Lombard/Articles

In Lombard there are definite, indefinite and partitive articles. The definite article indicates a subject already clear and named in the speech, while the indefinite one indicates a new and undefined subject. Thepartitive article is simply the plural of the indefinite and indicates an indefinite number of subjects while in the singular it is used for uncountable nouns. For example in the sentence "l'è vegnuda denter ona mosca, la mosca l'e andada in sul cavagn con dent del pan" you will find all the terms of the article.

There is no univocal form for all the Lombard variants, neither for the definite articles, nor for the indefinite ones.

Note on pronunciation

 * El is used in Milan and parts of western Lombardy (eastern and southern Brianza, Lodi, Pavia, Lecco, Lake Como, Valchiavenna, Sondrio), eastern Lombardy (Brescia, Crema, Cremona), in the Novara area and in lower Ossola and in the Canton of Ticino (Bellinzona, Locarno, Valmaggia). Depending on the area, the pronunciation can vary in these ways:
 * [ɛl] in Milan, Lodi, Brescia, Lecco and Lario, Cremona, Sondrio.
 * [al] in Bellinzona, Locarno, Valmaggia, Vallassina (e.g. Canzo), Crema, southern areas of the province of Brescia and Bergamo (e.g. Treviglio), Novara, southern Ossola, upper Valtellina (e.g. Tirano, Poschiavo), Valchiavenna.
 * [əl] in the Province of Pavia and in the lower Lodi area.
 * [ər] in some scattered places in the Province of Pavia.
 * [ol] is used in Bergamo, Como, Varese, in Verbano and Ossola, and in most of Canton Ticino. Depending on the area, the pronunciation may vary in the following ways:
 * [ul] in Como, Varese, Canton Ticino, Verbania, Domodossola and in some Bergamo valleys.
 * [ol] in Bergamo and in Valtrompia (Province of Brescia), in Valsassina and in some scattered areas of Canton Ticino.
 * [ur] in the area around the town of Varese and in the valley of Blenio (Switzerland).
 * La is generally used throughout the Lombard-speaking area. However, there are some variations of pronunciation:
 * [ra] in Tortona, Vigevano and in the Vogherese area, as well as in the Val di Blenio, in the Lugano area and in other scattered areas of the Canton of Ticino.
 * [lɛ] or [rɛ] in some towns of Ticino.
 * [a] in the Busto Arsizio area and in the village of Indemini, on the Ticino bank of the Verbano.
 * I as a plural feminine definite article is used in the central part of Lombardy, in eastern Piedmont and in almost all of Italian-speaking Switzerland.
 * Le is used in Brescia, Cremona in the Valtellina, in Lodi and in western Trentino. In Valtellina and in the rustic Cremonese dialect it is pronounced [li].

Use of the definite article

 * In the more rustic and archaic Lombard the definite article is not used in front of possessive adjectives (therefore mè pader instead of el mè pader).
 * The definite article is often used in front of some toponyms, whether they are villages, mountains or rivers.
 * Most rivers require the feminine definite article:
 * la Tos, not el Tos
 * la Sesia, not el Sesia
 * la Quisa, not el Quisa
 * The definite article is also used in front of personal nouns (e.g. el Peder, el Carlo, la Ninin, la Giovanna).

Notes on pronunciation

 * Un (feminine una) is used exclusively in the Province of Bergamo (and in some of its vicinity, such as Premana), in Antrona valley (Piedmont) and in Bregaglia valley. Depending on the geographical areas it is pronounced in the following ways:
 * [yn] (f. ['yna]) in Bregaglia valley.
 * [y] (f. ['øna]) in the Bergamo area. Before a vowel it is often pronounced [øn].
 * [in] (f. ['ina]) in Antrona valley.


 * on (feminine ona) is used in western Lombardy, in Canton Ticino and in eastern Piedmont. It is generally pronounced [a] (f. ['a]). However, in the written form of the new Lombard orthography there is often a tendency to standardize the article by writing "un" also in western Lombard.


 * en is used in the Brescia area, in the Province of Cremona and in the upper Valtellina (eg Tirano). It is usually pronounced [ɛn] or [an].