Friulian Language - Challenges of Standardisation

Challenges of Standardisation

A challenge that Friulan shares with other minorities is to create a standard language and a unique writing system. The regional law 15/1996 approved a standard orthography, which represents the basis of a common variant and should be used in toponyms, official acts, written documents. These standard is based on Central Friulan, which was traditionally the language used in literature already in 1700 and afterwards (the biggest examples are probably Pieri Çorut's works), but with some changes:

• the diphthong ie replaces ia, e.g. fier (iron) instead of fiar or tiere (soil, Earth) instead of tiare.
• the use of vu instead of u at the beginning of word, e.g. vueli (oil) instead of ueli or vueit (empty) instead of ueit.
• the use of i between vocals, for example ploie (rain) instead of ploe.

Standard Friulan is called in Friulan furlan standard, furlan normalizât, or, using a Greek word coinè.