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Part of
Structuring Variation in Romance Linguistics and Beyond: In honour of Leonardo M. Savoia
Edited by Mirko Grimaldi, Rosangela Lai, Ludovico Franco and Benedetta Baldi
[Linguistik Aktuell/Linguistics Today 252] 2018
► pp. 241–255

Chapter 16
Unstable personal pronouns in Northern Logudorese

| University of Zurich
| University of Zurich
| University of Zurich

This paper deals with some Logudorese dialects of Northern Sardinia, whose nominal and pronominal morphology has been variously reshaped due to contact with Gallurese/Sassarese. While many of the data discussed here were addressed in the previously available literature, we draw on first-hand fieldwork data to show that further simplification in the system of personal pronouns has taken place (Sènnori) or is presently ongoing (Luras), resulting in an overall trend towards loss of marking of the gender contrast, everywhere in the plural, at times also in the singular. In particular in the case of Luras, we show that this rearrangement is taking place through a kaleidoscope of subtly differing individual variants.

Keywords: gender/number agreement, variation (cross‑ and intra-dialectal), language contact, language change
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Contact-induced change in gender agreement and noun inflection in Sennorese
  • 3.Contact-induced change in the dialect of Luras
    • 3.1Convergent gender marking in Lurese
    • 3.2Change in the personal pronoun system: From common Logudorese to conservative Lurese
    • 3.3Instability and ongoing change in personal pronouns in the dialect of Luras
  • 4.Personal pronouns in the nearby dialects of Bulzi and Pèrfugas
  • 5.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgments
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 19 December 2018
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/la.252.16lop
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