Korcula Dialect

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Korcula Town photo by Peter Zuvela

Korcula dialect (or Korčulanski) [1] is a Croatian dialect from the island of Korčula.The island of Korčula lies just off the Dalmatian coast in Croatia.[2] 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).[3] The dialect has remnants of the extinct Romance language, Dalmatian.[4] The Dalmatian remnants within the dialect have been referred to as Corzulot.

Additionally it has influences of Venetian. The local dialect is sometimes referred to as Naski or more correctly Naški.[5] The š is pronounced sh. Sir John Gardner Wilkinson, [6] a 19 century English historian, referred to the Dalmatian Slavic dialect as Illirskee.[7]


Examples

Examples of Corzulot words compared with Vegliot, English and Croatian:

(Corzulot[8]/Vegliot/English/Croatian)

  • 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

Encyclopedia Britannica on Vegliot:[9]

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.

Additional words from the Korcula dialect

(Korcula dialect/English/Croatian)

Template:Col-break
  • adio /goodbye/ doviđenja
  • afitat/rent (Venetian:afìt)
  • alavia /it's Ok! /u redu
  • avižat /to arrive
  • balun/football (Venetian:balón)
  • banak /bench (Venetian:banca)
  • baraka /shed or shack (Venetian:baràca)
  • barba /uncle/stric (Venetian:barba)
  • barilo / barrel (Venetian:barìla)
  • barka /type of local boat (Venetian:bàrca)
  • bevanda /wine with water/vino sa vodom (Venetian:bevànda "watery wine")
  • beštija /animal/životinja (Latin:bestia also beast)
  • beštimat/swear (Venetian:bestiemàr)
  • bićerin /small glass (Venetian:bicér "glass")
  • bobon /lolly (Venetian:bonbón "sweet or candy")
  • boca/bottle/flaša (Venetian:boca)
  • bonaca/ the sea is dead calm (Venetian:bonàça)
  • botilja /bottle
  • bravo /well done
  • bukva /herring
  • bura /local wind
  • butiga /shop
  • cilo /wine without water/vino bez vode
  • cukar /sugar/ šečer
  • čakule /gosip
  • čagalj /jackal
  • čorav/ blind (Venetian:ciòro "blind person")
  • damižana /a netted bottle
  • daž/rain/ kiša
  • Defora in old Venetian means "from the outside".
  • Di greš?/Where are you going?
  • fabrika /factory/ tvornica (Latin: fabrica- manufacture or to craft, trade, art, trick, device)
  • fabrikat/to trick
  • feral / a gas or petroleum lamp for attracting fish (night fishing)
  • fermai /stop/ stani
  • forca/ power (apply with strength)
  • fortuna/ strong wind
  • fratar/priest (Latin: frater brother)
  • fuga /gap (Latin: flight, escape}
  • fumati/ smoking/pušiti
  • gira / a fish from Croatia
  • griža / hard stone
  • gundula /type of boat
  • gusto/thick
  • gustrina/rainwater reservoir
  • guzica/bottom
  • hoča/ lets go
Template:Col-break
  • kantat/to sing/pjevati (Latin:canto)
  • kajić/ type of local boat
  • kamara/ bedroom/ soba (latin:camera-vault, vaulted room)
  • kapula/onion/luk
  • katrida/ chair/stolica
  • katun/ corner
  • klapa/ an a cappella form of music (Venetian:clapa "singing crowd")
  • koltrine/ curtins
  • kontra /against/protiv (Latin:contra)
  • korač/ hammer
  • kormilo/ rudder
  • kužin/cousin/rođak (Venetian:cuxìn)
  • leut/ type of local boat
  • levant/ local wind
  • libro/ book/ knjiga
  • maistral /local wind
  • makina/ machine
  • mama/ mother/majka
  • Margun/ wood worker (Venetian:Marangòn)
  • mezo/in between (Venetian:mèzo "half")
  • mlinko/ milk
  • noštromo/ first mate
  • pamidora/ tomato
  • perun/ fork (Venetian: pirón from Greek: pirouni)
  • piat/ plate
  • postoli/ shoes/ cipele
  • postelja/bed
  • punistra/ window (Latin:fenestra)
  • rič/word
  • ritko/ not often
  • spim/I'm sleeping
  • skula/ school/ škola
  • soldi /money /novac (Latin:solidus)
  • šija/ reverse/ natra
  • šiloko/ local wind (Venetian: siròco)
  • škver/ shipyard/ brodgradilište
  • špirit/ spirit
  • šporko/ dirty (Venetian:spórco)
  • štrada/ street/ ulica
  • šufit/ attic or loft (Venetian:sofìta)
  • šugaman/ beach towel
  • tata/ father/ otac
  • tavajola/ table cloth
  • terpeza/ table/ stol
  • ura/ hour/ jedan sat
  • vapor/ ferry/ trajekt
  • vara vamo/ move on
  • Vi ga niste vidili./You did not see him.
  • zeje/local dish
  • zrcalo/mirror/ogledalo
Template:Col-end Each town and village on the island have their own unique version of the dialect.[10] 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.[11] The well know Croatian singer, Oliver Dragojevic, has used the dialect in his music. Korčula's old name was Curzola. 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

  1. ^ The č is pronounced ch.
  2. ^ John Everett-Healu. "Dalmatia." Concise Dictionary of World Place-Names. Oxford University Press. 2005. Encyclopedia.com
  3. ^ Collegium Antropologicum, Volumes 15-16 by Croatian Anthropological Society-1991. (p312 & p318)
  4. ^ Collegium Antropologicum, Volumes 15-16 by Croatian Anthropological Society-1991. (p311)
  5. ^ Note: Naški means "ours" thus meaning "our language" in Croatian.
  6. ^ Dalmatia and Montenegro: With a Journey to Mostar in Herzegovina by Sir John Gardner Wilkinson. (p33)
    • 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".
  7. ^ Illyricum was a Roman province named after one of the Indigenous groups in the region.
  8. ^ Wikipedia: Dalmatian language
  9. ^ Encyclopedia Britannica: History & Society-Vegliot Dalmatian
  10. ^ Wikipedia: Korcula, Vela Luka and Blato and the coastal villages of Lumbarda and Racisce and in the interior Zrnovo, Pupnat, Smokvica and Cara.
  11. ^ 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 culture with that of the traditions of the Roman-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

 
Chapel of Saint Kuzma and Damian on the island of Korcula. Photo by Peter Zuvela




















 
Korcula Town photo by Peter Zuvela










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