Cristina GUARDIANO - personale UniMoRe

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Cristina GUARDIANO

Professore Ordinario
Dipartimento di Comunicazione ed Economia

Pubblicazioni

2024 - DOM IN RAGUSA AND ITS CO-OCCURRENCE RESTRICTIONS [Capitolo/Saggio]
Guardiano, Cristina; Irimia, Monica
abstract

Recent formal research has shown that important insights into the nature of direct objects which are differentially marked come from their co- occurrence restrictions. This paper focuses on co-occurrence restrictions involving differential object marking (DOM) in the dialect of Ragusa (southeastern Sicily), in its interaction with datives and clitic doubling. It is shown that such restrictions do not have a morphological source, but a syntactic one, and are best explained by taking into account the positions in which DOM, datives and clitic doubles are licensed.

2023 - An Interdisciplinary Approach to Economic Texts: the “Considerazioni Finali” by the Governor of the Bank of Italy as a Case Study [Capitolo/Saggio]
Vezzani, Paola; Guardiano, Cristina; Ligabue, Valentina
abstract

Every year, at the end of May, the Bank of Italy publishes its Annual Report. A synthesis of the contents of this document is officially presented by the Governor, in a public meeting open to shareholders and to an interested and expert audience. This is a formal event that has been held through the same procedures, and with the same rules, from 1947 until now. During this very formal moment, the Governor reads a text, called “Considerazioni Finali” (Concluding Remarks), that contains a comprehensive analysis of the key developments in national and international economy in the previous year and in the early months of the current year. In this paper, we suggest an analysis of the 75 “Considerazioni Finali” pronounced from 1947 to 2021, specifically focused on: (1) their economic and financial contents; (2) their sociolinguistic features, textual organization and major morphosyntactic peculiarities. Concerning (1), we focus on the relationship between technical contents (for each decade, we single out the most significant economic, financial and social events on both a national and international dimension) and lexical choices. With the aid of descriptive statistics, we explore the changes in the use of specific lexical items during the time frame in which these texts were produced. This allows us to trace back the economic history of Italy from the post-war period to current times. Concerning the lexical level, it must be remarked that it is the most superficial level of any linguistic product, the one that, more than others, is immediately accessible to the speakers: as such, it is extremely vulnerable to change. As a matter of fact, lexical choices strongly depend on the content that must be transmitted. Thus, it is expected to reflect it, and to be strongly informative concerning this aspect. Thus, the observation of lexical choices allows us to explore trends in topics, keywords, messages, interests, narrative and warnings issued by the Governor year by year. Finally, it must be remarked that, in this particular context, the use of each single word is not a “free” choice of the speaker, because it is strictly constrained by the “technical” nature of these texts. Concerning (2), a systematic analysis of the texts under the lens of sociolinguistic investigation allows us to objectively define their structure and nature, and to better understand the impact of the morphosyntactic choices identifying these documents and their position against the current status of linguistic variation across Italian varieties. We observe specific structural choices concerning word order and its relation with meaning and interpretation. Our survey shows that, despite the diversity of topics covered, the time span of over 75 years (during which the Italian language has undergone several important changes in terms of usage and number of speakers) and the differences found in the structure of the documents (such as variability in terms of length, subdivision into chapters, presence or absence of graphics and tables), there is no remarkable structural variation in these documents. This is actually consistent with our expectations: deeper levels of linguistic structures are less vulnerable to superficial, short-term changes than the lexicon. This preliminary work is an attempt to combine economic and financial analyses with an inspection of the structural linguistic features on this type of documents. We think that this can open novel interdisciplinary research lines in the field of economic and financial communication.

2023 - Differential object marking in a dialect of Sicily [Capitolo/Saggio]
Guardiano, C.
abstract

This contribution proposes an overview of the distribution ofa-marked objects in a Romance dialect of Sicily, focusing on the relation between a-marking and the syntactic properties of the nominal structure in object position. The following properties are considered: type of lexical head (pro- nouns vs. nouns); coding of the Person feature on the lexical head and its relation with the functional head D; type of noun (proper names, kinship nouns, other nouns); lexical realization of the determiner (D head); defi- niteness and animacy of the object; Number. It will be shown that, in the dialect explored,a-marking is constrained by two major restrictions: (1) a-marking is only possible if the head D is phonetically realized, and (2) [+human] referentsmust bea-marked.

2022 - A ritroso nel tempo per capire le reazioni tr le lingue del mondo [Altro]
Guardiano, Cristina
abstract

Quanto è possibile andare indietro nella ricostruzione delle origini e della diversificazione delle popolazioni e delle culture umane? Negli ultimi 250 anni, la linguistica storica ha contribuito a rispondere a questa domanda individuando le origini e le relazioni fra le lingue del mondo e tracciando la loro evoluzione nel tempo.

