View source for Resian dialect

{{Short description|Slavic variety, spoken in northeastern Italy}}{{Infobox language
| name             = Resian
| nativename       = {{lang|sl-rozaj|Rozajanski langäč / Rozojanski langäč}}
| pronunciation    = 
| states           = [[Italy]]
| region           = [[Resia (UD)|Resia valley]]
| ethnicity        = Resians<ref name="ricerca.gelocal.it">{{cite news |date=February 5, 2004 |title="Siamo resiani e non sloveni" Mille firme per un referendum |trans-title="We are Resians and not Slovenians" One thousand signatures for a referendum |newspaper=Il Messaggero |url=https://ricerca.gelocal.it/messaggeroveneto/archivio/messaggeroveneto/2004/02/05/UD_10_SIB1.html}}</ref>
| speakers         = 929
| familycolor      = Indo-European
| fam2             = [[Balto-Slavic languages|Balto-Slavic]]
| fam3             = [[Slavic languages|Slavic]]
| fam4             = [[South Slavic languages|South Slavic]]
| fam5             = [[Western South Slavic]]
| fam6             = [[Slovene language|Slovene]]
| fam7             = [[Littoral dialect group]]
| isoexception     = dialect
| glotto           = resi1246
| glottorefname    = Resia
| ietf             = sl-rozaj
| date             = 2022
| dia1             = Western microdialects
| dia2             = Eastern microdialects
| script           = Latin
| minority         = {{ITA}}
| agency           = [[University of Padua]]<ref name="Dictionary">{{Cite web |last=Steenwijk |first=Han |date=15 April 2004 |title=Resian dictionary |url=http://147.162.119.1:8081/resianica/dictionaryForm.do |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220119193829/http://147.162.119.1:8081/resianica/dictionaryForm.do |archive-date=19 January 2022 |access-date=13 August 2022 |website=Resianica |publisher=[[University of Padua]] |language=en, it, sl}}</ref>
| image            = Rezija3-Paternoster 02.JPG
| map              = Littoral dialect group.svg
| mapalt           = Littoral dialect group
| mapcaption       = {{Legend0|#ffed4c}}The Resian dialect
| imagecaption     = Pater Noster in the old Resian dialect
| imagealt         = Old Resian dialect
| ref              = <ref>{{Cite web |date=1 January 2022 |title=Popolazione residente al 1° Gennaio 2022 per sesso, età e stato civile - dati provvisori; Comune: Resia |trans-title=Resident population on 1st January 2022 by gender, age and marital status – data provider; Comune: Resia |url=https://demo.istat.it/popres/index.php?anno=2022&lingua=ita |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220811231931/https://demo.istat.it/popres/index.php?anno=2022&lingua=ita |archive-date=11 August 2022 |access-date=13 August 2022 |website=Istituto Nazionale di Statistica |language=it, en}}</ref>
}}

The '''Resian dialect''' or simply '''Resian''' (self-designation Standard {{lang|sl-rozaj|Rozajanski langäč / Rozojanski langäč}}, Bila {{lang|sl-rozaj|Rozajanski langäč / Rozojanski langäč}}, Osoanë {{lang|sl-rozaj|Rozoanske langäč}}, Solbica {{lang|sl-rozaj|Rozajonski langeč / Rozojonski langeč}};<ref name="Dictionary" /> {{langx|sl|rezijansko narečje}} {{IPA|sl|ɾɛziˈjáːnskɔ naˈɾéːt͡ʃjɛ|}}, {{lang|sl|rezijanščina}}; {{Langx|it|Dialetto Resiano}}) is a distinct [[Variety (linguistics)|variety]] in the South Slavic continuum, generally considered a [[Slovene dialects|Slovene dialect]] spoken in the [[Resia (UD)|Resia Valley]], [[Province of Udine]], [[Italy]], close to the border with [[Slovenia]].<ref name="Steenwijk">{{Harvcoltxt|Steenwijk|1992a|p=1}}</ref><ref name="Pronk">{{cite book |last1=Pronk |first1=Tijmen |title=The Slovene Dialect of Egg and Potschach in the Gailtal, Austria |date=2009 |publisher=Rodopi |location=Amsterdam |page=2}}</ref><ref name="Stankiewicz">{{cite book |last1=Stankiewicz |first1=Edward |title=The Slavic Languages: Unity in Diversity |date=1986 |publisher=Mouton de Gruyter |location=Berlin |page=93}}</ref> 

Together with the [[Rosen Valley dialect]] and [[Ebriach dialect]] in [[Carinthia]], it is one of the three dialects of Slovene spoken entirely outside the borders of Slovenia. It is unequivocally one of the most distinct and difficult dialects to understand for speakers of central Slovene dialects, especially because most Resians are not familiar with standard Slovene.<ref name=":1">{{Harvcoltxt|Logar|1996|p=231}}</ref> Its distinguishing characteristic is [[Centralized vowel|centralized]], breathy vowels.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Logar|1996|p=4}}</ref> It borders the Slovene [[Torre Valley dialect]] to the south and the [[Soča dialect]] to the east, both separated by tall mountain ranges.<ref name=":0">{{cite web |title=Karta slovenskih narečij z večjimi naselji |url=https://fran.si/204/sla-slovenski-lingvisticni-atlas/datoteke/SLA_Karta-narecij.pdf |access-date=June 8, 2020 |website=Fran.si |publisher=Inštitut za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša ZRC SAZU}}</ref> On the other sides, it mostly borders [[Friulian language|Friulian]], but also [[Bavarian language|Bavarian]] to the north. It belongs to the Littoral dialect group, although it shows few similarities with other Littoral dialects and evolved from the Carinthian dialect base, northern Slovene, as opposed to other Littoral dialects, which evolved either from western or southern Slovene. It is spoken by fewer than a thousand people and is listed as a [[definitely endangered language]] according to [[UNESCO]]'s ''[[Red Book of Endangered Languages|Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger]]''.<ref name="unescoatlas">{{citation |title=Interactive Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger |url=http://www.unesco.org/culture/languages-atlas/index.php |publisher=UNESCO's Endangered Languages Programme |access-date=2015-10-17}}</ref> Despite this, Resians value their language and it is being passed down to younger generations.<ref name=":1" />

