Author: Nadia Clemente

In the impersonal form, the verbs always take the ending of the third person singular and, in the past, that of the neuter.

In Rezian the impersonal form of the verb is expressed both with the TO particle and with the reflexive SA.

Impersonal form with TO

1. TO corresponds to the impersonal form of the Italian: ‘(it) + verb’.

To balaná = It snows;

To lïë = It rains;

To straše = It is scary;

To śalaní =It grows green;

To mi na plažá = I don’t like it;

To ghre nu ghrozoná = it goes and rumbles (you hear a clamour of footsteps and noises);

T’ë (<to ë) bilu tu-w jasanè, ko sa dilä kombuštïbel, ‘It was autumn, when you cut wood (fuel).

• The pronoun TO has the function of subject and can indicate, not only an object but an entire sentence:

Isí, to ë twej lïbre ‘this, it is your book’;

It is not possible, in Rezian, to elide the particle TO; example: isí, – ë twej lïbre ‘this, – is your book’; In English the sentence is correct, but in Resian it doesn’t make sense.

Isö, to ë töka rëkow ‘this, it is that what [he] said’.

The first TO is subject of the verb ‘is’. The second TÖ is the demonstrative ‘what’, has the function of subject: it has a neuter and joins the relative pronoun ‘that’. It is the same locution as the English: ‘ask me that what you want’ barima tö ka ti će(š).

Isö́ höanjë, t’ ë (< to ë) ma strüdilu ‘this [continous] walking has tired me [continuous], (it)’;

T’ë (<to ë) mi tëlo karë nagha tïmpä, prit nu-ku dojtet… ‘It took me a long time to reach…’

• The impersonal form TO + verb (in the past tense, in the neuter) espresses the dual subject of the 3rd person.

Onda nur biw ta ravanške patalen anu ta biske päs, anu t’ë bilu šlu dëlät kombuštïbel won Püsti Ghöst;[t’ë bilu tu-w jasané, ko sa dilä kombuštïbel].

‘Once upon a time there was a rooster from Ravanza and a dog from Bila/San Giorgio, and (both of them) they were gone to cut wood for fuel up in Pusti Gost; [‘it was autumn, when you cut wood’].

Impersonal form (with the reflexive particle) SA

Another modality of the impersonal form involves the use of the reflexive particle SA. This form is not present in Slavic languages, instead it appears in Friulian. The SA particle precedes the verb.

Sa ghre won ‘you go up’; sa ji wsë ‘ you eat everything’; sa dílä kombuštïbel ‘you cut wood (fuel)’;

With negation

Sa na ghre won ‘don’t go up’, sa na ji wsë ‘you don’t eat everything’; sa na dílä kombuštïbilä ‘you don’t cut wood’; sa na pláćä ‘you don’t pay [it’s free]’.

For some time now we have started collaborating with independent scholars, to study the Resian language more thoroughly. Our continuous research has identified, interesting elements in Resian and various archaic features both in the grammar, in the lexicon and in Resian phraseology. The study served first and foremost to reveal some peculiarities that were still unknown. Despite many declarations, until now we have always heard of the similarity of Resian with a foreign language, but we have not read articles that clarify the many particularities and curiosities of the Resian language.

By doing continuous in-depth work, we also found elements of similarity with Russian. This doesn’t prove that the Resians are Russian, but it reveals a close proximity to their ancient Slavic language. On our identity, Baudouin de Courtenay in the report to the Acts of the IV International Congress of Orientalists (Florence 1878) also wrote: In a similar manner we can prove, that the Resians are not Bulgarians, nor Serbo-Croats in the strict sense, etc., and they represent, from a glottological point of view, an independent Slavic lineage.

The scholars we collaborate with have found the words particularly interesting:

bö́holo < bö́how lok ‘divine bow, rainbow’;

Bohow din – ‘divine day, Sunday’;

prëdnën < prëd dnën – ‘before the day, = early morning’;

töčikej < v toliče kej (<toliko, ‘a little’), ‘in a little = just a little while ago’;

počasu < po času, ‘according to time, = slowly’;

wdümu < w dümu, ‘in the smoke, = quickly’ (i.e. run so much as to raise the dust, like smoke)’.

They learned the expressions:

në morët gha vïdët, to hate, (see ‘nenavidet’ = ‘to hate’; in Russian, Czech, Slovak, Polish);

tet śa tin, ‘go behind that, take an interest’;

tet na-ta prit, ‘go forward, continue’;

to prïdë raćet ‘that’s to say, that is’.

They met the adverbial formulas for the beginning of tales:

tadaj dän din, ‘then one day, one time’;

prit nu prit, ‘before and before, one time, a long, long time ago’;

nur, ka to bëše, ‘once upon a time’.

