Friulian 12. Lis predicjis dal muini: Preambul

This is the twelfth lesson in the learning Friulian series using the book Lis predicjis dal muini by Josef Marchet. Follow the links in Friulian 1 to read the book and listen to the audio, available online courtesy of the Societât Filologjiche Furlane. The commentary below relates to the final paragraph of the Preambul, which begins with cussì mo and ends with chest librut.

COMMENTARY ON THE FRIULIAN

Preambul: paragraph 6, sentence 1.

Vocabulary: cussì mo (and so, and thus); cualchidun (someone); vê il pinsîr (to have the thought); rincurâ (to round up, to scrape together); meti insiemi (to put together); almancul (at least); un braç di (an armful of); une predicje (sermon); publicâ (to publish); ancje (also, even); cualchi (some or other); un sfuei (leaflet); come (as, like); une testemoneance (testimony); la vite (life); furlan (Friulian); un moment speciâl (a special moment); nestri (our); la storie (history); prin (first); un an (year); dopo la vuere (after the war); un esempli (example); la lenghe (language); ancjemò (still, yet); net (clean); cence (without); une messedance (mixture); une contaminazion (contamination).

Vût (had) is the past participle of vê (to have), so that al à vût means he had, he has had. Cualchidun is taken as a masculine subject pronoun, so that somebody had the thought becomes cualchidun al à vût il pinsîr. The arm of the human body is referred to in Friulian by the masculine noun braç; the plural braçs is pronounced bras. Un braç di is to be understood as an armful of. Study the following: dut chest (all this; masculine singular); dute cheste (all this; feminine singular); ducj chescj (all these; masculine plural); dutis chestis (all these; feminine plural). Examples: dut chest pan (all this bread); dute cheste aghe (all this water); ducj chescj libris (all these books); dutis chestis cjasis (all these houses). Possible variant forms: dut chistu, duta chista, duçus chisçus, dutis chistis. Che a son stadis publicadis: which have been published; the feminine plural form agrees in number and gender with predicjis. Study: il libri che al è stât publicât (the book that was published); la storie che e je stade publicade (the story that was published); i libris che a son stâts publicâts (the books that were published); lis storiis che a son stadis publicadis (the stories that were published). The masculine plural stâts publicâts is pronounced stâs publicâs. Nestri (our), like other possessive pronouns, is preceded by the definite article. Study: il nestri tratôr (our tractor); la nestre machine (our car); i nestris cjamps (our fields); lis nestris stradis (our streets). Regarding che al, che e, che a, be prepared to hear these contracted in the spoken language to ch'al, ch'e, ch'a, which sound like cal, che, ca. For instance, though possible to pronounce each word separately in i libris che a son stâts scrits (the books that were written), it is more typical to say what sounds like: i libris ca son stâs scris.

Preambul: paragraph 6, sentence 2.

Vocabulary: un troi (path); rivâ (to arrive); un librut (little book).

Par chest troi: literally, by this path, but the sense is rather one of: in this vein, in this spirit, with this intent. Librut (little book) is the diminutive of libri (book). Throughout the Preambul, a number of diminutives are encountered: librut (little book), cjasute (little house), gleseute (little church), from libri, cjase, glesie. The masculine singular diminutive ending is ut, where as the feminine singular one is ute. In the plural, these become: libruts, cjasutis, gleseutis, with libruts taking the pronunciation librùs. Al è rivât chest librut: this little book has arrived, this little book has come about.

The author of Lis predicjis dal muini signs off in the Preambul as pre Josef Marchet, meaning Father Josef Marchet. Marchet was born in 1902 and died in 1966, at the age of 63. Not only was he a Roman Catholic priest, but he was also the founder of the Friulian newspaper La Patrie dal Friûl.

Go to the next Friulian lesson, where you will begin to read the first predicje of the book, called La statistiche, narrated by Vigji himself. You are encouraged to listen as many times as possible to the audio recording, available on the website of the Societât Filologjiche Furlane. Vigji talks about the births, deaths and marriages that have taken place in the past year in his village, in a very lively Friulian style.

Friulian 11. Lis predicjis dal muini: Preambul

This is the eleventh lesson in our study of the Friulian language using the book Lis predicjis dal muini by Josef Marchet. To download the book and listen to the audio recordings, which are made available by the Societât Filologjiche Furlane, follow the links in Friulian 1. The commentary below relates to the second half of the fifth paragraph of the Preambul, which begins with parcè che al va dit and ends with fâsi sintî a doprâlu.

COMMENTARY ON THE FRIULIAN

Preambul: paragraph 5, sentence 5.

Vocabulary: parcè che (because); al va dit che (it must be said that); i parevoi ({horse} blinders, blinkers); il smuars ({horse} bit); la bocje (mouth); il rivuart (deference, reserve); nissun (nobody); i zovins (young people); i viei (old people); i puars (poor people); i siôrs (rich people); i ignorants (ignorant people); i studiâts (educated people); nancje par (not even for); la parintât (relatives); la fie (daughter); il predi (priest).

In some variants of Friulian, such as western ones, parcè che is pronounced parsé che. Al va dit che translates word-for-word as it goes said that, where dit is the past participle of dî (to say); this is a Friulian manner of expressing it must be said that. That Vigji has neither parevoi (blinders) nor smuars (bit) in his mouth means that he does not refrain from saying what he thinks. Both i parevoi and il smuars are pieces of horse headgear. In bocje: in {his} mouth. In certain western variants of Friulian, the mouth is instead referred to as la boça. We read that Vigji has no deference towards anybody (nol à rivuart par nissun), meaning that he will criticise any and all, followed by examples of people about whom this is certainly true (see the vocabulary list above), each being separated by ni (nor), as in neither the young nor the old... Nancje par (or in certain western variants nença par) is used three times; note the contraction of par and la to form pe, and of par and i to form pai; but note also that there is no contraction of par with any definite article before sô fie (his daughter): with the names of family members in the singular, the definite article is omitted before the possessive pronoun: so pari (his/her father); sô mari (his/her mother); so fi (his/her son); sô fie (his/her daughter), amongst others. In the plural, it reappears: i siei fîs (his/her sons); lis sôs fiis (his/her daughters). This is why, in the singular, we should have nancje par sô fie, but in the plural, rather nancje pes sôs fiis. In certain western variants, these two latter examples may become nença par sô fia, nença pa li sôs fiis; in such variants, the four contractions of par are pal, pa la, pai, pa li, whereas in the central one used in this book, these are rather pal, pe, pai, pes.

Preambul: paragraph 5, sentence 6.

Vocabulary: co (when); parê (to seem, to appear); just (fair, just); une robe (thing, something); une robe cualunche (some or other thing); sunâ (to ring, to sound); sunâ par timp (to call time-out); cence nissune remission (without any mercy).

