EasyCroatian_r47.an

Easy Croaan (rev. 47b) / 78 Dijete vs. Dite 442 / 600
I dok čekan, teku ure N And while I'm waiting, hours 'flow'
Ko N zna ča A i komu DL broje Who knows what and whom they count
This seems obscure, but 'flowing of hours' is a bell on a clock-tower, 'counting'. The
word ura is a bit archaic version of sat.
However, the word ča what is specific for a group of dialects that are named after it
(called Čakavian or Chakavian in English). They have a number of interesting
features, which are almost completely absent in this song. These dialects were much
used in Croatian Renaissance literature. (You maybe recall that ča is an extremely
archaic form of što, from 28 Asking Who and What).
You can listen to it on YouTube – check the performance by Tamara Obrovac,
generally considered outstanding.
A venerated tradition in Dalmatia is klapa – groups singing a capella. They are mostly
men, but they are women groups too.
This song, A vitar puše (the form vitar is obviously Ikavian), contains some
interesting features:
Su pjatom I juve G With a plate of soup
Kad projdu dani N When days pass
projti
I stvari luše N And fancy things
f
Ova nas A jubav N This love
1pl | f
Jača i rani Strengthens and feeds us
A vitar N puše! And the wind is blowing!
(Jakša Fiamengo)
You can see here loss of h, e.g. rani instead of hrani.
There's another interesting form: projdu instead of prođu. This is an older form
which is retained in many dialects – in many places – but is today absent from
Dalmatia, except maybe on the islands. In that verse, verb is placed before the
subject, which continues into the next verse, so these verses mean when days and
fancy things pass i.e. when we get old and poor.
This is actually a pop song, performed by Oliver Dragojević, but check the version by
women from Klapa Neverin on YouTube.
All songs above were modern, late 20th century works, both lyrics and melody. The
next song, Ju te san se zajubija I fell in love with you is a traditional song:
Ju te A san se With you I've
2
zajubija fallen in love
Druge G ne bi Another one I wouldn't
poželija wish
Cesarica N da bi bila Even if she were an empress
There's an interesting (and archaic) feature: the verb poželiti perf. wish (Ikavian