Is mi modal? Mi insubordinate constructions in northeastern Sicilia
Abstract
This paper aims at analyzing the semantic and structural properties of clauses introduced by the complementizer mi in north-eastern Sicilian (Rohlfs 1972, De Angelis 2016, 2017, Ganfi 2021), by means of ad-hoc collected dialectological data. In particular, we focus on the constructionalization (Traugott / Trousdale 2014) of independent propositions preceded by mi. Through the process of insubordination, which involves the reinterpretation of subordinate sentences as independent clauses (cf. Evans 2007, Lombardi Vallauri 2007, Cristofaro 2016), mi has gained new domains of use and new functions in contemporary Sicilian. As shown in typological crosslinguistic studies (Mauri / Sansò 2011, 2016), insubordination can lead to the reanalysis of modal values. Sicilian data confirm this trend, since they prove the presence of two different types of modal insubordinates constructed with mi. Indeed, the two constructions designate deontic and epistemic meanings, respectively:
Iddu è amicu soi, mi cià fa a catastazioni
(He is your friend, COMPL let him do the land registry deed)
Non mi cadiu n’terra
(Maybe he fell to the ground)
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