Michaelmas Term 2025
Tuesday, 14 Oct 2025 (1-2pm, UK time)
Giulia Mazzola, Michelle Sheehan, Clementine Raffy, and Liam Garside (Newcastle University) – The syntax and semantics of visual and auditory perception in Romance languages
Abstract: Wurmbrand and Lohninger (2023), building on Givón (2001),propose a principle of Minimally Required Domains, whereby in order for a syntactic structure to map to a given semantic object, it must be of a certain size or larger. Building on Ramchand & Svenonius (2014), on the basis of cross-linguistic evidence, Wurmbrand and Lohninger argue that there must be at least three kinds of complement clauses in terms of semantic denotation: (i) events (which are tenseless and therefore simultaneous with a matrix subevent); (ii) situations (which have a pre-specified tense value, often future) and (iii) propositions (which have embedded reference time and may involve speaker-oriented parameters). Their cross-linguistic study of transparency effects suggeststhat these semantic types have Minimally Required Domains. Roughly speaking, events must be at least as large as the thematic domain, situations must contain some tense/mood/aspect projection and propositions must have fully specified tense and be more ‘clausal’. This means that, across languages, events/situations can also be denoted by larger structures even as large as CP, but the reverse is not true: because of containment, nothing lacking tense can denote a proposition.
Romance perception verbs offer a unique testing ground for this proposal as, in many cases, the same verb can occur with multiple complement types which have been shown syntactically to be of different sizes (see Casalicchio & Sheehan 2025 for a recent overview). For example, the ‘see’ verb in Italian permits the following kinds of clausal complements: (1) faire–par, with the perceivee as an adjunct; (2) faire infinitive (perceive with dative marking) andExceptional Case Marking (ECM, perceive with accusative marking); (3) finite CPs:
(1) Ho vistosuonare ilpiano da Pietro
have.prs.1sgsee.pst.ptcpplay.infdet.m.sgpiano by Pietro
‘I saw the piano played by Pietro.’
(2) {L’=/gli=}hovistosuonare ilpiano.
3sg.acc.m /3sg.dat=have.1sgsee.pst.ptcpplay.infdet.m.sgpiano
‘I saw him play the piano.’ (l’=ECM, gli=faire infinitive)
(3) Ho visto che Pietro suonava il piano.
have.prs.1sgsee.pst.ptcp comp Pietro play.pst.ipfv.3sg det.m.sg piano
‘I saw that Pietro was playing the piano.’
It is also well known that there are different kinds of perception (Dik & Hengeveld 1991, Enghels 2019, Moulton 2009). Direct perception involves spatiotemporal overlap of the perceiving and perceived events, whereas indirect perception involves spatiotemporal separation of the two events and, when most indirect, cognitive inference on the part of the observer. In Wurmbrand and Lohninger’s terms, this translates into: (i) direct perception of events; (ii) indirect perception of situations (e.g., seeing into the future) and (iii) cognitive inference of propositional content. The hypothesis suggested by Minimally Required Domains is that allcomplement types larger than the thematic domain can denote events leading to direct perception, whereas only the largest clauses can denote cognitive inference. We test out this hypothesis on Italian, European Spanish, European Portuguese and French, in a parallel corpus study. Our large-scale corpus study of these languages uses the TenTen corpora(Kilgarriff et al. 2014), analysing randomly extracted occurrences of see, hear, listen and watch (n=2,000 per verb/language) which are followed within 5 words by another verb. Once false positives were discarded, we were left with 2,800 total occurrences. All examples were manually filtered, analysed and tagged for syntactic and semantic criteria. We used the same semantic classification system across alllanguages and verbs, and we identified a nuanced scaled of meanings which complements in a more granular way the binary direct/indirect perception distinction investigated so far. We classified our meanings as: (i) direct perception (intentional or unintentional (4)-(5)); (ii) hybrid exposure meanings, like in (6); (iii) epistemic meanings, either foresight (8), or belief (commitment to a proposition) (9) and (iv) cognitive inference of a proposition (10).
[Italiano] [direct: intentional]
(4) Il brasiliano […] lo= guardò alzar=si.
the Brazilian acc.3sg.m= watch.pst.3sg get-up.inf=refl.3sg
‘The Brazilian watched him get up.’ (itTenTen, galeonedeifolli.it)
[French] [direct: unintentional]
(5) si elle le= voyaitse= gaver de sucreries ainsi.
if she 3sg.acc=see.pst.ipfv.3sg refl.3sg=stuff.inf of sweet.treats thus
‘…if she saw him stuffing his face like this.’ (frTenTen, manyfics.net)
[Eur.Portuguese][hybrid: exposure]
(6) crescemos a ouvir que basta uma vez e pimba!
