Istriot language

The Istriot language (Lèngua Eîstriota) is a Romance language of the Italo-Dalmatian branch spoken by about 400 people in the southwestern part of the Istrian peninsula in Croatia, particularly in Rovinj and Vodnjan. It should not be confused with the Istrian dialect of the Venetian language or the more distantly related Istro-Romanian, a variety of Eastern Romance.

Istriot
Eîstrioto, Lèngua Eîstriota
Bumbar, Valìʃe, Ruvignìʃ, Faʃanìʃ, Siʃanìʃ, Galiʃaneʃ
Native toCroatia
RegionIstria
Native speakers
400 (2007)[1]
L2 speakers: 900 (2007)[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3ist
Glottologistr1244
ELPIstriot
Linguasphere51-AAA-na

Classification

Rovinj (Rovigno), the historical capital of the Istriots
Austrian census of 1910, classifying Istriots as Italians and showing the majority populations in reddish colors. Istriotic areas begin south of the Leme (Lim) channel

Istriot is a Romance language currently only found in Istria. Its classification has remained mostly unclear, various proposals for its affinity exist:

When Istria was a region of the Kingdom of Italy, Istriot was considered by the authorities as a subdialect of Venetian.[6]

Historically, its speakers never referred to it as "Istriot"; it had six names after the six towns where it was spoken. In Vodnjan it was named "Bumbaro", in Bale "Valìʃe", in Rovinj "Ruvignìʃ", in Šišan "Siʃanìʃ", in Fažana "Faʃanìʃ" and in Galižana "Galiʃaneʃ". The term Istriot was coined by the 19th-century Italian linguist Graziadio Isaia Ascoli.

This language is still spoken by some people in the Istriot communities in Fertilia and Maristella, in Sardinia.

There are about 400 speakers left, making it an endangered language.

Vocabulary

Below is a comparison of Istriot with several closely related Romance languages and Latin:

LatinItalianIstriot (Rovignìʃ)VenetianBisiacco VenetianEnglish
clave(m) chiave ciàve ciave ciave key
nocte(m) notte nuòto note/not note night
cantare cantare cantà caŋtar caŋtar to sing
capra(m) capra càpra, càvara càvara cavra goat
lingua(m) lingua lèngua lengua lengua language
platea(m) piazza piàsa pia-sa pia-sa square
ponte(m) ponte pònto poŋte/poŋt poŋt bridge
ecclesia(m) chiesa cièʃa cexa cesa church
hospitale(m) ospedale uspadàl ospedal ospedal hospital
caseu(m)
lat.vulg.formaticu(m)
formaggio/cacio furmàio formajo formai cheese

Phonology

The phonology of the Istriot language:[7]

Consonants

Labial Dental/
Alveolar
Post-alv./
Palatal
Velar
Nasal m n ɲ (ŋ)
Stop voiceless p t t͡ʃ k
voiced b d d͡ʒ ɡ
Fricative voiceless f s
voiced v z
Trill r
Approximant central j w
lateral l (ʎ)
  • Sounds /j, w/ can also be noted as [i̯ u̯] among different dialects.
  • [ŋ] occurs as a result of a nasal consonant preceding a velar stop.
  • [ʎ] can occur as a result of Italian loanwords.

Vowels

Front Central Back
Close i u
Close-mid e o
Open-mid ɛ ɔ
Open a


Orthography

The Istriot alphabet is the following:

Letter Pronunciation (IPA) Notes
A, a /a/ à
B, b /b/
C, c /k/, // /k/ when followed by "a", "o", "u" or a consonant; /tʃ/ when followed by "e" or "i"
Ch, ch /k/ When followed by "e" or "i"
Ci, ci // When followed by "a", "o", "u"
D, d /d/
Dz, dz /dz/
E, e /ɛ/, /e/ è, é
F, f /f/
G, g /ɡ/, // /ɡ/ before "a", "o", "u" or a consonant, /dʒ/ before "e" and "i"
Gh, gh /ɡ/ When followed by "e" or "i"
Gi, gi // When followed by "a", "o", "u"
H, h Used in [ch] and [gh]
I, i /i/, /j/ í, î
J, j /j/
L, l /l/
M, m /m/
N, n /n/
Nj, nj / Gn, gn /ɲ/
O, o /ɔ/, /o/ ò, ó
P, p /p/
R, r /r/
S, s /s/
T, t /t/
Ts, ts /ts/
U, u /u/, /w/ ú, û
V, v /v/
Z, z /z/

Example

This is a poem called "Grièbani" by Ligio Zanini[8] in the dialect of Rovinj-Rovigno.

IstriotItalian

 La nostra zì oûna longa cal da griebani:

 i spironi da Monto inda uò salvà,
 e 'l brasso da Vistro uò rastà scuio
 pei grutoni pioûn alti del mar,
 ca ruzaghia sta tiera viecia-stara.
 Da senpro i signemo pissi sensa nom,
 ca da sui sa prucoûra 'l bucon
 par guodi la veîta leîbara del cucal,
 pastadi dala piova da Punente a da Livante
 e cume i uleîi mai incalmadi.
 Fra ste carme zì stà la nostra salvissa,
 cume i riboni a sa salva dal dulfeîn
 fra i scagni del sico da San Damian;
 el nostro pan, nato gra li gruote, zi stà inbinideî
 cul sudur sula iera zbruventa da Paloû...
 e i vemo caminà par oûna longa cal da griebani,
 c'ancui la riesta lissada dali nostre urme.

 La nostra è una lunga strada irta di sassi:

 gli speroni di Monto ci hanno salvato,
 ed il braccio di Vistro è rimasto scoglio
 per le grotte poste più in alto del mare,
 che erode questa antica terra.
 Da sempre siamo pesciolini
 che da soli si procurano il boccone
 per godere la libera vita del gabbiano,
 oppressi dalla pioggia di Ponente e di Levante
 come olivi senza innesti.
 Fra queste insenature è stata la nostra salvezza,
 come i pagelli si salvano dal delfino
 fra le tane della secca di San Damiano;
 il nostro pane, nato tra le grotte, è stato benedetto
 col sudore nell'aia ribollente di Palù...
 ed abbiamo camminato per una lunga strada dissestata,
 che oggi rimane spianate dai nostri passi.

See also

Notes

  1. Istriot at Ethnologue (23rd ed., 2020) closed access
  2. Bartoli, Matteo. Le parlate italiane della Venezia Giulia e della Dalmazia. Tipografia italo-orientale. Grottaferrata 1919.
  3. Stammerjohann, Harro (2009). Lexicon Grammaticorum. Tübingen.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  4. Ethnologue entry for Istriot
  5. "Glottolog 3.1 - Istriot". glottolog.org. Retrieved 2018-01-21.
  6. Tagliavini, Carlo. Le origini delle lingue neolatine. Patron Ed. Bologna 1982.
  7. Cernecca, Domenico (1967). Analisi fonematica del dialetto di Valle d'Istria. Studia Romanica et Anglica Zagrabiensia.
  8. There is an article on the poet in Italian Wikipedia.
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