The sound of Romance

[Comte Arnau]

these are famous latin gregorian chants, but sung in sardinian logudorese:

Dies Irae

[YOUTUBE]XrPllDqGW6k[/YOUTUBE]

Maria Carta was amazing.

She also made an awesome version of the Ave Maria in Catalan.

[YOUTUBE]KZibwjqcn3o[/YOUTUBE]

[Foxy]

In Portuguese, not always.

Good appreciation, though. That's because the typical uvular French r is relatively modern, from the 17th century onwards. Old French had a vibrant one, just like the rest of Romance languages.

Old French is indeed far closer in the sound to romance than modern French.

This is in medieval Aquitanian (I dunno if it's old French or Spanish, I know only that I understand it very well, even if it has been written 1000 years ago in a foreign language. That's cool!).

TEXT:

Farai un vers, pos mi sonelh

e'm vauc e m'estauc al solelh.

Domnas i a de mal conselh,

e sai dir cals:

cellas c'amor de cavalier

tornon a mals.



Domna non fai pechat mortau

que ama cavalier leau;

mas s'ama monge o clergau,

non a raizo:

per dreg la deuri'hom cremar

ab un tezo.



En Alvernhe, part Lemozi,

m'en aniei totz sols a tapi:

trobei la moiller d'en Guari

e d'en Bernart;

saluderon mi simplamentz

per saint Launart.



La una'm diz en son latin:

- "O Dieus vos salf, don peleri;

mout mi semblatz de bel aizi,

mon escient;

mas trop vezem anar pel mon

de folla gent" -



Ar auziret qu'ai respondut;

anc no li diz ni bat ni but,

ne fer ni fust no ai mentaugut,

mas sol aitan:

- " Babariol, babariol,

babarian " _



- " Sor " - diz n'Agnes a n' Ermessen

- " Trobat avem que anam queren.

Sor, per amor Deu l'alberguem,

que ben es mutz,

e ja per lui nostre conselh

non er saubutz " -



La una'm pres sotz son mantel,

et mes m'en sa cambra, el fornel.

Sapchatz qu'a mi fo bon e bel

e'l focs fo bos

et eu calfei me volenter

als gros carbos.



A manjar mi deron capos,

e sapchatz agui mais de dos,

e no'i ac cog ni cogastros,

mas sol nos tres,

e'l pans fo blancs e'l vins fo bos

e'l pebr'espes.



- " Sor, s'aquest hom es enginhos,

e laissa lo parlar per nos:

nos aportem nostre gat ros

de mantenent,

que'l fara parlar az estros,

si de re'nz ment " _



Quant aguem begut e manjat,

eu mi despoillei a lor grat.

Detras m'aporteron lo gat

mal e felon;

la una'l tira del costat

tro al tallon.



Per la coa de mantenen

tira'l gat ez el escoissen:

plajas mi feron mais de cen

aquella ves;

mas eu no'm mogra ges enguers

qui m'aucizes.



- " Sor " - diz n'Agnes a n?ermessen

- " Mutz es, que ben es connoissen.

Sor, del banh nos apaireillem

e del sojorn " -

Ueit jorns ez ancar mais estei

az aquel torn.



Tant las fotei com auziretz:

cent et quatrevinz et ueit vetz,

que a pauc no'i rompei mos corretz

e mos arnes;

e no'us puesc dir los malavegz

tan gran m'en pres.


