Abstract
This article aims to compare some traits that characterise the syntax of the noun phrase in the Occitan/Ligurian amphizone (i.e., contact area) that lies at the border between southern France and northwestern Italy. The dialects spoken in this area differ in several syntactic traits that emerged in a situation of contact between dialects of different subgroups (Ligurian and Occitan), two roofing languages (Italian and French), and regional contact languages such as Genoese. In particular, I will elaborate on the syntax of mass and indefinite plural nouns, on the co-occurrence of determiners and possessives, and on the syntax of kinship terms. From an I-language perspective, the fine variation observed at the Occitan/Ligurian border raises two types of research questions: (a) which comparative concepts best capture the observed variation; (b) whether intraclade contact (i.e., contact between languages of the same branch) can contribute relevant evidence and arguments to the debate concerning the biological endowment of the language faculty.
Highlights
This article intends to discuss the relevance of dialectological data to the current debate on linguistic contact
This article intends to tackle this issue by building on a case study regarding some aspects of the syntax of the determiner phrase (DP) in the contact area between Occitan and Ligurian dialects that are spoken at the border between northwest Italy and southeast France
Possessives of the from an influence of the roofing language (French) type are D elements that agree in person with the
Summary
This article intends to discuss the relevance of dialectological data to the current debate on linguistic contact. This article intends to tackle this issue by building on a case study regarding some aspects of the syntax of the determiner phrase (DP) in the contact area between Occitan and Ligurian dialects that are spoken at the border between northwest Italy and southeast France. A “roofing language” (Dachsprache, Kloss 1967) is the linguistic variety that serves as a standard language in a linguistic community in which other dialects are spoken. A fine-grained microcomparative analysis allows us to single out linguistic traits that are prone to be borrowed by neighbouring languages; in this respect, the study of “transitional” dialects can possibly corroborate (or challenge) analogous observations arising from the analysis of bilingual productions.
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