Both cuant che and co mean when as conjunctions, but the latter is never followed by che. For instance, cuant che al lavore and co al lavore both mean when he works. Whereas al pâr means it seems, i pâr means it seems to him, and no i pâr means it does not seem to him. The four forms of the adjective just (fair) are: just (masculine singular); juste (feminine singular); juscj (masculine plural); justis (feminine plural). Supplementary examples: no mi pâr just ce che tu disis (what you say does not seem fair to me); no i pâr juste cheste decision (this decision seems unfair to him); no ur parin justis chês decisions (those decisions seem unfair to them). Al sune par timp: he calls time-out, which is to say that he speaks up. Cence remission: without mercy, or with the adjective nissun added: cence nissune remission (without any mercy). As a subject pronoun, nissun means (nobody, not anybody), but as an adjective, it takes the sense of no, not any. Examples: nol ven nissun (nobody comes); nol è nissun probleme (there is no problem). Nissun has only two forms, both singular: nissun (masculine) and nissune (feminine). Note that probleme is indeed a masculine noun, despite ending in e, typical of feminine nouns.

Preambul: paragraph 5, sentence 7.

Vocabulary: bon (good); un cristian (Christian); la fede (faith); fer (firm); sclet (pure); cence (without); une complicazion (complication); une buerisine (breeze, whim); politic (political); un judizi (judgement); in fin dai conts (in the end); podê dîju (to be able to say them); il plevan (parish priest); la maniere (manner, way); presentâ (to present); une peraule (word); il lengaç (language, jargon); taiâ (to cut); sponzi (to sting); cualchi volte (sometimes); tant ordenari (so vulgar); fâsi sintî (to make oneself be heard); doprâ (to use).

Fer (firm) takes the following four forms: fer (masculine singular); ferme (feminine singular); fers (masculine plural); fermis (feminine plural). We read that Vigji is a good Christian of firm and pure faith. He is without buerisinis politichis, which is to say, political whims. The masculine plural direct object ju means them, so that dîju means to say them and presentâju means to present them; its singular equivalent is lu (it), so that doprâlu means to use it. Judizis che al podarès dîju il plevan: judgements that the parish priest could repeat (literally, could say them). The masculine noun lengaç means language in the sense of jargon; in the sense of national tongue, the feminine lenghe is used instead: la lenghe furlane (the Friulian language). Though the parish priest may in theory agree with Vigji's views, we read that the language used by the latter cuts (al taie) and stings (al sponç) and is so vulgar (tant ordenari) that the former could not allow himself to be heard using it. Al podarès (he could) and nol podarès (he could not) are both the masculine, third-person singular of the present conditional of podê (can, to be able).

Go to the next Friulian lesson, where you will read the final part of the Preambul. You will learn how Friulian forms diminutives by looking at a number of words encountered in the text.

Friulian 10. Lis predicjis dal muini: Preambul

This is the tenth lesson in the learning Friulian series using the book Lis predicjis dal muini by Josef Marchet. Follow the links in Friulian 1 to read the book and listen to the audio, available online courtesy of the Societât Filologjiche Furlane. The commentary below relates to the first half of the fifth paragraph of the Preambul, which begins with Vigji al fâs and ends with pevar e asêt. 

COMMENTARY ON THE FRIULIAN

Preambul: paragraph 5, sentence 1.

Vocabulary: fâ il muini (to be a sacristan); sore nuie (for free); une scuse (excuse); cun chê scuse (with that excuse); sintîsi (to feel); prin (first, main, prime); une autoritât (authority); un paîs (village).

Al fâs (he does, he makes) is the masculine, third-person singular of the present indicative of fâ (to do, to make); the feminine equivalent is e fâs (she does, she makes). Study: al fâs il muredôr (he is a bricklayer); al fâs il plevan (he is a parish priest); al fâs il marangon (he is a carpenter); al fâs il soldât (he is a soldier); e fâs la mestre (she is a teacher). To rephrase these in first-person singular, use o fâs instead: o fâs il muredôr (I am a bricklayer). In some variants of Friulian, i fai is used instead of o fâs. We read that Vigji acts as sacristan for free: sore nuie. Si sint (he feels, she feels) is the third-person singular of the present indicative of sintîsi (to feel). In the central or standard variety of Friulian, al and e drop in the presence of si; some variants may retain them. We read that because Vigji does his work for free, he feels like the prime authority of the village.

Preambul: paragraph 5, sentence 2.

Vocabulary: la sere (evening); prin di (before); la fieste (feast day, holiday); lâ jù (to go down); il plevan (parish priest); cjapâ (to take); un ordin (order); pal indoman (for the next day); comandâ (to instruct); publicâ (to publish); in glesie (in the church); un orari (schedule); la messe (Mass); une funzion (service); un avîs (notice); cualchi altri avîs (a few other notices).

Both prin di and prime di are used in Friulian to mean before; either one can be used. Examples: prin de messe (before Mass); prin dal incuintri (before the meeting); prime des funzions (before the services); prime dai cambiaments (before the changes); prin di doman (before tomorrow). Al va jù dal plevan: he goes down to the parish priest; here di is used to convey the sense of location. Another example: o voi jù dal becjâr (I go down to the butcher). Often it is preceded by li (there), as in: o soi lât li dal dentist (I went to the dentist's). Whereas al comande means he instructs, i comande means he instructs him (or her); literally, he instructs unto him (or unto her). Be reminded that cualchi is followed by the singular: cualchi altri avîs (a few other notices); cualchi altre femine (a few other women); cualchi altri ordin (a few other orders). Remember also that some speakers say altri, altre, altris with the l, whereas others say them without, as atri, atre, atris. Know moreover that in certain variants, such as western ones, these are atri, atra, atris, for instance: cualchi atra femina (a few other women); i atris oms (the other men); li atris feminis (the other women).

Preambul: paragraph 5, sentence 3.

Vocabulary: di chê bande (while at it); profitâsi (to take advantage); tirâ (to pull, to draw); lunc (long); tirâle in lunc (to drag things out); strucjâ fûr (to pour out); dut ce che (everything that); bulî (to boil); il stomi (stomach); une opinion (opinion); une critiche (criticism); une sentence (verdict); sul cont di (regarding, about); une persone (person); un fat (event).

The present participle of infinitives ending in â takes the form ant; for instance: strucjant (pouring); publicant (publishing); fevelant (speaking); cjapant (taking); sierant (closing). Fûr means out, forth, so strucjant fûr means pouring out. Dut ce che means everything that; for instance: dut ce che al fâs (everything that he does); dut ce che o ài (everything that I have). In some variants of Friulian, such as western ones, ce is in fact said se. Whereas al bol means it boils, i bol means it boils unto him (or unto her); by adding tal stomi (in the stomach), where tal is the contraction of in and il, we obtain, from the text: dut ce che i bol tal stomi (everything that boils in his stomach; literally, everything that boils unto him in the stomach). Study the use in the text of i siei (masculine plural) and lis sôs (feminine plural) before the nouns opinions, coments, critichis, sentencis; both i siei and lis sôs here mean his. Sul cont des personis: about the people, with regard to the people. Sul cont dai fats: about the events, with regard to the events. Des is the contraction of di and lis, whereas dai is the contraction of di and i. The masculine plural fats is pronounced fas.

