Last week (la setemane passade) we watched a videoclip (o vin cjalât un filmât) where a woman told us (dulà che une femine nus à contât) of the characteristics of the Friulian language (des carateristichis de lenghe furlane). To learn more (par savênt di plui): Al è in Friûl che a vegnin a cjatâsi lis trê principâls animis linguistichis de Europe.
At a certain point (a un ciert pont), the woman says (la femine e dîs): The Friulian language does not derive from Italian (la lenghe furlane no derive dal talian), but is the result of an evolution of the Latin (ma e je il risultât di une evoluzion dal latin) that was spoken in the Aquileia region (che si fevelave te regjon di Aquilee), and which (e che) around the year one thousand (tor dal an mil) we can already define (o podìn za definî) as a language in its own right (come une lenghe par so cont). Linguistic manuals classify it (i manuâi di linguistiche le metin dentri) amongst the Rhaeto-Romance languages (fra lis lenghis retoromanichis) alongside Ladin from the Dolomites (cul ladin dolomitan) and Rumantsch of Switzerland (e il romanç de Svuizare).
I found an interesting videoclip on YouTube (o ài cjatât su YouTube un filmât interessant) where a man teaches us (dulà che un om nus fâs imparâ) a few words in Rumantsch (cualchi peraule par romanç). The man says in Rumantsch (l’om al dîs par romanç): bun di, buna saira, buna not, which is to say (ven a stâi): good day, good evening, good night.
Interesting, isn’t it? (interessant, no?).
Right (ben), everybody quiet now (duçus sitos adès) as I tell you something (tant ch’i vi conti alc) using the Friulian language in the variant of Dograva (doprant la lenga furlana ta la variant di Dograva). In this variant (ta chista variant) we have (i vin): bundì, buna sera, buna not.
Now I will switch back to the standardised language (cumò o torni ae lenghe normalizade), where we have (dulà che o vin): bundì, buine sere, buine gnot.
I did not intend to confuse you (no vevi chê di confondius) with this lesson (cun cheste lezion), but I thought it would be interesting (ma o ài pensât che al sarès stât interessant) to make a comparison between languages (fâ un confront tra lis lenghis).
Let’s try now to learn a few facts (cirìn cumò di imparâ cualchi fat) about Rumantsch (sul romanç): it is spoken in Switzerland (si lu fevele te Svuizare); sixty thousand Swiss speak it (lu fevelin sessante mil svuizars); al à variantis locâls (it has local variants).
Above (chi sore), I wrote something in a local variant of Friulian (o ài scrit alc intune variante locâl dal furlan): everybody quiet now (duçus sitos adès). In chê variante locâl (in that local variant), we can also say (o podìn ancje dî): duçus sidins adès. Sito and sidin have the same meaning (sito e sidin a àn il stes significât), which is to say (ven a stâi): quiet. In the standardised language (te lenghe normalizade), we will say (o disarìn): cidin, and our example becomes (e il nestri esempli al devente): ducj cidins cumò.
We have spoken (o vin fevelât) of a bit of everything (di un pôc di dut) in this lesson (in cheste lezion). We can say (o podìn dì) that it has been a lesson (che e je stade une lezion) full of curiosities (plene di curiositâts).