Parlare le cose: structural aspects and syntactic-semantic disambiguation of some Italo-Romance verba dicendi in a diachronic and synchronic perspective
-
Paolo Izzo
Abstract
The research arises from the observation of certain constructions concerning the argument structure and semantics of the verb parlare ‘to speak’ in Italo-Romance texts, with the aim of better defining the semantic and syntactic disambiguations of the verb within the context of verba dicendi, ultimately addressing the absence of the parlare type in some areas of Salento, where the verb cuntare spreads into the domains of other most widespread elsewhere saying verbs.
Most verba dicendi ‘verbs of saying’ belong to the core vocabulary of the Italian language. Among them, dire ‘to say’ and parlare ‘to speak’, semantically neutral, are the heads of two categories of verbs that express the act of communication. Throughout the history of the language, there have been frequent semantic overlaps and extensions of these verbal types, leading to syntactic oscillations.
The first part of the paper will outline the theoretical assumptions that lead to the formulation of two types of verba dicendi based on the syntactic structures that individual semantic categories select. The second part will analyze the structures that have alternated over time, mainly during the early centuries of medieval Italo-Romance attestations, focusing on speech verbs. In the final part, the authors will examine the specific case of Salento, which adopts a particular distribution of verba dicendi, defining its isoglosses.
Abstract
The research arises from the observation of certain constructions concerning the argument structure and semantics of the verb parlare ‘to speak’ in Italo-Romance texts, with the aim of better defining the semantic and syntactic disambiguations of the verb within the context of verba dicendi, ultimately addressing the absence of the parlare type in some areas of Salento, where the verb cuntare spreads into the domains of other most widespread elsewhere saying verbs.
Most verba dicendi ‘verbs of saying’ belong to the core vocabulary of the Italian language. Among them, dire ‘to say’ and parlare ‘to speak’, semantically neutral, are the heads of two categories of verbs that express the act of communication. Throughout the history of the language, there have been frequent semantic overlaps and extensions of these verbal types, leading to syntactic oscillations.
The first part of the paper will outline the theoretical assumptions that lead to the formulation of two types of verba dicendi based on the syntactic structures that individual semantic categories select. The second part will analyze the structures that have alternated over time, mainly during the early centuries of medieval Italo-Romance attestations, focusing on speech verbs. In the final part, the authors will examine the specific case of Salento, which adopts a particular distribution of verba dicendi, defining its isoglosses.
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- Introduction 1
- Variation and change in transitivity alternations and argument realization in Italo-Romance 9
- Syntactic and functional broadening of the reflexive markers in Romance: for a typological approach 33
- The prosodic features of pragmatic chillo in Neapolitan: implications for syntax and diachrony 55
- On the surprising origin of what-particles in Italian dialects 79
- On the evolution of mesoclisis in the imperative in Western Lombard varieties 107
- Inflectional classes in Istriot: a first systematisation in diachrony and synchrony 127
- Parlare le cose: structural aspects and syntactic-semantic disambiguation of some Italo-Romance verba dicendi in a diachronic and synchronic perspective 143
- The mass neuter of Praianese: new data and some insights 163
- Differential possessive marking in Italo-Romance 187
- On the feminine plural definite article and the interrogative conjugation in the dialect of Berbenno (BG) 213
- Pseudo-coordination and cu-finite construction in Salento: a case of syntactic reanalysis 233
- Differential object marking in the dialects of Southern Calabria 255
- Language index
- Name index
- Subject index
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- Introduction 1
- Variation and change in transitivity alternations and argument realization in Italo-Romance 9
- Syntactic and functional broadening of the reflexive markers in Romance: for a typological approach 33
- The prosodic features of pragmatic chillo in Neapolitan: implications for syntax and diachrony 55
- On the surprising origin of what-particles in Italian dialects 79
- On the evolution of mesoclisis in the imperative in Western Lombard varieties 107
- Inflectional classes in Istriot: a first systematisation in diachrony and synchrony 127
- Parlare le cose: structural aspects and syntactic-semantic disambiguation of some Italo-Romance verba dicendi in a diachronic and synchronic perspective 143
- The mass neuter of Praianese: new data and some insights 163
- Differential possessive marking in Italo-Romance 187
- On the feminine plural definite article and the interrogative conjugation in the dialect of Berbenno (BG) 213
- Pseudo-coordination and cu-finite construction in Salento: a case of syntactic reanalysis 233
- Differential object marking in the dialects of Southern Calabria 255
- Language index
- Name index
- Subject index