2022 - Le Considerazioni finali fra lingua, storia ed economia [Articolo su rivista]
Guardiano, Cristina; Ligabue, Valentina; Vezzani, Paola
abstract

Nel presente contributo proponiamo uno studio delle 75 Considerazioni finali lette dai Governatori della Banca d’Italia in carica dal 1947 al 2021. L’analisi si concentra sui prin- cipali contenuti economici e finanziari e su alcune caratteristiche linguistiche: tratti so- ciolinguistici, organizzazione testuale e macroscopici tratti morfosintattici. Studiamo anche la relazione fra i contenuti di questi documenti e certe peculiarità linguistiche associate alla lingua specialistica dell’economia. Il lavoro si configura come un tentativo originale di analisi che coniuga un’attenta rassegna dei contenuti delle Considerazioni finali, costruita utilizzando gli strumenti classici dell’indagine economica, con una os- servazione sistematica della configurazione linguistica e della natura sociolinguistica di questi testi.

2022 - Managing data in TerraLing, a large-scale cross-linguistic database of morphological, syntactic, and semantic patterns. [Capitolo/Saggio]
Koopman, Hilda; Guardiano, Cristina
abstract

TerraLing (http://terraling.com/) is a database-backed web application set up to collect, store and explore data for comparative research in the linguistic sciences. TerraLing is publicly accessible and open-ended: new languages, contributors, properties and databases can be added so as to allow the database to grow over time. Its basic setup allows working with linguists who are native speakers or signers as language-experts providing the data. This gives researchers the opportunity to use the tools of theoretical linguistics to access the implicit knowledge of native speakers/signers to probe the cross-linguistic situation.

2022 - Number Morphology and Bare Nouns in Some Romance Dialects of Italy [Articolo su rivista]
Guardiano, Cristina; Stalfieri, Vincenzo; Cambria, Michela
abstract

This paper explores aspects of microvariation concerning the morphological realization of the feature Number within nominal structures in a selected subset of Romance dialects of Italy. First, the different strategies adopted in the dialects of the dataset for the realization of number alternations on various nominal categories (nouns/adjectives, articles, demonstratives, and possessives) are presented. Then, the relation between the latter and the distribution of “bare” argument nominals (i.e., of nominal structures which, in argument position, occur without any lexicalized determiner) is explored. It will be observed that the distribution of bare arguments in the dialects of the dataset is consistent with the hypotheses made in the literature, which suggest that there is a correlation between the realization of number alternations on nouns and the possibility for “null” (i.e., unpronounced) determiners to be licensed.

2022 - Sicilian DOM in a Romance perspective [Capitolo/Saggio]
Guardiano, Cristina; Irimia, Monica
abstract

The main goal of this study is an examination of differential object marking (DOM) in the Sicilian dialect of Ragusa, focusing on data from Guardiano (1999, 2000, 2010, 2022), as well as novel data. The contribution is two-fold; on the empirical side, this research is interested in mapping the Ragusa DOM contexts, given that this is a rather uncharted territory and given the wide variation with DOM in the dialects of Sicily.1A comparison with better studied Romance languages such as Spanish or Romanian will serve as a guideline, revealing the presence of various DOM contexts previously unexplored in the Ragusa dialect. On the theoretical side, the Ragusa dialect raises important questions which have been at the center of debate in the domain of DOM: is Ragusa DOM a syntactic or a purely morphological mechanism, and more generally, what type of analysis is best suited? This paper will focus on various syntactic effects induced by DOM, illustrating differences between clitic doubled DOM and DOM with no clitic doubling. This indicates that Ragusa DOM has a syntactic nature.

2021 - At the boundaries of syntactic prehistory [Articolo su rivista]
Ceolin, Andrea; Guardiano, Cristina; Longobardi, Giuseppe; Irimia, Monica Alexandrina; Bortolussi, Luca; Sgarro, Andrea
abstract

Can language relatedness be established without cognate words? This question has remained unresolved since the nineteenth century, leaving language prehistory beyond etymologically established families largely undefined. We address this problem through a theory of universal syntactic characters. We show that not only does syntax allow for comparison across distinct traditional language families, but that the probability of deeper historical relatedness between such families can be statistically tested through a dedicated algorithm which implements the concept of 'possible languages' suggested by a formal syntactic theory. Controversial clusters such as e.g. Altaic and Uralo-Altaic are significantly supported by our test, while other possible macro-groupings, e.g. Indo-Uralic or Basque-(Northeast) Caucasian, prove to be indistinguishable from a randomly generated distribution of language distances. These results suggest that syntactic diversity, modelled through a generative biolinguistic framework, can be used to provide a proof of historical relationship between different families irrespectively of the presence of a common lexicon from which regular sound correspondences can be determined; therefore, we argue that syntax may expand the time limits imposed by the classical comparative method. This article is part of the theme issue 'Reconstructing prehistoric languages'.

2021 - Modeling syntactic change under contact: The case of Italiot Greek [Articolo su rivista]
Guardiano, C.; Stavrou, M.
abstract

In this paper, we investigate patterns of persistence and change affecting the syntax of nominal structures in Italiot Greek in comparison to Modern (and Ancient) Greek, and we explore the role of Southern Italo-Romance as a potential source of interference. Our aim is to highlight the dynamics that favor syntactic contact in this domain: We provide an overview of the social context where these dynamics have taken place and of the linguistic structures involved.

