The mass neuter of Praianese: new data and some insights
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Pietro Milano
Abstract
Some Italo-Romance varieties of central-southern Italy present an agreement class called “mass neuter” which typically only hosts mass nouns that would otherwise be masculine in other varieties, e.g. o ffwokə ‘def.n fire’ in Neapolitan. Previous literature has discussed whether the mass neuter is best formalised as a mark of gender, or rather as one of masshood. The most recent studies have opted for the former (cf. Loporcaro 2018). The Amalfi Coast, though, presents possible insights into this matter, but has only received few mentions in previous literature. The varieties spoken here are in fact interesting in that they have mass neuter nouns which previously were feminine nouns, e.g. o tterrə ‘def.n dirt’ in Ravellese.
This research gathered new data from the variety of Praiano to formally describe its gender system. The data show that the mass neuter here is extremely productive, reaching to include all nouns denoting physical masses. Not all mass nouns denoting abstractions, though, can receive neuter agreement. The lack of a biunique relationship between masshood and neuter agreement makes the traditional analysis in which neuter is a gender value the most fitting, until stronger evidence against this notion can be found.
This study also reflects on how gender is assigned to Praianese nouns. In particular, it establishes that assignment to the mass neuter is solely dependent on semantic criteria, without any criteria related to the morphological or phonological form of the noun.
Abstract
Some Italo-Romance varieties of central-southern Italy present an agreement class called “mass neuter” which typically only hosts mass nouns that would otherwise be masculine in other varieties, e.g. o ffwokə ‘def.n fire’ in Neapolitan. Previous literature has discussed whether the mass neuter is best formalised as a mark of gender, or rather as one of masshood. The most recent studies have opted for the former (cf. Loporcaro 2018). The Amalfi Coast, though, presents possible insights into this matter, but has only received few mentions in previous literature. The varieties spoken here are in fact interesting in that they have mass neuter nouns which previously were feminine nouns, e.g. o tterrə ‘def.n dirt’ in Ravellese.
This research gathered new data from the variety of Praiano to formally describe its gender system. The data show that the mass neuter here is extremely productive, reaching to include all nouns denoting physical masses. Not all mass nouns denoting abstractions, though, can receive neuter agreement. The lack of a biunique relationship between masshood and neuter agreement makes the traditional analysis in which neuter is a gender value the most fitting, until stronger evidence against this notion can be found.
This study also reflects on how gender is assigned to Praianese nouns. In particular, it establishes that assignment to the mass neuter is solely dependent on semantic criteria, without any criteria related to the morphological or phonological form of the noun.
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
