Dialectal Variation: an example from some Romance dialects

Ling 203

10/1/2010

Veneto

Teramo

Foggiano

Salentino

Calvello

Southern Umbro

source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Languages_spoken_in_Italy.svg

Lena

source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/6b/Castillian_dialects_in_spain.png

Note on notational conventions

V = vowel (with or without accent)

V́ = accented vowel

V[-accent] = unaccented vowel

The rules generally ignore the low vowel [a].

Foggiano/Pugliese

fem masc

sing → plural

1sg. 2sg.

V → [+high]

Veneto

fem masc

sing → plural

1sg. 2sg.

V[+tense, -accent] → [+high, +front] V́[+tense, -low] → [+high]

Southern Umbro

V[+tense] → [+high] V[-tense] → [+tense]

fem masc

sing → plural

1sg. 2sg.

Salentino

fem masc

sing → plural

1sg. 2sg.

V[+tense] → [+high] V́1

[-tense, αfront] → V0[+high, αfront, +tense]V́

1[+front]

Calvello

fem masc

sing → plural

1sg. 2sg. V[+tense, -accent, -low] → [+high, +front] V́[+tense] → [+high] V́1

[-tense, αfront] → V0[+high, αfront, +tense]V́

1[+front, +tense]

Lena

V[-accent] → [+high] V́[-low] → [+high] V́[+low] → [mid]

fem masc

sing → plural

1sg. 2sg.

Teramo

V[-accent] → [+high, +front] V́ → [+high, +tense] V[+low] → [+high, +front]

fem masc

sing → plural

1sg. 2sg.

References

All data from:

Walker, Rachel. (2005). “Weak Triggers in Vowel Harmony.” Natural Language and Linguistic Theory, vol. 23, pp. 917-989.