Italian Volerci

Abstract

Based on a detailed reconstruction of the evolution of Old Italian bisogna “must/be necessary”, Benincà and Poletto (1994, 1997) propose that this verb underwent a process of grammaticalization through which it changed from full verb into a functional head expressing deontic necessity. This paper investigates the hypothesis that an analogous process of grammaticalization concerns the verb volerci “take (intr.)/be necessary” (< modal volere “want”). The main goal of the paper is then to determine whether volerci can still be considered a lexical verb or it is more accurately categorized as a functional head á la par with bisogna. A careful comparison between volerci and Modern Italian bisogna reveals that the two verbs do not display similar morphosyntactic behavior; rather, volerci is characterized by the same structural properties as Old Italian bisogna. The strong morphosyntactic parallel between Old Italian bisogna and volerci leads to conclude that, although volerci has undergone grammaticalization to some degree, it has not lost the ability to project arguments, i.e., it has not become (yet) a modal functional element and is still a lexical verb.