Il dialetto grico del Salento : elementi balcanici e contatto linguistico

The present study presents the results of the documentation and analysis of some aspects of the grammar of Griko. Griko is a Greek dialect spoken in Apulia, in the province of Lecce (Italy). Chapter 1 describes the present-day linguistic situation of Griko and offers an overview of the previous studies and a summery of the question of the origin. Empirical basis of the research and methodology are also described. Chapter 2 discusses the relationship between Griko and the languages belonging to the Balkan Sprachbund. Moreover, it presents in a descriptive way some morphosyntactic features of Griko possibly due to language contact with Italo-romance. Chapters 3 and 4 offer a closer examination and (tentative) analysis of two ‘Balkanisms’ in Griko, namely the replacement of infinitive and the double complementizer system. Empirical data are analysed in the framework of recent generative studies and in comparison with neighbouring Italo-romance dialects (Salentino, Southern Calabrian) and Balkan languages, primarily Greek.