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Articles of Italian unite! Italian definite articles without allomorphy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 April 2018

Noam Faust ,
Nicola Lampitelli  and
Shanti Ulfsbjorninn
Noam Faust*
Affiliation:
Université Paris 8, CNRS SFL
Nicola Lampitelli*
Affiliation:
Université de Tours, CNRS LLL UMR 7270
Shanti Ulfsbjorninn*
Affiliation:
University College London
*
noam.faust@univ-paris8.fr
nicola.lampitelli@univ-tours.fr
s.ulfsbjorninn@ucl.ac.uk
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Abstract

This article examines the various realizations of the Italian definite article and concludes, against all previous accounts of this phenomenon, that neither the singular nor the plural realizations constitute a case of allomorphy stricto sensu. Significantly extending Larsen's (1998) analysis, the paper argues that all of the realizations of the definite article, including the problematic [i] and [ʎi], share a single underlying representation. It is proposed that the definite article is associated with a template with separate sites for definiteness and φ-features. It is further argued that [ʎ] is not a primitive entity in Italian; rather, it emerges from a very specific configuration in which /i/ and /l/ are conjoined and followed by a second realized vowel /i/. The templatic and segmental decompositions yield a morphologically unified analysis in which all of the realizations of the definite article are based on a single lexical representation followed by the application of regular phonology.

Résumé

Dans cet article, nous nous concentrons sur les différentes réalisations de surface de l'article défini de l'italien et proposons, à l'encontre de toute analyse précédente, qu'aucune de ces réalisations n'est un exemple d'allomorphie au sens strict. En étendant considérablement l'analyse de Larsen (1998), nous faisons l'hypothèse que toutes les réalisations de l'article défini, y compris les formes problématiques [i] et [ʎi], partagent une forme sous-jacente unique. Nous proposons d'abord que l'article défini soit associé à un gabarit possédant deux sites séparés qui sont réservés, respectivement, à la réalisation de la définitude et aux traits φ. Ensuite, nous montrons que [ʎ] n'est pas un objet primitif de l'italien : il dérive plutôt d'une configuration spécifique dans laquelle /i/ et /l/ sont fusionnés et suivis d'une deuxième voyelle réalisée /i/. La décomposition à la fois gabaritique et segmentale favorise une analyse morphologique unifiée dans laquelle toutes les formes réalisées de l'article défini sont dérivées d'une représentation lexicale unique par l'application régulière de la phonologie.

Keywords

allomorphyarticleItalianpalatalizationCVCV Phonologyallomorphiearticleitalienpalatalisationphonologie CVCV
Type
Article
Information
Canadian Journal of Linguistics/Revue canadienne de linguistique , Volume 63 , Issue 3 , September 2018 , pp. 359 - 385
Copyright
© Canadian Linguistic Association/Association canadienne de linguistique 2018 

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