This experimental study examines whether the Question Under Discussion (QUD) modulates the comprehension of pragmatic implicatures in context. Using brief two-sentence communicative exchanges, participants are asked to judge the acceptability of a target some response whose felicity is influenced by all and any quantifiers in the preceding QUD as well as an accompanying picture graphic. This work also investigates the extent to which context maintenance ability affects native English speakers’ awareness of the contextual cues in the target QUD conditions. Context maintenance ability was indexed using a Dot Pattern Expectancy (DPX) task, allowing examination of its potential predictive role in participants’ judgments. Data collected from 39 native English speakers reveal significant differences in rating behavior in the two target conditions. Participants rated some responses as less acceptable following all-QUDs than any-QUDs, indicating sensitivity to contextual cues that prime scalar implicatures. Interestingly, older adults who showed slower and less accurate performance on context-dependent trials in the DPX task were more likely to distinguish between QUD conditions in their judgements. These findings suggest that certain individuals rely on a more reflective, reactive processing strategy when reasoning about scalar inference generation. Rather than proactively maintaining contextual information throughout, they engage cognitive control to incorporate context cues only after ambiguity or interference arises.
Minority languages are typically subjected to constant pressure from the dominant language. This situation often leads to a gradual language shift, resulting in the emergence of different types of minority language speakers. This paper focuses on the Sardinian-speaking community and its speakers, who have long been exposed to the influence of Italian, the dominant language on the island. From both linguistic and sociolinguistic perspectives, we will examine the main categories of Sardinian speakers: traditional speakers, heritage speakers, and new speakers. Our aim is to provide new insights for both field linguists and those – teachers and researchers alike – who are interested in the Sardinian linguistic reality for educational purposes.
This study investigates the role of the Chinese particle a as a Topic Marker (TM). Our findings show that TM-a is closely tied to Speaker/Writer Attitude and is context-dependent, typically marking a Topic selected from a broader set of entities. This selection often carries a contrastive-like reading, reinforcing the Producer’s personal involvement. Statistical analysis reveals that Involvement is the strongest predictor, followed by Type and Attitude. Additionally, TM-a appears more frequently in negative statements, suggesting a mitigating function. Unlike Sentence-Final Particle (SFP) a, which softens the entire utterance post-factum, TM-a operates as a preparatory mitigation strategy, setting the interpretive stance before the predication unfolds. Following Pan (2017), who posits that TMs are located in Att° rather than Top°, we argue that TM-a and SFP-a share semantic properties, as they both function as Attitude markers, but differ in mitigation strategy. This analysis aligns with Chu (2009) and Li & Thompson (1981), supporting the hypothesis that TM-a is primarily used to signal personal involvement and soften negative evaluations.
In this work I propose an experimental analysis of the role of Complementizer Deletion (CD) in embedded stripping in Italian. I follow Wurmbrand (2017), who proposes the existence of a typological bipartition of languages, namely those which only allow embedded stripping in the absence of the complementizer and those which allow embedded stripping without resorting to CD. In this article, I consider the results of a Likert scale on Italian sentences, on 58 subjects, and conclude that the availability of embedded stripping correlates with the absence of the complementizer. Unexpectedly, CD is preferred over complementizer realization even in indicative embedded sentences, which generally do not allow the complementizer to be deleted. In the article I propose an analysis of this phenomenon based on mood, epistemic heads, and Double Access Reading.
This study analyses the properties of the m-words tanto and molto in Italian. First, we will provide an overview of the distinct uses and interpretations of these elements in various syntactic and semantic contexts, and we will motivate them by analysing tanto and molto as degree modifiers. In particular, we will suggest that tanto can appear in a wider range of contexts because of its semantics. Then, we will discuss in detail the different positions that these elements can occupy in the clause, and we will avail of Phase Theory to account for the possibility of tanto to appear twice in the same sentence with distinct functions.