== Geographic extension ==
The area where Resian is spoken is practically the same as the area of the [[Resia, Friuli|Municipality of Resia]] ({{langx|it|Comune di Resia}}). It is spoken entirely in northeastern [[Italy]], in the [[Friuli-Venezia Giulia]] region in the [[province of Udine]], making it the only Slovene dialect that is spoken exclusively in Italy. The speakers are settled in villages in the Resia Valley ({{langx|sl|Rezija}}), along the [[Resia (river)|Resia]] River ({{lang|sl|Rezija}}), as well as the upper [[Uccea (river)|Uccea]] Valley ({{lang|sl|Učja}}) on the Italian side. This includes several villages, including (from west to east): San Giorno ({{lang|sl|Bilä, Bela}}), Prato di Resia ({{lang|sl|Ravanca}}), Gniva ({{lang|sl|Njïwa, Njiva}}), Criacis ({{lang|sl|Krïžaca, Križeca}}), Oseacco ({{lang|sl|Osoanë, Osojane}}), Carnizza ({{lang|sl|Karnïca, Karnica}}), Stolvizza ({{lang|sl|Solbica}}), Coritis ({{lang|sl|Korïto, Korito}}), and Uccea ({{lang|sl|Učja}}).<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Vidau|2021|p=60}}</ref> The Resia Valley is open to the west, where Friulian is spoken, and separated by tall mountains in other directions. There is a road connecting it to the Uccea Valley, reaching an elevation of more than 1,100 m above sea level, and it is further connected to the [[Torre (river)|Torre]] and [[Soča]] Valleys, where Slovene is spoken. To the south, it is bordered by the Musi ({{lang|sl|Mužci}}) Mountains, to the east by Mount Canin ({{lang|sl|Ćanen, Kanin}}), and to the north by Mount Sard ({{lang|sl|Žard}}), therefore limiting possible connections with neighboring dialects and languages, which in turn has led to so many distinct features of Resian dialect.<ref name=":0" />

The area was settled by Slovenes from the north, the area of today's [[Gail Valley dialect]]. Both areas remained connected until the 14th century, when sparsely populated Slovenes living in the [[Raccolana]] and [[Dogna (river)|Dogna]] Valleys started speaking Romance languages. There is no Slovene-speaking minority in that area today because it is mainly populated by [[Friulian language|Friulian]] and [[German language|German]] speakers.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Logar|1996|p=233}}</ref>

== Standard Resian ==
Standard Resian was developed by [[Han Steenwijk]] from the [[University of Padua]] and his colleagues Alfonso Barazzutti, Milko Matičetov, Pavle Merkù, Giovanni Rotta, and Willem Vermeer in the 1990s and continuing today. To date, they have standardized the writing, pronunciation,<ref name=":8">{{Harvcoltxt|Steenwijk|1994}}</ref> and [[declension]].<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Steenwijk|1999}}</ref> At first it was suggested to base the standard language on a central microdialect, particularly that of Gniva ({{lang|sl|Njïva, Njiva}}), but later it was decided to allow four forms of standard Resian, based on the four microdialects of four larger villages: San Giorno ({{lang|sl|Bila, Bela}}), Gniva ({{lang|sl|Njïva, Njiva}}), Oseacco ({{lang|sl|Osoanë, Osojane}}), and Stolvizza ({{lang|sl|Solbica}}).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Steenwijk |first=Han |date=1992b |title=Verso la grammatica pratica del resiano |trans-title=Towards the practical grammar of the Resian |url=http://147.162.119.1:8081/resianica/ita/versogr1.do |access-date=13 August 2022 |website=Resianica |language=it|archive-date=August 12, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070812204755/http://147.162.119.1:8081/resianica/ita/versogr1.do}}</ref> For other areas of grammar, only the microdialect of San Giorno can be used because it is the only one described in sufficient detail thanks to Steenwijk's extensive research.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Steenwijk|1992a}}</ref>

== Characteristics ==
Resian belongs to the western subgroup of the [[South Slavic languages|South Slavic]] branch of the [[Slavic languages]], together with [[Slovene language|Slovene]], which includes the [[Natisone Valley dialect]], and [[Serbo-Croatian]]. It represents the far northwestern part of the [[dialect continuum]]. The closest written language is the [[Natisone Valley dialect]] and the closest [[standard language]] is [[Slovene language|Slovene]]. The closest (other) Slovene dialect is the [[Torre Valley dialect]], another dialect known for little [[mutual intelligibility]] with other dialects.<ref name=":2">{{cite journal |last1=Logar |first1=Tine |date=1970 |title=Slovenski dialekti v zamejstvu |journal=Prace Filologiczne |volume=20 |page=84 |issn=0138-0567}}</ref> Written Resian can be understood by most Slovenes, partially also due to its similar orthography. Spoken Resian, however, is much more difficult to understand, with the main reason being [[Centralization (phonetics)|centralization]] of vowels, making them more difficult to distinguish. Speakers of the Torre Valley and Natisone Valley dialects, as well as other dialects in Littoral dialect group, can understand spoken Resian most easily because they have the most shared features and they all have extensive vocabulary from Friulian and Italian.<ref name=":2" />

Mutual intelligibility with other South Slavic languages is even more difficult, although Resian has undergone the {{Lang|sl|*sěnȏ}} > {{Lang|sl|*sě̀no}} accent shift,<ref name=":3">{{Harvcoltxt|Šekli|2018|p=310–314}}</ref> and so these words are now accented on the same syllable as in [[Serbo-Croatian]], as opposed to most Slovene dialects.

