Korcula Dialect

Korčula Town photo by Peter Zuvela

Korcula dialect (or Korčulanski) is a Croatian dialect from the island of Korčula. The dialect has remnants of the extinct Romance language, Dalmatian.^[1] The Dalmatian remnants within the dialect have been referred to as Corzulot.

According to the Croatian Anthropological Society in their Collegium Antropologicum (Volumes 15-16) the language base of the Korčula dialect is Chakavian Croatian (it is also intermixed with Shokavian).^[2] Additionally it has influences of Venetian. The local dialect is sometimes referred to as Naski or more correctly Naški. The š is pronounced sh. Sir John Gardner Wilkinson,^[3] a 19 century English historian, referred to the Dalmatian Slavic dialect as Illirskee.^[4]

Examples

Examples of Corzulot words compared with Vegliot,^[5] English and Croatian:

(Corzulot/Vegliot/English/Croatian)^[6]

Buža/Bus/Hole/Rupa
Čimitir/Čimitier/Graveyard/Groblje
Dent/Diant/Tooth/Zub
Faculet/Fazuol/Handkerchief/Rubac
Fatiga/Fatica/Works/Radi
Fermaj/Fermai/Stop!/Stoj!
Jeloz/Golaus/Jealous/Ljubomoran
Kantat/Cantar/To sing/Pjevati

Each town and village on the island have their own unique version of the dialect.

Additional words from the Korčula dialect

(Korčula dialect/English/Croatian)

alavia/ it's Ok! /u redu
barka/ type of local boat
bevanda/ wine with water/vino sa vodom
beštija/animal/životinja
cilo/ wine without water/vino bez vode
čagalj/ jackal
hoča/ lets go
fumati/ smoking/pušiti
griža/ hard stone
gira/ a fish from Croatia
gustrina/rainwater reservoir
kajić/ type of local boat
kapula/onion
korač/ hammer/ čekić
soldi /money /novac
zrcalo/mirror/ogledalo

The Korčula dialect is found in the local folk music. The local Klape groups (an a cappella form of music) sing using the Korčula dialect.^[7] The well know Croatian singer, Oliver Dragojevic, has used the dialect in his music.

Korčula's old name was Corzula. The island was from 1420 to 1797 part of the Republic of Venice. Melaina Korkyra (Greek: Μέλαινα Κόρκυρα, "Black Corfu") was the name of the island given by ancient Cnidian Greeks. The Old-Slavic term was Krkar.

The island of St Ivan (Vela Luka) photo by Peter Zuvela

References

^ Collegium Antropologicum, Volumes 15-16 by Croatian Anthropological Society-1991. Page 311.
^ Collegium Antropologicum, Volumes 15-16 by Croatian Anthropological Society-1991.Pages 312 & 318.
^
Dalmatia and Montenegro: With a Journey to Mostar in Herzegovina by Sir John Gardner Wilkinson.
- Sir John Gardner Wilkinson (October 5, 1797 – October 29, 1875) was an English traveller, writer and pioneer Egyptologist of the 19th century. He is often referred to as "the Father of British Egyptology".
^ Illyricum was a Roman province named after one of the Indigenous groups in the region.
^
Encyclopedia Britannica: History & Society-Vegliot Dalmatian
- Romance language formerly spoken along the Dalmatian coast from the island of Veglia (modern Krk) to Ragusa (modern Dubrovnik). Ragusan Dalmatian probably disappeared in the 17th century. The Vegliot Dalmatian dialect became extinct in the 19th century.
^ Wikipedia: Dalmatian language
^ The traditional Klapa was composed of up to a dozen male singers (in recent times there are female Klape groups). Klapa singing dates back centuries. The arrival of the Croatians to Dalmatia and their subsequent settlement in the area, began the process of the cultural mixing of Slavic traditions with that of the Latin population of Dalmatia. This process was most evident in the coastal and island regions of Dalmatia. In the 19th century a standard form of Klapa singing emerged. Church music heavily influences the arrangements of this music giving it the musical form that exists today.

External Links

Korčula Town photo by Peter Zuvela

Share this page

[1] Collegium Antropologicum, Volumes 15-16 by Croatian Anthropological Society-1991. Page 311.

[2] Collegium Antropologicum, Volumes 15-16 by Croatian Anthropological Society-1991.Pages 312 & 318.

[3] Dalmatia and Montenegro: With a Journey to Mostar in Herzegovina by Sir John Gardner Wilkinson.
Sir John Gardner Wilkinson (October 5, 1797 – October 29, 1875) was an English traveller, writer and pioneer Egyptologist of the 19th century. He is often referred to as "the Father of British Egyptology".

[4] Sir John Gardner Wilkinson (October 5, 1797 – October 29, 1875) was an English traveller, writer and pioneer Egyptologist of the 19th century. He is often referred to as "the Father of British Egyptology".

[4] Illyricum was a Roman province named after one of the Indigenous groups in the region.

[5] Encyclopedia Britannica: History & Society-Vegliot Dalmatian
Romance language formerly spoken along the Dalmatian coast from the island of Veglia (modern Krk) to Ragusa (modern Dubrovnik). Ragusan Dalmatian probably disappeared in the 17th century. The Vegliot Dalmatian dialect became extinct in the 19th century.

[7] Romance language formerly spoken along the Dalmatian coast from the island of Veglia (modern Krk) to Ragusa (modern Dubrovnik). Ragusan Dalmatian probably disappeared in the 17th century. The Vegliot Dalmatian dialect became extinct in the 19th century.

[6] Wikipedia: Dalmatian language

[7] The traditional Klapa was composed of up to a dozen male singers (in recent times there are female Klape groups). Klapa singing dates back centuries. The arrival of the Croatians to Dalmatia and their subsequent settlement in the area, began the process of the cultural mixing of Slavic traditions with that of the Latin population of Dalmatia. This process was most evident in the coastal and island regions of Dalmatia. In the 19th century a standard form of Klapa singing emerged. Church music heavily influences the arrangements of this music giving it the musical form that exists today.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]