I Avventur de Alìs ind el Paes di Meravili
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland in Western Lombard

By Lewis Carroll, translated into Western Lombard by GianPietro Gallinelli

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“In quella direzion là,” l’ha dii el Gatt, con la sciampa che faseva segn a dritta, “el gh’ha la cà el Cappellee: e in quell altra direzion,” e el faseva segn a manzina, “la sta de cà ona Legora Marziroeula. La poeu visità chi la voeur: hinn tucc duu matt.”		“In that direction,” the Cat said, waving its right paw around, “lives a Hatter: and in that direction,” waving the other paw, “lives a March Hare. Visit either you like: they’re both mad.”
“Ma mì voeuri minga andà in mezz ai matt,” l’ha dii l’Alìs.		“But I don’t want to go among mad people,” Alice remarked.
“Ah per quell la poeudi minga iuttà,” l’ha responduu el Gatt, “semm tucc matt chicchinscì. Mì son matt. Lee l’è matta.”		“Oh, you ca’n’t help that,” said the Cat: “we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad.”
“Com’el fa a savè che son matta?” l’ha domandaa l’Alìs.		“How do you know I’m mad?” said Alice.
“La gh’ha de vessel,” l’ha dii el Gatt, “o la saria minga vegnuda chì.”		“You must be,” said the Cat, “or you wouldn't have come here.”
Lewis Carroll l’è on pseudònim: Charles Lutwidge Dodgson l’è el nòmm real de l’autor, che l’era on professor universitari de Matematica a la Christ Church a Òxfòrd. El Dodgson l’ha cominciaa la stòria el 4 de luj del 1862, quand l’aveva faa ona escursion in barca a remm in sul fiumm Tamigi a Òxfòrd, insema al Reverend Robinson Duckworth, con l’Alìs Liddell (de des ann de età) la tosa del Decan de la Christ Church, e cont i sò dò sorell, Lorina (de tredes ann de età), e Edith (de vòtt ann de età). Come l’è anca ciar da la poesia al inizzi del liber, i trè tosann gh’hann domandaa al Dodgson de cuntagh sù ona stòria e lù on poo contrari al princippi, l’ha cominciaa a mett giò quella che la sariss diventada la prima version del esempi. In tutt el raccont, ch’el sarà pubblicaa a la fin ind el 1865, gh’hinn di mezz allusion a qui cinch persònn.		Lewis Carroll is a pen-name: Charles Lutwidge Dodgson was the author's real name and he was lecturer in Mathematics in Christ Church, Oxford. Dodgson began the story on 4 July 1862, when he took a journey in a rowing boat on the river Thames in Oxford together with the Reverend Robinson Duckworth, with Alice Liddell (ten years of age) the daughter of the Dean of Christ Church, and with her two sisters, Lorina (thirteen years of age), and Edith (eight years of age). As is clear from the poem at the beginning of the book, the three girls asked Dodgson for a story and reluctantly at first he began to tell the first version of the story to them. There are many half-hidden references made to the five of them throughout the text of the book itself, which was published finally in 1865.
Questa edizion la porta a l’attenzion di lettor del dì d’incoeu la prima traduzion del liber I Avventur de Alìs ind el Paes di Meravili in Lombard Occidental, vun di pussee important dialett de la Penisola Italiàna, sviluppaa dal Latin e che l’è parlaa ind ona area che la corrispond pù o manch a la part occidentala de la Lombardia, a di part del Piemont, el Canton Tessin in Svizzera, e di arei a sud del Fiumm Pò.		This translation brings to the modern reader the first-ever published translation in Western Lombard, one of the main Italic dialects which developed out of Latin and which is spoken in the area covering roughly the region of West Lombardy, parts of Piedmont, the whole of the Swiss Canton Tessin, and areas South of the Po river.
In questa traduzion hoo deciduu de restà el pussee possibil visin a la version originala in Ingles. S’hinn mantegnuu i nòmm ingles sia di personagg del liber che di quei stòrich che apparissen ind el raccont. Compagn de tanti alter traduzion de l’Alìs, vun di impediment pussee gròss incontraa ind el voltà in Lombard Occidental la stòria, l’è staa el cercà, indoe l’era possibil, de mantegnì i bellissim gioeugh de paròll cont i quai el Lewis Carroll l’ha impienuu el liber. In tanti part stì gioeugh hinn staa adattaa per fai sonà mej ai oregg di lettor lombard.		In this translation I decided to keep as close as possible to the English version, retaining the English names of the characters as well as the names of the historical characters appearing in the tale. As with most of the Alice translations, one of the biggest difficulties encountered has been to render into a different language Lewis Carroll’s wonderful word­play. In many cases these puns have been adapted in order to please a Lombard audience.