== Language vs. dialect ==
There is disagreement between native speakers of the dialect and linguists regarding whether Resian should be considered a separate language or only a dialect of [[Slovene language|Slovene]]. Resians were isolated from other Slovenes from the 14th century onward, before standard Slovene was developed, and later they never had the chance to learn it because there were no Slovene schools in that area and none of the Italian schools taught Slovene, not even as a foreign language. Resians thus not only have a hard time understanding Slovene, but they also do not feel themselves part of the Slovene nation because they were left out, and they consider themselves an ethnic group separate from Slovenes. In 2004, 1,014 out of 1,285 (78.9%) inhabitants of Resia signed a petition declaring that they are not Slovenes.<ref name="ricerca.gelocal.it"/> The dialect also has its own orthography, which existed and was actively used even before standardization. Resian is also used instead of standard Slovene on bilingual signs and in public announcements.<ref name=":9">{{Harvcoltxt|Vidau|2021|pp=60–61}}</ref>

On the other hand, linguists have always treated Resian as a dialect. It does not show any features sufficiently distinct to qualify it as a separate language.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Ahačič |first1=Kozma |url=https://ojs.zrc-sazu.si/jz/issue/view/689 |title=Jezikovni zapiski |last2=Škofic |first2=Jožica |last3=Gliha Komac |first3=Nataša |last4=Gostenčnik |first4=Januška |last5=Ježovnik |first5=Janoš |last6=Kenda-Jež |first6=Karmen |last7=Šekli |first7=Matej |last8=Škofic |first8=Jožica |last9=Zuljan Kumarr |first9=Danila |publisher=ZRC SAZU |year=2020 |series=26/2020/1 |pages=219–223 |language=sl |trans-title=Language notes |chapter=Zakaj je nadiško narečje v Italiji slovensko narečje |trans-chapter=Why is Natisone dialect in Italy a Slovene dialect |doi=10.3986/Jz.26.1.15 |s2cid=216486109 |access-date=13 August 2022 |chapter-url=https://www.dlib.si/stream/URN:NBN:SI:DOC-AFMHRN0W/8757fda7-2054-44b7-895e-6dce674f9a58/PDF |chapter-format=pdf }}</ref><ref name=":5">{{cite book |last1=Rigler |first1=Jakob |title=Razprave o slovenskem jeziku |date=1986 |publisher=Slovenska Matica v Ljubljani |location=Ljubljana |page=100}}</ref><ref name=":6">{{cite book |author1=Natale Zuanella |title=Atti: conferenza sui Gruppi Etnico Linguistici della Provincia di Udine |date=1978 |publisher=SLORI |location=Cividale del Friuli |page=273 |chapter=Informacija o jezikovnem položaju v Beneški Sloveniji – Informazione sulla realtà linguistica della Slavia Veneta}}</ref> To avoid disputes, it is thus often referred to as a [[Slavic microlanguages|Slavic microlanguage]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Šekli |first=Matej |title=Država in narod v slovenskem jeziku, literaturi in kulturi |publisher=Znanstvena založba Filozofske fakultete |year=2015 |isbn=978-961-237-753-3 |edition=1st |location=[[Ljubljana]] |page=95 |language=sl |chapter=Slovanski knjižni mikrojeziki: opredelitev in prikaz pojava znotraj slovenščine |trans-chapter=Slavic literary microlanguages: characterization and display of the feature inside Slovene language. |chapter-url=https://centerslo.si/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Sekli.pdf }}</ref>

== Accent ==
The Resian dialect, in contrast to neighboring dialects, does not have [[pitch accent]] and seems to have lost distinctions in vowel length, with the only difference in length being tied to stress (stressed vowels are longer than short)<ref name=":4">{{Harvcoltxt|Logar|1996|p=248}}</ref> and breathiness (breathy vowels are shorter than non-breathy),<ref name=":4" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Rigler |first=Jakob |title=Zbrani spisi / Jakob Rigler |publisher=Založba ZRC |year=2001 |isbn=961-6358-32-4 |editor-last=Smole |editor-first=Vera |volume=1: Jezikovnozgodovinske in dialektološke razprave |location=Ljubljana |pages=494–495 |language=sl |trans-title=Collected essays / Jakob Rigler |chapter=V Ocene in polemike: O rezijanskem naglasu |trans-chapter=V Evaluations and polemics: About Resian accent}}</ref> although standard Resian forms still differentiate between length. From the historical perspective, Resian has undergone only the {{Lang|sl|*sěnȏ}} > {{Lang|sl|*sě̀no}} accent shift since Alpine Slovene,<ref name=":3" /> making it two accent shifts different from standard Slovene, which has not undergone the {{Lang|sl|*sěnȏ}} > {{Lang|sl|*sě̀no}} accent shift, but has undergone the {{Lang|sl|*ženȁ}} → {{Lang|sl|*žèna}} and optionally {{Lang|sl|*məglȁ}} → {{Lang|sl|*mə̀gla}} accent shifts.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Šekli|2018|p=311–312}}</ref>

== Phonology ==
Due to years of isolated evolution from other Slovene dialects, Resian has developed some iconic features, particularly breathy, centralized vowels that are almost exclusive to Resian, with only some microdialects of the [[Torre Valley dialect]] also having a similar sound.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ježovnik |first=Janoš |url=https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/Dokument.php?id=123596&lang=slv |title=Notranja glasovna in naglasna členjenost terskega narečja slovenščine |year=2019 |location=Ljubljana |page=26 |language=sl |format=pdf |access-date=12 August 2022}}</ref> Its consonant inventory is shared with the Littoral dialects, retaining palatal sounds.

