìn, a tachin. Plenis di finece e di poesie: full of refinement and poetry. To learn to use Friulian plasê properly, it is best to liken it initially to an English wording such as to be pleasing. Examples: mi plâs il libri (I like the book; literally, the book is pleasing to me); i plasin a lui (he likes them; literally, they are pleasing to him); che us plasin tant (that you like so much; literally, that are so pleasing to you). Us (unto you) is second-person plural; its singular equivalent is ti. Mi son alpin, ci piace il vin, tengo l'anemorata, vicin quartier: I am an Alpine soldier, we like wine, I have a sweetheart, near the barracks; from a traditional Alpine soldier chant, being an example of rowdy tavern songs that become increasingly crude as the night draws on.

Lis litaniis: paragraph 5, sentence 2.

Vocabulary: lassâ (to leave out); un altri (another one); podê (can, to be able); nancje (not even); vê indiment (to have in mind {to think about}); la glesie (church).

E lassìn chês altris: and let us leave out the other ones. Lassìn is an imperative form, first-person plural. Che no si pues nancje vêlis indiment in glesie: which you cannot {must not} even think about in church. No si pues: one cannot. Vêlis is the combination of vê (to have) and lis (them), feminine plural, put for cjantosis.

Lis litaniis: paragraph 6, sentence 1.

Vocabulary: ancje (also, too, as well); doman (tomorrow); la messe (Mass); nûf (nine); la funzion (service); aes cinc (five).

Ancje doman: tomorrow as well. To tell the hour of a clock, Friulian uses the feminine plural: lis dôs (two o'clock); lis trê (three o'clock); lis cuatri (four o'clock). A (at) and lis (the; feminine plural) contract to form aes, so that aes cinc means at five o'clock, and aes nûf means at nine o'clock. Aes can contract further to es, as in es vot (at eight o'clock). Not all Friulians use aes; others use a lis or a li.

Lis litaniis: paragraph 7, sentence 1.

Vocabulary: cun (with); chest (this); us (unto you); o doi (I give); bon (good); la sere (evening).

E cun cheste us doi la buine sere: and on that note {and with that said} I wish you a good evening. Dâ (to give) takes on the sense of to wish in dâ la buine sere (to wish a good evening).

This concludes the commentary related to Lis litaniis.

Friulian 27. Lis predicjis dal muini: Lis litaniis

This is the twenty-seventh lesson in our study of the Friulian language using the book Lis predicjis dal muini by Josef Marchet. To download the entire book and listen to its audio recordings, made available by the Societât Filologjiche Furlane, follow the links in Friulian 1. The commentary below pertains to the first five sentences of the fourth paragraph of Lis litaniis, beginning with e za timp and ending with e sì che jo no soi stomeghin.

COMMENTARY ON THE FRIULIAN

Lis litaniis: paragraph 4, sentence 1.

Vocabulary: za timp (some time ago); capitâ (to befall, to happen); lâ fintremai a (to go all the way to); par vie di (because of, on account of); un mierli (blackbird {simpleton}); un zinar (son-in-law); dissipâsi (to get banged up); lâ ator (to go {drive} about); un moto (motorbike); jessi in briscule (to be plastered-drunk); malandret (damned, cursed); la canaie (youths, kids); Diu (God); perdonâ (to forgive).

E za timp: and some time ago. Mi è capitât di lâ fintremai a Cjasarse: I happened to go all the way to Cjasarse. Mi è capitât translates literally as it befell me, it happened unto me. As for the masculine noun mierli, this identifies a blackbird, but Vigji uses it figuratively here to refer to his son-in-law as a simpleton: par vie di chel mierli di gno zinar (because of that simpleton of a son-in-law of mine). Be reminded that with words identifying family members in the singular, the definite article is omitted before the possessive pronoun: gno zinar (my son-in-law); mê brût (my daughter-in-law); it reappears in the plural: i miei zinars, lis mês brûts. Che si jere dissipât: who had got banged up. Dissipâsi can also be used with the word for a body part: si è dissipât il pît (he messed up his foot). Lant ator cul moto: driving about on his motorbike. Lant (going) is the present participle of lâ (to go); the present participle is used when conveying whilst or by, as in: whilst going about, by going about. Cuant che al jere in briscule: when he was plastered. The word for drunk in Friulian is cjoc; its four forms are: cjoc (masculine singular); cjocs (masculine plural); cjoche (feminine singular); cjochis (feminine plural). Here we find instead a colloquial usage: in briscule, meaning plastered-drunk. Malandrete la canaie: damned kids. Che Diu mal perdoni: may God forgive me; literally, may God forgive it unto me, which is to say, may God forgive me for having said it. Consider: Diu al perdone (God forgives); che Diu al perdoni (may God forgive); che Diu lu perdoni (may God forgive it); che Diu mal perdoni (may God forgive it unto me). Mal is the contraction of mi (unto me) and lu (it).

