The project aims at investigating the behavior and vulnerability of clitic constructions under language contact conditions. One such construction is, for example, clitic climbing, i.e., the phenomenon whereby a clitic pronoun, selected by a complement verb, moves out of its local domain and climbs to a matrix clause attaching to a host verb. Romance languages, in particular Italo-Romance varieties, constitute the empirical scope of the study. The hypothesis of contact-induced change in the grammar of clitics is tested on different degrees of structural distance between the source language and the recipient language. The inquiry benefits of multiple data collection methods (fieldwork, online surveys, etc.). Particular attention is given to sociolinguistic correlates, as the test person group ranges from heritage speakers to recent migrants.

The first step of the investigation concerns the effects of English on the grammar of the Italian-speaking community in UK cities such as London.

Coordinator: Francesco Gardani

Funding source: URPP Language and Space