In vuaite sui cunfins: Dograva variant of Friulian

Here begins your foray into the Dograva variant of Friulian: il furlan ta la variant di Dograva di San Zors da la Richinvelda.

Learn how the Friulian language of Dograva di San Zors da la Richinvelda differs from that of the standard, and begin to speak Friulian in an authentic, colloquial variant of the western dialect of the Friulian language. The name of this location in Italian is Aurava di San Giorgio della Richinvelda.

Notes about Friulian pronunciation as it relates to the orthography used in these Dograva variant lessons: The letter z at the beginning of a word (zî, zuiâ, zenoli, zovâ, zirâ, zovin, zâl, zôc, zornada) and in the middle of a word after a consonant (belzà, sielzi, vierzi, anzul, scuierzi, arzent, strenzi) sounds like English z (zoo, zap). In the Dograva variant, the -zion ending of standard Friulian (disperazion, riduzion, produzion, situazion, stazion) takes the s sound of English (space, pass), so at Dograva we pronounce: disperassion, ridussion, produssion, situassion, stassion. This same s sound is the one used in words such as sirviel, sincuanta, sitât, but if the s appears between vowels (plasût, çamesa, diseva), then it sounds like English z (zoo, zap). The letter ç (çamp, çatâ) sounds like English ch (church, chap). Standard Friulian cj and gj do not exist in the Dograva variant; so rather than standard cjase, we have çasa at Dograva (sounds like English chaza), and rather than standard gjat, we have giat at Dograva (sounds like English jat). Before the vowels a, o and u, the letter c (biblioteca, colp, cun) sounds like English k (kill, keep), and before these same vowels the letter g (aga, gorna, ongula) sounds like hard English g (ghost, gold). Before the vowels e and i, the letter c (centimetro, ciei) sounds like English ch (church, chap), and before these same vowels the letter g (gesso, giornâl) sounds like English j (jam, jack). The letter j (jo, jet) sounds like English y (yet, yes). As for gn (gno, vignî), it sounds like English ny in lanyard. Finally, ch (che, uchì) always sounds like English k (kill, keep), and gh (barghessis, amighis) always sounds like hard English g (ghost, gold).

Also on this page: Sample vocabulary list with sentences written in Friulian according to the Dograva variant.

For continued study: Read short stories by Alberto Luchini written in his native Dograva variant of the Friulian language.

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Dograva variant of Friulian 1

Present in the Friulian language of Dograva is the verb zî (the z is pronounced like English z), meaning to go, equivalent to lâ of standard Friulian. We have many good examples of this verb in a book by Alberto Luchini called Uchì. Examples of zî are given below; these are followed by contextual examples of use from Luchini's book. Note: Some writers spell this verb zî, others ’sî. Either way, they are both pronounced the same, which is to say that the intial consonsant sounds like the z of English.

Examples: i soi zût (I went, I have gone; standard Friulian: o soi lât); al è zût (he went, he has gone; standard Friulian: al è lât); a ei zuda (she went, she has gone; standard Friulian: e je lade); i sin zûts (we went, we have gone; standard Friulian: o sin lâts); a son zûts (they went, they have gone [males]; standard Friulian: a son lâts); a son zudis (they went, they have gone [females]; standard Friulian: a son ladis); al era zût (he had gone; standard Friulian: al jere lât); i zevi (I used to go; standard Friulian: o levi); al zeva (he used to go; standard Friulian: al leve); a zevin (they used to go; standard Friulian: a levin). The t of zûts is not pronounced, which is to say that zûts is pronounced as though written zûs.

Contextual examples of zî taken from Luchini's book: a son zûts a stâ in sitât (they have gone to live in the city; standard Friulian: a son lâts a stâ in citât); a son zûts in Merica (they have gone to America; standard Friulian: a son lâts in Americhe); cui sa dulà ch’al era zût a platâsi (who knows where he had gone to hide; standard Friulian: cui sa dulà che al jere lât a platâsi); a era zuda di una sô sôr (she had gone to one of her sisters'; standard Friulian: e jere lade di une sô sûr); i zevin tai çamps (we used to go to the fields; standard Friulian: o levin tai cjamps); a zeva a çatâ sô mari e sio pari (she used to go visit [literally, find] her mother and her father; standard Friulian: e leve a cjatâ sô mari e so pari); i zevi a scuela a Udin (I used to go to school in Udin; standard Friulian: o levi a scuele a Udin).

Dograva variant of Friulian 2

Let us now turn our attention to the presence of diphthongs in the Dograva variant of Friulian. The examples below are drawn from the books Uchì and Lì di Sandra a li nouf di sera by Alberto Luchini. For instance, whereas standard Friulian has nûf (nine) with its single long vowel û, the Friulian of Dograva has nouf. The ou of nouf is a diphthong containing two vowels, the first gliding off into the second: o>u. English also presents diphthongs. Take, for instance, the English word boat. If a Friulian were to write how the English word boat sounds to him, he would not write bôt but bout. This is because boat contains a diphthong.

Examples of the diphthong ou in the Friulian of Dograva: 1. nouf; 2. plouf; 3. ouf; 4. mouf. ■ In standard Friulian: 1. nûf but also gnûf; 2. plûf; 3. ûf; 4. môf.

Example phrases: a erin passadis li nouf (it was past nine o'clock; standard Friulian: a jerin passadis lis nûf); lui al tenta di nouf (he tries again; standard Friulian: lui al tente di gnûf); par adès a no plouf (for now it is not raining; standard Friulian: par cumò nol plûf); tant che un ouf (like an egg; standard Friulian: tant che un ûf); alc al si mouf di là dal veri da la fignestra (something is moving on the other side of the windowpane; standard Friulian: alc si môf di là dal veri dal barcon).

Examples of the diphthong ei in the Friulian of Dograva: 1. meis; 2. peit; 3. seis; 4. deis; 5. a ei. ■ In standard Friulian: 1. mês; 2. pît; 3. sîs; 4. dîs; 5. e je.

Example phrases: un meis dopo (one month later; standard Friulian: un mês dopo); dopo trê meis (after three months; standard Friulian: dopo trê mês); spetâ in peis (to stand and wait; standard Friulian: spietâ in pîts); al finiva di lavorâ subit dopo da li seis (he used to finish working right after six o'clock; standard Friulian: al finive di lavorâ subit dopo des sîs); a son scuasin li deis (it is almost ten o'clock; standard Friulian: a son scuasit lis dîs); mê mari a ei tornada di Roma (my mother has returned from Rome; standard Friulian: mê mari e je tornade di Rome); a ei bessola (she is alone; standard Friulian: e je bessole).

Dograva variant of Friulian 3

Read a short tale in the Friulian of Dograva. An equivalent version in standard Friulian follows, as well as a translation into English.

Tale in the Friulian of Dograva:

Ti contarai, prin di zî via, una roba ch’a mi è toçada cuanch’i eri frut. A era pôc prin da l’unvier, una zornada freda, ma plena di soreli. Gno nonu al steva spacant lens tal curtîf e jo i mangiavi un milus. I gioldevi a jodilu taiâ cul manaras il len in doi: prin al fadeva il segno sul len cun tun colput, dopo un colp sec propit lì ch’al veva fat il segno e il len al svualava via in doi tocs. Nol sbaliava un colp. I dai un morseon al milus, cuanch’i mi necuars ch’i vevi mangiât ença un vier. I ài spudât di corsa il bocon e, par essi sigûr ch’a no mi sussedès nuia, i ài dita: «Nonu, i ài mangiât un vier...»; e lui, sensa molâ di spacâ i lens, al mi à rispundût: «Adès al sta piês lui di te».

In standard Friulian:

Ti contarai, prin di lâ vie, une robe che mi è tocjade cuant che o jeri frut. Al jere pôc prin dal Invier, une zornade frede, ma plene di soreli. Gno nono al steve spacant lens tal curtîl e jo o mangjavi un miluç. O gjoldevi a viodilu taiâ cu la manarie il len in doi: prin al faseve il segn sul len cuntun colput, dopo un colp sec propit lì che al veve fat il segn e il len al svolave vie in doi tocs. Nol sbaliave un colp. O doi un smorseon al miluç, cuant che mi inacuarç che o vevi mangjât ancje un vier. O ài spudât di corse il bocon e, par jessi sigûr che no mi sucedès nuie, i ài dit: «Nono, o ài mangjât un vier...»; e lui, cence molâ di spacâ i lens, mi à rispundût: «Cumò al sta piês lui di te».

In English:

Ti contarai (I shall tell you), prin di zî via (before I head off), una roba ch’a mi è toçada (something that happened to me) cuanch’i eri frut (when I was a lad). A era pôc prin da l’unvier (it was a little before winter), una zornada freda (a cold day), ma plena di soreli (but full of sun). Gno nonu al steva spacant lens (my grandfather was splitting firewood) tal curtîf (in the courtyard) e jo i mangiavi un milus (and I was eating an apple). I gioldevi a jodilu (I used to enjoy watching him) taiâ cul manaras (cut with the axe) il len in doi (the wood in two): prin al fadeva il segno sul len (first he would make the mark on the wood) cun tun colput (with a little strike), dopo un colp sec (then a hard strike) propit lì ch’al veva fat il segno (right where he had made the mark) e il len al svualava via in doi tocs (and the wood would fly off in two pieces). Nol sbaliava un colp (his strike was never off). I dai un morseon al milus (I take a bite of the apple), cuanch’i mi necuars (when I notice) ch’i vevi mangiât ença un vier (that I had also eaten a worm). I ài spudât di corsa il bocon e (I spat out the mouthful at once and), par essi sigûr ch’a no mi sussedès nuia (to be sure that nothing might befall me), i ài dita (I said to him): «Nonu, i ài mangiât un vier (grandfather, I have eaten a worm)...»; e lui (and he), sensa molâ di spacâ i lens (without stopping his splitting the firewood), al mi à rispundût (answered me): «Adès al sta piês lui di te (now he is worse off than you)».

Before I head off, I shall tell you something that happened to me when I was a lad. It was a little before winter, a cold but sunny day. My grandfather was splitting firewood in the courtyard, and I was eating an apple. I used to enjoy watching him cut the wood in two with the axe: first he would mark the wood with a little strike of the axe; then, with a hard strike of the axe right where he had made his mark, the wood would fly off in two pieces. He never missed. When I took a bite of my apple, I noticed that I had also eaten a worm. I spat out the mouthful at once and, to be sure that nothing might befall me, said to him, “Grandfather, I have eaten a worm...”; and he, without stopping his splitting the firewood, answered, “Now he is worse off than you.”

Friulian pronunciation notes:

DF = Dograva Friulian
SF = standard Friulian

(i) the z of DF zî and zornada is pronounced like English z; (ii) the ç of DF toçada and ença is pronounced like English ch; (iii) the gi of DF mangiavi, mangiât and gioldevi is pronounced like English j; (iv) the cj and gj of SF are not realised in DF: these, respectively, take the sounds of English ch (see ii) and English j (see iii); other examples: SF cjoc (drunk) becomes DF çoc, and SF gjat (cat) becomes DF giat; (v) the ç of SF becomes s in DF, so that SF miluç (apple) becomes DF milus, SF piçul (little) becomes DF pissul, SF braç (arm) becomes DF bras, SF çoc (log) becomes DF soc.

To complicate matters, it is important to note that, should a person take to writing in his own non-standard variety of Friulian, his writing may not always be a good indicator of local pronunciation. For instance, though the DF for cat is giat, a writer could potentially be found spelling this as gjat, so as to make it align with standardised spelling; however, this does not mean that he pronounces this word in the standard way when speaking in his vernacular.

This tale in Friulian is an adaptation of an extract from Il vier e il milus by Alberto Luchini.

Dograva variant of Friulian 4

In an earlier lesson, we examined different examples of the verb zî, meaning to go, in the Friulian language of Dograva. In standard Friulian, this verb is said lâ. Let us now look at more examples of zî, this time drawn from Il vier e il milus by Alberto Luchini. Note that some writers spell this verb ’sî. Whether zî or ’sî, the sound made by the intial consonant is the same as that of English z.

Simple examples: zî dentri (to go inside; standard Friulian: lâ dentri); zî fôr (to go out; standard Friulian: lâ fûr); zî via (to leave, to go away; standard Friulian: lâ vie); zî a scuela (to go to school; standard Friulian: lâ a scuele); zî a durmî (to go to sleep; standard Friulian: lâ a durmî); i zevin (we were going; standard Friulian: o levin); al è zût (he went, he has gone; standard Friulian: al è lât); a son zûts (they went, they have gone [males]; standard Friulian: a son lâts); a son zudis (they went, they have gone [females]; standard Friulian: a son ladis); zint (going; standard Friulian: lant). Note that zûts is pronounced as though written zûs.

Example phrases: i vîs scugnût zî via dal paîs (you had to leave the village; standard Friulian: o vês scugnût lâ vie dal paîs); ano volût zî via? (did they want to leave?; standard Friulian: àno volût lâ vie?); al è mieit ch’i ti zedis a durmî (you had better to go to sleep; standard Friulian: al è miei che tu ledis a durmî); cuanch’a zevin a partâ il lat (when they would go bring the milk; standard Friulian: cuant a levin a puartâ il lat); zino a zuiâ di balon a Pos? (are we going to play football in Poç?; standard Friulian: lino a zuiâ di balon a Poç?); ma a vuatris a vi è zuda ben (but it went well for you; standard Friulian: ma a vualtris us è lade ben); vuatris zît a jodi se il porton al è sierât (you lot, go see if the gate is shut; standard Friulian: vualtris lait a viodi se il porton al è sierât); Toni, zin via (Tony, let's go; standard Friulian: Toni, anìn vie); i sin zûts a San Zors (we went to Saint George; standard Friulian: o sin lâts a Sant Zorç); a son zudis a Milan (they went to Milano; standard Friulian: a son ladis a Milan); ch’a restin là ch’a son zûts (let them stay wherever they have gone; standard Friulian: che a restin là che a son lâts); i erin zûts davôr di lôr (we had followed them; standard Friulian: o jerin lâts daûr di lôr); cuanch’a zevin a zuiâ di balon (whenever they went to play football; standard Friulian: cuant che a levin a zuiâ di balon); al è zût in Australia (he has gone to Australia; standard Friulian: al è lât in Australie); ma doman zino a scuela d’instès? (but tomorrow are we going to school all the same?; standard Friulian: ma doman lino a scuele di istès?); a someava che dut il paîs a j zès davôr (it seemed the whole village was following him; standard Friulian: al someave che dut il pâis i leve daûr).

Dograva variant of Friulian 5

In standard Friulian, I am and we are translate to o soi and o sin. In the Friulian of Dograva, in western Friûl, these are rather said i soi and i sin. From this, we understand that, in both the first-person singular and plural, the Dograva atonic subject pronoun is i rather than the standard o. The example phrases below are all drawn from the books Il vier e il milus and Uchì, both written by Alberto Luchini.

First-person singular

i soi (I am; standard Friulian: o soi); i eri (I was; standard Friulian: o jeri); i ài (I have; standard Friulian: o ài); i vevi (I had; standard Friulian: o vevi); no stâ toçâmi; lassimi ch’i soi stufa (do not touch me; leave me alone because I am fed up; standard Friulian: no sta tocjâmi; lassimi che o soi stufe); i ài bisugna di te (I need you; standard Friulian: o ài bisugne di te); i vevi massa pôra par voltâmi (I was too afraid to turn round: standard Friulian: o vevi masse pôre par voltâmi); i stevi a jodi (I stood watching; standard Friulian: o stevi a viodi); al è mieit ch’i torni a çasa (I had better go home; standard Friulian: al è miei che o torni a cjase); no soi çoc né indurmidît (I am neither drunk nor asleep; standard Friulian: no soi cjoc ne indurmidît); moviti, ch’i no ài voia di tornâ cul scûr (get a move on because I do not want to go back in the dark; standard Friulian: moviti, che no ài voie di tornâ cul scûr); no sai di dulà ch’i ven, i sai di dulà ch’i soi partît (I do not know where I come from, I {only} know from where I have left; standard Friulian: no sai di dulà che o ven, o sai di dulà che o soi partît); jo i ài pôra (I am afraid; standard Friulian: jo o ài pôre); jo ti speti (I shall wait for you; standard Friulian: jo ti spieti); jo i siels (I choose; standard Friulian: jo o sielç).

First-person plural

i sin (we are; standard Friulian: o sin); i erin (we were; standard Friulian: o jerin); i vin (we have; standard Friulian: o vin); i vevin (we had; standard Friulian: o vevin); i sin in cuatri (there are four of us; standard Friulian: o sin in cuatri); i vin domandât sè môt ch’a si dîs par talian sçalâr (we asked how to say loading deck in Italian; standard Friulian: o vin domandât cemût che si dîs par talian scjalâr); i zevin ben a scuela, a ei vera, ma jo i no vevi nissuna voia di continuâ a studiâ (we did well at school, it is true, but I had no desire to continue studying; standard Friulian: o levin ben a scuele, e je vere, ma jo no vevi nissune voie di continuâ a studiâ); il prât dà ch’i zuiavin di balon in vinç (the meadow where twenty of us used to play football; standard Friulian: il prât dulà che o zuiavin di balon in vincj); noatris i savin (we know; standard Friulian: nô o savìn); noatris, ch’i erin zûts davôr di lôr (we who had followed them; standard Friulian: nô, che o jerin lâts daûr di lôr); nô i no stin in Italia (we are not in Italy; standard Friulian: nô no stin in Italie); nô i no vin çatât post (we could not find a place {to sit}; standard Friulian: nô no vin cjatât puest).

Dograva variant of Friulian 6

In standard Friulian, singular you have (i.e., thou hast) and plural you have are tu âs and o vês, respectively. In the Friulian language of Dograva di San Zors da la Richinvelda, these are rather i ti as and i vîs. The example phrases that follow are drawn from the writings of Alberto Luchini.

Second-person singular

The following two Dograva examples can be given first, before looking at more examples below: tu i ti vas (you go) and tu i ti nas (you are born); in standard Friulian, these are tu tu vas and tu tu nassis. From these, we see that the tonic (stressed) second-person singular subject pronoun is the same in both the Dograva variant and in the standard (tu); it is in the atonic (unstressed) subject pronoun that the difference appears (Dograva: i ti). Note that Luchini sometimes omits the i; for instance, though we find this example in his writing: i ti sos in bicicleta (you are on your bike; standard Friulian: tu sês in biciclete), we also find: ti sos cunvint (you are convinced; standard Friulian: tu sês cunvint). As for the interrogative, the atonic Dograva ti becomes tu, for instance: sè atu? (what have you?; standard Friulian: ce âstu?); moreover, at Dograva, the final -s of the second-person singular verb is dropped in the interrogative.

i ti sos (you are; standard Friulian: tu sês); i ti as (you have; standard Friulian: tu âs); i ti as sedis ains (you are sixteen years old; standard Friulian: tu âs sedis agns); i ti partìs viers il flun (you head towards the river; standard Friulian: tu partissis viers il flum); i ti molis il troi (you get off the path; standard Friulian: tu molis il troi); i ti sos in miès ma ti sos ença di fôr (you are in the middle but you are also on the outside; standard Friulian: tu sês tal mieç ma tu sês ancje di fûr); di cui sotu? (from whom are you? [who is your father?]; standard Friulian: di cui sêstu?); dulà sotu? (where are you?; standard Friulian: dulà sêstu?); ma sè atu stassera? (what ever is the matter with you this evening?; standard Friulian: ma ce âstu cheste sere?); sè fatu? (what are you doing?; standard Friulian: ce fasistu?); sè pensavitu? (what were you thinking?; standard Friulian: ce pensavistu?); di dulà ventu? (where do you come from?; standard Friulian: di dulà vegnistu?); parsè ch’i ti as pôra (because you are afraid; standard Friulian: parcè che tu âs pôre); dulà ch’i ti çatis lavôr (where you find work; standard Friulian: dulà che tu cjatis lavôr); cuanch’i no ti si lu spetis (when you do not expect it; standard Friulian: cuant che no tu tal spietis).

Second-person plural

i sîs (you are; standard Friulian: o sês); i crodîs (you believe; standard Friulian: o crodês); vuatris ch’i eris restâts in paîs (you who stayed behind in the village; standard Friulian: vualtris che o jeris restâts in paîs); i vîs scugnût zî via dal paîs (you had to leave the village; standard Friulian: o vês scugnût lâ vie dal paîs); i savîs disi mâl da la int (you are good at speaking ill of people; standard Friulian: o savês dî mâl de int); tu e ço fradi i vîs vût sempri passion pa la scuela (you and your brother have always been passionate about school; standard Friulian: tu e to fradi o vês vût simpri passion pe scuele); vuliso vignî a jodilu? (do you want to come see him?; standard Friulian: volêso vignî a viodilu?); viso fat la scuadra? (did you make the team?; standard Friulian: vêso fat la scuadre?); viso jodût? (have you seen?; standard Friulian: vêso viodût?); i vevis dut sè ch’a vi coventava (you had everything that you needed; standard Friulian: o vevis dut ce che us coventave); i cognossevis dut (you knew everything; standard Friulian: o cognossevis dut); i si sintevis a çasa vuestra (you felt at home; standard Friulian: si sintivis a cjase vuestre).

Dograva variant of Friulian 7

In this lesson are presented numbers as they are said in the Friulian of Dograva. To compile the spoken forms and example phrases presented here, four works by Alberto Luchini were used as source texts, which are: (i) Uchì; (ii) Lì di Sandra a li nouf di sera; (iii) Caligo; (iv) Il vier e il milus.

1-10

un* (1), doi* (2), trê (3), cuatri (4), sinc (5), seis (6), siet (7), vot (8), nouf (9), deis (10). -- *Note: Un and doi are used with masculine nouns only; with feminine nouns, una and dôs must be used.

un davôr chel atri (the one behind the other); una davôr di chê atra (the one behind the other); un a la volta (one at a time); almancul una volta al an (at least once a year); li dôs di not (two o'clock at night); dôs fantatis (two girls); doi zovins a tachin a pacâsi (two youths start punching each other); trê zovins a tachin a sburtâsi (three youths start pushing one another); trê meis (three months); trê, cuatri feminis, doi oms, una fantata e cualchi fruts (three or four women, two men, a girl and a few children); al molava a li trê e un cuart (he used to get off at a quarter past three); a li cuatri (at four o'clock); a erin dome li sinc (it was only five o'clock); al si sveava a li sinc (he used to wake up at five o'clock); al jevava a li seis di bunora (he used to get up at six in the morning); da li seis a li siet di bunora (from six to seven o'clock in the morning); prin da li siet (before seven o'clock); turno unic di vot oris (one workshift of eight hours); durmî almancul fin li vot (to sleep in until at least eight o'clock); a erin scuasin li nouf (it was almost nine o'clock); viers li deis e miesa (at about half-past ten).

11-20

undis (11), dodis (12), tredis (13), cutuardis (14), cuindis (15), sedis (16), disasiet (17), disavot* (18), disanouf* (19), vinç (20). -- *Note: Disavot and disanouf are not present in the referenced works of Luchini; however, mention can be made of «il ciclòn dal disanouf» (the cyclone of nineteen), which struck San Zors da la Richinvelda in the year 1919.

{al rivava} a Çasarsa a miesanot mancul deis e tal jet a la miesa (he used to arrive at Cjasarse at ten minutes to midnight and {be} in bed at half-past); da li siet a li undis (from seven to eleven o'clock); una roba di frutis di tredis, cutuardis ains (a thing that thirteen- or fourteen-year-old girls do); a nol veva cuindis ains ch’al veva tacât (he was not even fifteen years old when he has started); sui sedis ains (about sixteen years old); al riva un grop di zovins e zovinis, roba di sedis disasiet ains (a group of boys and girls arrives, sixteen or seventeen years old); i volarès vê vinç ains (I should like to be twenty years old); i vevin pôc pi di vinç ains (we were little more than twenty years old).

20+ / vinç e passa

vinç (20), vinçadoi (22), vinçacuatri (24), trenta (30), trentatrê (33), trentasiet (37), trentavot (38), cuaranta (40), sincuanta (50), sessanta (60), sessantavot (68), setanta (70), otanta (80), novanta* (90), sent (100), sentedeis (110), sentedodis (112), mil (1.000), sincmil (5.000), deismil (10.000), vinçmil (20.000), sentmil (100.000), un milionvosentevinçasincmil (1.825.000). -- *Note: Novanta does not appear in the referenced works of Luchini.

Dograva variant of Friulian 8

Presented in this lesson are possessive adjectives as used in the Friulian of Dograva. Exampes are drawn from four sources, all written by Alberto Luchini: (i) Uchì; (ii) Lì di Sandra a li nouf di sera; (iii) Caligo; (iv) Il vier e il milus. The definite article is customarily used before the possessive adjective (il gno ufissi, i ciei voi, il sio çâf...), but not with words identifying family members in the singular (gno pari, mê mari, sio barba...); however, the definite article is used with the words for husband and wife (il sio om, la mê femina...).

First-person singular, my: gno (masculine singular); gnei (masculine plural); mê (feminine singular); mês (feminine plural). Examples: gno pari (my father); il gno ufissi (my office); il gno amigo (my {male} friend); i gnei amigos (my {male} friends); a son afârs gnei (that is my business); la mê etât (my age); la mê femina (my wife); mê mari (my mother); mê nona (my grandmother); li mês robis (my things); li mês clafs (my keys).

Second-person singular, your: ço (masculine singular); ciei (masculine plural); tô (femine singular); tôs (feminine plural). Examples: ço pari (your father); ço nonu (your grandfather); ço fi (your son); i ciei voi (your eyes); ai ciei cuindis ains (at your fifteen years of age); i ciei amigos (your {male} friends); tô mari (your mother); tô sôr (your sister); par colpa tô (by your fault); la tô vita (your life); li tôs orelis (your ears); li tôs mais (your jerseys).

Third-person singular, his, her, its: sio (masculine singular); siei (masculine plural); sô (feminine singular); sôs (feminine plural). Examples: sio barba (his/her uncle); il sio apartament (his/her apartment); il sio çâf (his/her head); il sio om (her husband); i siei amigos (his {male} friends); i siei compains di scuela (his {male} school companions, his {male} classmates); i siei voi (his/her eyes); i siei çavei (his/her hair); la sô femina (his wife); la sô famea (his/her family); la sô çadrea (his/her chair); li sôs domandis (his/her questions); li sôs compagnis (her {female} companions).

First-person plural, our: nestri (masculine singular); nestris (masculine plural); nestra (feminine singular); nestris (feminine plural). Examples: il nestri miedi (our physician); il nestri paîs (our village); i nestris çamps (our fields); i nestris ordins (our orders); a çasa nestra (at our place); a era colpa nestra (it was our fault); la nestra identitât (our identity); li nestris peraulis (our words); li nestris ideis (our ideas); li nestris barufis (our arguments).

Second-person plural, your: vuestri (masculine singular); vuestris (masculine plural); vuestra (feminine singular); vuestris (feminine plural). Examples: il vuestri çapitani (your captain); i vuestris bês (your money); la vuestra guera (your war); la vuestra çasa (your house); a çasa vuestra (at your place); li vuestris bestis (your livestock).

Third-person plural, their: lôr (masculine singular); lôr (masculine plural); lôr (feminine singular); lôr (feminine plural). Examples: il lôr sanc (their blood); il lôr capo (their boss); il lôr paîs (their village); a tornin ai lôr fats (they get back to their business); a continuin pa la lôr strada (they continue on their way); li lôr amighis (their {female} friends).

Dograva variant of Friulian 9

Following is a short reading exercise composed in the Friulian language of Dograva, written by Alberto Luchini, drawn from his book Uchì. It is first presented in its original Dograva vernacular, then rendered into standard Friulian, and finally translated into English. Following all these parts are Friulian pronunciation notes.

Extract composed in the Friulian language of Dograva:

Sentât su la puarta dal garâs ch’a mena tal ort, il veçu al lei il giornâl, ch’a lu lassin in pâs dome parsè ch’a no san dulà ch’al è. Nol è ch’al çati alc ch’a j interessi, lu fa dome parsè ch’al è bituât. Nol rivarès a misdì sensa vêlu let. Ogni dì, ença di domenia, ch’a lu taca dopo messa e lu finìs tal dopomisdì. Ogni tant al si çata cul giornâl viert denant e ch’a nol sa se un articul lu à let o no. No si lu recuarda.

In standard Friulian:

Sentât su la puarte dal garage che e mene tal ort, il vecjo al lei il gjornâl, che lu lassin in pâs dome parcè che no san dulà che al è. Nol è che al cjati alc che i interessi, lu fa dome parcè che al è usât. Nol rivarès a misdì cence vêlu let. Ogni dì, ancje di domenie, che lu tache dopo messe e lu finìs tal dopomisdì. Ogni tant si cjate cul gjornâl viert denant e nol sa se un articul lu à let o no. No sal ricuarde.

In English:

Sentât su la puarta dal garâs (sitting at the garage door) ch’a mena tal ort (that leads into the garden), il veçu al lei il giornâl (the old man reads the newspaper), ch’a lu lassin in pâs (when they leave him alone) dome parsè ch’a no san dulà ch’al è (only because they do not know where he is). Nol è ch’al çati alc ch’a j interessi (it is not that he finds anything that interests him), lu fa dome parsè ch’al è bituât (he does it only because he is used to it). Nol rivarès a misdì (he could not make it to noon) sensa vêlu let (without having read it). Ogni dì (every day), ença di domenia (even Sunday), ch’a lu taca dopo messa (when he starts it after Mass) e lu finìs tal dopomisdì (and finishes it in the afternoon). Ogni tant (every so often) al si çata cul giornâl viert denant (he finds himself with the newspaper open before him) e ch’a nol sa (and does not know) se un articul lu à let o no (if he has read a certain article or not). No si lu recuarda (he does not remember).

Friulian pronunciation notes:

DF = Dograva Friulian
SF= standard Friulian

(i) the cj of SF is not realised in DF, where it becomes ç (sounds like English ch), wherefore we have DF ença in place of SF ancje, DF çatâ in place of SF cjatâ, DF veçu in place of SF vecjo; (ii) nor is the gj of SF realised in DF, where it becomes gi (sounds like English j), wherefore we have DF giornâl in place of SF gjornâl; (iii) the SF interrogative pronoun ce (what) becomes sè in DF (example, DF: par capî sè ch’a pensin [to understand what they think; SF: par capî ce che a pensin]), and SF parcè becomes DF parsè (example, DF: parsè che cuanch’al è zût via [because when he left; SF: parcè che cuant che al è lât vie).

Dograva variant of Friulian 10

In the Friulian of Dograva, we encounter a much higher incidence of the ss sound than in standard Friulian. For instance, whereas in standard Friulian we have piçul for little, where the ç sounds like English ch, we have in the Friulian of Dograva pissul instead: this phenomenon of pronouncing ss rather than ç is known as sicament. We explore below a few categories of words where the ss sound appears in the western variety of the Friulian language found at Dograva. To be clear, the ss sound is not doubled or held longer; it is merely the sound that we find in English words such as cross, glass or brass.

Examples of words taking ç in the standard language but ss at Dograva:

1. piçul (little); 2. braç (arm); 3. poç (well); 4. çoc (log); 5. miluç (apple); 6. façolet (kerchief). Because of the ss sound in all these words as pronounced at Dograva, they can in theory be written so: pissul, bras, pos, soc, milus, fassolet. Stress is on the first syllable in 1, whereas it is on the final syllable in 5 and 6.

Examples of words taking ce or ci in the standard language but sse or ssi at Dograva:

1. sucedi (to happen); 2. parcè (why); 3. citât (city); 4. uciel (bird); 5. vicin (nearby), 6. decidi (to decide); 7. cidin (quiet); 8. ufici (office); 9. purcit (pig); 10. facil (easy). Because of the ss sound in all these words as pronounced at Dograva, they can in theory be written so: sussedi, parsè, sitât, ussel, vissin, dessidi, sidin, ufissi, pursit, fassil. Stress is on the second syllable in all, except 10. Moreover, we must remember that feminine nouns ending in -e in standard Friulian will end in -a in that of Dograva; therefore, whereas we have place (town square) and cene (supper) in standard Friulian, we have plassa and sena in that of Dograva, both words taking the ss sound and employing final -a, and both taking tonic stress on the first syllable. Even other classes of words that end in -e in standard Friulian will end in -a in that of Dograva, so that, for instance, cence (without) and cincuante (fifty) are rather sensa and sincuanta in the Friulian of Dograva.

Examples of words taking z as part of a suffix in the standard language but ss at Dograva:

1. venezian (Venetian); 2. lezion (lesson); 3. stazion (station); 4. emigrazion (emigration); 5. informazion (information); 6. tentazion (temptation); 7. reazion (reaction). Because of the ss sound in all these words as pronounced at Dograva, they can in theory be written so: venessian, lession, stassion, emigrassion, informassion, tentassion, reassion. Stress is on the final syllable in all. Another example can be given: Whereas the Friulian for democracy is democrazie in the standard language, this is rather democrassia at Dograva. Know also that standard invezit (instead) employing median z is rather invessit at Dograva.

Dograva variant of Friulian 11

Using as source texts different works written by Alberto Luchini, below are examples of the forms that the Friulian preposition in takes before indefinite and definite articles, in the language as it is spoken at Dograva di San Zors da la Richinvelda, in western Friûl. It is important to note that the English in is only one of the ways that the Friulian in can be rendered; the Friulian in can, at times, also take on the sense of the English on or at.

In + Indefinite article

Masculine singular: ta un
ta un çanton (in a corner); ta un treno (on a train); ta un dopomisdì di lui (on a July afternoon); ta un çadin (in a basin); ta un ufissi di viàs (in a travel agency); ta un çamp (in a field); ta un jet (in a bed).

Feminine singular: ta una
ta una not d’estât (on a summer night); ta una çasa (in a house); ta una preson (in a prison); ta una plassa plena di int (in a town square full of people); sentât ta una çadrea (sitting on a chair). -- Note: Una can contract to ’na: sentâsi ta ’na çadrea (to sit down on a chair); ta ’na çasa di claps grîs (in a grey-stone house).

In + definite article

Masculine singular: tal / ta l’
tal scûr (in the dark); tal sorneli (on one's forehead); lu ài let tal giornâl (I read it in the newspaper); tal soreli svuarbant da li dôs (in the blinding two o'clock sun); tal ledan di una cort (in the manure of a courtyard); tal pantan (in the mud); tal savalon (in the sand); a fadevin il bagno tal Tiliment (they were bathing in the {river} Tiliment); un vier tal bec da la mierla (a worm in the beak of the blackbird); ta l’ort (in the garden).

Feminine singular: ta la / ta l’
ta la stassion (in the station); sentâsi ta la taula (to sit down at the table); fâ il plen ta la machina (to fill the car up with petrol); ta l’aga (in the water); ta la strada (in the street); ta la plassa (in the town square); ta la lûs (in the light); ta la çasa dal nonu (in grandfather's house); ta la sô butega (in his shop); distirât ta l’erba (lying in the grass).

Masculine plural: tai
çacarâ furlan tai ufissis (to speak Friulian in the offices); li lagrimis tai vôi (tears in one's eyes); zî tai çamps (to go into the fields); vê un cancar tai palmons (to have lung cancer); a lu vevin çatât tai çamps (they had found him in the fields).

Feminine plural : ta li
ta li mans (in one's hands); ta li buteghis (in the shops); ta li reclams in television (in television ads); ta li stassions (in the stations); ta li vitrinis (in the shop windows).

Dograva variant of Friulian 12

In standard Friulian, he was, she was, they were are said: al jere, e jere, a jerin; in the Friulian of Dograva, these are rather said: al era, a era, a erin. Negated, the standard Friulian forms are said: nol jere, no jere, no jerin; at Dograva, these are rather said: a nol era, a no era, a no erin. Below are examples of the third-person subject pronouns, both singular and plural, as used in the Friulian of Dograva; these are drawn from the works of Alberto Luchini, who was born there.

Third-person singular, masculine

massima adès che lui al era a çasa par zornadis interis (especially now that he was at home for entire days; standard Friulian: massime cumò che lui al jere a cjase par zornadis interiis); al è strac e al sueta (he is tired and he limps; standard Friulian: al è strac e al çuete); al era in pension (he was in retirement; standard Friulian: al jere in pension); lui a nol veva nuia di disi (he had nothing to say; standard Friulian: lui nol veve nuie di dî); a nol sapeva sè fâ (he did not know what to do; standard Friulian: nol saveve ce fâ); Gino a nol era tornât (Gino had not returned; standard Friulian: Gino nol jere tornât); Bepo al si era zirât tal jet (Bepo had turned round in bed; standard Friulian: Bepo si jere zirât tal jet); insomp di una setemana al si era stufât di stâ a durmî fin tars (by the end of one week he had become sick of sleeping in late; standard Friulian: insom di une setemane si jere stufât di stâ a durmî fin tart); a nol si recuardava nuia (he could not remember anything; standard Friulian: no si ricuardava nuie).

Third-person singular, feminine

a era una biela femina (she was a beautiful woman; standard Friulian: e jere une biele femine); jê a lu tontonava (she used to yell at him; standard Friulian: jê lu tontonave); a era sçampada cun Pauli ta un albergo (she had taken off with Paul to a hotel; standard Friulian: e jere scjampade cun Pauli tun albierc); a veva sessanta ains (she was sixty years old; standard Friulian: e veve sessante agns); jê a no veva insistût (she had not insisted; standard Friulian: jê no veve insistût); di chê volta a no à pi lavorât (from that time on she did not work any more; standard Friulian; di chê volte no à plui lavorât); a si era sierada tal scûr da la stansia (she had locked herself up in the darkness of the room; standard Friulian: si jere sierade tal scûr da la stanzie); a j plaseva sô nona, ch’a no si meteva mai di mies (he liked his grandmother, who never interfered; standard Friulian: i plaseve sô none, che no si meteve mai di mieç).

Third-person plural

a erin dome li sinc (it was only five o'clock; standard Friulian: a jerin dome lis cinc); duçus a vevin ridût (everybody had laughed; standard Friulian: ducj a vevin ridût); i claps sot il soreli a ti insein (the stones in the sun blind you; standard Friulian: i claps sot il soreli ti incein); a mi tirin a siment (they take digs at me; standard Friulian: mi tirin a ciment); nença lôr a no vevin nuia di fâ (they did not have anything to do either; standard Friulian: nancje lôr no vevin nuie di fâ); li fiis a no san rispundi (the daughters do not know how to respond; standard Friulian: lis fiis no san rispuindi).

Dograva variant of Friulian 13

Following is a short excerpt from the book Uchì, written by Alberto Luchini; this text is written in the Friulian used at Dograva, some twenty-five kilometres to the north-east of Pordenon. The excerpt is first presented in its original variant, followed by a rendering into standard Friulian; these are then followed by a translation into English and a number of language notes.

Original in the Friulian of Dograva:

Al era zût a San Zors in biblioteca a fâsi imprestâ cualchi libri. Al veva tacât a lei di bunora, pena jevât, e al molava scuasin a misdì. Al tornava a tacâ a li dôs, subit dopo il telegiornâl, e al finiva ch’al era scûr. Al veva sielt libris da la seconda guera. Biei, ben scrits, ma dopo una setemana a lu vevin stufât.

In standard Friulian:

Al jere lât a Sant Zorç in biblioteche a fâsi imprestâ cualchi libri. Al veve tacât a lei di buinore, a pene jevât, e al molave scuasit a misdì. Al tornave a tacâ a lis dôs, subit dopo il telegjornâl, e al finive che al jere scûr. Al veve sielts libris de seconde vuere. Biei, ben scrits, ma dopo une setemane lu vevin stufât.

In English:

Al era zût (he had gone) a San Zors in biblioteca (to the library at San Zors) a fâsi imprestâ cualchi libri (to borrow a few books). Al veva tacât a lei (he had started to read) di bunora (in the morning), pena jevât (right after getting up), e al molava (and would stop) scuasin a misdì (almost at noon). Al tornava a tacâ (he would start again) a li dôs (at two o'clock), subit dopo il telegiornâl (right after the television news), e al finiva (and would finish) ch’al era scûr (when it was dark). Al veva sielt libris (he had chosen books) da la seconda guera (about World War Two). Biei (nice ones), ben scrits (well written), ma dopo una setemana (but after a week) a lu vevin stufât (they had bored him).