=== Consonants ===
Han Steenwijk recorded 25 consonant phonemes in San Giorno ({{lang|sl|Bila, Bela}}) and then also generalized the pronunciation to the other three standard forms, which are definitely similar, except that Stolvizza ({{lang|sl|Solbica}}) has somewhat different allophones for {{IPA|/g/}} and {{IPA|/x/}}.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Steenwijk|1992a|p=14}}</ref> Tine Logar also recorded the phoneme {{IPA|/dz/}}.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Logar|1996|p=122}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|+Resian consonant phonemes: San Giorno ({{lang|sl|Bila, Bela}})<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Steenwijk|1992a|p=20}}</ref>
! colspan="2" |
![[Labial consonant|Labial]]
![[Dental consonant|Dental]]/
[[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
![[Postalveolar consonant|Postalveolar]]
![[Palatal consonant|Palatal]]
![[Velar consonant|Velar]]
|-
! colspan="2" |[[Nasal consonant|Nasal]]
|{{IPA link|m}}
|{{IPA link|n}}
|
|{{IPA link|ɲ}}
|
|-
! rowspan="2" |[[Plosive consonant|Plosive]]
!{{small|[[voicelessness|voiceless]]}}
|{{IPA link|p}}
|{{IPA link|t̪|t}}
|
|{{IPA link|c}}
|{{IPA link|k}}
|-
!{{small|[[voice (phonetics)|voiced]]}}
|{{IPA link|b}}
|{{IPA link|d̪|d}}
|
|{{IPA link|ɟ}}
|{{IPA link|ɡ}}
|-
! rowspan="2" |[[Affricate consonant|Affricate]]
!{{small|[[voicelessness|voiceless]]}}
|
|{{IPA link|ts}}
|{{IPA link|tʃ}}
|
|
|-
!{{small|[[voice (phonetics)|voiced]]}}
|
|({{IPA link|dz}})
|{{IPA link|dʒ}}
|
|
|-
! rowspan="2" |[[Fricative consonant|Fricative]]
!{{small|[[voicelessness|voiceless]]}}
|{{IPA link|f}}
|{{IPA link|s̪|s}}
|{{IPA link|ʃ}}
|
|{{IPA link|x}}
|-
!{{small|[[voice (phonetics)|voiced]]}}
|
|{{IPA link|z̪|z}}
|{{IPA link|ʒ}}
|
|
|-
! colspan="2" |[[Approximant consonant|Approximant]]
|{{IPA link|ʋ}}
|{{IPA link|l}}
|
|{{IPA link|j}}
|{{IPA link|w}}
|-
! colspan="2" |[[Trill consonant|Trill]]
|
|{{IPA link|r}}
|
|
|
|}

=== Vowels ===
In contrast to consonants, vowels differ significantly between the four microdialects, especially in accented syllables. They all have thoroughly researched accented vowels; however, Oseacco ({{lang|sl|Osoanë, Osojane}}) lacks research on unaccented vowels. This is the accent system for San Giorno ({{lang|sl|Bila, Bela}}):<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Steenwijk|1992a|pp=19–20}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|+Accented vowels
! rowspan="2" |
! rowspan="2" |[[Front vowel|Front]]
! colspan="2" |[[Central vowel|Central]]
! rowspan="2" |[[Back vowel|Back]]
|-
!{{Small|[[Roundedness|unrounded]]}}
!{{Small|[[round vowel|rounded]]}}
|-
![[Close vowel|Close]]
|{{IPA link|i}}
|{{IPA link|ɨ}}
|{{IPA link|ʉ}}
|{{IPA link|u}}
|-
![[Close-mid vowel|Close-mid]]
|{{IPA link|e}}
|{{IPA link|ə̝}}
| rowspan="2" |{{IPA link|ɵ}}
|{{IPA link|o}}
|-
![[Open-mid vowel|Open-mid]]
|{{IPA link|ɛ}}
|{{IPA link|ə}}
|{{IPA link|ɔ}}
|-
![[Near-open vowel|Near-open]]
|
|{{IPA link|ɐ}}
|
|
|-
![[Open vowel|Open]]
| colspan="2" |{{IPA link|a}}
|
|
|}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|+Unaccented vowels
! rowspan="2" |
! rowspan="2" |[[Front vowel|Front]]
! colspan="2" |[[Central vowel|Central]]
! rowspan="2" |[[Back vowel|Back]]
|-
!{{Small|[[Roundedness|unrounded]]}}
!{{Small|[[round vowel|rounded]]}}
|-
![[Close vowel|Close]]
| colspan="2" |{{IPA link|i}}
| colspan="2" |{{IPA link|u}}
|-
![[Open-mid vowel|Open-mid]]
|{{IPA link|ɛ}}
|{{IPA link|ə}}
|{{IPA link|ɵ}}
|{{IPA link|ɔ}}
|-
![[Open vowel|Open]]
| colspan="2" |{{IPA link|a}}
|
|
|}

== Evolution ==
The evolution of Resian into such a distinct dialect happened gradually and in three stages. The first stage lasted until the 14th century; at that time, Resian was mostly influenced by the Gail Valley dialect. In the second stage, it acquired many features of Venetian Slovene dialects and other Littoral dialects. The third stage represents changes that are unique to Resian and cannot be found elsewhere.