This article discusses some aspects of spatial conceptualisation in Italian, focusing on deixis and the Italian locative adverbs: the proximal qui and qua (‘here’), and the distal lì and là (‘there’). It examines how deixis is realised through demonstrative adjectives or pronouns and through locative adverbs, highlighting and debating some shared properties and features. It is argued that Italian speakers think of space through two metaphors, which can be defined generally as SPACE IS A POINT and SPACE IS WIDTH. This hypothesis is supported by a set of examples, including a comparison with another Romance language (Spanish) based on data from Fleming and Lloy (2023), that illustrate the variable cognitive understanding of space associated with different adverbs. In conclusion, this work suggests that there is a tendency among Italian speakers to favour the deictic pair in -i to indicate a specific, punctual space, and the deictic pair in -a for a broad, unlimited environment, in line with the two proposed spatial metaphors.
From my experience teaching Italian, the encounter between Chinese and Italian proves highly complex due to morphosyntactic and phonological factors. A major difficulty for Chinese learners is understanding Italian sentence structure, which lacks classifiers that in Chinese regulate organization. This and other differences often restrict knowledge of Italian to a basic level. Overcoming it requires long effort, as many studies confirm. Even after years, many Chinese speakers communicate effectively but rely on incorrect linguistic strategies. The teacher’s role is to guide them beyond the basic level and help them acquire linguistic, sociolinguistic, and pragmatic-textual skills.
Despite having been a classic research topic for over 300 years (Gao and Liu 2020: 136), the fundamental issue of whether numeral classifiers (Cls for short) in Mandarin Chinese belong to a lexical or functional category still remains controversial. To address this issue, this paper presents arguments from diachronic, syntactic, semantic, cognitive, and experimental perspectives. On one hand, Mandarin Chinese Cls exhibit lexical properties, as evidenced by their semantic selection restrictions in relation to nouns. On the other hand, they also display functional properties, supported by arguments such as their grammaticalization, their substitution by the general Cl ge, and their syntactic analogy with auxiliary verbs. Furthermore, Mandarin Chinese Cls are predominantly functional, as demonstrated by three supporting arguments from diachronic, cognitive, and experimental perspectives. Additionally, this paper also addresses the question of whether Individual Cls, compared to other types of Cls, offer a very limited semantic space for the whole nominal phrase.
This article addresses the issue of specialized administrative language, called bureaucratese. It analyzes the attempts made so far to simplify it, by operating mostly on the lexicon, and challenges the mind/language relationship that is supposed to have generated it. With the help of conceptual elaborations formulated in the field of cognitive semiotics on the theories of translation, adjustment, bricolage and on the inferences that can be activated by terms, we will move from semantics to semiotics, reconnecting to the theory of enunciative praxis as a concatenation of enunciations that leads to weaken the idea of a single subject behind the formation of a public document. This is made possible dismissing the I/You dialectic in favor of a triadic relationship based on ‘illeity’ and on an increasingly consolidated evenemential theory of language.
This contribution offers an integrated perspective of the complex mechanisms and neural circuits involved in language perception and processing. Specifically, it analyzes the main event-related potentials (ERPs) associated with language, including the N1 and MMN components involved in phonetic-phonological encoding, the ELAN, LAN, and P600 components active in morpho-syntactic processing, and the N400 component associated with semantic analysis. While the ERP approach provides a valuable means of investigating the timing of linguistic processes, recent studies emphasize the crucial role of neural oscillations – from delta to gamma rhythms – in supporting language comprehension and production. The overall evidence discussed converges towards the hypothesis of a hierarchical and predictive neural architecture, in which different frequencies cooperate in the construction and unification of linguistic processes at the phonological, syntactic, and semantic levels.
