Emiliano-Romagnolo
Encyclopedia
Emiliano-Romagnolo is a Romance language
mostly spoken in Emilia-Romagna
, Italy
and San Marino
. It belongs to the Northern Italian group within Romance languages
(like Piedmontese
, Lombard, Ligurian
and Venetian
), which is included in the wider group of western Romance languages (like French
, Occitan and Catalan
). It is considered as a minority language, structurally separated from Italian
by the Ethnologue
and by the Red Book of Endangered Languages
of UNESCO
. The two dialect sub-groups of Emiliano-Romagnolo are Emilian
and Romagnol
.
regions of Emilia-Romagna
and Lombardy
(provinces of Pavia
, of Mantua
and in some municipalities in the province of Cremona
), in the Central Italian regions of Tuscany
(province of Massa-Carrara) and Marche
(province of Pesaro e Urbino) and in the Republic of San Marino
. It is also spoken in the lower part of Veneto
(in part of the province of Rovigo
) in an ancient zone known in Italian as "transpadana ferrarese".
Emiliano-Romagnolo varies considerably across the region, and several dialects exist (e.g.: Piacentino has much more in common with Lombard than with Central or Eastern Emiliano and it is hardly intelligible by a speaker from Bologna
, the capital of Emilia-Romagna
). A major distinction is usually made between Emiliano and Romagnolo, seen as separate languages by some linguists. The latter is spoken in the provinces of Forlì-Cesena
, Ravenna
, Rimini
but also in Pesaro e Urbino, in the region of Marche
, which formed the historical region of Romagna
. The heart-city of Romagnolo is Forlì
, because it is the meditullium of Romagna
, as Dante Alighieri
says.
Emiliano-Romagnolo can be subdivided into two main subgroups, which in turn are made up of further varieties:
Emiliano-Romagnolo is not mutually intelligible with Italian and the two languages belong to different branches of the Romance language family tree (respectively Western Romance and Italo-Dalmatian
). An uncommon feature for a Romance language is the extensive use of idiomatic phrasal verbs (verb-particle constructions) much in the same way as in English and other Germanic languages, above all in Piacentino, Pavese-Vogherese and Mantovano.
Examples: dèr so (lit. give up, same as in English
); fèr so (lit. do up, meaning: to tidy up); dèr zå (lit. give down, meaning: to brush or to beat); mètter vî (lit. to put away, meaning: to lock); dîr so (lit. to tell up, meaning: to call up); dèr vî (lit. to give away, same as in English); èser dré (action in progress, a form of gerund
: A san dré ch'a fag - I'm doing); avair dré (to have with yourself: A i ò dré di sold - I have money with me).
Language
Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication...
mostly spoken in Emilia-Romagna
Emilia-Romagna
Emilia–Romagna is an administrative region of Northern Italy comprising the two historic regions of Emilia and Romagna. The capital is Bologna; it has an area of and about 4.4 million inhabitants....
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and San Marino
San Marino
San Marino, officially the Republic of San Marino , is a state situated on the Italian Peninsula on the eastern side of the Apennine Mountains. It is an enclave surrounded by Italy. Its size is just over with an estimated population of over 30,000. Its capital is the City of San Marino...
. It belongs to the Northern Italian group within Romance languages
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...
(like Piedmontese
Piedmontese language
Piedmontese is a Romance language spoken by over 2 million people in Piedmont, northwest Italy. It is geographically and linguistically included in the Northern Italian group . It is part of the wider western group of Romance languages, including French, Occitan, and Catalan.Many European and...
, Lombard, Ligurian
Ligurian language (Romance)
Ligurian is a Gallo-Romance language spoken in Liguria in Northern Italy, parts of the Mediterranean coastal zone of France, Monaco and in the villages of Carloforte and Calasetta in Sardinia. Genoese , spoken in Genoa, the capital of Liguria, is its most important dialect...
and Venetian
Venetian language
Venetian 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...
), which is included in the wider group of western Romance languages (like French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, Occitan and Catalan
Catalan language
Catalan is a Romance language, the national and only official language of Andorra and a co-official language in the Spanish autonomous communities of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Valencian Community, where it is known as Valencian , as well as in the city of Alghero, on the Italian island...