2020 - Contact and resistance [Capitolo/Saggio]
Guardiano, Cristina; Longobardi, Giuseppe; Melita, Stavrou; Crisma, Paola
abstract

Language contact studies often focus on features transferred from one language (Source Language) to another (Target Language), and the different settings and conditions in which such transfers may happen. Equally interesting, however, is the problem posed by features that are not transferred. This contribution aims at analyzing one case of resistance to interference, with the ultimate goal of contributing to a predictive theory of the conditions on contact-induced language change.

2020 - Dialectal syntax between persistence and change. The case of Greek demonstratives. [Articolo su rivista]
Guardiano, Cristina; Stavrou, Melita
abstract

In this paper we discuss the distribution of adnominal demonstratives in Italiot Greek and compare it to the neighboring Southern-Italo Romance dialects and to Standard Modern Greek. We show that the current structure and distribution of demonstratives in Italiot Greek, which looks very similar to that of Extreme Southern Italo-Romance, can actually be accounted for only by assuming the underlying syntax which has been typical of Greek demonstratives since ancient times.

2020 - Formal syntax and deep history. [Articolo su rivista]
Ceolin, Andrea; Guardiano, Cristina; Irimia, Monica Alexandrina; Longobardi, Giuseppe
abstract

We show that, contrary to long-standing assumptions, syntactic traits, modeled here within the generative biolinguistic framework, provide insights into deep-time language history. To support this claim, we have encoded the diversity of nominal structures using 94 universally definable binary parameters, set in 69 languages spanning across up to 13 traditionally irreducible Eurasian families. We found a phylogenetic signal that distinguishes all such families and matches the family-internal tree topologies that are safely established through classical etymological methods and datasets. We have retrieved “near-perfect” phylogenies, which are essentially immune to homoplastic disruption and only moderately influenced by horizontal convergence, two factors that instead severely affect more externalized linguistic features. This result allowed us to draw some preliminary inferences about plausible/implausible cross-family classifications; it also provides a new source of evidence for testing the representation of diversity in syntactic theories.

2020 - Language in collaborative spaces: Advantages and barriers [Capitolo/Saggio]
Leone, Ludovica; Guardiano, Cristina; Irimia, Monica Alexandrina; Mattarelli, Elisa; Montanari, Fabrizio
abstract

An indispensable desideratum in collaborative spaces is to foster dynamic, barrier-free environments where professionals from different backgrounds can find common ground for collaborative projects. However, although such goals cannot be met without proficient and effective communication, research on the use of language as the most important means of information exchange in collaborative spaces is still needed. Our contribution in this paper consists of an exploration of the linguistic interactions among coworkers of such spaces. We propose a multi-disciplinary approach integrating insights from the organizational literature on communication and research methods in theoretical linguistics. The sociolinguistic analysis of two coworking spaces reveals essential traits such as language diversity, the use of different formal and informal linguistic registers, as well as the appeal to various media and communication modalities. This type of versatility can foster information exchange, knowledge sharing, and, ultimately, effective collaboration. However, it might also act as a barrier to communication, suggesting the need for collaborative spaces to establish common linguistic ground as the basis for promoting collaboration.

2020 - More Rule than Exception: Parallel Evidence of Ancient Migrations in Grammars and Genomes of Finno-Ugric Speakers [Articolo su rivista]
Santos, Patrícia; Gonzàlez-Fortes, Gloria; Trucchi, Emiliano; Ceolin, Andrea; Cordoni, Guido; Guardiano, Cristina; Longobardi, Giuseppe; Barbujani, Guido
abstract

To reconstruct aspects of human demographic history, linguistics and genetics complement each other, reciprocally suggesting testable hypotheses on population relationships and interactions. Relying on a linguistic comparative method based on syntactic data, here we focus on the non-straightforward relation of genes and languages among Finno-Ugric (FU) speakers, in comparison to their Indo-European (IE) and Altaic (AL) neighbors. Syntactic analysis, in agreement with the indications of more traditional linguistic levels, supports at least three distinct clusters, corresponding to these three Eurasian families; yet, the outliers of the FU group show linguistic convergence with their geographical neighbors. By analyzing genome-wide data in both ancient and contemporary populations, we uncovered remarkably matching patterns, with north-western FU speakers linguistically and genetically closer in parallel degrees to their IE-speaking neighbors, and eastern FU speakers to AL speakers. Therefore, our analysis indicates that plausible cross-family linguistic interference effects were accompanied, and possibly caused, by recognizable demographic processes. In particular, based on the comparison of modern and ancient genomes, our study identified the Pontic-Caspian steppes as the possible origin of the demographic processes that led to the expansion of FU languages into Europe.

2020 - Syntactic diversity and language learnability [Articolo su rivista]
Crisma, Paola; Guardiano, Cristina; Longobardi, Giuseppe
abstract

We propose a preliminary model of a practical parameter setting procedure that aims at bridging the gap between descriptive and explanatory adequacy. We present a list of questions which can successfully set of 94 binary parameters in 69 languages drawn from several different families using positive evidence only. Our proposal can be cast within a minimalist model of the language faculty, assuming an underspecified universal grammar and a rich network of implications among parameters. We argue that the workload of parameter setting can be significantly reduced by means of two assumptions: first by positing that only parameters with a positive value are set; second, by showing that parameters can be set exclusively on the basis of a core subset of positive evidence, which we call the Restricted List. We suggest that a model with these properties qualifies as a plausible framework for language acquisition studies, and also lends itself to be applied to closed corpora, such as those available as the sole sources for diachronic studies.

