This series for learning Friulian uses the book Lis predicjis dal muini by Josef Marchet. The text and audio have been made available online by the Societât Filologjiche Furlane (links below). In this book, a fictional muini (sacristan) delivers his biting commentary in his predicjis (sermons), which will introduce you to many colloquial Friulian usages. The book begins with a foreward, called the preambul, in the words of the author himself; this introductory text is a straightforward commentary on what to expect in the lively predicjis that follow. Our study of the Friulian language begins with the preambul.
READ: Click here to download a PDF of the book.
LISTEN: Click here to listen to the Friulian audio.
The first sentence of the book, from the Preambul, reads:
Al è dibant lâ a cirî Gargagnà su lis mapis dal Friûl: no si cjatilu nancje in chês plui minudis e precisis che a doprin i militârs, indulà che a son segnadis fin lis farcadicis.
FRIULIAN NOTES
Preambul: paragraph 1, sentence 1.
Al è dibant: there is no need, it is pointless. Dibant (in vain) is pronounced with tonic stress on the final syllable. Al è: it is.
Lâ a cirî Gargagnà: to go looking for Gargagnà. Whereas lâ means to go, cirî means to look for. Many Friulian infinitives end in â, ê, î and take their tonic stress on that syllable. In some variants of Friulian, such as western ones, to go is rather 'sî, and to look for is rather serçâ. The apostrophed 's of 'sî is voiced, which means that it sounds like the first letter of the English words zoo, zinc, zeal, and not like its voiceless counterpart in sue, sink, seal. Gargagnà, as explained in the book, is an imaginary village of Friûl, where the story is set.
Su lis mapis dal Friûl: on maps of Friûl. The Friulian for map is the feminine noun la mape (the map). In the plural, it becomes lis mapis (the maps). In the audio, you will hear the speaker say li mapis. The feminine plural definite articles lis and li are both heard in Friulian. Su means on. Friûl in Friulian itself is il Friûl, with the masculine singular definite article. Dal Friûl: literally, of the Friûl, where di (of) contracts with il to form dal.
No si cjatilu: you cannot find it; literally, one finds it not. The Friulian for to find is cjatâ. Si cjate: one finds. Si cjatilu: one finds it. No si cjatilu: one finds it not. The masculine singular direct object lu (it) is attached to the verb cjate (finds), whose final e becomes i before the addition. Si is an impersonal subject pronoun, used here to mean one, people in general.
Nancje in chês plui minudis e precisis: not even on the smallest and most precise ones. Nancje: not even. Minût: small. Precîs: precise. Plui: most. Mapis is feminine plural, and the adjectives minût and precîs must agree in number and gender with it: minudis, precisis. Chês is also feminine plural, meaning those. Literal translation: not even in those most small and precise. In western variants of Friulian, be prepared to hear nença rather than nancje. Other common pronunciations of plui include pui and pi.
Che a doprin i militârs: that soldiers use. Doprâ: to use. A doprin: they use. I militârs a doprin: soldiers use. Che takes the sense here of that or which, so that che a doprin i militârs means that soldiers use. The third person plural doprin is pronounced with tonic stress on the first syllable. Note that the third-person plural a must be included. Singular equivalent: il militâr al dopre (the soldier uses). In spoken Friulian, it is normal to pronounce che a in one syllable: ch'a, which sounds like ca. That said, in the audio, the speaker may not always make such contractions.
Indulà che a son segnadis fin lis farcadicis: where even molehills are indicated. Indulà che: where, wherein; also commonly said as dulà che and là che. Segnâ: to indicate. Segnât: indicated. Une farcadice: a molehill; plural: lis farcadicis. Segnât must agree in number and gender with the feminine plural farcadicis, to produce: a son segnadis (they are indicated). Consider: al è segnât (masculine singular); e je segnade (feminine singular); a son segnâts (masculine plural); a son segnadis (feminine plural). Masculine plural segnâts is pronounced segnâs; this dropping of the t is typical of the pronunciation of the masculine plural ts ending, and you will have many opportunities to hear this Friulian pronunciation phenomenon in the audio. Fin lis farcadicis: even molehills. Whereas une farcadice means molehill, the animal itself is called un farc (mole).
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