| Istriot | |
| Nativename: | Eîstrioto, Lèngua Eîstriota Bumbar, Valìʃe, Ruvignìʃ, Faʃanìʃ, Siʃanìʃ, Galiʃaneʃ |
| States: | Croatia |
| Region: | Istria |
| Speakers: | 400 |
| Date: | 2007 |
| Ref: | e23 |
| Speakers2: | L2 speakers 900 (2007) |
| Familycolor: | Indo-European |
| Fam2: | Italic |
| Fam3: | Latino-Faliscan |
| Fam4: | Latin |
| Fam5: | Romance |
| Fam6: | Italo-Western |
| Fam7: | Italo-Dalmatian |
| Fam8: | Dalmatian Romance |
| Iso3: | ist |
| Glotto: | istr1244 |
| Glottorefname: | Istriot |
| Lingua: | 51-AAA-na |
| Map: | File:Lang Status 40-SE.svg |
The Istriot language (Lèngua Eîstriota) is a Romance language of the Italo-Dalmatian branch spoken by about 400 people in the southwestern part of the Istrian peninsula in Croatia, particularly in Rovinj and Vodnjan. It should not be confused with the Istrian dialect of the Venetian language or the more distantly related Istro-Romanian, a variety of Eastern Romance.
Istriot is a Romance language currently only found in Istria. Its classification has remained mostly unclear, various proposals for its affinity exist:
When Istria was a region of the Kingdom of Italy, Istriot was considered by the authorities as a subdialect of Venetian.[5]
Historically, its speakers never referred to it as "Istriot"; it had six names after the six towns where it was spoken. In Vodnjan it was named "Bumbaro", in Bale "Valìʃe", in Rovinj "Ruvignìʃ", in Šišan "Siʃanìʃ", in Fažana "Faʃanìʃ" and in Galižana "Galiʃaneʃ". The term Istriot was coined by the 19th-century Italian linguist Graziadio Isaia Ascoli.
This language is still spoken by some people in the Istriot communities in Fertilia and Maristella, in Sardinia.
There are about 400 speakers left, making it an endangered language.
Below is a comparison of Istriot with several closely related Romance languages and Latin:
| Latin | Istriot (Rovignìʃ) | Bisiacco Venetian | English | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Latin: clave(m) | Italian: chiave | ciàve | ciave | ciave | key | |
| Latin: nocte(m) | Italian: notte | nuòto | note/not | note | night | |
| Latin: cantare | Italian: cantare | cantà | caŋtar | caŋtar | to sing | |
| capra(m) | capra | càpra, càvara | càvara | cavra | goat | |
| lingua(m) | lingua | lèngua | lengua | lengua | language | |
| platea(m) | piazza | piàsa | pia-sa | pia-sa | square | |
| ponte(m) | ponte | pònto | poŋte/poŋt | poŋt | bridge | |
| ecclesia(m) | chiesa | cièʃa | cexa | cesa | church | |
| hospitale(m) | ospedale | uspadàl | ospedal | ospedal | hospital | |
| caseu(m) lat.vulg.formaticu(m) | formaggio/cacio | furmàio | formajo | formai | cheese |
The phonology of the Istriot language:[6]
| Labial | Dental/ Alveolar | Post-alv./ Palatal | Velar | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | (pronounced as /ink/) | |
| Stop | voiceless | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ |
| voiced | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | |
| Fricative | voiceless | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | ||
| voiced | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | |||
| Trill | pronounced as /ink/ | ||||
| Approximant | central | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | ||
| lateral | pronounced as /ink/ | (pronounced as /ink/) | |||
| Front | Central | Back | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Close | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | ||
| Close-mid | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | ||
| Open-mid | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | ||
| Open | pronounced as /ink/ |
The Istriot alphabet is the following:
| Letter | Pronunciation (IPA) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| A, a | pronounced as /link/ | à |
| B, b | pronounced as /link/ | – |
| C, c | pronounced as /link/, pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as //k// when followed by "a", "o", "u" or a consonant; pronounced as //tʃ// when followed by "e" or "i" |
| Ch, ch | pronounced as /link/ | When followed by "e" or "i" |
| Ci, ci | pronounced as /link/ | When followed by "a", "o", "u" |
| D, d | pronounced as /link/ | – |
| Dz, dz | pronounced as /link/ | – |
| E, e | pronounced as /link/, pronounced as /link/ | è, é |
| F, f | pronounced as /link/ | – |
| G, g | pronounced as /link/, pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as //ɡ// before "a", "o", "u" or a consonant, pronounced as //dʒ// before "e" and "i" |
| Gh, gh | pronounced as /link/ | When followed by "e" or "i" |
| Gi, gi | pronounced as /link/ | When followed by "a", "o", "u" |
| H, h | – | Used in [ch] and [gh] |
| I, i | pronounced as /link/, pronounced as /link/ | í, î |
| J, j | pronounced as /link/ | – |
| L, l | pronounced as /link/ | – |
| M, m | pronounced as /link/ | – |
| N, n | pronounced as /link/ | – |
| Nj, nj / Gn, gn | pronounced as /link/ | |
| O, o | pronounced as /link/, pronounced as /link/ | ò, ó |
| P, p | pronounced as /link/ | – |
| R, r | pronounced as /link/ | – |
| S, s | pronounced as /link/ | – |
| T, t | pronounced as /link/ | – |
| Ts, ts | pronounced as /link/ | – |
| U, u | pronounced as /link/, pronounced as /link/ | ú, û |
| V, v | pronounced as /link/ | – |
| Z, z | pronounced as /link/ | – |
This is a poem called "Grièbani" by Ligio Zanini[7] in the dialect of Rovinj-Rovigno.
| Istriot | Italian | |
|---|---|---|
i spironi da Monto inda uò salvà, e 'l brasso da Vistro uò rastà scuio pei grutoni pioûn alti del mar, ca ruzaghia sta tiera viecia-stara. Da senpro i signemo pissi sensa nom, ca da sui sa prucoûra 'l bucon par guodi la veîta leîbara del cucal, pastadi dala piova da Punente a da Livante e cume i uleîi mai incalmadi. Fra ste carme zì stà la nostra salvissa, cume i riboni a sa salva dal dulfeîn fra i scagni del sico da San Damian; el nostro pan, nato gra li gruote, zi stà inbinideî cul sudur sula iera zbruventa da Paloû... e i vemo caminà par oûna longa cal da griebani, c'ancui la riesta lissada dali nostre urme. | gli speroni di Monto ci hanno salvato, ed il braccio di Vistro è rimasto scoglio per le grotte poste più in alto del mare, che erode questa antica terra. Da sempre siamo pesciolini che da soli si procurano il boccone per godere la libera vita del gabbiano, oppressi dalla pioggia di Ponente e di Levante come olivi senza innesti. Fra queste insenature è stata la nostra salvezza, come i pagelli si salvano dal delfino fra le tane della secca di San Damiano; il nostro pane, nato tra le grotte, è stato benedetto col sudore nell'aia ribollente di Palù... ed abbiamo camminato per una lunga strada dissestata, che oggi rimane spianate dai nostri passi. |