We have identified these phrases, which are familiar and common even to the Russian ear:

Buh dej no lehko nuć, in Russian ‘Боже, дай нам легкую ночь/Bože daj nam legkuju noč’- = God give us a light night, Good night;

Spïtё lёpu, in Russian ‘Cпите xорошо/ ‘Spite horošo’, = Sleep well, Good night!

Dёlitё döbär vijäč anu stüjte lёpu śdrow!, in Russian ‘Cчастливого пути и оставaйтесь в добром здoрoвe/ Sčastlivogo puti i ostavajtes’ v  dobrom zdorove! = Have a good trip and stay in good health!

Maróka! (excl.: damn, wow!), In Russian ‘морока/moroka!’: excl.: damn! wow! [Baudouin de Courtenay 1895:339; Maróka!, ropotä́n anu uštinän ‘Damn! Quarrelsome and stubborn’.

They found our proverbs very interesting, I quote one in particular:

Vinče ghrében nu ku patalèn, ‘The cock’s crest is bigger than the cock = more smoke and less roast’.

They focused in particular on our way of expressing spatial relationships (position and direction of movement), using compound prepositions:

ta-na Bile (to Resiutta/at Resiutta), tu-w Bile (to San Giorgio/at San Giorgio), ta-na Ràvänze (at Prato), ghorë́-na Ravänzo (go up to Prato), dö-w Ghumḯn  (go down to Gemona), etc.

In short, we have undertaken an interesting and profitable collaboration, that also demonstrates that the Resian language is not of Slovenian origin, nor of the pro-Slovenian Italian Slavists, but of the Resians.

WÀDLO – a term that has disappeared from Resian; WÀDLO – withered, dried up, drooped, flaccid.

I found this word for the first time in a Slovenian writing which cited it as belonging to the Resian language, without however indicating its meaning, neither in Slovenian nor Italian. Very curious, I asked all my friends for information Resians, even my mother who was born in 1929, but no one had ever heard of it.

One day, by chance, while I was reading the text of Baudouen de Courtenay Materialien I (1895) to

my great joy, my search was finally over, I found the term I had been so keen to find.

In folder no. 723 we read: Trébi dažŋá. Wsœ čísto wádlo, sǘho****) ‘There is a need for rain. It’s all withered, dry.’

In the Materialien I Baudouin de Courtenay translated the Resian texts into German and therefore I was able to read Man braucht den Regen. Alles ist durch und durch verwelkt (welk), trocken****) and fortunately verify its meaning: ‘Rain is needed. Everything is completely wilted dry’; with the footnote reference: **** “Flapp”.

So it is established: WÀDLO, is a term from the Resian language with the meaning of ‘withered, wilted, drooped, flaccid’. The regret remains for a precious loss in the lexical register of the language resiana: but fortunately the term wádlo has not disappeared completely, because it has been saved in the form t’ë sa śawàlilo ‘has felted’. It can be deduced that wadlo is the adjective derived from a hypothetical verb *wadlet; in our case from *(sa) wadlet ‘dry up, shrivel up, felt’, hence comes the expression – ‘has felted’, derived.

Pïrǵàna basida (words added)

We know that the continuous interaction of the Resians with Friulian society has brought with it the development, new knowledge, social changes and progress to the valley, in a word, it has directed

Resian social history. The innovations coming from the Friulians were welcomed and accepted together with the original words, adapted to Resian grammar, becoming an integral part of the lexicon: lḯndä (gallery/terrace), saglàr (bucket/sink where the buckets were hung), ćamḯn (fireplace), kop (ladle, tile), etc.

In the historical era in which economic activities arose and then developed, with the related structures and human resources, Resians have accepted all forms, including lexical ones, assimilating them to their own language. This evolution can be understood and studied well, scrolling through the following list, compiled by consulting the Friulian-Italian INP vocabulary. The main Resian entries are in bold followed by the Italian translation and < the Friulian etymology; in square brackets [ ] some explanatory sentences are reported, taken from the BdC book Materialien I (1895), as well as with the Cyrillic script, where present.

