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Cimbrian

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Language

Cimbrian (Zimbrisch) 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.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.Unfourtunately this dialect is slowly dying out. Nowadays, especially in Rotzo, Mezzaselva and Roana we only find a few people who still use it currently.

There are a few words very similar to German who are still regularly used : rach (moss), rasetle (wren), loch (hole), tanna (White-Deal), tal (valley), grabo (pit).Of Cimbrian origin are also the numerous placenames (Barenthal, Tanzerloch, Odegar), and nicknames which accompany the traditional names of the families of the Altopiano.

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'.

 

 


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08/15/2001

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