Istriot language
Encyclopedia
Istriot is a Romance language
spoken in the Western Region on the coast of the Istria
n Peninsula, especially in the towns of Rovinj
and Vodnjan
, on the upper northern part of the Adriatic Sea
, in Croatia
.
populations of the Alps
. According to the Italian linguist Matteo Bartoli
, the Ladin area extended until 1000 CE, from southern Istria
to Friuli
and eastern Switzerland
.
Its classification remains unclear, due to the specificities of the language, which has always had a very limited number of speakers. Istriot can be viewed:
When Istria
was a region of the Kingdom of Italy, Istriot was considered by the authorities as a sub-dialect of Venetian.
Its speakers never referred to it as "Istriot". Traditionally, it had six names after the six towns where it was spoken. In Vodnjan
it was named "Bumbaro", in Bale
"Vallese", in Rovinj "Rovignese", in Šišan
"Sissanese", in Fažana
"Fasanese" and in Galižana
"Gallesanese". The term Istriot was coined by the 19th century Italian linguist Graziadio Isaia Ascoli
.
There are about 1,000 speakers left making it an endangered language
.
Romance languages
The Romance languages are a branch of the Indo-European language family, more precisely of the Italic languages subfamily, comprising all the languages that descend from Vulgar Latin, the language of ancient Rome...
spoken in the Western Region on the coast of the Istria
Istria
Istria , formerly Histria , is the largest peninsula in the Adriatic Sea. The peninsula is located at the head of the Adriatic between the Gulf of Trieste and the Bay of Kvarner...
n Peninsula, especially in the towns of Rovinj
Rovinj
Rovinj is a city in Croatia situated on the north Adriatic Sea with a population of 13,562 . It is located on the western coast of the Istrian peninsula and is a popular tourist resort and an active fishing port...
and Vodnjan
Vodnjan
-Geography:Vodnjan is situated 10 km north of Pula, on elevation of 135 m. It is located at the intersection of the main road Buje - Pula and the regional road Vodnjan - Fažana, as well as on the railroad Divača - Pula.-Demographics:...
, on the upper northern part of the Adriatic Sea
Adriatic Sea
The Adriatic Sea is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan peninsula, and the system of the Apennine Mountains from that of the Dinaric Alps and adjacent ranges...
, in Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
.
Classification
Istriot is a Romance language related to the LadinLadin
Ladin is a language consisting of a group of dialects spoken in the Dolomite Mountains in Northern Italy in the border regions of the provinces Trentino, South Tyrol and Belluno...
populations of the Alps
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
. According to the Italian linguist Matteo Bartoli
Matteo Bartoli
Matteo Giulio Bartoli was an Italian linguist from Istria ....
, the Ladin area extended until 1000 CE, from southern Istria
Istria
Istria , formerly Histria , is the largest peninsula in the Adriatic Sea. The peninsula is located at the head of the Adriatic between the Gulf of Trieste and the Bay of Kvarner...
to Friuli
Friuli
Friuli is an area of northeastern Italy with its own particular cultural and historical identity. It comprises the major part of the autonomous region Friuli-Venezia Giulia, i.e. the province of Udine, Pordenone, Gorizia, excluding Trieste...
and eastern Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
.
Its classification remains unclear, due to the specificities of the language, which has always had a very limited number of speakers. Istriot can be viewed:
- as an independent Northern Italian language, belonging neither to the Venetian languageVenetian languageVenetian or Venetan is a Romance language spoken as a native language by over two million people, mostly in the Veneto region of Italy, where of five million inhabitants almost all can understand it. It is sometimes spoken and often well understood outside Veneto, in Trentino, Friuli, Venezia...
nor to the Gallo-Italic group (opinion shared by linguists Tullio De MauroTullio De MauroTullio De Mauro is an Italian linguist and politician.He was born in Torre Annunziata, Province of Naples. He in 1963 he published the monumental Storia linguistica dell'Italia unita...
and Maurizio Dardano); - as a transitional variety between the Northern Italian Venetian languageVenetian languageVenetian or Venetan is a Romance language spoken as a native language by over two million people, mostly in the Veneto region of Italy, where of five million inhabitants almost all can understand it. It is sometimes spoken and often well understood outside Veneto, in Trentino, Friuli, Venezia...
and the now extinct Dalmatian languageDalmatian languageDalmatian was a Romance language spoken in the Dalmatia region of Croatia, and as far south as Kotor in Montenegro. The name refers to a pre-Roman tribe of the Illyrian linguistic group, Dalmatae...
; - as an independent language of the Italo-DalmatiaDalmatiaDalmatia is a historical region on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. It stretches from the island of Rab in the northwest to the Bay of Kotor in the southeast. The hinterland, the Dalmatian Zagora, ranges from fifty kilometers in width in the north to just a few kilometers in the south....
n group; - as an independent Romance language.
When Istria
Istria
Istria , formerly Histria , is the largest peninsula in the Adriatic Sea. The peninsula is located at the head of the Adriatic between the Gulf of Trieste and the Bay of Kvarner...
was a region of the Kingdom of Italy, Istriot was considered by the authorities as a sub-dialect of Venetian.
Its speakers never referred to it as "Istriot". Traditionally, it had six names after the six towns where it was spoken. In Vodnjan
Vodnjan
-Geography:Vodnjan is situated 10 km north of Pula, on elevation of 135 m. It is located at the intersection of the main road Buje - Pula and the regional road Vodnjan - Fažana, as well as on the railroad Divača - Pula.-Demographics:...
it was named "Bumbaro", in Bale
Bale, Croatia
Bale is a small town and municipality in Istria, Croatia.The origins of the settlement lie in the Roman stronghold of Castrum Vallis, built by Caius Pulcrus to protect the salt-pan road from Pula to Poreč. Its rich local architecture and the Istrian language spoken by the older population make...
"Vallese", in Rovinj "Rovignese", in Šišan
Šišan
Šišan is a village in Croatia....
"Sissanese", in Fažana
Fažana
Fažana is a village and a municipality in Istria, Croatia, a small port and fishermen's centre in the south-western part of the western Istrian coast in the Fažana Strait, 8 km northwest of Pula. It is located on a low part of the coast, well protected from the sea by Brijuni - Brioni Islands...
"Fasanese" and in Galižana
Galižana
Galižana is a village in Croatia....
"Gallesanese". The term Istriot was coined by the 19th century Italian linguist Graziadio Isaia Ascoli
Graziadio Isaia Ascoli
Graziadio Isaia Ascoli was an Italian linguist.- Life and work :Ascoli was born in an Italian-speaking Jewish family in the multiethnic town of Gorizia, then part of the Austrian Empire...
.
There are about 1,000 speakers left making it an endangered language
Endangered language
An endangered language is a language that is at risk of falling out of use. If it loses all its native speakers, it becomes a dead language. If eventually no one speaks the language at all it becomes an "extinct language"....
.
Example
| Istriot | Italian |
|---|---|
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 riboni 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. |