Tuone Udaina

Who was Tuone Udaina?

Tuone Udaina was the last person to have any active knowledge of the Dalmatian language. 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. No sound recordings were ever made. Vegliot Dalmatian was Udaina's native language, as he had learned it from listening to his parents' private conversations. Udina had not spoken the Dalmatian language for nearly 20 years at the time he acted as a linguistic informant. Antonio Udaina worked as a marine postman and as a sexton; he bore the nickname Burbur.

When Antonio Udina was killed in an explosion on June 10, 1898, the language became extinct.