The left-periphery of the Romance dialects of Italy: Towards a parametric-based classification

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 robustly attested in the Romance dialects of Italy. The occurrence of this phenomenon complies with a featural-licensing mechanism that activates the relevant feature in the embedded contexts. Both phenomena are accordingly parametrized, giving rise to a series of parametric implications that capture their occurrence cross-linguistically.

Name dc:type.qualificationname

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

Doctoral

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

University of Cambridge

Year dc:date.issued

2025

Author dc:creator

• Isolani, Elena

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Roberts, Ian

• Left-periphery
• Romance dialects of Italy
• Parametric syntax
• Syntactic distance
• Complementizer Phrase
• Dialectal classification

Licence

• https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/bitstreams/70d6486e-f16f-4eb6-b192-c80589ec0168/download
• http://purl.org/NET/rdflicense/allrightsreserved

Language dc:language

eng

DOI dc:identifier.doi

https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.121721

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.repository.cam.ac.uk:1810/390020