=== First stage ===
Until the 13th century, Resian experienced the same evolution as all other Slovene dialects, forming into Alpine Slovene.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Šekli|2018|p=297}}</ref> It was part of the northwestern dialect because long yat diphthongized into *''ie'' and long *''ō'' diphthongized into *''uo''. It did not experience [[denasalization]] of nasal vowels.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Šekli|2018|pp=297–300}}</ref> After further division, it fell into the category of the northern dialect, the same as other Carinthian dialects and unlike other Littoral dialects. It thus did not experience lengthening of non-final vowels at that time, because vowel lengthening in northern dialects happened only after the 16th century, well past the point when Resian lost contact with the Carinthian dialects and leading to possible different reflexes for formerly long and short vowels.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Rigler|2001|p=315}}</ref><ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Šekli|2018|pp=300–302}}</ref> Long *''ə̄'' also turned into *''ē'', which is unique to Resian in comparison to other Littoral dialects because there it turned into *''a''.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Šekli|2018|p=303}}</ref> The evolution then continued the same as with other Carinthian dialects, leading to the Carinthian dialect base. Short non-final *''ě̀'', *''ò'', and ''è'' evolved differently from their long counterparts, into *''é'', ''ó'', and ''é'', respectively. Long *''ē'' turned into *''ẹ̄'', whereas the nasal vowels remained intact and only lengthened. Long *''ə̄'' turned into a very open ''ȩ̄'' and short non-final vowels lengthened.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Šekli|2018|p=325}}</ref>

Later, Resian followed the same patterns as the Jaun Valley dialect, such as *''ie'' and *''uo'' simplifying into *''iə'' and *''uə'', *''é'' and ''ó'' turned into *''ẹ'' and *''ọ'', and the {{Lang|sl|*sěnȏ}} > {{Lang|sl|*sě̀no}} accent shift, as well as the merger of *''ē'' and *''ě̄''. Long nasal vowels also denasalized and *''ę̄'' merged with *''ə̄'', resulting in *''ē'' and *''ō''.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Logar|1996|p=233}}</ref>

=== Second stage ===
The second stage was primarily influenced by the Torre Valley dialect. Open *''ē'' and *ō became close-mid *''ẹ̄''<sub>2</sub> and *''ọ̄''<sub>2</sub> (in contrast to previously existing *''ẹ̄''<sub>1</sub> and *''ọ̄''<sub>1</sub>). Short *''ə'' turned into *a, *''ĺ'' turned into *''i̯'', *''w'' started turning into *''v'' before front vowels, and *''ł'' turned into *''l''. This connection also hindered some developments, such as *''t'' → ''č'', the {{Lang|sl|*ženȁ}} > {{Lang|sl|*žèna}} shift, and the {{Lang|sl|*məglȁ}} > {{Lang|sl|*mə̀gla}} shift, which are present today in the Gail Valley dialect, but not in Resian. Final -''m'' in most cases also turned into -''n'', a feature that also appeared in the Gail Valley dialect. The dialect also devoiced all final [[Obstruent|obstruents]].<ref name=":7">{{Harvcoltxt|Logar|1996|p=233–236}}</ref>

=== Third stage ===
Resian lost both tonal and length oppositions, which is unlike any neighboring dialect. The diphthongs *''iə'' and *''uə'' monophthongized into *''í''<sub>2</sub> and *''ú''<sub>2</sub>, respectively, forming a vowel system without diphthongs, another feature of Resian not seen in any neighboring dialects. The vowels *''ọ́''<sub>1</sub> and *''ẹ́''<sub>1</sub> turned into ''o̤'' and ''e̤'', which might have actually happened before *''ọ́''<sub>2</sub> and *''ẹ́''<sub>2</sub>. Now only *''ọ́'' and *''ẹ́'' turned into *''i'' and *''u'' near a nasal consonant. Other changes did not cover the entire territory. The vowels *''í''<sub>1</sub> and *''ú''<sub>1</sub> from previously longer syllables turned into ''i̤'' and ''ṳ'', except in San Giorno ({{lang|sl|Bila, Bela}}), where previously short *''í''<sub>1</sub> and *''ú''<sub>1</sub> turned into centralized vowels, whereas elsewhere they turned into ''e'' and ''o''. Syllabic *''ł̥́'' mostly turned into ''ol'', except in Oseacco ({{lang|sl|Osoanë, Osojane}}) and Uccea ({{lang|sl|Učja}}), where it turned into ''ú''. The consonant *''ɣ'' then turned into ''h'', or even disappeared. Other changes are specific to each microdialect.<ref name=":7" />

== Morphology ==
Resian retained neuter gender, as well as some dual forms. It uses the long infinitive without the final -''i''.