L’influenza di lengh Celtich de la veggia Gallia Cisalpina al Lombard Occidental la se presenta in manera particolara in de la soa fonologia (ancabèn el se poeuda dì la stessa ròba del Lombard Oriental). El gran numer di vocabol celtich che se troeuven ind el Lombard Occidental el tend a vess compagn a quell di alter dialett Gallo-Italich, che se differenzien in manera fòrta da i lengh parlaa a sud de la linea geografica Massa-Senigallia—ona linea minga domà reconossuda da i linguista come el confin tra i parlaa Gallo-Italic e l’Italiàn stess, ma anca come el confin principal tra i lengh Romanz Occidentai e Orientai.		The influence of the Celtic languages of the former Gallia Cisalpina in the Western Lombard language shows itself mainly in its phonology (though the same can also be said for Eastern Lombard). The large number of Celtic words found in Western Lombard tends to be common to all the Gallo-Italic dialects, which differ strongly from all the other lan­guages spoken south of the geographical Massa-Senigallia line—a line not only recognized by linguists as the border between Gallo-Italic languages and Italic proper, but also as the main border between the Western and Eastern Romance languages.
L’influenza del Celtich la poeu vess riassummida da i caratteristich che vegnen adree:		This Celtic influence can be briefly summarized by the following characteristics:
Mantegniment de la u lombarda che la gh’ha el stess son de la u francesa o de la ü todesca. Per esempi: mur [myr] ‘wall’, dur [dyr] ‘tough’. Mantegniment del son oeu ch’el corrispond al eu frances o al ö todesch. Per esempi: coeur [kœːr] ‘heart’, incoeu [inkœ] ‘today’. Perdita di consonant geminaa in de la lengua parlada, ancaben se sien mantegnuu in de l’ortografia tradizionala. Perdita di vocai (a eccezion de la -a) a la fin di paròll. Per esempi òmm [ɔm] ‘man’; liber [liber] ‘book’. El morisnass di consonant [t], [p], [k] inter-vocalich che diventen [d], [v], and [ɡ]. Per esempi: Italiàn capello, Lombard cavell ‘hair’; Italiàn ruota, Lombard roeuda ‘wheel’; Italiàn manica, Lombard manega ‘sleeve’. La nasalizzazion di vocai che vegnen prima de la lettera n. Per esempi: pan [pã] ‘bread’, vin [vĩ] ‘wine’, bon [bõ] ‘good’. El doperà di pronòmm tipich di lengh Gallo-Italic che je differenzia da i alter lengh Romanz e je visina pussee al Celtich: mì voo ‘I go’; tì te veet ‘you go’; luu el va ‘he goes’. Osservà i similitudin cont el Frances (moi je viens, toi tu vais, lui il voit).		Retention of the Lombard u which has the same sound of the French u or the German ü. Examples: mur [myr] ‘wall’, dur [dyr] ‘tough’. Retention of the sound oeu which corresponds to the French eu or the German ö. Examples: coeur [kœːr] ‘heart’, incoeu [inkœ] ‘today’. The loss of geminate consonants in the spoken language, though in traditional orthography they are graphically maintained. The loss of vowels (other than -a) at the end of words. Ex: òmm [ɔm] ‘man’; liber [liber] ‘book’. The softening of the consonants [t], [p], [k] inter­vocalically to [d], [v], and [ɡ]. Examples: Italian capello, Lombard cavell ‘hair’; Italian ruota, Lombard roeuda ‘wheel’; Italian manica, Lombard manega ‘sleeve’. The nasalization of the vowels preceding n. Examples: pan [pã] ‘bread’, vin [vĩ] ‘wine’, bon [bõ] ‘good’. The typical use of pronouns in the Gallo-Italic lan­guages which differs them also from the other Romance languages and makes them so similar to Celtic: mì voo ‘I go’; tì te veet ‘you go’; luu el va ‘he goes’. See the similarities with the French (moi je viens, toi tu vais, lui il voit).
Cont i invasion barbarich in de la penisola Italiana l’è poeu rivada la popolazion che la gh’aveva de dagh el sò nòmm a la lengua e a la gent de la Val del Pò: i Longobard, o Lombard.		With the barbarian invasions into the Italian peninsula came the population which was to give the name to the present-day language and people of the Valley of Po: the Lombards, or Longo­bards.