Friulian language notes:

(i) The intial z of zût and Zors is pronounced like English z; (ii) imprestâ means to lend; fâsi imprestâ un libri translates after the Friulian manner as to make lend a book unto oneself, which is to say, to borrow a book; (iii) following cualchi the noun is always put in the singular: cualchi libri (a few books); (iv) da la is the contraction used at Dograva of di + la.

Dograva variant of Friulian 14

In a recent lesson on the subject of the preposition in, we examined its contraction with indefinite and definite articles in the Friulian of Dograva. Put simply, we have the following at Dograva:

Preposition in (in, at); the forms are: ta un, ta una, tal, ta la, tai, ta li. Both tal and ta la take the form ta l’ before a noun beginning with a vowel. Examples: ta un çanton (in a corner); ta una çasa (in a house); tal scûr (in the dark); ta l’ort (in the garden); ta la stassion (in the station); ta l’erba (in the grass); tai çamps (in the fields); ta li buteghis (in the shops). The indefinite article una can contract to ’na, so we should also expect to hear, for instance, ta ’na stansia (in a room); sentât ta ’na taula (sitting at a table).

In the remainder of this lesson, we examine contractions with other common prepositions. The examples are drawn from the various writings by Alberto Luchini.

Preposition a (to, at); the forms are: a un, a una, al, a la, ai, a li. Both al and a la take the form a l’ before a noun beginning with a vowel. Examples: a un sert pont (at a certain point); a una fruta (to a girl); al prin (to the first one); di un moment a l’atri (from one moment to the next); a la fin (at the end, finally); a l’universitât (at university); ai ciei cuindis ains (at your fifteen years of age); fint a li deis (until ten o'clock). The indefinite article una can contract to ’na, so we should also expect to hear, for instance, a ’na veça (to an old woman).

Preposition cun (with, by); the forms are: cuntun, cuntuna, cul, cu la, cui, cu li. Both cul and cu la take the form cu l’ before a noun beginning with a vowel. Examples: cuntun fassolet (with a kerchief); cuntuna musa rabiosa (with an angry face); cul çâf (with one's head); cu l’odôr da l’estât (with the scent of summer); cu la television vierta (with the television on); cu l’orela (with one's ear, by ear); cui çavei bionts (with blond hair); cu li mans (with one's hands, by hand).

Preposition di (of, from); the forms are: di un, di una, dal, da la, dai, da li. Both dal and da la take the form da l’ before a noun beginning with a vowel. Examples: di un çamp di blava (of a corn field); il sbati di una puarta (the slamming of a door); tirâsi sù dal jet (to get up from bed); da l’ufissi (from the office); da la rivolussion (of the revolution); da l’universitât (from the university); dai students (of the students); da li sçalis (of the steps). The indefinite article una can contract to ’na, so we should also expect to hear, for instance, di ’na sitât (from a city).

Preposition par (for, by, through); the forms are: par un, par una, pal, pa la, pai, pa li. Both pal and pa la take the form pa l’ before a noun beginning with a vowel. Examples: par un pâr di ains (for a few years); par una puarta (tthrough a door); zî pal mont (to go round the world); pa l’esam di dirit (for the law exam); pa la seconda volta (for the second time); partî pa l’Africa (to leave for Africa); fâ un ziro pai çamps (to take a walk through the fields); pa li stradis sensa int (through the streets devoid of people). The indefinite article una can contract to ’na, so we should also expect to hear, for instance, par ’na volta la mari a era d’acordo (for once my mother agreed).

Other examples from the writings of Luchini, including su (on, about):

Mi eri tirât sui comedons, freantmi i voi cul polear: al era di schena e al sgarfava ta un zaino, ch’al veva butât sul jet dongia dal gno. I had lifted myself up onto my elbows, rubbing my eyes with my thumb: he had his back turned to me and was rummaging through a rucksack, which he had thrown onto the bed beside mine.

La mari, su la puarta, lu vuardava, come sempri. My mother, at the door, was watching him as usual.

Una discussion su li robariis, sui delincuents, sul governo ch’a nol fadeva bastansa il dûr cui laris, sui giudis ch’a ju molavin la dì dopo, sui carabiniêrs ch’a lassavin che duçus a fadessin sé ch’a volevin. A discussion about the robberies, about the delinquents, about the government that was not harsh enough on the thieves, about the judges who would let them go the next day, about the carabiniêrs {police} that would let everyone do whatever they wanted.

Dograva variant of Friulian 15

The Friulian dut means all. As seen in the many examples below, it can take on other English renderings, depending on its grammatical function. In standard Friulian, its four forms are: dut (masculine singular); dute (feminine singular); ducj (masculine plural); dutis (feminine plural). At Dograva, the following are rather found, in the same order as above: dut, duta, duçus, dutis. Below are examples of the Dograva forms, with English and standard Friulian equivalents provided between parentheses. The examples are drawn from the works of Alberto Luchini.

Masculine singular: dut (standard Friulian: same)
dut ben? (everything all right?; standard Friulian: same); dut il dì (all day long; standard Friulian: same); dut il dopomisdì (all afternoon long; standard Friulian: same); pi di dut (above all; standard Friulian: plui di dut); par dut il timp ch’al era restât a çasa (for the entire time that he had stayed home; standard Friulian: par dut il timp che al jere restât a cjase); a sena i ài tasût dut il timp (at supper I kept quiet the whole time; standard Friulian: a cene o ài tasût dut il timp); i vevi fat di dut par cunvinsila (I had done everything to convince her; standard Friulian: o vevi fat di dut par convincile); cuanch’al era muart la femina a veva vindût dut (when he had died his wife had sold everything; standard Friulian: cuant che al jere muart la femine e veve vendût dut); jo, cu li patatis i soi buna di fâ di dut (I am able to make anything with potatoes; standard Friulian: jo, cu lis patatis o soi buine di fâ di dut). -- Note: The last example is spoken by woman; we know this by the feminine singular buna. At Dograva, a female says: i soi buna di fâ (I can make, I am able to make, I know how to make), whereas a man says: i soi bon di fâ; in standard Friulian, these are rather: o soi buine di fâ (feminine) and o soi bon di fâ (masculine).

Feminine singular: duta (standard Friulian: dute)
duta la sitât (the entire city; standard Friulian: dute la citât); par duta l’Africa (throughout Africa; standard Friulian: par dute la Afriche); duta la not (all night long; standard Friulian: dute la gnot); duta la setemana (all week long; standard Friulian: dute la setemane); a doventa duta rossa e a tâs di colp (she turns all red and suddenly goes quiet; standard Friulian: e devente dute rosse e e tâs di colp); a nol diseva una peraula par duta la sera (he did not say one word all evening; standard Friulian: nol diseve une peraule par dute la sere); duta lì la diferensa (that is why it is entirely different; standard Friulian: dute lì la diference); duta chê cunfusion (all that confusion; standard Friulian: dute chê confusion); ma tal mont a era duta un’atra roba (but out in the world it was something else altogether; standard Friulian: ma tal mont e jere dute une altre robe). -- Note: In the last example, the standard Friulian altre is pronounced atre, but the l is retained in its written form; the Dograva equivalent has been spelt phonetically.

Masculine plural: duçus (standard Friulian: ducj)
butâ via duçus chei bês (to throw away all that money; standard Friulian: butâ vie ducj chei bêçs); duçus i clients (all the customers; standard Friulian: ducj i clients); duçus i ciei recuarts (all your memories; standard Friulian: ducj i tiei ricuarts); duçus i dis da l’an (all the days of the year; standard Friulian: ducj i dîs dal an); a ’nd è par duçus i gusç (to each his own; standard Friulian: ind è par ducj i guscj); un a la volta a erin partîts duçus i fantats (one at a time all the lads had left; standard Friulian: un par volte a jerin partîts ducj i fantats); duçus a savevin dut di duçus (everyone knew everything about everyone; standard Friulian: ducj a savevin dut di ducj); come ch’a fan duçus adès (as everyone does now; standard Friulian: come che a fasin ducj cumò); lu disin duçus (everyone says it; standard Friulian: lu disin ducj); a vevin molât duçus doi (both of them had quit; standard Friulian: a vevin molât ducj i doi); duçus doi insiemit (both of them together; standard Friulian: ducj i doi insiemi). -- Note: In the first example, the standard Friulian bêçs is pronounced bês, but the ç is retained in its written form; the Dograva equivalent has been spelt without any bother to include the silent letter.

Feminine plural: dutis (standard Friulian: same)
dutis li çasis (all the houses; standard Friulian: dutis lis cjasis); dutis li scuadris (all the teams; standard Friulian: dutis lis scuadris); come dutis li feminis (like all women; standard Friulian: come dutis lis feminis); ta dutis li oris dal dì (at every hour of the day; standard Friulian: in dutis lis oris dal dì); dutis li voltis ch’al prova a çacarâti (every time that he tries to talk to you; standard Friulian: dutis lis voltis che al prove a cjacarâti); al zirava pai taulins e l’invidava a balâ dutis li fantatis (he was going round from table to table inviting all the girls to dance; standard Friulian: al zirave pai taulins e al invidave a balâ dutis lis fantatis); a erin dutis bielis (they were all beautiful; standard Friulian: a jerin dutis bielis); a li àn dutis (they have them all; standard Friulian: lis àn dutis). -- Note: In the last example, the thing had by them is identified by a feminine noun in Friulian.

Dograva variant of Friulian 16

In standard Friulian, the demonstrative adjectives equivalent to this (singular) and these (plural) are: chest (masculine singular); cheste (feminine singular); chescj (masculine plural); chestis (feminine plural). In the variant of Friulian spoken at Dograva, we find, in the same order as above: chistu, chista, chisçus, chistis.

Examples in the Dograva variant: chistu al sarà il mieit (this one will be the best; standard Friulian: chest al sarà il miei); chista volta i ài tasût dut il timp (this time I kept quiet the whole time; standard Friulian: cheste volte o ài tasût dut il timp); i mieit a erin i pi pissui come chisçus (the best were the littlest ones like these; standard Friulian: i miei a jerin i plui piçui come chescj); ta una di chistis çasis (in one of these houses; standard Friulian: intune di chestis cjasis).

In the spoken Friulian of Dograva, we also encounter contractions of these demonstrative adjectives; for instance: ’sta volta (this time; standard Friulian: cheste volte); i fai fenta di no vêlu jodût, ’stu chi (this guy here, I pretend not to have seen him; standard Friulian: o fâs fente di no vêlu viodût, chest chi); duçus i mai di ’stu mont (all the ills of this world; standard Friulian: ducj i mâi di chest mont); sti’ robis (these things; standard Friulian: chestis robis).

As for the demonstrative adjectives equivalent to that (singular) and those (plural), in standard Friulian these are: chel (masculine singular); chê (feminine singular); chei (masculine plural); chês (feminine plural); these are the same in the variant of Dograva.

Examples in the Dograva variant: chel Nadâl, lui a nol era tornât (that Christmas, he did not come back; standard Friulian: chel Nadâl, lui nol era tornât); jê a no à chê di molâ (she has no intention of giving up; standard Friulian: jê no à chê di molâ); cun duçus chei atris fantats (with all the other lads; standard Friulian: cun ducj chei altris fantats); una di chês seris d’estât (one of those summer evenings; standard Friulian: une di chês seris d'Istât).

Dograva variant of Friulian 17

In Friulian, different ways of saying where in the standard language are: là, dulà, indulà. In the variant of Friulian spoken at Dograva, in addition to those same three, we also find dà, a contraction of dulà. Examples follow of all four forms in the Friulian of Dograva. Related to this are the forms dolà and the contracted do’, reported in the Friulian of nearby Provesan. Both Dograva and Provesan are in the municipality of San Zors da la Richinvelda.

Examples of dà in the Friulian of Dograva:

dà ch’al è? (where is he/it?; standard Friulian: dulà isal?); dà ch’a tignevin il vin (where they used to keep the wine; standard Friulian: dulà che a tignevin il vin); dà ch’i zuiavin di balon in vinç (where twenty of us used to play football; standard Friulian: dulà che o zuiavin di balon in vincj); dà ch’al taca il paîs (where the village starts; standard Friulian: dulà che al tache il paîs); dà ch’i lavori (where I work; standard Friulian: dulà che o lavori); a veva ença pensât di zî a çatâlu dà ch’al era a vora (she had even though of going to find him where he was at work; standard Friulian: e veve ancje pensât di lâ a cjatâlu dulà che al jere a vore); dà ch’i sin sentâts (where we are sitting; standard Friulian: dulà che o sin sentâts); no savint dà ch’al è (not knowing where he is; standard Friulian: no savint dulà che al è); se ti continuis a no dîmi dà ch’i ti vas (if you keep not telling me where you go; standard Friulian: se tu continuis a no dimî dulà che tu vâs); domandâ dà ch’al è (to ask where he is; standard Friulian: domandâ dulà che al è); parsè ch’i no savevi dà ch’al zeva di sabida (because I did not know where he went on Saturdays; standard Friulian: parcè che no savevi dulà che al leve di sabide); parsè ch’i no savevi di dà ch’al vigneva (because I did not know where we was coming from; standard Friulian: parcè che no savevi di dulà che al vignive); no sai dà ch’al va (I do not know where he goes; standard Friulian: no sai dulà che al va).

Examples of là, dulà, indulà in the Friulian of Dograva:

ch’a restin là ch’a son zûts (let them stay wherever they went; standard Friulian: che a restin là che a son lâts); un post dulà che duçus a stan sitos (a place where everyone keeps quiet; standard Friulian: un puest dulà che ducj a stan cidins); çatâ un post dulà passâ la not (to find a place to spend the night; standard Friulian: cjatâ un puest dulà passâ la gnot); di dulà ventu? (where do you come from?; standard Friulian: di dulà vegnistu?); i fruts a son sçampâts cui sa indulà (the kids have taken off who knows where; standard Friulian: i fruts a son scjampâts cui sa indulà).

Dograva variant of Friulian 18

Following is an excerpt from the book Caligo, by Alberto Luchini; the text is written in the variety of Friulian spoken at Dograva, some twenty-five kilometres to the north-east of Pordenon. The excerpt is first presented below in its original version, followed by a modified version into standard Friulian; these are then followed by a translation into English with language notes.

Original in the Friulian of Dograva:

Ti tachis a cori o ti pierts l’autobus. Ti si mets a cori, tal miès da la int ch’a s’implena tal marçapiè. A no ti va massa di cori. Ti si vergognis. Ti pâr che duçus a si necuarzin di un ço sbalio, ch’i ti as mieit platâ. Ma pierdi l’autobus e stâ a spetâlu a ti romp di pi.

In standard Friulian:

Tu tachis a cori o tu pierdis l’autobus. Tu ti metis a cori, tal mieç de int che si implene tal marcjepît. No ti va masse di cori. Tu ti vergognis. Ti pâr che ducj si inacuarzin di un to fal, che tu âs miei platâ. Ma pierdi l’autobus e stâ a spietâlu ti romp di plui.

In English:

Ti tachis a cori (you start running) o ti pierts l’autobus (or you miss the bus). Ti si mets a cori (you begin running), tal miès da la int (between the people) ch’a s’implena (who are filling up) tal marçapiè (on the footpath). A no ti va massa di cori (you do not really like to run). Ti si vergognis (you get embarrassed). Ti pâr (it seems to you) che duçus a si necuarzin (that everyone becomes aware) di un ço sbalio (of one of your mistakes), ch’i ti as mieit platâ (which you prefer to hide). Ma pierdi l’autobus (but missing the bus) e stâ a spetâlu (and staying to wait for it) a ti romp di pi (annoys you even more).

Friulian language notes:

1. Second-person singular in the Friulian of Dograva: ti tachis, ti pierts, ti as; in standard Friulian: tu tachis, tu pierdis, tu âs. Reflexive verbs in the Friulian of Dograva: ti si mets, ti si vergognis; in standard Frulian: tu ti metis, tu ti vergognis.

2. Pierdi means to lose; when used with autobus, it means to miss, as in pierdi l’autobus (to miss the bus). In the standard language, the Friulian for to take the bus is cjapâ l’autobus; in the Friulian of Dograva, this becomes çapâ l’autobus.

3. Metisi translates literally as to put oneself; when followed by a + infinitive, it takes on the sense of to start, to begin. For example: metisi a cori (to start running, to begin running, to take to running).

4. Second-person singular possessive adjectives in the Friulian of Dograva: ço (masculine), tô (feminine); in standard Friulian: to, tô. For instance, at Dograva, it is said ço pari, tô mari (your father, your mother); in standard Friulian, this is to pari, tô mari. The Friulian equivalent for one of your... takes the form un ço... (standard Friulian: un to...). Examples (Dograva): un ço fradi (one of your brothers; standard Friulian: un to fradi); una tô agna (one of your aunts; standard Friulian: une tô agne). Follow the link above to read more about the possessive adjectives of Dograva, including the plural ones.

5. Vê mieit (standard Friulian: vê miei, vê miôr) translates literally as to have better, the sense whereof is to prefer. Example: i ài mieit i prâts pena seâts (I prefer freshly cut lawns; standard Friulian: o ài miei [o ài miôr] i prâts a pene seâts).

6. Investigate with a close eye all other differences occurring between the Friulian of Dograva and that of the standard; to name but just a few more instances: il miès (middle; standard Friulian: il mieç); il marçapiè (footpath; standard Friulian: il marcjepît); spetâ (to wait for; standard Friulian: spietâ); ch’i ti as (that you have; standard Friulian: che tu âs).

Dograva variant of Friulian 19

Dut sè ch’al fadeva, a lu fadeva ben, which is to say, whatever he used to do, he used to do it well; so it is said in the Friulian of Dograva, but in that of the standard, we have rather: dut ce che al faseve, lu faseve ben. In the imperfect indicative of the verb fâ (to do, to make), the Friulian of Dograva takes d where the standard has s; in addition, in the third-person singular, the Dograva form takes final -a, whereas it takes final -e in the standard. Dograva: i fadevi, ti fadevis, al fadeva, a fadeva, i fadevin, i fadevis, a fadevin. Standard: o fasevi, tu fasevis, al faseve, a faseve, o fasevin, o fasevis, a fasevin. The imperfect indicative of this verb commonly translates to English as was doing, used to do, would do (was making, used to make, would make). With regard to would do, would make, this is not the conditional; it is indeed the past continuous, equivalent to the imperfect indicative of Friulian; for instance: when he was younger, he would do that (i.e., he used to do that).

There are differences in the atonic pronouns between the Dograva variant and the standard; these are observable in the examples that follow, taken from the works of Alberto Luchini. First the Dograva form is given, followed in parentheses by an English translation and standard equivalent. For the sake of straightforwardness, the English is often rendered below using the form used to, even though different translations would almost certainly be required in the context of the story wherein these examples are found. The examples and translations presented here are meant only as language learning points.

Examples: i fadevi dut di corsa (I used to do everything in a rush; standard Friulian: o fasevi dut di corse); ogni sfuars ch’i fadevi a nol serviva a nuia (every effort that I used to make served no purpose; standard Friulian: ogni sfuarç che o fasevi nol servive a nuie); no ti fadevis nença un sfuars (you did not use to make even an effort; standard Friulian: no tu fasevis nancje un sfuarç); no ti fadevis nuia (you did not use to do anything; standard Friulian: no tu fasevis nuie); a erin lôr ch’a ti fadevin fâ sè ch’i ti fadevis (it was they who used to make you do what you used to do; standard Friulian: a jerin lôr che ti fasevin fâ ce che tu fasevis); a son agnorum ch’i no ti si fadevis jodi (you had not been seen in so many years; standard Friulian: a son agnorums che no tu ti fasevis viodi); dut sè ch’al fadeva (everything he used to do; standard Friulian: dut ce che al faseve); a fadeva li sôs robis sidina (she used to go about her business in silence; standard Friulian: e faseve lis sôs robis cidine); i fadevin li deis, ença li undis (we used to go on until ten o'clock, even eleven; standard Friulian: o fasevin lis dîs, ancje lis undis); la sô ostaria a era l’unic post, vissin da l’ufissi, dulà ch’a fadevin bastansa ben di mangiâ e a pôc presin (his tavern was the only place near the office where they would cook well enough and at little cost; standard Friulian: la sô ostarie e jere l’unic puest, vicin dal ufici, dulà che a fasevin avonde ben di mangjâ e a pôc presit).

As for the present indicative of the verb fâ, the following are found at Dograva: i fai, ti fas, al fa, a fa, i fadin, i fadîs, a fan; and the following in the standard: o fâs, tu fasis, al fâs, e fâs, o fasìn, o fasês, a fasin. Examples: i fai cussì ogni dì (I do so every day; standard Friulian: o fâs cussì ogni dì); tu no ti dîs nuia e ti fas dut sè ch’a ti dîs (you say nothing and you do everything that she tells you; standard Friulian: tu no tu disis nuie e tu fâs dut ce che ti dîs); sè fatu? (what are you doing?; standard Friulian: ce fâstu?); al fa fenta di vuardâ di chê atra banda (he pretends to look the other way; standard Friulian: al fâs fente di cjalâ di chê altre bande); si fadîs mâl (you hurt yourselves; standard Friulian: si fasês mâl); chei ch’a fan domandis par savê sè ch’i ti pensis (those who ask questions to know what you think; standard Friulian: chei che a fasin domandis par savê ce che tu pensis).

Dograva variant of Friulian 20

Below you will read an excerpt from the book Uchì, by Alberto Luchini; the text is composed in the Friulian as used at Dograva di San Zors da la Richinvelda, in western Friûl. The excerpt is first presented in its original version, followed by a rendering into standard Friulian; these are then followed by a translation into English with a number of language notes.

Original in the Friulian of Dograva:

Alora lui al çapava sù e al zeva fôr. Ma nol saveva sè fâ. L’ort al era a post, la filiada a la veva comedada in doi dìs, li gornis a li veva netadis, i cops da la stala, ch’a fadeva di garâs, a ju veva passâts la setemana prin. Di lavôrs a no ’nd a veva pi. Al si veva ença mitût a dâj una man a jê tal spelâ li patatis, curâ il risi, disclofâ i fasoi, messedâ il sugo par ch’a nol si tachi.

In standard Friulian:

Alore lui si cjapave sù e al leve fûr. Ma nol saveve ce fâ. L’ort al jere a puest, la filiade le veve comedade in doi dîs, lis gornis lis veve netadis, i cops de stale, che e faseve di garage, ju veve passâts la setemane prin. Di lavôrs no ’nt veve plui. Si veve ancje metût a dâi une man a jê tal spelâ lis patatis, curâ il rîs, scussâ i fasûi, messedâ il tocj par che no si tachi.

In English:

Alora lui al çapava sù e al zeva fôr (so he would get up and go out). Ma nol saveva sè fâ (but he did not know what to do). L’ort al era a post (the garden was in order), la filiada a la veva comedada in doi dìs (he had fixed the fence in two days), li gornis a li veva netadis (he had cleaned the eavestroughs), i cops da la stala (the shingles of the stable), ch’a fadeva di garâs (which functioned as a garage), a ju veva passâts la setemana prin (he had given a once-over the week before). Di lavôrs a no ’nd a veva pi (he had no more work left). Al si veva ença mitût a dâj una man a jê (he had even taken to giving her a hand) tal spelâ li patatis (with peeling the potatoes), curâ il risi (washing the rice), disclofâ i fasoi (shucking the beans), messedâ il sugo par ch’a nol si tachi (stirring the sauce so that it does not stick).

Friulian language notes:

1. In the Friulian of Dograva, we encounter al zeva fôr (he used to go out), where the standard has al leve fûr. The verb here is zî (or ’si), meaning to go; the initial consonant, whether spelt with a z or ’s, sounds like the z of English. In the third-person singular of the imperfect indicative, verbs at Dograva end in a (zeva, veva, fadeva, saveva), whereas they end in e in the standard (leve, veve, faseve, saveve).

2. The standard ce (what) takes the form sè at Dograva. Examples: a nol saveva sè disi (he did not know what to say; standard Friulian: nol saveve ce dî); a no saveva sè fâ (she did not know what to do; standard Friulian: no saveve ce fâ); sè pensitu di fâ? (what are you thinking of doing?; standard Friulian: ce pensistu di fâ?).

3. Li gornis a li veva netadis: after the Friulian manner, the eavestroughs he had cleaned them (which is to say, he had cleaned the eavestroughs). Other examples of similar formation are found in the excerpt, where the direct object is named in full at the head of the utterance for emphasis, and then reprised by way of a direct object pronoun. The feminine plural li is equivalent to lis of the standard. At Dograva, the Friulian for eavestrough is la gorna in the singular (standard: la gorne), and li gornis in the plural (standard: lis gornis).

4. Di lavôrs a no ’nd a veva pi: The shortened ’nd is a contraction of indi, meaning thereof. In this way, di lavôrs a no ’nd a veva pi translates literally after the Friulian as of works he had no more thereof (which is to say, he had no more work left). In the standard, the contraction ’nd also exists, but it takes the form ’nt (sounds like ng) when the next word begins with a consonant (no ’nd à [he has not thereof], but no ’nt veve [he had not thereof]); in the example from Dograva, the two consonant sounds have been separated by an a. Pi (Dograva) is equivalent to plui (standard); in a negated sentence, it takes the sense of no more.

5. Fâ di means to function as, to serve as. In the imperfect indicative of fâ as used in the Friulian of Dograva, where we find d (fadevi, fadevis, fadeva) rather than the s of the standard (fasevi, fasevis, faseve).

Dograva variant of Friulian 21

The standard Friulian for also, too is ancje; this takes the form ença in the Friulian of Dograva. Likewise, the standard forms nancje (not even) and ancjemò (yet, still), which contain the root ancje, take the Dograva variant forms nença and ençamò.

Words that end in cje in the standard end rather in ça in the Friulian of Dograva; examples: ença (also, too; standard Friulian: ancje); boça (mouth; standard Friulian: bocje); barça (boat; standard Friulian: barcje); blança (white, feminine singular adjective; standard Friulian: blancje); bança (bank; standard Friulian: bancje); veça (old woman; standard Friulian: vecje); sporça (dirty, feminine singular adjective; standard Friulian: sporcje); al mança (it is missing; standard Friulian: al mancje). This is part of the broader phenomenon of where in the standard we have cj, we have rather the sound of ç in the Friulian of Dograva (like the ch of English church); examples: çasa (house; standard Friulian: cjase); çan (dog; standard Friulian: cjan); barcis (boats; standard Friulian: barcjis); blancis (white, feminine plural adjective; standard Friulian: blancjis).

Two sample excerpts follow; these are drawn from the book Uchì by Alberto Luchini and adapted slightly for the purpose of this lesson. First, the excerpts in their original Friulian versions of Dograva are given; these are followed by renderings into standard Friulian and English (both literal and idiomatic), accompanied by a number of Friulian language notes.

Example 1

Excerpt, in the Friulian of Dograva: Ença gno pari al scugnarès çoisi un vistît, che, ta chel ch’al à, nol sta dentri nença s’al resta sensa sena par un meis. Ma lui nol vôl savêndi.

Rendered in standard Friulian: Ancje gno pari al scugnarès cjolisi un vistît, che, in chel che al à, nol sta dentri ancje se al reste cence cene par un mês. Ma lui nol vûl savêndi.

Translated to English, literal: Ença gno pari (also my father) al scugnarès çoisi un vistît (ought to get a suit for himself), che (because), ta chel ch’al à (in the one that he has), nol sta dentri (he does not fit) nença s’al resta (not even if he stays) sensa sena (without supper) par un meis (for a month). Ma lui nol vôl (but he will not) savêndi (know of it). // In English, corrected: My father ought to get a suit for himself too, because he would not fit into the one that he has, even if he went for a month without supper. But he will not hear of it.

Friulian language notes: (i) We find in this example both ença (also, too) and nença (not even); as mentioned above, these take the standard forms ancje and nancje; (ii) at Dograva, the verb çoi (to take, to get) is equivalent to the standard cjoli; (iii) al resta sensa sena (he stays [=goes] without supper) is used at Dograva, whereas the standard employs al reste cence cene; words that end in e in the standard end in a in the Friulian of Dograva; (iv) the standard mês (month) and vûl (wants) take different pronunciations at Dograva; (v) savêndi is a contraction of savê (to know) and indi (thereof); in the standard, this may also take the form savênt.

Example 2

Excerpt, in the Friulian of Dograva: A ei una femina di sincuanta ains, ençamò biela, massima tai çavei bionts e ondulâts ch’a j colin su li spalis.

Rendered in standard Friulian: E je une femine di cincuante agns, ancjemò biele, massime tai cjavei bionts e ondulâts che i colin su lis spalis.

Translated to English, literal: A ei una femina (she is a woman) di sincuanta ains (of fifty years), ençamò biela (still beautiful), massima tai çavei (especially in the hairs) bionts e ondulâts (blonde and wavy) ch’a j colin (that fall unto her) su li spalis (on the shoulders). // In English, corrected: She is a fifty-year-old woman, still beautiful, especially for her wavy, blonde hair that falls onto her shoulders.

Friulian language notes: (i) As mentioned above, the standard ancjemò (yet, still) takes the form ençamò at Dograva, whereof we have an example in this instance; (ii) several examples occur of where words ending in e in the standard (une, femine, cincuante, biele, massime) end rather in a at Dograva (una, femina, sincuanta, biela, massima); (iii) the Friulian for hair, as in that on the human head, is a masculine plural noun: i cjavei in the standard, but i çavei in the Friulian of Dograva; (iv) the standard cincuante (fifty) becomes sincuanta at Dograva, where the initial ci becomes si; related to this are the standard words cence (without) and cene (supper) from example 1, where the initial ce becomes se at Dograva (sensa and sena).

Dograva variant of Friulian 22

At Dograva, the verb cjacarâ takes the form çacarâ. Were someone to ask you at Dograva: no çacaritu furlan?, you are being asked: do you not speak Friulian? From this, we observe that the final s of the second-person singular is omitted in the interrogative; we find this same phenomenon with other verbs: di cui sotu? (who are your parents?; literally, from whom are you?, whose are you?; standard Friulian: di cui sêstu?); sè fatu? (what are you doing?; standard Friulian: ce fâstu?); ma sè atu stassera? (what on earth is the matter with you this evening?; standard Friulian: ma ce âstu cheste sere?); atu sintût? (have you heard?; standard Friulian: âstu sintût?); parsè vatu via? (why are you leaving?; standard Friulian: parcè vâstu vie?).

Following now are different examples of çacarâ in the Friulian of Dograva: i doi a si metin a çacarâ (the two of them start talking; standard Friulian: i doi si metin a cjacarâ); cun int ch’a çacarava par talian (with people who were speaking in Italian; standard Friulian: cun int che e cjacarave par talian); a spetava il moment par çacarâj (she was waiting for the moment to speak to him; standard Friulian: e spietave il moment par cjacarâi); çacarâ di robis di nuia (to chat away, to talk of this and that; standard Friulian: cjacarâ di robis di nuie); nô i fadin fenta di no vêlu jodût e i continuan a çacarâ (we pretend not to have seen him and continue talking away; standard Friulian: nô o fasìn fente di no vêlu viodût e o continuìn a cjacarâ). In the last example, we find the variant form i fadin (standard o fasìn).

Dograva variant of Friulian 23

In the book Lì di Sandra a li nouf di sera by Alberto Luchini, we read the following lines of text, written in the Friulian language as spoken at Dograva: Al si vuarda ator. Al passa un veçu e Goriu a lu saluda. Il veçu al va via dret come s’a nol vès né sintût né jodût. In standard Friulian, this can be expressed so: Si cjale ator. Al passe un vieli e Goriu lu salude. Il vieli al va vie dret come se nol ves ni sintût ni viodût. These lines translate to the following in English: He looks round. An old man passes by and Goriu greets him. The old man continues straight on as though he had neither heard nor seen. In the remainder of this post, we look at the differences between the two Friulian versions, which is to say, that of Dograva and that of the standard.

In the Friulian of Dograva, vuardâsi ator means to look round {oneself}, to look about {oneself}; in the standard, this is rather cjalâsi ator. Luchini writes: al si vuarda ator (he looks round, he looks about); in the Friulian of Dograva, the atonic al of the masculine, third-person singular is retained before the reflexive si, whereas in the standard it is omitted: si cjale ator (he looks round, he looks about). Another example can be given; in the Friulian of Dograva: al si è mitût a vaî (he began to cry; standard Friulian: si è metût a vaî).

Passâ is the Friulian for to pass {by}. Where verbs take final -e in standard Friulian (al passe, al passave), they take final -a in the Friulian of Dograva (al passa, al passava). This phenomenon applies to all verbs in the third-person singular of the imperfect indicative; it also applies to the third-person singular of the present indicative, but in this case, only with those verbs whose infinitive ends in -â. Examples, first in the Friulian of Dograva: al era, al veva, al siera, al taca, al diseva, a çamina, a fadeva; and now in standard Friulian and English, in the same order: al jere (he was), al veve (he had), al siere (he closes), al tache (he starts), al diseve (he was saying), e cjamine (she walks), e faseve (she was doing).

In the Friulian of Dograva, an old man is referred to as un veçu (plural, i veçus). As for an old woman, such a one is referred to as una veça (plural, li vecis). Consider the following examples, all expressed in the Friulian of Dograva: al passa un veçu (an old man passes by); a passava una veça (an old woman was passing by); a passin veçus e vecis ch’a ridin (old men and women are passing by who are laughing); al steva vuardant i veçus ch’a passavin (he stood watching the old men who were passing by).

The verb saludâ is used in Friulian in the sense of to greet {someone}, to say hello {to someone}, but also in the sense of to take leave {of someone}, to say good-bye {to someone}. With a lu saluda (he greets him), as written by Luchini, we have another example of the retention of an atonic pronoun where, in the standard, it is omitted: lu salude. In standard Friulian, the atonic pronoun is omitted in the presence of the direct object pronoun lu, but it is retained in such a case at Dograva. Examples: a lu fadeva ben (he used to do it well; standard Friulian: lu faseve ben); a lu à vuardât (he looked at him; standard Friulian: lu à cjalât); a lu veva fat pi voltis (he had done it several times; standard Friulian: lu veve fat plui voltis). As mentioned above, saludâ is also used to take leave of someone, as a way of bringing a conversation to an end; for instance, at Dograva: adès ti saludi (I am off now, off I go now; standard Friulian: cumò ti saludi).

The Friulian dret means straight, right. For instance, were a father to rebuke his son by saying dret a çasa (Dograva), or dret a cjase (standard), the son is being ordered straight home. In the instance written by Luchini, al va via dret means he continues straight on, he goes off straight ahead, and so on. Al va via (or standard al va vie) translates word for word as he goes away. At Dograva, al va (he goes) becomes, in the imperfect, al zeva (he was going). Another example by Luchini, from the same book: Tal soreli svuarbant da li dôs, a passavin sçapis di fruts, ch’a mi vuardavin un moment prin di dessidi se a vevin o no di vê pôra, e, sot sera, al rivava cualchi veçu ch’al zeva via dret, sçassant il çâf. In standard Friulian: Tal soreli svuarbant des dôs, a passavin scjaps di fruts, che mi cjalavin un moment prin di decidi se a vevin o no di vê pôre, e, sot sere, al rivave cualchi vieli che al leve vie dret, scjassant il cjâf. In English: In the blinding two o'clock sun, groups of kids passed by who looked at me for a moment before deciding whether or not they ought to be afraid, and, in the evening, a few old men came along who continued straight on, shaking their heads. Cualchi (a few, several) is accompanied by the singular: cualchi veçu (a few old men), cualchi volta (a few times), dopo cualchi setemana (after a few weeks). This rule holds also for the standard: cualchi vieli, cualchi volte, dopo cualchi setemane.

Following come se no (as though not, as if not) is the imperfect subjunctive. Consider: al veva sintût (he had heard; standard Friulian: al veve sintût); come s’a nol vès sintût (as though he had not heard; standard Friulian: come se nol ves sintût). Nol is employed in the masculine of the third-person singular; consider how the Friulian of Dograva and that of the standard handle negations in this person and number: a nol diseva mai nuia (he never used to say anything; standard Friulian: nol diseve mai nuie); dopo a nol era stât pi cussì (afterwards it had not been like that anymore; standard Friulian: dopo nol jere stât plui cussì); il timp a nol mi bastava mai (I never used to have enough time; standard Friulian: il timp nol mi bastave mai). And now in the feminine of the third-person singular: a no capiva nuia (she used to understand nothing; standard Friulian: no capive nuie); mê mari a no fuma (my mother does not smoke; standard Friulian: mê mari no fume).

The past participle jodût (seen) of Dograva is equivalent to viodût of standard Friulian: né sintût né jodût (neither heard nor seen; standard Friulian: ni sintût ni viodût).

Dograva variant of Friulian 24

A partial translation by Luca De Clara of the first chapter of George Orwell's dystopian novel 1984 in Friulian was presented in another entry. Below, not only will you have a chance to review certain portions of this translation into standard Friulian, but you will also look at how these same portions can be expressed in the Friulian of Dograva. Many features of the Dograva variant will also be found in other western variants of the Friulian language.

In the first line of the translation, we encounter the feminine noun zornade, meaning day. In standard Friulian, it was a cold day is e jere une zornade frede; in the Friulian of the Dograva, this is rather a era una zornada freda. Standard Friulian is said to be spoken with the e (i.e., the final letter of many classes of words is -e), whereas that of Dograva is said to be spoken with the a (i.e., where the standard has final -e, the Friulian of Dograva has final -a): this phenomenon affects every single word in the Friulian for it was a cold day: the pronoun (e/a), the verb (jere/era), the article (une/una), the noun (zornade/zornada) and the adjective (frede/freda). To the above, we can now also add the adjective lusint, meaning bright: the standard Friulian for it was a bright and cold day is e jere une zornade frede e lusinte, whereas it takes the form a era una zornada freda e lusinta in the Friulian of Dograva. At Dograva, the initial consonant of zornada makes the same sound as the z of English zoo, zeal, zero; you may also encounter the spelling ’sornada, where initial ’s is used by some writers to represent the sound equivalent to English z.

In the translation, we encounter the age of two men: Winston, the protagonist of 1984, was thirty-nine years old, and the man depicted on the poster was about forty-five. In standard Friulian, thirty-nine is said trentenûf, whereas forty-five is cuarantecinc. In the Friulian of Dograva, these are rather said trentanouf and cuarantasinc. In addition to the expected difference of final letter between trente/trenta and cuarante/cuaranta, we also encounter the following: the standard nûf (nine) takes on a diphthongised pronunciation at Dograva to become nouf (the vowel sound begins as o and glides into that of u); and the standard cinc (five), which sounds like English chink, is pronounced at Dograva sinc, which sounds like English sink. The Friulian for he was thirty-nine years old is al veve trentenûf agns; in the Friulian of Dograva, al veve (he was having) becomes al veva. Agns (years) is pronounced ains in both the standard and at Dograva, and you may encounter this latter spelling in non-standard writing.

We find in the translation the Friulian for steps, stairs: lis scjalis, from the singular la scjale. At Dograva, these are rather li sçalis and singular la sçala. The cj of standard Friulian becomes ç in the Friulian of Dograva. As an example, the standard Friulian for to shake one's head (such as when making a demonstration of disapproval or disgust) is scjassâ il cjâf; at Dograva, this is rather sçassâ il çâf. Consider now that you had come across a certain person on the steps or in a stairwell; in this case, you must know the wording pes scjalis (standard) or pa li sçalis (Dograva). Take this example from the book Uchì, by Alberto Luchini, written in the Friulian of Dograva: cuanch’i lu çati pa li sçalis e ch’i lu saludi, al sbassa i voi e al doventa dut ros (whenever I come across him on the steps and say hello to him, he lowers his eyes and turns all red; standard Friulian: cuant che lu cjati pes scjalis e che lu saludi, al sbasse i voi e al devente dut ros). The verb cjatâ (standard) or çatâ (Dograva) most often means to find, but, in this context, we must understand it as meaning to come across, to encounter; it provides us with another example of the phenomenon described above of where standard cj becomes ç at Dograva. Useful phrases to learn: fâ li sçalis (to take the steps; standard Friulian: fâ lis scjalis); sù pa li sçalis (up the steps; standard Friulian: sù pes scjalis); jù pa li sçalis (down the steps; standard Friulian: jù pes scjalis).