he encoding of motion events shows significant cross-linguistic variation: Mandarin, a satellite-framed language, encodes path information in secondary elements, whereas Italian, a verb-framed language, lexicalizes path directly within verbal roots. This typological difference, rooted in Talmy (2000)’s framework, poses challenges for Italian-speaking learners in acquiring Mandarin’s primary device for motion encoding, directional verbal complexes (DVCs). These constructions are sequences of verbal morphemes that encode multiple motion components simultaneously, including manner of motion, path, and perspective. In contrast, Italian strategies for motion encoding tend to emphasize trajectory or path over the manner of motion. Through an analysis of CFL (Chinese as a Foreign Language) textbooks and grammars used in three main Italian universities, this study identifies critical gaps, including insufficient explanations of the syntactic and–more notably–semantic constraints impacting DVC word order, object positioning, and aspectual marking. Findings indicate that a comparative, typologically aware approach – leveraging Italian constructions with similar functions such as syntagmatic verbs – could bridge these gaps, fostering a more accurate understanding of DVCs. The study recommends enhancing teaching materials to better represent the full syntactic and semantic range of DVCs, aiding learners in mastering the complexities of Chinese motion event encoding.
This paper analyzes the Linguistic Landscape of Bova Superiore, a small village in southern Calabria where Italo-Greek (Greko) is still spoken. Place-naming practices are considered communicative acts, and the linguistic signs inserted in the public space highlight the richness of the linguistic heritage of communities and contribute to the symbolic construction of collective identities. Through a mapping of the contact between the languages that characterize the Linguistic Landscape of Bova Superiore, the present study aims to fill a knowledge gap by stimulating a reflection on the degree of visibility and vitality of Greko.
When a minority language holds a subordinate position and is neglected or abandoned in family communication, some speakers acquire it imperfectly, resulting in limited proficiency; these individuals are known as heritage speakers. However, some heritage speakers later develop an attachment to their ancestral language and choose to study it in formal or informal educational settings, becoming heritage learners. This study focuses on heritage learners of Sardinian, a Romance language spoken in Sardinia. Today, most Sardinian residents under fifty primarily speak Italian, but there is a growing interest in Sardinian language courses aimed at reconnecting community members with their linguistic heritage. This research examines the grammatical and lexical competence of a sample of these heritage learners, particularly focusing on areas identified in the literature as vulnerable to erosion and interference from Italian. Specifically, it will demonstrate that in instances of grammatical or lexical divergence between Sardinian and Italian, heritage learners tend to accept both idiomatic Sardinian forms and Italian-influenced forms, indicating significant interference in their proficiency of the minority language. This study aims to help language teachers develop targeted interventions to enhance the competence of heritage learners, differentiating from curricula designed for second language learners of Sardinian when necessary.
Discourse is not just a form of language use, but also a cognitive and social accomplishment within a communicative context. This article aims to interpret dialogues in Kadare’s novel The Fall of the Stone City through a combination of methods of discourse analysis and conversation analysis. The object of this analysis are the direct dialogues, in which characters are represented through their own voice, and where the narrator evades his/her own intervention during the transmission of the character’s sensory experience and does not give to the reader an indication of any sort of privileged information regarding the condition of the character. The central focus of this analysis is involvement strategies, as the basic principle in both conversational and literary discourse. The spoken genre is characterized by fragmentation and involvement, whereas the written genre is characterized by integration and detachment. The comparison of spoken and written narratives suggests that normal conversation and literary discourse have many similarities between them. The examination of the dialogues in Kadare’s novel The Fall of the Stone City clearly shows that the author combines involvement with integration in building scenes and triggering emotions. He uses familiar strategies, like repair and repetition in creating coherence and involvement, which are intentional in creating meaning.
In many Romance varieties the inverted order between subject clitic and verb characterizes interrogation contexts and, in Rhaeto-Romance languages, V2 contexts. This phenomenon gives rise to paradigms whereby in interrogative and V2 contexts the verb is followed by the enclitic form of the SCl, possibly also in combination with the proclitic subject. The enclisis on the verbal form has been dealt with as the result of the movement of the verb, typically in cartographic approaches, whereby the enclitic subject has been seen as the inverted proclitic form. Nevertheless, enclitics usually show a partially different form. Other authors deal with enclitics as inflections, whereby North Italy and Rhaeto-Romance varieties have an inflectional paradigm specialized for modal contexts such as interrogative clauses. V2 varieties with inversion contribute to suggesting a clearer and more complete explanation of this phenomenon. In this article we will motivate the inflectional nature of enclitics based on their distribution and in the light of the hypothesis that it is the result of syntactic Merge. As for inversion, we will propose a hypothesis based on the phasal organization of the clause and the domains of subject-verb agreement.
