Arbul frait colât su la strade a Udin, par fortune nissun si è fat mâl: Un arbul grues, muart di timp e frait, che al pesave toneladis, al è lât jù vuê sul cricà dal dì. Par fortune, a chê ore, pôc dopo des cuatri e mieze, nol passave nissun di chês bandis e nissun si è fat mâl. L’arbul, un pôl, al è colât di traviers su la strade, e al à ancje danezât la cente di une proprietât. Sul puest a son daurman rivâts i pompîrs che, doprant une autogrue, a àn tirât vie de strade il tronc, cence che a fossin discomuts pe viabilitât e pericui pe int. / Riferiment: La Vôs dai Furlans.
Rotten tree falls on the road in Udin, fortunately no one is injured: A thick, long-dead and rotten tree, weighing several tonnes, fell today at daybreak. Fortunately, at that hour, shortly after four thirty, no one was passing by, and no one was injured. The tree, a poplar, fell across the road, and it also damaged the fence of a property. Firemen arrived immediately at the scene who, using a mobile crane, removed the trunk from the road, without any disruptions to traffic or danger to people.
Friulian vocabulary
- frait, rotten
- colâ, to fall
- fâsi mâl, to get hurt
- grues, thick
- muart di timp, long-dead
- pesâ, to weigh
- une tonelade, a tonne
- lâ jù, to go down {to fall}
- sul cricà dal dì, at daybreak
- di traviers, transversely, athwart
- danezâ, to damage
- une cente, a fence
- un pompîr, a fireman
- doprâ, to use
- une autogrue, a mobile crane
- tirâ vie, to pull away {to take away}
- un tronc, a trunk
- un discomut, a disruption
- la viabilitât, the traffic flow
- un pericul, a danger
- la int, people
Nissun: no one, nobody. Example: nissun no si è fat mâl (nobody got hurt); that said, it is not uncommon for the negator to be omitted: nissun si è fat mâl. However, if nissun is positioned after the verb, the negator must be preserved: no si è fat mâl nissun.
Frait: rotten. Examples of things that can be described as rotten in Friulian: un arbul frait (a rotten tree); ûfs fraits (rotten eggs); la gjambe e je fraide par vie de gangrene (the leg is rotten due to gangrene); lis breis a son fraidis parcè che a son stadis te ploie (the boards are rotten because they were in the rain).
Di chês bandis: out that way, in those parts. Example: o stavi cjaminant di chês bandis cuant che mi àn puartât vie il tacuin (I was walking in those parts when my wallet was stolen).
Un pericul: a danger. Nouns ending in a vowel + l form their plural by changing the final l to i. Examples: pericul, pericui (danger, dangers); arbul, arbui (tree, trees); sborsarûl, sborsarûi (pickpocket, pickpockets).
What can you say in Friulian about the scene photographed in the image below? The Friulian for broom is: une scove.
In the image is a sign in Italian, which reads: Veicoli a passo d’uomo. This can be translated to Friulian as: Veicui a pas di om. By this, drivers are instructed to drive no faster than the walking speed of a man, as a safety precaution.
Friulian pronunciation
Tonic stress falls on the syllabled marked by an accent in the following words: àrbul, fràit, gruès, travièrs, daurmàn, autogrùe, discòmut, perìcul.
Supplementary reading in Friulian
Following is a fictional retelling of the news report from above, this time in first person from the perspective of one of the firemen. It is retold in the Dograva variant of Friulian.
I soi un dai pompiêrs ch’a son stâts clamâts par un arbul frait colât su la strada. Il fat al è sussedût viers li cuatri e miege. Par fortuna nissun al passava di chês bandis, e nissun al si è fat mâl. Cuant ch’i sin rivâts sul post, i vin jodût l’arbul e i dams. I vin lavorât di corsa par tirâ via il tronc da la strada. In pôc timp i vin netât dut, par ch’a no fossin discomuts pa la viabilitât o pericui pa la int.
I’m one of the firemen who were called for a rotten tree that fell on the road. The incident happened at about four thirty. Fortunately, no one was passing by, and no one got hurt. When we arrived at the scene, we saw the tree and the damage. We worked quickly to remove the trunk from the road. In a short time, we cleared everything, so that there might not be any disruptions to traffic or danger to people.
Remark: Nissun al passava di chês bandis, e nissun al si è fat mâl; still in the Dograva variant of Friulian, this can also be said: a nol passava nissun di chês bandis, e a nol si è fat mâl nissun.