Preambul: paragraph 5, sentence 4.

Vocabulary: cussì (so, thus); vignî fûr (to come out); ogni (every); une volte (time, occasion); une predicje (sermon); il muini (sacristan); curt (short); sclet (frank); cuinçâ (to season); cuinçât (seasoned); il sâl (salt); il pevar (pepper); l'asêt (vinegar).

Ogni volte: every time. Cussì e ven fûr une predicje: so out comes a sermon. Une predicje dal muini: a sacristan's sermon, a sermon from the sacristan. Predicje is pronounced with stress on the first syllable. In the feminine singular are curte, sclete, cuinçade, which all agree in gender and number with predicje. We read that Vigji's sermons are seasoned with sâl e pevar e asêt (salt and pepper and vinegar), which is to say that they are very biting indeed. The s of asêt occurs between vowels, which means that it is voiced as in the first letter of the English word zeal, and not as in the first letter of the English word seal.

Go to the next Friulian lesson, where you will learn how to describe Vigji's plain-spoken language as being that which cuts and stings. You will also continue to learn more Friulian grammar.

Friulian 9. Lis predicjis dal muini: Preambul

This is the ninth lesson in our study of the Friulian language using the book Lis predicjis dal muini by Josef Marchet. To download the book and listen to the audio recordings, which are made available by the Societât Filologjiche Furlane, follow the links in Friulian 1. The commentary below relates to the entirety of the fourth paragraph of the Preambul, which begins with la vilie des fiestis and ends with chei imprescj.

COMMENTARY ON THE FRIULIAN

Preambul: paragraph 4, sentence 1.

Vocabulary: la vilie (eve); la fieste (feast day, holiday); la sere (evening); sore sere (in the evening); il muini (sacristan); la glesie (church); tignî sù (to lead); il rosari (rosary); une dozene (dozen); la persone (person); i grancj (adults); i piçui (children); vignî (to come); preâ (to pray); monumentâl (monumental); grant (big, large, tall); grues (thick); sclet di lenghe (plain-spoken); simpri (always); sigûr di se (sure of oneself).

La vilie des fiestis, sore sere: on the eve of feast days, in the evening. Une fieste is a feast day as observed in the Catholic Church, such as Easter and Christmas, whence it also means holiday. Il muini de glesie al ten sù il rosari: the church sacristan leads the rosary. Il muini de glesie translates word-for-word as the sacristan of the church. Une dozene di personis, fra grancj e piçui, a vegnin a preâ: a dozen people, both adults and children, come to pray. The adjectives grant (big) and piçul (little) can be used as nouns in the sense of adult and child. Here are the four adjectival forms of both: grant, piçul (masculine singular); grande, piçule (feminine singular); grancj, piçui (masculine plural); grandis, piçulis (feminine plural). Examples, using these words as nouns: i grancj a vegnin a preâ (the adults [the big ones] come to pray); i piçui a van a scuele (the children [the little ones] go to school). The name of the sacristan is Vigji Scuete. He is monumentâl (monumental), grant e grues (tall and thick), sclet di lenghe (plain-spoken) e simpri sigûr di se (and always sure of himself). The human tongue is known as la lenghe; to be sclet di lenghe (plain-spoken) is literally to be in Friulian frank of tongue.

Preambul: paragraph 4, sentence 2.

Vocabulary: nassût (born); il secul (century); dibot (almost, nearly); trente (thirty); un an (year); il mont (world); pal mont (abroad); prin (first); une fornâs (furnace, kiln); un modon (brick); e po (and then); fâ il manoâl (to be manual labourer); fâ il muredôr (to be a bricklayer).

Nassût in chel altri secul: born in the previous century; literally, born in that other century. Nassût is past participle of nassi (to be born); four forms: nassût (masculine singular); nassude (feminine singular); nassûts (masculine plural); nassudis (feminine plural). The masculine plural nassûts is pronounced nassûs. Al è stât dibot trente agns pal mont: he was nearly thirty years abroad. Agns (years) is the irregular plural of the masculine noun an (year). Agns sounds like ains; you will also hear it pronounced without its final s, to sound like ain. Par (for, through, about) contracts with il to form pal. Prin su lis fornâs di modon: first at brick kilns; su literally means on. E po a fâ il manoâl e il muredôr: and then as a manual labourer and bricklayer.

Preambul: paragraph 4, sentence 3.

Vocabulary: i carantans (bit of money); cjapâ (to take, to earn); meti vie (to put away, to save); rivâ adore di (to be able to, to manage to); cjoli (to take, to buy); un pâr di (a pair of, a couple of); un cjamput (small field); la tiere (land, earth); une barache (shack); sdrumâ (to tear down); fâ sù (to rear up, to build); la cjasute (little house).

Cui carantans cjapâts e metûts vie: with a bit of money earned and saved. The usual Friulian word for money is the masculine plural bêçs, pronounced bês; here we instead find the masculine plural carantans, which refers to a small amount of money. Cjapât and metût vie translate very literally as taken and put away; here they take on the sense of earned and saved. Cjapâts and metûts are both masculine plural forms, in agreement with carantans, and are pronounced cjapâs and metûs. Al è rivât adore di cjoli un pâr di cjamputs di tiere: he managed to buy a couple small fields of land. Cjoli translates literally as to take; here it takes on the sense of to buy. The masculine plural cjamputs is pronounced cjampùs. Ideally, rivâ takes jessi for auxiliary when it means to arrive (al è rivât [he arrived]), and vê for auxiliary when it means to be able (al à rivât a fâlu [he was able to do it]), but sometimes jessi is used for both. Adore can be added to the latter, with no change in meaning: al à rivât adore di fâlu (he was able to do it). Une barache che al à sdrumade: a shack that he tore down; the past participle has taken the feminine singular form sdrumade to agree with une barache. Compare: un mûr che al à sdrumât (a wall that he tore down). Par fâ sù une sô cjasute: to build his own little house. Sù means up; fâ sù takes the sense of to rear, to build. Cjasute (little house) is the diminutive form of cjase (house). Study: une sô cjase (a house of his own); un so cjamp (a field of his own). In western variants of Friulian, be prepared to hear cjase and cjamp said instead as çasa and çamp.

Preambul: paragraph 4, sentence 4.

Vocabulary: passâ (to pass); prin (first); la vuere (war); no... plui (no more); lâ (to go); inniò (nowhere); vivi (to live); un tocut (small bit); la braide (plot of land); une dalmine (wooden clog); dut (all, whole); il paîs (village).

Passade la prime vuere: after the first war. The four forms of prin (first) are: prin (masculine singular); prime (feminine singular); prins (masculine plural); primis (feminine plural). Nol è plui lât inniò: he no longer went anywhere, he went nowhere any more. Al à vivût cun chel tocut di braide: he lived with that small plot of land. Fasint dalminis par dut il paîs: making wooden clogs for the whole village.

Preambul: paragraph 4, sentence 5.

