Abstract
The article shows how dialectology can benefit from concepts imported from sociolinguistics, and how, when carefully applied, these concepts can lead to a refined picture of linguistic dynamics. This will be illustrated by analyzing variation in final unstressed vowels in several dialects of Vallo di Diano (Salerno, Italy), whose speakers produce words with either centralized or full final vowels. Phonetic, etymological and geolinguistic evidence is used to show that these dialects are characterized by a highly conservative vowel system, and that final vowel variation can best be explained in terms of contact with a regional koiné variety, rather than with standard Italian.
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