Il saurano

Abstract

The present contribution aims at depicting a sketch of Saurian, a Germanic variety spoken in Sauris/Zahre, in the Carnic Alps in Friuli Venezia Giulia. Firstly, the article will discuss the history of the settlement and the origin of the colonizers based on linguistic evidence. Secondly, the main focus will be the community’s multilingual repertoire and the laws and regulations which protect minority codes. Successively, the analysis will aim at outlining the linguistic characteristics of Saurian. In doing so, the attention will be on the synchronic description of the variety as it is attested today, with the addition of some diachronic considerations. The linguistic contact between Saurian and the liminal Romance varieties is a pivotal topic so long as it allows us to observe the multiple examples of interference in the linguistic system of the Saurian language, on all levels of linguistic analysis. Finally, the article will focus on the numerous initiatives for the maintenance and the revitalization of the Saurian language.