Vocabulary: tal prin (at first); mancjâ (to be lacking); un aventôr (customer, buyer); lavorâ fuart (to work hard); ma dopo (but after); altri (other); la vuere (war); mancul (less); lâ al mancul (to dwindle); simpri (always, ever); e cumò (and now); restâ (to remain, to be left); dome (only, just); sîs o siet (six or seven); un vieli (old man); vie par (during, throughout); l'Unvier (winter); puartâ (to wear); ancjemò (still); un imprest (tool, instrument, piece of equipment).

Tal prin no i mancjavin aventôrs: at first he had no lack of customers; or, taken very literally, at first customers were not lacking unto him. Al lavorà fuart: he worked hard; here the verb is set in the remote past (al lavorà), rather than in the recent past (al à lavorât), which is more typical of this book. In spoken language, one would normally say: al à lavorât. Ma dopo chê altre vuere: but after the second war; literally, but after that other war. A son lâts simpri al mancul: they dwindled steadily; lâts, pronounced lâs, is in agreement with the masculine singular aventôrs. Lâ (to go) takes vê for auxiliary, and the past participle must agree in gender and number with its subject. Examples: l'om al è lât vie (the man went away); la femine e je lade vie (the woman went away); i oms a son lâts vie (the men went away); lis feminis a son ladis vie (the women went away). E cumò a son restâts dome sîs o siet viei che, vie pal Unvier, a puartin ancjemò chei imprescj: and now only six or seven old people are left who, in the winter, still wear that gear. Chei imprescj is the plural form of chel imprest. The masculine plural restâts is pronounced restâs. The season called winter is l'Invier in Friulian, but we encounter here a variant form: l'Unvier. The adjective vieli (old) can be used as a noun to identify an elderly person. Its four forms are: vieli (masculine singular); viele (feminine singular); viei (masculine plural); vielis (feminine plural). In western variants, be prepared to hear: veçu, veça, veçus, vecis. Examples: chel om al è vieli (that man is old); chê femine e je viele (that woman is old); lis vielis a son a cjase (the old women are at home). The masculine plural i viei can be understood not only as old men, but also as old people of both genders, depending on the context. Example: il rispiet pai viei (respect for the elderly).

Go to the next Friulian lesson, where you will read more about the personality of Vigji, the sacristan-narrator of the book, including what to expect when he begins giving his stinging opinions on life in his village.

Friulian 8. Lis predicjis dal muini: Preambul

This is the eighth lesson in the learning Friulian series using the book Lis predicjis dal muini by Josef Marchet. Follow the links in Friulian 1 to read the book and listen to the audio, available online courtesy of the Societât Filologjiche Furlane. The commentary below relates to the last two sentences of the third paragraph of the Preambul, which begin with cussì il paîs and end with vot o dîs umigns. 

COMMENTARY ON THE FRIULIAN

Preambul: paragraph 3, sentence 7.

Vocabulary: cussì (so, thus); il paîs (village); cence (without); la cure (care); la anime (soul); di nissune sorte (of any sort, whatsoever); il plevan (parish priest); mandâ (to send); cualchi (some {or other}); il predi (priest); dî (to say); la messe (Mass); domenie (Sunday); râr (rare); une volte (time, occasion); in disdivore (on workdays); par solit (usually); rivâ sù (to come up, to arrive up top); sflanchinâ (to struggle, to get tuckered out); tirâ la ansime (to huff and puff); pre (Father); un capelan (chaplain); vieli (old); clopadiç (limping, lame); vênt une gnoche (to be sick and tired of it); fâ (to do); un cuart (quarter); une ore (hour); une rive (incline).

Cussì il paîs al è cence cure di animis di nissune sorte: so the village is without any spiritual care whatsoever. Il plevan al mande: the parish priest sends. With infinitives ending in â, the third-person singular ending is e in the present indicative: mandâ, al mande (to send, he sends); rivâ, al rive (to arrive, he arrives); sierâ, al siere (to close, he closes). For information, the ending is i in the first-person singular: o mandi, o rivi, o sieri (I send, I arrive, I close). Cualchi predi: some priest or other. Dî messe: to say Mass. Domenie: Sunday, but to say on Sundays, the definite article is added: la domenie. Cualchi rare volte: on some rare occasions; remember that the noun following cualchi is always set in the singular. The four forms of râr (rare) are: râr (masculine singular); rare (feminine singular); rârs (masculine plural); raris (feminine plural). In disdivore: on workdays; contraction of dîs (days) di (of) vore (work). Sflanchinant: struggling, getting tuckered out. Tirant la ansime: huffing and puffing. Ansime is pronounced with stress on the first syllable; very literally, tirâ la ansime (to huff and puff) translates as to draw breathlessness. Pre Scjefin: Father Scjefin. Un capelan vieli e clopadiç: an old and limping chaplain. A 'nd à une gnoche: he is sick and tired of it, he has had his fill of it. Indi means of it, thereof and contracts to 'nd or 'nt; this will be discussed in more detail as the lessons progress. For now, know that al indi à (he has of it) becomes a 'nd à in colloquial language, which sounds like andà. Un capelan vieli e clopadiç che a 'nd à une gnoche a fâ chel cuart di ore di rive: an old and limping chaplain who is sick and tired of doing that quarter-hour uphill walk. Another example: o 'nd ài une gnoche a fâ chê vore (I have had it up to here doing that work), where o 'nd ài sounds like ondài.

Preambul: paragraph 3, sentence 8.

Vocabulary: une glesie (church); piçul (small, little); cincuante (fifty); stentâ (to struggle, to have trouble); stâ dentri (to fit inside); vignî a messe (to come to Mass); un troput di (a small bunch of); une femine (woman); cualchi (some, a few); une fantaçute (young girl); un cjap di (a handful of); un frut (boy, child); vot (eight); dîs (ten); i umigns (men).

La glesie e je piçule: the church is small. The four forms of piçul (small, little) are: piçul (masculine singular); piçule (feminine singular); piçui (masculine plural); piçulis (feminine plural). In western variants of Friulian, be prepared to hear: pissul, pissula, pissui, pissulis. In all four forms, both central and western, stress is on the first syllable. Un cincuante di lôr: some fifty people; literally, fifty of them. This is a commonly used structure in Friulian in place of using the word for people; another example: un vincj di lôr a son muarts (some twenty people died). For information, the masculine plural muarts sounds like muars. Che un cincuante di lôr a stentin a stâ dentri: so much so that some fifty people struggle to fit inside. Study: o stenti (I struggle); tu stentis (you [singular] struggle); al stente (he struggles); e stente (she struggles); o stentìn (we struggle); o stentais (you [plural] struggle); a stentin (they struggle). Al ven a messe un troput di feminis, cualchi fantaçute, un cjap di fruts e vot o dîs umigns: a small bunch of women come to Mass, a few young girls, a handful of children and eight or ten men. A male child is un frut (boy), whereas a female child is une frute (girl). The masculine plural i fruts can be understood as boys or more generally as children of both genders: the context must inform. For instance, children of both genders playing in a park are called i fruts, but so too are childen of only male gender. Children of only female gender are lis frutis. The masculine plural fruts is pronounced frus. The Friulian for man is the masculine noun om; its regular plural is oms, but other forms exist: omis, umign, umigns. Listen to the audio to hear the speaker pronounce both fruts and umigns. Know also that dîs (ten) is pronounced deis in some variants of Friulian, such as western ones; there where deis is used, you will also hear seis instead of the sîs (six) of central Friulian.

