# Istriot language

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.

## Classification

Istriot is a Romance language currently only found in Istria. Its classification has remained mostly unclear, various proposals for its affinity exist:
* as being related to the Ladin populations of the Alps. According to the Italian linguist Matteo Bartoli, the Ladin area used to extend – until the year 1000 AD – from southern Istria to Friuli and eastern Switzerland.
* as an independent Northern Italian language, belonging neither to the Venetian language nor to the Gallo-Italic group (opinion shared by linguists Tullio De Mauro and Maurizio Dardano);
* as a variety of the Rhaeto-Romance languages by the Istriot Antonio Ive
* as an independent language of the Italo-Dalmatian group
* as an autochthonous Romance language heavily influenced by Venetian, Friulian and Slavic superstrates by Mirko Deanović
* In 2017 it was classified by the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History with the Dalmatian language in the Dalmatian Romance subgroup,
When Istria was a region of the Kingdom of Italy, Istriot was considered by the authorities as a subdialect of Venetian.
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.

## Vocabulary

Below is a comparison of Istriot with several closely related Romance languages and Latin:
| Latin | Italian | Istriot (Rovignìʃ) | Venetian | Bisiacco Venetian | English |
| clave(m) | chiave | ciàve | ciave | ciave | key |
| nocte(m) | notte | nuòto | note/not | note | night |
| cantare | 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 |

## Phonology

The phonology of the Istriot language:

### Consonants

| | | Labial | Dental/ Alveolar | Post-alv./ Palatal | Velar |
| Nasal | Nasal | m | n | ɲ | (ŋ) |
| Stop | voiceless | p | t | t͡ʃ | k |
| Stop | voiced | b | d | d͡ʒ | ɡ |
| Fricative | voiceless | f | s | | |
| Fricative | voiced | v | z | | |
| Trill | Trill | | r | | |
| Approximant | central | | | j | w |
| Approximant | lateral | | l | (ʎ) | |
* Sounds /j, w/ can also be noted as [i̯ u̯] among different dialects.
* [ŋ] occurs as a result of a nasal consonant preceding a velar stop.
* [ʎ] can occur as a result of Italian loanwords.

### Vowels

| | Front | Central | Back |
| Close | i | | u |
| Close-mid | e | | o |
| Open-mid | ɛ | | ɔ |
| Open | | a | |

## Orthography

The Istriot alphabet is the following:
| Letter | Pronunciation (IPA) | Notes |
| A, a | /a/ | à |
| B, b | /b/ | – |
| C, c | /k/, /tʃ/ | /k/ when followed by "a", "o", "u" or a consonant; /tʃ/ when followed by "e" or "i" |
| Ch, ch | /k/ | When followed by "e" or "i" |
| Ci, ci | /tʃ/ | When followed by "a", "o", "u" |
| D, d | /d/ | – |
| Dz, dz | /dz/ | – |
| E, e | /ɛ/, /e/ | è, é |
| F, f | /f/ | – |
| G, g | /ɡ/, /dʒ/ | /ɡ/ before "a", "o", "u" or a consonant, /dʒ/ before "e" and "i" |
| Gh, gh | /ɡ/ | When followed by "e" or "i" |
| Gi, gi | /dʒ/ | When followed by "a", "o", "u" |
| H, h | – | Used in [ch] and [gh] |
| I, i | /i/, /j/ | í, î |
| J, j | /j/ | – |
| L, l | /l/ | – |
| M, m | /m/ | – |
| N, n | /n/ | – |
| Nj, nj / Gn, gn | /ɲ/ | |
| O, o | /ɔ/, /o/ | ò, ó |
| P, p | /p/ | – |
| R, r | /r/ | – |
| S, s | /s/ | – |
| T, t | /t/ | – |
| Ts, ts | /ts/ | – |
| U, u | /u/, /w/ | ú, û |
| V, v | /v/ | – |
| Z, z | /z/ | – |

## Example

This is a poem called "Grièbani" by Ligio Zanini in the dialect of Rovinj-Rovigno.
| Istriot | Italian |
| La nostra zì oûna longa cal da griebani:  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. | La nostra è una lunga strada irta di sassi:  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. |