Eastern Lombard grammar

The Eastern Lombard Grammar reflects the main features of Romance languages: the word order of Eastern Lombard is usually SVO, nouns are inflected in number, adjectives agree in number and gender with the nouns, verbs are declined in tense, aspect and mood and agree with the subject in number and person. The case system is present only for the weak form of the pronoun.

Eastern Lombard has always been a spoken language and, in spite of sporadic attempts to fix the main features in a written grammar, a unique canonical variety has never prevailed over the others. The present day situation sees a large number of varieties, roughly identifiable by the area where a particular variety is spoken (so, you may encounter a Bergamasque, Brescian, a Camunic variety, etc.). Varieties differ mainly in phonology, syntax and word choice.
This grammar is based on the Brescian variety and, although local differences (even remarkable) can be found, the basic principles are generally valid for the other varieties.

Nouns

Nouns in Eastern Lombard have two genders (masculine and feminine), and two grammatical numbers (singular or plural). See also Diachronics of plural inflection in the Gallo-Italian languages.
The feminine generally ends in -a:
"gàta (she-cat)"
"fómna (woman)"
but can also end with a consonant:
"néf (snow)"
"Masculine"' names generally end with a consonant:
"gat (cat)"
"òm (man)"
but can also end with a vowel. This usually happens where a historical -n has dropped:
"cà (dog)" (cfr. the Italian 'cane')
"pà (bread)" (cfr. the Italian 'pane')
"carbù (coal)" (cfr. the Italian 'carbone')
The plural of feminine nouns always ends in -e:
" 'na gàta / dò gàte (a she-cat / two she-cats)"
" 'na fómna / dò fómne (a women / two women)"
Except when the singular ends with a consonant, in such cases the plural follows the rules for the masculine.
The plural of masculine nouns is a little more complicated to form and depends on the last sound of the singular.
If the singular ends with a vowel, the plural is identical:
"en cà / du cà (a dog / two dogs)"
If the singular ends with a -c, -j, -m, -p, -r, -s, the plural is identical to the singular:
"en sac / du sac (a sack / two sacks)"
"en ventàj / du ventàj (a fan/ two fans)"
"en póm/ du póm (an apple / two apples)"
"en cóp / du cóp (a tile / two tiles)"
"en pér / du pér (a pear / two pears)"
"en ciós / du ciós (a field / two fields)"
If the singular ends with a -t, the plural ends with a -cc (pronounced - [tʃ] ):
"en gat / du gacc" (pronounced /du gatʃ/) "(a cat / two cats)":
If the singular ends with an -n, the plural ends with a -gn (pronounced - [ɲ] ):
"en àzen / du àzegn" (pronounced /du ˈazɛɲ/) "(a donkey / two donkeys)"
If the singular ends with a -l, the plural ends in a -j:"en caàl / du caàj" (pronounced /du ka'aj/) "(a horse / two horses)"

Article

All the articles in Eastern Lombard agree in number and gender with the corresponding noun.Articles can be definite (like "the" in English) and indefinite (like "a/an"). Indefinite articles are used only with singular nouns, however to indicate an indefinite number of objects, Lombard exploits something similar to the partitive in French), but because the partitive system is much less developed in Lombard, this class of articles is included in the indefinite system.

Definite Article

# An alternative form is "chès·cc", pronounced IPA| ['kɛstʃə] , but the schwa is very reduced and hardly pronounced.
Both the proximal and the distal form are frequently emphasized with "chè" and "là" after the noun. So for example:

"chèsto pà" or "chèsto pà chè" or "chèl pà chè"(this bread);

"chèl pà" or "chèl pà là" (that bread).

Pronouns

Pronouns are classified in personal pronouns (referring to entities), demonstrative pronouns (deitic function), interrogative pronouns (to formulate questions and relative pronouns (linking sentence together).

Personal Pronouns

Personal pronouns decline in number (singular and plural) and person (first, second and third). For the third person, gender (masculine and feminine) represents a further distinction.