Finally, we come to Big Brother, the antagonist of 1984. In Friulian, whether in the standard or at Dograva, he is named il Grant Fradi. What if instead we had Big Sister, however? In this case, we should rather have la Grande Sûr (standard) or la Granda Sôr (Dograva). Winston reads the following words on the poster affixed to the wall: IL GRANT FRADI TI STA CJALANT, standard Friulian for Big Brother is watching you. Were we to suggest a translation for the same in the Friulian of Dograva, we should say: IL GRANT FRADI AL TI STA VUARDANT, where the verb vuardâ as used at Dograva equates to the standard cjalâ. A few examples of this can be given: al mi vuardava cun suspiet (he was watching me with suspicion; standard Friulian: al mi cjalave cun suspiet); i soi restât un moment a vuardâlu (I stayed a moment to watch him; standard Friulian: o soi restât un moment a vuardâlu); ogni tant a vuarda da la banda di Jacum (every so often she looks over in the direction of James; standard Friulian: ogni tant e cjale de bande di Jacum).

Dograva variant of Friulian 25

In a recent lesson related to the western Friulian variant spoken at Dograva, different examples were encountered of words containing cj in standard Friulian but ç in the Friulian of Dograva: çaminâ (to walk; standard Friulian: cjaminâ); la çasa (house; standard Friulian: la cjase); sçapis di fruts (gatherings of kids; standard Friulian: scjaps di fruts); sçassâ il çâf (to shake one's head; standard Friulian: scjassâ il cjâf). In the lesson dealing with George Orwell's 1984 in Friulian, pointed out was the Friulian word for steps, stairs, subject to the same phenomenon: li sçalis (standard Friulian: lis scjalis).

Consider now this line of text from Alberto Luchini's Lì di Sandra a li nouf di sera, written in the Friulian variant of his native Dograva: al çapa il giornâl e al si met a leilu. In standard Friulian, this takes the form: al cjape il gjornâl e si met a leilu; and translated into English: he takes the newspaper and begins to read it. Not only does standard cj become ç at Dograva, but standard gj becomes gi at this same village: çapâ (to take; standard Friulian: cjapâ); al çapa (he takes; standard Friulian: al cjape); il giornâl (newspaper; standard Friulian: il gjornâl).

Of the gj/gi phenomenon, more examples can be given: mangiâ (to eat; standard Friulian: mangjâ); dongia (beside, alongside; standard Friulian: dongje); la stagion (season; standard Friulian: la stagjon); la gialina (hen; standard Friulian: la gjaline); la giacheta (jacket; standard Friulian: la gjachete); la giamba (leg; standard Friulian: la gjambe); il giat (cat; standard Friulian: il gjat); giavâ (to remove, to extract; standard Friulian: gjavâ); la religion (religion; standard Friulian: la religjon).

Let us return now to the line of text from above: al çapa il giornâl e al si met a leilu. At Dograva, â-terminal infinitives (çapâ, çaminâ, mangiâ, pensâ, and so on) take final -a in the third-person singular of the present indicative: al çapa (he takes; standard Friulian: al cjape); al çamina (he walks; standard Friulian: al cjamine); al çata (he finds; standard Friulian: al cjate); al mangia (he eats; standard Friulian: al mangje); al sçampa via (he escapes, he takes off; standard Friulian: al scjampe vie); al sçassa (he shakes; standard Friulian: al scjasse); al pensa (he thinks; standard Friulian: al pense). Final -a is also taken in the third-person singular of the imperfect indicative, regardless of the ending of the infinitive (-â, -ê, -î, -i): al çapava (he was taking; standard Friulian: al cjapave); al çaminava (he was walking; standard Friulian: al cjaminave); al tornava (he was returning; standard Friulian: al tornave); al podeva (he was able; standard Friulian: al podeve); al vigneva (he was coming; standard Friulian: al vignive); al finiva (he was finishing; standard Friulian: al finive); al çoleva (he was taking; standard Friulian: al cjoleve); al veva (he was having; standard Friulian: al veve); al era (he was being; standard Friulian: al jere).

And what of al si met a leilu? In standard Friulian, the atonic pronoun is dropped with reflexive verbs: al met (he puts); si met (he puts himself); si met a leilu (he puts himself to reading it); but, at Dograva, the atonic pronoun is maintained: al met (he puts); al si met (he puts himself); al si met a leilu (he puts himself to reading it). The literal he puts himself to reading it is a Friulian manner of expression for he begins/starts to read it, he gets down to reading it. Other examples: al si vuarda ator (he looks round himself, he looks about himself; standard Friulian: si cjale ator); al si è mitût a vaî (he started to cry; standard Friulian: si è metût a vaî); il timp al si è fermât (time stopped; standard Friulian: il timp si è fermât); la lûs a si distuda (the light goes out; standard Friulian: la lûs si distude); la fantata a si ferma su la puarta (the girl stops at the door; standard Friulian: la fantate si ferme su la puarte); a si bussin (they kiss each other; standard Friulian: si bussin).

Dograva variant of Friulian 26

The standard Friulian sêstu, meaning are you (or in traditional English, art thou), is the interrogative of the second-person singular of the verb jessi (to be). It is used when speaking on an informal level to just one person. At Dograva, it takes a different form: sotu. Read through the examples below written in the Friulian of Dograva; the examples are accompanied by a standard Friulian equivalent and translation into English. Compare the two Friulian versions well, as they often contain more differences that just that of sêstu/sotu.

Dulà sotu?
In standard Friulian: Dulà sêstu?
In English: Where are you?

Sotu d'acordo?
In standard Friulian: Sêstu dacuardi?
In English: Do you agree?

Sotu rivât? (said to a male only)
In standard Friulian: Sêstu rivât?
In English: Have you arrived?

Sotu rivada? (said to a female only)
In standard Friulian: Sêstu rivade?
In English: Have you arrived?

Dulà sotu stât fin adès? (said to a male only)
In standard Friulian: Dulà sêstu stât fin cumò?
In English: Where have you been until now?

Dulà sotu stada fin adès? (said to a female only)
In standard Friulian: Dulà sêstu stade fin cumò?
In English: Where have you been until now?

Parsé no sotu zût a stâ in sitât? (said to a male only)
In standard Friulian: Parcè no sêstu lât a stâ in citât?
In English: Why did you not go to live in the city?

Parsé no sotu zuda a stâ in sitât? (said to a female only)
In standard Friulian: Parcè no sêstu lade a stâ in citât?
In English: Why did you not go to live in the city?

Di cui sotu?
In standard Friulian: Di cui sêstu?
In English: Who are your parents?

The above question asks literally of whom are you or whose are you.

Dograva variant of Friulian 27

We have seen the four forms of the adjective bon in standard Friulian, which are: bon (masculine singular); bogns (masculine plural); buine (feminine singular); buinis (feminine plural). For example, the standard Friulian o soi bon di cjantâ (masculine singular) means I know how to sing, I can sing, where bon takes on the sense of able, capable.

This same adjective is used in the variant of Friulian spoken at Dograva, but it differs somewhat in its declension: bon (masculine singular); boins (masculine plural); buna (feminine singular); bunis (feminine plural). Of course, pronouns and verb conjugations are also often different at Dograva, so this must be accounted for when using the expression from above about being able: i soi bon di çantâ is the Dograva equivalent of the standard o soi bon di cjantâ; and, of course, a female will say: i soi buna di çantâ (standard Friulian: o soi buine di cjantâ).

Following now are more examples in the Dograva variant: al era bon dome di ufindi (he could do nothing but offend; standard Friulian: al jere bon dome di ofindi); a no ei propit buna di fâlu (she cannot do it at all; standard Friulian: no je propit buine di fâlu); i soi buna di fâ di dut (I can do anything; standard Friulian: o soi buine di fâ di dut); i savevi ch’a era buna di fâlu (I knew she was able to do it; standard Friulian: o savevi che e jere buine di fâlu); in paîs no era stada buna di fâ amicizia cun nissun (in the village she had been unable to make friends with anyone; standard Friulian: in paîs no jere stade buine di fâ amicizie cun nissun); a erin boins dome di pierdi timp (they could do nothing but waste time; standard Friulian: a jerin bogns dome di pierdi timp); a no erin stadis bunis di sçampâ via (they had not been able to escape; standard Friulian: no jerin stadis buinis di scjampâ vie).

Dograva variant of Friulian 28

The standard Friulian for to wait is spietâ, but in the variant of Friulian spoken at Dograva, we have rather spetâ. For instance, whereas the standard employs al spiete (he waits), the Dograva variant employs al speta. Remember that where words end in -e in the standard language, they will end in -a at Dograva. Following are a number of examples employing the verb spetâ as used at Dograva; these examples are drawn from the works of Alberto Luchini, who writes in his native variant. Pay attention not only to the use of this verb, but also to all other differences occurring between the standard and the variant used at Dograva.

Examples: spetâ in peis (to stand waiting; standard Friulian: spietâ in pîts); di chê volta a si era fata coragiu e a spetava sempri il moment par çacarâj (from that time on she took heart and was always waiting for the moment to talk to him; standard Friulian: di chê volte si jere fate coragjo e e spietave simpri il moment par fevelâi); and era un deis ch’a spetavin il lôr turno (there were about ten who were waiting their turn; standard Friulian: ind jere un dîs che a spietavin la lôr volte/il lôr turni); a erin meis ch’al spetava (he had been waiting for months; standard Friulian: a jerin mês che al spietave); sierât in çasa a spetâ (holed up at home waiting; standard Friulian: sierât in cjase a spietâ); a lu vevin spetât un cuart d’ora (they had waited for him a quarter of an hour; standard Friulian: lu vevin spietât un cuart d’ore); al spetava sidin (he was waiting quietly; standard Friulian: al spietave cidin).

We see above that the standard cidin (quiet) takes the form sidin at Dograva; in the standard, this word sounds like chee-deen, whereas at Dograva it sounds like see-deen (stress is on the final syllable for both). Other words of the sort include: sinc (five; standard Friulian: cinc); sincuanta (fifty; standard Friulian: cincuante); sent (hundred; standard Frulian: cent); la sitât (city; standard Friulian: la citât); il sirviel (brain; standard Friulian: il cerviel); il simiteri (cemetary; standard Friulian: il cimitieri). For instance, the Dograva form al jevava a li sinc di bunora (he used to get up at five in the morning) is rather al jevave aes cinc di buinore in standard Friulian.

We also see above that the standard pît (foot) and dîs (ten) become peit and deis at Dograva; this phenomenon is known as diphthongisation: whereas î in the standard is a single, long vowel, the sound of ei at Dograva is a sound that begins as e and glides into i. Another example of a word undergoing this phenomenon at Dograva is seis (six), which in the standard is sîs. For instance, the Dograva form da li seis a li siet di bunora (from six to seven in the morning) is rather des sîs aes siet di buinore in standard Friulian.

Dograva variant of Friulian 29

Following are a few lines of text written by Alberto Luchini, in his native western Friulian variant of Dograva, from the book Uchì. In this lesson, a brief analysis will be made of the language used.

Here is the quote in its original Dograva variant:

Mariangela a sta vuardant cun sô mari la television. Nuia di biel, li solitis monadis ch’a molin di estât. Cansonetis ta una plassa plena di int e chei sul breâr ch’a fan di dut par che la int a pensi di jodi il mieit spetacul da la sera. A volaressin essi legris e a fan dome pietât.

In standard Friulian this becomes:

Mariangela e sta cjalant cun sô mari la television. Nuie di biel, lis solitis monadis che a molin di Istât. Cjançonetis intune place plene di int e chei sul breâr che a fasin di dut par che la int e pensi di viodi il miei spetacul de sere. A volaressin jessi legris e a fasin dome pietât.

Translated to English (literal):

Mariangela a sta vuardant (Mariangela is watching) cun sô mari (with her mother) la television (the television). Nuia di biel (nothing good), li solitis monadis (the usual buffoonery) ch’a molin di estât (that they put out in the summer). Cansonetis (little songs) ta una plassa plena di int (in a town square full of people) e chei sul breâr ch’a fan di dut (and those on stage who do everything) par che la int a pensi di jodi (so that the people think that they are seeing) il mieit spetacul da la sera (the best show of the evening). A volaressin essi legris (they would like to be jovial) e a fan dome pietât (and they are just pitiful).

Corrected English for better reading:

Mariangela's watching television with her mother. Nothing good, just the usual buffoonery they put out in the summer. Silly little songs in a town square full of people, and those on stage doing whatever they can to make the people believe they're watching the best show of the evening. They try to have a good time, and instead you just feel sorry for them.

Language notes:

1. The verb vuardâ is used at Dograva where the standard has cjalâ. Examples: a sta vuardant la television (she is watching the television; standard Friulian: e sta cjalant la television); il Grant Fradi al ti sta vuardant (Big Brother is watching you; standard Friulian: il Grant Fradi ti sta cjalant); tant ch’i lei il giornâl, i la vuardi (as I read the newspaper, I watch her; standard Friulian: intant che o lei il gjornâl, le cjali).

2. Where words end in -e in the standard language, they end rather in -a at Dograva. Examples: nuia (nothing; standard Friulian: nuie); una plassa plena (a full town square; standard Friulian: une place plene); la sera (evening; standard Friulian: la sere).

3. The singular of li cansonetis as used at Dograva is una cansoneta (little song, ditty). In the standard language, we have rather une cjançonete in the singular, and lis cjançonetis in the plural. Another example can be given: al sivilotava una cansoneta (he was whistling a little song; standard Friulian: al sivilotave une cjançonete).

4. Other differences can be detected by comparing the two Friulian versions above, but a few more will be mentioned here: jodi (to see; standard Friulian: viodi); il mieit (the best; standard Friulian: il miei, il miôr); essi (to be; standard Friulian: jessi). More examples of essi can be given: par no essi jodût (so as not to be seen; standard Friulian: par no jessi viodût); essi tal miès da la int (to be in the middle of the people; standard Friulian: jessi tal mieç de int); rivâ a essi amigos (to come to be friends; standard Friulian: rivâ a jessi amîs); par essi sigûr ch’a no mi sussedès nuia (so as to be sure that nothing might happen to me; standard Friulian: par jessi sigûr che no mi sucedès nuie).

Dograva variant of Friulian 30

In the book Uchì by Alberto Luchini, written in the western Friulian variant of Dograva, we read:

Il forest, rivât vissin dai taulins, dà ch’i sin sentâts a bevi il café, al si ferma di colp, come ch’al ves pôra di passâni denant e di zî via voltant li spalis. La musa a ei tirada, i voi scûrs a ni vuardin mâl ma sensa jodini. Li mans, adès, a li ten in sacheta e i sin sigûrs ch’a li strens a puin. Al è pront, i disaressin, par tacâ a fâ a botis.

In standard Friulian, this can be expressed so:

Il forest, rivât vicin dai taulins, dulà che o sin sentâts a bevi il cafè, si ferme di colp, come che al ves pôre di passânus denant e di lâ vie voltant lis spalis. La muse e je tirade, i vôi scûrs nus cjalin mâl ma cence viodinus. Lis mans, cumò, lis ten in sachete e o sin sigûrs che lis strenç a pugn. Al è pront, o disaressin, par tacâ a fâ a botis.

Translated to English:

Il forest (the foreigner), rivât vissin dai taulins (having come near the tables), dà ch’i sin sentâts a bevi il café (where we are sat drinking coffee), al si ferma di colp (stops suddenly), come ch’al ves pôra (as though he were afraid) di passâni denant (to pass in front of us) e di zî via (and to leave) voltant li spalis (turning his back [literally, turning his shoulders]). La musa a ei tirada (his face is drawn), i voi scûrs a ni vuardin mâl (his dark eyes look at us in a bad way) ma sensa jodini (but without seeing us). Li mans (his hands), adès (now), a li ten in sacheta (he has them in his pockets) e i sin sigûrs (and we are sure) ch’a li strens a puin (that he has them clenched into a fist). Al è pront (he is ready), i disaressin (we would say), par tacâ a fâ a botis (to start throwing punches).

Language notes:

1. The Friulian for near in the standard language is vicin, which takes the form vissin at Dograva. Other examples of such a shift can be given: sussedi (to happen; standard Friulian: sucedi); difissil (difficult; standard Friulian: dificil); la plassa (town square; standard Friulian: la place); pissul (little, small; standard Friulian: piçul); dessidi (to decide; standard Friulian: decidi); un ufissi (office; standard Friulian: un ufici); çantussâ (to sing quietly [and usually in a distracted manner]; standard Friulian: cjantuçâ).

2. Dà che (where) is used at Dograva where the standard language has dulà che. More examples: dà ch’al è? (where is he/it?; standard Friulian: dulà isal?); dà ch’i lavori (where I work; standard Friulian: dulà che o lavori); no savint dà ch’al è (not knowing where he is; standard Friulian: no savint dulà che al è); domandâ dà ch’al è (to ask where he is; standard Friulian: domandâ dulà che al è).

3. The reflexive fermâsi means to stop oneself, which is to say, to come to a stop. In the standard language, the atonic pronoun is omitted before a reflexive one, but retained at Dograva. This is why we have al si ferma di colp (he stops {himself} suddenly) at Dograva but si ferme di colp in the standard. Other examples: al si zira da la mê banda (he turns {himself} towards me; standard Friulian: si zire de mê bande); al si clamava Goriu (his name was Goriu; standard Friulian: si clamave Goriu).

4. Where words end in -e in the standard, they end in -a at Dograva; we have a number of examples of this phenomenon in this short passage: al si ferma (he comes to a stop; standard Friulian: si ferme); la pôra (fear; standard Friulian: la pôre); zî via (to leave; standard Friulian: lâ vie); la musa tirada (drawn face; standard Friulian: la muse tirade); sensa (without; standard Friulian: cence); in sacheta (in one's pocket; standard Friulian: in sachete); la spala (shoulder; standard Friulian: la spale); la bota (punch, blow; standard Friulian: la bote).

5. Where the standard has nus, the variant of Dograva has ni: passâni denant (to pass in front of us; standard Friulian: passânus denant). More examples: al veva dessidût di ruvinâni la domenia (he had decided to ruin our Sunday; standard Friulian: al veve decidût di ruvinânus la domenie); sensa dâni nença un toc di pan (without giving us even a bit of bread; standard Friulian: cence dânus nancje un toc di pan); al va via sensa vuardâni (he leaves without looking at us; standard Friulian: al va vie cence cjalânus); cuanch’a ni jodin (when they see us; standard Friulian: cuant che nus viodin); lôr a ni robin i posç mieit (they steal the best spots from us; standard Friulian: lôr nus robin i miôr puescj). The standard Friulian for spot, place is the masculine puest (plural, puescj); at Dograva, it is rather post (plural, posç).

6. Al strenç (from the infinitive strenzi) is the standard Friulian for he squeezes, he hugs, he clenches; at Dograva, it is rather al strens. Other examples by Luchini: a la strens e al fa par bussâla; jê a lu para via (he hugs her and makes as if to kiss her; she pushes him away; standard Friulian: le strenç e al fâs par bussâle; jê lu pare vie); a lu strens e a si bussin a lunc (she hugs him and they kiss each other for a long time; standard Friulian: lu strenç e si bussin a lunc). The Friulian for to kiss is bussâ; the reflexive bussâsi means to kiss each other. Another example: a lu bussa (she kisses him; standard Friulian: lu busse).

Dograva variant of Friulian 31

A new example sentence drawn from the book Uchì reads: A la çata ch’a ven fôr da la çamara. This sentence is written in the Dograva variant of Friulian, by author Alberto Luchini.

In standard Friulian, the verb cjatâ means to find; however, at Dograva, this verb takes the form çatâ. In the third-person singular of the present indicative, we find at Dograva: al çata (he finds) and a çata (she finds), whereas in standard Friulian these are: al cjate and e cjate, respectively.

In the context of the story whence this sentence is drawn, the Dograva form a la çata means he finds her. (It can also mean she finds her, but not here in the context of this story.) In this way, al çata means he finds, but a la çata means he finds her: the atonic al becomes a before the direct object la. In standard Friulian, the atonic pronoun is omitted altogether in such a case: le cjate.

To better illustrate, take a different example written in the Dograva variant, this time with the tonic pronouns included: lui al steva vuardant (he was watching); jê a steva vuardant (she was watching); lui a la steva vuardant di lontan (he was watching her from a distance); jê a lu steva vuardant di lontan (she was watching him from a distance).

The standard Friulian vignî fûr means to come out; in the third-person singular of the present indicative, it takes the following standard forms: al ven fûr (he comes out) and e ven fûr (she comes out). Luchini, in his Dograva variant, has written a ven fôr (she comes out).

The standard Friulian for bedroom is the feminine noun cjamare; in the Dograva variant, it is rather çamara. (The stress is on the first syllable for both.) In the standard, di + la becomes de (of the, from the), so that de cjamare is the standard for of the bedroom, from the bedroom; in the Dograva variant, it is rather da la çamara, where di + la becomes da la.

A la çata ch’a ven fôr da la çamara.

A la çata (he finds her) ch’a ven fôr (as she comes out) da la çamara (of the bedroom).

Standard Friulian: Le cjate che e ven fûr de cjamare.

From the English translation above, we see moreover that as, when is conveyed in this sentence by the use of che. Another example, first in the standard: al partìs di cjase a buinore che al è ancjemò scûr (he leaves home in the morning when it is still dark). With the knowledge that you have acquired thus far from this and other lessons, can you now make an attempt at expressing this same sentence in the Dograva variant? (Clue: al partìs and scûr are the same in the Dograva variant.)

Dograva variant of Friulian 32

A new example sentence now written in the Dograva variant of Friulian, again drawn from the book Uchì by Alberto Luchini: Il barcon al è grant e al à sbaris largis di fier, ch’i no ài mai capît parsè ch’a li àn mitudis, al ters plan.

The Friulian for window is the masculine noun barcon; in his writing, Luchini uses not only the masculine barcon but also the feminine fignestra. For example, we find elsewhere in this book the wording da la fignestra da la çamara (from the bedroom window; standard Friulian: dal barcon [de fignestre] de cjamare). A few more examples now using barcon as written by Luchini: il barcon al è massa in alt par jodi di fôr (the window is too high up to see outside; standard Friulian: il barcon al è masse in alt par viodi di fûr); granç barcons sensa tendis (large windows without curtains; standard Friulian: grancj barcons cence tendis).

In the quoted text at the beginning of this lesson, the narrator says: il barcon al è grant (the window is large); it is worded the same in the standard. In the paragraph above, we have an example of the masculine plural of grant in the Dograva variant: granç (standard Friulian: grancj). In the Dograva variant, we can now also say: i barcons a son granç (the windows are large; standard Friulian: i barcons a son grancj). Or we can say: i barcons a son duçus granç (the windows are all large; standard Friulian: i barcons a son ducj grancj). Or even: chisçus barcons a son duçus granç (these windows are all large; standard Friulian: chescj barcons a son ducj grancj).

Now, of this large window, we read: al à sbaris largis di fier (it has wide iron bars), which is to say that wide iron bars run across the window for protection. The word for bar here, in the Dograva variant, in una sbara; in the standard, this is une sbare, but also une stangje. The Friulian for wide is larc; in the Dograva variant, it declines so: larc (masculine singular); larcs (masculine plural); larga (feminine singular); largis (feminine plural). In the standard, these are, respectively: larc, larcs, largje, largjis. The masculine noun fier means iron, in both the Dograva variant and in the standard; if a thing is made of iron, it is said to be di fier. For example, una ponta di fier (Dograva) or une ponte di fier (standard) is an iron tip, such as that of some tool. To digress somewhat, Luchini writes a good example of ponta elsewhere in his book: al si neta il sot da li ongulis cu la ponta di una cartulina (he cleans under his nails with the tip of a postcard; standard Friulian: si nete il sot des ongulis cu la ponte di une cartuline).

The narrator continues: ch’i no ài mai capît parsè ch’a li àn mitudis, al ters plan (but I have never understood why they put them on the third floor; standard Friulian: che no ài mai capît parcè che lis àn metudis, al tierç plan), which is to say that he does not understand why a window so high up, on the third floor, should require bars. At Dograva, i ài capît means I understood or I have understood, whereas in the standard it must rather be o ài capît. From this, we understand that the atonic subject pronoun in the first-person singular is not the same at Dograva as it is in the standard; however, it is the same in the third-person plural: a àn mitût (they put, they have put; standard Friulian: a àn metût). That said, in the standard language, in the presence of no (no ài mai capît) or in the presence of a direct object pronoun (lis àn metudis), these are omitted; however, we see in the Dograva version that these are retained in such cases. Note that the standard uses lis (feminine plural) where the Dograva variant has li; this stands in for the feminine plural sbaris.

At Dograva, we find the past participle mitût (put), whereas the standard takes metût. We also find the pronunciation parsè at Dograva, but in the standard it is parcè. Finally, at Dograva, ters means third, whereas in the standard it is tierç. For example, at Dograva: il ters çamp (the third field); la tersa çasa (the third house); in the standard, these are il tierç cjamp and la tierce cjase.

Dograva variant of Friulian 33

In his book Il vier e il milus, author Alberto Luchini has one of his characters say: al è mieit ch’i ti zedis a durmî (you had better go to sleep; it is better for you to go to sleep). This is written in his western variant of Friulian from Dograva. In standard Friulian, we may say: al è miei che tu ledis a durmî or al è miôr che tu ledis a durmî.

In the Italian-Friulian dictionary GDBtf, we find this example in standard Friulian: al è miôr che tu restis chi (you had better stay here; it is better for you to stay here); this can be transferred into the Dograva variant in this way: al è mieit ch’i ti restis uchì.

At Dograva, mieit (better) is the equivalent of standard miôr or miei. (In the remainder of this lesson, only miôr will be retained in the examples of standard Friulian, in order to simplify; but miei remains equally possible.) When preceded by the definite article, it means the best. Examples: par jodi mieit (in order to see better; standard Friulian: par viodi miôr); al era il mieit (he was the best; standard Friulian: al jere il miôr); a scuela di solit li mieit a erin li frutis (at school the best were usually the girls; standard Friulian: a scuele di solit lis miôr a jerin lis frutis).

Al è mieit che from our examples above means it is better that; it is followed by a verb in the subjunctive. A few more examples of this: al è mieit ch’i torni a çasa (I had better go home; it would be better for me to go home; standard Friulian: al è miôr che o torni a cjase); al è mieit ch’i ti si bituis (you had better get used to it; it is better for you to get used to it; standard Friulian: al è miôr che tu ti abituis).

Consider now the following in the Dograva variant: tu i ti vas indenant dinstès (you go ahead {forge ahead} all the same; standard Friulian: tu tu vâs indenant istès); i ti vas ator a çatâ un post dulà passâ la not (you go about to find a place to spend the night; standard Friulian: tu vâs ator a cjatâ un puest dulà passâ la gnot). In the subjunctive, the second-person singular vâs becomes zedis at Dograva: al è mieit ch’i ti zedis indenant dinstès (it is better for you to go ahead {forge ahead} all the same; standard Friulian: al è miôr che tu ledis indenant istès); al è mieit ch’i ti zedis ator a çatâ un post dulà passâ la not (it is better for you to go about to find a place to spend the night; standard Friulian: al è miôr che tu ledis ator a cjatâ un puest dulà passâ la gnot).

Following are numerous examples of the second-person singular i ti as written by Luchini: i ti as sedis ains (you are sixteen years old; standard Friulian: tu âs sedis agns); i ti la çatarâs (you will find her; standard Friulian: tu le cjatarâs); se ogni tant i ti lu fâs (if you do it every so often; standard Friulian: se ogni tant tu lu fâs); i ti sos fôr (you are out; standard Friulian: tu sês fûr); i ti sos tal barcon (you are at the window; standard Friulian: tu sês tal barcon); rivât l’autobus, i ti lassis ch’a montin duçus, prin di zî sù (the bus having arrived, you let everybody board before getting on; standard Friulian: rivât l’autobus, tu lassis che a montin ducj, prin di lâ sù); i ti si cuietis (you are calming down, relaxing; standard Friulian: tu ti cuietis); i ti si necuars che... (you notice that...; standard Friulian: tu ti inacuarzis che...); cuant ch’i ti vas in paîs (when you go into the village; standard Friulian: cuant che tu vâs in paîs); parsè ch’i ti sos forest (because you are an outsider; standard Friulian: parcè che tu sês forest); a ti pâr di essi capitât ta un post ch’i ti jôts pa la prima volta (it seems to you that you have ended up in a place that you are seeing for the first time; standard Friulian: ti pâr di jessi capitât intun puest che tu viodis pe prime volte); sensa ch’i ti si necuarzis di jê (without your noticing her; standard Friulian: cence che tu ti inacuarzis di jê).

Dograva variant of Friulian 34

In an earlier lesson, we looked at the second-person subject pronouns as used in the Dograva variant of Friulian, both singular and plural. In this lesson, we look once more at the second-person, but this time only so far as it regards the singular. The examples below are drawn from the writings of Alberto Luchini.

tu i ti
standard Friulian: tu tu

ma tu i ti nas tun paîs tal miès dai çamps di blava (but you are born in a village in the middle of the corn fields; standard Friulian: ma tu tu nassis intun paîs tal mieç dai cjamps di blave);

tu i ti vas davôr e ti provis il dolôr da la lûs dal soreli tai voi (you follow along and feel the pain of the sunlight in your eyes; standard Friulian: tu tu vas daûr e tu provis il dolôr de lûs dal soreli tai vôi);

tu, invessit, i ti giolts a zî ator dibessôl (you, on the other hand, enjoy going about alone; standard Friulian: tu, invezit, tu gjoldis a lâ ator di bessôl).

i ti
standard Friulian: tu

i ti sos tal barcon (you are at the window; standard Friulian: tu sês tal barcon);

e ulì i ti vîfs fin ch’a nol môr ço pari (and there you live until your father dies; standard Friulian: e li tu vivis fin che nol mûr to pari);

ogni sera, finît di lavorâ, i ti tornis ta la tô stansia (every evening, after work, you return to your room; standard Friulian: ogni sere, finît di lavorâ, tu tornis te tô stanzie);

i ti rivis a çasa che ço pari al è pena jevât (you arrive home when your father has only just got up; standard Friulian: tu rivis a cjase che to pari al è a pene jevât);

la sera, tal jet, i ti tornis a pensâi (in the evening, in bed, you think about her again; standard Friulian: la sere, tal jet, tu tornis a pensâi);

i ti vevis di savê e di fâ savê che tu ti vevis reson e che duçus chei atris a vevin tuart (you had to know and to make it known that you were right and that all the others were wrong; standard Friulian: tu vevis di savê e di fâ savê che tu tu vevis reson e che ducj chei altris a vevin tuart).

ch’i ti
standard Friulian: che tu

a saràn li dôs di not ch’i ti rivis a çasa (it will be two at night when you arrive home; standard Friulian: a saran lis dôs di gnot che tu rivis a cjase);

e se ti domanda dulà ch’i ti sos stât e sè ch’i ti as fat (and if she asks where you have been and what you have done; standard Friulian: e se ti domande dulà che tu sês stât e ce che tu âs fat);

in paîs a restin in pôcs ch’a ti cognossin e pôcs ch’i ti cognos (in the village there are few left who know you and few whom you know; standard Friulian: in paîs a restin in pôcs che ti cognossin e pôcs che tu cognossis);

adès ch’i ti as tacât, i ti as di finî (now that you have started, you must finish; standard Friulian: cumò che tu âs tacât, tu âs di finî);

pena ch’i ti lu jodevis (so soon as you saw him; standard Friulian: a pene che tu lu viodevis);

cuanch’i ti vevis fat il soldât (when you had been a soldier; standard Friulian: cuant che tu vevis fat il soldât);

i ti crodevis di resonâ dibessôl, di fâ sè ch’i ti volevis tu, ma a erin lôr ch’a ti vevin tirât fin lì, ch’a ti fadevin fâ sè ch’i ti fadevis (you believed that you were thinking for yourself, doing what you yourself wanted, but it was they who had led you there, who made you do what you were doing; standard Friulian: tu crodevis di resonâ di bessôl, di fâ ce che tu volevis tu, ma a jerin lôr che ti vevin tirât fin lì, che ti fasevin fâ ce che tu fasevis).

i ti si
standard Friulian: tu ti

a ti passa denant sensa ch’i ti si necuarzis di jê (she passes in front of you without your noticing her; standard Friulian: ti passe denant cence che tu ti inacuarzis di jê);

ti lu fadevin fâ sensa ch’i ti si necuarzesis (they used to make you do it without your noticing; standard Friulian: ti lu fasevin fâ cence che tu ti inacuarzevis);

tai prâts di Barbean i ti si cuietis cul soreli (in the meadows of Barbean you relax by the sun; standard Friulian: tai prâts di Barbean tu ti cuietis cul soreli).

Final remark:

The i may not always be included, for instance: ti sos un lari (you are a thief); ti as reson (you are right); ti sas ch’i ài pôra (you know that I am afraid); se ti sos seriu (if you are serious); se ti vôs savêlu (if you want to know it); ma come no ti capìs? (but what do you mean you do not understand?); no ti as nuia di imparâ di chei lì (you have nothing to learn from them); no ti sos gambiât par nuia (you have not changed at all). It is retained when che is present to form the contraction ch’i, for instance: al è mieit ch’i ti zedis a durmî (it is better for you to go to sleep); e cuanch’i ti tornis, se ti tornis, ti si sints forest (and when you return, if you return, you feel foreign).

Dograva variant of Friulian 35

At Dograva, the masculine noun curtîf identifies a courtyard. For instance, the courtyard of a school is known as il curtîf da la scuela (standard Friulian: il curtîl de scuele). Here is another example of curtîf as used in the Dograva variant, this time in reference to a person's home:

Al è sempri alc di fâ in çasa. ’Na man a la mari a preparâ la taula, sierâ li gialinis, scovâ il curtîf.

The example above was written by Alberto Luchini in his native Dograva variant; these words were said by one of his characters in the book Uchì. If we render this text into standard Friulian, we obtain the following:

Al è simpri alc di fâ in cjase. Une man ae mari a preparâ la taule, sierâ lis gjalinis, scovâ il curtîl.

In English:

Al è sempri alc (there is always something) di fâ in çasa (to do {to be done} at home). ’Na man a la mari (a {helping} hand to mother) a preparâ la taula (to prepare {to set} the table), sierâ li gialinis (to shut the hens in), scovâ il curtîf (to sweep the courtyard).

Language notes:

1. Da la is used at Dograva where the standard has de; this is the result of di + la. Examples: il curtîf da la scuela (schoolyard; standard Friulian: il curtîl de scuele); tal miès da la strada (in the middle of the street; standard Friulian: tal mieç de strade); ta un çanton da la stassion (in a corner of the station; standard Friulian: intun cjanton de stazion).

2. The Friulian for always is simpri in the standard; in the text above written in the Dograva variant, we find rather sempri. Other lexical differences include: la çasa (house; standard Friulian: la cjase); la taula (table; standard Friulian: la taule); la gialina (hen; standard Friulian: la gjaline). With these three examples, we are further reminded that where words end in -e in the standard language, they end rather in -a at Dograva. We also find the feminine singular indefinite article ’na, a contracted form of una, where the standard has une; and the feminine plural definite article li where the standard has lis.

3. The standard cj and gj are not used at Dograva; this is why at Dograva we have çasa and gialina rather than standard cjase and gjaline. The ç of çasa sounds like English ch (as in chip, chase, chill), whereas the gi of gialina sounds like English j (as in job, jet, just).

4. Preparâ la taula (standard Friulian: preparâ la taule) means to set the table. In the standard, this is also expressed as parecjâ la taule.

5. Una man a la mari translates word-for-word as a hand to the mother; in Friulian, the definite article can sometimes take the force of a possessive adjective, so this is to be understood as a hand to my mother, which is to say, a {helping} hand to my mother, which is further to say, helping mother out, giving mother a hand, and so on.

6. Sierâ in the Friulian for to close, to shut; for instance, sierâ la puarta (standard Friulian: sierâ la puarte) means to shut the door. In the context of our sentence above, sierâ li gialinis (standard Friulian: sierâ lis gjalinis) is to be understood as referring to the shutting of the hens back into the coop.

7. The standard for broom is la scove, or la scova at Dograva. For instance, una femina cu la scova in man (standard Friulian: une femine cu la scove in man) means a woman holding a broom. From this feminine noun, the verb scovâ is formed, meaning to sweep.

Dograva variant of Friulian 36

The standard Friulian for beer is the feminine noun bire. At Dograva, we have rather bira. In this way, the Friulian for he wants a beer at Dograva is al vôl una bira, whereas in the standard it is al vûl une bire.

In his book Lì di Sandra a li nouf di sera, author Alberto Luchini writes: al torna fôr cuntuna bira nova, la poia su la taula e al si met a bevila. In English, this means: he comes back out with a new beer {another beer}, sets it on the table and starts to drink it. Or in standard Friulian: al torne fûr cuntune bire gnove, le poie su la taule e si met a bevile.

From the examples above, we see that at Dograva such forms are found: vôl, fôr, whereas in the standard, they are: vûl, fûr.

Another example by Luchini, this time from his book Uchì: al vôl una bira e al resta a spetâla in peis denant dal banc. Literally, in English: al vôl (he wants) una bira (a beer) e al resta (and stays) a spetâla (to wait for it) in peis (in feet {on feet}) denant dal banc (in front of the bar); which is to say, he wants a beer and stands there waiting for it at the bar. In standard Friulian: al vûl une bire e al reste a spietâle in pîts denant dal banc.

At Dograva, the word for foot is the masculine singular peit, whereas in the standard it is rather pît. With peit, we have an example of the ei diphthong, where the vowel begins as the Friulian sound of e and glides into that of i. In the plural, the t is not pronounced before the plural s, which is why Luchini uses the spelling peis. In standard Friulian, the plural is pîts, with the t written, but the t is in fact also silent before the plural s, even in the standard. In peis (standard Friulian: in pîts) translates literally as in feet (or, better, on feet), the sense whereof is standing. Another example: al si è jevât in peis (he stood up; standard Friulian: si è jevât in pîts); translated more closely after the Friulian manner: he arose on {his} feet.

To conclude, I leave you with a task -- transfer to the Dograva variant of Friulian the following sentence written in the standard: al beveve une bire sentât intune cjadree a pene fûr de puarte (he was drinking a beer sitting in a chair just outside the door). You will need to have studied many of the Dograva variant of Friulian lessons to complete the task. The answer is found in number 6 of lesson 37.

Dograva variant of Friulian 37

In standard Friulian, we go is said o lin. We have a number of examples in the writing of Alberto Luchini, native of Dograva, where he uses instead i zin. The reason for this is that, at Dograva, the atonic (unstressed) first-person plural subject pronoun is i rather than standard o, and that the verb zî is used where the standard has lâ. With regard to i, this is in fact also the first-person singular subject pronoun at Dograva. The initial consonant of zî sounds like English z; some writers represent this sound as ’s (apostrophe + s) at the beginning of a word, so it is possible to encounter both zî and ’sî in writing, but they are the same verb.

Take this first example written in the Dograva variant, in the context of events being narrated in a story: I zin fôr ch’a ei not plena. Scuasin li trê. In standard Friulian: O lin fûr che e je gnot plene. Cuasi lis trê. In English: We go out when it is full night. Almost three.

Take now another example in the Dograva variant, where the one says to the other: I schersavi, i zin dà ch’i ti vôs tu, satu. In standard Friulian: O scherçavi, o lin dulà che tu vûs tu, sâstu. In English: I was kidding, we {shall} go wherever you want, you know?

Language notes:

1. I zin fôr: The Dograva variant of Friulian uses fôr (out) rather than standard fûr; the sound produced by ô is in fact a diphthong: ou.

2. Ch’a ei not plena: The use of che here means when, as. The adjective plen is the Friulian for full, in both the standard and at Dograva; but in the feminine singular, we have plene in the standard and plena at Dograva, wherefore: standard gnot plene (full night) but not plena at Dograva. In the standard, e je (she is, it is) is the feminine third-person singular of the present indicative of the verb jessi (to be); at Dograva, this is rather a ei, and standard jessi is said rather essi. More examples in the Dograva variant: chista femina a ei sui sincuanta (this woman is about fifty years old; standard Friulian: cheste femine e je sui cincuanta); par no essi jodût (so as not to be seen; standard Friulian: par no jessi viodût).

3. I schersavi: The Dograva verb in question here is schersâ (to kid, to joke), whereas in the standard it is scherçâ. I schersavi is the first-person singular of the imperfect indicative: I was kidding, I was joking. The related noun is the masculine singular schers (joke; standard Friulian: scherç), for instance: a fan fenta di disi dut par schers (they pretend to say everything as a joke; standard Friulian: a fasin fente di dî dut par scherç). Note moreover that the Dograva variant uses disi (to say), whereas the standard uses dî.

