Tuone Udaina
Last known speaker of Dalmatian (1823–1898)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tuone "Burbur" Udaina (1823 – 10 June 1898; Antonio Udina in Italian) was the last known speaker of Dalmatian, a Romance language that evolved from Latin along the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea.[1][2] He was the main source of knowledge about his parents' dialect, that of the island of Veglia, for the linguist Matteo Bartoli, who recorded it in 1897.
Tuone Udaina | |
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| Born | 1823 |
| Died | 10 June 1898 (aged 74–75) Veglia, Austria-Hungary |
| Other name | Antonio Udina |
| Known for | Being the last person to have any active knowledge of the Dalmatian language |
Udaina bore the nickname Burbur, the etymology of which is uncertain. Bartoli tentatively associated it with burbero, an Italian word for a surly, gruff, or ill-tempered person.[3] Other interpretations include "barbarian"[4] and "barber".[5] He worked as a marine postman and as a sexton.[6]
When Udaina was 74, he was killed in an explosion during road construction on June 10, 1898. Since then, the Dalmatian language is generally assumed to have become extinct as no other speakers of the language were found or known to have lived.[7][8]