Lis litaniis: paragraph 4, sentence 2.

Vocabulary: po ben (right then, well then); inlà (beyond); cjatâsi (to find oneself); jessi (to be); un vagon (train carriage); plen di (full of); un soldât (soldier); furlan (Friulian); un alpin (alpine soldier); tornâ di (to return from, to come back from); la licence (leave).

Po ben is a discourse marker meaning right then, well then; it is used here to mark the beginning of what Vigji is about to tell us. Di Udin inlà: from Udin onwards. Mi cjatai is the past indicative of the first-person singular; it translates literally as I found myself. All persons in this tense: mi cjatai, tu ti cjataris, si cjatà, si cjatarin, si cjataris, si cjatarin. This tense is especially prevalent in formal written language; for instance, it is used with great frequency in the Friulian translation of the Bible, but it can also be sporadically encountered elsewhere. Mi cjatai a jessi suntun vagon: I found myself {I happened to be} on a train carriage. Said carriage was full of Friulian soliders: plen di soldâts furlans. The masculine plural soldâts is pronounced soldâs. These were alpine soldiers (alpins) who were returning from leave (che a tornavin de licence). Of su (on), review the different contractions: sul (on the; masculine singular); sui (on the; masculine plural); su la (on the; feminine singular); su lis (on the; feminine plural); suntun (on a; masculine singular); suntune (on a; feminine singular).

Lis litaniis: paragraph 4, sentence 3.

Vocabulary: volê (will, to want); crodi (to believe); crodimi (to believe me).

Review the present indicative of volê, which means to want but also covers the function served by the volitional will of English: o vuei, tu vuelis (tu vûs), al vûl, e vûl, o volìn, o volês, a vuelin. The foregoing are statement forms; in the interrogative, these become: vuelio?, vuelistu? (vûstu?), vuelial?, vuelie?, volìno?, volêso?, vuelino? In the statement and interrogative forms containing vue-, the tonic stress always falls on the e of that syllable: vuèi, vuèlis, vuèlin, vuèlio?, vuèlistu?, vuèlial?, vuèlie?, vuèlino? Vigji says: volêso crodimi? (will you believe me?). This use of will in the English is not to be mistaken for future time: it is volitional (want you to believe me?, accept you to believe me?). Vigji's question can be understood more idiomatically in English as can you believe it? His question uses the interrogative volêso? (want you? {do you want?}), which is second-person plural. In the second-person singular, such as when speaking to a single friend, the question becomes: vuelistu crodimi? or vûstu crodimi? In the spoken language, know that vuelistu? and vûstu? may be pronounced uèlistu (or uèlitu) and ùstu (or ùtu). The dropping of the s in the interrogative of the second-person singular is a frequent occurrence; for instance, you are very likely to hear the second-person singular interrogative âstu? (have you?) pronounced àtu, and the second-person singular interrogative sêstu? (are you?) pronounced sètu or sòtu. This tendency is generalised across the board for the interrogative of the second-person singular: fevelistu? (speak you?) may be pronounced fevèlitu; and sintistu? (hear you?) may be pronounced sìntitu. The s is maintained in the spoken second-person plural: volêso? is pronounced precisely as written, as are vêso (have you?), sêso? (are you?), fevelaiso? (speak you?), sintîso? (hear you?).

Lis litaniis: paragraph 4, sentence 4.

Vocabulary: scugnî (must, to have to); cjapâsi sù (to get up); lâ (to go); un altri (another); un scompartiment (compartment); se no (if not, otherwise); rindi (to throw up); il gustâ (dinner {lunch}; i.e, the midday meal) di tant che (so much that); ingomeâ (to sicken).