Go to the next Friulian lesson, where you will learn the Friulian name for a traditional piece of footwear, namely the wooden clog, together with other words related to work and earning money. You will also learn how to describe someone in Friulian as being plain-spoken.

Friulian 7. Lis predicjis dal muini: Preambul

This is the seventh lesson in our study of the Friulian language using the book Lis predicjis dal muini by Josef Marchet. To download the book and listen to the audio recordings, which are made available by the Societât Filologjiche Furlane, follow the links in Friulian 1. The commentary below relates to the fifth and sixth sentences of the third paragraph of the Preambul, which begin with da pît la vile and end with des lôr cragnis.

COMMENTARY ON THE FRIULIAN

Preambul: paragraph 3, sentence 5.

Vocabulary: il pît (foot); da pît (at the foot of); la vile (village); unic (only); une abitazion (dwelling); civîl (civil, decent); il paîs (village); une ostarie (tavern); un forest (outsider, foreigner); savê (to know); fâ i siei interès (to go about his own interests); cence (without); trop (too many); un scrupul (scruple); insom (finally); un tîr (shot); une sclope (rifle); la cjase (house); la gleseute (little church); une costruzion (construction); il Cinccent (the fifteen hundreds); une cjampanute (little bell); il colm (ridge, top); une façade (façade); un puartiut (porch); devant di (in front of); une puarte (door); une strade (road, street).

Da pît la vile: at the foot of the village. La uniche abitazion civîl: the only proper dwelling. The four forms of unic (only) are: unic (masculine singular); uniche (feminine singular); unics (masculine plural); unichis (feminine plural). Dal paîs: of the village, where di and il contract to form dal. Un forest: this can refer in Friulian not only to someone from a different country altogether, but even to someone from out of town: a foreigner, an outsider, someone from away; it is pronounced with stress on the final syllable. Che al sa fâ i siei interès cence trops scrupui: who knows how to go about his interests without too many scruples. Study how to say his in Friulian: il so cjamp (his field); i siei cjamps (his fields); la sô cjase (his house); lis sôs cjasis (his houses). Trop means too many; its four forms are: trop (masculine singular); trope (feminine singular); trops (masculine plural); tropis (feminine plural). The masculine plural trops is pronounced tros, which you can hear in the audio. A un tîr di sclope des cjasis: at rifle's shot away from the houses. Des is the contraction of di and lis. La gleseute di S. Pieri: the little church of St Peter. Gleseute (little church) is the diminutive form of glesie (church); S. is the abbreviation of Sant (Saint). Cinccent is the Friulian for five hundred, but it is used to identify the fifteen hundreds (as in the sixteenth century), together with the definite article: il Cinccent. Cuntune cjampanute sul colm de façade: with a little bell on the ridge of the façade. Cun and une contract to form cuntune; su and il contract to form sul; di and la contract to form de. Un puartiut devant de puarte, su la strade: a porch in front of the door, on the road. Unlike su and il which contract to form sul, su and la do not contract: su la.

Preambul: paragraph 3, sentence 6.

Vocabulary: za timp (in the past, time ago); in cheste glesie (in this church); un vicjari curât (curate vicar); dipendi di (to answer to, to be under the authority of); un plevan (parish priest); une vile (village); ma cumò (but now); nissun (nobody, no one); par vie che (because, on account of); la int (people); stâ miôr (to be better off); cence che (without); un predi (priest); vignî (to come); meti il nâs in (to stick one's nose in); lôr (their); un afâr (business); impaçâsi di (to meddle in); lis cragnis (filthy affairs).

Al jere un vicjari curât: there was a curate vicar. Al jere is the imperfect indicative form of al è; likewise, e jere is the imperfect indicative form of e je. Al dipendeve dal plevan: he answered to the parish priest; here again is an imperfect indicative. Consider: al dipent di (he answers to); al dipendeve di (he used to answer to). Study the following: nol è nissun (there is nobody); nol jere nissun (there was nobody); nol sarà nissun (there will be nobody); nol ven nissun (nobody comes); nol è vignût nissun (nobody has come); nol vignarà nissun (nobody will come). Miôr means better; stâ miôr means to be better off. La int e sta miôr: the people are better off. Cence che i predis a vegnin: without priests coming. Consider: il predi al ven (the priest comes); i predis a vegnin (the priests come). With cence che, the subjunctive is required, but in the phrase from the book, its present subjunctive form (a vegnin) is indistinguishable from the present indicative (a vegnin); that said, some Friulians may use a vignedin in the present subjunctive: cence che a vegnin, cence che a vignedin. The literal meaning of meti is to put, and nâs is a masculine noun identifying the nose: meti il nâs tai lôr afârs: to stick their nose in their business. Tai is the contraction of in and i; in other words, tai lôr afârs = in (in) + i lôr afârs (their business). Lôr (their) never changes form: il lôr plevan (their parish priest); i lôr plevans (their parish priests); la lôr glesie (their church); lis lôr glesiis (their churches). Impaçâsi des lôr cragnis: to meddle in their filthy affairs, to meddle in their dirty laundry. Again, des is the contraction of di and lis. In some variants of Friulian, such as western ones, des is rather da li. For example, i cops des cjasis (the roof tiles of the houses) may rather be said in certain western variants i cops da li çasis. Un cop is, more precisely, a barrel tile used in Friulian roofing. Using cjase in the singular, i cops de cjase (the roof tiles of the house) may rather be said in certain western variants i cops da la çasa.

Go to the next Friulian lesson, where you will learn how to describe in Friulian an old, limping chaplain who gets tuckered out by a fifteen-minute walk uphill.

Friulian 6. Lis predicjis dal muini: Preambul

This is the sixth lesson in the learning Friulian series using the book Lis predicjis dal muini by Josef Marchet. Follow the links in Friulian 1 to read the book and listen to the audio, available online courtesy of the Societât Filologjiche Furlane. The commentary below relates to the third and fourth sentences of the third paragraph of the Preambul, which begin with a Gargagnà Disot and end with e di pretesis. 

COMMENTARY ON THE FRIULIAN

Preambul: paragraph 3, sentence 3.

Vocabulary: il comun (town hall); la plêf (parish church); un pôc di (a bit of, a little, a few); un moviment (movement); comerciâl (commercial); dâ (to give); al da (it gives); cheste vile (this village); un fregul di (a smidgen of, a modicum of); une ande (flair); citadin (urban).