Apä́lt,  shop where proprietary goods are sold, e.g.: tobacco; (< Apàlt);

Baćar, butcher (< Beciar) [BdC 1895:184: Tí, ke ṷbṷýwajo žyvýno, mi dímö baћár:: Those who slaughter animals, we call Baćár’];
Baćjarïa, butcher’s shop  (< Beciarie);
Bandâr, tinsmith (< Bandâr); /who repairs metal buckets);
Barbîr, barber  (< Barbîr);
Barkarjúl, boatman  (< Barcarûl);
Batifjàr, ironworker, workshop (< Batifiâr, Batifièr);
Bosćadö́r, woodcutter (< Boscadôr);
Brèk, financier (< Bric ‘banditore o messo fiscale del comune’, ‘town auctioneer or fiscal agent’);
Brigadîr, brigadier  (< Brigadiere);
Butighír, shopkeeper  (< Bottegaio);

Ćačadö́r, hunter (<Ciazzadôr); [BdC 1895:102; So bíle dwa ћačadö́rja ‘there were two hunters’];
Ćaljâr (Súštär), shoemaker  (< Cialiâr);
Ćamarâr, cameraro (< Ciamerâr); Il Nuovo Pirona “Cameraro, title given to the community administrator or tax collector or cashier both civil and religious. The registers of expenses kept by the chamberlains, a good number of which are still preserved in the archives of public bodies, charitable works and churches often offer interesting information and information for the public local history and for the dialect forms used many centuries ago.” The term, in Resian, has also become synonymous with ‘rascal’’;
Ćápitä́neh, captain (< Ciapitani);
Ćaradö́r, carter (< Ciaradôr); [BdC 1895:96: An délal ћaradö́r  ‘he was a carter’];

Dentíšt, dentist (< Dentist);
Diretö́r, director  (< Diretôr);
Dižertö́r, deserter  (< Disertâ ‘disertare’); [BdC 1895:297: to so bile ne dižr̥tö́rje ‘they were deserters’]

Famë̀j, rustic/simple servant, kept at home for stable and country work, INP (< Famèi);
Finančòt, finance guard (< Finanzòt);
Forèšt, foreigner (< Forèst);

Ǵinitö́rije, parents  (< Genitôrs);
Granatîr, grenadier  (< Granatîr);

Imparadö́r, emperor (< Imperadôr); [BdC 1895:191: Kráj; imparadö́r  ‘King; emperor’];
Infirmîr, nurse  (< Infermîr);
Išpetö́r, inspector  (< Ispetôr);

Kantö́r, chorister (< Cantôr); [BdC 1895:1058 Koj ni prýdeta, ta dwá kantö́rja, ná sэ má pötpýsat tápo dikrèt. ‘When those two singers arrive, they must sign under the decree.’] La tradition of songs in Resian, probably arose in the mid-1800s, through the work of – and – came from singers in every church in the valley, but they were authorized, as we read here, with a decree. On occasion of the solemn masses, all the singers of the hamlets converged on the Sanctuary of Prato.
Kapuzḯn, friar  (< Capuzzin);
Karozîr, coachbuilder/who repairs car bodywork (< Carozzîr);
Karpintîr, carpenter  (< Carpentîr);
Kavalîr, knight (< Cavalîr);
Klànfär, tinsmith, tinsmith (< Clànfar); craftsman who makes tin objects, i.e. tinsmith or tinsmith INP;
Kliént, customer (< Cliènt);
Kö́ghär (Kö́ghrizä), cook, (cook female) (< Cògo);
Komári, mistress (< Comàri); Germanism is also used Ghoträ da ‘Gevatterin’ [BdC 1895:153];
Komisâr, commissioner (< Comissari);
Konsajír, advisor (< Conseîr);
Kopàre, compare [masculine of ‘comari’] (< Copari); Germanism is also used Ghoter da ‘Gevatter’ [BdC 1895:153];
Korazîr, cuirassier/Guard of Honor of the President of the Republic (< Corazzîr);
Kràmär, street vendor (< Cràmer); haberdasher, street vendor, INP;
Kunjàt, Kunjàdä, brother-in-law, sister-in-law in Italian (< Cugnat, Cugnade);
Kursö́r, messenger who notifies public documents, courier (< Cursôr);

Ladrún, thief (< Ladròn); [BdC 1895:237; Búh je bil ђa na krïš tami dvë́ma ladrúnama, ‘(Christ) God was put on the cross between two thieves’];
Làre, thief (< Làri);

Maèšträ, teacher (< Maèstre, Mèstre); [BdC 1895:162: Bólna maéštra, tuu̯ kóve. ‘The sick teacher, in bed’];
Majö́r, Major/Rank of the army (< Majôr);
Monowàl, labourer; (< Manoâl); [BdC 1895:1058; Monowàl, tí, ka naréa màlto ‘manovale,  ‘labourer, the one who makes the mortar’];
Marangûn, carpenter (< Marangòn);
Mídeh, doctor (< Mièdi); [BdC 1895:272; Stь m_iídeh, anu vi ni ћéte raћèt ‘you are a doctor and you don’t want to say’; (expression addressed to BdC)]
Mištír, profession (< Mistîr); [BdC 1895:269; ká a má mištîr, k â múlina ‘he has a profession, he paints pictures’];
Montanjúl, mountain man (< Montagnûl);
Mulinár, miller (< Mulinâr); [BdC 1895:16; An̨ je šàl jö́čajoћ dö́luh mulinárju ‘went crying down to the miller’;
Mǘneh, sacristan (< Muni); Il Nuovo Pirona 2020:626; who takes care of the cleanliness and decorations of the church, of the vases and sacred vestments, which takes care of ringing the bells” [BdC 1895:176; Tí, ka züný, jь mǘnyh. Mǘnyh ma kafataríjo. ‘Whoever rings the bell is the sacristan. The sexton has a cafeteria.]
Mǘniä, nun (< Mùnia);