O ài scugnût cjapâmi sù: I had to get up. This can also be said using vê di, which has been encountered in previous lessons: o ài vût di cjapâmi sù. Taken very literally, cjapâsi sù translates as to take oneself up; it is used in the sense of to get up, from a seated position. Lâ intun altri scompartiment: to go into another compartment. Of in (in), study the contracted forms: tal or intal (in the; masculine singular); tai or intai (in the; masculine plural); te or inte (in the; feminine singular); tes or intes (in the; feminine plural); tun or intun (in a; masculine singular); tune or intune (in a; feminine singular). The three meals of the day in Friulian are: la gulizion (breakfast; i.e., the morning meal); il gustâ (dinner {lunch}; i.e., the midday meal); la cene (supper {dinner}; i.e., the evening meal). Se no o rindevi il gustâ: otherwise I would have thrown up my dinner {lunch}. The meal known in Friulian as il gustâ means dinner or lunch according to one's own dialect of English, which is to say, it is the meal taken at midday. Di tant che mi vevin ingomeât: so much had they sickened me.

Lis litaniis: paragraph 4, sentence 5.

Vocabulary: e sì che (it truly is that, and indeed); jo no soi (I am not); stomeghin (squeamish).

E sì che jo no soi stomeghin: and I am in no way squeamish. Stomeghin (squeamish) is pronounced with its tonic stress on the final syllable (sto-me-ghìn) and is related to the Friulian word for stomach: il stomi, pronounced stò-mi.

Go to the next Friulian lesson, where you will continue to learn how to speak of drunkenness in Friulian, as well as other aspects of rowdy behaviour.

Friulian 26. Lis predicjis dal muini: Lis litaniis

This is the twenty-sixth lesson in our study of the Friulian language using the book Lis predicjis dal muini, written by Josef Marchet. Follow the links in Friulian 1 to read the book and listen to its full audio version, available online courtesy of the Societât Filologjiche Furlane. The commentary below relates to the third paragraph of Lis litaniis, which begins with mi impensi and ends with rustîsi lis crodiis.

COMMENTARY ON THE FRIULIAN

Lis litaniis: paragraph 3, sentence 1.

Vocabulary: impensâsi di (to think of, to be reminded of); simpri (always); in chê volte (at that time); coscrivi (to conscript); ancje (also, too, as well); savê (to know); Diu (God); cetant (how much, how many); un an (year); indaûr (ago, back). 

Mi impensi simpri di in chê volte che: I always think of the time when, I am always reminded of the time when. Of impensâsi, the present indicative: mi impensi, tu ti impensis, si impense, si impensìn, si impensais, si impensin. O soi stât coscrit ancje jo: I was conscripted as well. Just as the past participle of scrivi (to write) is scrit, the past participle of coscrivi (to conscript) is coscrit. Another past participle exists for both, less common: scrivût, coscrivût. As a masculine noun: un coscrit (a conscript). Sepi Diu cetancj agns indaûr: God knows how many years ago. The subjunctive sepi is used here in wonderment. Compare: Diu al sa (God knows; statement); sepi Diu! (God knows!; wonderment). The four forms of cetant (how much, how many) are: cetant (masculine singular); cetancj (masculine plural); cetante (feminine singular); cetantis (feminine plural). Examples: cetant sâl? (how much salt?); cetancj agns? (how many years?); cetantis setemanis? (how many weeks?); cetante int! (so many people!); cetancj agns indaûr! (so many years ago!). To pronounce cetancj agns, say: ce-tanc-jains.

Lis litaniis: paragraph 3, sentence 2.

Vocabulary: ve (behold, look); là jù (down there, over there); ancjemò (still, yet); la corone (rosary beads); in man (in hand); barufâ (to quarrel, to row); doi dîs (two days); prin (before, earlier); volê jessi (to want to be); di chei cuatri (of those four); vê di puartâ (to have to carry); la Madone (Madonna); la procession dal perdon (procession of forgiveness); in chê dì che (on the day that); lâ a visite (to go for a medical examination); la mari (mother); sant (holy); benedet (blessed); il ledan (manure); un cristian (Christian).