: 2. Not used in urban Brescian but quite common in other varieties:
:: " en va a Bèrghem" (we go to Bergamo)
:: "dài che mal ciàpa" (hurry up, we can catch it)
: 3. The tonic form of the 3rd persons (either singular or plural) have two additional forms to add a proximal or distal value to the pronoun, when this refers to an animate subject:
:: " lüche 'l màja compàgn de 'n luf" (This man eats like a wolf)
:: "i è stàde lùrela " (It was those (girls/women) )
: The following table shows the eight possible forms:

: 4. The situation for the object proclitic pronoun for the third persons (both singular and plural) is further complicated by the fact that there is a different behavior whether the following verb is a simple or a compound form. For example:
:: "mé le càte sö" (I pick them up)
:: "mé ió catàde sö" (I have picked them up)
:: "lur i la càta sö" (they pick it up)
:: "lur i l'à catàt sö" (they have picked it up)

"Examples of use of the pronouns:"

* Tonic form can be used as subject at the beginning of the sentence or as indirect object after a preposition.: " mé nó a Milà" (I go to Milan)
: "ègne con té " (I come with you)

* A peculiar feature of Eastern Lombard is the proclitic form for the subject. This form precedes the main verb and is obligatory for the second singular person and the third person (singular and plural).

: "Té ta sét dré a majà 'l ris" (you are eating rice)

* The proclitic form for the direct object precedes the verb, as in:

: "mé ta ède" (I see you)
: "mé".tonic.subject "ta".clitic.object "ède".1st.sing

* The dative proclitic form precedes the verb, as in:

: "chèsta tùrta, la ma pjas pròpe" (this cake, I really like it). Literally:
: "chèsta".fem.sing "tùrta", "la".subject.clitic "ma".dative.clitic "pjas".present.3rd.sing "pròpe"

* The object enclitic is used mainly for pronominal forms of infinitive and imperative:

: "i völ copàm " (they want to kill me.)
: "scrìel zó!" (write it down!)

* When both an enclitic dative and an enclitic object are present, the enclitic dative comes before and an "-e-" is introduced between the two enclitic pronouns:

: "el pöl dàfel adès" (he can give it to you now)
: "scrìemej zó!" (write them down [to me, for me] !)

Demonstrative Pronouns

Demonstrative pronouns are identical in form with the demonstrative adjectives (see corresponding table). Of course, they occur without a noun and they agree in number and gender with the referent.
Demonstrative pronouns are almost always used with the deictic particle "ché" or "là". However, while with demonstrative adjectives "chèl" can be used in combination with "ché", demonstrative pronouns do not accept the expression *"chèl ché". So:

"chèsto s·cèt ché" (this boy) -> "chèsto ché" (this one)
"chèl s·cèt là" (that boy) -> "chèl là" (that one)
"chèl s·cèt ché" (this boy) -> no corresponding expression (*"chèl ché" is not an acceptable form).
In pronoun resolution (finding the referent of a pronoun), strong preference is given to animate entities rather to inanimate entities.

Verbs

Non finite Mood

Infinitive

According to the infinitive form, verbs are classified in two classes:
The first class includes the verbs ending in -à:
"Parlà" (to speak)
"Cantà" (to sing)
"Nà" (to go)
The second class includes the verbs with the infinitive ending in "-ì" or "-er". Note that almost all the verbs of this second class can present two infinitive forms, one ending in "-ì" and the other ending in "-er". For example:
"Lizì = Lèzer" (to read)
"Scriì = Scrìer" (to write)
"Patì = Patéser" (to suffer)
The form in -ì is mandatory when an enclitic pronoun is added:
"Gó de lizìl" (I have to read it)
while the form in -er is generally preferred when the infinitive has no enclitic pronouns attached:
"Gó de lèzer" (I have to read)
Camunic and Bergamasque varieties show instead the only form in -í superseding the more conservative form -er.