Its special feature is the distinction between animate and inanimate masculine ''o''-stem nouns in more than just the accusative case; the distinction is also present in the dative and locative singular. In the locative, the ending -''u'' can be used for both animate and inanimate, whereas the ending -''e̤'' is generally reserved for inanimate nouns. In the dative, animate nouns have the ending -''ovi''/-''evi''. Specific to Resian are also special unstressed forms for pronouns in the nominative case—for example, ''ja'' 'I'—as well as [[clitic doubling]]; for example, ''Ja si'' '''''ti''''' ''rë́kal'' '''''tabë́'''''. 'I told '''you'''<nowiki/>'. It also has two stressed first-person singular pronouns, ''jä́'' and ''jä́s'', the second being used to be more conceited. Atypical for a Slavic language, Resian also has a [[definite article]] (masculine ''te'', feminine ''ta''; the only standard Slavic languages to contain definite articles are [[Bulgarian language|Bulgarian]] and [[Macedonian language|Macedonian]]) and an indefinite article. It retained the [[aorist]] and [[imperfect]] until recently, which is unlike (other) Slovene dialects. The aorist is completely unknown to living generations but it was still present in the 19th century, whereas the imperfect is actively used only with a handful of verbs and is now mostly used as a past conditional.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Benacchio |first=Rosana |title=Slavistična revija: časopis za jezikoslovje in literarne vede |publisher=Slavistično društvo Slovenije |year=1998 |series=46/3 |location=Ljubljana |pages=249–259 |language=sl |translator-last=Gruden |translator-first=Živa |trans-title=Journal for linguistics and literary studies |chapter=Oblikoslovno-skladenjske posebnosti rezijanščine |trans-chapter=Morphologically-sytactical features of Resian |issn=0350-6894}}</ref>

== Orthography ==
The standard orthography, devised in 1994 by Han Steenwijk, which is still in use today, has 34 letters for Gniva ({{lang|sl|Njïwa, Njiva}}) and Oseacco ({{lang|sl|Osoanë, Osojane}}), whereas the other two standard forms have an additional letter, {{Angle bracket|y}}.

The alphabet contains the letter {{angle bracket|[[w]]}}, a letter that few Slavic languages use (only [[Polish language|Polish]], [[Kashubian language|Kashubian]], and [[Upper Sorbian language|Upper]] and [[Lower Sorbian language|Lower Sorbian]]). According to the Italian linguist Bartoli, this grapheme is characteristic of the [[Ladin language]] of the eastern Alps and indicates the native Neolatin population's strong influence on Resian.