2019 - Adjective-noun combination in Romance and Greek of Southern Italy. Polydefiniteness revisited [Articolo su rivista]
Guardiano, Cristina; Melita, Stavrou
abstract

This paper investigates aspects of adjectival modification in Romance and Greek of Southern Italy. In Italiot Greek, prenominal adjectives obey restrictions that do not exist in Standard Modern Greek, where all types of adjectives are allowed in prenominal position. As far as postnominal adjectives are concerned, in the textual tradition of Calabria Greek there is evidence of postnominal adjectives systematically articulated in definite determiner phrases (DPs), in a structure similar to the so-called polydefinite construction that is typical of Standard Modern Greek (and of Greek in general since ancient times). Some residual evidence of such a construction is also found in Salento. Yet, in the varieties currently spoken in the two areas, postnominal adjectives are never articulated. The paper explores these patterns, with particular attention to the mechanisms potentially responsible for the loss of polydefiniteness.

2019 - Comparing patterns of adjectival modification in Greek: a diachronic approach [Articolo su rivista]
Guardiano, Cristina; Stavrou Sifaki, Melita Nik
abstract

This paper investigates the distribution of adjectives in Ancient Greek, with the aim of comparing it to Standard Modern Greek. We use a selection of texts from Classical Attic and New Testament koiné. In Ancient Greek, like in Standard Modern Greek, all types of adjectives are allowed in prenominal position, and there is no evidence of movement of the noun over prenominal adjectives. As far as postnominal adjectives are concerned, in Classical and New Testament Greek they are systematically articulated in definite DPs, in a structure similar to the so-called polydefinite construction, that is typical of Standard Modern Greek. There is little evidence, in the texts explored, of structures of the type Article Adjective Article Noun, which are instead very common in Standard Modern Greek, and have been assumed to follow from fronting of the constituent [Article+Adjective] from a postnominal position. Finally, in Ancient Greek, there are cases of postnominal articulated non-adjectival modifiers of the noun, which are impossible in Standard Modern Greek. The paper explores these patterns, with particular attention to the mechanisms responsible for polydefiniteness.

2019 - Italian: Language expert for the TerraLing group Conjunction and Disjunction http://test.terraling.com/groups/8 [Voce in Dizionario o Enciclopedia]
Guardiano, Cristina
abstract

The Conjunction and Disjunction database (http://terraling.com/groups/8) explores the semantics of conjunction and disjunction by investigating the cross- linguistic realization of such elements. The research is guided by theoretical hypotheses in semantics concerning the meaning of these elements, and explores how these hypotheses can be tested on typological data.

2019 - Syntactic variation across Greek dialects. The case of demonstratives [Capitolo/Saggio]
Guardiano, Cristina; Michelioudakis, Dimitris
abstract

The syntax of demonstratives in the Greek varieties of southern Italy and more broadly in diaspora Greek can serve as a case study of how long-term unbalanced contact can give rise to syntactic borrowing, shedding light on both necessary and sufficient formal conditions of contact-induced reanalysis and change. Diachronically, Greek features adjective-like demonstratives. In southern Italy and Asia Minor, the adjectival syntax of demonstratives is being and has been lost under pressure from Italo-Romance dialects and Turkish respectively. This radical departure from the traditional Greek pattern is, arguably, impossible in the absence of contact. Crucially, however, a new grammatical rule can only be borrowed if its most characteristic outputs are already possible in the target language, or are made possible through language-internal dynamics.

2019 - The history of Greek articles: a syntactic approach [Capitolo/Saggio]
Guardiano, Cristina
abstract

This chapter proposes a description of some syntactic properties of the definite article (ὁ, ἡ, τό) in Ancient Greek. The framework adopted is based on formal approaches to crosslinguistic variation and on the dp-hypothesis. Three syntactic contexts are explored: argument nominals where ὁ, ἡ, τό is required, argument nominals where ὁ, ἡ, τό is ungrammatical, and argument nominals where ὁ, ἡ, τό can either be visible or omitted. It will be shown that, with rare exceptions, the distribution of ὁ, ἡ, τό in argument nominal structures in Classical and post-Classical Greek is coherent with the constraints which define cross linguistic variation in this domain

2019 - Ελληνική και ρομανικές ποικιλίες της Κάτω Ιταλίας: ιστορία και γλωσσική επαφή σε ονοματικές δομές [Capitolo/Saggio]
Guardiano, Cristina; Melita, Stavrou
abstract

