In the videoclip below, the lector reads from John 1. The commentary found here concerns aspects of the lector’s Friulian pronunciation with regard only to the first three verses, heard at the beginning of the videoclip. In this commentary, a comparison is made between the lector’s pronunciation and what can be heard in the Dograva variant of Friulian.
Vanzeli di Zuan. Tal principi al jere il Verbo e il Verbo al jere daprûf di Diu e Diu al jere il Verbo. Lui al jere tal principi daprûf di Diu. Dut al è stât fat midiant di lui e cence di lui nol è stât fat propit nuie di ce ch’al è stât fat. / Zuan I,1-3.
Vanzeli di Zuan (gospel of John): The lector begins by naming the book of the Bible from which he is reading, which is the gospel of John: il vanzeli di Zuan. We hear the lector pronounce both instances of the letter z the way it sounds in English words such as zoo, zero, zap. How this relates to the Dograva variant of Friulian: This is also how vanzeli and Zuan are pronounced at Dograva.
Principi (beginning): The lector pronounces this as though it were written prinsipi. How this relates to the Dograva variant of Friulian: This is similar to what is heard at Dograva, insofar as it concerns the sound of s rather than ç in the second syllable, but we will also hear a t at the end: prinsipit. Note: The lector is reading from an older version of the Bible in Friulian. In the most recent version, both instances of principi have been changed to imprin, also meaning beginning: tal imprin al jere il Verbo...; Lui al jere tal imprin daprûf di Diu.
Al jere (he was): This appears four times in these three verses. We hear the lector say not al jere, but al ere. How this relates to the Dograva variant of Friulian: This is not the pronunciation used at Dograva, where al era is heard instead.
Cence (without): The lector pronounces this as sense. How this relates to the Dograva variant of Friulian: This is not the pronunciation used at Dograva, where sensa is heard instead.
Ce ch’al è stât fat (that which was made): The lector pronounces ce as sé. How this relates to the Dograva variant of Friulian: This is also the pronunciation heard at Dograva: sé ch’al è stât fat.
Check your pronunciation of Friulian by making sure that you place tonic stress on the correct syllable, marked by an accent in the following words: vanzèli, Zuàn, princìpi, imprìn, midiànt, cènce, pròpit.