The standard orthography uses only the letters of the [[ISO basic Latin alphabet]] plus eleven other letters, which are letters from the ISO basic Latin alphabet with added [[Acute accent|acute]], [[caron]], or [[Diaeresis (diacritic)|diaeresis]]:<ref name=":8" />
{| class="wikitable"
!Letter
!Phoneme:
San Giorno ({{lang|sl|Bila, Bela}})
standard version
!Example word
!Pronunciation
|-
|'''A a'''
|{{IPA|/a/}}
|{{Wikt-lang|sl|parjät}} 'to seem'
|{{IPA|[parˈjɐt]}} parjät
|-
|'''Ä ä'''
|{{IPA|/ɐ/}}
|{{Wikt-lang|sl|tatä}} 'aunt'
|{{IPA|[taˈtɐ]}} tatä
|-
|'''B b'''
|{{IPA|/b/}}
|{{Wikt-lang|sl|baba}} 'grandma'
|{{IPA|[ˈbaba]}} bába
|-
|'''C c'''
|{{IPA|/ts/}}
|{{Wikt-lang|sl|cöta}} 'cloth'
|{{IPA|[ˈt͡sɵta]}} cö́a
|-
|'''Č č'''
|{{IPA|/tʃ/}}
|{{Wikt-lang|sl|čäs}} 'time'
|{{IPA|[ˈt͡ʃɐs]}} čäs
|-
|'''Ć ć'''
|{{IPA|/c/}}
|{{Wikt-lang|sl|ćamïn}} 'chimney'
|{{IPA|[caˈmɨn]}} ćamïn
|-
|'''D d'''
|{{IPA|/d/}}
|{{Wikt-lang|sl|sidët}} 'to sit'
|{{IPA|[siˈdət]}} sidët
|-
|'''E e'''
|{{IPA|/ɛ/}}
|{{Wikt-lang|sl|maještra}} 'teacher'
|{{IPA|[maˈjɛʃtra]}} majéštra
|-
|'''Ë ë'''
|{{IPA|/ə/}}
|{{Wikt-lang|sl|kë}} 'where'
|{{IPA|[ˈkə]}} kë
|-
|'''F f'''
|{{IPA|/f/}}
|{{Wikt-lang|sl|fïn}} 'thin'
|{{IPA|[ˈfɨn]}} fïn
|-
|'''G g'''
|{{IPA|/g/}}
|{{Wikt-lang|sl|goba}} 'mushroom'
|{{IPA|[ˈgɔba]}} góba
|-
|'''Ǧ ǧ'''
|{{IPA|/dʒ/}}
|{{Wikt-lang|sl|ǧelato}} 'ice cream'
|{{IPA|[ˈdʒɛlatɔ]}} ǧeláto
|-
|'''Ǵ ǵ'''
|{{IPA|/ɟ/}}
|{{Wikt-lang|sl|ǵanaral}} 'general'
|{{IPA|[ɟanaˈral]}} ǵanarál
|-
|'''H h'''
|{{IPA|/x/}}
|{{Wikt-lang|sl|mihak}} 'soft'
|{{IPA|[ˈmixak]}} míhak
|-
|'''I i'''
|{{IPA|/i/}}
|{{Wikt-lang|sl|paǵina}} 'page'
|{{IPA|[ˈpaɟina]}} páǵina
|-
|'''Ï ï'''
|{{IPA|/ɨ/}}
|{{Wikt-lang|sl|pïsat}} 'to write'
|{{IPA|[ˈpɨsat]}} pïsat
|-
|'''J j'''
|{{IPA|/j/}}
|{{Wikt-lang|sl|jüšt}} 'right'
|{{IPA|[ˈjʉʃt]}} jüšt
|-
|'''K k'''
|{{IPA|/k/}}
|{{Wikt-lang|sl|kjüč}} 'key'
|{{IPA|[ˈkjʉt͡ʃ]}} kjüč
|-
|'''L l'''
|{{IPA|/l/}}
|{{Wikt-lang|sl|listyt}} 'to fly'
|{{IPA|[lisˈtə̝t]}} listýt
|-
|'''M m'''
|{{IPA|/m/}}
|{{Wikt-lang|sl|mama}} 'mom'
|{{IPA|[ˈmama]}} máma
|-
|'''N n'''
|{{IPA|/n/}}
|{{Wikt-lang|sl|natik}} 'fast'
|{{IPA|[naˈtik]}} natík
|-
|'''O o'''
|{{IPA|/ɔ/}}
|{{Wikt-lang|sl|parsona}} 'person'
|{{IPA|[parˈsɔna]}} parsóna
|-
|'''Ö ö'''
|{{IPA|/ɵ/}}
|{{Wikt-lang|sl|patök}} 'stream'
|{{IPA|[paˈtɵk]}} patök
|-
|'''P p'''
|{{IPA|/p/}}
|{{Wikt-lang|sl|grüpo}} 'group'
|{{IPA|[ˈgɾʉpɔ]}} grüpo
|-
|'''R r'''
|{{IPA|/r/}}
|{{Wikt-lang|sl|dyržat}} 'to hold'
|{{IPA|[ˈdə̝rʒat]}} dýržat
|-
|'''S s'''
|{{IPA|/s/}}
|{{Wikt-lang|sl|sam}} 'alone'
|{{IPA|[ˈsam]}} sám
|-
|'''Š š'''
|{{IPA|/ʃ/}}
|{{Wikt-lang|sl|šëjst}} 'six'
|{{IPA|[ˈʃəjst]}} šëjst
|-
|'''T t'''
|{{IPA|/t/}}
|{{Wikt-lang|sl|tatä}} 'aunt'
|{{IPA|[taˈtɐ]}} tatä́
|-
|'''U u'''
|{{IPA|/u/}}
|{{Wikt-lang|sl|klubük}} 'hat'
|{{IPA|[kluˈbʉk]}} klubük
|-
|'''Ü ü'''
|{{IPA|/ʉ/}}
|{{Wikt-lang|sl|cükër}} 'sugar'
|{{IPA|[ˈt͡sʉkər]}} cükër
|-
|'''V v'''
|{{IPA|/ʋ/}}
|{{Wikt-lang|sl|vys}} 'village'
|{{IPA|[ˈʋə̝s]}} výs
|-
|'''W w'''
|{{IPA|/w/}}
|{{Wikt-lang|sl|wïža}} 'song'
|{{IPA|[ˈwɨʒa]}} wïža
|-
|'''Y y'''
|{{IPA|/ə̝/}}
|{{Wikt-lang|sl|byt}} 'to be'
|{{IPA|[ˈbə̝t]}} být
|-
|'''Z z'''
|{{IPA|/z/}}
|{{Wikt-lang|sl|zalën}} 'green'
|{{IPA|[zaˈlən]}} zalë́n
|-
|'''Ž ž'''
|{{IPA|/ʒ/}}
|{{Wikt-lang|sl|žanä}} 'woman'
|{{IPA|[ʒaˈnɐ]}} žanä
|}
[[File:Bilingual road sign in Resia-Rezjia.jpg|thumb|240px|A [[bilingual sign]] in Italian and Resian in the [[Resia, Friuli|Resia Valley]]. The name is not adapted to the new orthography, and the name should be spelled ''Bila''.]]Previously, the phoneme {{IPA|/ts/}} could optionally also be written with {{Angle bracket|z}} (e.g., ''Ravanza'' instead of ''Ravanca''); however that is found inappropriate today. Despite the standard orthography, many street signs are still not adapted to the new orthography and have misspelled names on them.<ref name=":9" />

In addition, the acute accent ( ´ ) can be used to mark stress where it cannot be inferred.

== Literature ==
The first written texts in Resian were already written in the 18th century. The first known instances are two manuscripts called ''Rez'janskij katichizis I'' and ''II'', which are thought to have been written after 1700, but the exact date remains unclear because only copies exist, one of them being dated to 1797. The first manuscript must have been written before the second because it contains archaisms not seen in the second manuscript. The second known manuscript is ''Passio Domini ec.'', which has been dated between 1830 and 1848 but was probably written by a nonnative speaker. The first longer piece, spanning over 95 pages, was ''Christjanske uzhilo'', dated to somewhere between 1845 and 1850, but it was still a manuscript. The first book was ''To kristjanske učilo po rozoanskeh'', written by [[Giuseppe Cramaro]] sometime between 1923 and 1933. There are also numerous instances of Resian written by scholars that studied the dialect.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Steenwijk |first=Han |title=The Roots of Written Resian |year=2003 |location=Padua |pages=313–322 |s2cid=209507567 |language=en }}</ref>

Literature written in Resian is still being published; for instance, in 2021 [[Silvana Paletti]] and [[Malinka Pila]] published a Resian translation of [[Antoine de Saint-Exupéry]]'s ''[[The Little Prince]].''<ref>[https://www.verlag-tintenfass.de/HTM/366%20Der%20Kleine%20Prinz%20resiano.html Te Mali Prïncip (verlag-tintenfass.de)]</ref>