4. I zin dà ch’i ti vôs tu: In an earlier lesson, we read that dà is just one of the ways that you will hear the Friulian for where expressed at Dograva. For instance, dà ch'al è? means where is he? (standard Friulian: dulà isal?, dulà che al è?). What of vôs? This is the Dograva equivalent of the standard vûs, second-person singular of the verb volê (to want), present indicative. Follow the link in number 1 to understand why the Dograva variant uses vôs rather than standard vûs.

5. Satu: In the interrogative of the second-person singular, the final s is omitted at Dograva: satu?, votu?, atu?, l'atu jodût?, sé pensitu di fâ?; in standard Friulian: sâstu?, vûstu?, âstu?, lu âstu viodût?, ce pensistu di fâ?; in English: do you know?, do you want?, do you have?, have you seen him?, what are you thinking of doing?

6. At the end of lesson 36, you were given the task of rendering into the Dograva variant a sentence that was composed in standard Friulian. Here is the answer: al beveva una bira sentât ta una çadrea pena fôr da la puarta.

Dograva variant of Friulian 38

Below are five examples of conversational Friulian written by Alberto Luchini in his book Uchì. These conversational items are presented in no particular order, and without reference to the context wherein they were used in the book: they are simply examples of spoken Friulian to learn from, in particular, from the Dograva variant of Friulian; each example is accompanied by an equivalent in standard Friulian.

1. In the Dograva variant of Friulian: Jodût cui ch’al è tornât? {Have you} seen who is back? {Have you} seen who has come back? In standard Friulian: Viodût cui che al è tornât? Remarks: The form jodi (to see) is encountered very frequently in different variants of Friulian; the standard uses viodi. The contracted form ch’al as used in the Dograva variant is in fact also used when speaking the standard version aloud. The question as posed in Friulian asks literally seen who is back?, with the auxiliary have you understood but not expressed. In full, the question is said: atu jodût cui ch’al è tornât? (in standard Friulian: âstu viodût cui che al è tornât?).

2. In the Dograva variant of Friulian: Stasera no poditu stâ a çasa? Can you not stay home this evening? In standard Friulian: Cheste sere no puedistu stâ a cjase? Remarks: In the interrogative, the final s of the second-person singular is omitted in the Dograva variant: atu (have you), sotu (are you), poditu (can you), votu (will you, want you), pensitu (think you), and so on; in standard Friulian: âstu, sêstu, puedistu, vûstu, pensistu. Words pronounced with cj in the standard will take rather ç at Dograva: çasa (house), çamp (field), çâf (head), çoc (drunk), boça (mouth); in standard Friulian: cjase, cjamp, cjâf, cjoc, bocje. Moreover, where words end in -e in the standard, they end in -a at Dograva: puarta (door); aga (water); biblioteca (library); in standard Friulian: puarte, aghe, biblioteche.

3. In the Dograva variant of Friulian: Sé môt ’l ese rivât dentri, ’stu chi? How did this fellow get in? In standard Friulian: Cemût isal rivât dentri, chest chi? Remarks: To understand the sense of this question, image a situation where you, a security guard, have locked the doors to a building, but a certain man has still managed to get in from the street. (That is not the true context of this sentence in the story; it merely serves to orientate you.) In standard Friulian, chest is the masculine singular meaning this; at Dograva, it takes the form chistu, which can contract to ’stu. The Dograva form ’stu chi translates literally as this one here, the sense whereof is this fellow, this bloke, this guy. At Dograva, standard ce, meaning what, is not pronounced with initial ç but rather initial s. Moreover, the vowel sound of standard mût (manner, mode) changes at Dograva. Standard isal, an interrogative meaning is he, is it, takes the form ’l ese at Dograva; examples: cui ’l ese? (who is he?); cuant ’l ese muart? (when did he die?); sé ’l ese sussedût? (what happened?); dulà ’l ese adès? (where is he now?); in standard Friulian: cui isal?, cuant isal muart?, ce isal sucedût?, dulà isal cumò?

4. In the Dograva variant of Friulian: Al è mieit ch’i ti si bituis, oramai. You had better get used to it at this point. In standard Friulian: Al è miei/miôr che tu ti abituis, aromai. Remarks: At Dograva, mieit means better; it finds its equivalent in the standard as miei or miôr. As for ch’i ti, this is the form used at Dograva equivalent to standard che tu; and ch’i ti si at Dograva is equivalent to standard che tu ti. As for oramai, this is simply a variant of aromai, meaning by now, at this point. The Dograva version uses bituâsi (to get used to it, to become accustomed), which in the standard is abituâsi, but also used in the standard is usâsi; for instance, standard usâsi al cjalt means to get used to the heat. Whereas the masculine singular noun cjalt means heat in the standard, it is rather çalt at Dograva, which is yet another example of the phenomenon described in number 2 above.

5. In the Dograva variant of Friulian: Ch’al vinsi il pi bravo. May the best man win. In standard Friulian: Che al vinci il plui brâf. Remarks: In standard Friulian, the infinitive meaning to win is vinci, which takes the pronunciation vinsi at Dograva. In the third-person singular of the present indicative, standard al vinç means he wins, which takes the pronunciaton al vins at Dograva. In the third-person singular of the present subjunctive (which is what we find in our example sentence), standard che al vinci (pronounced ch’al vinci) means that he may win, let him win, which takes the pronunciation ch’al vinsi at Dograva. From all the above, we understand that, in relation to this verb, where the standard has the sound of ç, the Friulian of Dograva has rather that of s. The adjective bravo (Dograva) or brâf (standard) is used to describe someone who is competent at what he does; an example from Dograva: al è un bravo muradôr (he is a good bricklayer; standard Friulian: al è un brâf muredôr). Il pi bravo (Dograva) or il plui brâf (standard) identifies the most competent man, the best of the lot.

Dograva variant of Friulian 39

Below you will find many examples of questions asked in second person, according to the variant of Friulian spoken at Dograva, complete with a possible standard Friulian equivalent and translation into English.

Second-person singular questions are asked of just one person on a familar level, whereas second-person plural questions are asked either of: (a) more than one person on a familiar level, or (b) just one person on a very formal level. The examples below are drawn from the writings of Alberto Luchini, native of Dograva. The abbreviation SF stands for standard Friulian.

Second-person singular

1. Sotu d’acordo? Do you agree? (SF: Sêstu dacuardi?) ■ 2. Sotu rivât? Have you arrived? (SF: Sêstu rivât?) ■ 3. Dulà sotu? Where are you? (SF: Dulà sêstu?) ■ 4. No poditu stâ a çasa? Can you not stay at home? (SF: No puedistu stâ a cjase?) ■ 5. Di dulà ventu? Where do you come from? (SF: Di dulà vegnistu?).

6. Parsè statu tal scûr? Why are you in the dark? (SF: Parcè stâstu tal scûr?) ■ 7. Parsè ditu? Why do you say that? Why say you so? (SF: Parcè disistu?) ■ 8. L’atu jodût sta sera? Have you seen him this evening? (SF: Lu âstu viodût cheste sere?) ■ 9. Sé atu mitût dentri? What have you put in it? (SF: Ce âstu metût dentri?) ■ 10. Votu savê se un al dopra il sio çâf? Do you want to know if someone uses his head? (SF: Vûstu savê se un al dopre il so cjâf?).

11. Votu fermâti dal miedi? Do you want to stop in at the doctor's? (SF: Vûstu fermâti dal miedi?) ■ 12. Votu una man? Do you want a hand? (SF: Vûstu une man?) ■ 13. Sé votu ch’i ti conti? What do you want me to tell you? (SF: Ce vûstu che ti conti?) ■ 14. Votu fâmi murî di spavent? Do you want to frighten me to death? (SF: Vûstu fâmi murî di spavent?) ■ 15. Votu fâni murî? Do you want to kill us? Are you trying to kill us? (SF: Vûstu fânus murî?).

16. Sé fatu? What are you doing? (SF: Ce fasistu?) ■ 17. Si preparitu a difindi ço fì? Are you preparing to defend your son? (SF: Ti preparistu a difindi to fi?) ■ 18. No çacaritu furlan? Do you not speak Friulian? (SF: No fevelistu furlan?) ■ 19. Mi lassitu bessola? Are you leaving me {f.} alone? (SF: Mi lassistu bessôle?) ■ 20. No mi croditu? Do you not believe me? (SF: No mi crodistu?).

21. Sé pensitu di fâ? What are you thinking of doing? (SF: Ce pensistu di fâ?) ■ 22. Atu sintût? Have you heard? (SF: Âstu sintût?) ■ 23. No atu nissun ch’a ti speta? Is there nobody waiting for you? (SF: No âstu nissun che ti spiete?) ■ 24. Sé pensavitu? What were you thinking? (SF: Ce pensavistu?) ■ 25. Bevitu alc? Do you want something to drink? (SF: Bevistu alc?) ■ 26. Ma sé atu stassera? What is the matter with you thing evening? (SF: Ma ce âstu cheste sere?).

Second-person plural

1. Viso jodût li mês clafs? Have you seen my keys? (SF: Vêso viodût lis mês clâfs?) ■ 2. Viso fat la scuadra? Have you made the team? (SF: Vêso fat la scuadre?) ■ 3. Vuliso vignî a jodilu? Do you want to come see him? (SF: Volêso vignî a viodilu?) ■ 4. Cuant partiso? When do you leave? (SF: Cuant partîso?) ■ 5. Sé fadiso? What are you doing? (SF: Ce fasêso?) ■ 6. Dulà siso stât* in Svissera? Where were you in Switzerland? (SF: Dulà sêso stât* in Svuizare?).

*In the singular, because it is asked of just one person, on a very formal level.

Dograva variant of Friulian 40

Below you will find examples of questions posed in first and third persons, according to the variant of Friulian spoken at Dograva, complete with a possible standard Friulian equivalent and translation into English. The examples below are drawn from the writings of Alberto Luchini, native of Dograva. The abbreviation SF stands for standard Friulian. The sentences have been grouped together by fives for readability.

1. I ae di metimi in zenoglon, par ch’i ti stedis a sintîmi? Have I to go down on my knees to get you to listen to me? (SF: Aio di metimi in zenoglon, par che tu stedis a sintîmi?) ■ 2. Ma mama, sé scusis i ae di çatâ par no bevi il lat? But mummy, what excuses have I to find so as not to drink the milk? (SF: Ma mame, ce scusis aio di cjatâ par no bevi il lat?) ■ 3. Sé i ae fat? What have I done? What did I do? (SF: Ce aio fat?) ■ 4. Ma dutis sti’ robis li fade jo o i ae una massàra? But all these things, do I do them myself or have I a housekeeper? (SF: Ma dutis chestis robis lis fasio jo o aio une massàrie?) ■ 5. Sé colpa i veve jo? What fault did I have? (SF: Ce colpe vevio jo?).

6. Mama, pode vignî a durmî cun te? I ài pôra. Mummy, can I come sleep with you? I am afraid. (SF: Mame, puedio vignî a durmî cun te? O ài pôre) ■ 7. Soe libar o soe sclaf? Am I free or am I a slave? (SF: Soio libar o soio sclâf?) ■ 8. Cui ’l ese? Who is he? (SF: Cui isal?) ■ 9. Dulà ’l ese adès? Where is he now? (SF: Dulà isal cumò?) ■ 10. ’L ese muart? Is he dead? (SF: Isal muart?).

11. Sé ’l ese sussedût? What happened? (SF: Ce isal sucedût?) ■ 12. Sé môt ’l ese rivât dentri, ’stu chi? How did this fellow get inside? (SF: Cemût isal rivât dentri, chest chi?) ■ 13. Sé ’l ese di mâl a balâ? What is the matter with dancing? What is wrong with dancing? (SF: Ce isal di mâl a balâ?) ■ 14. ’L ese chi di vuatris? Is he here at your place? (SF: Isal chi di vualtris?) ■ 15. Cui ’l ere il pari? Who was the father? (SF: Cui jerial il pari?).

16. ’L ere di chi? Was he from here? (SF: Jerial di chi?) ■ 17. Sé ’l ae fat? What has he done? What did he do? (SF: Ce aial fat?) ■ 18. Sé colpa ’l ae? What fault has he? (SF: Ce colpe aial?) ■ 19. Nol ae nuiatri di fâ? Has ne nothing else to do? (SF: No aial nuie altri di fâ?) ■ 20. Sé ’l dise il giornâl? What does the newspaper say? (SF: Ce disial il gjornâl?).

21. Parsè nol vae via? Why does he not leave? (SF: Parcè no vadial vie?) ■ 22. Ti vae ben, Toni? Everything good, Toni? All is well, Toni? (SF: Ti vadie ben, Toni?) ■ 23. Ti dole la pansa? Does your tummy hurt? (SF: Ti dulie la panze?) ■ 24. E dulà ese Concordia? And where is Concordia {town}? (SF: E dulà ise Concuardie?) ■ 25. Ma doman, zino a scuela, d’instès? But are we still going to school tomorrow? (SF: Ma doman, lino a scuele, di istès?).

26. Zino a zuiâ di balon? Are we going to play football? (SF: Lino a zuiâ di balon?) ■ 27. Ma no ano fîs o parinç? But have they no children or relatives? (SF: Ma no ano fîs o parincj?) ■ 28. Sé colpa ano lôr? What fault have they? (SF: Ce colpe ano lôr?) ■ 29. Sé ano imparât? What have they learnt? (SF: Ce ano imparât?) ■ 30. Parsè vevino di metisi in miès? Why did they have to get involved? (SF: Parcè vevino di metisi in mieç?).

Dograva variant of Friulian 41

The verb nasâ (to smell) is used in both standard Friulian and in the variant spoken at Dograva; for instance, we may say in the variant of Dograva: mi plâs nasâ il profun da l’erba pena taiada (I like to smell the scent of freshly cut grass), which in standard Friulian is: mi plâs nasâ il profum de jerbe a pene taiade.

One thing to bear in mind is that when the verb ends in -e in the standard, it will end rather in -a at Dograva. For instance, take this standard Friulian example: il lat al nase di bon (the milk smells good); at Dograva, this becomes instead: il lat al nasa di bon.

When used figuratively, nasâ can take on the sense of to make out, to deduce. Following now are more examples, drawn from the writings of Alberto Luchini:

1. In the variant of Dograva: Il lat al nasa di trist. In standard Friulian: Il lat al nase di trist. In English: The milk smells bad.

2. In the variant of Dograva: Ta una stansia blança ch’a nasava di çalsina. In standard Friulian: Intune stanzie blancje che e nasave di cjalcine. In English: In a white room that smelt of plaster. Prounciation note: Tonic stress is on the first syllable in stansia/stanzie. It is in regular position in çalsina/cjalcine, which is to say, on the second-to-last.

3. In the variant of Dograva: Bevût il lat, o al si sentava a lei un giornâl o al zeva tal curtîf a nasâ l’aria. In standard Friulian: Bevût il lat, o si sentave a lei un gjornâl o al leve tal curtîl a nasâ l’aiar. In English: Having drunk his milk, he would either sit down to read a newspaper or go into the courtyard to smell the air. Note: See the remark at the end of this lesson.

4. In the variant of Dograva: I vevi nasât l’odôr dal fen pena taiât. In standard Friulian: O vevi nasât l’odôr dal fen a pene taiât. In English: I had smelt the odour of the freshly cut hay.

5. In the variant of Dograva: I sin dome nô e un giat ch’al sçampa o par pôra o par vê nasât una surisa torzeona. In standard Friulian: O sin dome nô e un gjat che al scjampe o par pôre o par vê nasât une surîs torzeone. In English: It is just us and a cat that takes off either for fear or for having sniffed a wandering mouse. Note: See the remark at the end of this lesson.

6. In the variant of Dograva: Tarsila a veva nasât che Gino al veva capît dut. In standard Friulian: Tarsila e veve nasât che Gino al veve capît dut. In English: Tarsila had gathered that Gino had understood everything.

7. In the variant of Dograva: I nasi ch’al è alc ch’i no capìs tra di lôr. In standard Friulian: O nasi che al è alc che no capìs tra di lôr. In English. I make out that there is something between them that I do not understand.

8. In the variant of Dograva: Cuanch’i ài dita ch’i tornavi fôr, a mi à vuardât fadintmi capî ch’a no era d’acordo. A veva nasât alc. In standard Friulian: Cuant che o ài dit che o tornavi fûr, mi à cjalât fasintmi capî che no jere dacuardi. E veve nasât alc. In English: When I said that I was going back out, she looked at me, making me understand that she did not agree. She had deduced something.

In numbers 3 and 5, we find examples of o... o..., which is the Friulian manner of expressing either... or...; for instance, in o al si sentava a lei un giornâl o al zeva tal curtîf, the first o means either and the second means or.

Dograva variant of Friulian 42

In the book Uchì written by Alberto Luchini, native of Dograva, one of his characters says: i eri restât maraveât e no savevi sé disi (I was amazed and did not know what to say). I eri (I was) is the form used at Dograva equivalent to standard o jeri, and disi means to say, to tell. Moreover, sé (what) is used at Dograva where, in the standard, ce is employed instead.

In this lesson, we now look at more examples of disi as used by Luchini in his book: 1. Ma lui a nol veva nuia di disi. But he had nothing to say. ■ 2. Lui al saveva belzà sé ch’a veva di disi. He already knew what she had to say. ■ 3. «Nonu, sé môt si fade a no pierdi un amigo?» Il veçu a lu vuarda. Nol sa sé disi. [...] «Pissul, par no pierdi un amigo no ti às di disij mai sé ch’i ti pensis veramentri di lui». ‘Grandpa, how does one manage not to lose a friend?’ The old man looks at him. He does not know what to say. [...] ‘Little one, so as not to lose a friend, you must never tell him what you really think of him.’ ■ 4. Ma par pôra di essi çapadis sul seriu, a fan fenta di disi dut par schers. But for fear of being taken seriously, they pretend to say everything as a joke. ■ 5. «Sé ch’a conta nol è vinsi, ma zuiâ ben.» L’alenadôr a nol veva atri di disi. ‘What counts is not winning but playing well.’ The trainer had nothing else to say.

Following now are a few examples of the past participle. In the Friulian as used by Luchini, it is overwhelmingly dita, but there are also a few examples of dit.

1. Jo no vevi dita nuia. I did not say anything. ■ 2. Il veçu al veva dita alc ridint, ch’i no vevi capît. The old man had said something whilst laughing, but I had not understood. ■ 3. Al podarès, mi à dita il nestri miedi, rivâ a sent ains. He could, our doctor told me, live to one hundred years old. ■ 4. E pûr jo i vevi dita ch’i sarès rivât a li deis. O pôc dopo. And yet I had said that I would be there at ten. Or shortly thereafter. ■ 5. Ma no vevi dita nuia a dinissun, lassant crodi che ença jo i eri d’acordo. But I had not said anything to anyone, giving the impression that I too was in agreement. ■ 6. Lu vevi dit schersant, par çoila in ziro. I had said it jokingly, to tease her.

Many of the usages in the examples above have already been rendered into standard Friulian in other lessons related to the Dograva variant of Friulian, but a short word list is provided here for reference: belzà (standard: bielzà); il nonu (standard: il nono); sé môt (standard: cemût); un amigo (standard: un amì); il veçu (standard: il vecjo, il vieli); vuardâ (standard: cjalâ); pissul (standard: piçul); par pôra (standard: par pôre); essi (standard: jessi); çapadis (standard: cjapadis); sul seriu (standard: sul seri); a fan fenta (standard: a fasin fente); par schers (standard: par scherç); vinsi (standard: vinci); sent ains (standard: cent agns); a li deis (standard: aes dîs); ença (standard: ancje); i eri d’acordo (standard: o jeri dacuardi); schersant (standard: scherçant); çoila (standard: cjolile); ziro (standard: zîr).

Dograva variant of Friulian 43

Following is an extract drawn from the book Uchì, by Alberto Luchini, native of Dograva di San Zors da la Richinvelda. First read the text, and then consult the vocabulary and translation as necessary:

I dai il sigaret. Mi toça ença impiâjlu, ch’a nol à né fulminats né accendin. Impiât, al si poia, dongia di me, ta la machina e al tâs, come finalmentri passût. Jo no dîs nuia e i pensi ch’al sedi vignût via di una riunion lungia e pesanta, di chês ch’a mi toça soportâ ença a me, almancul una volta a la setemana. Una di chês dulà che duçus a tabain sensa mai sintî sé ch’a disin chei atris e cussì a si ripetin li robis dôs o trê voltis prin che un al disi basta e ch’al fermi la discussion.

Friulian vocabulary:

■ i dai (I give; standard: o doi); ■ un sigaret (cigarette; standard: un sigaret, un spagnolet); ■ mi toça (it falls upon me {I have to, I must}; standard: mi tocje); ■ ença (too, also; standard: ancje); ■ impiâjlu (to light it for him; standard: impiâjal); ■ a nol a né... né... (he has neither... nor...; standard: nol à ni... ni...); ■ un fulminat (match; standard: un fulminant, un solfarin); ■ un accendin (lighter; standard: une machinete); ■ al si poia (he leans; standard: si poie); ■ dongia di me (beside me; standard: dongje di me);

■ ta la machina (on the car; standard: te machine); ■ al tâs (he quietens down; standard: same); ■ come finalmentri passût (as though finally satisfied; standard: same); ■ disi (to say; standard: dî, disi); ■ jo no dîs nuia (I say nothing; standard: jo no dîs nuie); ■ i pensi (I think; standard: o pensi); ■ ch’al sedi vignût via di (that he may have come away from; standard: che al sedi vignût vie di); ■ lunc (long; standard: same); ■ pesant (heavy {difficult}; standard: same); ■ una riunion lungia e pesanta (long and difficult meeting; standard: une riunion lungje e pesante);

■ soportâ (to put up with; standard: sopuartâ); ■ almancul una volta a la setemana (at least once a week; standard: almancul une volte ae setemane); ■ duçus a tabain (everybody talks; standard: ducj a tabain, ducj a fevelin); ■ sensa mai sintî (without ever hearing; standard: cence mai sintî); ■ sé ch’a disin chei atris (what the others say; standard: ce che a disin chei altris); ■ ripetisi (to be repeated; standard: ripetisi); ■ a si ripetin li robis (things are repeated; standard: si ripetin lis robis); ■ prin che un al disi (before someone says; standard: same); ■ basta (enough; standard: baste, vonde); ■ fermâ (to bring to a stop; standard: same).

In English:

I dai il sigaret (I give him the cigarette). Mi toça ença impiâjlu (I also have to light it for him), ch’a nol à né fulminats né accendin (because he has neither matches nor a lighter). Impiât (once lit), al si poia (he leans), dongia di me (beside me), ta la machina (on the car) e al tâs (and quietens down), come finalmentri passût (as though finally satisfied). Jo no dîs nuia (I say nothing) e i pensi ch’al sedi vignût via (and think that he may have come away) di una riunion lungia e pesanta (from a long and difficult meeting), di chês (one of those) ch’a mi toça soportâ ença a me (that also I have to put up with), almancul una volta a la setemana (at least once a week). Una di chês (one of those) dulà che duçus a tabain (where everybody talks) sensa mai sintî (without ever hearing) sé ch’a disin chei atris (what the others say) e cussì a si ripetin li robis (and so things are repeated) dôs o trê voltis (two or three times) prin che un al disi basta (before someone says enough) e ch’al fermi la discussion (and stops the discussion).

Language notes:

1. Impiâjlu is composed of impiâ (to light) + j (unto him) + lu (it). In the standard, the equivalent is impiâjal, composed of impiâ (to light) + i (unto him) + lu (it), where i + lu come together to form jal.

2. Prin che (before) is followed by the subjunctive. Consider the following: (1) un al dîs (someone says); prin che un al disi (before someone says); (2) un al ferma (someone brings to a stop); prin che un al fermi (before someone brings to a stop).

Dograva variant of Friulian 44

In different variants of Friulian, ni (us, unto us) is used in place of standard nus. One of these is the variant spoken at Dograva. In his book Uchì, author Alberto Luchini writes the following in the words of the narrator:

Una veça, saltada fôr no sai di dulà, a ni veva fat un café ch’al saveva di tuessin. Par dismintiâlu si erin fermâts a fumâ un sigaret.

Una veça (an old woman), saltada fôr ({who had} come out) no sai di dulà (I do not know from where), a ni veva fat (had made for us) un café ch’al saveva di tuessin (a coffee that tasted of poison). Par dismintiâlu (to forget about it {to get rid of the taste}) si erin fermâts (we had stopped) a fumâ un sigaret (to smoke a cigarette). -- Remarks: In a ni veva fat un café, the meaning of ni is unto us, which takes the sense of for us in English: she had made a coffee for us, or simply, she made us a coffee; in the standard, this phrase is instead worded: nus veve fat un café. The phrase saltada fôr no sai di dulà (literally, come out I do not know from where) can be understood as {who had} appeared from who knows where.

Vocabulary: una veça (old woman; standard: une vecje); ■ saltâ fôr (to come out; standard: saltâ fûr); ■ savê di tuessin (to taste like poison; standard: same); ■ dismintiâ (to forget; standard: dismenteâ); ■ fermâsi (to come to a stop; standard: same); ■ fumâ un sigaret (to smoke a cigarette; standard: same, but also fumâ un spagnolet).

Following are more examples of ni, all drawn from the same work by Luchini: cuanch’a ni jodin (when they see us); ■ a ni vegnin incuntri (they come up to us); ■ a ni clama pa la seconda volta (she calls us for the second time); ■ a era l’unica che ni lassava zî fôr (she was the only one who would let us go out). -- Remarks: Jodi, incuntri and zî fôr are equivalent to standard viodi, incuintri and lâ fûr.

Dograva variant of Friulian 45

A era zuda in cusina, a era tornada cuntuna broca di aga, mi la veva tirada cun duta la sô fuarsa ta la musa... So says the narrator in the book Uchì, written by Alberto Luchini, a native of Dograva di San Zors da la Richinvelda. In English, it means: a era zuda in cusina (she had gone into the kitchen), a era tornada cuntuna broca di aga (had come back with a pitcher of water), mi la veva tirada cun duta la sô fuarsa ta la musa ({and} had thrown it with all her strength in my face).

In this, we have an example of mi la, meaning unto me + it, where the feminine singular la stands in for broca di aga, so that mi la veva tirada ta la musa translates word for word as she had thrown it unto me in the face, the sense whereof is she had thrown it in my face. In standard Friulian, mi + la contracts to form me, as in me veve tirade te muse, but it remains uncontracted in the example written by Luchini in his Dograva variant. Note that mi la and standard me also mean unto me + her.

Another example written by Luchini: mi lu veva dita lui (he himself had said it to me). Mi + lu again means unto me + it, but this time the direct object is a masculine singular one, standing in for that which had been said. In standard Friulian, mi + lu contracts to form mal, as in mal veve dite lui, but it again remains uncontracted in the example written by Luchini in his Dograva variant. Note that mi lu and standard mal also mean unto me + him.

When attached to an infinitive, the Dograva forms mi lu and mi la fuse to create the suffixes milu and mila; in standard Friulian, on the other hand, they contract to form the suffixes mal and me. Examples: sensa fâmilu disi un’atra volta, i eri sçampât via curint (without my needing to be told again, I had taken off running); una storia cussì, i vevi sempri crodût di vêmila insumiada (such a story, I had always believed that I had dreamt it up/imagined it).

In a similar way, we also have ni lu (unto us + him/it) and ni la (unto us + her/it), which become nilu and nila when attached to an infinitive. Examples: a ni à çapât il balon, ch’al era finît tal sio ort, e no ni lu à pi tornât (he took our football, which had ended up in his garden, and did not give it back to us); and an example in reference to football jerseys, identified by the feminine noun maia di balon in Friulian: no la devin nença di lavâ, par ch’a no ni la ruvinassin (we would not even put it in the wash, so that it would not get ruined on us); translated literally after the Friulian manner: no la devin (we would not give it, we used not to give it) nença di lavâ (even for washing), par ch’a no ni la ruvinassin (so that they would not ruin it on us); the use of the third-person plural here equates to the passive of English (so that it would not be ruined on us).

Dograva variant of Friulian 46

A new quote now from Uchì, written by Alberto Luchini in his native variant of Friulian as spoken at Dograva: Ator ator a mi passin li machinis ch’a sercin un posteggio. And è di chês ch’a fan il ziro da la plassa ença trê voltis. In English: Ator ator (all round) a mi passin li machinis (the cars pass me by) ch’a sercin un posteggio (as they look for a parking spot). And è di chês (there are those) ch’a fan il ziro da la plassa (that go about the square) ença trê voltis (even three times).

Below, we look in more detail at the usages appearing in this new quote, with supplementary examples of use according to the variant of Friulian used at Dograva.

1. Ator ator: all round, roundabout. Luchini provides another example of ator ator in his book: Una bunora i mi soi jevât che la çamara à tacât a zirâmi ator ator. A mi è vignût di butâ fôr. In English: Una bunora (one morning) i mi soi jevât (I got up) che la çamara à tacât (when the bedroom started) a zirâmi ator ator (to spin all round me). A mi è vignût di butâ fôr (I had to throw up [literally, it came unto me to throw out]. At Dograva, the initial z of zirâ is pronounced like English z.

2. A mi passin li machinis: the cars pass me by. At Dograva, the Friulian for car is una machina; in the plural, it is li machinis. Stress is on the first syllable: màchina, màchinis. Luchini provides another example of machina in his book: Ença il gno amigo al à di pensâla come me, parsè ch’al tâs ença cuant ch’al finìs di fumâ e ch’al resta poiât ta la machina, li mans in sacheta. In English: Ença il gno amigo (even my friend) al à di pensâla (must see things) come me (like I do), parsè ch’al tâs (because he keeps quiet) ença cuant ch’al finìs di fumâ (even when he finishes smoking) e ch’al resta poiât ta la machina (and stays leaning on the car), li mans in sacheta (hands in his pocket). Note the inclusion of che before al resta poiât; this che belongs to cuant che, first used farther back in the sentence, and keeps it joined thereto: cuant ch’al finìs... e ch’al resta...

3. A sercin un posteggio: they look for a parking spot. At Dograva, the Friulian for to seek is serçâ. One of the meanings of to seek is to look for. More examples by Luchini: al serça alc di disi (he seeks {looks for} something to say); serçant la possision mieit par continuâ a durmî (seeking {looking for} the best position to continue sleeping); a lu serçava tal scûr da la sô çamara (she used to seek {look for} it in the darkness of her bedroom). Another meaning of to seek is to try, for instance: a veva serçât di bituâsi al scûr (she had sought {had tried} to get used to the dark).

4. And è di chês che: there are those that. And means thereof (of it, of them). Another example by Luchini: lui al era furtunât ch’and a veva una dome par sé (he was lucky that he had one of them just for himself): here and a veva una means he had one thereof, he had one of them, where one is said una because it refers back to something identified by a feminine singular noun in Friulian. Moreover, Luchini adds a between and and veva because veva begins with a consonant. More examples: lavôr and era e bês pi di uchì (there was work and more money than here); and à partât un pôc a çasa (he took a bit of it home); and a veva ença vinta una (he had even won one of them); di lavôrs a no ’nd a veva pi (he had no more work left; literally, of works he had no more thereof, of works he had no more of them). To return to our phrase and è di chês che, the feminine plural chês is used because it refers to machinis (i.e., there are of those cars that).

5. A fan il ziro da la plassa ença trê voltis: they go round the square even three times. The masculine singular noun ziro (at Dograva, the initial z of ziro sounds like English z) means tour, rotation, lap, loop; in this way, ‘to make the tour/lap of something’ (fâ il ziro di alc) means to go about that thing. More examples: fâ un ziro pai çamps (to go for a walk through the fields); al veva fat il ziro da la taula (he went round the table); duçus a erin in ziro (everyone was out and about); fâ il ziro da li stansis par controlâ di vê dut sierât (to go about the rooms to check on having closed everything). The feminine singular noun plassa identifies a town square, for instance: la plassa denant da la glesia (the square in front of the church). Ença, depending on the context wherein it is used, will mean either also or even.

Dograva variant of Friulian 47

In the book Il vier e il milus* by Alberto Luchini, native of Dograva, we read: «No sta toçâmi! Lassimi ch’i soi stufa». A si giava il gurmâl e lu buta par ciera. In English: ‘Don't touch me! Leave me alone because I'm fed up.’ She takes her apron off and throws it on the ground. The first half is said by a character called Miuta; the second half are the words of the narrator, describing the actions of Miuta.

1. At Dograva, toçâ is the Friulian for to touch; in the standard, it is rather tocjâ. When no sta is placed before an infinitive, a negated, second-person singular imperative is formed; this is true of both the Dograva variant and the standard. No sta toçâmi means do not touch me, said to just one person on a familiar level. Other examples: no sta disi monadis (do not talk nonsense); no sta molâ, ten dûr (do not give up, hang in there); no sta disi nuia (do not say anything); bon, bon, no sta çapâtila (ok, ok, do not get angry). In the second-person plural, at Dograva, we have no stît a, used to address more than one person on a familiar level; the standard equivalent is rather no stait a. An example by Luchini: no stît a scoltâni (do not listen to us; standard: no stait a scoltânus). With regard to çapâtila seen above, this translates literally as to take it* unto yourself, second-person singular, the sense whereof is to become angry; its equivalent in the standard is cjapâte. (*Identified in Friulian by a feminine singular direct object.) The infinitive is çapâsila; standard: cjapâse. An example in the masculine, third-person singular (Dograva): al veva propit reson di çapâsila (he was entirely right to get angry).

2. Lassâ means to leave {alone}; at Dograva, the second-person singular imperative thereof is lassa. When mi is attached, the final a becomes i, so that leave me alone, second-person singular, is said lassimi. (In the standard, the second-person singular imperative is rather lasse, but the final e also becomes i when mi is attached, so that leave me alone, second-person singular, is also said lassimi in the standard.) Stuf means fed up, masculine singular. The feminine singular form is stufa (standard: stufe). Lassimi ch’i soi stufa: leave me alone because I'm fed up, said by a female in the Dograva variant; in the standard: lassimi che o soi stufe (but even in the standard, a contraction will occur when spoken aloud: lassimi ch’o soi stufe).

3. A si giava il gurmâl e lu buta par ciera: she takes her apron off (literally, she removes unto herself the apron) and throws it on the ground. In standard Friulian: si gjave il grumâl e lu bute par tiere. The inversion of the letters ur is not a typographical error: gurmâl (Dograva); grumâl (standard). Giavâsi means to remove from oneself, which is to say, to take off; standard: gjavâsi. Examples (Dograva): a si giava (she removes from herself); al si giava (he removes from himself); al si giava il çapiel e lu buta lontan (he takes off his hat and throws it far; standard: si gjave il cjapiel e lu bute lontan). At Dograva, the word for ground, earth is the feminine singular ciera, which is rather tiere in the standard. Another example (Dograva): taront come la ciera, taront come la luna, taront come un sercli (round like the earth, round like the moon, round like a circle).

*The name of this book means the worm (il vier) and the apple (e il milus). In the standard, worm is also vier, but apple is miluç. The tonic stress of milus/miluç is on the final syllable.

Dograva variant of Friulian 48

In the previous lesson, we encountered the Friulian word for apron as used at Dograva; this word is the masculine singular gurmâl. Let us now take a look at another example of use employing this noun: mê mari a si suiava li mans tal gurmâl (my mother was wiping her hands on her apron).

From this example, a number of grammatical points about the Friulian language can be gleaned:

1. The Friulian for my mother and my father is mê mari and gno pari; this is true not only of the Friulian spoken at Dograva, but also of the standard. The definite article is not included. For instance, whereas we say la mê man (my hand) and il gno gurmâl (my apron; standard: il gno grumâl), we must not include la and il when saying mê mari and gno pari. This is true of all nouns identifying family members in the singular: gno fradi (my brother); mê sôr (my sister; standard: mê sûr); sio barba (his/her uncle; standard: so barbe), but not of husband or wife: il gno om (my husband); la mê femina (my wife: standard: la mê femine). In the plural, the definite articles are included: i gnei fradis (my brothers; standard: i miei fradis); li mês sôrs (my sisters; standard: lis mês sûrs).

2. Suiâsi li mans (standard: suiâsi lis mans) means to wipe one's hands. Take note of how Friulian words this: literally, to wipe unto oneself the hands -- suiâ (to wipe) si (unto oneself) li mans (the hands). Consider the following for Dograva: a suia (she wipes); a suiava (she was wiping); a si suivava li mans (she was wiping unto herself the hands); consider now the same for the standard: e suie (she wipes); e suiave (she was wiping); si suiave lis mans (she was wiping unto herself the hands). In the standard, the atonic (unstressed) subject pronoun is e, feminine singular, which is omitted before si; in the Dograva variant, its equivalent is a, and it is retained in such a case.

3. Tal gurmâl, though translating literally as in the apron, should rather take the contextual translation of on her apron. Tal is the contraction of in + il; the Friulian preposition in, though most commonly meaning in, also often translates to English as at or on. Examples (Dograva): sentâsi ta la taula (to sit down at the table); poiâsi ta la machina (to lean on the car). For Dograva, the contractions of in with the definite articles are: tal, tai, ta la, ta li (masculine singular, masculine plural, feminine singular, feminine plural).

Dograva variant of Friulian 49

The verb disi is used at Dograva. It means to say, to tell. It is equivalent to dî, which is generally the form that you will encounter in materials using the standardised language.

In the writings of Alberto Luchini, who uses the Dograva variant of Friulian, we find the expression to tell the truth under two different forms; these are: a disi la veretât and a disi il vêr. This expression may be used by a speaker just before he states what the fact of a matter is, according to him.

Using these forms, we can write some examples of our own in the Dograva variant:

A disi il vêr, i soi stât un sinc ains in Fransa. To tell the truth, I was some five years in France.

A disi il vêr, la strada a era svuenta, e ença l’autobus al era svuent. To tell the truth, the street was empty, and the bus was empty too.

A disi il vêr, i vevi la pansa svuenta, alora i ài çatât un post dulà zî a mangiâ. To tell the truth, my belly was empty, so I found somewhere to go eat.

A nol era vignût nissun, ma a disi il vêr, i stevi mieit dibessôl. Nobody had come, but to tell the truth, I was better off on my own.

A nol è pi come prin. A disi la veretât, i pensi di zî via par sempri. Things are no longer like before. To tell the truth, I am thinking of leaving for good.

A disi la veretât, al à il çâf svuent. Nô i fadin fenta di no jodilu. To tell the truth, his head is empty. We pretend not to see him.

Al è zût via in Australia. A disi la veretât, nissun a lu à pi jodût. He left for Australia. To tell the truth, nobody has ever seen him again.

Ma a disi la veretât, a era sçampada di corsa a sierâsi in çamara. But to tell the truth, she had run off to shut herself in her room.

Dograva variant of Friulian 50

The Friulian man man means bit by bit, little by little, gradually, progressively. Not only is this usage found at Dograva, it is found in the standard language as well. Man man can be followed by che, which equates to English as, such as in bit by bit as..., little by little as..., and so on. With this usage, we can now create some examples in the Dograva variant of Friulian. In these examples, frequent use has been made of the verb tacâ, meaning to start, to begin.

Man man i vevi tacât a sveâmi sempri pi adora. Bit by bit, I had started to wake up earlier and earlier.

Man man al veva tacât a lei di bunora. Little by little, he had begun to read in the morning.

Man man al veva tacât a fâ il marangon. He had gradually started to work as a carpenter.

Man man la machina a veva tacât a sbandâ. Bit by bit, the car had begun to swerve.

Tant ch’i spetavi, i tacavi man man a pensâ a li rognis da la zornada. As I waited, I began little by little to think of the troubles of the day.

Man man ch’al lavorava, al veva tacât a netâ dut. Little by little as he worked, he had started to clean everything.

Man man ch’a mi çamina denant, la sô vôs a doventa rabiosa. Little by little as she walks in front of me, her voice becomes angry.

Man man ch’i tacavi a stufâmi, a mi vigneva la tentassion di zî via par sempri. Bit by bit as I got bored, I got the temptation to leave for good.

A similar usage is un pôc a la volta (bit by bit, little by little). For instance, we may say: gno pari al è doventât cussì un pôc a la volta (my father became that way bit by bit). The opposite of this is di colp (suddenly, all at once), as in: gno pari al è doventât cussì di colp (my father became that way all at once). Another related usage is dopo un pôc (after a while). Examples: dopo un pôc al si met a contâmi di come ch’al veva tacât a fâ il soldât (after a while he begins to tell me about how he had started to be a soldier); dopo un pôc al à tacât a fumâ un atri sigaret (after a while he started to smoke another cigarette); dopo un pôc i mi sintevi strac (I felt tired after a while).