Questa popolazion, de razza germanica, l’ha portaa di cambiament a la grammatica del Latin volgar parlaa da la gent de la Lombardia. Questo fatt l’ha differenziaa el Lombard da i alter lengh Romanz e in tanti maner l’ha faa vesinà la soa grammatica a quella di alter lengh Germanich. Grammaticalment a poeudom evidenzià i caratteristich che vegnen adree:		This population, of Germanic stock, brought changes to the grammar of the vulgar Latin spoken by the people of Lombardy. This differentiated it from the other Romance lan­guages and in many ways made its grammar somewhat closer to that of the Germanic languages. Grammatically we can spot these main influences:
La negazion (minga, mia, nò) in di fras la appariss semper dòpo el verb principal e minga prima de quell come ind i alter lengh Romanz: Mett a confront el Lombard mì mangi nò e el Todesch ich esse nicht ‘I don’t eat’ cont el Italiàn io non mangio, el Spagnoeu yo no como; a confront el Lombard tì te see minga vegnuu e el todesch du bist nicht gekommen ‘you have not come’ cont el Italiàn tu non sei venuto, o el Spagnoeu tú no has venido. El doperà di avverbi per completà el significaa d’on verb (compagn de l’Ingles, del Todesch e di alter lengh Germanich). Mett a confront: Lombard mì voo denter e l’Ingles I go in (Italiàn io entro); Lombard mì vegni sù e l’Ingles I come up (Italiàn io salgo); Lombard tì te vee giò e l’Ingles you come down (Italiàn tu scendi). La propension a fà diventà sord i consonant sonòr a la fin di paròll: Lombard oeuv [œːf], Italiàn uovo ‘egg’; Lombard goeubb [ɡœp], Italiàn gobbo ‘hunchbacked’.		Negation (minga, mia, nò) in a sentence appears always after the verb and not before it as in other Romance languages: Compare Lombard mì mangi nò and German ich esse nicht ‘I don’t eat’ with Italian io non mangio, Spanish yo no como; compare Lombard tì te see minga vegnuu and German du bist nicht gekommen ‘you have not come’ with Italian tu non sei venuto, Spanish tú no has venido. The use of adverbs in order to complete the meaning of a verb (as in English, German, and the other Germanic languages). Compare: Lombard mì voo denter and English I go in (Italian io entro); Lombard mì vegni sù and English I come up (Italian io salgo); Lombard tì te vee giò and English you come down (Italian tu scendi). The progressive devoicing of voiced consonants in word-final position: Lombard oeuv [œːf], Italian uovo; Lom­bard goeubb [ɡœp] ‘egg’, Italian gobbo ‘hunchbacked’.
Naturalment la veggia lengua Longobarda l’ha anca lassaa on gròss numer de paròll ind el nòst vocabolari, ma nagòtt paragonabil ai mudament che l’ha portaa a la nòstra grammatica; trasformazion che apparissen nò in alter lengh Romanz ( a part i alter dialett Gallo-Italic) e che fann del Lombard ona lengua ben distinta, in rispett.		Of course the old Longobardic language also left a large number of words in our vocabulary, but nothing comparable to the changes it brought to our grammar: changes which do not appear in other Romance languages (apart from the other Gallo-Italic dialects) and which make Lombard a very distinctive tongue.
A bon cunt, come part de la familia di lengh Romanz, a poeudom tegnì nò present la gròssa importanza ch’el Latin l’ha giugaa ind el svilupp in general del Lombard Occidental. Impunemanch, questa influenza la se poeu individoaa e l’è compagna a tucc i alter lengh Romanz e la porta nò di caratteristich speciai, in riferiment a la soa relazion cont i alter lengh de la stessa familia. La lengua Lombarda la mantegn dessorapù on numer de paròll che hinn ciappaa direttament da la lengua Latina e inscambi s’hinn perduu ind el Italiàn standard. In conclusion el Lombard el se podaria considerà anmò incoeu ‘me l’era consideraa ind el Medio-Evo come la “favella latina in bocca barbara” ‘Parlada Latina in la bocca di barber’.		As it is a Romance language we cannot of course overlook the huge importance Latin played in the development of Western Lombard in general. However, these influences are those which can be spotted and are common to all the other Romance languages and bring not, distinctive features to the language, in terms of its relation towards the other Romance languages. It retains though a number of words which come directly from the Latin language and are for example lost by standard Italian. Western Lombard could still be considered now days as it was in the Middle Age as the “favella latina in bocca barbara” ‘Latin speech in a barbaric mouth’.
GianPietro Gallinelli Viggiù 2015		GianPietro Gallinelli Viggiù 2015