grow-up.prs.1pl to hear.inf comp enough indf.f time and bam
‘We grow up hearing that once is enough and bam!’ (ptTenTen, demaeparamae.pt)
[Eur. Spanish][epistemic: foresight]
(7) Zidane, muy listo viovenir
Zvery smart.m.sg see.pst.3sg come.inf
la crisis
det.f.sg crisis(f)
‘Zidane, smartly, saw the crisis coming’ (esTenTen, quijotedigital.es)
[Eur. Portuguese] [epistemic: belief]
(8) nem vemos que haja qualquer motivo para a alterar.
nor see.prs.1pl comp there.be any motive for acc.f.sg=change.inf
‘nor do we see that there is any reason to change it.’(ptTenTen, dgsi.pt)
[Italiano] [indirect: cognitive]
(9) Non si può fingere di non vedere
neg imprs=can.prs.3sg pretend.inf of neg see.inf
che ciò sarà negativo per il Paese.
comp that be.fut.3sg negative for det.m.sg country
‘You cannot pretend that you don’t see that that will be negative for the country.’ (itTenTen, camera.it)
We then analysed the data using Bayesian Hierarchical Ordinal Regression, to see whether complement size (the outcome ordinal variable) is predicted by the semantic interpretation, and whether the prediction pattern mirrors the containment model proposed by Wurmbrand and Lohninger. Preliminary results point at a strong association between complement type and interpretation across languages. Propositions are categorically predicted to be encoded by CP complements, while situations and events show strong probabilistic tendencies in the expected directions. The results support Minimally Required Domains as complement of all sizes are compatible withdirect perception but only CPs surface with cognitive readings. We also discuss less clear patterns, related to meanings of perception verbs that do not encode pure perception, and some (rare) puzzling examples of epistemic foresight readings with very small complements. All in all, we show that beyond the pure non-finite/finite and direct/indirect distinction, semantics plays a clear, predictable role in syntactic optionality for promiscuous verbs.
Tuesday, 21 Oct 2025 (1-2pm, UK time)
Jessica Rita Messina (Università di Padova) – The influence of Italo-Romance on the Arbëreshë variety of Piana degli Albanesi
Arbëreshe (Arbërisht) is an alloglot variety, rooted in the Tosk dialect of south-western Albania, spoken today in about fifty residual communities across seven Italian regions (Molise, Abruzzo, Campania, Basilicata, Apulia, Calabria and Sicily). Formed through waves of migration of refugees from Albania, Greece and Morea (Peloponnesee) escaping the Ottoman invasion between the 15th and 18th centuries, these settlements display a long-standing history of multiculturalism, multilingualism and linguistic heterogeneity, determining their ‘complex and multi-layered character’ (Çabej 2021). Moreover, centuries of contact with surrounding Italo-Romance varieties have led Arbëreshe to develop features of linguistic convergence, code-switching and structural hybridization, while still maintaining a degree of internal cohesion. Nevertheless, the language seems to be currently endangered, with approximately 40,000 active speakers (Cane 2022).
This presentation focuses on the Arbëreshë variety of Piana degli Albanesi, with particular attention to the nominal domain. Here, microvariation reveals systematic divergences from both Standard Albanian and other Arbëreshë varieties, specifically in the encoding of definiteness and case. These phenomena suggest a broader realignment with Romance morphosyntax, visible in the new distribution of functional elements within the noun phrase – such as nominal inflection, determiners and linkers. The observed variability and optionality in strategies of expressing definiteness and case point to an ongoing process of morphosyntactic convergence with Italo-Romance.
Tuesday, 28 Oct 2025 (1-2pm, UK time)
Laura Stigliano (Ohio State University) – The landscape of verbal ellipsis in Galician (joint work with María Morado Vázquez)
Abstract: This talk discusses the landscape of verbal ellipsis in Galician, focusing on Aux-Stranding VP-Ellipsis (1B), Verb-Echo Answers (2B), and Modal Ellipsis. Galician is unique among Romance languages (along with Portuguese) in allowing the first two phenomena:
(1) A: Sonia ten comido centolas na cea de Nadal?
Sonia have.3sg eat.ptcp spider.crabs in.the dinner of Christmas
‘Has Sonia eaten spider crabs for Christmas?’
B: (Si,) ten.
(yes) have.3sg
‘Yes, she has.’
(2) A: Comeste o bolo?
ate the cake
‘Did you eat the cake?’
B: (Sim,) comi.
yes ate
‘Yes, I did.’