[YOUTUBE]D41Ak0jkUYc[/YOUTUBE]

[Foxy]

^^^

Italian translation:

Il conte: COMPORRÒ UN CANTO POICHÉ SONNECCHIO E ME NE VADO GIRANDO SOTTO IL SOLE. CI SONO DONNE MALVAGE, ED IO SO DIRVI QUALI: QUELLE CHE L'AMOR D'UN CAVALIERE PORTANO AL PEGGIO. UNA DONNA NON FA PECCATO MORTALE SE AMA UN CAVALIERE LEALE, MA SE AMA UN MONACO O UN PRETE È FUORI DI SENNO: ANDREBBE BRUCIATA, MESSA SUL ROGO. UN GIORNO IN ALVERNIA, PASSATO IL LIMOSINO, ME NE ANDAVO TUTTO SOLO IN INCOGNITO. INCONTRAI LE MOGLI DI MESSER GUARI E DI MESSER BERNART CHE MI SALUTARONO DISCRETAMENTE PER SAN LEONARDO.

Agnese: CHE DIO VI SALVI MESSER PELLEGRINO! VOI MI SEMBRATE DI RAZZA NOBILE, MA, VEDETE, NOI VEDIAM GIRARE TANTA GENTE INSENSATA!

il conte: STATE A SENTIRE COME LE RISPOSI: FINSI D'ESSER MUTO, NON DISSI NE BI NE BA, MA SOLAMENTE: BA-BA-RI-OL, BA-BA-RI-OL, BA-BA-RI-AN.

Ermesenda: SORELLA ABBIAMO TROVATO QUELLO CHE CERCAVAMO! ACCOGLIAMOLO PER L'AMORE DI DIO NELLA NOSTRA CASA, PERCHÉ QUEST'UOMO È MUTO E CERTO PER MEZZO SUO I NOSTRI AFFARI NON VERRANNO CONOSCIUTI.

il conte: ALLORA UNA MI MISE SOTTO IL SUO MANTELLO E MI PORTÒ NELLA SUA STANZA AL CALDO. STATE SICURI CHE QUESTO MI PIACQUE, CHÈ IL FUOCO ERA BUONO E FORTE ED IO MI RISCALDAI VOLENTIERI VICINO AI GROSSI CEPPI. DA MANGIARE MI DETTERO CAPPONI E, BEN SAPPIATE, NE EBBI PIÙ DI DUE. NON C'ERA CUOCO NE GARZONE MA SOLTANTO NOI TRE; E IL PANE ERA BIANCO, IL VINO ERA BUONO E TUTTO ABBONDAVA DI PEPE.

Ermesenda: SORELLA, E SE QUEST'UOMO È FURBO E FINGE SOLAMENTE DI NON SAPER PARLARE?

Agnese: ALLORA FACCIAMO VENIRE IL NOSTRO BEL GATTONE CHE LO FARÀ SUBITO PARLARE SE IN QUALCHE MODO MENTE.

il conte: FINITO DI BERE E DI MANGIARE IO MI SPOGLIAI A LORO PIACIMENTO. SUL DORSO MI PIAZZARONO QUEL GATTO MALIGNO E FELLONE E UNA LO TIRÒ LUNGO IL COSTATO FINO AI TALLONI. ALLORA L'ALTRA GLI TIRA LA CODA E QUELLO GIÙ A GRAFFIARE. MI FECERO PIÙ DI CENTO FERITE QUELLA VOLTA, MA NON AVREI PARLATO NEANCHE SE MI AVESSERO AMMAZZATO.

Ermesenda: SORELLA, ORA SIAMO SICURE CHE QUEST'UOMO È VERAMENTE MUTO!

Agnese: PREPARIAMO DUNQUE IL BAGNO E IL NOSTRO DIVERTIMENTO!

il conte: OTTO GIORNI RIMASI IN QUELLA SITUAZIONE! STATE A SENTIRE QUANTO LE HO FOTTUTE: ESATTAMENTE CENTOVENTOTTO VOLTE, TANTO CHE PER POCO NON RUPPI IL MIO ARNESE E IL MIO EQUIPAGGIAMENTO! NON SO DIRVI QUANTI MALANNI ME NE SONO DERIVATI!

Are you understanding that this text, written in Middle Age, speaks about a man that has been raped by two sisters and fucked, he says, 180 times? He says: eight days I remained in that situation, and listen how much I fucked them, so much that I was going to break my club and my equipping! I am not able to tell you the pains that followed.