Dograva variant of Friulian 51

In the Friulian of Dograva, a mi è zuda ben means it went well for me. As we have seen in earlier lessons, zuda is the feminine singular past participle of zî, meaning to go. The initial z of this verb sounds like the z of English: when this sound occurs at the beginning of a word, as it does here, some writers choose to represent it as ’s, with the apostrophe. Whether zî or ’sî, we are dealing with the same verb.

In this expression, a feminine subject is used: a (it) mi (unto me) è zuda (went, has gone) ben (well). The a in this expression is not to be mistaken for the preposition a meaning unto; it is rather the feminine singular, atonic (unstressed) subject pronoun meaning she (or in this expression, it); its standard equivalent is e.

More examples in the variant of Dograva: a ti è zuda ben (it went well for you; second-person singular); a j è zuda ben (it went well for him/her/them); a ni è zuda ben (it went well for us); a vi è zuda ben (it well well for you; second-person plural). These can be preceded as follows for emphasis or clarity: a me a mi è zuda ben (for me it went well); a te a ti è zuda ben (for you it went well; second-person singular); a lui a j è zuda ben (for him it went well); a jê a j è zuda ben (for her it went well); a lôr a j è zuda ben (for them it went well); a nô a ni è zuda ben (for us it went well); a vuatris a vi è zuda ben (for you it went well; second-person plural). To pronounce a j è, say it as though it were spelt aje.

The equivalent expression in standard Friulian is lâ ben; therefore, we have: mi è lade ben (it went well for me); ti è lade ben (it went well for you; second-person singular), i è lade ben (it went well for him/her); nus è lade ben (it went well for us); us è lade ben (it went well for you; second-person plural); ur è lade ben (it went well for them). For emphasis, these may be preceded by: a mi, a ti, a lui, a jê, a nô, a voaltris, a lôr. Note that the standard must use the special dative forms a mi and a ti, and not a me and a te as at Dograva.

Good related usages to learn are the ones such as the following, in the Dograva variant: a me a no mi zeva di zî a balâ (I did not feel like going to dance); a te a no ti zeva di zî a vora (you did not feel like going to work; second-person singular); a lui a no j zeva di zî a zuiâ di balon (he did not feel like going to play football); a jê a no j zeva di sierâsi in çasa a spetâ chei atris (she did not want to shut herself up at home waiting for the others); a nô a no ni zeva di netâ il garâs, propit par nuia (we did not want to clean the garage, not at all). A zeva (she/it was going) is the imperfect indicative of zî, feminine third-person singular. To pronounce no j, say it as though it were spelt as one word.

Final remark: The opposite of ben (well) is mâl (badly); for instance, we may say: a no mi è zuda ben (it did not go well for me) or a mi è zuda mâl (it went badly for me).

Dograva variant of Friulian 52

At Dograva, the verb zî means to go. The initial z of this verb sounds like the z of English: when this sound occurs at the beginning of a word, as it does here, some writers choose to represent it as ’s, with the apostrophe. Whether zî or ’sî, we are dealing with the same verb. At Dograva, in the second-person singular of the present indicative, the verb form is vas; but in the second-person singular of the present subjunctive, it is rather zedis. An example of a usage requiring the use of the subjunctive is al è mieit che (it is better that). Let us now look at some examples.

Examples of the second-person singular of the present indicative, in the Dograva variant: tal post dulà ch’i ti vas a fâti un panin (at the place where you go to get a sandwich); cuant ch’i ti vas ator pal mont (when you go abroad); cuant ch’i ti vas ta un paîs ch’i no ti cognòs (when you go into a village that you do not know); cuant ch’i ti vas ta un post ch’i ti jôts pa la prima volta (when you go somewhere that you are seeing for the first time); pena ch’i ti vas lì di Berto (so soon as you go to Berto's place); in miès dai çamps i ti si cuietis e ti pensis di zî via dal paîs par sempri e alora i ti vas ator a çatâ un post dulà passâ la not (you calm down in the middle of the fields and think of leaving the village for good and so you go about looking for somewhere to spend the night).

Examples of the second-person singular of the present subjunctive, in the Dograva variant: al è mieit ch’i ti zedis a vora (it is better that you go to work); al è mieit ch’i ti zedis ator pal mont (it is better that you go abroad); al è mieit ch’i ti zedis in Fransa (it is better that you go to France); al è mieit ch’i ti zedis a studiâ (it is better that you go study); al è mieit ch’i ti zedis a partâ il lat (it is better that you go bring the milk); al è mieit ch’i ti zedis a scuela a Udin (it is better that you go to school in Udin); i speti ch’i ti zedis a çasa (I am waiting for you to go home); a varessin di brincâti prin ch’i ti zedis ator a fâ disastros (they should catch you before you go about creating disasters).

Vocabulary notes: The masculine noun post means place; it can be used to render the English somewhere. For instance, çatâ un post means to find a place, but also to find somewhere; zî ta un post means to go to a place, but also to go somewhere. Ator pal mont translates literally as about the world; it is used in the sense of abroad, away.

Dograva variant of Friulian 53

In the variant of Friulian spoken at Dograva, al diseva di essi strac means he said that he was tired. Al diseva (he was saying) is the imperfect indicative of disi (to say), third-person singular of the masculine. Its feminine equivalent is a diseva (she was saying). Essi strac means to be tired, masculine singular; its feminine equivalent is essi straca. As such, the feminine equivalent to our sentence from above is: a diseva di essi straca (she said that she was tired).

With this usage, whatever it was that was said refers back to the main subject of the sentence, and not to some other person. For instance, al diseva di essi strac means he said that he {himself} was tired; the second he does not identify a different person.

From these basic sentences, we can form some new things to say according to the Dograva variant of Friulian:

Al diseva di essi da la mê banda. He said that he {himself} was on my side.

Al diseva di essi un forest. He said that he {himself} was a foreigner.

Al diseva di essi bon di nuia. He said that he {himself} was good for nothing.

A diseva di essi una femina di sincuanta ains. She said that she {herself} was a woman of fifty years of age.

A diseva di essi la prima. She said that she {herself} was the first.

Al dîs di essi sio pari. He says that he {himself} is his/her father.

A dîs di essi contenta di judâla. She says that she {herself} is happy to help her.

A disin di essi sempri i prins a rivâ. They say that they {themselves} are always the first to arrive.

A disevin di essi massa granç par vê pôra dal scûr. They said that they {themselves} were too big to be afraid of the dark.

Remark: The adjective grant means big, and its antonym pissul means little. These can be used when speaking of youths to describe them as old or young; for instance, al è massa pissul (he is too little, which is to say, he is too young). The four forms of these two adjectives are: grant, granç, granda, grandis and pissul, pissui, pissula, pissulis, in the order of masculine singular, masculine plural, feminine singular, feminine plural.

Dograva variant of Friulian 54

The Friulian fâ par can be used to express that which one makes as if to do, often in futile attempt. Take the following for an example, said by a woman: il veçu al à fat par çacarâ cun me, ma jo i soi sçampada (the old man made as if to talk to me, but I took off). In the remainder of this lesson, we look at more examples of this usage according to the variant of Friulian spoken at Dograva (in standard Friulian: Dograve; in Italian: Aurava). At the end of this lesson, you will find a number of language notes related to the Friulian language.

I fai par jevâmi sù da la çadrea e zî fôr, ma a ven dentri una femina vistida di neri. I make as if to get up from the chair and go out, but a woman dressed in black comes in.

Lui al fa par bussâla di sçampon, ma jê a lu para via. He makes as if to give her a fleeting kiss, but she pushes him away.

I ài fat par disi alc, ma jodint ch’a vevin alc di platâ, no ài dita nuia. I made as if to say something, but seeing that they had something to hide, I did not say anything.

A veva fat par butâsi tal jet, ma di colp a veva sintût ch’a la clamavin. She had made as if to go off to bed, but suddenly she had heard that she was being called.

Ogni volta ch’i fadevi par vierzi boça, a si jevava sù da la çadrea. Every time I made as if to open my mouth {to speak}, she would get up from her chair.

Ogni volta ch’al fadeva par sçampâ via, sio pari a lu brincava pal bras. Whenever he made as if to take off, his father would catch him by the arm.

Remarks: (i) sçampâ {via} means to flee, to take off; a female says i soi sçampada (I took off), but a male says i soi sçampât. If di corsa is added, the sense of to run off, to make a run for it is conveyed: i soi sçampât di corsa (I ran off; I made a run for it); (ii) bussâ means to kiss and di sçampon means fleetingly, briefly; another example of the latter: i lu vevi jodût di sçampon ta la stassion (I had seen him fleetingly in the station); (iii) a clamavin is the imperfect indicative of the third-person plural, meaning they were calling; the third-person plural is often used in Friulian where the passive voice may be preferred in English: a la clamavin, literally, they were calling her; in the English passive voice: she was being called; (iv) fâ (to do, to make) in the imperfect indicative takes the following forms: i fadevi, i ti fadevis, al fadeva, a fadeva, i fadevin, i fadevis, a fadevin. A final example: pi ch’i fadevi par tegni i voi vierts e pi la çamara a tacava a zirâmi ator ator (the more I tried to keep my eyes open, the more the room started to spin all about me).

Dograva variant of Friulian 55

At Dograva, your boyfriend is said so in Friulian: il ço murôs; as for your girlfriend, it is la tô murosa. Both forms are second-person singular, which is to say that they are used when addressing a singular person on a familar level. Murôs is a male, whereas murosa is a female; therefore, we use il ço with murôs, and la tô with murosa. Take now the Friulian for friend, which is amigo (male) or amiga (female): in the plural (your friends), we have i ciei amigos and li tôs amighis; the former are male friends (or males and females collectively), whereas the latter are exclusively female.

As for immediate family members, we have the following at Dograva: ço pari (your father), ço fradi (your brother), tô mari (your mother), tô sôr (your sister). Again, we have ço with the masculine singular nouns and tô with the feminine singular ones, but the definite articles are this time absent: this is because the definite articles are not used with the possessive adjectives before the names of family members in the singular; however, they reappear in the plural.

First-person singular (English, my): il gno murôs, i gnei amigos, la mê murosa, li mês amighis, gno pari, gno fradi, mê mari, mê sôr.

Second-person singular (English, your): il ço murôs, i ciei amigos, la tô murosa, li tôs amighis, ço pari, ço fradi, tô mari, tô sôr.

Third-person singular (English his/her/its): il sio murôs, i siei amigos, la sô murosa, li sôs amighis, sio pari, sio fradi, sô mari, sô sôr.

First-person plural (English, our): il nestri amigo, i nestris amigos, la nestra amiga, li nestris amighis, nestri pari, nestri fradi, nestra mari, nestra sôr.

Second-person plural (English, your): il vuestri amigo, i vuestris amigos, la vuestra amiga, li vuestris amighis, vuestri pari, vuestri fradi, vuestra mari, vuestra sôr.

Third-person plural (English, their): il lôr amigo, i lôr amigos, la lôr amiga, li lôr amighis, lôr pari, lôr fradi, lôr mari, lôr sôr.

Know moreover the following: gno barba (my uncle), mê agna (my aunt); the nouns barba and agna follow the rule given above about the omission of the definite article before the possessive adjective when the noun is in the singular. Also following this rule are: nonu (grandfather), nona (grandmother), fi (son), fia (daughter), cusin (male cousin), cusina (female cousin). However, in the case of the Friulian for husband and wife, note that the definite article is included before the possessive adjective when the noun is in the singular: il sio om (her husband), la sô femina (his wife).

Read the following sentence composed in the Dograva variant of Friulian, written by Alberto Luchini: E a colp ti si sints pierdût, bandonât, come ch’a fossin duçus muarts, ço pari, tô mari, ço fradi, i ciei amigos. In English: E a colp (and all of a sudden) ti si sints pierdût (you feel lost), bandonât (forsaken), come ch’a fossin duçus muarts (as though everyone were dead), ço pari, tô mari, ço fradi, i ciei amigos (your father, your mother, your brother, your friends).

Final remark: The Friulian for one of my friends is un gno amigo or una mê amiga; the Friulian for one of your friends is un ço amigo or una tô amiga, and so on. Example: un sio amigo mecanic (one of his {car-}mechanic friends).

Dograva variant of Friulian 56

Cualchidun is the Friulian for someone, somebody, not only in the standard language, but also in that of Dograva. With this word, we can create some good examples of Friulian as it is spoken at Dograva.

Tal taulin vissin al è sentât cualchidun. Al si jeva, al fa il ziro dal taulin e al mi vuarda a lunc. I sbassi il çâf, ch’i no ài voia di çacarâ. Lui al dà una riduda e al mi va davôr. Someone is sat at the table nearby. He gets up, goes round the table and stares at me. I lower my head because I don’t feel like talking. He chuckles and goes behind me. -- Remark: The masculine noun ziro means tour, rotation, lap, loop, circuit, and such like; it can be used to talk about going round a thing: fâ il ziro dal taulin (to go round the table). When followed by par, it takes on the sense of out and about: in ziro pai çamps (out and about in the fields). The feminine noun taula is the Friulian for table; the masculine taulin is a diminutive indicating a small table, such as one may find in a café, bar, and so on.

I savevi che cualchidun al era vignût dentri in çasa, parsé ch’i ài sintût che alc al si era movèt tal tinel. No volevi fâj mâl, lu zuri. I vevi tal çâf dome chê di zî a jodi cui ch’al era vignût dentri. I knew someone had come into the house because I heard that something had moved in the living room. I didn’t want to hurt him, I swear. I had in mind only that of going to see who had come in. -- Remark: The masculine noun çâf means head, but it also takes on the sense of mind; i vevi tal çâf dome chê di is to be understood as I had in mind only that {intention} of.

Par rivâ in sitât i ài di çapâ l’autobus. Una dì a erin li undis. Sul autobus, ch’al era scuasin svuent, cualchidun al mi steva denant, in peis, vuardantmi dret tai voi. Vuardantlu di vissin, i ài jodût che un dint a lu veva cuiert di oru. To get into the city, I have to take the bus. One day it was eleven o’clock. On the bus, which was almost empty, someone was standing in front of me, looking me straight in the eyes. Looking at him up close, I saw that one of his teeth was covered in gold. -- Remark: The masculine noun dint means tooth; in the plural, it takes the form dinç at Dograva. Examples: i dinç denant (the front teeth); al veva i dinç zai (he had yellow teeth); al à i dinç sporcs (he has dirty teeth); a mi colin i dinç (my teeth are falling out). As for in peis, this means on {one's} feet, which is to say, standing. At Dograva, the word for foot is the masculine peit; in the plural, it takes the form peis (or peits, if you will, but the t is not pronounced before the s of the plural).

Denant dal porton, tant ch’i supavi l’ultin tiro dal sigaret, i mi soi necuart che cualchidun al mi steva vuardant. Al è vignût indenant e, scuasin sot vôs, al à tacât a domandâmi dal paîs. In front of the gate, as I was taking my last puff of the cigarette, I noticed that someone was looking at me. He came forwards and, almost under his breath, started asking me about the village. -- Remark: Sot vôs translates literally as under {one's} voice. As for supâ, this is the Friulian for to suck; with the expression supâ un tiro dal sigaret (literally, to suck a pull/draw of the cigarette), one identifies the act of drawing smoke out of a cigarette and inhaling it. Supâ can also take on the sense of to sip, as in supâ una bira (to sip a beer).

Dograva variant of Friulian 57

At Dograva, i jôt (I see) is the first-person singular of the present indicative of the verb jodi, meaning to see (standard Friulian equivalents: viodi [to see], o viôt [I see]). In this lesson, you will read examples of i jôtin sentences composed according to the Dograva variant of Friulian. Each example is supplemented with language notes and related examples of use. Examination of jodi in other persons and tenses will be left for future lessons.

I jôt che la fantata a si senta ta una çadrea pena fôr da la çasa. I see that the girl sits down on a chair just outside the house. -- Remark: Pena fôr means just outside. More examples of use: al spetava pena fôr da la puarta (he was waiting just outside the door); çatâsi pena fôr dal paîs (to be found just outside the village); i soi zût pena fôr da la sitât (I went just outside the city); al è muart pena fôr dal ospedâl (he died just outside the hospital).

I jôt che una sô amiga a à tanta passiensa. I see that one of her friends has a lot of patience. -- Remark: To express in Friulian one of his/her ...s, the formulation un sio or una sô is used, with the equivalent formations in other persons existing alongside: un gno amigo (one of my friends); una mê sôr (one of my sisters); un ço barba (one of your uncles); una tô agna (one of your aunts); un sio fradi (one of his/her brothers); una sô fia (one of his/her daughters); un lôr fi (one of their sons).

I jôt ch’a si çatin ogni dopomisdì. I see that they meet up every afternoon. -- Remark: The Friulian for afternoon is not only dopomisdì, as it is in this example, but also dopodimisdì; for instance: a si çatin il martars dopodimisdì (they meet up Tuesday afternoons). As for çatâsi, not only does it mean to be found, to be located (la çasa a si çata pena fôr dal paîs: the house is found just outside the village), it can also take on the sense of to meet up (a si çatin ognì dì, ença di sabida: they meet up every day, even Saturdays).

I lu jôt ch’al ven dentri cuntuna femina. I see him coming in with a woman. -- Remark: If i jôt means I see, then i lu jôt means I see him; related to this: i la jôt (I see her); i li jôt (I see them [feminine plural]); i ju jôt (I see them [masculine plural]). As it is used in this sentence, che takes on the sense of as. Vignî dentri means to come in; its antonym is zî fôr, meaning to go out. Example: i la jôt ch’a va fôr pa la puarta (I see her going out the door); i ju jôt ch’a çapin sù par zî fôr (I see them getting up to go out).

A finìs ch’i mi çati cussì mâl ch’i no jôt l’ora di zî via par sempri. I end up in such a bad way that I cannot wait to leave for good. -- Remark: Taken literally, a finìs ch’i mi çati cussì mâl che translates along the lines of it ends up that I am found so bad off that. We have an instance here of where jodi is used as part of a Friulian idiomatic expression: no jodi l’ora di means cannot wait to; it indicates eagerness that a certain thing should occur. Whereas zî fôr means to go out, zî via means to leave, to go away. Example: al è zût via strissinant i peis (he left dragging his feet).

Dograva variant of Friulian 58

Let us now take a passage from Alberto Luchini's book Uchì. Luchini is a native of Dograva, who writes in his local variant of Friulian. We read: Un meis dopo, tal çalt di una cuierta e tal morbit dal sofà, i no pos no domandâj di sposâmi. A sta sito un biel pôc e dopo a mi dîs di sì. In English: A month later, in the warmth of a blanket and in the softness of the sofa, I cannot help but ask her to marry me. She keeps quiet a good while and then she tells me yes.

1. Un meis dopo: a month later, one month later. At Dograva, the word for month is the masculine noun meis. In the standard, this is written mês, but because of a process known as diphthongisation, meis does not take quite the same pronunciation as mês. Whereas standard mês contains a monophthong (one vowel sound) pronounced with the single long Friulian e, the Dograva form meis is pronounced with a diphthong (two vowel sounds in one) that begins as e and glides into that of i.

2. Tal çalt di una cuierta: in the warmth of a blanket. At Dograva, the masculine noun çalt means warmth, heat; this is rather cjalt in the standard. It is important to know that standard cj and gj are entirely absent in the Friulian of Dograva, replaced as they are by what sounds like English ch and English j, respectively. For instance, standard cjan (meaning dog) is pronounced çan at Dograva (sounds like English ‘chan’), and standard gjat (meaning cat) is pronounced giat (sounds like English ‘jat’). The feminine cuierta means blanket; in the standard, this is rather cuvierte. Example (Dograva): una cuierta di lana (a woollen blanket; in standard Friulian: une cuvierte di lane).

3. Tal morbit dal sofà: in the softness of the sofa. As a masculine noun, morbit means softness; as an adjective, it means soft. Another adjective meaning soft is fof. For instance, a very soft blanket may be described as una cuierta morbida e fofa.

4. I no pos no domandâj di sposâmi: I cannot help but ask her to marry me; literally, I cannot not ask her to marry me. Of podê (to be able), the first-person singular of the present indicative at Dograva is i pos (I can). In our passage of text, we have rather the negated form i no pos (I cannot). Whereas domandâ means to ask, domandâj means to ask him/her/it; in the context of this passage, it means to ask her. Consider: i no pos (I cannot) no domandâj (not ask her) di sposâmi (to marry me), which is to say, I cannot help but ask her to marry me, I cannot avoid asking her to marry me, and so on.

5. A sta sito un biel pôc: she keeps quiet a good while. At Dograva, sito means quiet. We see from Luchini's writing that he uses the form sito even in the feminine singular, for a sta sito means she keeps quiet; the masculine equivalent is al sta sito. In the plural, this adjective takes the form sitos. Luchini provides some very good examples: al mangia stint sito (he eats in silence; literally, he eats being quiet); al mi steva vuardant stint sito (he was looking at me in silence; literally, he was looking at me being quiet); l’aria fresça a ni lassin sitos par un biel toc (the fresh air leaves us quiet for a good while); i restan sitos a lunc (we remain quiet for a long time); duçus a stan sitos (everyone keeps quiet); sitos e serius come a un funeral (quiet and serious as though at a funeral). We see from one of the examples above that another way to say un biel pôc (a good while) is by using un biel toc. The masculine noun toc means bit, piece.

6. Dopo a mi dîs di sì: then she tells me yes. At Dograva, disi di sì means to say yes, and disi di no means to say no. Examples: a dîs di sì (she says yes); a mi dîs di no (she tells me no); jo no j varès dita di sì (I would not have told her yes); a veva dita di no (she had said no); al mi dîs di no (he tells me no); al dîs di no cul çâf (he says no with his head, which is to say, he shakes his head no). Disi (to say, to tell) is equivalent to standard dî.

Dograva variant of Friulian 59

In the third-person singular of the present indicative of fâ (to do, to make), the verb form in the Friulian of Dograva is fa. For instance, al fa means he does, he makes, and a fa means she does, she makes. An example of an expression using this verb is fâ fenta di, meaning to pretend to; it translates literally as ‘to make feint of’. Let us take a few simple examples: al fa fenta di lei (he pretends to read); al fa fenta di disi dut par schers (he pretends to say everything as a joke); a fa fenta di no vêmi jodût (she pretends not to have seen me); a fa fenta di essi indurmidida (she pretends to be asleep).

In the present subjunctive, the third-person singular fa becomes fedi. An example of a construction requiring the use of the subjunctive is a somea che, meaning it seems that, it appears that. We can use the same examples from above to create sentences in the subjunctive: a somea ch’al fedi fenta di lei (it seems that he pretends to read); a somea ch’al fedi fenta di disi dut par schers (it seems that he pretends to say everything as a joke); a somea ch’a fedi fenta di no vêmi jodût (it seems that she pretends not to have seen me); a somea ch’a fedi fenta di essi indurmidida (it seems that she pretends to be asleep).

We can also use a mi somea che, meaning it seems to me that, for instance: a mi somea ch’a fedi fenta di no vêmi jodût (it seems to me that she pretends not to have seen me). Also possible is a mi pâr che, for instance: a mi pâr ch’al fedi fenta di disi dut par schers (it seems to me that he pretends to say everything as a joke), and so on.

If we have fa and fedi in the third-person singular, then we have fan and fedin in the third person plural. Examples: a fan fenta di disi dut par schers (they pretend to say everything as a joke); a somea ch’a fedin fenta di disi dut par schers (it seems that they pretend to say everything as a joke); a fan fenta di essi indurmidîts (they pretend to be asleep); a mi somea ch’a fedin fenta di essi indurmidîts (it seems to me that they pretend to be asleep); a mi pâr ch’a fedin fenta di no vêni jodûts (it seems to me that they pretend not to have seen us).

So much for present time; what now of past time? In the third-person singular, we have fadeva in the imperfect indicative, and fadès in the imperfect subjunctive. In the third-person plural, we have fadevin in the imperfect indicative, and fadessin in the imperfect subjunctive. Let us look now at some examples, this time using a new expression: fâ a puesta a (to act on purpose to). Examples in the imperfect indicative: al fadeva a puesta a ufindimi (he was acting on purpose to offend me); a fadevin a puesta a ufindimi (they were acting on purpose to offend me). Examples in the imperfect subjunctive: a someava ch’al fadès a puesta a ufindimi (it seemed that he was acting on purpose to offend me); a someava ch’a fadessin a puesta a ufindimi (it seemed that they were acting on purpose to offend me); a mi pareva ch’a fadessin a puesta a no judâni (it seemed to me that they were acting on purpose not to help us).

Dograva variant of Friulian 60

In Alberto Luchini's book Uchì, the narrator describes a situation wherein a drunken man (un çoc) has been discovered alongside a road. In the Dograva variant of Friulian, he narrates thus:

I stin, di sempri, ta una di chês çasis di una volta in miès dai çamps, che par rivâ tal asfalt a ni toça fâ un chilometro di strada blança.

I tiri via schivant li busis, che il temporâl di jêr sera al à implenât di aga. La cognòs tan ben, la strada, ch’a no ’cor ch’i la vuardi par no çapâ nença una possa.

I soi scuasin rivada insomp, ch’i jôt, su d’inprin, una roda di muturin tal miès da la strada e, subit dopo, tal rivâl in banda, i lampi il cuarp distirât di om, ch’al somea muart.

[...] Il pari nol à chê di pierdi la bunora, a j va dongia, a lu çapa pai bras e lu tira sù. Chel atri al sofleta come un çaval strac e al tira un rut potent, ch’al sa di alcul e di formai veçu.

Gno pari a lu mola di colp e al si tira indavôr. Ta l’erba dal rivâl, il forest al si comeda cun calma, serçant la possision mieit par continuâ a durmî.

In English, with language notes:

I stin, di sempri, ta una di chês çasis (we have always lived in one of those houses) di una volta (of a time past; of yesteryear) in miès dai çamps (in the middle of the fields), che par rivâ tal asfalt (where to get to the paved road) a ni toça fâ un chilometro di strada blança (we have to go one kilometre on a gravel road). -- Remarks: A paved road is identified by the masculine noun asfalt, whereas a gravel road is identified by the feminine strada blança (literally, ‘white road’) because of the dust stirred up by the gravel. The verb toçâ is to be understood here as meaning to fall upon/unto, so that a ni toça fâ means it falls upon us to do or it falls unto us to do, which is a Friulian manner of expressing we must do, we have to do. Ni is first-person plural, meaning unto us.

I tiri via schivant li busis (I drive off avoiding the potholes), che il temporâl di jêr sera (which yesterday evening's storm) al à implenât di aga (has filled with water). La cognòs tan ben, la strada (I know the road so well), ch’a no ’cor ch’i la vuardi (that I do not need to look at it) par no çapâ nença una possa (in order not to hit even one puddle). -- Remarks: A contracted form of the verb ocori is used here, meaning to be required, to be needed; following che, the subjunctive is required in conjunction with this verb. Another example: a no ’cor ch’al fedi fenta di no jodimi (he does not have to pretend not to see me). Çapâ literally means to take, to catch; the sense of it here, in the context of potholes and puddles, is to hit, to drive into. Whereas ença means even, nença means not even. The feminine noun busa means hole; in the context of a hole in the road, it refers to a pothole.

I soi scuasin rivada insomp (I have almost reached the end), ch’i jôt, su d’inprin (when at first I see), una roda di muturin (a moped wheel) tal miès da la strada e (in the middle of the road and), subit dopo (right after that), tal rivâl in banda (on the roadside), i lampi il cuarp distirât di om (I catch sight of a stretched-out body of a man), ch’al somea muart (who seems dead). -- Remarks: Lampâ: to catch sight of, to catch a glimpse of. When using su d’inprin, meaning at first, one may follow up with expressions such as ma dopo (but then), ma subit dopo (but right after that), ma cul timp (but with time), and so on. Scuasin means almost; for instance: al veva scuasin cuaranta ains (he was almost forty years old); a son scuasin li sinc (it is almost five o’clock).

[...] Il pari nol à chê di pierdi la bunora (my father has no intention of wasting the morning), a j va dongia (he goes up to him), a lu çapa pai bras (takes him by the arms) e lu tira sù (and pulls him up). Chel atri al sofleta come un çaval strac (the other fellow huffs like a tired horse) e al tira un rut potent (and lets out a powerful belch), ch’al sa di alcul e di formai veçu (that smells of alcohol and old cheese). -- Remarks: In both vê chê di (to intend to) or no vê chê di (not to intend to), understood by chê di is that {intention} of; for instance: i ài chê di zî via (I intend to leave; literally, I have that {intention} of leaving). Pierdi la bunora: literally, to lose the morning, which is to say, to waste the morning. Tirâ un rut: literally, to pull a belch, to draw a burp, which is to say, to let out a belch/burp. Savê di: to smell of.

Gno pari a lu mola di colp (my father lets go of him at once) e al si tira indavôr (and steps back). Ta l’erba dal rivâl (in the roadside grass), il forest al si comeda (the stranger gets comfortable) cun calma (unperturbed), serçant la possision mieit (looking for the best position) par continuâ a durmî (to continue sleeping). -- Remarks: Tirâsi indavôr: literally, to pull/draw oneself back, which is to say, to move back, to step back. The masculine noun forest (stranger, outsider, foreigner) identifies a man from away, even if just from some other village. Cun calma: literally, with calm, which is to say, calmly, unconcernedly, unperturbed.

Final remark: At Dograva, çoc means drunk as an adjective and drunkard as a noun: çoc (masculine singular), çocs (masculine plural), çoca (feminine singular), çochis (feminine plural).

Dograva variant of Friulian 61

Just as standard une place (a town square) becomes una plassa at Dograva, so does standard une puce (a stink, a stench, a bad smell) become una pussa. The Friulian for a stink of sweat at Dograva is una pussa di sudôr. Author Alberto Luchini, native of Dograva, employs this usage in his book Uchì, where the narrator says the following of a bus:

{L’autobus} al è scuasin svuent. Al si implenarà da li bandis dal domo. Ma si sint belzà pussa di sudôr misclissada al tanfo dal tubo di scaric, ch’a pâr, che par no sporçâ la sitât, al buti dut il fun dentri ta l’autobus.

The bus is almost empty. It will fill up by the cathedral. But you can already smell a stink of sweat mixed in with the stench from the exhaust tube which, it seems, in order not to pollute the city, pumps all the smoke into the bus.

Friulian vocabulary, according to the Dograva variant:

un autobus, bus; ■ scuasin, almost; ■ svuent, empty; ■ implenâ, to fill; ■ implenarâsi, to get filled; ■ da li bandis di, out by, in the vicinity of; ■ un domo, cathedral; ■ sintî, to smell, to perceive; ■ belzà, already; ■ una pussa, stink, stench, bad smell; ■ il sudôr, sweat; ■ misclissâ, to mix; ■ misclissât, mixed; ■ un tanfo, stink, stench, bad smell; ■ un tubo di scaric, exhaust tube; ■ parê, to seem; ■ a pâr che, it seems that; ■ sporçâ, to dirty, to pollute; ■ una sitât, city; ■ butâ, to throw, to cast; ■ dut il fun, all the smoke; ■ dentri ta l’autobus, in{to} the bus.

Friulian language notes, according to the Dograva variant:

1. Si sint belzà pussa di sudôr: one already smells a stink of sweat; in the passive voice, a stink of sweat is already smelt. Formulations of the sort can also equate to impersonal you of English: you can already smell a stink of sweat.

2. Following a pâr che (it seems that), the subjunctive is employed: al bute -- a pâr ch’al buti (present subjunctive). Related: a pareva che (it seemed that); example: al butava -- a pareva ch’al butàs (imperfect subjunctive).

Dograva variant of Friulian 62

The Friulian fin means till, until. In this lesson, we look at some good examples of how this can be used in the conversational Friulian of Dograva, with supplementary language notes.

1. I ài durmît fin tars. I slept until late. -- Remarks: Durmî is the Friulian for to sleep; its past participle is durmît, so that, for instance, i ài durmît means I have slept {I slept}; al varà durmît means he will have slept; a vevin durmît means they had slept, and so on. Tars is the Friulian for late at Dograva; for instance: durmî fin tars (to sleep till late); rivâ tars (to arrive late); i soi rivât tars (I arrived late); sveâsi tars (to wake up late); al si è sveât tars (he woke up late). If preceded by pi (more), it takes on the sense of later, as in: cuatri oris pi tars (four hours later); mieit rivâ adès che pi tars (better to arrive now than later). To refer to the late hours of the morning or afternoon, sul tars can be used: al torna sempri di sabida dopomisdì, sul tars (he always comes back Saturday afternoon, on the later side).

2. I soi content di podê stâ a durmî almancul fin a li deis. I am happy to be able to sleep in till at least ten. -- Remarks: Stâ a durmî, to sleep in; podê stâ a durmî, to be able to sleep in. Fin a li seis, fin a li siet, fi a li vot: until six, until seven, until eight, and so on; the preposition a may be omitted: fin li vot (until eight). Of almancul (at least), a few more examples: almancul una volta a la setemana (at least once a week); almancul trenta di lôr (at least thirty people); almancul i lu vevi jodût prin ch’al partìs pa l’Africa (at least I had seen him before he left for Africa). One to twelve: un, doi, trê, cuatri, sinc, seis, siet, vot, nouf, deis, undis, dodis; when speaking of the time, the feminine forms una and dôs must be used for one o'clock and two o'clock. Examples: da li cuatri fin a li vot (from four o'clock to eight o'clock); di bunora fin a li undis (from morning till eleven o'clock); a erin scuasin li dôs (it was almost two o'clock).

3. Duçus a son restâts di bunora fin ta sera. Everyone stayed from morning until the evening. -- Remarks: The masculine plural duçus means everyone, everybody; review the four forms of dut (all, whole), as used at Dograva: dut (masculine singular); duçus (masculine plural); duta (feminine singular); dutis (feminine plural). Examples: dut il paîs (the whole village); dut il dì (the whole day); duçus i bês (all the money); duta la domenia (the whole Sunday); duta la setemana (the whole week); duta la not (the whole night); dutis lis oris dal dì (all the hours of the day); dutis a disin di no (everyone [females] says no). Of fin tal (= fin + in + il) and fin ta (= fin + in + la), a few more examples: al restava fin tal lunìs (he used to stay until Monday); a resta sempri fin ta la domenia (she always stays until Sunday); zî jù fin tal Tiliment par fâ il bagno (to go {all the way} down into the Tiliment to bathe).

Dograva variant of Friulian 63

The Friulian a lunc means at length. This usage is not particular to the variant of Friulian spoken at Dograva; however, the examples below employing this usage have been written according to the Dograva variant.

Let us first create some examples using vuardâ, meaning to look. Vuardâ a lunc, literally, to look at length, can be taken as meaning to stare. For instance, a mi àn vuardât a lunc means they looked at me at length {they stared at me}. More examples: al sta a vuardâmi a lunc (he stands looking at me at length {he stands staring at me}); i la vuardi a lunc (I look at her at length {I stare at her}); a la vuarda a lunc (he/she looks at her at length {he/she stares at her}). Note that he looks is al vuarda, and she looks is a vuarda; but when the direct objects lu, la, ju or li are present, the atonic (unstressed) masculine al loses its l to become a, so that a la vuarda can only be translated correctly in context, for it can mean either he looks at her or she looks at her (or indeed even it looks at her or it looks at it).

Tasi a lunc means to keep/remain quiet at length. In addition to at length, the Friulian a lunc may also be rendered for a long time. Examples: al tâs a lunc (he keeps quiet for a long time); a vevin tasût a lunc (they had kept quiet for a long time); i tasìn a lunc (we remain quiet for a long time). Given that tasi means to keep/remain quiet, we can also employ in the Friulian of Dograva restâ sito, following the English manner. Example: i restan sitos a lunc (we remain quiet for a long time) is equivalent to i tasìn a lunc seen just above. In past time, we can express these two examples so: i vin tasût a lunc / i sin restâts sitos a lunc (we remained quiet for a long time).

Other ways of expressing a lunc in English are for a long while, for a good while. Moreover, there is no limit to what verbs a lunc may be paired with: vuardâsi a lunc (to stare at each other); bussâsi a lunc (to kiss each other for a long time); çacarâsi a lunc (to talk each other up for a long while); zuiâ a lunc (to play for a good while), and so on. Another example: i eri dibessôl e mi vevi mitût a çaminâ a lunc, cul çâf svuent di pensêrs (I was alone and had started to walk at length, without a thought in mind). Taken word for word, cul çâf svuent di pensêrs means with the head empty of thoughts; in Friulian, in the matter of body parts, the definite article will often be seen to have the force of a possessive adjective, so that, in the context of this sentence, cul çâf (with the head) ought to be taken as with my head.

Dograva variant of Friulian 64

Read the following passage, written in the Dograva variant of Friulian. In this passage, the narrator describes a man three months into retirement; with nothing much to do, the man does odd jobs round the house and goes to the library to borrow books: Al era zût a San Zors in biblioteca a fâsi imprestâ cualchi libri. Al veva tacât a lei di bunora, pena jevât, e al molava scuasin a misdì. Al tornava a tacâ a li dôs, subit dopo il telegiornâl, e al finiva ch’al era scûr. Al veva sielt libris da la seconda guera. Biei, ben scrits, ma dopo una setemana a lu vevin stufât. (Alberto Luchini, Uchì)

In English: Al era zût (he had gone) a San Zors in biblioteca (to the library at San Zors) a fâsi imprestâ cualchi libri (to borrow a few books). Al veva tacât a lei (he had started to read) di bunora (in the morning), pena jevât (right after getting up), e al molava (and would stop) scuasin a misdì (almost at noon). Al tornava a tacâ (he would start again) a li dôs (at two o’clock), subit dopo il telegiornâl (right after the television news), e al finiva (and would finish) ch’al era scûr (when it was dark). Al veva sielt libris (he had chosen books) da la seconda guera (about World War Two). Biei (nice ones), ben scrits (well written), ma dopo una setemana (but after a week) a lu vevin stufât (they had bored him).

The word for war used here is the feminine singular guera. (In the standard, it is vuere.) We can therefore say things such as the following in the Dograva variant: la Granda Guera (the Great War); la prima guera (the First World War); la seconda guera (the Second World War); in timp di guera (in wartime); a la fin da la guera (at the end of the war); dopo la guera (after the war); li gueris ator pal mont (foreign wars, wars around the world).

As mentioned above, of guera, the standard equivalent is vuere. Two other words can be mentioned here which undergo a similar change between the Dograva variant and the standard: (i) to drive: guidâ (Dograva), vuidâ (standard); and (ii) to heal: guarî (Dograva), vuarî (standard). Following are some example sentences of guera, guidâ and guarî according to the Dograva variant, followed by an equivalent in the standard for comparison: 1. (Dograva) dopo la guera al era zût via par sempri; (standard) dopo la vuere al jere lât vie par simpri; (English) after the war he had left for good; ■ 2. (Dograva) chel ch'al guidava la machina al fumava un sigaret; (standard) chel che al vuidave la machine al fumave un spagnolet; (English) the man who was driving the car was smoking a cigarette; ■ 3. (Dograva) il bras al è guarît; (standard) il braç al è vuarît; (English) the arm is healed.

Dograva variant of Friulian 65

At Dograva, the interrogative votu is the Friulian for do you want, second-person singular. A few examples: votu una man? (do you want a hand?, which is to say, do you want help?); votu zî a jodi il mâr? (do you want to go see the sea?); votu jodi di fôr? (do you want to see outside?); votu zî a fâ una çaminada pai çamps? (do you want to go for a walk through the fields?); votu vinsi? (do you want to win?).

Votu is also used in times of exasperation, in alignment with the English will you or will you ever: votu tasi! (will you be quiet!); votu zî fôr! (will you get out!). With these two examples, we are not dealing with questions, even though the interrogative form is employed; these are commands that denote the speaker's vexation.

The infinitive in question here is, of course, volê (to want, will). In the second-person singular of the present indicative, the verb form is vôs. Example: al vôl zî dà ch’i ti vôs tu, satu (he wants to go {he will go} wherever you want, you know). In the interrogative, the final s of vôs is omitted to form votu.

