Friulian (friulano in Italian, Furlan in Friulian) is a Romance language belonging to the Rhaetian languages family, spoken in the north-east of Italy (Friuli-Venezia Giulia province) by about 600,000 people. It is also called Eastern Ladin, since it has the same roots of Ladin, although in the centuries it has developed in different ways under the influence of surrounding cultures (German, Italian, Venetian, Slovenian). It has a good cultural background (there were poems and works in Friulian already in 1300, while first documents appear in 11th century) and in the 20th century there was a revival of the language, which continues so far. The Italian Republic or Italy (Italian: Repubblica Italiana or Italia) is a country in southern Europe. ... This is a list of bodies that regulate languages. ... ISO 639 is one of several international standards that lists short codes for language names. ... SIL International is a non-profit, faith-based, scientific organization with the main purpose to study, develop and document lesser-known languages for the purpose of expanding linguistic knowledge, promoting world literacy and aiding minority language development. ... As with any complex, emergent concept, language is somewhat resistant to definition. ... This list of languages is alphabetical by English name. ... Italian is a Romance language spoken by about 70 million people, most of whom live in Italy. ... The Romance languages, also called Romanic languages, are a subfamily of the Italic languages, specifically the descendants of the Vulgar Latin dialects spoken by the common people evolving in different areas after the break-up of the Roman Empire. ... This article or section should be merged with List of Rhaetian languages Rhaetian languages are a Romance language sub-family which includes a few languages spoken in Switzerland and North-Eastern Italy. ... The Italian Republic or Italy (Italian: Repubblica Italiana or Italia) is a country in southern Europe. ... With an area of 7844 km and 1. ... Although Ladin in Italian is referred to as Ladino, this language should not be confused with another Romance language, Ladino (Judæo-Spanish) Ladin (Ladino in Italian, Ladin in Ladin) is a Rhaetian language spoken in the Dolomite mountains in Italy, between the regions of Trentino-Alto Adige and Veneto. ... German (called Deutsch in German; in German the term germanisch is equivalent to English Germanic), is a member of the western group of Germanic languages and is one of the worlds major languages. ... Italian is a Romance language spoken by about 70 million people, most of whom live in Italy. ... Venetian is a Romance language spoken by over two million people in and around Venice. ... This article needs cleanup. ... (10th century - 11th century - 12th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 11th century was that century which lasted from 1001 to 1100. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999 in the...

The area of diffusion

Today, Friulian language is spoken in the Province of Udine, in the vast majority of the Province of Pordenone, in more than half of the Province of Gorizia and in the eastern part of the Province of Venice.

In the world

Friuli was until the Sixties an area of deep poverty, so lots of people left their homeland to search a job; the main destinations were Canada, Australia, Argentina, Brazil, the United States, South Africa. Therefore in this countries there are still today associations of Friulian immigrants (their name is Fogolâr furlan), that try to protect the traditions and the language of their origins. Canada is a sovereign state in northern North America, the northern-most country in the world, and the second largest in total area. ... Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is the sixth-largest country in the world, the only country to occupy an entire continent, and the largest in the region of Australasia/Oceania. ... Argentina is a country in southern South America, situated between the Andes in the west and the southern Atlantic Ocean in the east. ... The Federative Republic of Brazil (República Federativa do Brasil in Portuguese) is the largest and most populous country in South America, and fifth largest in the world. ... The United States of America — also referred to as the United States, the U.S.A., the U.S., America, the States, or (archaically) Columbia—is a federal republic of 50 states located primarily in central North America (with the exception of two states: Alaska and Hawaii). ... The Republic of South Africa is a large republic located at the southern tip of the continent. ...

Famous poets and writers

• Ermes di Colloredo (XVI century)
• Pietro Zorutti (XIX century)
• Caterina Percoto (XIX century)
• Pier Paolo Pasolini (XX century)

Pier Paolo Pasolini (March 5, 1922 – November 2, 1975) was an Italian poet, film director, and writer, who, in his films about the socially outcast and rebellious, frequently used amateur actors. ...

Phonology

Long vowels are typical of the Friulian language and this has a great influence also on Friulian pronunciation of Italian. The double consonants (ll, rr, and so on), used a lot in Italian, are nearly absent in Friulian

Grammar

• The plural has usually an -s termination
• Friulian verb infinitives have one of four endings, either -â, -ê, -i, -î

In grammar, the infinitive is the form of a verb that has no inflection to indicate person, number, mood or tense. ...