Velu là jù: there he is over there. Ve means behold, look; wherefore: velu (there he/it is [masculine singular]); vele (there she/it is [feminine singular]); veju (there they are [masculine plural]); velis (there they are [feminine plural]). Al è ancjemò cu la corone in man: he still has the rosary in his hand. Earlier in this sermon, the masculine noun rosari was employed to refer to the devotion: preâ rosari (to pray the rosary); we now find the feminine noun corone being used to refer to beaded physical object itself, as in: preâ rosari cu la corone in man (to pray the rosary with rosary beads in one's hand). Al veve barufât cun me: he had quarrelled with me. Study the following: o vevi barufât cun te (I had quarrelled with you [singular]); tu vevis barufât cun lui (you [singular] had quarrelled with him); al veve barufât cun jê (he had quarrelled with her); e veve barufât cun nô (she had quarrelled with us); o vevin barufât cun voaltris (we had quarrelled with you [plural]); o vevis barufât cun noaltris (you [plural] had quarrelled with us); a vevin barufât cun lôr (they had quarrelled with them). Doi dîs prin: two days earlier. In the singular, dì (day) is now masculine now feminine, but only masculine in the plural. Par volê jessi di chei cuatri che: wanting to be {one} of those four who. Chei cuatri che a vevin di puartâ la Madone te procession dal perdon: those four who were to carry the Madonna in the procession of forgiveness. In chê dì che o sin lâts a visite: on the day that we went for the medical examination. With in chê dì, we have an example of singular dì as a feminine noun; another example: la dì prime (the day before). Examples as a masculine noun in the singular: sul cricâ dal dì (at daybreak); dute la mari dal dì (all day long). Mari sante benedete: Holy Blessed Mother. Ce ledan di cristian: literally, what a manure of a Christian, in reference to Tin Burcjul's foul-mouthed use of language; a particularly delicious use of Friulian on account of its rhyme and rusticity.

Lis litaniis: paragraph 3, sentence 3.

Vocabulary: cui (who); ti (unto you); insegnâ (to teach); une litanie (litany); un sporcheç (filth).

Cui ti vevial insegnadis chês litaniis di sporcheçs, Tinut?: Who had taught you those litanies of filth, Tinut? We now have an example of the Friulian interrogative. First consider the following: al à (he has); aial? (has he?). To form the interrogative in the masculine third-person singular, the atonic al is moved from before the verb (al à) to after it (aial). Another example: al varà (he will have); varaial? (will he have?). Yet another: al veve (he had, he was having); vevial? (had he?, was he having?). Take now al à insegnât (he taught, he has taught): in the interrogative, this becomes aial insegnât? (did he teach?, has he taught?). Using the same tense employed in the book, al veve insegnât (he had taught) becomes interrogative vevial insegnât? (had he taught?). Insert now the interrogative cui (who), to obtain: cui vevial insegnât? (who had taught?). Add now ti (unto you), to obtain: cui ti vevial insegnât? (who had taught you?). Add now the direct object chês litaniis di sporcheçs (those litanies of filth), with modification of the past participle to feminine plural in agreement with litaniis, to obtain: cui ti vevial insegnadis chês litaniis di sporcheçs? (who had taught you those litanies of filth?). Listen to the audio recording and you will hear the speaker who interprets Vigji say insegnât instead of insegnadis: it is optional to make a past participle agree in number and gender with a direct object that follows it; however, it is mandatory to make the agreement when the direct object precedes the past participle. The feminine noun litanie takes four syllables, with tonic stress on the third: li-ta-nì-e. The masculine plural sporcheçs is pronounced sporchès. Listen to the audio recordings to hear the pronunciation of plural litaniis and sporcheçs.

Lis litaniis: paragraph 3, sentence 4.

Vocabulary: cussì (so, thus); ancje (also, too, as well); altris di lôr (other ones); volê (to want); nancje (not even); nomenâ (to name); parcè che (because); bielzà (already); lâ (to go); fâ (to make, to do); la tiere (earth); la cite (pot); cjatâ (to find); là vie (out there); di là (beyond); dut (all); ur ({from} unto them); scjampâ (to escape, to slip out); la bocje (mouth); la vite (life); garantide che (it is guaranteed that); restâ (to be leftover, to remain in excess); ce (what {therewith}); rustîsi (to get roasted); la crodie (roasted pig skin {human hide}).