A Gargagnà Disot: in Lower Gargagnà. With the names of villages, towns and cities, Friulian uses the preposition a where English uses in. Al è il comun e la plêf: there is the town hall and the parish church. Whereas in the previous sentence the masculine noun comun referred to the municipality, here it identifies the town hall. Un pôc di moviment comerciâl: a bit of commercial movement, a little business activity. With un pôc di, note that pôc must always agree in number and gender with the noun following di, but un is invariable. Examples: un pôc di timp (a bit of time; masculine singular); un pocje di aghe (a bit of water; feminine singular); un pôcs di oms (a few men; masculine plural); un pocjis di feminis (a few women; feminine plural). The masculine plural pôcs is pronounced pôs. Che al da a cheste vile un fregul di ande citadine: which gives this village a smidgen of city flair. The four forms of the adjective citadin (urban) are: citadin (masculine singular); citadine (feminine singular); citadins (masculine plural); citadinis (feminine plural).

Preambul: paragraph 3, sentence 4.

Vocabulary: nuie (nothing); un borgat (shantytown); une staipe (shack); un landri (hovel); un murat (stone wall); la stabilidure (plaster); cence stabilidure (unplastered); un tamar (pen, fold); plen di (full of); dome (only, just); un catan (rust bucket); lis scovacis (rubbish, garbage); la int (people); grubian (oafish, coarse); la presunzion (presumption); une pretese (demand).

A Gargagnà Disore nol è nuie: In Upper Gargagnà there is nothing. The verb is negated before nuie. Consider: al dîs (he says); nol dîs nuie (he says nothing); al à (he has); nol à nuie (he has nothing); e à (she has); no à nuie (she has nothing). Al è un borgat di staipis e di landris: it is a shantytown of shacks and hovels. The literal meaning of the masculine noun landri is cave; here it refers figuratively to a run-down dwelling. Di murats cence stabilidure: of unplastered stone walls. Murats is pronounced muràs, which you can hear in the recording. Di tamars plens dome di catans e scovacis: of pens full of only rust buckets and rubbish. Un tamar is a fold where sheep or goats are kept; it is pronounced with stress on the first syllable. Di int grubiane plene di presunzion e di pretesis: of oafish people full of presumption and demands. Plen (full) must agree in number and gender with the noun that it modifies: un tamar plen di (a pen full of); tamars plens di (pens full of); int plene di (people full of). Note that int (people) is a feminine singular noun, not a plural one. This means that the verb used with it will also be singular: cheste int e je grubiane (these people are oafish).

Go to the next Friulian lesson, where you will not only continue to read about daily life in Gargagnà, but also learn how to speak in Friulian about the meddling of others in one's private business.

Friulian 5. Lis predicjis dal muini: Preambul

This is the fifth lesson in our study of the Friulian language using the book Lis predicjis dal muini by Josef Marchet. Follow the links in Friulian 1 to read the book and listen to the audio, made available online by the Societât Filologjiche Furlane. The commentary below relates to the first two sentences of the third paragraph of the Preambul, which begin with cheste veretât and end with il Comun di Scufons.

COMMENTARY ON THE FRIULIAN

Preambul: paragraph 3, sentence 1.

Vocabulary: cheste veretât (this truth); la urdidure (the thrust); di chest libri (of this book); la trame (the plot, the story line); invezit (on the other hand); une fente (a fiction, a made-up story); une bausie (a lie); salacor (perhaps, maybe); coventâ (to be needed); une peraule di spiegazion (a word of explanation).

Listen to the audio to hear how the speaker pronounces invezit (on the other hand); it sounds like invessit, with the second syllable being the stressed one. Salacor (perhaps, maybe) is pronounced with stress on the final syllable; used even more frequently in Friulian is forsit, having the same meaning and taking its stress on the first syllable. I covente: is needed unto it. The third-person singular and indirect i means unto it. I covente une peraule di spiegazion: it needs a word of explanation; literally, unto it is needed a word of explanation. Consider now the following: e covente une peraule di spiegazion (a word of explanation is needed); i covente une peraule di spiegazion (it needs a word of explanation [a word of explanation is needed unto it]). For some Friulians, the z of spiegazion will sound like ts; for others, such as speakers of western variants, it will sound like ss. The same can be said of frazion, which appears in the next sentence. Words ending in zion are always feminine.

Preambul: paragraph 3, sentence 2.

Vocabulary: secont (according to); cheste fente (this fiction, this made-up story); Gargagnà Disore (Upper Gargagnà); une vile (a village); dal Friûl di Mieç (of Central Friûl); une frazion (a borough); nus (us); insegnâ (to teach); dî (to say); i talians (the Italians); une anime (a soul); cun siet votcent animis (with seven or eight hundred souls); in union cun (together with, along with); Gargagnà Disot (Lower Gargagnà); cualchi altri cjasâl (a few other hamlets); plui minût (smaller); formâ (to form); il Comun di Scufons (the Municipality of Scufons).

Secont (according to) also exists as seont. Mieç is a masculine noun meaning middle; for instance, il mieç dal mâr means the middle of the sea. Di mieç can be attached to a placename to create the sense of central; for instance, il Friûl di Mieç means Central Friûl, and l'Orient di Mieç means the Middle East. Consider all the following: il talian (the Italian); i talians (the Italians); il talian al à insegnât (the Italian has taught); i talians a àn insegnât (the Italians have taught); il talian nus à insegnât (the Italian has taught us); i talians nus àn insegnât (the Italians have taught us). Note how the presence of nus forces the omission of al and a in the preceding examples. The author explains that it was under the influence of the Italians that the Friulians adopted the term une frazion (borough) to name each of the administrative divisions of un comun (municipality), for it was the Italians who devised the system. The infinitive dî means to say; be prepared to hear this expressed also as disi. For instance, i talians nus àn insegnât a dî cussì or i talians nus àn insegnât a disi cussì both mean the Italians have taught us to say so. The Friulian for seven is siet, and for eight is vot. Sietcent: seven hundred. Votcent: eight hundred. Siet votcent: seven or eight hundred. Cualchi (a few) is always followed by the singular: cualchi cjase (a few houses); cualchi cjamp (a few fields); cualchi cjasâl (a few hamlets). Any adjective or verb used with it will also be set in the singular: cualchi altri cjasâl plui minût (a few other smaller hamlets); cualchi altre cjase plui minude (a few other smaller houses). Study: il comun al forme (the municipality forms); la citât e forme (the city forms); chestis frazions a formin (these boroughs form).

Go to the next Friulian lesson, where you will read a colourful description of what the people of Gargagnà are like, including words to describe shabby living conditions.

Friulian 4. Lis predicjis dal muini: Preambul

This is the fourth lesson in the learning Friulian series using the book Lis predicjis dal muini by Josef Marchet. Follow the links in Friulian 1 to read the book and listen to the audio, available online courtesy of the Societât Filologjiche Furlane. The commentary below relates to the final sentence of the second paragraph of the Preambul, which begins with intun cuadri and ends with voie di cjalâle. 

COMMENTARY ON THE FRIULIAN

Preambul: paragraph 2, sentence 3.