). It is considered as a minority language, structurally separated from Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
by the Ethnologue
Ethnologue
Ethnologue: Languages of the World is a web and print publication of SIL International , a Christian linguistic service organization, which studies lesser-known languages, to provide the speakers with Bibles in their native language and support their efforts in language development.The Ethnologue...
and by the Red Book of Endangered Languages
Red Book of Endangered Languages
The Red Book of Endangered Languages was published by UNESCO and collected a comprehensive list of the world's languages currently facing extinction...
of UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
. The two dialect sub-groups of Emiliano-Romagnolo are Emilian
Emilian language
The term Emilian refers to a group of local languages, popularly also called dialects, which are part of the Gallo-Italic group, and are spoken in the historical region of Emilia...
and Romagnol
Romagnol language
Romagnol is a Romance language mostly spoken in Romagna , Republic of San Marino and Northern Marche.-History:...
.
Geographic extent
It is spoken in the Northern ItalianItaly
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
regions of Emilia-Romagna
Emilia-Romagna
Emilia–Romagna is an administrative region of Northern Italy comprising the two historic regions of Emilia and Romagna. The capital is Bologna; it has an area of and about 4.4 million inhabitants....
and Lombardy
Lombardy
Lombardy is one of the 20 regions of Italy. The capital is Milan. One-sixth of Italy's population lives in Lombardy and about one fifth of Italy's GDP is produced in this region, making it the most populous and richest region in the country and one of the richest in the whole of Europe...
(provinces of Pavia
Province of Pavia
The Province of Pavia is a province in the region of Lombardy in northern Italy. Pavia is the capital.It has an area of 2,965 km², and a total population of 493,753...
, of Mantua
Province of Mantua
The Province of Mantua is a province in the Lombardy region of northern Italy. Its capital is the city of Mantua.-Communes:It includes 70 comuni , ranging in area from Viadana, with 102.19 km², to Mariana Mantovana, with 8.81 km²....
and in some municipalities in the province of Cremona
Province of Cremona
The Province of Cremona is a province in the Lombardy region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Cremona.The province has an area of 1,771 km² and in 2008 census, had a population of 358,628. There are 115 comuni...
), in the Central Italian regions of Tuscany
Tuscany
Tuscany is a region in Italy. It has an area of about 23,000 square kilometres and a population of about 3.75 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence ....
(province of Massa-Carrara) and Marche
Marche
The population density in the region is below the national average. In 2008, it was 161.5 inhabitants per km2, compared to the national figure of 198.8. It is highest in the province of Ancona , and lowest in the province of Macerata...
(province of Pesaro e Urbino) and in the Republic of San Marino
San Marino
San Marino, officially the Republic of San Marino , is a state situated on the Italian Peninsula on the eastern side of the Apennine Mountains. It is an enclave surrounded by Italy. Its size is just over with an estimated population of over 30,000. Its capital is the City of San Marino...
. It is also spoken in the lower part of Veneto
Veneto
Veneto is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about 5 million, ranking 5th in Italy.Veneto had been for more than a millennium an independent state, the Republic of Venice, until it was eventually annexed by Italy in 1866 after brief Austrian and French rule...
(in part of the province of Rovigo
Rovigo
Rovigo is a town and comune in the Veneto region of North-Eastern Italy, the capital of the eponymous province. -Geography:...
) in an ancient zone known in Italian as "transpadana ferrarese".
Varieties
Bologna
Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...
, the capital of Emilia-Romagna
Emilia-Romagna
Emilia–Romagna is an administrative region of Northern Italy comprising the two historic regions of Emilia and Romagna. The capital is Bologna; it has an area of and about 4.4 million inhabitants....
). A major distinction is usually made between Emiliano and Romagnolo, seen as separate languages by some linguists. The latter is spoken in the provinces of Forlì-Cesena
Province of Forlì-Cesena
The Province of Forlì-Cesena is a province in the Emilia–Romagna region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Forlì.It has an area of 2,377 km², and a total population of 371,318 . There are 30 comuni in the province, see Comuni of the Province of Forlì-Cesena...
, Ravenna
Province of Ravenna
The Province of Ravenna is a province in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Ravenna.It has an area of 1,858 km², and a total population of 365,369 . There are 18 comuni in the province , Comuni of the Province of Ravenna. As of May 31, 2005, the main comuni by...
, Rimini
Province of Rimini
The Province of Rimini is a province in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Rimini. It borders the state of San Marino.-History:...
but also in Pesaro e Urbino, in the region of Marche
Marche
The population density in the region is below the national average. In 2008, it was 161.5 inhabitants per km2, compared to the national figure of 198.8. It is highest in the province of Ancona , and lowest in the province of Macerata...
, which formed the historical region of Romagna
Romagna
Romagna is an Italian historical region that approximately corresponds to the south-eastern portion of present-day Emilia-Romagna. Traditionally, it is limited by the Apennines to the south-west, the Adriatic to the east, and the rivers Reno and Sillaro to the north and west...