Another example of the sort is found just above: of savê (to know), the second-person singular of the present indicative is sâs; the final s must again be omitted to form the interrogative: satu (do you know). Example: satu parsé ch’i no soi mai zût via? (do you know why I have never left?). More examples of the second-person singular interrogative: sé fatu? (what are you doing?); atu sintût? (have you heard?); parsé ditu cussì? (why say you so?); dulà sotu? (where are you?). With these examples, we again have instances of the omission of the final s of the second-person singular.

Dograva variant of Friulian 66

In this lesson, we look at the Friulian third-person direct objects equivalent to singular it and plural them, so as they are used at Dograva. Examples are given below of these direct objects not only as stand-alone words but also as suffixes.

Masculine singular: A si è zirada di chê atra banda e di chê dì a lu à lassât in pâs. She turned the other way and, from that day on, she left him alone. ■ A l’àn tirât fôr pai bras. They dragged him out by the arms. ■ A j pareva di jodilu. It seemed to him that he had seen him. ■ Ch’i lu fedi però sensa toçâlu cu li mans. But let me do it without touching it with my hands.

Masculine plural: A ju veva calmâts invidantju a sentâsi. He had calmed them down by inviting them to sit down. ■ A samea che il sio unic pensêr al sedi chel di fâju contents. It seems that his only thought is to make them happy. ■ A era doventada veça come sio pari e a jodiju insiemit no ti savevis se era la fia o la femina. She had become old like her father and, seeing them together, you could not tell if she was his daughter or wife. ■ I çalsins i ài di lavâju. I have to wash the socks.

Feminine singular: A bruntulava parsé ch’i la vevi dismota ch’a era not. She was grumbling because I had woken her up when it was night. ■ Tant ch’i fumi il sigaret, i la vuardi par jodi cui ch’a ei. As I smoke the cigarette, I look at her to see who she is. ■ A l’à fermada par domandâj s’al podeva zî a çatâla dopo sena. He stopped her to ask her if he could go meet her after supper. ■ Saressitu contenta di savêla dibessola? Would you be happy to know that she is alone? ■ A sbat la puarta, ch’a pâr ch’a voli butâla jù. She slams the door as though she wants to tear it down.

Feminine plural: Li scarpis a li çapa e a li tira lontan. She takes the shoes and throws them far. ■ Cuanch’a li à jodudis, a si è mituda a ridi. When she saw them, she started to laugh. ■ Ma se ti li jôts, i ti pos ença çapâlis subit. But if you see them, you can even take them at once. ■ Li scarpis podaressitu lassâlis denant da la puarta, par plasê? Can you leave the shoes in front of the door, please?

Dograva variant of Friulian 67

The Friulian expression meti a post as used at Dograva refers to the act of tidying up; its standard equivalent is meti a puest. The masculine noun post means place, so that meti a post translates literally after the Friulian manner as to put in place. For instance, we can speak of pushing back tables and chairs into their correct positions in a restaurant: la camerera a à mitût a post li taulis e li çadreis (the waitress put the tables and chairs back in place). At Dograva, mitût is the past participle of meti.

In the present indicative of the third-person singular, the verb form is met, so that, for instance, we can say: la camerera a met a post i taulins e a si senta ta una çadrea (the waitress puts the tables back in place and sits down on a chair). In this example and the one above, we find both the feminine taula and the masculine taulin; the latter is a diminutive of the former, so that taula is a full sized-table, whereas taulin is of the smaller sort, such as one may find in a bar or café.

In the sentence above, it is possible to omit the second instance of the atonic (unstressed) subject pronoun before the reflexive si. For instance, we may say: la fantata a finìs di meti a post li sôs robis in çamara e si senta sul jet (the girl finishes putting her things away in her room and sits down on the bed). Of finî and sentâ, the past participles are finît and sentât, so that a à finît means she {has} finished, and si è sentada means she {has} sat down.

Not only can the objects in a given space be put in place (taulis, taulins, çadreis...), but so too can the space itself (çasa, çamara, garâs, cantina...). For instance, a female says: i soi zuda di mê nona a judâla a meti a post la çasa (I went to my grandmother's to help her tidy up the house). I soi zuda (I went, I have gone) is a feminine form; its masculine equivalent is i soi zût; for instance, i soi zût a meti a post il garâs (I went to tidy up the garage), or perhaps: i soi zût di gno nonu a judâlu a meti a post la cantina (I went to my grandfather's to help him tidy up the cellar).

Dograva variant of Friulian 68

Let us now take a new quotation from the book Uchì, written by Dograva native Alberto Luchini, where the narrator says the following: Sio pari al tira indenant cu la pension di invaliditât, ch’al si è strupiât di brut colant di un’impalcadura, ains indavôr. In English: Her father gets by on a disability pension because he crippled himself nastily by falling from a scaffold years back. In this lesson, we look at different aspects of the Friulian language of Dograva present in this line of text.

1. Sio pari: his/her father. Before a masculine singular noun, the Friulian for his/her in the Dograva variant is sio, for instance: il sio capôt (his/her coat); il sio çalsin (his/her sock); il sio çapiel (his/her hat), and so on. Remember to omit the definite article il before names of family members in the singular: sio pari (his/her father); sio fradi (his/her brother); sio barba (his/her uncle). With the Friulian for husband, the definite article is retained: il sio om (her husband).

2. Tirâ indenant: to get by, to survive; literally, to pull ahead. In the quotation, we find sio pari al tira indenant (his/her father gets by); were we to replace pari (father) with mari (mother), we should then say: sô mari a tira indenant (his/her mother gets by). Of sô (his/her), which is used with a feminine singular noun, more examples include: la sô scarpa (his/her shoe); la sô giacheta (his/her jacket); la sô çamesa (his/her shirt). The definite article la is omitted before names of family members in the singular: sô mari (his/her mother); sô sôr (his/her sister); sô agna (his/her aunt). With the Friulian for wife, the definite article is retained: la sô femina (his wife).

3. Al si è strupiât di brut: he crippled himself nastily. Of strupiâsi (to cripple oneself), the masculine singular form is used in the quotation: al si è strupiât (he {has} crippled himself); the feminine singular equivalent is: a si è strupiada (she {has} crippled herself). The past participle is strupiât (crippled); in Uchì, we find another good example: a trê ains a lu veva çapât la poliomelite, ch’a lu veva lassât strupiât (at three years of age, he had caught poliomyelitis, which had left him crippled). Note that a lu veva çapât la poliomelite translates literally as the poliomyelitis had caught him. With di brut, nastiness is identified; examples: a lu vuardava di brut (she was looking at him in a nasty way); rispundi di brut (to respond nastily); molâ una vuardada di brut (to give a nasty look).

4. Colant di un’impalcadura: by falling from a scaffold. Colant is the present participle of colâ (to fall); its meaning is one of {in, by, whilst} falling. More examples of present participles: vuardant (looking); çacarant (talking); jodintlu tirâ fôr un sigaret (seeing him pull out a cigarette); zint dentri (going inside); zint fôr a nol sbat la puarta (going out he does not slam the door); a mi à vuardât fadintmi capî ch’a no era d’acordo (she looked at me making me understand that she did not agree). Before impalcadura (scaffold), the feminine singular una has contracted to un’.

5. Ains indavôr: years back. Of indavôr (back), a few more examples: tirâsi indavôr (to move/step back); tornâ indavôr (to turn back); un pas indavôr tai ains (a step back in the years); timp indavôr (some time back); trê ains indavôr (three years back); un trê ains indavôr (some three years back). In the singular, year is said an in Friulian, which is a masculine noun.

Dograva variant of Friulian 69

The masculine singular cingon is an example of a word that has come to Friulian via the English language. We find an example of this word in the book Uchì, by Dograva native Alberto Luchini, where the narrator, in reference to a visiting American woman, says that she smoked Marlboro (a fumava Marlboro), and that she chewed gum (a mastiava cingon). With regard to these two Friulian examples, the following points may be made: (i) fumâ means to smoke, and fumâ un sigaret means to smoke a cigarette; (ii) mastiâ means to chew, and mastiâ cingon means to chew gum, where the masculine cingon is a Friulianisation of the English chewing gum.

More examples: fumâ un atri sigaret (to smoke another cigarette); fumâ un pachet al dì (to smoke a packet a day); fumâ al fa mâl (smoking is bad for you); i fumi un pachet al dì (I smoke a packet a day); ogni tant i fuman insiemit un sigaret (every so often we smoke a cigarette together); al fuma di sempri (he has always smoked); i fumavi dibessôl davôr dal porton (I was smoking alone behind the gate); al à spudât il tabac ch’al mastiava (he spat the tobacco that he was chewing); tant ch’al mastiava cingon, al mi scoltava atent (as he chewed gum, he listened to me carefully).

Molâ means to quit, to abandon. Let us take a new example, this one in the context of a wife who nags her husband to quit smoking: la femina a mi tontona di ains par ch’i moli (my wife has been nagging me for years to quit); par ch’i moli (that I may quit) is in the present subjunctive. If we were to set this sentence in past time, it becomes: la femina a mi tontonava di ains par ch’i molàs (my wife had been nagging me for years to quit); par ch’i molàs (that I might quit) is in the imperfect subjunctive. The verb meaning to nag used in these examples is tontonâ.

The smoke emitted by a cigarette (or by any burning substance) is identified by the masculine noun fun. For instance, the question votu intosseâ duçus chei atris cul ço fun? asks do you want to poison everybody else with your smoke? The interrogative votu was examined in lesson 65. In an example above, the verb spudâ (to spit) was encountered alongside the Friulian for tobacco: al à spudât il tabac ch’al mastiava (he spat the tobacco that he was chewing). More examples: spudâ par strada (to spit in the street); al spudava peraulis duris contro di me (he was spitting harsh words at me); i ài spudât fôr il cingon ch’i mastiavi (I spat out the gum that I was chewing).

Dograva variant of Friulian 70

In the second-person singular, the imperative at Dograva meaning go is va in Friulian, whereas in the second-person plural it is zît. This means that the Friulian for go see is either va a jodi (second-person singular) or zît a jodi (second-person plural). Let us take an example sentence:

Vuatris zît a jodi se il çan al è sçampât e tu va a preparâ di sena.

Vuatris (you; plural) zît a jodi (go see) se il çan al è sçampât (if the dog has escaped) e tu (and you; singular) va a preparâ di sena (go get supper ready).

Friulian vocabulary: zî (to go); jodi (to see); il çan (dog); sçampâ (to flee, to escape); preparâ (to prepare, to make ready); la sena (supper); preparâ di sena (to prepare supper, to get supper ready).

In this sentence, we have two imperatives; the first is second-person plural: we may imagine that it is being said, for instance, by a parent to two or more children. The second imperative is second-person singular: we may imagine that it is being said to just one other member of the family. Using the sentence from above as a model, we may now create other sentences to learn new vocabulary as it pertains to the Friulian as spoken at Dograva.

Vuatris zît a jodi se il porton al è sierât e tu va a scuela. | Friulian vocabulary: il porton (gate); sierâ (to close, to shut); sierât (closed, shut); la scuela (school); zî a scuela (to go to school).

Vuatris zît a jodi se il treno al stes rivant e tu va a serçâ ço pari. | Friulian vocabulary: il treno (train); rivâ (to arrive, to come); stâ rivant (to be arriving, to be coming); al stes rivant (it is arriving, it is coming); serçâ (to look for, to seek); il pari (father); ço pari (your father).

Vuatris zît a jodi se la puarta a ei vierta e tu va a sunâ il campanel. | Friulian vocabulary: la puarta (door); vierzi (to open); viert (open); sunâ (to ring); il campanel (bell).

Vuatris zît a jodi dà ch’al è il nonu e tu va a partâ il lat. | Friulian vocabulary: dulà che, dà che (where); il nonu (grandfather); partâ (to bring); il lat (milk).

Vuatris zît a jodi s’al è a çasa e tu va a spetâlu pa li sçalis. | Friulian vocabulary: s’al è (if he is); la çasa (house, home); a çasa (at home); spetâ (to wait {for}); spetâlu (to wait for him); pa li sçalis (in the steps, in the stairs).

Vuatris zît a jodi s’a son sentâts ta la taula e tu va a çoli la butilia dal lat tal frigo. | Friulian vocabulary: s’a son (if they are); sentât, sintât (seated); la taula (table); sentât ta la taula (seated at the table); çoli (to take, to get); la butilia (bottle); il lat (milk); il frigo (fridge); çoli il lat tal frigo (to get the milk in {from} the fridge).

Dograva variant of Friulian 71

The Friulian for so much, so many is tant; as an adverb, tant is invariable, meaning that its form does not change (for instance, ridi tant [to laugh so much]), but it takes four forms as an adjective (for instance, tançus bês [so much money]; tantis feminis [so many women]), which, in the Friulian of Dograva, are: tant (masculine singular); tançus (masculine plural); tanta (feminine singular); tantis (feminine plural).

More examples: çacarâ tant (to talk so much); tant a discuti (so much to discuss); dopo tant timp (after so much time); tançus problemis (so many problems); dopo tançus ains (after so many years); tanta int (so many people); scoltâ cun tanta atenssion (to listen with so much attention); tanta pôra da la muart (so much fear of death); sensa tanta fadia (without so much toil); fâ tantis domandis (to ask so many questions); savê tantis robis (to know so many things); sensa tantis responsabilitâts (without so many responsibilities); tantis peraulis e pôcs fats (so many words and few actions {all talk no action}).

Related: Tant also appears is the Friulian usages ogni tant and di tant in tant, both meaning every so often, every once in a while.

In the remainder of this lesson, we examine the usage in tançus. Let us begin with essi in tançus (literally, to be in so many), employed to refer to a large number of people. For instance, i erin in tançus (literally, we were in so many) is the Friulian for there were so many of us, as said at Dograva. In tançus is the masculine plural form, used when speaking of a group of males, or of males and females together. Were it question of only females, then tantis will replace tançus. In the present tense, we have: i sin in tançus (there are so many of us).

Verbs other than essi (to be) may also be used with in tançus; for instance: vignî in tançus (literally, to come in so many); provâ in tançus (literally, to try in so many); spetâ in tançus (literally, to wait in so many). Example sentences: a son vignûts in tançus (so many of them came); i sin vignûts in tançus (so many of us came); i sin vignudis in tantis (so many of us {females} came); i vin provât in tançus (so many of us tried); a ni spetavin in tançus (so many of them were waiting for us).

Further to this, tançus may be replaced by a numeral, so that, for instance, i erin in deis means there were ten of us; i sîs in vinç means there are twenty of you; and a saran in trenta means there will be thirty of them.

Dograva variant of Friulian 72

Let us now take another portion of text from the writings of Alberto Luchini, native of Dograva. In his book Il vier e il milus, a character called Chigno says:

Tu e ço fradi i vîs vût sempri passion pa la scuela e cussì i vîs scugnût zî via dal paîs ch’i eris ençamò fruts.

In English:

Tu e ço fradi (you and your brother) i vîs vût sempri passion pa la scuela (have always had passion for school {have always been passionate about school}) e cussì i vîs scugnût zî via dal paîs (and so you had to leave the village) ch’i eris ençamò fruts (when you were still boys).

Friulian language notes:

1. Tu (you) and ço fradi (your brother) are second-person singular forms, but the verb employed is second-person plural: i vîs vût (you have had), to agree with the second-person plural subject, which is tu e ço fradi (you and your brother). The second-person plural i vîs means you have; it is used in the formation of the passât prossim with verbs that take vê for auxiliary: i vîs vût (you have had); i vîs scugnût (you have had to); i vîs jodût (you have seen); i vîs volût (you have wanted); i vîs fat (you have done/made); i vîs dessidût (you have decided).

2. Scugnî means must, to have to; its past participle is scugnût. Examples: scugnî vignî (to have to come); scugnî tacâ (to have to start); i vin scugnût spetâ meis (we have had to wait months); i vîs scugnût zî via (you have had to leave; second-person plural).

3. When par comes together with the definite article la, the result is pa la. Examples: passion pa la scuela (passion for school); a continuin pa la lôr strada (they continue on their way); pa la prima volta (for the first time).

4. Zî via means to leave. The z of zî makes the sound of English z. Examples: zî via dal paîs (to leave the village); i soi zût via dal paîs (I have left the village; masculine); i soi zuda via dal paîs (I have left the village; feminine); i sin zûts via dal paîs (we have left the village; masculine); i sin zudis via dal paîs (we have left the village; feminine).

5. The second-person plural i eris means you were. Examples: i eris stracs (you were tired; masculine plural); i eris strachis (you were tired; feminine plural); i eris restâts in paîs (you had remained in the village; masculine plural); i eris restadis in paîs (you had remained in the village; feminine plural); i eris zûts via dal paîs (you had left the village; masculine plural); i eris zudis via dal paîs (you had left the village; feminine plural).

6. In ch’i eris ençamò fruts, the use of che is to be equated with English when. Ençamò means yet, still. The masculine noun frut identifies a male child; a female child is una fruta. In the plural, fruts means boys, but it can also be used collectively to include both boys and girls, as in children or kids. The plural frutis identifies only female children.

Dograva variant of Friulian 73

At Dograva, scuasin is the Friulian for almost, nearly. Al è scuasin Nadâl: it is almost Christmas, it is nearly Christmas. In this lesson, we look at more examples of how scuasin is used in the spoken Friulian of Dograva.

The equivalent of almost always, nearly always is scuasin sempri; for instance: al è scuasin sempri dibessôl (he is almost always alone); a ei scuasin sempri straca (she is almost always tired); al fuma di scuasin sempri un pachet al dì (he has nearly always smoked a packet a day).

The equivalent of almost all, nearly all is scuasin dut; for instance: scuasin dut il lat (almost all the milk); denant di scuasin duçus (in front of nearly everybody); scuasin duçus a son muarts (almost all of them are dead); scuasin duçus i bês (nearly all the money); scuasin duta chê int (almost all those people); a no mi à dita pi nuia par scuasin duta la sera (she said nothing more to me almost all evening); scuasin dutis li feminis (nearly all the women).

To say just before, scuasin prin may be used; for instance: scuasin prin ch’al vegni dentri (just before he comes in); scuasin prin ch’al fedi la spesa (just before he does the grocery shopping); scuasin prin ch’al partissi (just before he left); scuasin prin ch’al fadès il lavôr (just before he did the work); scuasin prin di scuminsâ (just before starting); scuasin prin di zî a scuela (just before going to school); scuasin prin di zî a vora (just before going to work). With scuasin prin che, the subjunctive must be used.

Other examples: a son scuasin li sinc (it is nearly five o'clock); a erin scuasin li seis (it was almost six o'clock); l’autobus al è scuasin svuent (the bus is almost empty); i tacavi a sintîmi strac e scuasin vilît (I started to feel tired and almost dejected); il sio bras scuasin al toçava par ciera (his arm was nearly touching the ground/floor); la stansia a era tal scuasin scûr (the room was in almost complete darkness); scuasin dapardut (almost everywhere). Scuasin may be doubled for emphasis: al è scuasin scuasin Nadâl (it is very nearly Christmas).

Frequently asked question: How do you say Christmas in Friulian? In Friulian, Christmas is called Nadâl, which is a masculine noun. To wish someone a merry Christmas, say: Bon Nadâl.

Dograva variant of Friulian 74

Following are five good colloquial examples of Friulian as spoken at Dograva. To create these sentences, a fixed set of words is incorporated into each, which is parsé ch’i ti, meaning because you, second-person singular.

If you are coming to the Dograva variant after having learnt standard Friulian, the use of parsé ch’i ti does require a certain getting used to. This reason for this is three-fold: first, the sound of s must be made in parsé (in the standard language, it is rather the sound of ç); this is followed by ch’i, which is a contration of che and the atonic subject pronoun i of the second-person singular (in the standard language, this i is wholly absent); and finally we have the main atonic subject pronoun ti of the second-person singular (this is rather tu in the standard language).

All examples below are accompanied by language notes; at the end of the lesson are equivalents in standard Friulian to help you draw your own conclusions about the differences between the standard language and the variant spoken at Dograva.

1. Chei fantats a ti volin robâ la bicicleta parsé ch’i ti sos forest. Those boys want to rob your bike because you are from out of town. Do not make the mistake of thinking that forest always translates as foreign (when used as an adjective) or foreigner (when used as a noun) in the sense of from another country; though it does indeed translate that way in certain contexts, it is very often used in reference to someone who is simply from another village of Friûl, in the sense of from out of town. Tonic stress is on the final syllable: forèst. Of the feminine noun bicicleta, here are a few more examples of use: i vin çapât la bicicleta e i sin zûts in plassa (we took our bikes and went to the square); a son vignûts jù in bicicleta (they came down by bike); al vôl vê la bicicleta nova ogni an (he wants to get a new bike every year); a passava sempri in bicicleta (she was always passing by on her bike).

2. Al à tacât a porconâ parsé ch’i ti lu vevis ufindût. He started mouthing off because you had offended him. Porconâ refers to the act of using vulgar language to express anger or some other strong emotion. We may use sintîsi ufindût to render the equivalent of to feel offended; for instance, di cualchi dì i mi sintevi ufindût means I had been feeling offended for a few days. Another example: cuant ch’i ti si sints ufindût (when you feel offended). Ufindût is an adjective meaning offended, but it is also the past participle of ufindi (to offend); for instance, i ài tasût par no ufindi chei atris means I kept quiet so as not to offend the others.

3. A ti vuarda di brut parsé ch’i ti sos tornât a çasa dopo li undis. She is giving you a nasty look because you got back home after eleven. Vuardâ means to look, whereas vuardâ di brut means to look nastily, which is to say, to give a nasty look. Another example: a ti vuardava di brut parsé ch’i ti si eris mitût a porconâ (she was giving you a nasty look because you had started mouthing off). Metisi a fâ means to start doing. Telling the time at Dograva: a son li cuatri (it is four); a li sinc (at five); a li seis e un cuart (at a quarter past six); a li siet e miesa (at half past seven); a son li vot mancul deis (it is ten to eight); dopo li nouf (after nine); da li deis fin a li undis (from ten to eleven).

4. A son setemanis ch’i no ti mi menis ator parsé ch’i ti sos un bon di nuia. It has been weeks since you have taken me anywhere because you are a good-for-nothing. We see now the positioning of no in the second-person singular: between i and ti. Other examples: a son meis ch’i no ti la jôts (you have not seen her for months); cuant ch’i no ti si lu spetis (when you do not expect it); a son agnorum ch’i no ti si fadevis jodi (it had been many years since anyone had seen you). Menâ ator translates literally as to lead/take about; another example: al mi menava sempri ator pal paîs (he always used to take me about the village, he always used to show me round the village).

5. A nol vôl essi il ço murôs parsé ch’i ti as sempri Berto tal çâf. He does not want to be your boyfriend because you always have Berto on your mind. The masculine murôs means boyfriend, in the sense of a male romantic partner; its female equivalent is the feminine noun murosa. Examples: il gno murôs (my boyfriend); il ço murôs (your boyfriend); la mê murosa (my girlfriend); la tô murosa (your girlfriend); a nol è migo il gno murôs (he is hardly my boyfriend, it is not as though he is my boyfriend); al zeva ator pal paîs cu la murosa dal moment (he was going round the village with his girlfriend of the moment); this last example conveys that the person in question is always seen with a new girlfriend. The masculine noun çâf means head; to have someone tal çâf (literally, in the head) is to always have that person on one's mind, to be preoccupied with him. Tangentially related to this is the use of tal çâf to mean on one's head; for instance, una femina cul fassolet tal çâf means a woman with a kerchief on her head.

Here are these same five sentences in standard Friulian: 1. Chei fantats ti vuelin robâ la biciclete parcè che tu sês forest. 2. Al à tacât a porconâ parcè che tu lu vevis ofindût. 3. Ti cjale di brut parcè che tu sês tornât a cjase dopo lis undis. 4. A son setemanis che no tu mi menis ator parcè che tu sês un bon di nuie. 5. Nol vûl jessi il to morôs parcè che tu âs simpri Berto tal cjâf.

Dograva variant of Friulian 75

In this lesson, we look at a new extract drawn from the book Uchì, written by Dograva native Alberto Luchini. In this extract, composed in the Dograva variant of Friulian, the narrator tells of the protagonist's visits to a cemetary. So does the text read:

Di tant in tant al va dentri tal simiteri e, dopo essi stât lì di sio pari, al fa il ziro da li lapidis a lei i nons e a jodi li fotografiis. Un grun di lôr a ju à cognossûts di frut, prin di zî via a studiâ, di atris al à sintût contâ dai siei. Al è par lui come lei un libri, ch’a j vegnin tal çâf storiis ch’al crodeva di vê dismintiât e che di frut a lu vevin spès lassât a boça vierta.

In English: Di tant in tant (every once in a while) al va dentri tal simiteri e (he goes into the cemetary and), dopo essi stât lì di sio pari (after having visited his father), al fa il ziro da li lapidis (goes about the gravestones) a lei i nons (to read the names) e a jodi li fotografiis (and to see the photographs). Un grun di lôr a ju à cognossûts (many of them he met) di frut (when he was a child), prin di zî via a studiâ (before going off to study), di atris al à sintût contâ dai siei ([whereas] of others he heard tell from his parents). Al è par lui come lei un libri (it is for him like reading a book), ch’a j vegnin tal çâf storiis (because into his mind come stories) ch’al crodeva di vê dismintiât (that he believed to have forgotten) e che di frut (and that as a child) a lu vevin spès lassât (had often left him) a boça vierta (open-mouthed {speechless}).

Language notes

1. Di tant in tant is the Friulian for every once in a while, every so often. A few more examples: di tant in tant al si suia il sorneli cuntun fassolet (every so often he wipes his forehead with a kerchief); di tant in tant a passava int ch’i no savevi sé ch’a voleva (every once in a while people would pass by without my knowing what they wanted).

2. The masculine noun simiteri (cemetary) is pronounced with tonic stress on next-to-last syllable. Another example: da li bandis dal simiteri i çati una veça ch’a va a jodi dal om cuntun mac di rosis (out by the cemetary I find an old woman who goes to visit her husband with a bouquet of flowers).

3. Whereas al va means he goes, al è zût means he went, he has gone. The z of zût is pronounced like English z. Consider: al va dentri tal simiteri (he goes into the cemetary); al è zût dentri tal simiteri (he went into the cemetary). Know also al zeva, meaning he was going, he used to go, he would {habitually} go. Example: i volevi savê dà ch’al zeva di sabida (I wanted to know where he would go on Saturdays).

4. Lì di is to be understood as meaning at the place of; it is similar to French chez. Examples: i soi zût a çoli i sigarets lì di gno fradi (I went to get the cigarettes at my brother's place); i vevin di çatâsi lì di ço pari (we were supposed to meet at your father's place); al vignarà doman lì di me (he will come tomorrow to my place); votu fermâti lì dal miedi? (do you want to stop in at the doctor's?). In the extract written by Luchini, dopo essi stât lì di sio pari (after having been at his father's) means, in context, after having been to his father's grave.

5. Fâ il ziro di means to go round, to do the tour of. As for the feminine noun lapida, this identifies a gravestone. Fâ il ziro da li lapidis, then, means to go round {and look at} the gravestones. Lapida is pronounced with tonic stress on the first syllable. The z of ziro is pronounced like English z, as is the z of zirâ, meaning to go/turn round. Examples: zirâ il mont (to go round the world); zirâ li paginis dal giornâl (to turn the pages of the newspaper); al zirava li paginis dal libri (he was turning the pages of the book); al si zira e al vuarda la int ch’a passa (he turns round and looks at the people passing by).

6. The feminine noun fotografia has five syllables: fo-to-gra-fì-a, and tonic stress is on the fi syllable.

7. The masculine noun grun means pile, heap, mound; when used in the phrase un grun di, it takes on the sense of many, a lot of. Examples: un grun di bês (a lot of money); un grun di lôr (many of them, many people); a ’nd era un grun (there were many of them). Un grun may be used as an adverb: al era un grun timit (he was very timid); fadint un lavôr un grun difisil (doing a very difficult job). Difisil is pronounced with tonic stress on the fi syllable. In the extract written by Luchini, we find: un grun di lôr a ju à cognossûts; in English, after the Friulian manner: un grun di lôr (many of them) a ju à cognossûts (he met them), which is to say, he met many of them. Consider: al à cognossût (he met); a lu à cognossût (he met him); a ju à cognossûts (he met them).

8. The masculine noun frut identifies a male child, a boy. Its feminine equivalent is fruta, which refers to a female child, a girl. Di frut as used in the extract written by Luchini is to be understood as meaning as a boy; the feminine equivalent is di fruta, as a girl. Another example by Luchini, said of a female: sentada ta una veça çadrea, dura e nervosa, come di fruta cuanch’a spetava di zî a confessâsi (sitting on an old chair, stiff and nervous, like when she was a girl waiting to go to confession).

9. More examples of prin di, meaning before: prin di tacâ a zuiâ (before starting to play); prin di smontâ da la machina (before getting out of the car); prin di distudâ la lûs (before turning the light off); prin di rispundi (before answering); prin di zî in Canada (before going to Canada); prin di bunora (before morning); prin di not (before night); pôc prin di miesanot (shortly before midnight).

10. As used in the extract written by Luchini, i siei means his parents: di atris al à sintût contâ dai siei (he heard tell of others from his parents); after the Friulian: di atris (of others) al à sintût (he heard) contâ (tell) dai siei (from his {parents}). Similarly, i gnei means my parents, and i ciei means your parents (second-person singular). Example: i ciei a son un grun contents di joditi (your parents are very happy to see you).

11. The masculine noun çâf means head but is also read mind. The Friulian wording a j vegnin tal çâf translates very literally as unto him they come into the head; it is through the use of j (unto him) that we understand that the mind into which the stories come is his.

12. A boça vierta means speechless; this Friulian usage necessarily evokes the image of an open mouth, given that the feminine noun boça means mouth, and the adjective viert means open. Viert, of course, is masculine singular; its feminine singular equivalent is vierta.

Dograva variant of Friulian 76

Let us now take another look at second-person singular pronouns as they are used in the Dograva variant of Friulian. Below is a portion of text drawn from the book Il vier e il milus by Alberto Luchini. This text is written in Luchini's native Dograva variant of Friulian and is spoken by a character from the book named Berto:

A si va via, il timp al passa, e in paîs a restin in pôcs ch’a ti cognossin e pôcs ch’i ti cognos. E cuanch’i ti tornis, se ti tornis, ti si sints forest. E ti pâr che ença li çasis, li stradis, i çamps, i orts a no ti cognossin pi, ch’a ti vuardin di brut, cun suspiet. A ti somea ch’a ti volin disi di tornâ via, ch’a ti àn scancelât, ch’i no ti sos pi roba di ’chì.

In English: A si va via (people leave), il timp al passa (time goes by), e in paîs (and in the village) a restin in pôcs (few remain) ch’a ti cognossin (who know you) e pôcs ch’i ti cognos (and few whom you know). E cuanch’i ti tornis (and when you return), se ti tornis (if you return), ti si sints forest (you feel like an outsider). E ti pâr (and it seems to you) che ença li çasis (that even the houses), li stradis (the streets), i çamps (the fields), i orts (the gardens) a no ti cognossin pi (do not know you any more), ch’a ti vuardin di brut (that they look at you in a bad way), cun suspiet (with suspicion). A ti somea (it seems to you) ch’a ti volin disi (that they want to tell you) di tornâ via (to leave again), ch’a ti àn scancelât (that they have obliterated you), ch’i no ti sos pi roba di ’chì (that you do not belong here any more).

Not only do we look in particular at the use of second-person singular pronouns in this passage, we also draw our attention to other important and interesting aspects of the Friulian language that appear here.

Friulian language notes

1. A si va via, il timp al passa, e in paîs a restin in pôcs ch’a ti cognossin e pôcs ch’i ti cognos. People leave, time goes by, and few remain in the village who know you and whom you know. With a si va via, we have an example of the impersonal use of si, here to be understood as people, one, as in people leave, one leaves. As for in paîs a restin in pôcs, this translates literally after the Friulian manner as in village they remain in few, the meaning whereof is few {people} remain in the village. In the rest of the sentence, we find that ti appears twice, but each instance thereof employs it in a different way: with pôcs ch’a ti cognossin, the ti is a direct object pronoun, second-person singular: few who know you; with pôcs ch’i ti cognos, the ti is the unstressed second-person singular subject pronoun: few whom you know. The subject of pôcs ch’a ti cognossin is pôcs, but pôcs is a direct object in pôcs ch’i ti cognos.

2. E cuanch’i ti tornis, se ti tornis, ti si sints forest. And when you return, if you return, you feel like an outsider. In this sentence, every instance of ti is as the unstressed, second-person singular subject pronoun. We have moreover an example of reflexive usage: ti si sints forest, from sintîsi forest (to feel foreign, to feel like an outsider). The second-person singular reflexive pronoun is si (and not ti as it is in standard Friulian; in the standard language, this is rather said: tu ti sintis forest.) More reflexive examples in the second-person singular: al è mieit ch’i ti si bituis (you had better get used to it); cuanch’i no ti si lu spetis (when you do not expect it); chel ch’i ti si spetis di lui (that which you expect of him); sensa volêlu i ti tornis a çasa e ti si sints in colpa (you head home unwillingly and feel guilty). Forest is pronounced with tonic stress on the final syllable: forèst; though it can be used as a noun (un forest: a foreigner, an outsider), it is used as an adjective in our sentence.

3. E ti pâr che ença li çasis, li stradis, i çamps, i orts a no ti cognossin pi, ch’a ti vuardin di brut, cun suspiet. And it seems to you that even the houses, streets, fields and gardens do not know you any more, that they look at you in a bad way, with suspicion. Every instance of ti in this sentence is as a direct object pronoun of the second-person singular: ti pâr che (it seems to you that); a no ti cognossin pi (they do not know you any more); a ti vuardin di brut (they look at you in a bad way). With di brut, nastiness is identified; more examples: a lu vuardava di brut (she was looking at him in a bad way); rispundi di brut (to respond in a nasty way); molâ una vuardada di brut (to give a nasty look).

4. A ti somea ch’a ti volin disi di tornâ via, ch’a ti àn scancelât, ch’i no ti sos pi roba di ’chì. It seems to you that they want to tell you to leave again, that they have obliterated you, that you do not belong here any more. In this sentence, we have three instances of ti, but only the first two are as a direct object pronoun of the second-person singular: a ti somea che (it seems to you that); a ti volin disi di tornâ via (they want to tell you to leave again); the third instance thereof is as the unstressed, second-person singular subject pronoun: ch’i no ti sos pi roba di ’chì (that you do not belong here any more). The feminine noun roba means thing, stuff, matter; in this way, ch’i no ti sos pi roba di ’chì translates very literally as you are not stuff of here any more, you are not {a} thing from here any more, which is a Friulian way of expressing you do not belong here any more. ’Chì (here) is written by Luchini with the apostrophe to indicate its being a contraction of uchì.

Dograva variant of Friulian 77

In this seventy-seventh lesson related to the variant of Friulian spoken at Dograva, we look at a new sentence drawn from the book Uchì, written by Dograva native Alberto Luchini. At Dograva, Friulians speak a western variant of the language. Here is the sentence:

Al mangia stint sito, sensa rispundi a sô mari ch’a j conta dut sé ch’a à savût in stemana zint in butega.

This sentence is translated into English below: first literally, then in an idiomatic English version.

In English, literal: Al mangia (he eats) stint sito (being quiet), sensa rispundi (without responding) a sô mari (to his mother) ch’a j conta (who tells him) dut sé (all that) ch’a à savût (which she has known) in stemana (in {the} week) zint in butega (going in{to} shop).

In English, corrected: He eats in silence without answering his mother, who tells him everything she found out during the week when she was out shopping.

Friulian language notes

1. At Dograva, the Friulian for to eat is mangiâ; in the third-person singular of the present indicative, we have al mangia (he eats). Other forms to learn include: al mangiava (he was eating); al à mangiât (he ate, he has eaten); i mangi (I eat); i mangiavi (I was eating); i ài mangiât (I ate, I have eaten). Remember that, at Dograva, the soft g (like the g of English gel, gesture, gym) replaces the gj of standard Friulian; in the standard language, this verb is rather mangjâ, with gj throughout its conjugation; for example, whereas he eats is al mangia at Dograva, in standard Friulian it is al mangje. Take another example: whereas a newspaper is called un giornâl at Dograva, in standard Friulian it is un gjornâl.

2. Stint (being) is the present participle of essi (to be). Stint sito (being quiet) is a Friulian manner of expressing in silence, without speaking, whilst not saying anything, and so on. Sito (quiet) is pronounced exactly as written, with its first letter pronounced as s. Its plural form is sitos, for example: duçus a stan sitos (everybody stays quiet). Of the present participle stint, here are two more examples: al mi dîs di no, stint atent di no ufindimi (he tells me no, being careful not to offend me); al mi steva vuardant stint sito (he was looking at me without saying a word). A synonym of sito is sidin. An example: al spetava sidin (he waited in silence).

3. Following are different examples employing sensa (without), as used in the Friulian of Dograva: sensa rispundi (without responding, without answering); sensa podê fâ nuia (without being able to do anything); sensa disi mai nuia (without ever saying anything); sensa capî nuia (without understanding anything); sensa vêlu fat (without having done it); sensa vêlu let (without having read it); sensa vêlu jodût (without having seen him/it).

4. A sô mari means to his/her mother. The following are also said: a so pari (to his/her father); a so fradi (to his/her brother); a sô sôr (to his/her sister); a so nonu (to his/her grandfather); a sô nona (to his/her grandmother); a so barba (to his/her uncle); a so agna (to his/her aunt).

5. As for ch’a j conta dut sé ch’a à savût, consider the following: a conta (she tells); a j conta (she tells him); ch’a j conta (who tells him); dut sé che (all that which); a à savût (she has known); dut sé ch’a à savût (all that which she has known). Savê is the Friulian for to know, with its past participle savût (known); in this context, it takes on the sense of to find out, to come to know. Study moreover the following: dut sé ch’i ài savût (all that which I have come to know); dut sé ch’i ti as savût (all that which you have come to know); dut sé ch’al à savût (all that which he has come to know).

6. Sé means what. Here are more examples: a lassavin che duçus a fadessin sé ch’a volevin (they used to let everyone do what they wanted); un om ch’al sa sé ch’al vôl (a man who knows what he wants); i la vuardavi a lunc e no capìs sé ch’a à (I looked at her for a long time and I don't know what the matter with her is); a mi veva contât sé ch’a saveva (she had told me what she knew); ormai al saveva sé ch’al veva di fâ (now he knew what he had to do).

7. Stemana is a variant of setemana, a feminine noun meaning week. In stemana means during the week. Of setemana, more examples: una setemana dopo (one week later); dopo cualchi setemana (after a few weeks); duta la setemana (all week long).

8. With zint in butega, we have an example of the present participle of zî (to go), which is zint (going). The z of zint is pronounced like the z of English words such as zoo, zeal, zip. Butega is a feminine noun meaning shop. More examples: zint via (going away, leaving); zint in auto (going by car); zint a durmî (going to sleep); a li siet i scugnevi zî a vierzi butega (at seven I had to go open shop). The z of vierzi (to open) is pronounced like English z. To conclude this lesson, here are more examples of the irregular verb zî in the Friulian of Dograva: al zarà via (he will leave); al pensava a cuanch’al zeva a vora (he thought about when he used to go to work); a no mi zeva di zî in butega (I did not feel like going shopping); no ei che la musica a no mi zedi (it is not that I do not like the music); jo i zarès fôr ma la puarta a ei sierada (I would go out but the door is closed); al va viers la puarta (he goes towards the door); al dîs ch’a van via (he says that they are leaving); no sai dà ch’i ti vas e cun cui ch’i ti vas (I do not know where you are going and with whom you are going).

Dograva variant of Friulian 78

We now look at another good portion of text composed in the Dograva variant of Friulian, written by Alberto Luchini, drawn from his book Uchì.

In the extract that follows, the narrator tells of a situation observed from his seated position on a bus. From this text, you will learn some colloquial Friulian language related to dogs, buses and city streets, all in the Dograva variant of Friulian. As far as Friulian variants are concerned, the Dograva variant is an excellent one to learn, as it will enable you to understand many aspects of other colloquial Friulian variants.