We propose that the distribution of these elliptical constructions is highly restricted, occurring only in contexts involving polarity or contrastive focus. We account for this restricted licensing by proposing that the ellipsis-triggering [E]-feature must Agree with a focus feature in a higher structural position. Furthermore, we argue that Verb-Echo Answers do arise from V-Stranding VPE, tackling the core debate surrounding object gaps. Using tests that probe the size of the ellipsis site, our analysis rules out both the smaller Argument Ellipsis structure and the larger TP-Ellipsis structure. This finding is significant as it challenges recent proposals claiming that V-Stranding VP-Ellipsis is impossible in language.
Finally, we examine Modal Ellipsis (3), a construction widely attested across Romance:
(3) Sonia quere mercar uns zapatos novos, pero sabe que non debe.
Sonia want.3sg buy.inf some shoes new but know.3sg that no should.3sg
‘Sonia wants to buy new shoes, but she knows she shouldn’t.’
Evidence from structural mismatches and extraction tests supports treating Modal Ellipsis as a form of surface anaphora, but a closer examination provides evidence that Modal Ellipsis in Galician should actually be analyzed as an instance of TP-Ellipsis.
Overall, our analysis refines the typology of ellipsis in Galician and Romance. We defend the existence of V-Stranding VPE and propose an Agree-based licensing condition for verbal ellipses. Our findings also hold significant implications for the cross-linguistic theory of ellipsis.
Tuesday, 4 Nov 2025 (1-2pm, UK time)
Loredana Ștefania Grigore (University of Bucharest)- On Connective Negation in Romanian and the Balkan Languages
Abstract: Situated at the crossroad between its Romance heritage and the structural pull of the Balkan Sprachbund, Romanian connective negation reveals a hybrid grammar where inheritance and contact intersect.
This paper investigates connective negation (Van der Auwera, Nomachi, and Krasnoukhova 2021) — coordinated negative constructions of the neither…nor type — in Romanian, in comparison with its Balkan counterparts in Albanian, Greek, Bulgarian, and Macedonian. The concept of connective negation finds its earliest roots in the work of Otto Jespersen (1917), who was among the first to systematically describe negative coordination patterns across languages.
The study lies at the intersection of comparative syntax, semantics, and language contact typology, and its purpose is threefold: (i) to describe the structure and interpretation of nici…nici in Romanian; (ii) to clarify the grammatical status, emphatic, and scalar functions of nici; and (iii) to situate Romanian within the broader typology of negative concord systems, identifying points of convergence and divergence with both Romance and Balkan languages.
In Romanian, nici…nici represents the canonical connective negation structure:
(1) Nici Ion, nici Maria nu au venit.
neither Ion nor Maria NEG AUX.3PL come.PTCP
‘Neither Ion nor Maria came.’
Both conjuncts are introduced by nici, and negative concord nu is obligatory in both conjuncts. This co-occurrence exemplifies strict negative concord, which can be defined as the expression of a single semantic negation through both a sentential negator and negative elements such as adverbs, pronouns, or determiners (van der Auwera & Van Alsenoy 2016: 473–474). Romanian belongs to the group of strict negative concord languages, since negative elements (negative pronouns, pronominal adjectives, negative circumstantial adverbs, etc.) appear only in contexts where they co-occur with a sentential negator.
The particle nici is a linguistically complex form, whose ambiguous status — oscillating between a clitic adverbial and a conjunction — reflects its dual ability to coordinate and to reinforce negation. It can also express scalar or emphatic meanings, contributing presuppositional strength to the negative context.
The comparative analysis shows that Romanian diverges from its Romance relatives but converges structurally with its Balkan neighbours. In Spanish and Italian, for example, negative coordination displays non-strict negative concord. For example, in Sp. Ni puedo ni debo exponerla a ciertos riesgos (‘I can neither expose her to certain risks nor should I’), only one negator is allowed (Van der Auwera, Nomachi, and Krasnoukhova 2021: 48).
In the Balkan languages, connective negation consistently exhibits strict negative concord, closely paralleling the Romanian pattern. In Albanian, the construction as…as (‘neither…nor’) obligatorily co-occurs with the sentential negator nuk/s’ (As Iliri, as Mira nuk erdhën ‘Neither Ilir nor Mira came’), marking both conjuncts within the same negative domain. Greek displays a comparable structure with oute…oute, which typically co-occurs with the verbal negator dhen. However, in coordinated verbal clauses, the negator may be omitted (Holton, Mackridge & Philippaki-Warburton 2012: 428), since oute alone can convey sentential negation. Macedonian and Bulgarian display parallel patterns with nitu…nitu and nito…nito, respectively, both requiring the presence of the negative marker.
Within this context, Romanian can be seen as a Romance language that has undergone contact-induced restructuring. Phenomena such as connective negation may represent additional manifestations of this broader convergence. The present study aims to document and compare the structural and functional traits of connective negation across these languages, offering preliminary evidence for contact-induced tendencies that remain open to further investigation.
