The Cimbrian Language
Cimbrian is a word that has been used a little bit improperly in the last
few centuries to indicate a language spoken in seven ‘Comuni’ of Vicenza
and in thirteen ‘Comuni’ of Verona. Cimbro is a
language that derives from archaic german, the same that gave the birth to
English, German and Danish. It is a language which connects itself to Old Bavarian and
Old German, a language which has miraculously survived in the Venetian
Hills, protected by the territorial isolation and an age-old economy of
subsistence.
Unfortunately this dialect is slowly dying
out. Nowadays, especially in Rotzo, Mezzaselva and Roana we only find a
few people who still use it currently. Of the Cimbrian Culture not only
the language remains, but also a rich heritage of traditions connected to
the everyday life of the people and their imagination : songs and fables
which describe a legendary world.
The very few written texts which exist, proof of the use of the Cimbrian
language, are preserved in the Museo della Cultura Cimbra in Roana and was
promoted by the 'Istituto di Cultura Cimbra'.
The original names of L'Altopiano towns are:
sleghe = Asiago
ghèl = Gallio
ghènebe = Enego
kunken = Conco
wusche = Foza
lusaaan = Lusiana
robaan = Roana
rotz = Rotzo
Spettabile Reggenza dei Sette Comuni was the
autonomous state of L'Altopiano that lasted for over 500 years and who's
motto was "Sleghe un Lusaan, Ghenebe un Wusche, Ghel, Rotz, Robaan Dise
saint Siben alte Komoin prudere liben", that is "Asiago and Lusiana, Enego
and Foza, Gallio, Rotzo, Roana these are the ancient seven comunes dear
brothers".
What makes Asiago so special is the language. A part of the people
still speak the ancient German dialect
called Cimbri. The prime fathers of Asiago were German farmers
and when they came to this part of Veneto to cultivate the land they
brought their language and culture with them.
The village of
Roana tries to protect and care
for this "Cimbrian" dialect
still today. In Roana there is a museum called "Kulturinstitut
Augustin Prunner", where you can learn more about the
minority-language and its culture.
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