Ladin (Switzerland)
Ladin or Engadin Romansh is the collective term for the Romansh idioms and dialects of the Engadine and the Munster valley in the Swiss canton of Graubünden . The Ladin is divided into two different written languages: Putèr in the Upper Engadin and Vallader in the Lower Engadin . The dialect of the Münster valley, the Jauer , is also counted as Ladin , where the Vallader is used in written use. The assignment of the Bargunsegner spoken in Bergün , which is a transition dialect to Surmiran , but in written language belongs to Putèr, is less clear .
Properties compared with the other Romansh idioms
The Ladin differs from the idioms and dialects of Rheinischbünd in sound, spelling, grammar and vocabulary. Here are some examples (the spelling follows the Vallader):
- The vowels ö and ü are only found in Ladin , as elsewhere they are usually rounded off to e or i .
- The written Ladin has retained a perfect form ( "synthetic perfect" ) that is not formed by composition , which corresponds in function and use to the French passé simple . In the spoken language, however - as in the other dialects - only the compound form ( "analytical form" ) is used (cf. ladin el fet and el ha fat [he did] versus French il fit and il a fait ). There is also a synthetic future tense (el farà), which is also used in parts of the Surmeir dialect area.
- Negation: In Ladin, the verb is negated by a preceding nu , in Surselva by a subsequent buca . In Mittelbünden there is a combination of both systems: na (verb) betg, cf. French ne ... pas.
- The voiceless alveopalatal affricate is written ch ( tg in the other Rhaeto-Romanic dialects, thus chuna instead of tgina [cradle]); hence the conspicuous consonant connection s-ch (corresponds to stg in Rheinischbünden). The hyphen is used to distinguish it from sch , which is pronounced as in German.
- Typical Ladin words that do not appear in the other dialects or only occasionally: darcheu ( again , sursilvan: puspei), be ( only , surs .: mo, surmiran: angal), marcurdi ( Wednesday , surs .: mesjamna), gün ( June , surs .: zercladur), lügl ( July , surs .: fenadur), rain ( back , surs .: dies).
The main differences between the two written languages
- The infinitive ending of the first conjugation is -ar in Vallader, and -er throughout Putèr (chantar vs. singing chanter , emphasis on the final syllable). In the Münstertal dialect, the penultimate syllable is always emphasized in these verbs, which can also influence the sound (for the example mentioned: cháunter).
- If in Vallader the stressed -an is at the end of a word, Putèr usually writes -aun (pronunciation: -äm, e.g. chan vs. chaun dog ). In Münstertal the ending is spoken as it is written in the Upper Engadin (-aun).
- Long stressed a in Vallader usually becomes e : chantunal vs. chantunel cantonal , el avra vs. el evra he opens , sala vs. sela hall
- In Putèr there is an additional, unassembled future tense (Vallader: el farà, Putèr: el faro and el faregia).
- Pronunciation: In Putèr, some diphthongs are pronounced as a simple, long vowel, e.g. B. saira, read: säära evening ; sour, read: thrush sister ; meidi, read: meedi. The words in question are usually written the same way as in Vallader. The phenomenon of diphthong hardening , which used to be widespread in the Upper Engadin, is rarely encountered today (in stark contrast to the Surmiran ).
- Examples of deviations in vocabulary (each Vallader / Putèr German ): cumün / vschinauncha municipality , tour / piglier take , alch / qualchosa something , nüglia / ünguotta nothing , invlidar / schmancher forget , amo / auncha still , jada / vouta Mal , mail / pom apple , gelg / mellan yellow , schler / murütsch cellar , gial / chöd cock , vischin / chantunais neighbor .
These differences, which at first glance appear considerable, should not hide the fact that the vast majority of the vocabulary and grammar are identical. The two idioms are therefore mutually easy to understand, in contrast to the more distant dialects (especially Sursilvan ). A large part of the Ladin vocabulary can be found there too; Pronunciation, spelling and meaning, on the other hand, are often so different that inexperienced people from different dialect zones can only understand each other with difficulty and imprecisely.
identity
The speakers of all Ladin idioms know the song Chara lingua da la mamma and the greeting "Allegra!" .
literature
- Oscar Peer, Dicziunari rumantsch-ladin-tudais-ch , Chur 1962.
- A. Vital: The Ladin literature. In: Heimatschutz = Patrimoine , Vol. 13, 1918, pp. 128-143 ( digitized version ).
For further dictionaries and teaching aids, see the references in the articles Upper Engadin and Lower Engadin .