Functional items and parametrization in the contact variety of Piana degli Albanesi: a linguistic and sociolinguistic investigation

This dissertation presents a morphosyntactic analysis of functional categories within the nominal and verbal domains of the Arbëreshë dialect spoken in Piana degli Albanesi, adopting the theoretical framework of Manzini and Savoia (2005, 2007, 2011a, 2011b, 2012, 2015, 2018, etc.). It investigates how language contact has influenced this system, acting as a driving force of microvariation in the morphosyntax of these functional items. By examining nominal inflections, determiners, linkers, clitics, and complementizers, the analysis demonstrates the structural convergence between Arbëreshë and Romance languages in these elements. The findings indicate a broader realignment in the marking of definiteness, with Romance nominal structures, such as D+N, becoming dominant in Piana’s speech community. This shift has led to a redefinition of definiteness and case properties, where their visibility is increasingly fulfilled by pre-nominal elements, such as Romance DPs or the Albanian linker 'tə'. Due to its denotational properties (⊆, definite), 'tə' can introduce genitive complements, establishing the possession/inclusion relation ('oblique case) akin to the Romance preposition 'di'. In sentential embedding, 'tə' also behaves syntactically like the Romance preposition that introduces infinitives, being used only in contexts of coreference. This suggests that "tə" is undergoing reanalysis from a D-element (Albanian linker) to a P-head, both within the nominal and verbal domains. The dissertation also explores the cognitive challenges faced by bilingual speakers, particularly in processing syntax-pragmatics interface structures of this kind. Processing and integrating multiple sources of information (morphosyntactic and pragmatic) demands higher cognitive effort, which in turn produces optionality and instability at the syntax-pragmatics interface. In conclusion, linguistic variation in Piana’s variety is driven both by contact with Romance languages and the cognitive strategies employed by bilingual speakers. The observed microvariation, while constrained by Universal Grammar (UG), reflects the influence of bilingualism. Ultimately, the study highlights the intricate interaction between linguistic, cognitive, and sociolinguistic factors in shaping language variation in contact settings.