Nodâr, notary (< Nodâr);
Nuvič, Nuvičä, groom, bride (< Nuvìz, Nuvìzze);

Paradö́r, hunting beater (< Paradôr); [än naghanjä živïno ta-h ćačadörjän ‘chases the game towards the hunter;
Pastîr, Pastírizä, shepherd, shepherdess (< Pastôr); [BdC (1895):175; Pastírje za hodèt hnä́t kravэ  ‘Shepherds to go and graze the cows’];
Pitö́r, painter, house painter(< Pitôr);
Plavàn, parish priest (< Plavàn); [BdC 1895:28; Lisica bíla šlà dékla plavánu ‘The fox had gone as the priest’s domestic servant’];
Portìr, soccer goalkeeper (< Portîr);
Postìr, Postìrizä, postman, postwoman (< Postîr);
Pré, priest (< Pré); Il Nuovo Pirona 2020:803 instead of Prédi [BdC 1895:88, Ja sь bílel taṷ jíspœ ta-per dóm Štéfanu (= pré Štéfanu)  ‘I painted in the kitchen at Don Stefano’s, pré Stefano’]
Pretö́r, Praetor (< Pretôr);
Priśonîr, Prisoner (< Presonîr);

Ričevitö́r, receiver, public official (< Ricevitôr);
Rosoän, Resian (< Roseàn);

Sagratàreh, secretary (< Sacratàri); [BdC 1895:251; Ja man tèt tah sagratárihu ‘I have to go to the secretary’]
Sašìn, murderer Sassìn;
Šjör/Šjö́rä, gentleman, wealthy lady (< Siôr/Siòre); [BdC 1895:239; Tadáj na se ћœ́ pajàt, táj te práve šijö́ra ‘Then you will behave like a real lady’]
Šḯndek, mayor (< Sìndic); [(BdC (1895):1051; Áno bóh šíndik šћé nošni dín an ћe umrít zá faštíbihэn ‘and the poor mayor also dies today/is in despair due to worry (he was left alone, because the secretary had been recalled to arms)];
Školér, schoolboy (<Scuelâr); [BdC 1895:420; Ánu jíse sýn ni tél obadát ti drǘhyh škulírjou̯ ‘And this son didn’t want to pay attention to the other pupils’];
Smulḯkar, resin collector (< Smòle = resin); [BdC 1895:226; smulýkarjь];-
Sowdàt, Soldàt, Sowdadije, soldier (< Soldât) [BdC 1895:1051; ni so nón wzele sekrэtáriha za soṷdáda ‘they took our secretary to be a soldier’
Spezjarḯa, pharmacy (< Speziarìe);
Štríjä, witch (< Strìe); [BdC 1895: 890. Tána Múcovьn, ka štríje pléšeo. There from Moz (toponym), where the witches dance. 1895:913 Ka štrije pléšeu, kó ni naréaȗ tóčo ‘that witches dance when they make hailstones;
Štrijun, wizard, sorcerer (< Strïôn);

Taštamùneh, witness (<Testemòni);
Tesêr, Tasér, weaver (< Tessêr); [BdC 1895:155; Tadэj sэ ma je ђat tah tasérju ‘then you have to put/take it to the weaver’];

Uštír, Uštírizä, innkeeper, landlady (< Ustîr, Ustere); [BdC 1895:1111; Uštírjь ní ne smíjo prodáat, ћe to bó zaђáno ‘Innkeepers must not dare to sell or it will be closed
Uštirḯjä, tavern (< Ustirìa, Ostarie); [BdC 1895:14; Ni so pr̥šlì tuṷ no oštaríjo ‘they arrived at a tavern’];

Verendíkul, second-hand dealer, rag-picker (< Rivendicul); [BdC 1895:232: Verendíkula, ka stüjý prodájat na hürýcь Second-hand dealer, who is selling in the square’];

Zḯngär, gypsy (< Zìngar).

In H. Steenwijk’s Mali Bisidnik za tö jošt rozajanskë pïsanjë (2005) there are 2,314 Resian terms, of which 730 are loans from Friulian, practically 31.50% of the total.