Asymmetries in path encoding in Sicilian (original) (raw)

Studies in Language Companion Series, 2017

Abstract

This talk aims at describing the encoding of path within the system of spatial relations in Sicilian, an Italo-Romance language spoken in Sicily and its satellite islands. In general terms, spatial relations in Sicilian remain largely unexplored in the light of the current linguistic theories. As a consequence, the first point addressed in the proposed description is the comparison of Sicilian data with the cross-linguistic scenario. It is generally argued in the relevant literature that the encoding of path appears to be less autonomous compared to source, goal, and location at the cross-linguistic level, and its encoding is frequently based on location (see Stolz 1992). In Sicilian, the system of spatial relations can be broadly described as follows: (a) Location and direction can be expressed by the same prepositions, whose specific spatial value depends on the presence of a state or motion verb respectively. Moreover, each preposition is typically found with specific landmarks: - a \u2018in, at, to\u2019 (< Lat. ad \u2018towards, near to, by\u2019, cfr. Rohlfs 1969: 798) + place nouns; (1) vaiu a\u2019 casa /sugnu a\u2019 casa \u2018I\u2019m going home/I\u2019m at home\u2019 - (i)n \u2018in, to\u2019 (< Lat. in \u2018in(to)\u2019, cfr. Rohlfs 1969: 210; Varvaro 1988: 723) + very specific and salient landmarks (such as Palermo, that is, the administrative, cultural and touristic capital of Sicily; or the ground): (2) vaiu \u2018m Palermu \u2018I\u2019m going to Palermo\u2019 (3) accura a un cariri \u2018n terra \u2018Be careful and not to fall to the ground!\u2019 - nn- (the etymology is discussed: it was traced back to the Sicilian adverb unni 'where' or to Latin intra or intus (ad) 'inside\u2019, cfr. Rohlfs 1969:228; Varvaro 1988:723; Leone 1995:52) + animate nouns (or nouns denoting commercial activities, e.g. Benetton): (4) vaiu nn\uf9 dutturi/nn\ue0 zia/nn\uec Benetton \u2018I\u2019m going to the doctor\u2019s office/ my aunt\u2019s house / the Benetton store\u2019 (b) Source is expressed by means of the preposition d(i) \u2018from, of\u2019 (< Lat. de \u2018from\u2019, Rohlfs 1969: 208), which is also found in some perlative constructions: (5) vegnu di nn\uec tia \u2018I\u2019m coming from your place\u2019 (6) pigghiav\uf9 di dda p\uec gghiri a t\uf2 casa \u2018I took that road to go to your house\u2019 (c) Path is expressed by means of a dedicated preposition, i.e. (p)pi \u2018through\u2019 (also pri, cfr. Rohlfs 1969: 212 < Lat per \u2018through\u2019). More precisely, (p)pi expresses both unidirectional and multidirectional path: (7) pigghi\ue0u ppi mienzu i tirrina \u2018I took the road in the midst of the lands\u2019, example in Leone 1995: 52) (8) vaiu p\uec li strati \u2018I go throughout the roads\u2019 It is relevant to observe that the multidirectional relation may also be encoded by means of a non-prepositional construction which consists in the doubling of a place noun, such as strata \u2018way, street, road\u2019, casa \u2018house, home\u2019, expressing the spatial extension along which motion is carried out (Amenta 2010; Todaro 2012; Todaro, Villoing, Gr\ue9a forth.). (9) Pinu firria strati strati \u2018Pino is hanging around the streets\u2019 (10) Vai caminannu casa casa \u2018I\u2019m walking throughout the house\u2019 The second issue addressed concerns the diachronic path through which the system of the spatial relations has developed throughout the history of Sicilian. To this purpose, three electronic corpora have been queried in order to collect a sample of data testifying how the spatial relations - and, in particular, path(s) - are represented at different stages of the language. More specifically, ancient Sicilian (first attested in the 14th century) and modern Sicilian (15th to 19th centuries) data derives from OVI and ARTESIA, while contemporary Sicilian data derives from ALS

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