Twelve Australian tourists got a nasty surprise: all their belongings were stolen from a bus while they were out and about on their bikes. In the story below, the full version of which can be read on the Vôs website by following the link below, a police dog (un cjan poliziot) finds the stolen items belonging to the Australians.
Robarie a Cormons, ma un cjan poliziot al cjate la robe robade: Îr di matine tor des undis, cierts delincuents a àn svuedât une coriere piçule. Dentri dal mieç e jere dute la robe di dodis turiscj australians che a jerin ator cu lis lôr bicicletis. I laris a àn puartât vie dut ce che a àn cjatât dentri dal mieç, parcât pôc lontan dal confin. Cuant che i cicliscj a son tornâts indaûr, brute sorprese: ur vevin puartât vie russacs e borsis, cun dentri cetante robe di valôr. Magari cussì no, tra la robe puartade vie a jerin ancje lis pirulis par salvâ la vite di une dai turiscj. Scuviert il fat, a son stâts clamâts i carabinîrs, che a àn tacât a cirî inte zone cence pierdi timp. Dopo une schirie di ricercjis cence risultât, a cjatâ la robe robade e je stade Maggie, un cjan poliziot. Un carabinîr le veve puartade par cirî jenfri filârs di vîts e ulîfs. / Riferiment: La Vôs dai Furlans.
Theft in Cormons, but a police dog finds the stolen items: Yesterday morning at about eleven, some criminals emptied a small bus. Inside the vehicle were all the items belonging to the twelve Australian tourists who were out on their bicycles. The thieves took everything they found inside the vehicle, parked not far from the border. When the cyclists returned, nasty surprise: their rucksacks and bags, containing many valuable items, had been stolen. Unfortunately, amongst the stolen items were life-saving tablets belonging to one of the tourists. Once the incident had been discovered, the carabinîrs were called, who began searching the area without wasting time. After a series of searches with no results, it was Maggie, a police dog, that found the stolen items. A carabinîr had brought her in to search amongst rows of vines and olive trees.
Friulian vocabulary
- une robarie, a theft
- un cjan poliziot, a police dog
- la robe, the items
- un delincuent, a criminal
- svuedâ la coriere, to empty the bus
- un mieç, a vehicle
- un turist, a tourist
- une biciclete, a bicycle
- un lari, a thief
- puartâ vie, to steal, to rob
- parcât, parked
- un confin, a border
- un ciclist, a cyclist
- tornâ indaûr, to come/go back
- une brute sorprese, a nasty surprise
- un russac, a rucksack
- une borse, a bag
- une pirule, a tablet, a pill
- pierdi timp, to waste time
- une schirie di, a series of
- une ricercje, a search
- un filâr di vîts, a row of vines
- un ulîf, an olive tree
Robâ: This means to rob, to steal, but the following usage is also of high frequency: puartâ vie. Example: il sborsarûl mi à puartât vie il tacuin (the pickpocket stole my wallet). We read recently about a pair of Peruvian pickpockets in Friûl, who stole wallets from unsuspecting victims; you can return to that story to review related vocabulary.
La robe robade: the stolen items, which is also expressed in Friulian as: la robe puartade vie. In a more colloquial style of English, these usages can also be understood as meaning the stolen stuff, the stolen things.
Un turist: a tourist. Nouns ending in st take their plural form in scj. Examples: turist, turiscj (tourist, tourists); ciclist, cicliscj (cyclist, cyclists); gjornalist, gjornaliscj (journalist, journalists).
Un russac: from German Rucksack, meaning rucksack, backpack. Tonic stress falls on the final syllable: russàc.
Une pirule: a tablet, a pill. Example: lis pirulis si à di cjolilis daûr de recipe dal miedi (the tablets must be taken according to the doctor’s prescription). Both pirule and recipe are pronounced with tonic stress on the first syllable: pìrule, rècipe.
Un confin: a border; this is the same word that appears in the name of this website: In vuaite sui cunfins. Confin and cunfin are simply variants of each other.
Below is a photograph of some people who were involved in the incident, along with Maggie the police dog. What can you say in Friulian about the scene depicted here?
Friulian pronunciation
Tonic stress falls on the syllable marked by an accent in the following words: robarìe, poliziòt, delincuènt, corière, pìçul, turìst, australiàn, biciclète, làri, lontàn, confìn, sorprèse, russàc, pìrule, schìrie, ricèrcje.
Supplementary reading in Friulian
Following is a retelling of the story from above, but from the point of view of the female Australian tourist whose medication was stolen. Une recipe: a prescription; pronounced with tonic stress on the first syllable, as in rècipe.
Jo o soi une turiste australiane in Friûl. No soi di bessole achì; o sin in dodis. Îr di matine o jerin ator cu lis nestris bicicletis. Dut al leve ben, ma cuant che o sin tornâts indaûr, che brute sorprese. I laris nus vevin puartât vie dut ce che o vevin di valôr... russacs, borsis e adiriture lis mês pirulis, che o ài di cjolilis daûr de recipe dal miedi. O vevi tante pôre, ma i carabinîrs a àn tacât a cirî inte zone cence pierdi timp. Dopo tantis ricercjis cence risultât, Maggie, un cjan poliziot, e je lade a cjatâ dute la robe robade jenfri filârs di vîts e ulîfs. O soi contente che la robe e je lade a bon finî, ma par dîle vere, chei laris a meretin un cjastic.
I’m an Australian tourist in Friûl. I’m not here alone; we’re a group of twelve. Yesterday morning, we were out cycling. Everything was going well, but when we got back, what a nasty surprise. Thieves had taken everything valuable we had... rucksacks, bags and even my tablets, which I need to take according to the doctor’s prescription. I was very scared, but the carabinîrs started searching the area without wasting time. After many searches with no results, Maggie, a police dog, went and found all the stolen items between rows of vines and olive trees. I’m glad things turned out well in the end, but to tell the truth, those thieves deserve a punishment.