Lausberg area

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Approximate isogloss lines. Lausberg Area.png
Approximate isogloss lines.

The Lausberg area is a part of southern Italy, covering much of Basilicata and the northern edge of Calabria, where Southern Italian dialects are spoken that show vowel developments atypical of Italo-Romance. The area is named after Heinrich Lausberg, who brought it to the attention of scholarship in 1939. [1]

Contents

Stressed vowel outcomes

There are three main subdivisions, as can be seen on the map to the right.

Romanian-like

Vowel changes from Latin to (Proto-)Romanian Development of vowels from Latin to Romanian.png
Vowel changes from Latin to (Proto-)Romanian

Dubbed the Vorposten (“outpost”) by Lausberg, this area encompasses the towns of Castelmezzano, Potenza, and Picerno. Here the Latin vowel /i/ merged with /eː/, while /u/ merged with /uː/. The same asymmetric vowel development characterizes Balkan Romance languages such as Romanian. [1]

Transitional

Vowel changes from Latin to Sicilian Vowel changes from Latin to Sicilian.png
Vowel changes from Latin to Sicilian

The western part of Lausberg's Mittelzone (“central area”) encompasses the towns of Lauria, Maratea, Scalea, Diamante, and Verbicaro. Here the majority of words show a stressed vowel development similar to that of Sicilian, although many words show Sardinian-like outcomes as well. [2]

Sardinian-like

Vowel changes from Latin to Sardinian Sardinian vowels.png
Vowel changes from Latin to Sardinian

The eastern part of the Mittelzone encompasses the towns of Senise, Tursi, and Oriolo. Here the tonic vowels developed approximately as in Sardinian. There is evidence, however, of an earlier distinction between Latin /eːoː/ and /eo/. In the variety spoken in Senise, for instance, the outcomes of Latin /e/ and /o/ were subject to diphthongization when stressed and followed by a syllable containing a close vowel (namely /i/ or /u/), while the outcomes of /eː/ and /oː/ were not. Cf. Latin /fokum,nepoːteːs/ > */ˈfɔku,neˈpoti/ > [ˈfwokə,nəˈpʊtə]. [3]

Selected lexical comparisons

Below are the (non-metaphonic) stressed vowel outcomes in the three regions, [2] each represented here by one dialect.

Latinˈfiːlumˈniwemˈteːlamˈpedemˈpaːnemˈkanemˈkorˈsoːlemˈkrukemˈluːnam
Castelmezzano ˈfiləˈnevəˈtelaˈperəˈpanəˈkanəˈkorəˈsoləˈkrutʃəˈlunə
Verbicaro ˈfɪləˈnɪvaˈtɪlaˈpɛtraˈpanəˈkanəˈkɔrəˈsʊləˈkrʊtʃaˈlʊna
Senise ˈfiləˈnivəˈtɛləˈpɛrəˈpanəˈkanəˈkɔrəˈsɔləˈkrutʃəˈlunə
Englishthreadsnowcanvasfootbreaddogheartsuncrossmoon

Here is a comparison of the present indicative conjugations of the verb meaning “to die” in the Mittelzone. [4] Asterisks indicate forms that induce syntactic doubling.

San Chirico Aliano Castelluccio Noepoli Amendolara Papasidero
1SGˈmɔrəˈmɔrəjəˈmɔrəkəˈmɔrə~ˈmuərəˈmɔrrəˈmɔru
2SGˈmwerəsəˈmɔrəsəˈmuːrəsəˈmuərəsəˈmuːrəsəˈmuːrisi
3SGˈmwerətəˈmɔrətəˈmurə*ˈmuərədəˈmuːrədəˈmuri*
1PLmuˈriəməmuˈrɛməmuˈriməmuˈriəməmuˈriməmuˈrimu
2PLmuˈriəsəmuˈrɛsəmuˈrisəmuˈriətəsəmuˈritəsəmuˈrisi
3PLˈmɔrənəˈmɔrənəˈmɔrənəˈmɔrənəˈmuːrənəˈmɔrunu

Notes

    References

    Bibliography