Contact-induced phenomena in the Alps
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Jan Casalicchio
Abstract
The main question underlying this chapter is to what extent language contact can affect syntactic structure. To tackle this issue we examine two relevant phenomena found in two minority languages spoken in the region Trentino-Alto Adige/South Tyrol: clitic climbing in Dolomitic Ladin and the use of the Romance complementizer ke in Cimbrian. Both phenomena are usually considered as the result of a contact-induced change influenced by the neighbouring Italo-Romance varieties. However, it is shown that the rising of clitic climbing is a language-internal process which is only accelerated by the contact with Italian. Similarly, the lexical borrowing of the complementizer ke in Cimbrian does not entail that its syntactic properties are also borrowed.
Abstract
The main question underlying this chapter is to what extent language contact can affect syntactic structure. To tackle this issue we examine two relevant phenomena found in two minority languages spoken in the region Trentino-Alto Adige/South Tyrol: clitic climbing in Dolomitic Ladin and the use of the Romance complementizer ke in Cimbrian. Both phenomena are usually considered as the result of a contact-induced change influenced by the neighbouring Italo-Romance varieties. However, it is shown that the rising of clitic climbing is a language-internal process which is only accelerated by the contact with Italian. Similarly, the lexical borrowing of the complementizer ke in Cimbrian does not entail that its syntactic properties are also borrowed.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- The dialects of Italy at the interfaces 1
- Inflectional uniformity in the present subjunctive in the dialects of central Friuli 41
- The Inflected Construction in the dialects of Sicily 63
- Mixed paradigms in Italo-Romance 79
- Selection and morphology of expletive subject clitics in northern Italian dialects 101
- Can structural deficiency be parametrized? 113
- The morphosyntax-semantics interface and the Sicilian Doubly Inflected Construction 131
- Matrix complementizers in Italo-Romance 155
- On the syntactic encoding of lexical interjections in Italo-Romance 185
- A person split analysis of the progressive forms in some southern Italian varieties 203
- Contact-induced phenomena in the Alps 237
- N morphology and its interpretation 257
- Indefinite articles and licensing of nominals in two Slavic varieties 295
- Syntactic variation across Greek dialects 319
- Author index 357
- Language and place index 361
- Subject index 365
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- The dialects of Italy at the interfaces 1
- Inflectional uniformity in the present subjunctive in the dialects of central Friuli 41
- The Inflected Construction in the dialects of Sicily 63
- Mixed paradigms in Italo-Romance 79
- Selection and morphology of expletive subject clitics in northern Italian dialects 101
- Can structural deficiency be parametrized? 113
- The morphosyntax-semantics interface and the Sicilian Doubly Inflected Construction 131
- Matrix complementizers in Italo-Romance 155
- On the syntactic encoding of lexical interjections in Italo-Romance 185
- A person split analysis of the progressive forms in some southern Italian varieties 203
- Contact-induced phenomena in the Alps 237
- N morphology and its interpretation 257
- Indefinite articles and licensing of nominals in two Slavic varieties 295
- Syntactic variation across Greek dialects 319
- Author index 357
- Language and place index 361
- Subject index 365
