Achille Tellini

Achille Tellini (born February 25, 1866 in Udine ; † October 1, 1938 ibid) was an Italian scientist , geologist and linguist who campaigned for the preservation of the minority languages ​​of his homeland ( Furlan and Ladin ). He was also a pioneer of Esperanto in Italy.

Life

Tellini was born in Udine in 1866 into a wealthy middle-class family. He attended the University of Turin , where he graduated from the natural sciences with the highest score in 1866. As a result, he moved to Rome and began his university career as an assistant at the Faculty of Geology. In Rome he also founded the first Italian journal of geology, Rassegna di scienze geologiche , and published works on hydrology , speleology , geography and zoology .

In 1893 he returned to Udine, where he worked at the Royal Technical Institute Regio Istituto Tecnico “A. Zanon “ taught science.

In 1897 he founded the Circolo Idrologico e Speleologico Friulano and became an important member of the Furlanic Alpine Club Società Alpina Friulana together with Giovanni Marinelli, Olinto Marinelli, Michele Gortani and Ardito Desio .

In 1901 he began to be interested in the international language Esperanto , which he later became a staunch supporter of.

1902-1903 he took part as a scientist on an expedition to Eritrea .

In 1904, a turning point took place in his life: Because of his love for his homeland Friuli , the scientist became a researcher in the field of philology and Ladin literature.

Towards the end of 1908 he had to give up teaching because of a family problem. He moved to Bologna , where he opened an antiquarian bookstore and a philately shop. He was enthusiastic about Esperanto as well as the Furlan and Ladin language and culture. During this time he also developed the political idea of ​​an independent Ladin federation, which should also include the Friuli region.

In this period before the First World War, however, the country was pervaded by a strong spirit of Italian nationalism , so that Tellini was severely criticized and attacked from various quarters for his activities and ideas. He was accused of denying the Italianity of Friuli (essere contro “l'italianità del nostro Friuli italianissimo”). Between 1919 and 1927 he published various studies on the language, customs and traditions of Friuli.

In 1928 he returned to Udine, where he continued his efforts. He deepened his knowledge of the Furlan language and history and worked with Felix Marchi, another important proponent of the idea of ​​a Furlan nation.

Tellini died in Udine on October 1, 1938.

The Esperantist

In Bologna, Tellini was an important representative of the Italian Esperanto movement. In 1909 he took part in the Congrès International de Esperanto in Barcelona , at which the founder of the language, Ludwik Zamenhof , was also present. He worked for various Esperanto journals with, among others, Antonio Paolet and the priest Giacomo Bianchini, secretary of the worldwide organization of Catholic Esperantists and author of the Gramaticute di lenghe furlane par esperantiscj published in 1909 .

In 1912 Tellini published the work Leksikona Komparo inter lingvoj esperanta kaj friula , a grammar of Esperanto with a comparative study between the vocabulary of Esperanto and Furlanic. Among other things, he proposed a reform of the writing of Furlan using some Esperanto letters. In the same year he also founded the Cattedra Italiana di Esperanto . He was a member of the World Esperanto Organization (UEA) until the Italian government banned its citizens from participating in international institutions.

During the First World War , he gave many lectures and crash courses in Venice and Emilia-Romagna to promote Esperanto.

In 1921 he founded the magazine Patrje Ladine in Furlanic language but written in Esperanto letters, and in 1922 he published the work Radikaro Esperanto-Friula-Ladina .

In 1935 he published an Esperanto textbook in Furlanic language with the title Gràmatiche, vocabulari ed eserciçis di lenghe internaçional esperanto pai ladìns furlàns (grammar, dictionary and exercises in the international Esperanto language for the Ladins of Friuli).

For Tellini, Esperanto was an international means of communication based on respect, especially respect for the linguistic minorities. Esperanto is not only a necessary aid for communication between scientists, but the neutral language also prevents the emergence of arrogance and linguistic imperialism, which in turn are often the cause of conflicts.

The political idea

Immediately after the First World War and then after the seizure of power by fascism , Tellini noticed a progressive “Italianization” of the population of Friuli. The language and customs of the ancestors and the centuries-old culture threatened to be lost. He therefore tried to collect the traditional cultural assets and published the work Il Tesaur de lenghe furlane (The Treasure of the Furlanic Language) between 1919 and 1923 .

Il Tesaur de lengue furlane is not just a piece of research; it is Tellini's political and moral manifesto. For him, Furlan is a language and not an Italian dialect. And only if you keep this language alive is it possible to create an independent Ladin state that, in addition to Friuli, also includes the Ladin valleys of the Dolomites and Switzerland. As a flag he proposes the eagle of the Patriarchate of Aquileia .

This belief can also be found in all of his later works.

literature

• Elio Migliorini: Pioneers dell'esperanto in Italia. [Esperanto-Pioniroj en Italio], Rome 1982.
• Giorgio Faggin: La letteratura friulana del goriziano nell'Ottocento e Novecento. In: Ferruccio Tassin (ed.): Cultura friulana nel goriziano (= Fonti e studi di storia sociale e religiosa. 3). Istituto di storia sociale e religiosa, Gorizia 1988, p. 99 ff.
• Rosalba Stefanutti: Achille Tellini (1866–1938) geologo, naturalista, folclorista. In: La Panarie. XXI, No. 82, 1989, ISSN  1594-8293 , pp. 35-47.
• Donato Toffoli: Par une storie dal moviment natsionalitari furlan. In: Usmis. Riviste par une gnove culture furlane e planetarie. No. 0, 1999.
• Giovanni Frau: Pe memorie di Achille Tellini (1866–1938). In: Ce fastu? 83, Udine 2007, pp. 133-139.
• Donato Toffoli: La patrie ladine. Cualchi note su la figure di Achille Tellini. Udine 2007.
• Donato Toffoli: La Venezia Giulia: una questione friulana. In: Roberta Michieli, Giuliano Zelco (eds.): Venezia Giulia. La regione inventata. Kappa vu, Udine 2008, ISBN 978-88-89808-41-2 , p. 64 ff.
• Donato Toffoli: Tellini e la identity furlane. In: La patrie del Friùl. October 2008.

Individual evidence

1. ^ R. Stefanutti: Achille Tellini (1866–1938) geologo, naturalista, folclorista. In: La Panarie. XXI, No. 82, March 1989, pp. 35-47.
2. ↑ Rusticus anonimo. In: Giornale di Udine. November 1915.
3. ^ G. Faggin: La letteratura friulana del goriziano nell'Ottocento e Novecento. In: F. Tassin (ed.): Cultura friulana nel goriziano. Gorizia 1987, p. 144. ( books.google.de ).