[Comte Arnau]

This is in medieval Aquitanian (I dunno if it's old French or Spanish, I know only that I understand it very well, even if it has been written 1000 years ago in a foreign language. That's cool!).

French or Spanish? See where Old French and Spanish were spoken 1,000 years ago.



The language is obviously Occitan, the Romance language of love and troubadours in those times. We Catalans -and northern Italians too- used to write poetry in that language because it was very close to ours. Even today it's the language closest to mine, so I understand it quite well.

More precisely, it's Gascon, that is, Occitan on a Basque substrate. You can notice it in final l's becoming u's, like mortau instead of mortal.

[Foxy]

French or Spanish? See where Old French and Spanish were spoken 1,000 years ago.



The language is obviously Occitan, the Romance language of love and troubadours in those times. We Catalans -and northern Italians too- used to write poetry in that language because it was very close to ours. Even today it's the language closest to mine, so I understand it quite well.

More precisely, it's Gascon, that is, Occitan on a Basque substrate. You can notice it in final l's becoming u's, like mortau instead of mortal.

Excuse me Count, don't take it as a trolling, I ask you becouse I know you are expert about languages, but... has Arabic really been spoken in Spain by common people? Becouse in Sicily, for exemple, despite the Arabic domination, normal people continued to speak in Sicilian and in Sicilian is also their medieval licterature.

[Comte Arnau]

Excuse me Count, don't take it as a trolling, I ask you becouse I know you are expert about languages, but... has Arabic really been spoken in Spain by common people? Becouse in Sicily, for exemple, despite the Arabic domination, normal people continued to speak in Sicilian and in Sicilian is also their medieval licterature.

Common people mainly spoke Mozarabic, which in spite of the name, was a Romance language (some call it Romandalusi or Andalusi Latin). Educated people in the green area spoke Arabic too, yes, so many people in important cities were bilingual.

The language became extinct when northern languages (Portuguese, Spanish, Catalan) expanded southwards.

[Comte Arnau]

The kharjas are short lines in the Mozarabic Romance language that were written at the end of Arabic poems with the Arabic alphabet. You can see how they're clearly Latin, even if they used some Arabic word here and there.

¡Tanto amare, tanto amare,

habib, tant amare!

Enfermeron olios nidios,

e dolen tan male.

So much loving, so much loving, habib (beloved), so much loving
that my shining eyes got sick and now they hurt so much.

Vayse meu corachón de mib.

Ya Rab, ¿si me tornarád?

¡Tan mal meu doler li-l-habib!

Enfermo yed, ¿cuánd sanarád?

My heart is leaving me. Oh, Rab (Lord), will it come back to me?
It is so strong my pain for the habibi (beloved)! It is sick, when will it be cured?

[Ibericus]

Mozarabic was indeed a romance language, not arabic

[Comte Arnau]

In fact, if there hadn't been a Reconquista, it would probably be the most spoken language nowadays in Iberia. Although it would have split into several languages, probably into western (Toledan, Sevilian...) and eastern (Zaragozan, Valencian/Carthaginian...)

[Ouistreham]

A question for the Italians:

I can more or less understand most Italian dialects, or at least identify enough significant words in a clause to get the sense (Napolitan and Venetian are relatively easy).

But here we have something absolutely outlandish, Fabrizio De André's Genoese dialect. I can't get a single word of it! (except for 'lasagna' and another one).

How much are mainstream Italian speakers able to grasp THAT?
How come this language is so radically different from anything known on the Western Mediterranean shores?

(the vocal starts short before 1:00)

[youtube]Mq1wJcQlDZY[/youtube]

Other than that, the late Fabrizio De André was really a genious, with fanstastic sidemen. It's pity he has remained virtually unknown outside of Italy, unlike Battisti or Paolo Conte.