Tuesday, 11 Nov 2025 (1-2pm, UK time)
Nigel Vincent (University of Manchester) – Finiteness and suppletion: evidence from Romance
Abstract: In this talk I will continue the line of argument developed in Micali et al (2025) and explore the way suppletive patterns split across sub-domains of the verbal paradigm and according to the different functions (main verb vs auxiliary) of the verbs in question. I consider in particular those patterns which involve both finite and non-finite forms such as the stem sach- within the paradigm of French savoir or a split between finite and non-finite forms as in the go verb in the Lollovese variety of Sardinian (Pisano 2021).
Tuesday, 18 Nov 2025 (1-2pm, UK time)
Oana Niculescu (Institutul de Lingvistică ‘Iorgu Iordan – Alexandru Rosetti’, București) – From hesitation to meaning: understanding disfluencies in Spoken Romanian
Tuesday, 25 Nov 2025 (1-2pm, UK time)
Alberto Frasson (University of Wroclaw) – The diachrony of progressives in Venetan: a syntactic analysis
Abstract: This talk investigates the historical development of the progressive construction in Venetan, focusing on the syntax and grammaticalization of the prepositional construction drio (“behind”) + infinitive. The study traces the evolution of this construction from its earliest attestations in medieval and early modern texts to contemporary Venetan varieties. The analysis shows that drio, originally a locative preposition, underwent a process of reanalysis and reinterpretation, eventually becoming a dedicated progressive aspectual marker. This change is closely linked to the loss of nominalized infinitive structures and the disappearance of overt determiners, which together reshaped the underlying syntactic configuration. The Venetan data provide a case of syntactic change in a minoritized language, where reduced standardization enables diachronic developments to emerge more transparently. By examining the interaction between nominalization, the syntax of prepositional infinitives and aspectual marking, this work aims at a better understanding of grammaticalization paths in Romance and highlights the relevance of smaller Romance varieties for broader theoretical discussions on syntactic change.
Tuesday, 1 Dec 2025 (1-2pm, UK time)
Jonathan Kasstan & Coppe van Urk (Westminster & QMUL) – On competing accounts of null-subject realisation and variable rules in Francoprovençal
Abstract: A classic claim of language ‘obsolescence’ research is that threatened varieties portray wide-ranging variation through a laxing of categorical rules, increased optionality across remaining generations of speakers, and rapid language change (Dorian 1989 inter alia). We consider this claim in analyzing subject clitic expression (SCE) in Francoprovençal, well-attested for exhibiting substantial variation in subject clitics (e.g. Roberts 1993). Data come from sociolinguistic interviews gathered in 2022 among 35 older fluent and younger less fluent Saviésan Francoprovençal speakers (n=1913 tokens). While the data portray variable SCE, with 94% omission in 1SG, we show that subject omission is categorically blocked with auxiliaries for all speakers and propose that optionality in prosodic structure leads to the appearance of morphosyntactic variation. Contra levelling predictions in the scholarship, the distribution of omission is intricate, and governed by several categorical grammatical factors: i) 1SG vs. other clitics, ii) lexical vs. functional verbs, and iii) C-initial vs. V-initial verbs. In 1SG, deletion never occurs before HAVE, is obligatory before BE and V-initial lexical verbs, and variable before C-initial lexical verbs. In other clitics, only variable deletion occurs before C-initial verbs, and deletion is otherwise categorically absent (unless triggered by object clitics). Social factors are not significant predictors in χ2 tests (sex p = 0.3782, speaker type p = 0.9331). We will argue that omission patterns then do not reflect a random or unstable system as the literature would suggest, but, rather, are driven by phonological requirements among speakers at an advanced stage of language shift.
Tuesday, 8 Dec 2025 (1-2pm, UK time)
Guido Mensching (University of Göttingen) – Some remarks on Romance nominal split constructions
Abstract: The talk investigates the phenomenon of nominal split constructions (NSCs) as exemplified by the German sentence Bücher habe ich viele gelesen (lit. ‘Books I have many read’). I will first provide a typological and syntactic summary NSCs as described in the literature. The central focus of the talk will be the analysis of such constructions in Romance languages. While structures similar to the German example are reported for Romanian,they seem to be generally absent or marginal in other Romance languages. In the main part of the talk, I will argue that Romance structures of the type Di libri, ne ho letti molti (Italian), which are found across all Romance languages that possess partitive clitics, can be considered a manifestation of NSCs. Crucially, I propose that the additional material – specifically the preposition and the partitive clitic – can be considered as adjustments similar to those found in NSCs in many languages, thus aiming to unify the Romance data with a broader, cross-linguistic account of NSCs. My hypotheses will be underpinned by a minimalist analysis.
Romance Linguistics Circle 