E cussì ancje altris di lôr: and the same also goes for others. Altris di lôr, which translates literally as others of them, is to be understood as other people. Di lôr is often used in this manner in Friulian, to refer to people in general: cetancj di lôr (many people); pôcs di lôr (few people). The masculine plural pôcs is pronounced pôs. Che no vuei nancje nomenâju: whom I do not even want to name. Of volê, the present indicative: o vuei, tu vûs (tu vuelis), al vûl, e vûl, o volìn, o volês, a vuelin. In the Friulian conception, or at least in the mind of Vigji and his author Josef Marchet, death brings the humourous prospect of becoming a piece of earthenware. Towards the end of the previous sermon (La statistiche), we encountered the expression lâ a fâ mantiis di bocâl (literally, to go become mug handles): when one dies, he is returned to clay, and, according to morbid humour, he is then recycled into tavern pottery as mug handles. We now come across another dark-humoured Friulian usage: lâ a fâ tiere di citis (literally, to go become earth for pots), the sense whereof is similar to that of the one above: when one dies, he is returned to the soil of the earth, whereupon he becomes clay to be transformed into a pot. Both lâ a fâ mantiis di bocâl and lâ a fâ tiere di citis can be likened to such English expressions as to bite the dust, to go six feet under, to push up daisies, though these call to mind different images. Se lis àn cjatadis, là vie di là, dutis chês che ur son scjampadis di bocje in vite lôr: if all the things that have escaped their mouths in their lifetimes have been found out there on the other side. Là vie di là (literally, out there beyond) refers to the afterlife. Se lis àn cjatadis is in the active voice (if they have found them), but it must be understood passively in English (if they have been found). Regarding dutis chês che ur son scjampadis di bocje, this translates very literally as: dutis chês (all those) che ur son scjampadis (that {from} unto them have escaped) di bocje (from {the} mouth). Garantide che ur reste ce rustîsi lis crodiis: it is guaranteed that they have plenty to get their hides roasted with. Taken literally, ur reste means it remains in excess unto them. As for ce rustîsi, this translates literally as therewith to get roasted. The feminine noun crodie identifies a roasted pig skin; it is used figuratively here to refer to human skin.

Go to the next Friulian lesson to discover how Vigji refers to his son-in-law in Friulian as a simpleton who got banged up on his motorbike when he was drunk.

Friulian 25. Lis predicjis dal muini: Lis litaniis

This is the twenty-fifth 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 its audio recordings, made available by the Societât Filologjiche Furlane, follow the links in Friulian 1. The commentary below relates to the second paragraph of Lis litaniis, which begins with e je simpri stade cussì and ends with une parsore chê altre.

COMMENTARY ON THE FRIULIAN

Lis litaniis: paragraph 2, sentence 1a.

Vocabulary: simpri (always); cussì (so, thus); la int (people); un paisut (little village); chenti (here); ator (around); chenti ator (around here); la cjase (house, home); a cjase (at home); un frut (little boy); rispuindi (to respond, to answer); la messe (Mass); un frutat (young lad); cjantâ (to sing); il coro (choir).

E je simpri stade cussì: it has always been so, that is how it has always been. Friulian frequently uses the feminine to form neutral constructions of the sort. Another example: e je vere che... (it is true that...). Cu la int di Gargagnà: with the people of Gargagnà. Contracted forms of cun (with) to be learnt: cul (=cun + il); cui (=cun + i); cu la (=cun + la); cu lis (=cun + lis); cuntun (=cun + un); cuntune (=cun + une). Whereas paîs means village, the diminutive paisut means little village. The plural paisuts is pronounced paisùs. There are various ways of saying here in Friulian, the main ones being: ca, chi, achì (or uchì in western Friulian), but another is chenti. Chenti ator: around here. Un frut is younger than un frutat; these can be understood in the text as little boy and young lad, respectively. Di fruts, a rispuindi messe: as little boys, by answering the Mass; which is to say, by serving as altar boys, where they learnt the proper Latin responses to be recited. Di frutats, a cjantâ in coro: as young lads, by singing in the choir. The masculine plural fruts and fantats are pronounced frus and fantàs.

Lis litaniis: paragraph 2, sentence 1b.