Σε αυτή τη μελέτη διερευνούμε κάποιες ονοματικές δομές σε δύο ελληνικές διαλέκτους της Κάτω Ιταλίας: τη διάλεκτο που μιλιέται στην περιοχή του Σαλέντο και ονομάζεται Γκρίκο (συντομογραφούμενη στο εξής ως ΓΚ) και τη διάλεκτο που μιλιέται στην Καλαβρία και συνήθως ονομάζεται Μποβέζικη (Μποβέζικα, συντομογραφούμενη ως ΜΠ). Συγκεκριμένα, εξετάζουμε τη θέση, και γενικότερα την κατανομή, του επιθέτου ως ονοματικού προσδιορισμού στις δύο αυτές διαλέκτους, τις οποίες συγκρίνουμε αφενός με τις ρομανικές ποικιλίες που μιλιούνται στην περιοχή, τη Σικελική ποικιλία, την ποικιλία του Σαλέντο και της βόρειας Καλαβρίας, αφετέρου με την Κοινή Ελληνική και την Ιταλική.

2018 - Parametric comparison and dialect variation. Insights from Southern Italy [Capitolo/Saggio]
Guardiano, Cristina; Michelioudakis, Dimitris; Cordoni, Guido; Irimia, Monica Alexandrina; Radkevich, Nina; Sitaridou, Ioanna
abstract

This paper applies the Parametric Comparison Method (PCM) to the description of syntactic variation in the nominal domain in a representative subset of Romance dialects of Southern Italy. We observe that, in order to perform successfully at the level of micro-comparison, the method must be supplemented by parameters specifically targeting this level of resolution. We sketch some such (micro-)parameters, investigate their interaction with the observed surface patterns, and show that their distribution broadly matches the received wisdom about the dialectal structure of Italo-Romance.

2017 - Machine Learning Models of Universal Grammar Parameter Dependencies [Relazione in Atti di Convegno]
Kazakov, D.; Cordoni, G.; Ceolin, A.; Irimia, M. -A.; Kim, S. S.; Michelioudakis, D.; Radkevich, N.; Guardiano, C.; Longobardi, G.
abstract

The use of parameters in the descrip- tion of natural language syntax has to balance between the need to discrim- inate among (sometimes subtly dier- ent) languages, which can be seen as a cross-linguistic version of Chomsky's (1964) descriptive adequacy, and the complexity of the acquisition task that a large number of parameters would imply, which is a problem for explana- tory adequacy. Here we present a novel approach in which a machine learning algorithm is used to nd dependencies in a table of parameters. The result is a dependency graph in which some of the parameters can be fully predicted from others. These empirical ndings can be then subjected to linguistic analy- sis, which may either refute them by providing typological counter-examples of languages not included in the origi- nal dataset, dismiss them on theoret- ical grounds, or uphold them as ten- tative empirical laws worth of further study.

2017 - Parameter Theory and Parametric Comparison [Capitolo/Saggio]
Guardiano, Cristina; Longobardi, Giuseppe
abstract

The Parametric Comparison Method (PCM) is a comparative procedure designed to investigate phylogenetic relationships between languages. It is based on the assumption that (syntactic) parameter theories may provide a radically new and mathematically reliable system or studying the historical evolution and classification of languages into families, and that the synchronic and the historical study of formal grammar can be ultimately related within a unified approach, made available precisely by the rise of parametric linguistics. This chapter shows that parameter analyses can be successfully used to attain historical adequacy: the fact that parametric classifications largely match the established families demonstrates the possibility of reconstructing history through syntactic parameters, which appear to carry a chronologically deep, statistically robust, and prevailingly vertical historical signal. In addition, parameter systems as theories of grammatical variation and its implicational structure receive novel support precisely from their success with historical issues: the correctness of the phylogenetic hypotheses made by the PCM further confirms the universal theory of parameters, constraints, and implications subsumed into it.

2017 - Phylogenetic Reconstruction in Syntax: The Parametric Comparison Method [Capitolo/Saggio]
Longobardi, Giuseppe; Guardiano, Cristina
abstract

The Parametric Comparison Method (PCM) is a novel tool for studying the historical evolution and classification of languages. The intuition behind it is that purely theoretical advances of linguistics over the past few decades may provide an innovative system for reconstructing language phylogenies.

2016 - Correlated Evolution Or Not? Phylogenetic Linguistics With Syntactic, Cognacy, And Phonetic Data [Relazione in Atti di Convegno]
Longobardi, Giuseppe; Buch, Armin; Ceolin, Andrea; Ecay, Aaron; Guardiano, Cristina; Irimia, Monica Alexandrina; Michelioudakis, Dimitris; Radkevich, Nina; Jaeger, Gerhard
abstract

In this work we compare, on the well explored domain of Indo-European languages, the phylogenetic outputs of three different sets of linguistic characters: traditional etymological judgments, a system for phonetic alignment of lists of cognates, and a set of values for generative syntactic parameters. The correlation and relative informativeness of distances and phylogenies generated by the three types of char- acters can thus be for the first time accurately evaluated, and the degree of success of the last two, innovative, alternatives to the classical comparative method can be so assessed.

