Praised be Jesus Christ! (Laudât seial Jesù Crist!) In the gospel of Mark (tal vanzeli di Marc), Jesus heals a man (Jesù al vuarìs un om) who is deaf and mute (che al è sort e mut). To do so (par fâ chel tant), Jesus puts his fingers into the man’s ears (Jesù i met i dêts tes orelis), then he spits on his own fingers (po al spude sui dêts) and touches the man’s tongue (e i tocje la lenghe). These things happen in chapter seven of the gospel (chestis robis a sucedin tal cjapitul siet dal vanzeli), where the evangelist Mark tells us so (dulà che il vanzelist Marc nus conte cussì):
[T 5:45] They brought {to Jesus} (i puartarin {a Jesù}) a deaf and dumb man (un om sort e mut) and besought him (e lu prearin) to put his hands on the man’s head (di metii lis mans sul cjâf). So he (alore lui), after having taken him aside (dopo di vêlu tirât in bande), away from the crowd (lontan de fole), put his fingers in the man’s ears (i metè i dêts tes orelis) and (e), with his own saliva (cu la salive), touched the man’s tongue (i tocjà la lenghe); then he lifted his eyes to heaven (po al alçà i vôi viers dal cîl), sighed (al suspirà) and said (e al disè): Efatà, which means (che al vûl dî): Be opened (vierziti). And immediately his ears were opened (e a colp lis sôs orelis si vierzerin) and the knot of his tongue was unknotted (e il grop de lenghe si disgropà), so that he spoke right (si che al fevelave benon). {Jesus} commanded them to tell no one of it ({Jesù} ur comandà di no dîjal a di nissun); but the more he forbade them it (ma plui lui ur al inibive), the more they published it (e plui lôr lu publicavin); and at the height of astonishment (e tal colm de maravee), they said (a disevin): He hath done all things well (al à fat propit dut ben). He maketh the deaf to hear (al fâs sintî i sorts) and the dumb to speak (e fevelâ i muts).
—Vanzeli di Marc VII,32-37
It must be remembered that (si à di visâsi che), in the gospels (tai vanzelis), the simple past is used (al ven doprât il passât sempliç): al alçà, al suspirà, al disè... and so on (e cussì vie). But in everyday language (ma tal lengaç di ogni dì), we use the recent past (o doprìn il passât prossim) to speak of those things which have already happened (par fevelâ di chês robis che a son za sucedudis): al à alçât, al à suspirât, al à dit, al à vuarît, al à metût, si son vierts/vierzûts...
Final reflection (riflession finâl):
he spat on his own fingers (al à spudât sui dêts)
he spat on the other’s fingers (i à spudât sui dêts)