Friulian (furlan/marilenghe)

Friulian is a Romance language with about 526,000 speakers in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region of north-east Italy. There are Friulian speakers in the provinces of province of Udine, Pordenone, Gorizia and Trieste. Friulian is also know as eastern Ladin and is closely related to Ladin.

Until the 1960s, the Friulian-speaking areas were very poor and many Friulians emigrated to France, Belgium, and Switzerland, and also to Canada, Australia, Argentina, Brazil, the USA and South Africa.

Friulian started to appear in writing during the 11th century, and there is Friulian literature and poetry dating back to the early 14th century. In the 20th century there was a revival of interest in the language. It is taught in some schools and used, to a limited extent, in the media.

Friulian alphabet (L’alfabet furlan)
A a	B b	C c	D d	E e	F f	G g	H h	I i	J j	L l
a	bi	ci	di	e	efe	gji	ache	i	i lunc	ele
M m	N n	O o	P p	Q q	R r	S s	T t	U u	V v	Z z
eme	ene	o	pi	cu	ere	esse	ti	u	vi	zete

K (cape), W (vi dopli), X (ics) and Y (i grêc / ipsilon) are also used, but only in loan words.

Friulian pronunciation

Notes

c = [ ʧ ] or [ s ] before i, e or j, [ k ] elsewhere.
g = [ ʤ ] before i, e, j or n, [ g ] elsewhere.
n = [ ŋ ] at the ends of words.
q is only used in a few words and place names.
s = [ z ] between vowels. In some dialects it is pronounced [ ʃ ].

Sample text in Friulian

Ducj i oms a nassin libars e compagns come dignitât e derits. A an sintiment e cussience e bisugne che si tratin un culaltri come fradis.

Translation

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
(Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)

Useful phrases in Friulian