This is the thirteenth lesson in our study of the Friulian language using the book Lis predicjis dal muini by Josef Marchet. To download a PDF of the book and to listen to the audio recordings, which are made available by the Societât Filologjiche Furlane, follow the links in Learn Friulian 1. The commentary below relates to the first paragraph of the predicje called La statistiche, which begins with cussì o sin and ends with ni timbris. You are encouraged to read the Preambul (follow the link above for related commentary) before moving on to the predicjis.
COMMENTARY ON THE FRIULIAN
La statistiche: paragraph 1, sentence 1.
Vocabulary: cussì (so, thus); rivâ (to arrive); il cjâf (head); rivâ in cjâf di (to come to the end of); altri (other); un an (year).
In this first sentence of this first predicje, Vigji tells us that they, in the village, have come to the end of another year. Study: o soi rivât (I have arrived; masculine singular); o soi rivade (I have arrived; feminine singular); o sin rivâts (we have arrived; masculine plural); o sin rivadis (we have arrived; feminine plural). The masculine plural rivâts is pronounced rivâs. In some variants of Friulian, such as western ones, all the foregoing may instead be said: i soi rivât, i soi rivada, i sin rivâts, i sin rivadis. The written text employs rivâ in cjâf di (to come to the end of), but used in the audio recording is rather rivâ in cjâf a; no matter: whether used with di or a, the meaning is the same. This expression is formed from the masculine noun cjâf, meaning head. In western variants, be prepared to hear this pronounced çâf. Depending on the context, in cjâf di or in cjâf a can also take on the sense of within. Examples: o soi rivât in cjâf a un altri mês (I have come to the end of another month); al sarà muart in cjâf a un an (he will be dead within a year). Be reminded that many Friulian speakers pronounce altri as atri; the speaker interpreting Vigji in the audio recording says altri.
La statistiche: paragraph 1, sentence 2.
Vocabulary: par vie che (because, given that); la plêf (parish church); fâ la statistiche (to do {to compile} the statistics); ancjemò (yet, still); la parochie (parish); noaltris (we); par intant (for the time being); nestri (our); la vile (village).
Vigji talks about the parish statistics, which have not yet been done in the church. Par vie che means because, given that, owing to the fact that, amongst other possible formulations in English. Example: par vie che al plûf o torni cjase (because it is raining I am going home). If used with a noun, then par vie di is used instead: par vie de ploie o torni cjase (because of the rain I am going home). Study: nol è stât fat il calcul (the calculation has not been done); no je stade fate la stime (the estimate has not been done); no son stâts fats i calcui (the calculations have not been done); no son stadis fatis lis stimis (the estimates have not been done). Using ancjemò, the sense of yet is added: nol è ancjemò stât fat il plan di vore (the work plan has not yet been done). In western variants of Friulian, be prepared to hear ancjemò pronounced ençamò. O fasarìn (we shall do, we shall make) is the first-person plural of the future indicative of fâ (to do, to make). As for noaltris, this is the stressed first-person plural subject pronoun meaning we {ourselves}, so that o fasarìn noaltris means we ourselves shall do. Noaltris exists in different forms depending on the speaker's variant: nô, noaltris, noatris, nualtris, nuatris... The stressed subject pronouns are: jo (I), tu (you [singular]), lui (he), jê (she), noaltris (we), voaltris (you [plural]), lôr. The unstressed forms, in the same order, are: o, tu, al, e, o, o, a. For instance, whereas o fâs means I do, jo o fâs means I myself do, as opposed to someone else; and whereas tu âs means you have, tu tu âs means you yourself have, as opposed to someone else. Another example: lui al è vieli ma jê e je zovine (he is old but she is young), where the stressed pronouns are included for contrast. Chê de nestre vile: that of our village. The feminine singular chê stands in for la statistiche.
notes in preparation, to be continued