2016 - Definite articles in Ancient Greek [Capitolo/Saggio]
Guardiano, Cristina
abstract

The creation of a definite article is a relatively recent phenomenon in many Indo-European languages: most of the attested ancient varieties lack definite articles, which developed at later stages. Greek is one of the few Indo-European groups where a definite article is attested at very early stages. This paper investigates whether its distribution and syntactic properties in Ancient Greek comply with crosslinguistic standards. It will be shown that a definite article was in fact fully developed in Classical Greek and in the Hellenistic koiné of the Gospels, where its distribution conforms to syntactic restrictions visible in many other languages; cases of free alternation between articulated and articleless nominals, in these varieties, are entirely predictable from the interaction of specific properties that affect the representation of formal features in their nominal structures. The apparent contradictory evidence found in Homer is usually regarded as the expression of a diachronic stage at which the item ὁ, ἡ, τό was embrionically a definite article but not yet generalized as such. Here, instead, the Homeric evi- dence will be connected, following Bozzone and Guardiano 2015, with the composite diachronic stratification of the language of epic, and in particular to the combination of (at least) two opposing grammars, one more conservative, where a definite article did not exist, and one more innovative, where ὁ, ἡ, τό was fully developed as such. The paper is structured in five sections: after the introduction (§1), §2 defines the theoretical and empirical background, §3 analyzes the uses of ὁ, ἡ, τό in Classical and Hellenistic Greek, §4 focuses on Homer, and §5 sums up the main conclusions.

2016 - Formal linguistics as a cue to demographic history [Articolo su rivista]
Longobardi, Giuseppe; Ceolin, Andrea; Ecay, Aaron; Ghirotto, Silvia; Guardiano, Cristina; Irimia, Monica Alexandrina; Michelioudakis, Dimitris; Radkevich, Nina; Pettener, Davide; Luiselli, Donata; Barbujani, Guido
abstract

Beyond its theoretical success, the development of molecular genetics has brought about the possibility of extraordinary progress in the study of classification and in the inference of the evolutionary history of many species and populations. A major step forward was represented by the availability of extremely large sets of molecular data suited to quantitative and computational treatments. In this paper, we argue that even in cognitive sciences, purely theoretical progress in a discipline such as linguistics may have analogous impact. Thus, exactly on the model of molecular biology, we propose to unify two traditionally unrelated lines of linguistic investigation: 1) the formal study of syntactic variation (parameter theory) in the biolinguistic program 2) the reconstruction of relatedness among languages (phylogenetic taxonomy) The results of our linguistic analysis have thus been plotted against data from population genetics and the correlations have turned out to be largely significant: given a non-trivial set of languages/populations, the description of their variation provided by the comparison of systematic parametric analysis and molecular anthropology informatively recapitulates their history and relationships. As a result, we can claim that the reality of some parametric model of the language faculty and language acquisition/transmission (more broadly of generative grammar) receives strong and original support from its historical heuristic power. Then, on these grounds, we can begin testing Darwin's prediction that, when properly generated, the trees of human populations and of their languages should eventually turn out to be significantly parallel.

2016 - From Voc_Pl_01 Can be bare? (https://www.terraling.com/groups/7/properties/517) to Voc_Sg_05 Must have a special vocative marker? (https://www.terraling.com/groups/7/properties/510): 15 properties. [Voce in Dizionario o Enciclopedia]
Guardiano, Cristina; Koopman, Hilda
abstract

SSWL is a searchable database that allows users to discover which properties (morphological, syntactic, and semantic) characterize a language, as well as how these properties relate across languages. This system is designed to be free to the public and open-ended. Anyone can use the database to perform queries.

2016 - La struttura della variazione linguistica e la sintassi dei dialetti emiliani - [Research project] [Altro]
Guardiano, Cristina
abstract

Il progetto si propone di dare inizio ad un indirizzo di studi originale sui dialetti del territorio emiliano, con due obiettivi primari, uno di più ampia natura teorico-metodologica, l’altro di interesse più locale. Rispetto al primo obiettivo, il progetto intende promuovere e consolidare un orientamento della ricerca dialettologica basato (in linea con le tradizioni della dialettometria e della sociolinguistica sperimentale) su metodi quantitativi elaborati dalle scienze biostatistiche e su entità linguistiche (fornite dagli orientamenti formali) più solide, astratte e informative rispetto a quelle tradizionalmente impiegate nella dialettologia di ambito italoromanzo. La ricerca si baserà infatti sul Metodo di Comparazione Parametrica, uno strumento per lo studio comparativo delle lingue elaborato di recente e orientato sull’analisi di strutture sintattiche astratte (parametri). Grazie a questo orientamento sarà possibile proporre una classificazione (almeno preliminare) della struttura della variazione dialettale in ambito sintattico in area gallo-italica emiliana, suggerire una tassonomia dei dialetti interessati, favorendo così una conoscenza più approfondita della storia e delle origini culturali dell’area, e infine elaborare strumenti metodologici e collezioni di dati empirici oggi inesistenti, da mettere a disposizione della ricerca scientifica nell’ambito della dialettologia romanza e dello studio del territorio. Ciò servirà a raggiungere il secondo obiettivo del progetto.