Past Participle

Past participle is used in the compound tenses present perfect and past perfect.The regular past participle is made adding an "-t" (or "-da" for feminine in adjective construction and tenses that require gender agreement) after the infinitive form. Verbs of the second class use the form ending in "-ì". For example:

"Parlà" + "t" => "Parlàt"
"Cantà" + "t" => "Cantàt"
"Scriì" + "t" => "Scriìt"
"Patì" + "t" => "Patìt"

Indicative Mood

Present Tenses

There are two present tenses in Eastern Lombard:
A simple present and a present progressive:

imple Present

The Simple Present, is conjugated as follows:
First class (infinitive in -à: "cantà" (to sing) )
I sing.: "cànte"
II sing.: "càntet"
III sing.: "cànta"
I plur.: "cantóm"
II plur.: "cantìf"
III plur.: "cànta"
Second class (infinitive in -ì/-er: "córer" (to run) )
I sing.: "córe"
II sing.: "córet"
III sing.: "cór"
I plur.: "coróm"
II plur.: "curìf"
III plur.: "cór"
The paradigms above are presented without the corresponding pronouns. Actually, II person singular and III personal singular and plural cannot be separated by their clitic pronoun.
The following paradigm is presented with either the personal pronoun and the clitic pronoun:
"mé cànte"
"té ta càntet"
"lü el cànta" (III person singular masculine)
"lé la cànta" (III person singular feminine)
"nóter cantóm"
"vóter cantìf"
"lur i cànta" (III person plural masculine)
"lùre le cànta" (III person plural feminine)
The first person plural can also be conjugated with the clitic pronoun "en" + III sing.
"nóter cantóm = nóter en cànta"
This form can be prevalent or even exclusive in certain varieties (for example in Bergamasque).
Another local way to conjugate the I person plural is
"nóter càntem"
where the clitic pronoun seems to have shifted and merged with the declension.

Interrogative form of the verb

A feature which Lombard tongue shares (among Romance languages) with French is the interrogative conjugation of the verb. This form is much better preserved in Eastern Lombard than in Western Lombard, where superstratum effects by Italian are stronger. The analogy with French tongue holds at a syntactical level, i.e. "interrogative form" means a Verb-Subject order. A difference consists in the fact that subject particles are enclitic (no accent) and agglutinate with the verb. Internal Sandhi phenomena may take place as well "canta-la?" turns into "càntela?". So, eastern Lombard verbs have a distinct conjugation paradigm for the interrogative function, where clitic pronouns shift after the verb and solder with it:
First class
I sing.: "càntej?" that corresponds to "(do I) sing?"
II sing.: "càntet?" that corresponds to "(do you) sing?"
III sing.masc.: "càntel?" that corresponds to "(does he) sing?"
III sing.fem.: "càntela?" that corresponds to "(does she) sing?"
I plur.: "cantómej" that corresponds to "(do we) sing?"
II plur.: "cantìf" that corresponds to "(do you) sing?"
III plur.masc.: "càntej?" that corresponds to "(do they) sing?"
III plur.fem.: "càntele?" that corresponds to "(do they) sing?"

It is worthwhile noting that some Camunic dialects show a periphrastic interrogative form, with syntax identical to English tongue:
*"Che fal dí?"= What does he/she say?
*"Che fal fá?"= What does he/she do?
*"Che fal pensá che?"= What does he/she think?Note that usual interrogative form is applied to the auxiliary verb "fá" in this context.(see D.Lino Ertani: dizionario del dialetto Camuno e toponomastica M.Quetti-Artogne 1985 (Italian)).

Negative form of the verb

The negative form is obtained by adding the negation particle "mìa" after the verb:
I sing.: "cànte mìa" that corresponds to "(I) don't sing"
II sing.: "càntet mìa"
III sing.: "cànta mìa"
I plur.: "cantóm mìa"
II plur.: "cantìf mìa"
III plur.: "cànta mìa"

Present Progressive

The Present progressive, that is formed with the simple present of the verb "véser" (to be) + "dré a" + infinitive:
First class (infinitive in -à: "cantà" (to sing) )
I sing.: "só dré a cantà"
II sing.: "sét dré a cantà"
III sing.: "(l')è dré a cantà"
I plur.: "sóm dré a cantà"
II plur.: "sìf dré a cantà"
III plur.: "(i)è dré a cantà"
Second class (infinitive in -ì/-er: "córer" (to run) )
I sing.: "só dré a córer"
II sing.: "sét dré a córer"
III sing.: "(l')è dré a córer"
I plur.: "sóm dré a córer"
II plur.: "sìf dré a córer"
III plur.: "(i)è dré a córer"