Sample text in Dograva Friulian

Ta un semaforo, i vevi jodût un çanut maron, sensa coda, tirâ flât a boçadis, cu la lenga di fôr. Al era bessôl, che di int a no ’nd era propit. Cuanch’i erin partîs di nouf, al ni era vignût davôr, ma al restava sempri a vinç trenta metros dal autobus. Di un marçapeis a chel atri, di un semaforo a un incrocio, di un’ombrena a un’atra, al era sempri lì, davôr di nô. Tant ch’i vevi pensât ch’al fos di un di chei ch’a erin sul autobus. Forsit da la veça, ch’a no si era necuarta, in balon come ch’a era, che il çan a j era sçampât di çasa e ch’a no la molava. Di come ch’al çapava li curvis, ch’al si fermava prin di sçavassâ una strada, ch’al si butava ta l’ombrena di un palàs, si jodeva ch’al cognosseva ben la sitât e li stradis ch’i stevin fadint. Al veva di essi propit da la veça, che chei atris o a erin dismontâts o vignûts sù dopo.

English translation of the text

Below is a close translation into English of the sample text; following the translation, ample language notes related to the Friulian are provided.

1. Ta un semaforo (at a stoplight), i vevi jodût (I had seen) un çanut maron (a little brown dog), sensa coda (without a tail), tirâ flât a boçadis (panting away), cu la lenga di fôr (with its tongue out). Al era bessôl (it was alone), che di int a no ’nd era propit (and there was nobody there at all).

2. Cuanch’i erin partîs di nouf (when we started out again), al ni era vignût davôr (it followed us), ma al restava sempri (but it always stayed) a vinç trenta metros (twenty, thirty metres) dal autobus (from the bus).

3. Di un marçapeis (from one footpath) a chel atri (to the other), di un semaforo (from one stoplight) a un incrocio (to an intersection), di un’ombrena (from one shade) a un’atra (to another), al era sempri lì (it was always there), davôr di nô (behind us).

4. Tant ch’i vevi pensât (so much so that I had thought) ch’al fos di un di chei (that it belonged to one of those) ch’a erin sul autobus (who were on the bus).

5. Forsit da la veça (maybe the old woman's), ch’a no si era necuarta (who had not noticed), in balon come ch’a era (out of it as she was), che il çan (whose dog) a j era sçampât (had taken off on her) di çasa (from home) e ch’a no la molava (and would not leave her).

6. Di come (by the way) ch’al çapava li curvis (in which it would take corners), ch’al si fermava (in which it would stop) prin di sçavassâ una strada (before crossing a street), ch’al si butava (in which it would put itself) ta l’ombrena di un palàs (in the shade of a building), si jodeva (it was obvious) ch’al cognosseva ben (that it knew well) la sitât e li stradis ch’i stevin fadint (the city and the streets that we were travelling along).

7. Al veva di essi propit (it really must have been) da la veça (the old woman's), che chei atris (because the others) o a erin dismontâts (had either got off) o vignûts sù dopo (or had got on afterwards).

Friulian language notes

1. At Dograva, the masculine semaforo indicates a stoplight (standard equivalent: semafar). Jodi is the Friulian for to see at Dograva (standard equivalent: viodi). Whereas the masculine çan is the Friulian for dog at Dograva, the diminutive form çanut means little dog, puppy (standard equivalent: cjan, cjanut). The tail of a dog is identified by the feminine noun coda (standard equivalent: code). The feminine boçada refers to a mouthful of something, here of air (standard equivalent: bocjade). Tirâ flât: literally, to draw breath. Cu la lenga di fôr is to have one's tongue hanging or sticking out (standard equivalent: cu la lenghe di fûr). As for di int a no ’nd era propit, remember that ’nd means thereof, so that we have a literal equivalent of: di int (of people) a no ’nd era (thereof was not) propit (really), which is to say, there was nobody about at all, there was absolutely nobody there, and so on (standard equivalent: di int no ’nd jere propit).

2. Cuanch’i erin partîs di nouf translates literally as when we had departed again (standard equivalent: cuant che o jerin partîts di gnûf). Luchini has spelt the past participle as partîs, rather than partîts, because the final t of partît falls silent before the s of the plural (this is also true of the standard, but standard spelling retains this t in writing). Nouf as pronounced at Dograva takes a diphthongised o, which, in this case, means that it starts as Friulian o and glides into Friulian u. As for al ni era vignût davôr, this finds its equivalent in the standard as nus jere vignût daûr; at Dograva, ni is the first-person plural direct object (English: us) and first-person plural indirect object (English: to us). We see that Luchini employs metro rather than standard metri (metre), so that he writes vinç trenta metros (twenty {to} thirty metres; standard equivalent: vincj trente metris). At Dograva, verbs in the third-person singular of the imperfect indicative, both masculine and feminine, end in a; examples: al restava, al era, al molava, a jodeva, a çapava, a cognosseva (standard equivalents: al restave, al jere, al molave, e viodeve, e cjapave, e cognosseve).

3. The masculine marçapeis is how footpath or sidewalk is expressed in the Friulian of Dograva (standard equivalent: marcjepît). We have with this word an example of three phenomena related to the Dograva variant: the shift from cj to ç (marcjepît > marçapeis); the shift from e to a (marcjepît > marçapeis); and the shift from long î to diphthongised ei (pîts > peis). Of incrocio (intersection), the standard equivalent is crosere. In standard Friulian, altri is how the Friulian for other is spelt, but the l is silent, which is why Luchini spells it as atri. At Dograva: atri (masculine singular); atra (feminine singular); atris (masculine and feminine plural); in the standard, these are altri, altre and altris, but even there the l is silent. Al era sempri lì: it was always there; standard equivalent: al jere simpri li.

4. The unstressed subject pronoun in the first-person, both singular and plural, is i in the Dograva variant. Examples: i vevi pensât (I had thought; standard equivalent: o vevi pensât); i vevi jodût (I had seen; standard equivalent: o vevi viodût); i erin partîs (we had left; standard equivalent: o jerin partîts). To say to belong in Friulian, essi di may be used (literally, to be of; standard equivalent: jessi di). Examples: il çan al è da la veça (the dog is the old woman's {belongs to the old woman}); i pensi che il çan al sedi da la veça (I think the dog may be the old woman's {may belong to the old woman}); i ài pensât che il çan al fos da la veça (I thought the dog might be the old woman's {might belong to the old woman}).

5. Forsit da la veça: literally, maybe of the old woman, which is to say, maybe {it was} the old woman's. The masculine equivalent of la veça (old woman) is il veçu (old man). Necuarzisi means to notice; a few verb forms: jo i mi necuars (I notice); lui al si necuars (he notices); lôr a si necuarzin (they notice); jê a no si necuars (she does not notice); jo i mi eri necuart (I had noticed); jê a si era necuarta (she had noticed). In the standard language, you will also find inacuarzisi or acuarzisi (to notice) with past participles inacuart and acuart. Whereas al è sçampât (from infinitive sçampâ) means he/it took off, the meaning changes to he/it took off on him/her when the pronoun j is added: a j è sçampât. Before the indirect j, the l of the unstressed subject pronoun al, masculine singular, is dropped. Another example: il fi ch’a j è muart (the son who died on him/her).

6. Fadint (making, doing) is the gerund of fâ (to make, to do). Li stradis ch’i stevin fadint: literally, the streets that we were doing, which is to say, the streets that we were travelling along. Another example: i ài di fâ un chilometro par rivâ a vora (I must go one kilometre to get to work).

7. Dismontâ, used here to identify the act of getting off a bus, alighting. Example: i soi dismontât dal autobus (I got off the bus). Vignî sù (literally, to come up) is used here to identify the act of boarding a bus, spoken from the perspective of someone already on the bus; example: al è vignût sù dopo di me (he got on after me). Other related usages: i students a spetavin di montâ in coriera (the students were waiting to get on the bus); i students a spetavin di montâ sù (the students were waiting to get on); montâ in machina (to get in the car); smontâ da l'auto (to get out of the car); smontâ da la machina (to get out of the car); i dismonti da la camioneta (I get out of the van).

Dograva variant of Friulian 79

In this and the next few lessons related to the Dograva variant of Friulian, we look at words that end in -êr or -iêr, whereas their equivalents in standard Friulian end in -îr.

I CARABINIÊRS
Standard Friulian: i carabinîrs

The police of Italy with military status is known in standard Friulian as i carabinîrs. In the Dograva variant of Friulian, the equivalent is i carabiniêrs.

Some example sentences in the Dograva variant: i carabiniêrs a lu àn partât via (the police have taken him away); clama i carabiniêrs! (call the police!); i carabiniêrs a varessin di brincâlu prin ch’al zedi ator a fâ disastros (the police ought to catch him before he goes about creating disasters); il carabiniêr, pistola in man, al era pront a sparâ (the policeman, pistol in hand, was ready to fire). In Italian, these same police are known as i carabinieri.

Read now a news report composed in the Dograva variant of Friulian, where the word carabiniêrs appears:

Auto cun dentri tre zovins capotada ta un bosc a Pordenon: Jêr sera, viers li deis, una machina cun dentri tre zovins a ei zuda fôr strada via pa la SP 35 a Pordenon, par dopo ribaltâsi tal bosc a pi o mancul vinç metros da la strada. Sul post a son rivâts davorman i Vigii dal Fôc di Pordenon ch'a àn çatât doi zovins za fôr da l'auto, intant che il ters al era restât dentri, blocât da la sinture di siguressa, a çâf in jù. I Vigii a àn taiât la sintura e tirât fôr il zovin, par dopo partâlu cuntuna barela fin lì da la strada dà ch'al è stât lassât ta li mans dai infermiêrs. Intant i pompiêrs a àn mitût in siguressa la machina e la zona dal incident. Sul post a son rivâts ença i carabiniêrs par investigâ sul incident.

In standard Friulian:

Auto cun dentri trê zovins capotade intun bosc a Pordenon: Îr sere, viers lis dîs, une machine cun dentri trê zovins e je lade fûr strade dilunc de SP 35 a Pordenon, par dopo ribaltâsi tal bosc a plui o mancul vincj metris de strade. Sul puest a son rivâts daurman i Vigjii dal Fûc di Pordenon che a àn cjatât doi zovins za fûr de auto, intant che il tierç al jere restât dentri, blocât de cinture di sigurece, a cjâf in jù. I Vigjii a àn taiât la cinture e tirât fûr il zovin, par dopo puartâlu cuntune barele fin li de strade indulà che al è stât lassât tes mans dai infermîrs. Intant i pompîrs a àn metût in sigurece la machine e la zone dal incident. Sul puest a son rivâts ancje i carabinîrs par investigâ sul incident.

In English:

Car with three young males inside overturned in a Pordenon forest: Last night, towards ten o'clock, a car with three young males inside veered off the road along SP 35 in Pordenon, to then overturn in a forest at more or less twenty metres from the road. Firemen from Pordenon arrived immediately on scene; they found two young men already outside the car, whereas the third was stuck inside, trapped by his safety belt, upsidedown. The firemen cut the belt and pulled the young man out, to then carry him by stretcher out to the road where he was put into the hands of first responders. In the meantime, the firemen secured the car and accident zone. Carabinîr police also arrived on scene to investigate the accident.

Other words ending in -iêr appear in the Dograva reading above; look for them and learn them.

Dograva variant of Friulian 80

In the previous lesson related to the Dograva variant of Friulian, we started to look at words that end in -êr or -iêr at Dograva, whereas their equivalents in standard Friulian end in -îr; namely, we looked at the masculine noun carabiniêr as used in the Friulian of Dograva, which identifies a member of the police of Italy with military status and takes the standard form carabinîr (follow the link to read about it). In this lesson, we look at a new word that falls under the same category:

IL CANTIÊR
Standard Friulian: il cantîr

By this masculine noun is identified a construction site or building site. For instance, a portion of land where a new building is being erected may be referred to by this noun, as can a portion of road that has been closed for construction work. In standard Friulian, the word is cantîr, which takes the form cantiêr at Dograva.

Some examples in the Dograva variant of Friulian: il cantiêr dà ch’i lavori (the construction site where I work); la plassa a ei sierada dal cantiêr (the town square is closed by the construction site); plantâ un cantiêr (to set up a construction site); diresi un cantiêr (to manage a construction site); i fai il capocantiêr (I am a foreman); un cantiêr navâl (a shipyard). In standard Friulian, all of the above are rather: il cantîr dulà che o lavori; la place e je sierade dal cantîr; plantâ un cantîr; direzi un cantîr; o fâs il capocantîr; un cantîr navâl.

Related to construction sites is the Friulian word for engineer; in standard Friulian, this masculine noun is inzegnîr; at Dograva, it is rather ingeniêr. For instance, the Dograva form l'ingeniêr al lavora in ufissi means the engineer works in an office. In standard Friulian: l'inzegnîr al lavore in ufici.

Very useful to know about Friulian is its use of fâ (to make, to do) when speaking of the exercise of a certain line of work. For instance, in one of the examples above, we find the Dograva form: i fai il capocantîer (I am a foreman). Fâ can be used with any line of work; more examples in the Dograva variant: i fai l'ingeniêr (I am an engineer); i fai l'infermiêr (I am a nurse/paramedic); i fai il ragioniêr (I am an accountant); al fa il feroviêr (he is a railway worker). All the above in standard Friulian are: o fâs il capocantîr; o fâs l'inzegnîr; o fâs l'infermîr; o fâs il resonîr; al fâs il ferovîr.

Dograva variant of Friulian 81

In this entry, you will review a selection of ten aspects pertaining to the variant of Friulian as spoken at Dograva.

1. Past participle meaning gone

Zût (gone) is the past participle of zî (to go). Some writers may use the spelling ’sî (past participle ’sût); either way, the initial letter sounds like the z of English. Simple examples: i soi zût (I went, I have gone [masculine]); i soi zuda (I went, I have gone [feminine]); al è zût (he went, he has gone); a ei zuda (she went, she has gone); i sin zûts (we went, we have gone [masculine]); i sin zudis (we went, we have gone [feminine]); a son zûts (they went, they have gone [masculine]); a son zudis (they went, they have gone [feminine]); i eri zût (I had gone [masculine]); i eri zuda (I had gone [feminine]); al era zût (he had gone); a era zuda (she had gone). The t of masculine plural zûts is not pronounced, so that it sounds as though it were written zûs.

Example sentences: a son zûts a stâ in sitât (they have gone to live in the city); a son zûts in Merica (they have gone to America); cui sa dulà ch’al era zût a platâsi (who knows where he had gone to hide); a era zuda di una sô sôr (she had gone to one of her sisters’); al vôl dome capî parsé ch’i ti eris zût a Udin (he just wants to understand why you had gone to Udin).

2. Diphthongs

Certain words in the Friulian of Dograva use a diphthong (which is to say, two vowel sounds in one, with the first gliding into the second), there where the standard has a single long vowel. For example, whereas the standard language has nûf (nine), the Dograva variant pronounces nouf (this may be written nôf by certain writers, even though it contains a diphthong); or whereas the standard language has mês (month), the Dograva variant pronounces meis; or whereas the standard language has pîts (feet), the Dograva variant pronounces peis.

Examples: a erin passadis li nouf (it was past nine o’clock); lui al tenta di nouf (he tries again); par adès a no plouf (for now it is not raining); tant che un ouf (like an egg); alc al si mouf di là dal veri da la fignestra (something is moving on the other side of the windowpane); un meis dopo (one month later); dopo trê meis (after three months); spetâ in peis (to stand and wait); al finiva di lavorâ subit dopo da li seis (he used to finish working right after six o’clock); a son scuasin li deis (it is almost ten o’clock); mê mari a ei tornada di Roma (my mother has returned from Rome); a ei bessola (she is alone).

3. First person

In the standard language, I am and we are take the form o soi and o sin. In the Friulian of Dograva, these are rather i soi and i sin. From this, we understand that the Dograva atonic subject pronoun is i rather than standard o in both the singular and plural of the first person.

Examples, first-person singular: i soi (I am); i eri (I was); i ài (I have); i vevi (I had); no stâ toçâmi; lassimi ch’i soi stufa (do not touch me; leave me alone because I am fed up); i ài bisugna di te (I need you); i vevi massa pôra par voltâmi (I was too afraid to turn round); i stevi a jodi (I stood watching); al è mieit ch’i torni a çasa (I had better go home); no soi çoc né indurmidît (I am neither drunk nor asleep); moviti, ch’i no ài voia di tornâ cul scûr (get a move on because I do not want to go back in the dark); no sai di dulà ch’i ven, i sai di dulà ch’i soi partît (I do not know where I come from, I {only} know from where I have left); jo i ài pôra (I am afraid); jo ti speti (I shall wait for you); jo i siels (I choose).

Examples, first-person plural: i sin (we are); i erin (we were); i vin (we have); i vevin (we had); i sin in cuatri (there are four of us); i vin domandât sè môt ch’a si dîs par talian sçalâr (we asked how to say loading deck in Italian); i zevin ben a scuela, a ei vera, ma jo i no vevi nissuna voia di continuâ a studiâ (we did well at school, it is true, but I had no desire to continue studying); il prât dà ch’i zuiavin di balon in vinç (the meadow where twenty of us used to play football); noatris i savin (we know); noatris, ch’i erin zûts davôr di lôr (we who had followed them); nô i no stin in Italia (we are not in Italy); nô i no vin çatât post (we could not find a place {to sit}).

4. Second person

In the standard language, you are takes the form tu sês (singular) and o sês (plural). In the Friulian of Dograva, these are rather i ti sos and i sîs. From this, we understand that the Dograva atonic subject pronoun is i ti (singular) rather than standard tu in the singular of the second person, and i rather than standard o in the plural of the second person. In the second-person singular, i ti can reduce to just ti, but this reduction does not occur when the conjuntion che is present.

Examples, second-person singular: i ti sos (you are); i ti as (you have); i ti as sedis ains (you are sixteen years old); i ti partìs viers il flun (you head towards the river); i ti molis il troi (you get off the path); i ti sos in miès ma ti sos ença di fôr (you are in the middle but you are also on the outside); di cui sotu? (from whom are you? {who is your father?}); ma sè atu stassera? (what ever is the matter with you this evening?); sè fatu? (what are you doing?); sè pensavitu? (what were you thinking?); di dulà ventu? (where do you come from?); parsè ch’i ti as pôra (because you are afraid); dulà ch’i ti çatis lavôr (where you find work); cuanch’i no ti si lu spetis (when you do not expect it).

Examples, second-person plural: i sîs (you are); i crodîs (you believe); vuatris ch’i eris restâts in paîs (you who stayed behind in the village); i vîs scugnût zî via dal paîs (you had to leave the village); i savîs disi mâl da la int (you are good at speaking ill of people); tu e ço fradi i vîs vût sempri passion pa la scuela (you and your brother have always been passionate about school); vuliso vignî a jodilu? (do you want to come see him?); viso fat la scuadra? (did you make the team?); viso jodût? (have you seen?); i vevis dut sè ch’a vi coventava (you had everything that you needed); i cognossevis dut (you knew everything); i si sintevis a çasa vuestra (you felt at home).

5. Third person

Examples, third-person singular, masculine: al è (he is); al à (he has); massima adès che lui al era a çasa par zornadis interis (especially now that he was at home for entire days); al è strac e al sueta (he is tired and he limps); al era in pension (he was in retirement); lui a nol veva nuia di disi (he had nothing to say); a nol sapeva sè fâ (he did not know what to do); Gino a nol era tornât (Gino had not returned); Bepo al si era zirât tal jet (Bepo had turned round in bed); insomp di una setemana al si era stufât di stâ a durmî fin tars (by the end of one week he had become sick of sleeping in late); a nol si recuardava nuia (he could not remember anything).

Examples, third-person singular, feminine: a ei (she is); a à (she has); a era una biela femina (she was a beautiful woman); jê a lu tontonava (she used to yell at him); a era sçampada cun Pauli ta un albergo (she had taken off with Paul to a hotel); a veva sessanta ains (she was sixty years old); jê a no veva insistût (she had not insisted); di chê volta a no à pi lavorât (from that time on she did not work any more); a si era sierada tal scûr da la stansia (she had locked herself up in the darkness of the room); a j plaseva sô nona, ch’a no si meteva mai di mies (he liked his grandmother, who never interfered).

Examples, third-person plural: a son (they are); a àn (they have); a erin dome li sinc (it was only five o’clock); duçus a vevin ridût (everybody had laughed); i claps sot il soreli a ti insein (the stones in the sun blind you); a mi tirin a siment (they take digs at me); nença lôr a no vevin nuia di fâ (they did not have anything to do either); li fiis a no san rispundi (the daughters do not know how to respond).

6. Counting

From one to ten: un* (1), doi* (2), trê (3), cuatri (4), sinc (5), seis (6), siet (7), vot (8), nouf (9), deis (10). *Un and doi are used with masculine nouns only; with feminine nouns, una and dôs must be used. Examples: un davôr chel atri (the one behind the other); una davôr di chê atra (the one behind the other); un a la volta (one at a time); almancul una volta al an (at least once a year); li dôs di not (two o’clock at night); dôs fantatis (two girls); doi zovins a tachin a pacâsi (two youths start punching each other); trê zovins a tachin a sburtâsi (three youths start pushing one another); trê meis (three months); trê, cuatri feminis, doi oms, una fantata e cualchi fruts (three or four women, two men, a girl and a few children); al molava a li trê e un cuart (he used to get off at a quarter past three); a li cuatri (at four o’clock); a erin dome li sinc (it was only five o’clock); al si sveava a li sinc (he used to wake up at five o’clock); al jevava a li seis di bunora (he used to get up at six in the morning); da li seis a li siet di bunora (from six to seven o’clock in the morning); prin da li siet (before seven o’clock); turno unic di vot oris (one workshift of eight hours); durmî almancul fin li vot (to sleep in until at least eight o’clock); a erin scuasin li nouf (it was almost nine o’clock); viers li deis e miesa (at about half-past ten).

From eleven to twenty: undis (11), dodis (12), tredis (13), cutuardis (14), cuindis (15), sedis (16), disasiet (17), disavot (18), disanouf (19), vinç (20). Examples: al rivava a Çasarsa a miesanot mancul deis e tal jet a la miesa (he used to arrive at Cjasarse at ten minutes to midnight and {be} in bed at half-past); da li siet a li undis (from seven to eleven o’clock); una roba di frutis di tredis, cutuardis ains (a thing that thirteen- or fourteen-year-old girls do); a nol veva cuindis ains ch’al veva tacât (he was not even fifteen years old when he has started); sui sedis ains (about sixteen years old); al riva un grop di zovins e zovinis, roba di sedis disasiet ains (a group of boys and girls arrives, sixteen or seventeen years old); i volarès vê vinç ains (I should like to be twenty years old); i vevin pôc pi di vinç ains (we were little more than twenty years old).

Twenty and beyond (vinç e passa): vinç (20), vinçadoi (22), vinçacuatri (24), trenta (30), trentatrê (33), trentasiet (37), trentavot (38), cuaranta (40), sincuanta (50), sessanta (60), sessantavot (68), setanta (70), otanta (80), novanta (90), sent (100), sentedeis (110), sentedodis (112), mil (1.000), sincmil (5.000), deismil (10.000), vinçmil (20.000), sentmil (100.000), un milionvosentevinçasincmil (1.825.000).

7. Possessive adjectives

8. Contractions of prepositions

Preposition a (to, at); the forms are: a un, a una, al, a la, ai, a li. Both al and a la take the form a l’ before a noun beginning with a vowel. Examples: a un sert pont (at a certain point); a una fruta (to a girl); al prin (to the first one); di un moment a l’atri (from one moment to the next); a la fin (at the end, finally); a l’universitât (at university); ai ciei cuindis ains (at your fifteen years of age); fint a li deis (until ten o’clock). The indefinite article una can contract to ’na, so we should also expect to hear, for instance, a ’na veça (to an old woman).

Preposition cun (with, by); the forms are: cuntun, cuntuna, cul, cu la, cui, cu li. Both cul and cu la take the form cu l’ before a noun beginning with a vowel. Examples: cuntun fassolet (with a kerchief); cuntuna musa rabiosa (with an angry face); cul çâf (with one’s head); cu l’odôr da l’estât (with the scent of summer); cu la television vierta (with the television on); cu l’orela (with one’s ear, by ear); cui çavei bionts (with blond hair); cu li mans (with one’s hands, by hand).

9. How to say all

The Friulian dut means all. As seen in the many examples below, it can take on other English renderings, depending on its grammatical function. At Dograva, its four forms are: dut (masculine singular); duta (feminine singular); duçus (masculine plural); dutis (feminine plural). In the standard language, their equivalents are: dut, dute, ducj, dutis.

Examples, masculine singular: dut ben? (everything all right?); dut il dì (all day long); dut il dopomisdì (all afternoon long); pi di dut (above all); par dut il timp ch’al era restât a çasa (for the entire time that he had stayed home); a sena i ài tasût dut il timp (at supper I kept quiet the whole time); i vevi fat di dut par cunvinsila (I had done everything to convince her); cuanch’al era muart la femina a veva vindût dut (when he had died his wife had sold everything); jo, cu li patatis i soi buna di fâ di dut (I am able to make anything with potatoes). The last example is spoken by woman; we know this by the feminine singular buna. At Dograva, a female says: i soi buna di fâ (I can make, I am able to make, I know how to make), whereas a man says: i soi bon di fâ.

Examples, feminine singular: duta la sitât (the entire city); par duta l’Africa (throughout Africa); duta la not (all night long); duta la setemana (all week long); a doventa duta rossa e a tâs di colp (she turns all red and suddenly goes quiet); a nol diseva una peraula par duta la sera (he did not say one word all evening); duta lì la diferensa (that is why it is entirely different); duta chê cunfusion (all that confusion); ma tal mont a era duta un’atra roba (but out in the world it was something else altogether).

Examples, masculine plural: butâ via duçus chei bês (to throw away all that money); duçus i clients (all the customers); duçus i ciei recuarts (all your memories); duçus i dis da l’an (all the days of the year); a ’nd è par duçus i gusç (to each his own); un a la volta a erin partîts duçus i fantats (one at a time all the lads had left); duçus a savevin dut di duçus (everyone knew everything about everyone); come ch’a fan duçus adès (as everyone does now); lu disin duçus (everyone says it); a vevin molât duçus doi (both of them had quit); duçus doi insiemit (both of them together).

Examples, feminine plural: dutis li çasis (all the houses); dutis li scuadris (all the teams); come dutis li feminis (like all women); ta dutis li oris dal dì (at every hour of the day); dutis li voltis ch’al prova a çacarâti (every time that he tries to talk to you); al zirava pai taulins e l’invidava a balâ dutis li fantatis (he was going round from table to table inviting all the girls to dance); a erin dutis bielis (they were all beautiful); a li àn dutis (they have them all). In the last example, the thing had by them is identified by a feminine noun in Friulian.

10. How to say this and that

At Dograva, the demonstrative adjectives equivalent to this (singular) and these (plural) are: chistu (masculine singular); chista (feminine singular); chisçus (masculine plural); chistis (feminine plural). In the standard language, their equivalents are: chest, cheste, chescj, chestis. Examples: chistu al sarà il mieit (this one will be the best); chista volta i ài tasût dut il timp (this time I kept quiet the whole time); i mieit a erin i pi pissui come chisçus (the best were the littlest ones like these); ta una di chistis çasis (in one of these houses). In the spoken Friulian of Dograva, we also encounter contractions of these demonstrative adjectives; for instance: ’sta volta (this time); i fai fenta di no vêlu jodût, ’stu chi (this guy here, I pretend not to have seen him); duçus i mai di ’stu mont (all the ills of this world); sti’ robis (these things).

As for the demonstrative adjectives equivalent to that (singular) and those (plural), they are the following at Dograva: chel (masculine singular); chê (feminine singular); chei (masculine plural); chês (feminine plural); these are the same in the standard language. Examples: chel Nadâl, lui a nol era tornât (that Christmas, he did not come back); jê a no à chê di molâ (she has no intention of giving up); cun duçus chei atris fantats (with all those other lads); una di chês seris d’estât (one of those summer evenings).

Dograva variant of Friulian 82

In lesson 79, we began to look at words that end in -êr or -iêr in the Friulian variant of Dograva, whereas their equivalents in standard Friulian end in -îr. Words that we have encountered so far that fall into this category include: il carabiniêr (carabiniêr policeman; standard Friulian: il carabinîr); un infermiêr (nurse, first responder; standard Friulian: un infermîr); un pompiêr (fireman; standard Friulian: il pompîr); il cantiêr (construction site; standard Friulian: il cantîr); un capocantiêr (foreman; standard Friulian: un capocantîr); un ingeniêr (engineer; standard Friulian: un inzegnîr); il feroviêr (railway worker; standard Friulian: il ferovîr); il ragioniêr (accountant; standard Friulian: il resonîr).

We look at examples now of yet another word falling into this category, this word being of very high frequency in Friulian: in the Dograva variant, the word for yesterday is jêr; in standard Friulian, this word takes the form îr instead. Example: jêr, vuê e doman (yesterday, today and tomorrow). Let us now take some examples using jêr in relation to telling the time: jêr sera viers li vot (yesterday evening towards eight); jêr sera viers li nouf (last night at about nine); jêr sera viers li deis (last night round ten); jêr di bunora viers li sinc (yesterday morning towards five); jêr di bunora viers li seis (yesterday morning at about six); jêr di bunora viers li siet (yesterday morning round seven).

And now a few general examples of use: jêr sera i no rivavi a indurmidîmi (last night I could not fall asleep); jêr sera a mi à dita ch’a no lu à pi jodût (last night she told me that she has not seen him again); chistu milus al è bon, ma chei di jêr a mi plasevin di pi (this apple is good, but I liked yesterday's ones better).

Dograva variant of Friulian 83

Çapâ means to take, to catch in the Dograva variant of Friulian; in standard Friulian, its equivalent is cjapâ. Some examples: çapâ l’autobus (to take the bus); i çapi l’autobus (I take the bus); i çapavi l’autobus par zî fint in plassa (I used to take the bus to go to the town square); par rivâ in sitât i vevi di çapâ l'autobus (to get into the city I had to take the bus); al mi à çapât pal bras (he took me by the arm); i lu çaparès (I would take it); çapâ la pulmunite (to catch pneumonia); a ti çapin cuanch’i no ti si lu spetis (they catch you when you do not expect it). As for çapâ sù, this can mean both to pick up and to get up. Examples: al à çapât sù il çapiel (he picked up the hat); al è çapât sù e al è zût fôr (he got up and went out).

Çapâsila means to get angry. It is composed of çapâ (to take) + reflexive si (unto oneself) + feminine singular la (it): literally, to take it unto oneself. Its equivalent in standard Friulian is cjapâse, which breaks down into exactly the same parts as the Dograva form çapâsila, but according to the rules of standard Friulian: cjapâ (to take) + se (= si + la). In the Dograva form çapâsila, si and la do not contract to form se as they do in the standard form. Some examples according to the Dograva variant: i vevi propit reson di çapâmila (I was absolutely right to get angry); no sta çapâtila (do not get angry); i mi la çapi cun duçus (I get angry with everybody); i mi la çapavi cun duçus (I used to get angry with everybody).

Dograva variant of Friulian 84

We now look at examples in the Dograva variant employing the masculine noun nissoli, meaning bedsheet. One bedsheet is un nissoli; in the plural, we have i nissoi (bedsheets). These examples are drawn from the works of Alberto Luchini, native of Dograva.

Example 1: Al veva çatât lavôr cun atris furlans, come muradôr. A stevin ta una baraca di blocs, çalda d’estât, ch’a durmivin tal curtîf, e freda d’unvier, che i nissoi, a la sera, a erin inglassâts, ch’a si crevavin come veri. In English: He had found work with other Friulians as a bricklayer. They stayed in a brick shack, so hot in summer that they slept in the yard, and so cold in the winter that the bedsheets in the evening were ice-cold and cracked like glass. Nissoi inglassâts: ice-cold bedsheets. Here we also find the name of two seasons, both masculine nouns: estât (summer) and unviêr (winter). Autumn is the masculine noun autun, and spring is the feminine noun primavera. (For information, in standard Friulian, we also find the following: vierte [f., spring]; istât [m., summer]; sierade [f., autumn]; inviêr [m., winter]).

Example 2: A la çata ch’a ven fôr da la çamara cuntuna çama di nissoi sporcs e ch’a si speta che lui a ju çapi par butâju tal bagno. In English: He finds her as she is coming out of the bedroom with a load of dirty bedsheets, expecting him to take them and throw them in the bathroom. Nissoi sporcs: dirty bedsheets. To this we can add: nissoi pena lavâts (freshly washed bedsheets). Note that al çapa means he takes, but we find that the l of the atonic (unstressed) masculine singular al is omitted before the direct object ju (them): che lui a ju çapi (that he should take them). The reason for the use of the subjunctive çapi follows on from spetâsi che, meaning to expect.

Example 3: Duçus a si erin sveâts e, molât un voli tal curtîf e tai çamps pal barcon tignût in sflesa, a erin tornâts sidins a intorteâsi ai nissoi par parâ via la pôra. In English: Everybody had woken up and, having cast an eye into the yard and fields through the partially-opened window, had quietly wrapped themselves back up in their bedsheets to drive away the fear. Tignût in sflesa, or simply in sflesa, means ajar; for instance, a door kept ajar is una puarta tignuda in sflesa; if a window is left open a crack, we may say: il barcon al è in sflesa, or la fignestra a ei in sflesa. In our example sentence written by Luchini, we find two reflexive usages: sveâsi (to wake up; example: al si è sveât tars [he got up late]) and intorteâsi (to wrap oneself up). Tornâ a intorteâsi means to wrap oneself back up, to wrap oneself up again. Also: ingardâsi tai nissoi (to curl up into the bedsheets).

We end this lesson with an idiomatic Friulian phrase to learn: blanc come un nissoli (white as a bedsheet).

Dograva variant of Friulian 85

Let us look now at a new sentence drawn from the works of Alberto Luchini, native of Dograva: In cusina il barcon al è viert su di un sêl selest smavît, ch’al fa vignî voia di tornâ tal clip dal jet. In English: In the kitchen, the window opens onto a pale blue sky, which makes you want to return to the warmth of the bed. Translated more literally: In cusina (in {the} kitchen) il barcon al è viert (the window is open) su di un sêl (on{to} a sky) selest (blue) smavît (pale), ch’al fa vignî (which makes to come) voia ({the} desire) di tornâ tal clip (to return in{to} the warmth) dal jet (of the bed).

Here we discover the word for sky in the Dograva variant: il sêl, which, in standard Friulian is il cîl. More examples: il sêl al è clâr e sensa nûi (the sky is clear and without clouds); il ros dal sêl (the red{ness} of the sky); il sêl al si scurìs viers il flun (the sky is darkening towards the river); sot di un sêl sensa colôr (under a colourless sky); il sêl al era net, selest, sensa una nula (the sky was clear, blue, without a cloud); il sêl al era simpri pi neri (the sky was darker and darker); il grîs dal sêl (the grey{ness} of the sky); ta la lûs clara dal sêl (in the bright light of the sky). Luchini uses two different words for clouds in his writing: masculine plural nûi (singular nûl), and feminine plural nulis (singular nula). I nûi bas e scûrs: the low and dark clouds. Li nulis a rivin cuntun cargo di ploia: the clouds are arriving with a load of rain.

As for clip, this means warm as an adjective, or warmth as a noun. Il clip dal jet: the warmth of the bed. What other things can be described using clip in Friulian? Il clip dai nissoi: the warmth of the bedsheets (see lesson 84 for more about nissoi). L’aga a ei clipa e scura: the water is warm and dark. Tal clip di un dopomisdì di mai: in the warmth of a May afternoon. In another example written by Luchini, we read an example of clip where it is employed to indicate that a cup of boiled milk has gone cool (i.e., lukewarm); a child says to her mother: «Mama, il lat al è clip»  (mummy, the milk is lukewarm; and her mother responds: «No ei vera, lu ài sçaldât jo» (that's not true, I boiled it myself).

Dograva variant of Friulian 86

Consider now a new portion of Dograva Friulian said by a male character in Alberto Luchini's book Uchì, who has in front of him a group of women: Una dì, una di lôr, ridussant, a mi à butât là il suspiet ch’a mi plasin i masçus. [...] No ei che li feminis a no mi zedin. No soi un oreglon. Propit no. Di murosis i ’nd ài vudis, soradut cuanch’i zevi a scuela a Udin. E ença dopo. In English: One day, one of them, whilst smiling, cast the doubt on me that I like men. [...] It's not that I don't like women. I'm not a queer. Not at all. I've had my share of girlfriends, especially when I went to school in Udin. And even afterwards.

No ei che li feminis a no mi zedin: In this usage, zî (to go) in fact means to appeal, as in: no ei che (it is not that) li feminis (women) a no mi zedin (do not appeal to me). Zedin is the third-person plural of the present subjunctive: van (indicative); zedin (subjunctive). Consider: li feminis a no mi van (women do not appeal to me {I do not like women}); no ei che li feminis a no mi zedin (it is not that women do not appeal to me {it is not that I do not like women}). Another example: a mi a no mi va (it does not appeal to me {I do not like it}); no ei che a mi a no mi zedi (it is not that it does not appeal to me {it is not that I do not like it}).

The masculine noun oreglon refers pejoratively to a homosexual. Another one is the masculine noun fenoli.

Di murosis i ’nd ài vudis: The Friulian ’nd means thereof (of it, of them). Murosa is a feminine noun meaning girlfriend; its masculine equivalent is murôs (boyfriend). Literally: di murosis (of girlfriends) i ’nd ài vudis (thereof have I had), which is to say, I have had girlfriends, I have had my share of girlfriends. To pronounce i ’nd ài, take it as though it were one word: indài. We can create some new examples to learn: di murôs i ’nd ài vûts (I have had my share of boyfriends; vûts is pronounced vûs); di problemis i ’nd ài vûts (I have had my share of problems); di lavôrs sporcs i ’nd ài vûts (I have had my share of dirty jobs); di murôs ti ’nd as vûts un pôcs massa (you have had one too many boyfriends; pôcs is pronounced pôs); di barufis tra di nô i ’nd a vin vudis (we have had our share of fights between us). In the last example, the a comes between ’nd and vin to aid in pronunciation because the verb begins with a consonant.

In relation to the above, the following base forms ought to be learnt: i ’nd ài vûts (I have had of them); ti ’nd as vûts (you [singular] have had of them); a ’nd à vûts (he/she has had of them); i ’nd a vin vûts (we have had of them); i ’nd a vîs vûts (you [plural] have had of them); a ’nd àn vûts (they have had of them). In these examples, ’nd stands in for a masculine plural noun (murôs, problemis...); if the noun wherefor ’nd stands in is a feminine singular one, then vûts is replaced by vudis.

Una di lôr: one of them; specifically, one {woman} of them. Of course, if it were rather question of one man out of a group of people, then we say: un di lôr.

Soradut: especially, above all. Another example: li barufis tra di nô a nassevin soradut parsé che lui al restava fôr fin tars (the fights between us arose above all because he would stay out till late).

Dograva variant of Friulian 87

Podê is the Friulian for can, to be able. Let us now look at some examples of podê according to the Dograva variant, including conjugated forms. First, some examples employing the infinitive: al spera di podê fâ sé ch’al vôl (he hopes that he can do what he wants [literally, he hopes to able to do what he wants]); al spetava dome di podê çatâ lavôr ta una fabrica (he was just waiting to be able to find work in a factory); i speri di podê stâ a durmî almancul fin li siet (I hope that I can sleep in until at least seven [literally, I hope to be able to stay sleeping at least until seven]); al crôt di podê dessidi ença par chei atris (he believes that he can decide also for the others [literally, he believes to be able to decide also for those others]). Nota bene: In Friulian, the others (as in the other people) takes the form chei atris (literally, those others).

Examples of conjugated forms: i lu ài fermât par domandâj s’al podeva zî a çatala in çasa (I stopped him to ask him if he could go and find her in the house); i no podevin rivâ nença un minût in ritart (we could not arrive even one minute late); i no podevi lassâ la machina fôr dal porton (I could not leave the car outside the gate); i no podevi crodi ch’al mi vès volût imbroiâmi (I could not believe that wanted to trick me); i no pos no domandâj di restâ dibessola (I cannot ask her to stay alone); no pos sbaliâmi (I cannot be wrong); no ti pos fâmi zî fôr (you cannot make me go out); ma ese una roba tant bruta, che no ti pos contânila? (but is it such a terrible thing that you cannot recount it to us?); i ciei voi a no podin imbroiâmi (your eyes cannot trick me); ti pos ença fâ di mancul (you can even do without); no podaressitu stâ fer? (can you not please keep still?).

