Literary corner
Vlaški and Žejanski is not normally used in writing. However, some speakers felt the need to write down their thoughts in their native language, adapting the spelling of their other language(s) for the purpose. In this section, we feature a selection of their literary writings, poems and translations, presented as audio recordings and in written form (using the spelling system adopted for use on this website). As with other sections of the Community Voices, we'll add more materials as we go, so be sure to visit this page again, as well as send us your contributions.
Adrijana Gabriš
Adrijana Gabriš (b. Stambulić) spent her childhood and youth in her native village of Žejân. She's a true „Žejanka“ (Žejaner), on both her parents' side, and spoke her first words in the Žejanski language. She completed the first four years of elementary school in Žejân, and continued her elementary school education in Matulji. She was only fourteen years old when she started dancing with the Žejanan folklore group, and had represented Žejân with this group all around Croatia. Although she later moved to Kastav, and in spite of being away from her native village due to schooling and family obligations, she has continued to be firmly connected to Žejân in her thoughts and heart, and has returned to it regularly. Once she realized that her mother tongue is slowly dying out, this has become even more true. It provided her with a very strong motive to keep returning to her native village, her people, and her language.
Audio and text Photo album
Silvana Brkarić-Krculić
Silvana was born and raised in the small village of Sukodru/Jesenovik, on the Istrian peninsula, now in Croatia. After studying in Rijeka, she emigrated to the United States and has been a resident of Brooklyn, New York, ever since. Always a lover of the written word, she started writing poetry as a teenager. She continues to write in her free time in her three languages: Vlaški, Croatian and English. Some of her poems have been put to music. The prominent Istrian jazz artist Tamara Obrovac put her poem "Se me ra morta privari" to music and performed it in 2006 at Joe's Pub, the well-known New York jazz venue. You can hear Silvana read "Se me ra morta" and other poems by clicking on the audio links below. Other poems by Silvana can be found here.
Audio and text Photo album
Boris Doričić
Boris (1938-2006) had two passions-music and his native Žejanski language. Since childhood, as an accordeon player, he was a regular participant in the yearly carnival procession of the Žejanan bellringers. He became one of the early driving forces behind the folklore society „Žejanski zvončari" (Žejanan bellringers) and, as one of the musicians, he attended numerous folklore festivals with the group, both in Croatia and abroad. He translated into Žejanski numerous Croatian and foreign popular song lyrics, which were then recorded by Žejanski kântaduri (Žejanan singers). Later on, he also started translating children's fairy tale classics into Žejanski, such as „Little Red Ridinghood," which you can hear by clicking on the audio file link below, „Three little piglets," „Thumbling" and others. His translation of the "Little Red Ridinghood" is read here by his brother Cvetko Rado Doričić
Audio and text Photo album
Robert Doričić
Robert spent his earliest chilhood between his home in Mošćenička Draga and his grandparent's house in the village of Žejân/Žejane, where he learned Žejanski, his second language. His childhood experiences sparked a deep curiosity about and passion for his grandparents' language and the everyday history of the village, for which his grandmother and grandfather have been a continual, rich source of information. After becoming aware of the fragility of this endangered language, he joined the project Preservation of the Vlaški and Žejanski Language and became its active contributor. Click on the audio file link below to hear him read his essay „Juva-j pulju?" (Where's the bird?), which he presented at the The Days of the Vlaški and Žejanski Language in 2009.
Audio and text Photo album
