Ladin language

History

The name derives from Latin, because Ladin is originally a Vulgar Latin language left over from the Romanized Alps. Ladin is often attributed to be a relic of Vulgar Latin dialects associated with Rhaeto-Romance languages. Whether a proto-Rhaeto-Romance language ever existed is controversially discussed amongst linguists and historians, a debate known as Questione Ladina. Starting in the 6th century, the Bavarii started moving in from the north, while from the south Gallo-Italic languages started pushing in, which further shrank the original extent of the Ladin area. Only in the more remote mountain valleys did Ladin survive among the isolated populations.

Starting in the very early Middle Ages, the area was mostly ruled by the County of Tyrol or the Bishopric of Brixen, both belonging to the realms of the Austrian Habsburg rulers. The area of Cadore was under the rule of the Republic of Venice. During the period of the Holy Roman Empire and, after 1804, the Austrian Empire, the Ladins underwent a process of Germanization.

After the end of World War I in 1918, Italy annexed the southern part of Tyrol, including the Ladin areas. The Italian nationalist movement of the 19th and 20th centuries regarded Ladin as an "Italian dialect", a notion rejected by various Ladin exponents and associations, despite their having been counted as Italians by the Austrian authorities as well. The programme of Italianization, professed by fascists such as Ettore Tolomei and Benito Mussolini, added further pressure on the Ladin communities to subordinate their identities to Italian. This included changing Ladin place names into the Italian pronunciation according to Tolomei's Prontuario dei nomi locali dell'Alto Adige.

Following the end of World War II, the Gruber-De Gasperi Agreement of 1946 between Austria and Italy introduced a level of autonomy for Trentino and South Tyrol but did not include any provisions for the Ladin language. Only in the second autonomy statute for South Tyrol in 1972 was Ladin recognized as a partially official language.

Status

Ladin is officially recognised in Trentino and South Tyrol by provincial and national law. Italy signed the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages of 1991, but it has not ratified it so far. The charter calls for minority rights to be respected and minority languages, to which Ladin belongs, to be appropriately protected and promoted. Starting in the 1990s, the Italian parliament and provincial assembly have passed laws and regulations protecting the Ladin language and culture. A cultural institute was founded to safeguard and educate in the language and culture. School curricula were adapted in order to teach in Ladin, and street signs are being changed to bilingual.

Ladin is also recognized as a protected language in the Province of Belluno in Veneto region pursuant to the Standards for Protection of Historic Language Minorities Act No. 482 (1999). In comparison with South Tyrol and Trentino, the wishes of the Ladins have barely been addressed by the regional government. In a popular referendum in October 2007, the inhabitants of Cortina d'Ampezzo overwhelmingly voted to leave Veneto and return to South Tyrol. The redrawing of the provincial borders would return Cortina d'Ampezzo, Livinallongo del Col di Lana and Colle Santa Lucia to South Tyrol, to which they traditionally belonged when part of the County of Tyrol or the Bishopric of Brixen.

Although the Ladin communities are spread out over three neighbouring regions, the Union Generala di Ladins dles Dolomites is asking that they be reunited. The Ladin Autonomist Union and the Fassa Association run on a Ladin list and have sought more rights and autonomy for Ladin speakers. Ladins are also guaranteed political representations in the assemblies of Trentino and South Tyrol due to a reserved seats system.

In South Tyrol, in order to reach a fair allocation of jobs in public service, a system called "ethnic proportion" was established in the 1970s. Every 10 years, when the general census of population takes place, each citizen has to identify with a linguistic group. The results determine how many potential positions in public service are allocated for each linguistic group. This has theoretically enabled Ladins to receive guaranteed representation in the South Tyrolean civil service according to their numbers.

The recognition of minority languages in Italy has been criticised since the implementation of Act No. 482 (1999), especially due to alleged financial benefits. This applies also to the Ladin language, especially in the province of Belluno.

Subdivisions

A possible subdivision of Ladin language identifies six major groups.

Athesian Group of the Sella

The dialects of the Athesian group (from the river Adige Basin) of the Sella are spoken in South Tyrol:

• Gherdëina, spoken in Val Gardena by 8,148 inhabitants (80–90% of the population);
• Badiot and Maró, spoken in Val Badia and in Mareo by 9,229 people (95%), as native language.

The South Tyrolean dialects are most similar to the original Ladin.

Trentinian Group of the Sella

The names of the Ladin dialects spoken in the Fassa Valley in Trentino are Moenat, Brach, and Cazet. 82.8% of the inhabitants of Fassa Valley are native Ladin speakers; the Ladin language in Fassa is influenced by Trentinian dialects.

Agordino Group of the Sella

In the Province of Belluno the following dialects are considered as part of the Agordino group:

• Fodom, also called Livinallese, spoken in Livinallongo del Col di Lana and Colle Santa Lucia, native language of 80–90% of the people;
• Rocchesano in the area of Rocca Pietore. While Laste di Sopra (Ladin Laste de Sora) and Sottoguda (Ladin Stagùda) are predominantly Ladin, in Alleghe, San Tomaso Agordino, and Falcade so-called Ladin-Venetian dialects are spoken, with strong Venetian influence;
• Ladin in the area of Agordo and Valle del Biois, even if some regard it rather as Venetian-Ladin.

Ampezzan Group

Spoken in Cortina d'Ampezzo (Anpezo), similar to Cadorino dialect.

Even in Valle di Zoldo (from Forno-Fôr upwards) there are elements of the Ampezzan Group.

Cadorino Group

Spoken in Cadore and Comelico and best known as Cadorino dialect.

