This thesis studies the development of clause negation in varieties of Northern Italian Dialects (NIDs). NIDs are related varieties spoken in northern regions of Italy and in some regions of bordering countries, notably Switzerland. Although traditionally referred to as dialects, owing to their sociolinguistic relation to standard Italian, NIDS are not dialects of Italian, but rather minority languages derived from Latin (cf. primary dialects in Coseriu, 1980). NIDs display a large amount of variation in their morpho syntax, and this is also true in the expression of negation. In many varieties, the original negator derived from Lat. non has been replaced by a new lexical item, which negates the clause in a post verbal position, in a cyclical development described by Jespersen (1917). Two such items are mi(n)ga and no. Assuming the hypothesis that changes to the expression of negation are initiated by the role of these new items in the pragmatic strengthening of clause negation, this thesis investigates the role of pragmatics in the licensing and development of mi(n)ga and no, using data from historical texts that date from the thirteenth century to the turn of the twentieth century. Applying a qualitative analysis to the data, the thesis examines the role of these items in indexing the intersubjective relations between discourse participants, both through the management of the common ground, and in interlocutor interaction.
- Diachronic
- Northern Italian Dialects
- Negation
- Pragmatics
The Role of Pragmatics in the Development of Negation in Northern Italian Dialects
Cosnahan, A. (Author). 31 Dec 2022
Student thesis: Phd