Past Tenses

There are four past tenses. A simple past (imperfect) and three compound pasts (past progressive, present perfect and past perfect):

Imperfect

The Imperfect tense, which refers to any repeated, continuous, or habitual past action, is conjugated as follows:
First class (infinitive in -à: "cantà" (to sing) )
I sing.: "cantàe"
II sing.: "cantàet"
III sing.: "cantàa"
I plur.: "cantàem"
II plur.: "cantàef"
III plur.: "cantàa"
Second class (infinitive in -ì/-er: "córer" (to run) )
I sing.: "curìe"
II sing.: "curìet"
III sing.: "curìa"
I plur.: "curìem"
II plur.: "curìef"
III plur.: "curìa"

Past Progressive

The Past Progressive stresses the fact that the action was continuous in the past. This tense is formed with the imperfect of the verb "véser" (to be) + "dré a" + the infinitive:
I sing.: "sére dré a cantà"
II sing.: "séret dré a cantà"
III sing.: "(l')éra dré a cantà"
I plur.: "sérem dré a cantà"
II plur.: "séref dré a cantà"
III plur.: "(i)éra dré a cantà"

Present Perfect

The Present Perfect is used for every past action without strong connotation on the aspect of the verb, otherwise speakers prefer Imperfect or Past Progressive tenses. Notably, Lombard does not have any Preterit tense.
The Present Perfect is formed with the present of the verb "ìga" (to have) + the past participle or with the present of the verb "véser" + the past participle:
Example from "cantà"(to sing), with auxiliary verb "ìga":
I sing.: "gó cantàt"
II sing.: "ghét cantàt"
III sing.: "ga cantàt"
I plur.: "góm cantàt"
II plur.: "ghif cantàt"
III plur.: "ga cantàt"
Example from "sta" (to stay), with auxiliary verb "véser":

I sing.: "só stat"
II sing.: "sét stat"
III sing.: "(l')è stat"
I plur.: "sóm stacc"
II plur.: "sìf stacc"
III plur.: "(i)è stacc"

Past Perfect

The Past Perfect expresses that the action was completed in the past before some other event.
This tense is formed with the Imperfect of the verb "ìga" (to have) + the past participle or with the Imperfect of the verb "véser" + the past participle (similarly to the Present Perfect):
I sing.: "ghìe cantàt"
II sing.: "ghìet cantàt"
III sing.: "ghìa cantàt"
I plur.: "ghìem cantàt"
II plur.: "ghìef cantàt"
III plur.: "ghìa cantàt"

I sing.: "sére stat"
II sing.: "séret stat"
III sing.: "(l')éra stat"
I plur.: "sérem stacc"
II plur.: "séref stacc"
III plur.: "(i)éra stacc"

Future Tenses

There are three future tenses. A simple future and two compound futures (future progressive and future perfect):

imple Future

The Simple Future, is conjugated as follows:
First class (infinitive in -à: "cantà" (to sing) )
I sing.: "cantaró"
II sing.: "cantarét"
III sing.: "cantarà"
I plur.: "cantaróm"
II plur.: "cantarìf"
III plur.: "cantarà"
Second class (infinitive in -ì/-er: "córer" (to run) )
I sing.: "coraró"
II sing.: "corarét"
III sing.: "corarà"
I plur.: "coraróm"
II plur.: "corarìf"
III plur.: "corarà"

Future Progressive

The Future Progressive is formed with the simple future of the verb "véser" (to be) + "dré a" + the infinitive:
I sing.: "saró dré a cantà"
II sing.: "sarét dré a cantà"
III sing.: "sarà dré a cantà"
I plur.: "saróm dré a cantà"
II plur.: "sarìf dré a cantà"
III plur.: "sarà dré a cantà"

Future Perfect

The Future Perfect is formed with the simple future of the auxiliary verb "ìga" (to have) + the past participle or with the simple future of "vèser" + the past participle (similarly to the Present Perfect):
I sing.: "garó cantàt"
II sing.: "garét cantàt"
III sing.: "garà cantàt"
I plur.: "garóm cantàt"
II plur.: "garif cantàt"
III plur.: "garà cantàt"
I sing.: "saró stat"
II sing.: "sarét stat"
III sing.: "sarà stat"
I plur.: "saróm stacc"
II plur.: "sarìf stacc"
III plur.: "sarà stacc"