Dograva variant of Friulian 88

In this lesson, you will learn the names of a few items of clothing (i vistîts) according to the Dograva variant of Friulian: il çalsin (sock); la çamesa (shirt); li barghessis (trousers); la giacheta (jacket); la cravata (tie); la sintura (belt); la scarpa (shoe); il çapiel (hat); la maiuta (jersey); la cotula (dress); un pâr di jeans (pair of jeans); un slip (briefs); una canotiera (sleeveless shirt {vest, tanktop}).

Some examples of use: una çamesa blança (a white shirt); una çamesa nera (a black shirt); cambiâ di scarpis (to change one's shoes); la suela da la scarpa (the sole of the shoe); meti la sintura (to put one's belt on); stirâ la çamesa (to iron one's shirt); stirâ li barghessis (to iron one's trousers); leâ i cordons da li scarpis (to tie the laces of one's shoes); giavâsi il çapiel (to take one's hat off); al si giava il çapiel (he takes his hat off); al taca a giavâsi li scarpis (he starts to take his shoes off).

A reading from Lì di Sandra a li nouf di sera, by Alberto Luchini, where the Friulian word for jacket appears: Viers miesanot, a son passâts i carabiniêrs di Spilinberc e Toni a j à contât di Ligio, ch’al era sentât, sui sçalins dal cine. Un carabiniêr a j è zût vissin par çacarâj e lui al si è mitût a porconâ [...]. Alora a lu àn çapât e lu àn strissinât viers la camioneta. Ligio al si è mitût a vaî, a domandâj di lassâlu tornâ a çasa. “Molaitmi, al diseva, ch’i mi rompîs la giacheta [...].” Ma lu àn partât in preson e lu àn tignût dentri sin tal doman.

In English: Viers miesanot (towards midnight), a son passâts i carabiniêrs di Spilinberc (the carabiniêr police from Spilinberc passed by) e Toni a j à contât di Ligio (and Toni told them about Ligio), ch’al era sentât, sui sçalins dal cine (who was sat on the steps of the cinema). Un carabiniêr a j è zût vissin par çacarâj (a policeman went up to him to talk to him) e lui al si è mitût a porconâ (and he {Ligio} started mouthing off) [...]. Alora a lu àn çapât (so they got hold of him) e lu àn strissinât viers la camioneta (and dragged him towards the van). Ligio al si è mitût a vaî (Ligio started crying), a domandâj di lassâlu tornâ a çasa (asking them to let him go back home). «Molaitmi, al diseva, ch’i mi rompîs la giacheta (let go of me, he said, you're breaking my jacket) [...].» Ma lu àn partât in preson (but they took him off to jail) e lu àn tignût dentri sin tal doman (and kept him locked up until the next day).

Dograva variant of Friulian 89

In this lesson, we look at a range of examples employing davôr (behind, after) and indavôr (back, ago), according to the variant of Friulian spoken at Dograva. For information, davôr and indavôr find their equivalents in standard Friulian as daûr and indaûr.

Examples of davôr

davôr da la puarta (behind the door); davôr di nô (behind us); al ni è vignût davôr (he came behind {followed} us); al veva tornât a vignîmi davôr (he had started following me again); i siei voi a si pierdevin davôr di un nâs lunc (his eyes were lost behind a long nose); i lu crodevi davôr dal porton (I thought that he was behind the gate); lassantsi davôr un fetôr di ledan (leaving behind itself a stench of manure); una domanda davôr chê atra (one question after the other); un davôr l’atri (the one behind the other); davôr di me i vevi sintût tabaiâ par furlan (behind me I had heard people talking in Friulian); di trê meis i stai ta una pension davôr da la stassion (for three months I have been staying in a guesthouse behind the station); ta la senta davôr da l’auto (in the back seat of the car); par davôr al è viert (it is open in the back); una machina a mi suna davôr (a car honks behind me); sô mari a j sigava sempri davôr (his mother was always shouting at him).

Examples of indavôr

un an indavôr (a year back, one year ago); ains indavôr (years back, years ago); timp indavôr (some time back, some time ago); al si è tirât indavôr (he moved/stepped back); tornâ indavôr (to turn back).

Another word in the Friulian of Dograva that undergoes a similar change in vowel as compared to the standard form is davorman (immediately, at once); its equivalent in the standard is daurman. Examples: i soi rivât davorman (I arrived immediately); i speri di podê çatâ lavôr davorman (I hope that I can find work immediately); a j è vignût davorman un gran rimuars (a great sense of remorse immediately came upon him); partî davorman (to leave at once); al veva capît davorman (he had understood at once).

Dograva variant of Friulian 90

In this ninetieth lesson of Friulian according to the Dograva variant, we examine a selection of text written by Alberto Luchini, native of Dograva, drawn from his book Uchì:

Il barcon al è grant e al à sbaris largis di fier, ch’i no ài mai capît parsè ch’a li àn mitudis, al ters plan. Dal alt a si jodin il parzora dai arbui e i cops da li çasis, pi in là il stradon par Glemona e lontan il lâc, tra i poi ch’a lu sierin d’estât, fadint balinâ l’aga come tocs di veri sbatûts dal soreli.

In English: Il barcon al è grant (the window is big) e al à sbaris largis di fier (and has wide iron bars), ch’i no ài mai capît (but I've never understood) parsè ch’a li àn mitudis (why they were put there), al ters plan (on the third floor). Dal alt (from above) a si jodin il parzora dai arbui (you can see the treetops) e i cops da li çasis (and the shingles of the houses), pi in là il stradon par Glemona (the main road for Glemona farther out) e lontan il lâc (and the lake far off), tra i poi ch’a lu sierin d’estât (through the poplars that surround it in the summer), fadint balinâ l’aga (making the water flicker) come tocs di veri (like bits of glass) sbatûts dal soreli (struck by the sun).

Whereas grant means big, large, great, larc means wide, broad. Of both, the four forms are, according to the Dograva variant of Friulian: grant, larc (masculine singular); granç, larcs (masculine plural); granda, largia (feminine singular); grandis, largis (feminine plural). A few more examples of use: i voi a vora ta una fabrica granda (I go to work in a big factory); la Granda Bretagna (Great Britain); granç progets e grandis ideis (big projects and big ideas); una sbara largia di fier (a wide iron bar); una boça largia sensa i dinç denant (a wide mouth with no front teeth); al si è sentât, giambis a larc, fumant un sigaret (he sat down, legs apart, smoking a cigarette). To this we can also add lunc, meaning long; its four forms are: lunc (masculine singular); luncs (masculine plural); lungia (feminine singular); lungis (feminine plural). Example: al veva la barba lungia di na setemana (he had a week's long beard).

Ters means third. Its four forms are: ters (masculine singular); ters (masculine plural); tersa (feminine singular); tersis (feminine plural). Examples: il ters meis dal an (the third month of the year); Pauli III [Pauli Ters] (Paul the Third); al à tentât una tersa volta (he tried a third time); meti la tersa (to go into third gear).

The masculine noun parzora identifies the top of a thing: il parzora dai arbui (the top of the trees); il parzora dal çaf (the top of the head); il parzora da li çasis (the top of the houses), and so on. The z of parzora sounds like English z; in other works of Luchini, he spells this word parsora, but the pronunciation is still that of parzora. The top of a house is covered with cops (shingles, roof tiles), from the masculine singular cop. Parzora di means above; for example, i çavei parzora da li orelis means the hair above the ears, and pôc parzora dal zenoli means just above the knee. The masculine noun lâc means lake; for information, this takes the form lât in standard Friulian. We read that the lake was surrounded by poi (poplars), the singular whereof is the masculine pol. Sierâ most often means to close; we must take it here as meaning to close off, which is to say, to surround: i poi a sierin il lâc (the poplars close off {surround} the lake).

Whereas the feminine strada means road, street, way, the augmentative and masculine stradon identifies a main road. We read that the main road for Glemona was farther away: il stradon par Glemona al era pi in là; and that the lake was far off, in the distance: il lâc al era lontan.

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The sample vocabulary below is that of the Friulian language as it is used at Dograva (Italian name, Aurava), in the municipality of San Zors da la Richinvelda (Italian name, San Giorgio della Richinvelda). The Friulian language spoken at Dograva belongs to the western dialect of Friulian. The vocabulary presented below is, of course, by no means exhaustive; it is simply a selection of words and example sentences to learn from. I had originally intended to create a proper glossary to the Dograva variant, but personal time contraints prevent me from doing so; I have nevertheless wanted to include here what was produced. Return to the top of this page.

ADÈS, now: l’ufissi adès al è svuent, the office is empty now; come ch’a fan duçus adès, the way everyone does it now; par adès al sta ben, he is fine for now; massima adès che lui al è in pension, especially now that he is retired; dome adès i ài scugnût zî via, only now have I needed to leave.

ADORA, early: sveâsi adora, to wake up early; i ài tacât a sveâmi sempri pi adora, I have started waking up earlier and earlier; massa adora, too early; pi adora dal solit, earlier than usual.

AN, s.m., year: un an indavôr, a year ago; sincuanta ains indavôr, fifty years ago; scuasin un an, almost a year; al è stât un an dûr, it has been a difficult year; a nol à nença cuindis ains, he is not even fifteen years old; dopo un pâr di ains, after a couple years; al veva fat il soldât par ains, he was a soldier for years.

BANDA, s.f., side, way: in banda da la strada, on the side of the road; di chê atra banda, on the other side, the other way; di una banda e di chê atra, on either side; zirâsi di chê atra banda, to turn the other way; al à vuardât di chê atra banda, he looked the other way; al si zira da la mê banda, he turns towards me; al si tirava in banda, he was pulling aside; i soi da la tô banda, I am on your side; al mi à domandât di sé banda zî, he asked me which way to go; da la banda dai çamps, out towards the fields.

BLAVA, s.f., corn: un sac di blava, a sack of corn; tal miès di un çamp di blava, in the middle of a cornfield; la blava a sta cambiant colôr, the corn is changing colour. | Remark: Not to be confused with il forment, s.m., wheat.

BOÇA, s.f., mouth: cu la boça un pôc vierta, with one's mouth slightly open; cu la boça seça, with a dry mouth; sensa saliva in boça, without saliva in one's mouth; cul sigaret in boça, with a cigarette in one's mouth; pena ch’a viers boça, so soon as she opens her mouth {so soon as she starts to speak}; al resta a boça vierta, he is left speechless; ridi a plena boça, to laugh out loud.

ÇACARÂ, to speak, to talk: sé môt ch’a si çacara ulì, the way that they speak there; il nonu al çacarava da li gueris, grandfather was speaking of the wars; a çacarin da li fantatis dal paîs, they are talking about the village girls; i giornai a vevin çacarât spès di lui, the newspapers had often spoken of him; al va a sentâsi ta la taula vissina e si met a çacarâ dibessôl, he goes to sit at the next table and starts talking to himself; no çacaritu furlan?, do you not speak Friulian?; al era sempri pront a çacarâ cun cui ch’al vigneva dentri, he was always ready to talk to whomever came in; a çacarin simpri di robis di nuia, they always speak of trifle matters, they always make small talk.

ÇAPÂ, to take, to catch: i çapi, I take; i ài çapât in man il giornâl, I took the newspaper into my hand; çapâ l’autobus, to take the bus; par rivâ in sitât i vevi di çapâ l'autobus, to get into the city I had to take the bus; çapâ la bicicleta e zî in sitât, to take the bicycle and go into the city; çapâ i bês e partî, to take the money and leave; çapâ massa soreli, to take in too much sun; al mi à çapât pal bras, he took me by the arm; al mi à çapât pa la mania da la çamesa, he took me by the sleeve of my shirt; a veva çapât gust a zî ator cun lui, she had taken a liking to going about with him; çapâ coragiu, to take courage {heart}; a mi ven la tentassion di çapâla in bras, I am tempted to take her into my arms; çapâ un lari, to catch a thief; a vevin pôra di fâsi çapâ, they were afraid of getting caught; çapâ la pulmunite, to catch pneumonia; al veva trenta ains ch’al veva çapât il diploma, he was thirty years old when he got his diploma; çapâ sù, to pick up, to get up; al à çapât sù il çapiel, he picked up the hat; al çapa sù e al va fôr, he gets up and goes out; al è çapât sù e al è zût via, he got up and left; çapâsila, to get angry; no sta çapâtila, do not get angry; i mi la çapavi cun duçus, I used to get angry with everybody.

CARABINIÊR, s.m., {in the plural, police of Italy with military status, here translated police for simplicity}: i carabiniêrs a lu àn partât via, the police have taken him away; clama i carabiniêrs, call the police; i carabiniêrs a varessin di brincâlu prin ch’al zedi ator a fâ disastros, the police ought to catch him before he goes about creating disasters; il carabiniêr, pistola in man, al era pront a sparâ, the policeman, gun in hand, was ready to fire.

CLIP, warm; s.m., warmth: l’aga a ei clipa e scura, the water is warm and dark; l’erba a ei clipa, the grass is warm; il clip dal jet, the warmth of the bed; il clip dai nissoi, the warmth of the bedsheets; tal clip di un dopomisdì di mai, in the warmth of a May afternoon.

COME, like, as: una musa taronda come la luna, a face round like the moon; al è zâl e vert come chei atris, it is yellow and green like the other ones; a rideva come una fruta, she was laughing like a girl; al è scûr di çavei come sio pari, he is dark-haired like his father; al è precîs come un orloi, he is precise as a clock; dret come un pichet, straight as a stake; come sempri, as always; a vevin tacât a çacarâ come il solit, they had started talking as usual; al à continuât come prin, he continued as before; al lavorava come impiegât, he worked as an employee; i ài mieit no vêlu come amigo, I prefer not to have him as a friend; al à di pensâla come me, he must see things the same way I do; al fadeva come se no fos sussedût nuia, he went about his business as though nothing had happened; come ch’a fos colpa mê, as though it had been my fault; come ch’al fos dibessôl, as though he had been alone; come ch’a fan duçus adès, just as everyone does now; come ch’al veva prometût, just as he had promised; al si è mitût a contâmi di come ch’al veva tacât a fâ il marangon, he began telling me about how he had started working as a carpenter; sensa capî come ch’a podeva fâlu, without understanding how she could do it; a era pi biela di come ch’i la pensavi, she was prettier than how I imagined her.

CONT, s.m., count, account, bill: tegni cont, to take into account; sensa tegni cont di sé ch’a fan chei atris, without taking into account what the others do; i ài scugnût tegni cont di sé ch’a volin lôr, I have had to take into account what they want; a nol à mai tignût il cont dai lavôrs ch’al à fat, he has never kept count of the jobs that he has done; atu tignût il cont?, have you kept count?; paiâ il cont dal mecanic, to pay the mechanic's bill.

CUIERTA, s.f., blanket: una cuierta di lana, a woollen blanket; platâsi sot da li cuiertis, to hide oneself under the blankets; tal çalt di una cuierta, in the warmth of a blanket.

DAVÔR, behind, after: davôr da la puarta, behind the door; davôr di nô, behind us; al ni è vignût davôr, he came behind {followed} us; al veva tornât a vignîmi davôr, he had started following me again; i siei voi a si pierdevin davôr di un nâs lunc, his eyes were lost behind a long nose; i lu crodevi davôr dal porton, I thought that he was behind the gate; lassantsi davôr un fetôr di ledan, leaving behind itself a stench of manure; una domanda davôr chê atra, one question after the other; un davôr l’atri, the one behind the other; davôr di me i vevi sintût tabaiâ par furlan, behind me I had heard people talking in Friulian; di trê meis i stai ta una pension davôr da la stassion, for three months I have been staying in a guesthouse behind the station; ta la senta davôr da l’auto, in the back seat of the car; par davôr al è viert, it is open in the back; una machina a mi suna davôr, a car honks behind me; sô mari a j sigava sempri davôr, his mother was always shouting at him.

DAVORMAN, immediately, at once: i soi rivât davorman, I arrived immediately; i speri di podê çatâ lavôr davorman, I hope that I can find work immediately; a j è vignût davorman un gran rimuars, a great sense of remorse immediately came upon him; partî davorman, to leave at once; al veva capît davorman, he had understood at once.

DENANT, in front of, before; s.m., front: denant da la television, in front of the television; denant dal çamp, in front of the field; denant da la glesia, in front of the church; al spetava in peis denant di lôr, he stood waiting in front of them; un fantat al mi si è plantât denant, a young lad came and stood in front of me; il zovin ch’i ài denant, the young man in front of me; passâni denant, to pass in front of us; l’aga a era finida la sera denant, the water had run out the evening before; cori denant dutis li çasis dal paîs, to run past all the houses of the village; sensa i dinç denant, without any front teeth; sul denant da la çasa, on the front of the house.

DISI, to say: al veva tacât a disi alc, he had started to say something; il veçu a nol saveva sé disi, the old man did not know what to say; sensa disi nuia, without saying anything; disi di no, to say no; disi di sì, to say yes; i ài di disi che no lu doprìn mai, I must say that we never use it; il sio om a nol dîs mai nuia, her husband never says anything; a nol diseva mai nuia, he never used to say anything; a disi la veretât, a me no mi plâs balâ, to tell the truth, I do not like to dance.

DOME, only: a son dome li sinc, it is only five o'clock; a lu fan dome parsé ch’a son bituâts, they only do it because they are used to it; no dome in Friûl, not only in Friûl; dome cuant ch’al è propit çalt, only when it is very hot; dome lui al veva reson, only he was right; ridi dome par ridi, to laugh for no other reason than to laugh.

DURMÎ, to sleep: zî a durmî, to go to sleep; al è zût a durmî, he has gone to sleep; al è mieit ch’i ti zedis a durmî, it is better that you should go to sleep; durmî fin scuasin a misdì, to sleep until almost noon; durmî cu la television impiada, to sleep with the television on; al durmiva ta l’erba davôr di çasa, he was sleeping in the grass outside the house; a durmivin tal çamp, they were sleeping in the field; i ài durmît pôc e mâl, I have slept little and poorly.

ENÇAMÒ, still, yet: i soi ençamò strac, I am still tired; viers miesanot a erin ençamò a vora, towards midnight they were still at work; l’unic amigo ch’i ài ençamò in paîs, the only friend I still have in the village; ençamò di pi, even more, still more, yet more; a mi à fat inrabiâ ençamò di pi, she made me even angrier.

ESSI, to be: essi sigûr, to be sure; essi a scuela, to be at school; al crodeva di essi il mieit, he believed that he was the best; a crodeva di essi la pi biela, she believed that she was the most beautiful; i soi pront a tacâ, I am ready to start; i soi di vissin Toronto, I am from near Toronto; al è bituât, he is accustomed, he is used to it; la çasa a ei pissula, the house is small; al era tra il neri e il grîs, it was between black and grey; a era una biela femina, she was a beautiful woman; al è zût dentri, he went inside; a era zuda in cusina, she had gone into the kitchen; a erin d’acordo, they were in agreement; al è stât pi fassil restâ uchì, it was easier to stay here; chistu al sarà il mieit, this one will be the best; si saran fermâts a Pordenon, they will have {they must have} stopped at Pordenon.

FÂ, to do, to make: fâ il lavôr, to do the work; fâ la spesa, to do the grocery shopping; fâ il bagno tal Tiliment, to bathe in the Tiliment; al è sempri alc di fâ in çasa, there is always something to do at home; i fai cussì ogni dì, that is what I do every day; a san sé ch’al fa, they know what he does; sé ch’a ti à fat?, what did she do to you?; a fa dut come ch’a fos in çasa sô, she does everything as though she were in her own home; come ch’a fan duçus adès, just as everyone does now; dut sé ch’al fadeva a lu fadeva ben, everything he did he did well; al fadeva come se no fos sussedût nuia, he acted as though nothing had happened; ogni volta ch’i fadevi par vierzi boça, every time I was about to open my mouth {was about to speak}; a fadeva di sì cul çâf, she nodded in agreement; fadint fenta di no vêlu sintût, pretending not to have heard him; lôr pari al fadeva il miedi, their father was a doctor; i fai il mecanic, I am a mechanic; i lu fai cussì par fâ jodi ch’i no ài pôra, I do it like that to show that I am not afraid; al à fat jevâ sù i doi oms, he made the two men get up; a vevin pôra di fâsi çapâ, they were afraid of getting caught.

FEMINA, s.f., woman, wife: a era una biela femina, she was a beautiful woman; una femina di sincuanta ains, a fifty-year-old woman; la sô femina a speta il ters fi, his wife is expecting their third child.

FÔR, out, outside: fôr al fa scûr, it is dark outside; pena fôr da la sitât, just outside the city; al è restât pena fôr da la puarta, he remained just outside the door; i si jodevin fôr dal lavôr, we used to see each other outside work; cu la lenga di fôr, with one's tongue sticking out; cui voi di fôr, with one's eyes sticking out; di fôr al steva sussedint alc, something was going on outside; al mi spetava di fôr, he was waiting for me outside; vignî fôr di colp, to come out suddenly; al vigneva di fôr, it was coming from outside; a vignevin di fôr paîs, they used to come from outside the village; prin di zî fôr, before going out; tirâ fôr un sigaret, to pull out a cigarette; butâ fôr, to throw out; i l’ai butât fôr di çasa, I have thrown him out of the house; tornâ fôr cuntuna bira, to come back out with a beer; mangiâ fôr, to eat out; il barcon al è massa sporc par jodi di fôr, the window is too dirty to see outside; vuardâ fôr dal barcon, to look out the window; fôr di çasa fin tars, out of the house until late; lavorâ fôr di çasa, to work outside of the home; lassâ la machina di fôr da la butega, to leave the car outside the shop.

GIAMBA, s.f., leg: slungiâ una giambia, to stretch out a leg; giambis lungis, long legs; vê li giambis massa grossis, to have legs that are too fat; mi trimavin li giambis, my legs were trembling; al si è sentât giambis a larc, he sat down with his legs spread apart; pierdi li giambis ta un incident, to lose one's legs in an accident.

GROS, fat: essi massa gros, to be too fat; un om cui bras massa gros, a man with arms that are too fat; una femina grossa, a fat woman; una femina cu li giambis grossis, a woman with fat legs; al era doventât un pôc pi gros, he had become a little fatter; gotis di ploia grossis, fat drops of rain.

GRUM, s.m., pile: un grum di libris, a pile of books; sentât su di un grum di claps, sitting on a pile of stones; una fantata ch’a mi plaseva un grum, a girl whom I liked a lot.

INDAVÔR, back, ago: un an indavôr, a year back, one year ago; ains indavôr, years back, years ago; timp indavôr, some time back, some time ago; al si è tirât indavôr, he moved back, he stepped back.

INDENANT, forwards, ahead: vignî indenant, to come forwards; al è vignût indenant un om, a man came forwards; sburtâ indenant una roda, to push a wheel forwards; di lì indenant, from then on, thenceforth; tirâ indenant, to get by, to get on; gno pari al tira indenant cu la pension di invaliditât, my father gets by on a disability pension; al era zût indenant cussì par meis, he had gone on like that for months; cul lamentâsi no si va indenant, you will not get ahead by complaining.

INSIEMIT, together: a fan dut insiemit, they do everything together; a lavorin insiemit, they work together; a son partîts insiemit, they left together; duçus doi insiemit, the two of them together; duçus insiemit, everybody together; a son scuasin trenta ains ch’a stan insiemit, they have been together for nearly thirty years.

JET, s.m., bed: zirâsi tal jet, to turn round in bed; a si tirava sù dal jet ch’al era scûr, she used to drag herself out of bed when it was dark; i soi stât tal jet duta la setemana, I was in bed all week.

JODI, to see: i jôt vignî fôr un om, I see a man coming out; Goriu i lu jôt ogni dì, I see Goriu every day; il barcon al è massa in alt par jodi di fôr, the window is too high up to see outside; a era la prima volta ch’i lu jodevi, it was the first time that I had seen him; a son ains ch’i no ti la jôts, it has been years since you have seen her; tal scûr a no si jôt il sporc, in the dark the dirt is not visible; a si jodeva ch’al era restât mâl, it was obvious that he was upset; a si jôt che par lui i soi un forest, it is obvious that to him I am an outsider; a van a jodi dai malâts, they go to take care of the ill.

MASSIMA, especially: massima dopo ch’al era muart, especially after he had died; massima adès ch’al era a vora fin tars, especially now that he was at work until late; massima d’estât, especially in the summer; massima ta chel paîs, especially in that village.

NISSOLI, s.m., bedsheet: blanc come un nissoli, white as a bedsheet; il nissoli al è sporc, the bedsheet is dirty; nissoi sporcs, dirty bedsheets; nissoi pena lavâts, freshly washed bedsheets; nissoi inglassâts, ice-cold bedsheets; çapâ i nissoi e butâju tal bagno, the take the bedsheets and throw them into the bathroom.

NÛL, s.m., cloud: il sêl al è clâr e sensa nûi, the sky is clear and without clouds; i nûi bas e scûrs, the low and dark clouds; i nûi d’estât ch’a sglonfin il sêl, the summer clouds that puff up the sky. | See also: nula.

NULA, s.f., cloud: il sêl al era selest sensa una nula, the sky was blue without a cloud; li nulis a rivavin cuntun cargo di ploia e di tampiesta, the clouds were coming with a load of rain and hail; li nulis a continuavin a vignî indenant da la banda dai çamps, the clouds kept advancing out by the fields; una nula di çalin, a cloud of fog. | See also: nûl.

ORA, s.f., hour, time: un’ora prin di zî via, one hour before leaving; dopo mies’ora, after half an hour; mies’ora pi tars, half an hour later; a ora di gustâ, at lunch time; a ora di sena, at supper time; prin ch’a vignès ora di tornâ a vora, before the time came to go back to work; al rivava sempri a sé ora ch’al voleva, he used always to arrive at whatever time he wanted; a era vignuda ora di cambiâ dut, the time had come to change everything; l’ora a era passada, the time {opportunity} had passed; ora legâl, daylight saving time.

ORAMAI, by now: a son oramai scuasin li deis, it is almost ten o'clock by now; al è mieit ch’i ti si bituis oramai, you had better get used to it by now; oramai al è veçu, he is old now; oramai a no vegnin pi, they do not come any more; oramai a nol era nuiatri di fâ, there was no longer anything else to do.

PALPA, s.f., grope; i ài çatât l’interutôr a palpa tal scûr, I found the switch by groping for it in the dark.

PALPÂ, to touch, to feel, to feel for: a nol palpa il çalt dal soreli, he does not feel the heat of the sun; palpâsi la barba, to touch one's beard; i palpavi il sio essi lì ta la çasa, I could feel his presence there in the house.

PARZORA, above; s.m., top: al era distirât ta l’erba cun parsora il sêl, he was stretched out on the grass with the sky above; pôc parzora dal zenoli, just above the knee; i çavei parzora da li orelis, the hair above the ears; una taula cul veri parzora, a table with glass on top; il parzora dai arbui, the top of the trees {the treetops}; il parzora da li çasis, the top of the houses {the housetops}.

PENA, barely, so soon as: al è pena jevât, he has just got up; al veva pena vinç ains, he was barely twenty years old; la musica a si sint a pena, the music can barely be heard; i eri pena stât in Australia, I had just been in Australia; pena ch’al riva, so soon as he arrives; al è restât pena fôr da la puarta, he stayed just outside the door; pena ch’al mi jôt, so soon as he sees me; pena ch’i ti lu jodevis, so soon as you used to see him; pena ch’i lu fadevi, so soon as I used to do it; pena ch’al va via, so soon as he leaves; pena tornâts dentri, so soon as they had gone back inside; a pena ch’a si distudin li lûs, so soon as the lights go out; un prât pena seât, a freshly cut lawn; pan pena cuet, freshly baked bread.

PIERDI, to lose: i ài pierdût alc, I have lost something; pierdi timp, to lose {waste} time; a no vevin timp di pierdi, they had no time to lose; pierdi la bunora, to lose {waste} the morning; a no pierdin mai un minût, they never lose a minute; pierdi un amigo, to lose a friend; pierdi li giambis ta un incident, to lose one's legs in an accident; zuiâ mâl e pierdi, to play poorly and lose; pierdi la partida, to lose the game {the match}; a varessin di sigûr pierdût, they would have surely lost; lassa pierdi, forget it, let it go; lassilu pierdi, forget about him, let him go; pierdisi, to get lost; pierdisi tal çamp, to get lost in the field; pierdût, lost; sintîsi pierdût, to feel lost; un giat pierdût, a lost cat; timp pierdût, lost time; ocasions pierdudis, missed opportunities.

RESTÂ, to remain, to stay: i soi restât a çasa, I stayed home; al è restât un moment sito, he remained quiet for a moment; a restava sempri in glesia a preâ, she used to always stay in the church to pray; resta a durmî, stay sleeping {stay in bed; do not get up}; i soi restât indavôr, I have fallen behind; a si jôt ch’al è restât mâl, it is obvious that he is disappointed; a si jodeva ch’al era restât mâl, it was obvious that he was disappointed.

SAC, s.m., sack: un sac di blava, a sack of corn; un sac di voltis, many times; al vîf cul çâf tal sac, he lives with his head in the clouds.

SAVÊ, to know: savê sé ch’a j plâs, to know what he likes; sensa nença savê né parsé né sé môt, without even knowing either why or how; a crodeva di savê dut, she believed that she knew everything; a fan domandis par savê sé ch’i ti pensis, they ask questions to know what you think; i sai ch’al vignarà cun me, I know that he will come with me; a no san dulà ch’al è, they do not know where he is; a san sé ch’a volin, they know what they want; a savevin di essi imbroiâts, they knew that they had been tricked; a no si saveva pi dà ch’a erin, nobody knew where they were any more; nissun a nol saveva rispundi, nobody knew how to respond; satu parsé ch’al à molât di zî in glesia?, do you know why he has stopped going to church?; savê di, to smell of, to taste like; il café al saveva di tuessin, the coffee tasted like poison; il ristorant al mi saveva di sporc, the restaurant smelt dirty to me.

SCUASIN, almost, nearly: scuasin deis ains, almost ten years; scuasin un meis dopo, almost a month later; al era scuasin Nadâl, it was nearly Christmas; fin scuasin a Nadâl, until nearly Christmas; al è scuasin scûr, it is nearly dark out; spetâ scuasin seis oris, to wait almost six hours; a son scuasin li vot, it is almost eight o'clock; al era scuasin in pension, he was nearly retired; i soi stât scuasin un an in Australia, I was in Australia for nearly a year; i soi scuasin a çasa, I am nearly home.

SCUGNÎ, must, to have to: scugnî sempri disi di no a dut e a duçus, to have always to say no to everything and everyone; i ài scugnût zî via dal paîs ch’i eri ençamò frut, I had to leave the village when I was still a boy; i ài scugnût spetâ meis, I had to wait months; i scugnevi zî in sitât, I used to have to go into the city; i scugnevi tegni cont ch’al è pi furbo di me, I was obligated to take into account that he is more cunning than I am; a si scugn fâ dut davorman, everything must be done at once; i scugn partî pal Canada, I must leave for Canada; al scugn no fâlu, he must not do it; al è alc ch’i ti scugnis fâ, there is something that you must do; la piês a ei di scugnî dîlu ai miei, the worst part is having to tell my parents; a gno pari i scugnarai dîlu par telefono, I shall have to tell my father by telephone.

SCÛR, dark; s.m., dark{ness}: vê i voi scûrs, to have dark eyes; una musa scura, a dark face; tirâsi jù dal jet ch’al è ençamò scûr, to drag oneself out of bed when it is still dark; tal scûr da la not, in the dark of the night; tal scûr da la plassa, in the darkness of the town square; moviti, ch’i no ài voia di tornâ cul scûr, get a move on, because I do not want to come back when it is dark; i soi restât fin ch’al è vignût scûr, I stayed until it got dark; tacâ prin di scûr, to start before dark; vistîsi di scûr, to wear dark colours.

SÊL, s.m., sky, heaven: il sêl al è clâr e sensa nûi, the sky is clear and without clouds; il ros dal sêl, the redness of the sky; il sêl al si scurìs viers il flum, the sky is darkening towards the river; sot di un sêl sensa colôr, under a colourless sky; il sêl al era net, selest, sensa una nula, the sky was clear, blue, without a cloud; il sêl al era simpri pi neri, the sky was darker and darker; il grîs dal sêl, the greyness of the sky; ta la lûs clara dal sêl, in the bright light of the sky.

SERA, s.f., evening: ogni sera, every evening; una sera butada via, a wasted evening; la sera prin, the evening before; viers sera, towards the evening; sot sera, at nightfall; vinars di sera, Friday evening; una sera ch’i no vevi di zî a vora, one evening when I did not have to go to work; di bunora fin ta sera, from morning to evening; di sera prin di distudâ la lûs e di butâsi tal jet, in the evening before putting out the light and going to bed.

SIGÛR, sure, certain, safe: essi sigûr di vê reson, to be certain of being right; i sin sigûrs ch’al è zût via, we are certain that he has left; i soi restât pena fôr dal porton par essi sigûr ch’a no mi sussedès nuia, I stayed just outside the gate to be sure that nothing might happen to me; a no erin nença propit sigûrs, they were not even entirely certain; i savevi par sigûr di podê fâlu, I knew for sure that I could do it; al va di sigûr a vora, he is surely going to work; fôr al fa di sigûr ençamò scûr, it is surely still dark outside.

SINTÎ, to hear, to smell, to feel: i ài sintût tabaiâ par furlan, I heard someone {people} speaking in Friulian; sintî il ronfâ dal nonu, to hear grandfather's snoring; i ài slungiât il bras par sintî dà ch’al era, I reached out with my arm to feel where he was; a podin sintîmi ença fint in strada, they can even hear me {I can even be heard} all the way into the street; fadint fenta di no vêlu sintût, pretending not to have heard him; i sintevi disi che, I heard {used to hear} it said that; a si sint la musica, the music can be heard; una storia za sintuda, a story that has already been heard; i sintevi l’odôr dai siei vistîts pena lavâts, I could smell the odour of his freshly washed clothes; i ti ju sints ben i odôrs, you are good at picking up {perceiving} scents; sintî il çalt da la zornada, to feel the heat of the day; sintîsi bandonât, to feel abandoned; sintîsi a çasa sô, to feel at home; i mi sintevi a çasa mê, I felt at home; i mi sintevi in colpa, I felt guilty {at fault}; al si sinteva pierdût, he felt lost; al si sint strac, he feels tired; i mi sintevi flap, I felt weak; i mi sintevi benon, I felt great; i tacavi a sintîmi sigûr, I started to feel safe.

SLUNGIÂ, to extend, to stretch out: slungiâ il bras, to extend one's arm; slungiâ una man, to reach out with a hand; slungiâ li giambis, to put out one's legs; slungiâ il pas, to lengthen one's stride {to walk faster}; a mi à slungiât una vuardada di brut, she gave me a nasty look.

SMIÇÂ, to gaze: a lu smiçava a lunc, she was gazing at him for a long time; al taseva smiçantla di sbiego, he kept quiet whilst gazing at her sideways; jê a si necuars ch’i stai a smiçâla di continuo, she notices that I keep gazing at her; smiçâ i nûi, to gaze at the clouds.

SPORC, dirty; s.m., dirt{iness}: essi sporc e mal vistît, to be dirty and poorly dressed; i nissoi a son sporcs, the bedsheets are dirty; il çapiel al è dut sporc, the hat is all dirty; i lavôrs pi sporcs, the dirtiest jobs; una çasa sporca, a dirty house; il libri al è sporc di polvar, the book is dirty from the dust; il barcon al è massa sporc par jodi di fôr, the window is too dirty to see outside; la çamara a mi saveva di sporc, the bedroom smelt dirty to me; tal scûr a no si jôt il sporc, in the dark the dirt is not visible; si jôt davorman il sporc, the dirtiness is immediately visible.

SPOSÂ, to marry: al à scugnût sposâla, he had to marry her; i ài sposât una di Pordenon, I married a woman from Pordenon; i la varès sposada, I would have married her; i no pos domandâj di sposâmi, I cannot ask her to marry me; sposâsi, to get married; i ài sielt di no sposâmi, I have chosen not to get married; dôs setemanis dopo ch’i si erin sposâts, two weeks after we had got married; sposansi, let’s get married; a no àn chê di sposâsi, they do not intend on getting married; a son partîts pa l’Australia pena sposâts, they left for Australia right after they got married.

TARONT, round: taront come un sercli, round like a circle; una musa taronda come la luna, a face round like the moon; la ciera a ei taronda, the earth is round; giambis tarondis, round {plump} legs; bras taronts, round {plump} arms; al à il sorneli taront, he has a round forehead.

TEGNI, to keep, to hold: tegni i voi sierâts, to keep one's eyes closed; tegni dûr, to hold out, to remain steadfast; no sta molâ, ten dûr, do not give up, hang in there; tegni lontan un problema, to keep a problem at bay, to ward off a problem; tegni l’ort, to maintain the {vegetable} garden; un giardin ben tignût, a well maintained {flower} garden; tegni dut dentri, to keep everything inside, to hold everything in; tegni cont, to take into account, to consider; tegni a ments una roba, to memorise something; lui a j tigneva di zî in Australia a studiâ, he really wanted to go to Australia to study; la int a era tignuda sot, the people were oppressed, the people were subjugated; dà ch’a tignevin il vin, where they used to keep the wine; par dut il timp ch’i la vevi tignuda di voli, for the whole time that I had keep my eye on her; un barcon tignût in sflesa, a window kept ajar; al mi à dita ch’al mi tigneva par un amigo, he told me that he considered me to be a friend.

TOÇÂ, to touch, to befall, to have to: toçâ alc cu li mans, to touch something with one's hands; slungiâ il bras par podê toçâ alc, to extend one's arm to be able to touch something; controlâ che nissun al vedi toçât nuia, to check that nobody had touched anything; i la siguri che a jê a no j toçarà mai una roba tanta bruta, I assure her that such a terrible thing will never befall her; a mi toça zî in sitât, I have to go into the city; a no era la prima volta ch’a mi toçava fâlu, it was not the first time that I had to do it; a ni toçava dome ubidî, we were just supposed to obey; a mi à toçât restâ a çasa, I had {ended up having} to stay home; a ni à toçât fâ vinç chilometros, we had to go {travel along for} twenty kilometres.

UCHÌ, here: vignî uchì, to come here; restâ uchì, to stay here, to remain here; i sin vignûts uchì a çatâlu, we have come here to look for him; spetimi uchì, wait for me here.

VISSIN, near, close, neighbouring: vissin da l’ufissi, near the office; una çasa vissin da la glesia, a house near the church; a j è zût vissin par çacarâj, he went up to him to speak to him; al è vignût vissin un zovin, a young man approached; un om al mi è vignût vissin, a man came up to me; doi zovins a son passâts vissin, two young men passed nearby; i mi soi stufât di vêlu vissin, I got tired of having him close; ta la stansia vissina, in the neighbouring room; dal apartament vissin, from the neighbouring apartment; al si è sentât ta la taula vissina, he sat down at the neighbouring table; al vigneva di vissin Udin, he was from not far from Udin; vuardantlu di vissin, looking at him up close.

VOLTA, s.f., time; pa la prima volta, for the first time; pa la seconda volta, for the second time; li primis voltis, the first few times; al è vignût dôs voltis, he has come twice; sta volta, this time; ogni volta, every time; di chê volta, since that time; un’atra volta, again; come una volta, like before, as it used to be; dome una volta, just once; pi di una volta, more than once; una volta che i eri bessôl, one time when I was alone; una volta al an, once a year; almancul una volta a la setemana, at least once a week; chê a era l’ultima volta, that was the last time; al è doventât cussì un pôc a la volta, he become like that a little at a time; il pi da li voltis al tâs, most times he keeps quiet; un pâr di voltis, a couple times; pi voltis ta una dì, many times in one day; un sac di voltis, many times; almancul cuatri voltis, at least four times; belzà sinc voltis, five times already.

ZIRÂ, to turn, to spin: al zira li paginis dal giornâl, he turns the pages of the newspaper; al zirava la clâf, he was turning the key; al mi à fat zirâ il çâf il rumôr da la musica, the noise of the music made my head spin; la çamara a veva tacât a zirâmi ator ator, the room had started spinning all round me; zirâsi tal jet, to turn round in bed; zirâsi di colp, to turn round suddenly; zirâsi e sçampâ via, to turn round and make a run for it; al si zira e al vuarda la int, he turns round and looks at the people; zirâ il mont, to go round the world.

26 April 2025

Dograva variant of Friulian

Dograva variant of Friulian 1

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