. The heart-city of Romagnolo is Forlì
Forlì
Forlì is a comune and city in Emilia-Romagna, Italy, and is the capital of the province of Forlì-Cesena. The city is situated along the Via Emilia, to the right of the Montone river, and is an important agricultural centre...
, because it is the meditullium of Romagna
Romagna
Romagna is an Italian historical region that approximately corresponds to the south-eastern portion of present-day Emilia-Romagna. Traditionally, it is limited by the Apennines to the south-west, the Adriatic to the east, and the rivers Reno and Sillaro to the north and west...
, as Dante Alighieri
Dante Alighieri
Durante degli Alighieri, mononymously referred to as Dante , was an Italian poet, prose writer, literary theorist, moral philosopher, and political thinker. He is best known for the monumental epic poem La commedia, later named La divina commedia ...
says.
Emiliano-Romagnolo can be subdivided into two main subgroups, which in turn are made up of further varieties:
| Group | Dialect |
|---|---|
| Emiliano | Western Emiliano (Piacentino and Pavese-Vogherese) |
| Lunigiano | |
| Carrarese | |
| Massese (mixed with some Tuscan features) | |
| Central-Western Emiliano (Parmigiano) | |
| Central Emiliano (Reggiano and Modenese) | |
| Southern Emiliano (Bolognese) | |
| Northeastern Emiliano (Ferrarese and Mantovano) | |
| Romagnolo | Northern Romagnolo |
| Southern Romagnolo |
Features
The variants of both dialects have common features with all the other languages of the Gallo-Italic group. Some of the most outstanding features are:- All unstressed final vowels (except for a) have been lost: in Bolognese mèder, dutåur, âlber or in Piacentino mär, dutur, ärbul (Italian madre, dottore, albero; English mother, doctor, tree). (Note that in Bolognese the subsequent vowel of the tonic syllable is lengthened and may produce a diphthong).
- Rounded vowels which are typical of the Gallo-IberianGallo-Iberian- Gallo-Italic languages :* Gallo-Italic group ** Piedmontese** Ligurian** Lombard*** Western Lombard*** Eastern Lombard** Emiliano-Romagnolo*** Emiliano*** Romagnolo**Gallo-Italic of Sicily...
area. In Carrarese and Western Emiliano there are four of them: ä, ü, ö , and å. In Western Emiliano there is also a sort of schwaSchwaIn linguistics, specifically phonetics and phonology, schwa can mean the following:*An unstressed and toneless neutral vowel sound in some languages, often but not necessarily a mid-central vowel...
similar to the third vowel of Piedmontese), written ë in Piacentino. In Bolognese there are two: (ä and å), in Central Emilian only ä. The phonetic of the same word may vary across the diffusion area of this idiom, as in the case of the word snail, written as lümäga in Western Emiliano and as lumèga in Bolognese. Another typical feature of Emilian dialects is extreme syncope, i.e. loss of atonic vowels within a word. As an example we can have the Bolognese words: śbdèl (hospital), bdòć (louse), and dscårrer (speak). - The nasal velar ŋ (transcribed in Bolognese orthography with the grapheme ń) as in cuséń [kuˈzeŋ] (cousin).
- The plural forms are made up either with a consonant alternation, similarly to some Germanic languagesGermanic languagesThe Germanic languages constitute a sub-branch of the Indo-European language family. The common ancestor of all of the languages in this branch is called Proto-Germanic , which was spoken in approximately the mid-1st millennium BC in Iron Age northern Europe...
, or vowel distinctions: źnòć (knee) and źnûć (knees); dutåur (doctor) and dutûr (doctors); calzaider (bucket) and calzîder (buckets), with special suffix changes: martèl (hammer) and martî (hammers); fiôl (son) and fiû (sons), cuséna (female cousin) and cuséni (female cousins) [but: cuséna (kitchen) and cusén (kitchens)] or with no modifications: lèg (lake) and lèg (lakes). - Various verb classes
- The presence of a verbal system with an affirmative conjugation and an interrogative conjugation (Example: the present tense form of the verb fèr to do): mé a fag (I do) - faghia (do I do?); té t fè (You do) - fèt (Do you do?); lò/lì al/la fà (he/she does) - fèl/fèla (does he/she do?); nuèter [or nuièter] a fän (We do) - faggna (Do we do?); vuèter [or vuièter] a fèv (You (pl.) do) - fèdi (do you do?); låur i/al fàn (they [m/f] do); fèni (do they do?)
