Cartography and Optional Feature Realization in the Nominal Expression

In this paper, we define four types of Concord, depending on how nominal features are realized on the specifier and/or the head of nominal functional projections. We single out what we call “Compensatory Concord,” characterized by overt features on the head and no features on the specifier. This pattern is found with three vocabulary items in Italian: the demonstrative que- “that,” the indefinite plural/mass determiner de- “some,” and the prenominal adjective be- “beautiful,” which apparently display the same inflectional morphemes as the definite articles. We suggest that these morphemes are the overt realization of the functional head in whose specifier que, de, and be sit, which is overt to compensate for the lack of features on the specifier. We then make a case study in the optionality displayed by one of these morphemes, namely the masculine plural –i, in the Central Italian dialect of Ancona. A “bottom-up effect” is observed in the non-realization of -i in Compensatory Concord. We suggest that this is due to the interaction of Compensatory Concord and the bottom-up application of Projection, which obeys a general principle of Consistency in Economy. In the course of the paper, we compare the Anconitano Anconetano facts with two other dialects: Perugino and Florentine. In Perugino, the possibility to omit i is restricted to de-, suggesting the micro-parametric nature of this omission. Quite differently, Florentine shows a wider application of i omission with an apparent top-down effect. We suggest that in Florentine, we are dealing with a phonological process, which applies at spell-out and therefore obeys Consistency in Economy in a linear, left-to-right fashion.