The left-periphery of the Romance dialects of Italy: Towards a parametric-based classification
type: CreativeWork
description: My dissertation investigates the Romance dialects of Italy (RDI) from a novel comparative perspective, focusing exclusively on the left-peripheral domain within the split-CP framework. This research is inspired by the Parametric Comparison Method (PCM) and adopts some of its tools and principles, while developing a dedicated parametric system tailored to the CP. Specifically, a database of 104 left-peripheral parameters was constructed and applied to thirty dialect evenly distributed across the Italian peninsula, offering the first large-scale parametric investigation of this domain in RDI. Through a manual analysis of the distribution of parametric values, the study identifies previously undocumented correlations between syntactic properties across dialects. While broad dialectal groupings (Southern, Central, Northern, Tuscan, and Sardinian) are broadly confirmed, significant internal variation emerges, revealing unexpected similarities and differences that sometimes cut across traditional boundaries. These findings underscore the potential of syntactic data to contribute to dialectological research, while also pointing to the need for future quantitative validation before any classificatory claims can be made. This dissertation also includes two case studies, each referring to a phenomenon attested in the Romance dialects of Italy. These case studies, on the one hand, bring to light the richness of variation in embedded declarative contexts, and on the other, shows the validity of a well-structured parametric model in categorising syntactic properties. The first case study focuses on complementizer deletion, analysed in Italian, Florentine and Pisano, demonstrating how this property is differentially distributed across these three varieties, while still reducible to a common structural building operation, namely the movement of the verb. The second case study investigates embedded mirative focus fronting, a phenomenon often missed in the existing literature but ro…
abstract: My dissertation investigates the Romance dialects of Italy (RDI) from a novel comparative perspective, focusing exclusively on the left-peripheral domain within the split-CP framework. This research is inspired by the Parametric Comparison Method (PCM) and adopts some of its tools and principles, while developing a dedicated parametric system tailored to the CP. Specifically, a database of 104 left-peripheral parameters was constructed and applied to thirty dialect evenly distributed across the Italian peninsula, offering the first large-scale parametric investigation of this domain in RDI. Through a manual analysis of the distribution of parametric values, the study identifies previously undocumented correlations between syntactic properties across dialects. While broad dialectal groupings (Southern, Central, Northern, Tuscan, and Sardinian) are broadly confirmed, significant internal variation emerges, revealing unexpected similarities and differences that sometimes cut across traditional boundaries. These findings underscore the potential of syntactic data to contribute to dialectological research, while also pointing to the need for future quantitative validation before any classificatory claims can be made. This dissertation also includes two case studies, each referring to a phenomenon attested in the Romance dialects of Italy. These case studies, on the one hand, bring to light the richness of variation in embedded declarative contexts, and on the other, shows the validity of a well-structured parametric model in categorising syntactic properties. The first case study focuses on complementizer deletion, analysed in Italian, Florentine and Pisano, demonstrating how this property is differentially distributed across these three varieties, while still reducible to a common structural building operation, namely the movement of the verb. The second case study investigates embedded mirative focus fronting, a phenomenon often missed in the existing literature but ro…
author: Isolani, Elena
language: eng
keywords: Left-periphery, Romance dialects of Italy, Parametric syntax, Syntactic distance, Complementizer Phrase, Dialectal classification
license: https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/bitstreams/70d6486e-f16f-4eb6-b192-c80589ec0168/download
license: http://purl.org/NET/rdflicense/allrightsreserved
date published: 2025-04-09
date modified: 2026-07-24T01:33:11Z
provider: Cambridge University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of Cambridge

PropertyValue
property ID: DOI
value: 10.17863/CAM.121721