- The presence of two kinds of personal pronouns, tonic and clitic (atonic and inseparable verb host) that are used in the verbal conjugation:
- me a sun [or so'] andèe - I went (not to be compared with e.g. moi, Je suis allé in FrenchFrench languageFrench is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, where moi and je are functionally quite different from the Bolognese forms).
Emiliano-Romagnolo is not mutually intelligible with Italian and the two languages belong to different branches of the Romance language family tree (respectively Western Romance and Italo-Dalmatian
Italo-Dalmatian languages
The Italo-Dalmatian languages are a group of Romance languages of Italy , Corsica, and, formerly, the Dalmatian Coast of Croatia...
). An uncommon feature for a Romance language is the extensive use of idiomatic phrasal verbs (verb-particle constructions) much in the same way as in English and other Germanic languages, above all in Piacentino, Pavese-Vogherese and Mantovano.
Examples: dèr so (lit. give up, same as in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
); fèr so (lit. do up, meaning: to tidy up); dèr zå (lit. give down, meaning: to brush or to beat); mètter vî (lit. to put away, meaning: to lock); dîr so (lit. to tell up, meaning: to call up); dèr vî (lit. to give away, same as in English); èser dré (action in progress, a form of gerund
Gerund
In linguistics* As applied to English, it refers to the usage of a verb as a noun ....
: A san dré ch'a fag - I'm doing); avair dré (to have with yourself: A i ò dré di sold - I have money with me).
Usage
The use of Emiliano-Romagnolo has been stigmatized in Emiliano-Romagnolo-speaking areas for several historical and social reasons. Speaking the language (considered a dialect) was thought to indicate poor education or low social status. The language has apparently lost its negative connotations. Native speakers address close friends and family with the language; its use then connotating familiarity. Emiliano-Romagnolo is also used in the manufacturing industry or on construction worksites. There even immigrant labourers may use the language with local workmates.Words
- Yes - Sé, Ói (bolognese); sì (piacentino)
- No - Nå (bolognese); no (piacentino)
- I love you - A t vói bän (bolognese); a t' vöi bëin (piacentino)
- Thanks, Thank you - A t aringrâzi (bolognese); a t' ringrasi (piacentino); at ringrèzi (Romagnol)
- Good morning - Bån dé (bolognese); bon giùran (piacentino)
- Good bye - A se vdrän (bolognese); arvëdas (piacentino)
- I - Mé, A (bolognese); me, mi (piacentino)
- And - E
- How much is it - Quant véńnel? csa cåsstel? (bolognese); cus al custa, quant al custa, cus al vegna? (piacentino)
- What's your name? - Cum t čâmet? (bolognese); cma ta čamat? (piacentino)
- My name is... - A m čâm ... (bolognese); me/mi a m' čam... (piacentino)
- Tree - Âlber (bolognese); pianta, ärbul (piacentino)
- Fire - Fug (romagnolo); fog (ferrarese)
- England - Inghiltèra
- London - Lånndra
- Emilia-Romagna - Emégglia-Rumâgna (bolognese); Emilia-Rumagna (piacentino)
- Bologna - Bulåggna (bolognese); Bulogna (piacentino)
- Forlì - Furlè (forlivese)
- City - Zitè
- Coffee - Cafà (bolognese); café (piacentino)
- Wine - Vén (bolognese); vëin (piacentino); vin (ferrarese)
- Water - Âcua
- Nine - Nôv (bolognese); növ (piacentino)
- Sun - Såul (bolognese); sul (piacentino)
- Language - Längua (bolognese); lëingua (piacentino)
- God - Dìo (bolognese); diu (piacentino)
- See you - A t salût
- Excuse me - Scuśèm, ch'al scûśa bän (bolognese); scüsìm, scüsèm (piacentino)
- Do you speak English/Emilian? - Dscårret in inglaiś/emigliàn?
- Nation - Naziån
- Father - Pèder; padar (ferrarese)
- Mother - Mèder; madar (ferrarese)
- Brother - Fradèl
- Sister - Surèla
- Child - Putin (ferrarese)
- Son - Burdèl, bastérd (forlivese, romagnolo)
- Doctor - Dutåur; dutor (ferrarese)
- America - Amêrica
- Africa - Âfrica
- Antarctica - Antàrrtide
- Italy- Itâglia
- Germany - Germâgna
- Army - Esêrzit
- World - Månnd; mond (ferrarese)
- Peace - Pèś; paç (ferrarese)
- War - Guèra
- Bread - Pan (ferrarese)
- Chair - Scarana (ferrarese)
- Broom - Granadel (ferrarese)
- Key - Čav (ferrarese)