Subjunctive and Conditional moods

Subjunctive and conditional moods are used to form the hypothetical sentences and to express desire.
The paradigms for a regular verb (cantà = to sing) are the following:
personsubjunctive presentsubjunctive pastconditionalI sing.
II sing.
III sing.
I plur.
II plur.
III plur."càntes"
"càntes"
"cànte"
"cantómes"
"cantìghes"
"cànte""cantèse"
"cantèset"
"cantès"
"cantèsem"
"cantèsef"
"cantès""cantarèse"
"cantarèset"
"cantarès"
"cantarèsem"
"cantarèsef"
"cantarès"

Imperative mood

Imperative mood has only one tense (present) and three persons (II singular, I and II plural).
The paradigm is the following:
personI class verbs
(ending in -à)II class verbs
(ending in -ì / -er)II sing.
I plur.
II plur."cànta"
"cantóm"
"cantì""scrìf"
"scrióm"
"scriì"
Imperative can also bring an enclitic pronoun to specify the object of the action or toward who it is directed. In this case the conjugation for the II singular person can be slightly different. So we have:
"cànta!" (you sing!)
but
"càntela!" (sing it!)
where "-la" is the enclitic pronoun indicating the object (in this example: III person singular feminine).
"càntega!" (sing to them)
where "-ga" indicates toward who is directed the action (in this example: III person plural).
and for the II class verbs:
"scrìf!" (you write!)
but
"scrìel!" (write it!)
"scrìem!" (write to me!)

Phrasal verbs

Eastern Lombard makes a large use of phrasal verbs, i.e. a combination of a verb and an adverb of place. The meaning of the resulting form often significantly differs from the basic verb meaning. Here are some examples:
"catà" (to pick up)
"catà fò" (to choose)
"catà sö" (to pick up, to drive over someone/something in a vehicle)
"catà sa" (to retrieve, to refer to unconcerning matters)
"catà zó" (to pick from a tree)
"tö" (to buy, to take)
"tö dré" (to bring with oneself)
"tö sö" (to take up)
"tö dét" (to engage, to give an employment)
"tö fò" (to ask for rest days)
"tö zó" (to assume drugs or medical treatments)
"leà" (to lift)
"leà fò" (to breed)
"leà sö" (to stand up)
Note that the adverbial particle always comes immediately after the group "verb + enclitic pronouns", e.g.:
"te ghét de laàl zó" (you have to wash it down)
"càtemej sö, per pjazér" (pick them up [for me] , please)

Auxiliary verbs

Eastern Lombard has two auxiliary verbs: "véser" (to be) and "ìga" (to have) and are used in the same way as in Italian.

The verb Véser (to be)

Besides being used as copula or to express existence (like "to be"), Véser is also an auxiliary verb, contrary to the use of the English Present Perfect.
The forms in the present tense are irregular:

I sing.: "só"
II sing.: "sét"
III sing.: "(l')è"
I plur.: "sóm"
II plur.: "sìf"
III plur.: "(i)è"

The verb Ìga (to have)

The peculiarity of the verb "ìga" in Eastern Lombard is that it is always bound to a pronominal particle. The infinitive form, for example, is "ìga", where the particle "-ga" is a 1st person plural pronoun (comparable with the pronoun "ci" of the Italian).
When a different pronoun is needed, the particle "-ga" is replaced with the proper pronoun, for example:
"L'è bèl a ìga i sólcc" (It is good to have money)
but
"La dis de ìl vést" (She says to have seen it)

The same occurs in the conjugated forms, with the exception that the pronominal particle comes before the verb instead of after. For example:
"Gó du gacc" (I have two cats)
but
"L'ó ést" (I have seen it)
The complete conjugation for the indicative present is:

I sing.: "gó"
II sing.: "ghét"
III sing.: "ga"
I plur.: "góm"
II plur.: "ghìf"
III plur.: "ga"
Certain varieties (mostly Bergamasque) drop the pronominal particle when conjugated as auxiliary verb, thus, in that case, the correct expressions are:
"Gó öna moér e du s·cècc" (I have a wife and two sons)
but
"Ó biìt tròp" (I have drunk too much)

Convergence of the imperfect

Curiously enough, the imperfect conjugation of the auxiliary verbs seems to confuse and interchange the inflections.
Etymologically the two auxiliary verbs should be conjugated as follows:
véser:
I sing.: "sére"
II sing.: "séret"
III sing.: "(l')éra"
I plur.: "sérem"
II plur.: "séref"
III plur.: "(i) éra"
ìga:
I sing.: "ghìe"
II sing.: "ghìet"
III sing.: "ghìa"
I plur.: "ghìem"
II plur.: "ghìef"
III plur.: "ghìa"
But, beside these forms, the followings can often be found:
véser:
I sing.: "sìe"
II sing.: "sìet"
III sing.: "(l')ìa"
I plur.: "sìem"
II plur.: "sìef"
III plur.: "(i) ìa"
ìga:
I sing.: "ghére"
II sing.: "ghéret"
III sing.: "ghéra"
I plur.: "ghérem"
II plur.: "ghéref"
III plur.: "(i) ghéra"
Therefore, the following sentences can be found with no apparent preference:
"El ghìa fat sö 'na ca."
"El ghéra fat sö 'na ca."
Both meaning "He had built a house."

Negation

In Eastern Lombard, negation is generally expressed with the form "mìa" (or locally "mìga") after the verb.

"el tò s·cèt el stüdia mìa l'Inglés" (Your son is not studying English).

In the case of a compound tense, the negation occurs after the auxiliary.

"só mìa nàt a scöla" (I did not go to school).

Differently from Italian where the negative sentence pattern contemplates and requires the use of redundant negative particles, Eastern Lombard doesn't. Thus, when an indefinite pronoun with negative value is already present in the sentence, the particle "mìa" is usually dropped (even though in certain conditions it is tolerated).

"ghéra niènt de fa" (there was nothing to do).
Compare with the Italian:
" non c'era niente da fare."
"mé gó ést nüsü " (I didn't see anybody).
In Italian would be rendered with:
" io non ho visto nessuno ".
"el ga mài lauràt" (he has never worked).
Italian:
" non ha mai lavorato".

The forms:
"ghéra mìa niènt de fa" and "mé gó mìa ést nüsü " are tolerated while the form "el ga mìa mài lauràt" is not.
A less common way to express negation is the use of the particle "nó" before the verb or before the proclitic subject pronoun. Actually, this form has almost everywhere been replaced by the use of "mìa". It seems to have crystalized uniquely in few expressions like:

"mé nó crède!" (I don't think so!)

"gne nó 'l va, gne nó 'l vé." (neither it goes, nor comes it).

Bibliography

* Umberto Zanetti, "La grammatica bergamasca" - Bergamo, Sestante, 2004. ISBN 8887445591.
* Mora, Vittorio, "Note di grammatica del dialetto bergamasco" - Bergamo, Edizioni orobiche, 1966.
* "Dizionario italiano-bergamasco", compilato da Carmelo Francia e Emanuele Gambarini, Bergamo: Grafital, 2001.
* "Dizionario bergamasco-italiano", compilato da Carmelo Francia e Emanuele Gambarini, Bergamo: Grafital, 2004.

ee also

* Eastern Lombard
* Plural inflection in Eastern Lombard

External links

* [http://www.brescialeonessa.it/xgiorni/testi/zornade/index.htm Poetry in Eastern Lombard] from 1902 (in Italian)
* [http://www.brescialeonessa.it/dialet/vocabo/index.htm Copy of the original dictionary Bresciano - Italiano] (work in progress, in Italian)
* [http://xoomer.alice.it/kxqjfe/dialetweb/main.htm a Casiratese-Italian vocabulary] , a dictionary for the Bergamasque (Casirate d'Adda) dialect, in Italian.
* A [http://www.intercam.it/tomo/vocab/ind.htm Dictionary] for the Camunic variant of Eastern Lombard.