æz mˈɛmbɚz ʌvðə slˈoʊviːn maɪnˈɔːɹᵻɾi ɪn ˈɪɾəli nˈaɪntiːnhˈʌndɹɪd twˈɛnti nˈaɪntiːnhˈʌndɹɪd fˈoːɹɾi sˈɛvən, ʃˈælɐmˌʌnz mˈʌðɚz fˈæmɪli dʒˈɔɪnd θˈaʊzəndz ʌv slˈoʊviːnz hˌuː lˈɛft ðɛɹ hˈoʊmz bɪkˈʌz ʌv fˈoːɹst ɪtˌeɪliənᵻzˈeɪʃən ænd mˈuːvd fɹʌm ˈɪɾəli tə jˌuːɡəslˈɑːviə, wˌɛɹ hiː wʌz bˈɔːɹn ɪn nˈaɪntiːnhˈʌndɹɪd fˈoːɹɾi wˈʌn ɪn zˈæɡɹɛb.
As members of the Slovene minority in Italy (1920–1947), Šalamun's mother's family joined thousands of Slovenes who left their homes because of forced Italianization and moved from Italy to Yugoslavia, where he was born in 1941 in Zagreb.