Nones and Solandro Group

In Western Trentino, in Non Valley, Val di Sole, Val di Peio, Val di Rabbi, and part of Val Rendena, detached from the Dolomitic area, dialects are spoken that are often considered to be part of the Ladin language (Anaunic Ladin), but have strong influences from Trentinian and Eastern Lombard dialects.

Sample texts

Lord's Prayer

The first part of the 'Lord's Prayer' in Standard Ladin, Latin, and its fellow Rhaeto-Romance languages for comparison, as well as English:

Common phrases

Phonology

Consonants

Walker and Yang state that Ladin does not include a palatal series other than the palatal nasal. Additionally, Walker and Yang also add that Ladin does not use a glottal fricative. [r] is variably described as a trill or a liquid.

Throughout the course of the history of the language, coronal obstruents have changed into sibilant fricatives and affricates. The transition is shown below.

/c, ɟ/ → /tʂ, dʐ/, /ts, dz/ → /s, z/, /s, z/ → /ʂ, ʐ/

In the Fascian variety, Ladin language speakers often incorporate and use a second voiceless dental/alveolar affricate /ts/ as the pronunciation for "z". This is thought to be due to influence of Standard Fascian Ladin and Italian on other varieties of Ladin.

Vowels

An vowel, spelled ⟨ë⟩, as in Urtijëi (pronunciation), and two front rounded vowels [, ], spelled ⟨ö, ü⟩, occur in some local dialects (such as Val Badia) but are not a part of Standard Ladin.

The Moenat variety uses eight monophthongs in comparison to the seven monophthongs used in other varieties of Fascian Ladin. The additional vowel sound /ø/ is not commonly used but still present enough to be an additional to their vowel phonemes. The mid vowel pairs /e, ɛ/ and /o, ɔ/ become indistinguishable when found in unstressed syllables.

Syllable Structure

The following formula describes the possibilities of syllable structures in Ladin.

• C₁(C₂) (C₃) V (C₄)(C₅)(C₆)

C₂ can be a plosive, trill/liquid, or an approximant. C₃ can be a trill/liquid or an approximant. C₄ can be trill/liquid, an approximant, a nasal, or a sibilant fricative. C₅ can be plosive, affricate, fricative, or a nasal. C₆ can be an affricate. Syllable complexity is sensitive to word domains (position in the word).

Word Initial Position

The following are constant cluster types that are possible in Ladin language syllable structure and additional rules that apply to clusters in word initial position.

• obstruent stop or fricative followed by a liquid (excluding coronal stops followed by a lateral liquid or [v] followed by a lateral liquid
• a sibilant fricative occurs in word initial when placed before any non-sibilant obstruent followed by [r] or [l]
• /l/ does not appear in clusters with coronal stops
• /v/ does not appear before another consonant
• affricates do not appear in word initial clusters
• In the Moenat variety, post-alveolar sibilant fricatives assimilate their voicing to the stops following them when in word initial position (additional citing)

Examples of these rules and types are displayed in the following word examples:

1. (non-sibilant obstruent+liquid) : [pr-] = [preˈar] - 'to pray'
2. (sibilant fricative + non-sibilant obstruent) : [ʂp-] = [ʂparpaˈɲa] - 'widespread'
3. (sibilant fricative + nasal) : [ˈʐɲ-] = [ˈʐɲapa] - 'acquavite, grape-based brandy'
4. (sibilant fricative + liquid) : [ʐr-] = [ʐraˈmar] - 'to cut off the branches from a tree'
5. (sibilant fricative + non-sibilant obstruent + liquid) : [ʐdr-] = [ʐdraˈmatʂ] - 'mattress'

Word Medial Position

The following are consonant cluster types that appear in the Ladin language syllable structure and well as additional restrictions present for word medial cluster types.

• only allowed a maximum of three consonants
• a sibilant fricative when preceded by a nasal
• affricates do not appear before a liquid (also seen in word initial cluster positions)

Examples of these rules and types are displayed in the following word examples:

1. (nasal + sibilant fricative) : [-ns-] = [linˈsøl] - 'bed sheet'
2. (sibilant fricative + plosive) : [-ʂp-] = [deʂˈpɛt] - 'prank'
3. (liquid + affricate) : [-ldʐ-] = [ˈøldʐe] - 'eye'
4. (non-sibilant fricative + liquid) : [-fr-] = [oˈfrir] - 'to offer'

Word Final Position

Lastly, the following are known options for constant clustering in word final position and the restrictions that may apply to those cluster types.

• cannot exceed two consonants
• sonorant consonants can appear before obstruents
• a sibilant fricative can appear before either a plosive or affricate
• obstruents in word final become voiceless

Final devoicing is common in the Moenat variety of the Ladin language. Obstruents in final position do not display in typical form. Their voicing is neutralized and often following voicing agreement in other positions as well.

Examples of these rules and types are displayed in the following word examples:

1. (nasal + non-sibilant fricative) : [-mf] = [sɛmf] - 'mustard'
2. (sibilant fricative + plosive) : [-ʂp] = [ruʂp] - 'hoard'
3. (liquid + sibilant fricative) : [-ls] = [ʐbals] - 'jump'
4. (liquid + plosive) : [-rk] = [lark] - 'large'

Writing system

Grave is used to mark stress at the last syllable and circumflex is used to mark long vowels.

Encoding

The IETF language tags register subtags for the different standards:

• anpezo. In Anpezo.
• fascia. It unifies the varieties of Cazet, Brach and Moenat
• fodom. Used in Livinallongo and Colle Santa Lucia
• gherd. In Gherdëina.
• valbadia. In Val Badia, unifying Marô, Mesaval and Badiot