Elisabetta Magni

Universals of language today

How Universal are Linguistic Categories?.- An Empirical Test of the Agglutination Hypothesis.- What Linguistic Universals Can Be True Of.- Universals of Prosodic Structure.- Lexical Integrity As A Formal Universal: A Constructionist View.- Searching for Universals in Compounding.- Universals and Features.- Methods for Finding Language Universals in Syntax.- The Fundamental Left-Right Asymmetry of Natural Languages.- The Branching Direction Theory of Word Order Correlations Revisited.- Universals and Semantics.- The Evolution of Latin Word (Dis)order.- Typological Universals and Second Language Acquisition.

Paradigm organization and lexical connections in the development of the Italian passato remoto

In modern Italian the verb “is a category whose complexity and intricacy is unmatched elsewhere in the grammar” (Maiden 1995: 122). On the whole the Italian verb system displays a historical tension between the tendency for one meaning to be represented by one morphological form (a tendency manifested through the mechanism of analogical leveling of allomorphy), and the amplification and spread of existing alternation patterns.

The Evolution of Latin Word (Dis)order

The evolution from Latin to Romance languages involves a typological shift from SOV to SVO order where the change in Object position seems to be anticipated by a gradual construction-by-construction reorientation of constituent order. As a matter of fact, since Early Latin coexisting patterns determine a kaleido- scopic surface complexity that makes it difficult to reduce this language to a coher- ent system. On the assumption that the typology of word order flexibility is closely intertwined with the diachrony of word order change, this paper investigates the factors influencing grammatical variation and change by discussing both the sources that give rise to the various constructions and the mechanisms governing the choice between alternative orders at different stages. The results will show that, in some cases, grammatical variation depends on processes that are partially independent of the OV/VO dichotomy, and that typological regularities and irregularities in word order typology can be diachronically motivated.

Modality's semantic maps. An investigation of some Latin modal forms

Summary In the recent literature on grammaticalization we find that, since modal meanings arise from a restricted set of semantic sources (i.e. lexical items that refer explicitly to concepts related to possibility, necessity, etc.), cross-linguistically similar paths for the evolution of grammatical markers are predictable, and multiple uses of forms can be viewed as points on grammaticalization chains. The purpose of this investigation, which takes into account the data provided by extensive typological research and the theoretical framework offered by Role and Reference Grammar, is to test these findings and predictions about universal modal paths. Starting from the analysis of the modal forms possum, licet, debeo, oportet, and necesse est, I will also propose a semantic map of modality for Latin.

Collective suffixes and ad hoc categories: from Latin -ālia to Italian -aglia

Abstract The expression of ad hoc categories ranges from discourse-level to syntactic and morphological strategies. Considering derivation in particular, it has been observed that also collective suffixes can be used for the identification of context-dependent sets. The aim of this paper is to investigate the relation between collectives and ad hoc categories by focusing on the Italian suffix -aglia and by discussing its diachronic relation with the Latin neuter nouns ending in -ālia. The discussion concerning the notion of collective will take into account a recent proposal that distinguishes between collective nouns, aggregate nouns, and superordinates. As will be shown, aggregate nouns are of particular interest for interpreting some Latin pluralia tantum in -ālia that denote sets of heterogeneous entities with similar properties. The same possibility to derive aggregate nouns characterizes the suffix -aglia that, when attached to proper nouns, can also convey associative meanings, or denote categories including persons and situations that share the named exemplar as a common denominator. As the analysis will show, the development of these functions correlates with the mechanisms of (inter)subjectification.