1887
Volume 26, Issue 1
  • ISSN 2211-6834
  • E-ISSN: 2211-6842
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Abstract

This article offers a comparative survey of the distributional and interpretive properties of the adverbial particles across the Dolomitic region. By comparing the syntactic behaviour and the semantic contribution of this lexical item in different but closely related dialects, I try to better characterize the diachronic process of grammaticalization the Latin adverb has undergone in the relevant geographic area, showing that it amounts essentially to a successive upward reanalysis along the functional spine of the clausal hierarchy. In this particular case, an erstwhile temporal and locative adverb takes up a discourse-related functional value, turning eventually into a marker of (canonical or non-canonical) interrogative force. The structural portion involved in the process seems to correspond to the highest functional projections identified by Cinque (1999).

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2025-08-08
2026-05-15
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  • Article Type: Research Article
Keyword(s): Dolomitic dialects; functional hierarchy; grammaticalization; left periphery; particles
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