Furlan standard or Furlan normalizât also known as coinè or lenghe comun, it is the lenghe scrite or the standard written language for the entire
Friulian community. The main association to foster the use and development of Friulian is the ''Societât filologjiche furlane'', founded in
Gorizia
Gorizia (; sl, Gorica , colloquially 'old Gorizia' to distinguish it from Nova Gorica; fur, label= Standard Friulian, Gurize, fur, label= Southeastern Friulian, Guriza; vec, label= Bisiacco, Gorisia; german: Görz ; obsolete English ''Gorit ...
in 1919.
History
A challenge that
Friulians share with other minorities is to create a standard language and a unique writing system. The regional law 15/1996 approved a standard orthography, which represents the basis of a common variant and should be used in toponyms, official acts, written documents. These standards are primarily based on Central Friulian, the language already used traditionally in literature since 1700 onwards (the best examples are probably
Pieri Çorut's works), but with some changes:
* the
diphthong
A diphthong ( ; , ), also known as a gliding vowel, is a combination of two adjacent vowel sounds within the same syllable. Technically, a diphthong is a vowel with two different targets: that is, the tongue (and/or other parts of the speech o ...
''ie'' replaces ''ia'', e.g. ''fier (iron)'' instead of ''fiar'' or ''tiere (soil, Earth)'' instead of ''tiare'';
* the use of ''vu'' instead of ''u'' at the beginning of word, for example—
::''vueli (oil)'' instead of ''ueli ''; or ''vueit (empty)'' instead of ''ueit'';
* the use of ''i'' between vocals, for example ''ploie (rain)'' instead of ''ploe''.
Current status
![Road sign in Friulian](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a8/Road_sign_in_Friulian.jpg)
Friulian has been officially recognized in
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
, supported by law 482/1999 protecting linguistic minorities. Therefore, teaching of Friulian has been introduced in many primary schools. An online newspaper is active, and there are also a number of musical groups which use Friulian for their songs as well as some theatrical companies. Recently two movies have been made in Friulian (''Tierç lion'', ''Lidrîs cuadrade di trê''), with positive reviews in Italian newspapers. There is also an official translation of the
Bible
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
. In 2005, a notable brand of beer used Friulian for one of its commercials.
In about 40% of the communities in the
Province of Udine
The province of Udine ( it, provincia di Udine, fur, provincie di Udin, sl, videmska pokrajina, Resian dialect, Resian: , german: Provinz Weiden) was a Provinces of Italy, province in the autonomous region Friuli-Venezia Giulia of Italy, borderi ...
, road signs are in both Friulian and Italian. Every city and village in Friuli has two
names
A name is a term used for identification by an external observer. They can identify a class or category of things, or a single thing, either uniquely, or within a given context. The entity identified by a name is called its referent. A persona ...
, one in
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
and one in Friulian. Only the Italian is official and used in administration, although it is widely expected that the Friulian ones will receive partial acknowledgement in the near future. For example, the city of
Udine
Udine ( , ; fur, Udin; la, Utinum) is a city and ''comune'' in north-eastern Italy, in the middle of the Friuli Venezia Giulia region, between the Adriatic Sea and the Alps (''Alpi Carniche''). Its population was 100,514 in 2012, 176,000 with t ...
is called ''Udin'' in Friulian, the town of
Tolmezzo
Tolmezzo ( fur, Tumieç; sl, Tolmeč; archaic german: Tolmein or ''Schönfeld'') is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Udine, part of the autonomous Friuli Venezia Giulia region of north-eastern Italy.
Geography
Tolmezzo is located at the ...
is called ''Tumieç'', the town of
Aviano Aviano ( fur, Davian; cim, Pleif) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Pordenone at the foot of the Dolomites mountain range in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, northern Italy.
Aviano is home to the C.R.O. (Oncological Referral Center), a cancer rese ...
is called both Avian and Pleif.
Friulian language
Standard languages
Zonal constructed languages
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