Actual condition of Friulian

Road signs in Friulian and Italian

Nowadays, Friulian is officially recognized in Italy with the law 482/1999, that protects linguistic minorities; therefore teaching of Friulian was introduced in many primary schools. An online newspaper is active, and there are also a couple of musical groups who use Friulian for their songs, as well as some theatrical companies. In about 40% of the communities in the Province of Udine road signs are both in Friulian and Italian. There is an official translation of the Holy Bible too. A famous beer brand used Friulian for one of the latest advertisements. The Italian Republic or Italy (Italian: Repubblica Italiana or Italia) is a country in southern Europe. ... The Bible (From Greek βιβλια—biblia, meaning books, which in turn is derived from βυβλος—byblos meaning papyrus, from the ancient Phoenician city of Byblos which exported papyrus) is the sacred scripture of Christianity. ...

Toponyms

Every city and village in Friuli has a double toponym, one in Italian and one in Friulian; actually, only the first one is official and can be used in administration, although the Friulian ones will be probably have a partial acknowledgemnt in the near future. For example, the city of Udine is called Udin in Friulian, while the town of Tolmezzo is called Tumieç. In geography and cartography, a toponym is a place name, a geographical name, a proper name of locality, region, or some other part of Earths surface or its natural or artificial feature. ... Italian is a Romance language spoken by about 70 million people, most of whom live in Italy. ... Piazza della Libertà and 15th. ...

The problem of standardisation

A problem, that Friulian shares with other minorities, is to create a standard language and a unique writing system. Usually, Friulian of central areas of Friuli is considered standard, but not everybody agrees. Friuli is an area of north-eastern Italy, part of the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region. ...

The variants of Friulian

We can basically find four ‘dialects’ of Friulian, which could be all understood by a native speaker. They are usually distinguished by the last letter of sostantives, following this scheme:

• Friulian of the central Friuli, around Udine

words’ ending is -e

it is used in official documents and generally considered standard

• Friulian of Carnia (northern Friuli)

several variants, language can vary with the valleys; words‘ ending could be either -o, -e, or -a

• Friulian of Bassa Friulana and isontino (south-eastern Friuli)

words’ ending is -a

some features of the pronunciation have been lost; this dialect is closer to Italian

• Friulian of pordenonese (western Friuli)

words’ ending is -a

deep influence of Venetian dialects

For example, the word home becomes cjase in Central Friuli, cjasa or cjaso in other areas. Piazza della Libertà and 15th. ... The river Soča (Italian Isonzo) is a river in West Slovenia and North Italy. ...

Writing systems

Actually there are two main writing systems:

• the most common is that approved by the Province of Udine and used in official documents; it uses the same letters of the French language, so standard latin alphabet plus the cedille (ç) and vowels such as â ê î ô û. This system is the most natural one.
• an alternative system is called Faggin-Nazzi from the names of the scholars by whom it was proposed. It is also widely used, but it’s more difficult for a beginner due to its use of letters such as č which are typical of Slavic languages, but often seem unnatural to native Italian speakers. These letters were used in order to more accurately reflect particular features of Friulian phonology.

French (français, langue française) is one of the most important Romance languages, outnumbered in speakers only by Spanish and Portuguese. ...

Some examples

• Hello, my name is Jack!
  

Mandi, jo o mi clami Jacum!

• Today the weather is really hot!
  

Vuê al è propite cjalt!

• I really have to go now, see you
  

O scugni propite lâ cumò, ariviodisi

• I can’t go out with you tonight, I have to study
  

No pues vignî fûr usgnot, o ai di studiâ

External links

• Official Friulian orthography (http://www.provincia.udine.it/p2k/Home/Ente/Uffici/Cultura,%20Istruzione%20e%20Universit_,%20Sport%20e%20Assistenza%20ai/Cultura/Lingua%20Friulana%20e%20altre%20Lingue%20Minoritarie/Imparare%20il%20Friulano/TestGrafieDefinit_f.pdf)
• Online magazine in Friulian (http://www.lenghe.net)
• Online magazine and resources (http://www.friul.net/)
• Association to foster the use of Friulian in scientific world (http://www.siencis-par-furlan.net/)
• Fogolâr furlan of Toronto (http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Styx/9982/index.htm)