Patterns of variation and diachronic change in Piedmontese object clitic syntax

Abstract

AbstractVariation and change in Romance object clitic syntax reveals that complement clitics do not form a homogeneous group: apparently optional syntactic operations can at first affect certain clitic types but not others, resulting in a diachronic change that spreads through a language’s clitic inventory one ‘type’ at a time. This chapter addresses the change in object clitic syntax in Piedmontese compound tense clauses, whereby object clitics historically shifted from pre-auxiliary to post-participle position. The point of departure is Mair Parry’s research (1991; 1995; 2005), which relates a careful analysis of historical texts with an in-depth understanding of the relevant synchronic variability in object clitic syntax found in the dialects of Cairo Montenotte and Turin. Parry’s work sets the stage for a theoretical analysis which allows us to unify the Piedmontese phenomena with apparently unrelated variation and change in object clitic syntax found in Fassano (Ladin) and Spanish.