== Research ==
Notable linguists who have studied the dialect include [[Jan Niecisław Baudouin de Courtenay]], [[Eric Hamp]], [[Milko Matičetov]], and [[Roberto Dapit]].
==Encoding==
The [[IETF language tag]]s have registered:<ref name="IANA">{{cite web |title=IETF Language Subtag Registry |url=https://www.iana.org/assignments/language-subtag-registry/language-subtag-registry |website=IANA |access-date=7 October 2021 |language=en |date=2021-08-06}}</ref>
*{{code|sl-rozaj}} for the dialect in general.
**{{code|sl-rozaj-1994}} for text in the 1994 standard orthography.
*{{code|sl-rozaj-biske}} for the subdialect of {{lang|it|San Giorgio}}/{{lang|sl-rozaj|Bila}}.
**{{code|sl-rozaj-biske-1994}} for text in the 1994 standard orthography.
*{{code|sl-rozaj-lipaw}} for the subdialect of {{lang|it|Lipovaz}}/{{lang|sl-rozaj|Lipovec}}.
**{{code|sl-rozaj-lipaw-1994}} for text in the 1994 standard orthography.
*{{code|sl-rozaj-njiva}} for the subdialect of {{lang|it|Gniva}}/{{lang|sl-rozaj|Njiva}}.
**{{code|sl-rozaj-njiva-1994}} for text in the 1994 standard orthography.
*{{code|sl-rozaj-osojs}} for the subdialect of {{lang|it|Oseacco}}/{{lang|sl-rozaj|Osojane}}.
**{{code|sl-rozaj-osojs-1994}} for text in the 1994 standard orthography.
*{{code|sl-rozaj-solba}} for the subdialect of {{lang|it|Stolvizza}}/{{lang|sl-rozaj|Solbica}}.
**{{code|sl-rozaj-solba-1994}} for text in the 1994 standard orthography.

== See also ==
* [[Friuli]]
* [[Venetian Slovenia]]
* [[Slovene Lands]]
* [[Slovene language]]
* [[Littoral dialect group]]
* [[Resia, Friuli|Resia]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

== Bibliography ==

* {{Cite book |last=Logar |first=Tine |title=Dialektološke in jezikovnozgodovinske razprave |publisher=Znanstvenoraziskovalni center [[SAZU]], Inštitut za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša |year=1996 |isbn=961-6182-18-8 |editor-last=Kenda-Jež |editor-first=Karmen |location=[[Ljubljana]] |language=Sl |trans-title=Dialectological and etymological discussions |author-link=Tine Logar}}
* {{Cite book |last=Steenwijk |first=Han |title=The Slovene dialect of Resia: San Giorno |publisher=Rodopi |year=1992a |isbn=90-5183-366-0 |editor-last=Barentsen |editor-first=A. A. |volume=18 |location=Amsterdam - Atlanta |language=en |editor-last2=Groen |editor-first2=B. M. |editor-last3=Sprenger |editor-first3=R.}}
* {{Cite book |last=Steenwijk |first=Han |title=Ortografia resiana = Tö jošt rozajanskë pïsanjë |publisher=CLEUP |year=1994 |location=Padua |language=it, sl-rozaj}}
* {{Cite book |last=Steenwijk |first=Han |title=Grammatica pratica resiana: il sostantivo |publisher=CLEUP |year=1999 |isbn=88-7178-646-7 |location=Padua |language=it, sl}}
* {{Cite book |last=Šekli |first=Matej |title=Tipologija lingvogenez slovanskih jezikov |work=Collection Linguistica et philologica |publisher=Znanstvenoraziskovalni center [[SAZU]] |year=2018 |isbn=978-961-05-0137-4 |editor-last=Legan Ravnikar |editor-first=Andreja |location=[[Ljubljana]] |language=Sl |translator-last=Plotnikova |translator-first=Anastasija}}
* {{Cite book |last=Vidau |first=Zaira |url=https://www.consiglio.regione.fvg.it/cms/export/sites/consiglio/home/.allegati/Terza-conferenza-lingua-slovena-2021/Porocila-SLORI_VSA.pdf |title=Tretja deželna konferenca o varstvu slovenske jezikovne manjšine |date=12–19 November 2021 |publisher=[[Slovene research institute]] |editor-last=Jagodic |editor-first=Devan |location=Trieste/Trst |pages=60–61 |language=sl |translator-last=Castegnaro |translator-first=Laura |trans-title=Third provincial conference about preservation of Slovene language minority |chapter=Ocena stanja izvajanja določil iz 10. člena Zaščitnega zakona št. 38/2001 o krajevnih imenih in javnih napisih |trans-chapter=Evaluation of the state of execution of provision from 10th article of Preservation law number 38/2001 about settlement names and public inscriptions |access-date=21 August 2022 |translator-last2=Clerici |translator-first2=Martina |translator-last3=Umer Kljun |translator-first3=Jerneja }}
{{commons category|Resian dialect}}

==External links==
* [http://147.162.119.1:8081/resianica/docs/home.jsp Resianic homepage] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060506155425/http://147.162.119.1:8081/resianica/docs/home.jsp |date=2006-05-06 }}, containing texts in Italian, German, Slovenian, and English, as well as a Resian-Slovenian dictionary

{{Languages of Italy}}
{{Slavic languages}}

[[Category:Slovene language]]
[[Category:Languages of Friuli-Venezia Giulia]]