Friulian: Four Things You Never Knew

By Sarah-Claire Jordan

How much do you know about Friulian? You might not know what Friulian is, much less anything about it. Well, it is a regional language of Italy found in the Friuli region, which is in northeastern Italy. It is a Romance language and its closest relative is Ladin. About 300,000 people speak Friulian, and most of them speak Italian as well.

There are a lot more interesting bits of information about Friulian if you just look for them. Here are four tidbits you probably didn’t know about Friulian:

1. It has been influenced by many languages

Friulian has been influenced by many other languages over time, including German, Venetian, Slovene, and, of course, Italian. It is sometimes known as Eastern Ladin, due to its relation to Ladin, but what really sets it apart from Ladin is the things it has picked up along the way from the languages mentioned above. The most interesting influence is probably that of the Slovene language, but a quick look of a map and you will understand why: the Friuli region borders Slovenia.

2. There are four dialects of Friulian

Despite it being more or less confined to one area of Italy, four main dialects of Friulian exist. They are Central Friulian, Northern Friulian, Southeastern Friulian, and Western Friulian. Central Friulian is spoken around the area of Udine and is considered the standard Friulian dialect. Northern Friulian is spoken in Carnia and is the most antiquated dialect. Southeastern Friulian is spoken in Bassa Friulana, Isontino, and along the Isonzo River. It is the dialect with the most German and Slavic influences. Western Friulian is spoken in the Province of Pordenone and was influenced by Venetian.

3. It has its own alphabet

Friulian is generally written using the Latin alphabet, though it makes use of the “ç” as well. However, two Italians created the Faggin-Nazzi alphabet so that Friulian would have its own writing system separate from Italian and other Romance languages. This alphabet makes use of many letters that are generally used in Slavic languages, which proved to be a bit difficult for Friulian speakers to grasp. It never really caught on, but it still exists and was a great accomplishment for the Friulian community.

4. Friulian is an endangered language

It is considered endangered by many linguists, but there has been a revival of the language as well that may be enough to keep it alive at least a little while longer. Friulian is protected and recognized by the Italian government as a minority language and so can be taught in primary schools. There are theater groups, musical groups, and even an online newspaper that exclusively use Friulian. In almost have of the communities where Friulian is spoken, road signs are in both Italian and Friulian. There were even two movies released recently that were entirely in Friulian that did quite well.

Despite this positive news, Friulian is still in danger. Alpha Omega Translation is a company that understands the importance of preserving endangered languages through translation, interpretation, and desktop publishing services.

For an overview of our translation expertise, visit our audio and video translation service page.

Category: Foreign Language