Intun cuadri lis robis claris a parin plui lusorosis: in a painting, light things appear brighter. In and un combine to form intun (in a); the feminine equivalent is intune. Examples: intun cuadri (in a painting); intune cjase (in a house); intun libri (in a book); intune lenghe (in a language). Une robe: a thing. Clâr: light, bright. Parê: to appear, to seem. Lis robis claris a parin: light things appear. Lusorôs: bright, brilliant. Plui lusorôs: brighter, more brilliant. Both claris and lusorosis are feminine plural to agree in number and gender with feminine plural robis.

Se a son dongje lis ombris e lis maglis: if there are shadows and dark spots beside them. Se: if. Dongje: alongside, nearby. Une ombre: a shadow. Une magle: a dark spot, a stain. Taken more literally, this phrase can be understood as: if nearby are shadows and dark spots. In some variants of Friulian, such as western ones, be prepared to hear dongje said as dongia. Whereas central dongje takes a hard g (as in the English word get), western dongia uses a soft one (as in the English word jet). Central example: dongje de cjase (beside the house); western equivalent: dongia da la çasa.

Se no son ombris ni maglis: if there are neither shadows nor dark spots. A son ombris: there are shadows. No son ombris: there are no shadows. A son can take the sense of either they are or there are. Examples: i cjamps a son dongje de citât (the fields are near the city); a son une vore di cjamps dongje de citât (there are many fields near the city). Negated, a son becomes no son. In the phrase under review here, no son takes the sense of there are no, there are not any. No... ni... ni... can be used in neither... nor constructions in this way: chel monument nol è ni grant ni biel (that monument is neither large nor beautiful); chê citât no je ni grande ni biele (that city is neither large nor beautiful); su la taule no son ni pirons ni sedons (on the table are neither forks nor spoons). In our phrase under review, the author omitted ni before ombris (he used ni only once), which is a simplified, more direct style. Consider: al è (masculine singular); e je (feminine singular); a son (masculine and feminine plural); negated: nol è, no je, no son. For information: il piron (fork), la sedon (spoon), il curtìs (knife).

Si pues stâ sigûrs che e je dute une bausie: you can be certain that it is all a lie. Podê: can, to be able. Si pues: one can, one is able. Stâ sigûr: to be certain, to be sure. The masculine plural sigûrs is used because si pues refers to people in general, which is a plural concept. Une bausie: a lie; this word has three syllables (bau-sì-e), and the stress falls on the second one. E je is used because bausie is feminine singular. Examples: e je dute une bausie (it is all a lie); al è dut un mismàs (it is all a mess).

No ven nancje voie di cjalâle: you will not even want to look at it. Vignî: to come. La voie: keenness, desire. E ven voie: keenness comes. No ven voie: keenness comes not. Nancje: not even. In Friulian, to look at it is either cjalâlu or cjalâle; the former uses the masculine singular direct object lu attached to the infinitive cjalâ, whereas the latter uses the feminine singular direct object le. In our phrase under review, the feminine singular is used because it refers back to feminine singular bausie (lie) rather than masculine singular cuadri (painting): in the author's mind, the object is not a painting at all, but a lie.

Go to the next Friulian lesson, where you will learn important Friulian terminology for the different sorts of administrative divisions that exist within Friûl, such as hamlets, boroughs and municipalities.

Friulian 3. Lis predicjis dal muini: Preambul

This third lesson continues to teach Friulian through Lis predicjis dal muini, written by Josef Marchet. Follow the links in Friulian 1 to read the book and listen to the audio, made available by the Societât Filologjiche Furlane. The commentary below relates to the first two sentences of the second paragraph of the Preambul, which begin with o sin usâts and end with cence baronade.

COMMENTARY ON THE FRIULIAN

Preambul: paragraph 2, sentence 1.

O sin usâts a: we are used to. Jessi usât a: to be used to. Consider: o soi usât a (I am used to; masculine singular); o soi usade a (I am used to; feminine singular); o sin usâts a (we are used to; masculine plural); o sin usadis a (we are used to; feminine plural). The masculine plural usâts is pronounced usâs. In western variants of Friulian, be prepared to hear i soi and i sin in place of o soi and o sin.

Une forme di retoriche a bon presit: a form of cheap rhetoric. In Friulian variants preferring to end words in a rather than e, such as western ones, the form una forma di retorica would instead be used, which is indistinguishable from Italian. A bon presit: cheap. The adjective bon means good, whereas the masculine noun presit means price. When the letter s comes between vowels, it is voiced, which means that the s of presit sounds like the first letter of the English words zoo, zinc, zeal. Listen to the audio to hear it pronounced.

Puartâ adalt: to exalt. Puartâ means to bring, to carry, to bear. Adalt means up, upwards. Une forme [...] che e puarte adalt: a form [...] that exalts. E is used because une forme is a feminine singular subject. Had the subject been masculine singular, for instance: il libri (the book), then al would be used instead: il libri che al puarte adalt (the book that exalts). In the plural, whether masculine or feminine, a is used, with the verb set in the plural: i libris che a puartin adalt (the books that exalt).

Tant il nestri paîs che il nestri popul: both our country and our people. The masculine noun paîs can mean either country or village in Friulian. Nestri means our; it is used with the definite article of the noun that it modifies and changes form accordingly. Consider: il nestri difiet (our flaw); i nestris difiets (our flaws); la nestre forme di retoriche (our form of rhetoric); lis nestris formis di retoriche (our forms of rhetoric). Tant [...] che [...]: both [...] and [...].

Parsore di ducj chei altris vicins e lontans: above all others, near and far. Parsore di: above. Ducj chei altris: all others, all the others; literally, all those others. The forms of altri (other) are: altri (masculine singular); altre (feminine singular); altris (masculine plural); altris (feminine plural). Many Friulians drop the l of this adjective when speaking: atri, atre (or atra in western variants), atris. Vicin: near, nearby. Lontan: far, faraway. The masculine plural forms vicins and lontans are used to agree in number and gender with ducj chei altris. In western variants of Friulian, vicin may instead be pronounced vissin. For instance, rather than une citât vicine (a nearby city), you may hear una sitât vissina. Similarly: une citât lontane, una sitât lontana (a faraway city). 

Preambul: paragraph 2, sentence 2.

Chest al è il dret: this is the front side. Il dret is the front-facing side, in opposition to il ledrôs, which is the back-facing side, studied previously. The Friulian for this is: chest (masculine singular); cheste (feminine singular); and the Friulian for these is: chescj (masculine plural); chestis (feminine plural). Consider: chest om, chel om (this man, that man); cheste femine, chê femine (this woman, that woman); chescj oms, chei oms (these men, those men); chestis feminis, chês feminis (these women, those women).

Ma e vûl metude in cont ancje chê altre muse: but the other face also needs to be taken into account. Ma: but. Meti in cont: to take into account. Metût in cont: taken into account. Ancje: also. La muse: the face. Chê altre muse: the other face; literally, that other face. E vûl is the feminine, third-person singular of the present tense of volê (to want); it agrees here with chê altre muse, feminine singular. Compare the following: al vûl metût in cont (masculine singular); e vûl metude in cont (feminine singular), both meaning it needs to be taken into account. Another example: al vûl metût in cont ancje chel altri probleme (the other problem also needs to be taken into account). Probleme may look like a feminine noun because of its e ending, but it is indeed masculine.

