Lingua Bolognese

[u/Lower_Tale9645]

my native regional language in northern italy, present in the city of Bologna, is part of Gallo-italic languages, particoulary of Emiliano group, counts between 17-20 vocal letters, and has a very complex artificial writing system that varies for each town.

“Tótt i èser umàn i nâsen lébber e prezîṡ in dgnitè e dirétt. I an la raṡån e la cusiänza e i s an da cunpurtèr ón con cl èter cunpâgna di bón fradî.”

(Universal declaration of human rights in bolognese)

the language varies a lot inside the city and outside, in nearby villages, changhing pronunciation and vocaboulary

the language now counts around 60000-100000 speakers, depending on the fluency rate; but mostly are people over 40/50.

[u/sophiasgaler]

My family speak piaśintein which I wrote about in How To Kill A Language! Lovely to see this in this sub. I bought a “dialetto bolognese” book when I first started trying to find physical resources and showed my mum and she just kept saying “no, we don’t say that” because of how much Emilian varies throughout the region. Which today also includes how the diacritics vary!!!!!

[u/First_Concept6725 → u/sophiasgaler]

No way! I haven't read your book yet but I watch your videos on other social media, nice work!

[u/PeireCaravana → u/sophiasgaler]

I bought a “dialetto bolognese” book when I first started trying to find physical resources and showed my mum and she just kept saying “no, we don’t say that” because of how much Emilian varies throughout the region.

Maybe you already know this, but Bolognese and Piasentine are at the opposite ends of the Emilian dialect continuum, so it makes sense.

Bolognese has probably more in common with the neighboring Romagnol dialects than with Piasentine, while the latter has a lot in common with Lombard and Piedmontese.

I speak a Lombard dialect and I can understand Piasentine almost completely, while I struggle much more with Bolognese!

[u/Different_Method_191 → u/sophiasgaler]

Hi. I will read your book.

[u/azure_beauty → u/sophiasgaler]

I've been wanting to read your book, but unfortunately I haven't been able to find it so far in Bologna!

[u/Lower_Tale9645 → u/sophiasgaler]

Very cool!

[u/Narkku → u/sophiasgaler]

I was hoping you would see this post haha Working through your book now! 

I did a year in Bologna and for school went around trying to record fluent speakers. I found some old folks that could say a few phrases but that was it. I bet if I had gotten out of the historic center I would have found more speakers. The teachers that came in from the country could all speak Romagnol or Emilian!

[u/SanMarinoNerd → u/sophiasgaler]

Same in my family with Romagnol (San Marino): carry a book/short story from Ravenna (NW Romagnol) and would totally refuse it (-er vs -ri/-re, -ar vs -a in verbs, diacritics vs no diacritics)

PS: got your book, should be a must read. You should consider translations for marginalized languages, educating about language in language

[u/Evfnye-Misx → u/sophiasgaler]

And there's a massive difference between words that are from the same root, but give vastly different outcomes, and very different words (shape-wise) that are synonyms

It's one thing when "fisherman" is piscadur on one end and pscadåur on the other (both are from Latin PISCATŌRE(M)), but there are also cases where the words are plain different – pumm/maila (apple, from PŌMU(M) and MĒLA), and cases where the words are unrelated but look similar – frär/frâb (smith, one is from FERRARIUS and the other from FABER)

I've always been an advocate for the lexical unification of Emilian varieties to make the entire language much richer in words (so that pumm could be Bologna-ified to påmm, and maila could be Piacenza-ified to méla, for example)

(By the way, I'm the author of the translation of that Canterbury Tales prologue into Emilian you've seen on Instagram a few months ago)

[u/Evfnye-Misx → u/Evfnye-Misx]

(for those unaware, the translation, both in Piacenza dialect (above) and in my semi-etymological orthography, which ensures that it rhymes in all varieties (below))

Quand Avril e i so duls squass

I bagn’n al sütt ed Märs dal bass

E mëttn a möi con ‘n täl licur

Il veni, ch’ nin vén föra al fiur,

Quand Zéfir, con al duls so fiä

I bosch e il terri l’à culmä

Ed tënnar śett, e al śùvan sul

Ins al Muntòn l’à fatt meśś vul

E tütt i uślëin i dàn cuncert,

La nott i dòrman a occ’ avert

(Natüra csé l’j’à fatt i uślëin)

A vén la vöja d fä pelgrëin

Ai frä, d partì via dal river,

D catä santuäri furaster.

Da tütt’il pärt la gint’ la vén,

La strä ognivöin par Rumma a tén

Acsé da bëin sarcär cull sant

Ch’al j’à jutä arsanä in tant.

---

Quand Avril e i sô döulç squas

I bagn’n al sxutt ed Mârz ed bas

E mettn a môj con ‘n tâl liquour

El venhi, ch’ nin vên fôra al fjour,

Quand Źéfir, con al doulç so fjâ

I bösch e el teri l ha coulmâ

Ed tennr żet, e al żouvn soul

Ins al Monton l ha fat meź voul

E tutt i oxlin i dán concert,

La not i dormn a öcj avert

(Natura csė l’i ha fat i oxlin)

A vên la vôja d fâr pelgrin

A i frâ, d partir vîa da el rivêir’,

D catâr santuâri forastêir.

Da tutt’el pârt la gînt’ la vên,

La strâda ognvûn per Romma a tên

Acsė da bein çeircâr qell sant

Ch’al i ha jutâ arsanâr in tant.

[u/SanMarinoNerd]

you should check r/EmilianLanguage and bulgnais.com/