Vocabulary: fûr di (out{side} of); la cjase (house, home); massime (mostly, especially, above all); il talian (Italian); dome (only, just); une eresie (heresy {blasphemy, foul language}); une sporcjetât (filth); daûr (behind {after}); altri (other); parsore (over, above, on top).

Fûr di cjase: outside the home. Massime tal talian: especially in Italian, which is to say that when the lads are out and about, they are speaking above all in Italian to one another. The feminine noun eresie translates literally as heresy; by this, Vigji does not mean to suggest that the lads are teaching anti-Catholic doctrine, but rather that they are using foul language, speaking but blasphemies and but filth (dome eresiis e dome sporcjetâts). The feminine plural sporcjetâts is pronounced sporcjetâs; it is related to the adjective sporc, meaning dirty, filthy. Une daûr chê altre: the one after the other. Une parsore chê altre: the one on top of the other. In these latter two phrases, the feminine forms une and chê altre are used because they modify the feminine nouns eresie and sporcjetât.

Information on western Friulian. Four di çasa is a western equivalent to central fûr di cjase. Recall now from a previous lesson that, in the west, to go is expressed as 'sî, where the 's sounds like the first letter of the English word zeal, and not like the first letter of the English word seal. In central Friulian, to go is rather lâ. The past participle of western 'sî is 'sût, whereas the past participle of central lâ is lât. Take an example sentence in western Friulian: i soi 'sût four di çasa (I went out [literally, I went out of house]). This is equivalent to central o soi lât fûr di cjase. If it were rather a female saying this, then: i soi 'suda four di çasa (western Friulian) and o soi lade fûr di cjase (central Friulian). There is no standardised spelling for western Friulian. Should you happen to read something written in a western variant, be prepared to find: 'sî spelt alternatively as zî, which also affects all declined forms (zût, zuda...); four spelt alternatively as fôr, though four is more accurate because it is pronounced with an ou diphthong and not a long ô; and çasa spelt alternatively as ciasa. For instance, the alternatively spelt i soi zût fôr di ciasa is perfectly equivalent to i soi 'sût four di çasa, and takes the very same pronunciation as the latter.

Go to the next Friulian lesson, where you will learn how Vigji uses the Friulian word for manure to refer to a man with whom he had been conscripted in his younger years as having been horribly foul-mouthed.

Friulian 24. Lis predicjis dal muini: Lis litaniis

This is the twenty-fourth lesson in our study of the Friulian language using the book Lis predicjis dal muini, written by Josef Marchet. Follow the links in Friulian 1 to read the book and listen to its full audio version, available online courtesy of the Societât Filologjiche Furlane. The commentary below relates to the first paragraph of the predicje called Lis litaniis (Litanies), which begins with mi consoli and ends with sporcje une vorute.

COMMENTARY ON THE FRIULIAN

Lis litaniis: paragraph 1, sentence 1.

Vocabulary: consolâsi (to be consoled); viodi (to see); cuatri (four); cinc (five); un fantat (lad); di plui dal solit (more than usual); usgnot (tonight); preâ (to pray); il rosari (rosary).

Mi consoli: I am consoled. Listen to how the speaker interpreting Vigji pronounces consoli in the recording; on in the first syllable takes on the nasalised quality of ong. The present indicative conjugation of consolâsi is as follows: mi consoli, ti tu consolis, si console, si consolìn, si consolais, si consolin. Whereas the singular reflexive pronouns are mi, ti, si, the plural ones are si for all: verb endings make clear which person is in question. Take care to differentiate between first-person plural si consolìn and third-person plural si consolin, as the tonic stress shifts: si con-so-lìn (first-person plural), si con-sò-lin (third-person plural). Mi consoli a viodi: I am consoled to see. Cuatri, cinc fantats di plui dal solit: four or five more lads than usual. Masculine plural fantats is pronounced fantàs. Of di plui dal solit, another example: dîs, undis parochians di plui dal solit (ten or eleven more parishioners than usual). Usgnot means tonight; as for last night, one way to say it in Friulian is with orsere, used numerous times by Vigji in his sermons. Preâ rosari: to pray the rosary.

Lis litaniis: paragraph 1, sentence 2.

