Linguistics

Distribution of Romance Languages

Endangered Languages and Dialects of Istria

This section of our domain deals with the endangered dialects and/or languages of Istria belonging to the Italic and Slavic branches of the Indo-European Language Tree, not the national or official languages of the three countries that currently govern over the divided Istria which are:

Country	Official Languages
Croatia	Croatian and Italian
Italy	Italian, French, German and Slovenian
Slovenia	Slovenian, Hungarian and Italian

We also shall not discuss here any of the minority languages of these countries that are spoken either inside and outside of the Istrian region. We will refer to these occasionally and solely for general informational purposes and in the context of materials that are relevant to the linguistic heritage of Istria.

Over time, we will be expanding these sections with additional articles and materials that may show a diversity in the research findings and/or points of view. [See disclaimer.] We invite you to help us develop these pages by sending us articles, books, photographs, and other textual and/or visual materials from reliable sources. To send your contributions or for further information, please write to: webmaster@istrianet.org.

Our primary focus shall be on the languages and/or dialects that have existed in Istria for centuries and which remain in daily use but are all presently in danger of extinction in Istria. The following list includes those as well as three Italic languages of the area that are now extinguished:

ITALIC

SLAVIC

Istriot (Istro-Romance / Istrioto), in Rovinj (Rovigno) and Vodnjan (Dignano), formerly in Fažana (Fasana) - seriously endangered
Istro-Romanian (Istrorumeno / Istroromeno / Istrorumunski) in a few remaining towns north and south of Ciceria Mountains - seriously endangered
Istro-Venetian (Istroveneto), in various subdialects throughout Istria
Mugliasano, a variant of Ladin, in Muggia - extinguished [2]
Tergestino, a variant of Ladin, in Trieste - extistinguished [3]
Veklesun (Vegliotto), a variant of Dalmatian, in Island of Krk (Veglia) - extinguished (June 6, 1898) [4 ]

Cakavian (Cakavski; Cacavo), in Labin (Albona) and Raša (Arsa) valley region
Chakavian (Čakavski; Ciacavo), in balance of Istria (except possibly Buzet, Peroj, etc.)
Kajkavian, in Slovenian Istria
Liburnian, in Lovran (Laurana), Opatija (Abbazia) area
Savrin (Šavrinsko narečje; Savrino), in Slovenian Istria
Stokavian (archaic), in Peroj (Peroi) - [1]
[others?]

General topics and history:

Status of Languages by Country (Croatia, Italy and Slovenia)
Indo-European Language Tree: Two Istrian Branches
- Italic Languages of Istria
- Slavic Languages of Istria
Other linguistic influences:
- Liturgical language - Glagolitic (extinct)
- Austrian Linguistic Inheritance (an informal listing of Istrian words of German origin, German Language Toponomy, and German - Austrian surnames)
BBC World Service - Language and Identity + audio
The Lord's Prayer (in different languages)
Unicode Character Map
Universal Declaration of Linguistic Rights

Articles:

Brancale, Giuseppe & Decarli, Lauro - Le parlate romanze ai confini dell'lstria (Italiano)
Dominion, Leon - Linguistic Areas in Europe: Their Boundaries and Political Significance (written in 1915)
Esposito, Anthony P. - When Last Words Become First Words: Transgressive Literacies and the Birth of Romance Textuality
Grčević, Mario - Some remarks on recent lexical changes in the Croatian language
Grimes, Barbara F. - Causes, Symptoms and Cures for Endangered Languages
Hackett, Michael - The Role of Language in the Disintegration of Yugoslavia
Lipovac Gatti, Marina - Brevi cenni sullo sviluppo storico della lingua croata
Mirth, Karlo - Croatian Language - From the 11th Century to the Computer Age
Scotti, Giacomo - Il Dalmatico, una lingua dimenticata
Šišović, Davor - Vlahi, Bezaki, Ćići, Bazgoni i oni drugi... (Hrvatski)

Other links:

European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages (Explanatory report)
European Minority Languages
ETHNOLOGUE - Languages of the World - Languages of Europe (Country Index)
Foundation for Endangered Languages
Linguistics
Minority Electronic Services (directory of resources on minority human rights and related problems of the transition period in Eastern and Central Europe)
The Conservation of Endangered Languages
The International Clearing House for Endangered Languages
The Linguist List
UNESCO Red Book of Endangered Languages - Europe
UNESCO - MOST Clearing House - Linguistic Rights
Bertrand Auerbach, Les races et les nationalités en Autriche-Hongrie, Félix Alcan (Paris, 1898) - http://books.google.com/books?id=C3xJAAAAMAAJ&vq=Istro&dq=istro-roumain&lr=&source=gbs_summary_s&cad=0

Notes:

There is an oasis of archaic Stokavian dialect being spoken in the town of Peroj that derives from the ten families that were imported there in 1657 from Crmnica, Montenegro. [Goran Filipi, "Entomonimi nell'istrorumeno moderno" in Processi di convergenza e differennziazione nelle lingue dell'Europa medievale e moderna, Forum (1999), footnote 4.]
Muglisano (spoken in Muggia), derived from the Ladin language, was supplanted by Venetian (date?) [Goran Filipi, "Entomonimi nell'istrorumeno moderno" in Processi di convergenza e differennziazione nelle lingue dell'Europa medievale e moderna, Forum (1999), p. 209.]
Tergestino (spoken in Trieste), derived from the Ladin language, was extinguished in the early part of the second half of the 19th century. [Goran Filipi, "Entomonimi nell'istrorumeno moderno" in Processi di convergenza e differennziazione nelle lingue dell'Europa medievale e moderna, Forum (1999), p. 209.]
Veklusun (Vegliotto) was extinguished at the death of its last speaker, Antonio Udaina, b. Burbur, when he died in a dynamite explosion on June 16, 1898.

Disclaimer: The articles and materials provided in our pages for each of the above languages are written by individuals who are not necessarily trained and qualified linguists, researchers or historians. Therefore, we do not endorse the accuracy of their writings or imply that anyone is the final authority on the subject.

Main Menu

This page is compliments of Marisa Ciceran