I POSSESSIVI IN ITALO-GRECO E ITALO-ROMANZO: PARALLELI STRUTTURALI IN UN’AREA DI CONTATTO

In this article we undertake a morphosyntactic comparison of the Italo-Greek and Italo-Romance varieties spoken in southern Calabria and Salento. In particular, we offer a comparative examination of the system of possessives in the relevant Italo-Greek and Italo-Romance varieties which both contrast a strong and an enclitic series. This symmetry in the two possessive paradigms will also be shown to involve specific structural parallels which we analyse in relation to semantic and syntactic properties of the nominal group such as referentiality and (in)definiteness. Following a close examination of the behaviour of strong possessives in accordance with particular pragmatic uses, we interpret the morphosyntactic properties of the possessives in relation to contact, interference and convergence, not only in southern Italy, but also in the Balkans. Ultimately, we shall demonstrate how the observed convergences are the result of innovative hybrid structures.Leverhulme Trus