Vocabulary: un soldât (soldier); vignî (to come); in permès (on leave); par vie di (because of); lis fiestis (holidays); no mo? (not so?, right?).

Soldâts vignûts in permès: soldiers {who have} come on leave. The masculine plural soldâts vignûts sounds like soldâs vignûs, which you can hear in the audio version of this sermon. As for the masculine noun permès, it here means leave, as in permission for a soldier to be away from his unit; on leave is in permès. Par vie des fiestis: because of the holidays. Of par vie di, supplementary examples: par vie dal taramot (because of the earthquake); par vie dai burlaçs (because of the storms; burlaçs sounds like burlàs); par vie de ploie (because of the rain); par vie des monts (because of the mountains); par vie di gno fradi (because of my brother); par vie di mê sûr (because of my sister). Of no mo?, supplementary examples: si capìn, no mo? (we understand each other, right?); ce biele idee, no mo? (what a great idea, is it not?); masse biel, no mo? (really nice, eh?).

Lis litaniis: paragraph 1, sentence 3.

Vocabulary: fâ (to do, to make); lavâsi la bocje (to wash out one's mouth); cuatri (four); une avemarie (hail Mary); parcè che (because); cence (without); la tristerie (evil, wickedness, malice); podê (can, to be able); si pues (one can, one may); scrupulâ (to suspect); sporc (dirty, filthy); une vorute (really, terribly, horribly).

A varan fat: they will have done. The future anterior of fâ, which takes vê for auxiliary, is: o varai fat, tu varâs fat, al varà fat, e varà fat, o varìn fat, o varês fat, a varan fat. If the verb takes jessi for auxiliary, such as vignî, then: o sarai vignût (vignude), tu sarâs vignût (vignude), al sarà vignût, e sarà vignude, o sarìn vignûts (vignudis), o sarês vignûts (vignudis), a saran vignûts (vignudis). Examples: o sarai lât vie (I shall have left); e sarà lade vie (she will have left); al varà cjolt (he will have taken); a varan fevelât (they will have spoken); o sarìn deventâts (we shall have become). A varan fat par lavâsi la bocje: they will have done so to wash out their mouths. Cun cuatri avemariis: with four hail Marys; which is to say, by praying the rosary (preâ rosari). Cence tristerie translates literally as without malice, whereby Vigji means to say that he is speaking plainly; it can be taken as I kid you not, let's face it. In Friulian, the adjective trist means evil, wicked, malicious, and not sad; this is a false friend for those coming to Friulian from Italian or French, where triste in the latter two means sad. In Friulian, sad can be expressed through jù (down). Si pues scrupulâ: one can suspect; in idiomatic English, you can bet, it is safe to say. Sporc means dirty, filthy; its forms are: sporc (masculine singular); sporcs (masculine plural); sporcje (feminine singular); sporcjis (feminine plural). Vêle sporcje: to have it filthy, where feminine singular le (it) is put for bocje (mouth), and the feminine singular sporcje (filthy) agrees therewith. Le àn sporcje: they have it filthy. Scrupulâ che le vebin sporcje: to suspect that they have it filthy. A vebin or a vedin is the present subjunctive counterpart to a àn; it is scrupulâ che that forces this use of the subjunctive. Bocje sporcje une vorute: terribly filthy mouth, horribly dirty mouth. That their mouths are filthy is here taken figuratively, on account of the dirty words that they speak.

Go to the next Friulian lesson, where Vigji speaks of the behaviour of the young soldiers when they are not at home.

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 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, as well); 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 a syllable ending in a vowel + n, where the final n takes on an ng quality. (Good example: Return to the Preambul and listen to how vicins e lontans is pronounced in the recording.) 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 (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, is then recycled into tavern pottery as mug handles. Lâ a fâ mantiis di bocâl: to go become {to end up as} mug handles; in idiomatic English, 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 it pronounced so: 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 in pieces, {broken} to bits, and alludes to the fact that, since we are all of clay, we shall find ourselves broken apart at any moment, 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.

This concludes the commentary related to La statistiche. Go to the next Friulian lesson, where you will begin to read the next sermon, or predicje, called Lis litaniis. There, you will discover how Vigji describes soldiers on leave as having terribly dirty mouths on account of the filthy words that they use.

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 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.

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 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.

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 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.

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 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.