Bisugne vê la fuarce di cjalâ dut cence parevoi: one must have the strength to observe everything without blinders. Bisugne: one must, you have to. Vê la fuarce: to have the strength. Cjalâ: to observe, to look at. Cence parevoi: without blinders. I parevoi are the blinders (or blinkers) worn by horses to limit their vision. Cence parevoi is used figuratively here to mean that one must see things with a full view to how they really are.

Pesâ dut cence baronade: to weigh everything without mischief, which is to say, to consider everything in an honest manner. In other variants of Friulian, such as western ones, be prepared to hear cence (without) pronounced sensa.

Go to the next Friulian lesson, where you will learn how to speak in Friulian about the features that make a painting beautiful, and the features that turn it into a lie.

Friulian 2. Lis predicjis dal muini: Preambul

This is the second lesson in our study of the Friulian language using the book Lis predicjis dal muini by Josef Marchet. To download the book and listen to the audio recordings, which are made available by the Societât Filologjiche Furlane, follow the links in Friulian 1. The commentary below relates to the second sentence of the Preambul, which begins with Gargagnà and ends with dute la veretât.

COMMENTARY ON THE FRIULIAN

Preambul: paragraph 1, sentence 2.

Gargagnà nol è: Gargagnà is not. This is the negated form of Gargagnà al è (Gargagnà is). Another example: gno fradi al è a cjase (my brother is at home); gno fradi nol è a cjase (my brother is not at home). The Friulian gn of Gargagnà and gno sounds just as it does in Italian.

Une entitât gjeografiche: a geographic entity. Entitât is a feminine singular noun, and the adjective gjeografic (geographic) modifying it must agree in gender and number, producing: gjeografiche. The four forms of this adjective are: gjeografic (masculine singular); gjeografiche (feminine singular); gjeografics (masculine plural); gjeografichis (feminine plural).

Un fat di costum: a cultural phenomenon.

Al è dut il Friûl cjalât de bande dal ledrôs: it is all of Friûl seen from the rear side. Dut: all. Cjalâ: to look at, to observe. Cjalât: looked at, observed, seen. La bande: side. Il ledrôs: rear side, wrong side. De bande dal ledrôs: from the rear side, where di (from) contracts with la to form de. In western variants of Friulian, be prepared to encounter da la instead of de; and in those variants where feminine nouns end in a rather than e, you may hear da la banda. Il ledrôs refers to the rear side or wrong side of, for instance, a rug or canvas, which is to say, the side hidden from view.

Di chê bande dulà che une tele e mostre [...]: from that side where a canvas shows [...] The Friulian for that is chel (masculine singular); chê (feminine singular); and the Friulian for those is chei (masculine plural); chês (feminine plural). Une tele: a canvas. Mostrâ: to show. Une tele e mostre: a canvas shows. E mostre is feminine singular; its masculine equivalent is al mostre. Examples: la femine e mostre (the woman shows); l'om al mostre (the man shows). In those variants of Friulian preferring to end words with a rather than e, such as western ones, be prepared to hear instead: una tela a mostra, la femina a mostra, l'om al mostra.

Ducj i siei grops, dutis lis zontis, lis mendis, i difiets: all its knots, all its seams, its patches, its flaws. The four forms of dut (all) are: dut (masculine singular); dute (feminine singular); ducj (masculine plural); dutis (feminine plural). In wetsern variants of Friulian, be prepared to hear: dut, duta, duçus, dutis. Un grop: a knot. Une zonte: a seam. Une mende: a patch. Un difiet: a flaw. Consider: il so grop (its knot); i siei grops (its knots); la sô zonte (its seam); lis sôs zontis (its seams). The masculine plural difiets sounds like difiès. To pronounce ducj as used in this sentence, imagine that ducj and i are written as one word: ducji. Whereas lis (also said li) is the plural of the definite article la, the plural of the definite article il is i, for instance: il grop, i grops (the knot, the knots); la mende, lis mendis (the repair, the repairs).

In sumis dute la veretât: in short, the whole truth. When listening to the audio, take note of how the speaker pronounces veretât, with its circumflex-accented â held slightly longer than an unaccented a. Listen for this phenomenon in other words as well, such as ledrôs.

Go to the next Friulian lesson, where you will learn how to speak in Friulian about seeing reality for what it is, even when the truth is too ugly to behold.

Friulian 1. Lis predicjis dal muini: Preambul

This series for learning Friulian uses the book Lis predicjis dal muini by Josef Marchet. The full text and audio are made available online by the Societât Filologjiche Furlane (see the links below). In this book, a fictional muini (sacristan), named Vigji Scuete, delivers salty rants in his predicjis (sermons), which introduce you to many colloquial Friulian usages. The variant of Friulian used in this book is a central one, from which the standard language derives, but the commentary for each lesson also provides information about western variants. This book begins with a foreward, called the Preambul, in the words of the author himself; this introductory text sets the scene for what to expect in the lively predicjis that follow. The full text of the book is not reproduced here. Follow the links below to download the book and listen to its associated audio recordings.

READ AND LISTEN

(1) Download a PDF of the book and listen to the Friulian audio on the website of the Societât Filologjiche Furlane.

(2) You can also read the text in the form a flipbook and listen to the Friulian audio on the website of Teche friulane.

The commentary below relates to the first sentence of the Preambul, which begins with al è dibant and ends with fin lis farcadicis.

COMMENTARY ON THE FRIULIAN

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. Whereas lâ means to go, cirî means to look for. Lâ a cirî Gargagnà: to go looking for Gargagnà. 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. The Friulian territory is called il Friûl in Friulian itself, using the masculine singular definite article il. 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 phenomenon in the audio. Fin lis farcadicis: even molehills. Whereas une farcadice means molehill, the animal itself is called un farc (mole).

The Friulian for to be is jessi. In the present tense, it conjugates so: o soi (I am); tu sês (you [singular] are); al è (he is); e je (she is); o sin (we are); o sês (you [plural] are); a son (they are). The Friulian for to have is vê. In the present tense, it conjugates so: o ài (I have); tu âs (you [singular] have); al à (he has); e à (she has); o vin (we have); o vês (you [plural] have); a àn (they have). For information: In numerous variants of Friulian, be prepared to hear i rather than o in the first-person singular, first-person plural and second-person plural; and to hear a rather than e in the feminine, third-person singular.

The feminine noun predicje means sermon; it is pronounced with tonic stress on the first syllable: prè-di-cje. Lis predicjis dal muini: the sermons of the sacristan, the sacristan's sermons. If you are reading an older copy of this book, the title may show as Lis predicjs dal muini. In older spelling, the j of predicjs assumed the function of modern ji. Both the modern predicjis and the older predicjs are pronounced the same: prè-di-cjis.

Go to the next Friulian lesson, where you will learn what the reverse side of a canvas is called in Friulian and how it relates to Gargagnà, with all its human flaws.