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Synchronic microvariation, gradualness of change and the relation between the two: reflexes of Latin HABERE in northern Italo-Romance

Abstract:
Saussure’s structuralist dichotomous view of synchrony and diachrony has, overall, long been abandoned, and research within the theory of grammaticalization has brought to the fore the close interconnections between the two. In more recent years, a great deal of attention has been devoted to capturing and expressing the nature of the interface between synchrony and diachrony, linking a notion traditionally associated with the synchronic architecture of grammar — gradience — and one linked to diachronic change — gradualness. Against this general background, this article explores the relation between synchrony and diachrony focusing on the discontinuity that can arise through language change. The objects of the research are the reflexes of Latin HABERE in northern Italo-Romance and their diachronic development in lexical, perfective, and modal auxiliary uses. The outcome of the investigation is that while macro differences (lexical versus auxiliary) are maintained, micro ones (within lexical) are more vulnerable to being lost.

La visione dicotomica della sincronia e diacronia, tipica dello strutturalismo saussuriano, è ormai stata abbandonata, e la ricerca nell’ambito della grammaticalizzazione ha confermato le loro vaste interconnessioni ed interdipendenza. In anni più recenti, la natura dell’interfaccia fra le due dimensioni è stata oggetto di molta attenzione, in particolar modo la relazione fra una nozione tradizionalmente associata all’architettura grammaticale sincronia, gradience, e una legata al cambiamento diacronico, gradualness. In questo contesto, il presente contributo si prefigge di esplorare la relazione fra sincronia e diacronia dal punto di vista della discontinuità che può emergere durante il cambiamento linguistico. Il soggetto della ricerca discussa qui di seguito sono gli sviluppi italoromanzi del verbo latino HABERE ed il loro iter diacronico, nelle forme lessicali, ausiliari e modali. L’esito della ricerca suggerisce che mentre le differenze macro (funzione lessicale contro ausiliare) vengono mantenute, quelle micro (all’interno della funzione lessicale) sono più soggette ad essere perse.
Publication status:
Published
Peer review status:
Peer reviewed

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Publisher copy:
10.1080/02614340.2025.2538903

Authors

More by this author
Institution:
University of Oxford
Division:
HUMS
Department:
Linguistics Philology & Phonetics
Oxford college:
Balliol College
Role:
Author
ORCID:
0000-0002-5543-0310


Publisher:
Routledge
Journal:
The Italianist More from this journal
Volume:
45
Issue:
1
Pages:
215-238
Publication date:
2025-12-01
Acceptance date:
2025-05-09
DOI:
EISSN:
1748-619X
ISSN:
0261-4340

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