2016 - Mathematical modeling of grammatical diversity supports the historical reality of formal syntax [Relazione in Atti di Convegno]
Longobardi, Giuseppe; Ceolin, Andrea; Bortolussi, Luca; Guardiano, Cristina; Irimia, Monica Alexandrina; Michelioudakis, Dimitris; Radkevich, Nina; Sgarro, Andrea
abstract

Recent studies have taken advantage of computational techniques to investigate the evolution of Indo-European languages [1-3]. However, these methods are not able to overcome the time constraints on lexical evolution, which limit a broader application of the Classical Comparative Method, and therefore cannot be used above the family level. For this reason, evidence from cross-family relationships must come from other domains (e.g. phonetics, [4, 5]). Reference [6] shows that another domain, syntax, is a potential source for cross-family comparison. In this paper, we evaluate the method proposed in [6], the PCM, and argue through a random generation of possible grammars that syntactic distances can be useful to detect signals of historical relatedness above the Indo-European level, within some confidence probabilistic intervals.

2016 - South by Southeast. A syntactic approach to Greek and Romance microvariation [Articolo su rivista]
Guardiano, Cristina; Michelioudakis, Dimitris; Ceolin, Andrea; Irimia, Monica Alexandrina; Longobardi, Giuseppe; Radkevich, Nina; Silvestri, Giuseppina; Sitaridou, Ioanna
abstract

This article argues for the relevance of parametric syntax in the contrastive analysis and historical classification of varieties that are closely intertwined geographically, genealogically and sociolinguistically. We show that Longobardi and Guardiano’s (2009) Parametric Comparison Method, already successfully applied to the macroclassification of a number of scattered Indo-European languages (Longobardi et al 2013), can analyze microvariation equally successfully. Just by departing from the nominal syntactic database used for the core Indo-European languages and improving on it, the nominal syntax of several contemporary Romance and Greek varieties could be revealingly analyzed. On this basis, we are able to move towards sketching a reliable picture of the history and the geocultural factors that shaped linguistic diversity in the South-Central and East Mediterranean up to the Black Sea. The analysis attempts to lay down some grounding problems, tools, and hypotheses for a novel quantitative framework in the study of syntactic dialectology.

2015 - Across Language Families: Genome Diversity Mirrors Linguistic Variation Within Europe [Abstract in Atti di Convegno]
Guardiano, Cristina; G., Longobardi; S., Ghirotto; A., Ceolin; A. Benazzo, F. Tassi; G., Barbujani
abstract

The notion that patterns of linguistic and biological variation may cast light on each other and on population histories dates back to Darwin’s times; yet, turning this intuition into a proper research program has met with serious methodological difficulties, especially affecting language comparisons. This article takes advantage of two new tools of comparative linguis- tics: a refined list of Indo-European cognate words, and a novel method of language comparison estimating linguistic diversity from a universal inventory of grammatical poly- morphisms, and hence enabling comparison even across different families. We corroborated the method and used it to compare patterns of linguistic and genomic variation in Europe.

2015 - Across language families: Genome diversity mirrors linguistic variation within Europe [Articolo su rivista]
Longobardi, Giuseppe; Ghirotto, Silvia; Guardiano, Cristina; Tassi, Francesca; Benazzo, Andrea; Ceolin, Andrea; Barbujani, Guido
abstract

The notion that patterns of linguistic and biological variation may cast light on each other and on population histories dates back to Darwin's times; yet, turning this intuition into a proper research program has met with serious methodological difficulties, especially affecting language comparisons. This article takes advantage of two new tools of comparative linguistics: a refined list of Indo-European cognate words, and a novel method of language comparison estimating linguistic diversity from a universal inventory of grammatical polymorphisms, and hence enabling comparison even across different families. We corroborated the method and used it to compare patterns of linguistic and genomic variation in Europe.

2015 - Adjective-Noun combinations in the Greek of Italy. Polydefiniteness revisited [Poster]
Guardiano, Cristina; Melita, Stavrou
abstract

This study investigates aspects of adjectival modification in Romance and Greek of Southern Italy. All the dialects examined (Greek and Romance) display strong constraints on prenominal adjectives. In the Romance dialects, such constraints are stronger than in Italian: actually, the phenomenon sets apart Southern Italy from the rest of the Romance-speaking world. As for Italiot Greek, prenominal adjectives obey restrictions that do not exist in (Standard) Greek (where all types of adjectives are allowed in prenominal position): this sets a crucial syntactic distinction between the two. As far as postnominal adjectives are concerned, in Romance all adjectives can be postnominal, with no constraints operating on them, and Southern Italy is coherent with this picture. In Greek, instead, the picture is more complicated: in the textual tradition of Calabria Greek, postnominal adjectives are articulated in definite DPs, like in Modern Greek, while in Salento Greek and in currently spoken Calabria Greek they are never articulated, like in Romance. The paper explores all such patterns, with particular attention to postnominal modification.

