Luthic/Time

The measurements

Il dagu (the day)

The day (il dagu) is naturally made up of twenty-four hours (vintafidvor ore), which is separated in eight irregular times of day.

• 06:00–07:30 L’Orronu “the sunrise”
  • The first time the sun is seen in the horizon is called L’alba “the daybreak”
  • The soft glowing light when the sun is still below the horizon is called Atha creposcolo orroni “The twilight of sunrise”
• 07:30–12:00 La maurgna “the morning”
• 12:00–17:00 Il dagu “the day”
  • 12:00–13:00 Il mezzodagu “the noon”
  • 13:00–17:00 Il pommeriggiu “the afternoon”
• 17:00–17:30 Atha sagqo “the sunset”
  • The last time the sun is seen in the horizon is called Il tramontu “the setting (of the sun)”
  • The soft glowing light when the sun is still below the horizon is called Atha creposcolo sagqi “The twilight of sunset”
• 17:30–21:30 La sera “the evening”
• 21:30–00:00 Il nattu “the night”
• 00:00–01:00 Il mezzonattu “the midnight”
• 01:00–06:00 L’Ottva “the dawn”

In general speech, only la maurgna, il dagu and la sera are used for greetings, and il nattu is used as a farewell:

• Buona maurgna!
• Buono dago!
• Buona sera!
• Buono natto!

In high register language, l’orronu and il pommeriggiu are also included:

• Buonorrono! (univerbation)
• Buono pommeriggio!

I cebi (the meals)

Within the Luthic culture, there are four main meal courses. The Luthic meal structure is typical of the European Mediterranean region. However, unlike the Italian meal structure, the breakfast is never skipped, but it can be a bit lighter than the usual. Especially on weekends, the meals are often seen as a time to spend with family and friends, thus, weekend meals tend to be longer than elsewhere. The meals play an important role in time measurement and perception.

Atha prangio (the breakfast)

Atha prangio “the breakfast” is the first meal of a day, often eaten during l’orronu before undertaking the day’s work. The Luths have a sweet focus for breakfast, such as pastries and biscuits, together with black coffee, an espresso, and usually a fresh seasonal fruit. The espresso may be displaced by cappuccino or yogurt. For this occasion, the high register greeting buonorrono is used.

Il mate (the lunch)

Il mate “the lunch” is the second meal of a day, considered the most important, often eaten during il mezzodagu. The full version is composed of four courses:

• Il fromu “the first”, usually a dish based on pasta, risotto, rice, polenta, legumes or soup;
• L’Anþar “the second”, based on meat, fish, dairy products such as cheese or eggs;
• Il þrigiane “the third”, which is a side dish based on salad, raw or cooked vegetables, and always accompanies l’anþar.
• Aena frutta “a fruit” (any seasonal fruit) as the conclusion. Sometimes called la frutta.

It is important to note that il mate is always served with a bread, usually a baghette (baguette).

La merenda (the afternoon tea)

For the Luths, la merenda is a very important meal, as it is served during the mid-end of the pommeriggiu before la cena (the supper). It is usually a light meal identical to the prangio. Due to its cultural importance, the high register greeting buono pommeriggio is used. Sometimes, la merenda is served as an antipasto, a slightly heavier starter before la cena, such as salumi (e.g. salami, mortadella, prosciutto, bresaola, and other charcuterie products).

La cena (the supper)

La cena is the second main meal of the day, usually the last meal. It occurs during the end of la sera and has the same structure as il mate. However, for la cena, there is usually an aperitivu before il fromu, which opens a meal, and it is similar to an appetizer. Most people gather around standing up and have alcoholic/non-alcoholic drinks such as wine, prosecco, spritz or vermouth, together with small amounts of food, such as olives, crisps, nuts, cheese, sauce dips, little quiches or similar snacks. There is also a digestivu after la frutta, it is the drink to conclude the meal. Drinks such as grappa, amaro, limoncello or other fruit/herbal drinks are drunk. Digestivu indicates that the drinks served at this time are meant to ease digestion of a long meal before resting.

La veca (the week)

The week (la veca) has seven days, named after standard Germanic fashion in colloquial speech, but in high register speech, the Roman names are used instead. All the low register forms were ultimately calqued from a West Germanic language, probably Frankish, Old High German or Langobardic:

• Il Sauilodagu “Sunday”
• Il Lunadagu “Monday”
• Il Teivodagu “Tuesday”
• Il Godnodagu “Wednesday”
• Il Donardagu “Thursday”
• Il Freadagu “Friday”
• Il Saturnodagu “Saturday”

The high register forms are ultimately from Latin:

• Atha Domnico “Sunday”
• Il Lunedie “Monday”
• Il Martedie “Tuesday”
• Il Mercoledie “Wednesday”
• Il Giuvedie “Thursday”
• Il Venerdie “Friday”
• Atha Sabbato “Saturday”