Dalmatian language
Dalmatian is an extinct Romance language formerly spoken along the Dalmatian coast of Croatia. The Dalmatian speakers lived in towns on the sea-shore, each of these cities having a local dialect. Of these dialects, most important were:
- Vegliot — a northern dialect, spoken on the island of Veglia (Krk)
- Ragusan — a southern dialect, spoken at Ragusa (Dubrovnik)
- the dialect spoken in Zara (Zadar)
The last speaker of any Dalmatian dialect was Tuone Udaina (in Italian: Antonio Udina), and he was killed by a landmine on June 10, 1898.
Note that the term "Dalmatian" today is often used to refer to the Čakavian-ikavian Croatian dialect spoken in Dalmatia, which includes many words picked up from Italian and even some from German. This dialect and the original Dalmatian language are not related, though, and should not be confused.
Characteristics
Once thought to be a language that bridged the gap between the Romanian language and Italian, Dalmatian was actually more closely related to Western Romance languages than to Italian, and it was only distantly related to the nearby Romanian dialects, such as the nearly extinct Istro-Romanian, also spoken in nearby Istria, Croatia.
Some of its features are quite archaic; for example, Dalmatian is one of the two Romance languages (the other one is Sardinian) that did not palatalise /k/ and /g/ before /e/ and /i/: Latin cenare > Vegliot: kenur (to dine).
Similarities to Romanian
Among the similarities with Romanian, there are some consonant shifts that can be found among the Romance languages only in Dalmatian and Romanian:
- "ct" -> "pt" : octo > Vegliot: guapto; Romanian: opt (eight)
- "gn" -> "mn" : cognatus > Vegliot: komnut; Romanian: cumnat (brother-in-law)
- "x" -> "ps": coxa > Vegliot: Kopsa; Romanian coapsa (thigh)
Also, the future is formed with the verb "to want" (just as in Romanian and other languages of the Balkan language union.
Similarities to Western Romance languages
(to be written)
Vocabulary
It is interesting to note that Dalmatian kept the Latin words related to urban life which were lost in Romanian. The Dalmatians retained an active urban society in their city states, whereas the Romanians were driven into small mountain settlements during the Great Migrations of the Dark Ages.
Also, unlike Romanian, Dalmatian did not keep any substrate words of Thracian or Illyrian origin, as the speakers were initially colonists, not a Romanized population.
Major influences on the language were the Rhaeto-Romance languages, then Venetian as Venezia's commercial influence grew. Croatian, which was spoken outside the cities since the Slavs migrated, gained importance in the cities by the 16th century, and it eventually completely replaced Dalmatian as a day-to-day language.
Language sample: Lord's Prayer
Here's the Lord's prayer in Portuguese, Dalmatian, Italian, Istro-Romanian and Romanian:
| Portuguese | Dalmatian | Italian | Istro-Romanian | Romanian |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pai nosso, que estás no Céu, | Tuota nuester, che te sante intel sil, | Padre nostro, che sei nei cieli, | Ciace nostru car le şti en cer, | Tatăl nostru care eşti în ceruri, |
| seja santificado o teu nome. | sait santificuot el naun to. | sia santificato il tuo nome. | neca se sveta nomelu teu. | sfiinţească-Se numele Tău. |
| Venha o teu reino. | Vigna el raigno to. | Venga il tuo regno. | Neca venire craliestvo to. | Vie Împărăţia Ta. |
| Seja feita a tua vontade, assim na Terra como no Céu. | Sait fuot la voluntuot toa, coisa in sil, coisa in tiara. | Sia fatta la tua volont?, come in cielo cos? in terra. | Neca fie volia ta, cum en cer, aşa şi pre pemint. | Facă-se voia Ta, precum în cer, aşa şi pe pământ. |
| Dá-nos hoje o pão nosso de cada dia. | Duote costa dai el pun nuester cotidiun. | Dacci oggi il nostro pane quotidiano | Pera nostre saca zi de nam astez. | Pâinea noastră cea de toate zilele dă-ne-o nouă astăzi. |
| E perdoa as nossas ofensas | E remetiaj le nuestre debete, | E rimetti a noi i nostri debiti, | Odproste nam dutzan, | Şi ne iartă nouă păcatele noastre, |
| assim como nós perdoamos aos nossos ofensores. | coisa nojiltri remetiaime a i nuestri debetuar. | come noi li rimettiamo ai nostri debitori. | ca şi noi odprostim a lu nostri dutznici. | precum şi noi iertăm greşiţilor noştri. |
| E não nos leves à tentação, | E naun ne menur in tentatiaun, | E non ci indurre in tentazione, | Neca nu na tu vezi en napastovanie, | Şi nu ne duce pe noi în ispită, |
| mas livra-nos do Mal. | miu deleberiajne dal mal. | ma liberaci dal male. | neca na zbăveşte de zvaca slabe. | ci ne mântuieşte de cel rău. |
nl:Dalmatisch pl:Język dalmatyński ro:Limba dalmată