FWF Project P37209-G

Duration: 3 years

Start: September 2024

Funding amount: 650,000 euros

The project "Der zweite Weg: Präpositionale Adverbiale in primären Dialekten der Romania " is a follow-up project to the previous project "Der Dritte Weg: Präpositionale Adverbiale vom Lateinischen ins Romanisch". The project "The Third Way" considers prepositional adverbials (type C), e.g. Fr. à la dure, Sp. a la ligera (cf. Engl. in short), as a relevant third type of adverbial formation alongside adverbial adjectives, e.g. Fr.e.g. Fr. aller direct, Sp. hablar claro (type A) (cf. Engl. to speak clear) and derived adverbs on -mente, e.g. Fr. directement, Sp. tranquilamente (type B) (cf. Engl. to speak clearly). The spread of type C was favored by general analytical tendencies in the transition from Latin to Romance. While type B has become established through standardization (except in Romanian), this type is generally absent in the primary dialects of Romansh. The primary dialects thus continue the Indo-European tradition of using adjectives for adverbial functions (type A) and extend it to type C in the transition from Latin to Romance. Consequently, type C must be regarded not as a third, but as a second way of adverbial formation in the primary dialects. The project "The Second Way" deals with the relationship between Type A and Type C in primary dialects of Romance.

Project description

Research context

The project "Der zweite Weg: Präpositionale Adverbiale in primären Dialekten der Romania " is a follow-up project to the previous project "Der Dritte Weg: Präpositionale Adverbiale vom Lateinischen ins Romanisch". The project "Der Dritte Weg" considers prepositional adverbials (type C), e.g. Fr. à la dure, Sp. a la ligera (cf. Engl. in short), as a relevant third type of adverbial formation alongside adverbial adjectives, e.g. Fr.e.g. Fr. aller direct, Sp. hablar claro (type A) (cf. Engl. to speak clear) and derived adverbs on -mente, e.g. Fr. directement, Sp. tranquilamente (type B) (cf. Engl. to speak clearly). The spread of type C was favored by general analytical tendencies in the transition from Latin to Romance. While type B has become established through standardization (except in Romanian), this type is generally absent in the primary dialects of Romansh. The primary dialects thus continue the Indo-European tradition of using adjectives for adverbial functions (type A) and extend it to type C in the transition from Latin to Romance. Consequently, type C must be regarded not as a third, but as a second way of adverbial formation in the primary dialects. The Third Way project has indeed provided ample evidence for the great importance of Type C in the primary dialects.

Hypothesis

According to our hypothesis, type C extends the direct modification of type A by circumstantial semantic-pragmatic features, e.g. the speaker's attitude in Fr. à la légère. This corresponds to Coseriu's description of the Latin-Romance analysis process as a development of indirect relations. The aim is to analyze the functional differentiation of type A and type C.

 

Approach

The Second Way project examines 7 primary dialects located in 5 main areas: Gallo-Romance (Franco-Provençal: Evolène), Italo-Romance (Southern Italian varieties: Montellese and Verbicarese), Ibero-Romance (Mirandese: Miranda do Douro, Asturian: Teverga), Daco-Romance (Banaţean: Sarmizegetusa, Crişean: Măguri-Răcătău). The project applies the field research method developed as part of "The Third Way" project. It now also includes Type A and the functional differentiation of Type A and Type C. The method is based on questionnaires (10 interviews per survey location with two informants each).

Innovation

The project is innovative in that it examines type C, which is neglected in handbooks and grammars, and also carries out a comparative study of the entire Romance language area. The results will also be used for diachronic reconstruction.