Talian dialect

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Not to be confused with talion law (lex talionis).
Talian
Taliàn
Native to Brazil (co-official language in Serafina Corrêa)
Native speakers
 possibly 1 million  (2006)[1]
(estimate since abandoned)
Latin
Language codes
ISO 639-3 –

Talian is a dialect of the Venetian language spoken primarily in the Serra Gaúcha region in the north-east of the state of Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil. It is also spoken in other parts of Rio Grande do Sul as well as in parts of the neighboring state of Santa Catarina to the north. Talian is sometimes called Vêneto (Brazilian).

Despite the similar names, Talian is not derived from standard Italian (actually called grammatical Italian in Brazil), but is mainly a mix of Venetian dialects influenced by other dialects of Northern Italy as well as local Portuguese.

History

Italian settlers first began arriving into this region in a wave of immigration lasting from approximately 1875 to 1914.[2] These settlers were mainly from Veneto, a region in Northern Italy, where Venetian was spoken, but also from Trentino and Friuli-Venezia Giulia.[2] These immigrants settled as smallholders in the region of Encosta da Serra. There they created three settlements: Conde D'Eu (now, Garibaldi, Rio Grande do Sul), Dona Isabel (now Bento Gonçalves, Rio Grande do Sul), and Campo dos Bugres (now Caxias do Sul).[3] As more people arrived, the Italian settlement expanded beyond these localities.[3] Approximately 100,000 immigrants from Northern Italy arrived between 1875 and 1910. As time went by, a uniquely southern Brazilian dialect emerged. Veneto became the basis for Italian-Brazilian regionalism.

Talian was very much influenced not only by other Italian languages but by Portuguese, the national language of Brazil. However, because its grammar and lexicon remain predominantly Venetian, Talian is not considered a creole language, the preponderance of non-Venetian loanwords notwithstanding. It has been estimated that there have been 130 books published in Talian, including works of both poetry and prose.[4]

Like Riograndenser Hunsrückisch (hunsriqueano riograndense), the main German dialect spoken by southern Brazilians of German origin, Talian has suffered great deprecation since the 1940s. At that time, then-President Getúlio Vargas started a campaign of nationalization (similar to the Nacionalismo of neighboring Argentina) to try to force non-Portuguese speakers of Brazil to "better integrate" into the national mainstream culture. Speaking Talian or German in public, especially in education and press, was forbidden.

Current status

Talian is mainly spoken in the southern Brazilian states of Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina and Paraná. Today, there are approximately 3 million persons of Italian ancestry in Rio Grande do Sul, about 30% of the total population.[3] According to some estimates, there are up to one million speakers of Talian today; Ethnologue reported 4,000,000 speakers in the year 2006.[1] As a result of the traumas of Vargas' policies, there is, even to this day, a stigma attached to speaking these languages. However, in 2009, the state of Rio Grande do Sul approved a law declaring the Talian language to be an integral part of the historical heritage of the state.[3] In 2009, the city of Serafina Corrêa, in the State of Rio Grande do Sul, elected Talian as co-official language, alongside Portuguese.[5][6]

Newspapers in the Talian-speaking region feature articles written in the language. There are approximately 500 radio programs broadcast in Talian.[4]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Venetian reference at Ethnologue (16th ed., 2009)
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Approvato il progetto che dichiara il 'Talian' come patrimonio del Rio Grande del Sud - Brasile". Sitoveneto. Retrieved 9 March 2012. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Losekann, Silvana (June 13, 2009). "Sancionada lei que declara o Talian dialeto integrante do patrimônio do RS". Defender - Defesa Civil do Patrimônio Histórico. Retrieved 9 March 2012. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Alves, Ozias (2013). Paris: L'Harmattan. ISBN 978-2-343-01576-7 http://books.google.com/books?id=sRPrAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA34&dq=veneto+talian&hl=en&sa=X&ei=RfCgUoCDNIeuqQHb1YCgBw&ved=0CDYQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=veneto%20talian&f=false.  Missing or empty |title= (help)
  5. ↑ "Vereadores aprovam o talian como língua co-oficial do município" (in Portuguese). Retrieved 21 August 2011. 
  6. ↑ "Talian em busca de mais reconhecimento" (in Portuguese). Retrieved 24 August 2011. 

External links

Italian language in the world

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