This study investigates how the language used to present lexical stimuli influences the expression of gender biases, with a particular focus on the “Foreign Language Effect” (FLE) – the phenomenon where using a foreign language affects judgment and reasoning. Italian native speakers (N=213), English native speakers (N=105), and Italian-English bilinguals (N=192) evaluated 58 words categorized into Power, Weakness, Warmth and Coldness domains for gender connotation. Results indicated consistent stereotypical associations across languages, albeit with variable strength. Critically, participants exhibited attenuated stereotyping when assessing words in a non-native language, providing further empirical validation for the FLE. Foreign language use appears to elicit less automatic social biases, potentially due to decreased emotional activation and increased cognitive distance that occur when processing information in a less proficient language. Additionally, this reduction in stereotyping may be attributed to less exposure to and internalization of sexist language in a second language. By demonstrating the role of language in modulating bias expression, these insights have implications for understanding sociocultural perception formation and developing equitable language policies.
This research into the expletive demonstrative pronouns consists of a comparison between the varieties of Italian language in Florence and Pistoia and the dialect of Salerno. The linguistic analysis points out the use of this pronouns like extra-phrasal elements with explicative semantic function. They are used only during the conversations, but not in the monologues. unlike the expletive pronouns in the non-pro-drop languages like English, French and Northern Italian dialects, in which these pronouns are expressed in both situations. The form quello, I have observed in the varieties of Italian Language of Florence and Pistoia, as well as chello/chillo I have observed in the dialectal variety of Salerno, correspond to the expressions il fatto è che.../sta di fatto che… In italian language spoken in Florence and Pistoia the expletive demonstrative pronoun quello is exclusively used in the initial position of the main clauses, otherwise in the dialect of Salerno it can occur also in the causal, temporal and completive clauses, in which the expletive demonstrative pronouns occupy the subject (or topic) position between the complementizer and the verb and they are used with explicative semantic function and their use is optional and limited to the conversation.
This research paper presents an analysis of Biblical Hebrew terms for ‘rain’, a relevant corpus formed by six lexemes: 1. ‘rain’, ‘showers’ 2. ‘heavy rain’ 3. ‘autumn rain’ 4. ‘rain’ 5. ‘spring rain’ 6. ‘light rain’ First it defines and explains the method used, then it realizes a distributional analysis into functional languages and a syntagmatic analysis of each lexeme. The second phase proceed in the paradigmatic analysis of the relationship between each lexeme. An explanation of the results and conclusion round off the paper.The purpose of this research is to indagate and understand the complexity of the relationship between lexemes for rain.
In this study we will start from a suggestion taken from Kayne’s proposal (2016) about silent heads, in order to analyse the structure of some specific adverbial PPs in different languages. It will be argued that behind certain manner constructions consisting of a preposition plus an adjective may lie a full nominal phrase, whose head is generally – but not exclusively – silent. This study will show that there is a cross-linguistic tendency to create manner expressions using a nominal head meaning ‘way’ or ‘manner’, and also that this head may change diachronically, either becoming silent to form idiomatic expressions, or being reanalysed and grammaticalised into a productive adverbial suffix.
This paper examines the morphosyntax of proper names, with a focus on Italian. We argue that the morphosyntax of proper names is not uniform. Rather, we show that a crucial distinction lies between names denoting individuals and those denoting sets: while the former types of names undergo Merge in D, the latter do not. Our data moreover challenge the hypothesis that names can involve light nouns in their structure, as recently argued by Moltmann (2022) for German.