2015 - Algorithmic generation of random languages argues for syntax as a source of phylogenetic information [Poster]
Guardiano, Cristina; G., Longobardi; A., Ceolin; E., Ecay; L., Bortolussi; A., Sgarro; M., Irimia; N., Radkevic; D., Michelioudakis
abstract

The Parametric Comparison Method (PCM, Longobardi and Guardiano 2009) uses syntactic parameters (Chomsky 1981, Baker 2001, Biberauer and Roberts 2012) to study phylogenetic relationships between languages. This method has already successfully generated phylogenies of Indo-European (IE) languages (Longobardi et al. 2013) which are competitive with those produced by the classical comparative method (Durie and Ross 1996), lexicostatistics (Dyen et al. 1992), or Bayesian phylogenetics (Bouckaert et al. 2012). A question raised by the PCM framework, and indeed by all these methods, is whether their conclusions about language relatedness are secure against chance similarities between languages. As far as the PCM goes, using a randomly simulated distribution of parametric distances between languages (which are defined to range between 0 and 1), it is possible to perform statistical tests of the hypothesis that the distances observed in the real world are unlikely to arise by chance, and thus to motivate judgments of relatedness based on syntax. Bortolussi et al. (B+; 2011) have proposed an algorithm to enumerate the possible languages defined by a system of heavily interdependent parameters and to sample randomly from that set. We propose an improvement to this algorithm, thus validating the PCM as a method to formally study the relationship between languages and populations.

2015 - Toward a syntactic phylogeny of modern Indo-European languages [Capitolo/Saggio]
Longobardi, Giuseppe; Guardiano, Cristina; Silvestri, Giuseppina; Boattini, Alessio; Ceolin, Andrea
abstract

The Parametric Comparison Method (PCM, Guardiano & Longobardi 2005, Longobardi & Guardiano 2009) is grounded on the assumption that syntactic parameters are more appropriate than other traits for use as comparanda for historical reconstruction, because they are able to provide unambiguous correspondences and objective measurements, thus guaranteeing wide-range applicability and quantitative exactness. This article discusses a set of experiments explicitly designed to evaluate the impact of parametric syntax in representing historical relatedness, and performed on a selection of 26 contemporary Indo-European varieties. The results show that PCM is in fact able to correctly identify genealogical relations even from modern languages only, performing as accurately as lexical methods, and that its effectiveness is not limited by interference effects such as ‘horizontal’ transmission. PCM is thus validated as a powerful tool for the analysis of historical relationships not only on a long-range perspective (as suggested by Longobardi & Guardiano 2009), but even on more focused, though independently well-known domains.

2015 - ὁ ἡ τό in Homer: Tracking the Spread of a Syntactic Innovation. [Abstract in Atti di Convegno]
Guardiano, Cristina
abstract

How do linguistic innovations enter Homer’s technique of oral-verse composition, and how can we study them? Over the years, scholars have looked at how new phonological and morphological features are gradually integrated in the language of epic (Janko 1982, Hoekstra 1964, Andersen and Haug 2012). So far, however, nobody has investigated the spread of syntactic innovations in Homer - an area just as rich and consequential for the diachronic study of Greek. In this domain, the properties and the distribution of ὁ ἡ τό across Homeric poems constitute a particularly appealing case study (Guardiano 2013). Homer, in fact, seems to be our only witness to the transition of ὁ ἡ τό from “demonstrative” and anaphoric pronoun (as in Mycenean) to fully grammaticalized definite article (as in Plato, Guardiano 2003, 2011). The goal of this paper is then to systematically track how early adnominal usages of ὁ ἡ τό are spreading into the technique.

2014 - Fenomeni di contatto sintattico in Italia meridionale? Alcune note comparative [Articolo su rivista]
Guardiano, Cristina
abstract

Questo lavoro raccoglie alcune osservazioni preliminari da un’indagine comparativa sulle strutture nominali (d’ora in poi DP2) in una selezione di dialetti dell’Italia meridionale, appartenenti a due diversi gruppi indoeuropei (greco e romanzo). Nonostante l’area in esame sia stata, e continui ad essere, oggetto di numerosi studi sulla variazione, in letteratura non esistono trattamenti sistematici del dominio nominale; questa ricerca si configura come un primo tentativo di adottare una prospettiva comparativa basata sull’osservazione sistematica del DP nei suoi principali sottodomini. Questo lavoro raccoglie alcune osservazioni preliminari da un’indagine comparativa sulle strutture nominali (d’ora in poi DP2) in una selezione di dialetti dell’Italia meridionale, appartenenti a due diversi gruppi indoeuropei (greco e romanzo). Nonostante l’area in esame sia stata, e continui ad essere, oggetto di numerosi studi sulla variazione, in letteratura non esistono trattamenti sistematici del dominio nominale; questa ricerca si configura come un primo tentativo di adottare una prospettiva comparativa basata sull’osservazione sistematica del DP nei suoi principali sottodomini.

2014 - From O 01 1_Indef mass_can be bare (https://www.terraling.com/groups/7/properties/467) to O 09 5_PN+A_Order PN A (https://www.terraling.com/groups/7/properties/500): 40 properties. [Voce in Dizionario o Enciclopedia]
Guardiano, Cristina; Koopman, Hilda
abstract

2014 - Greek (Homer): Language expert for the TerraLing group SSWL (http://test.terraling.com/groups/7); Group Admin. [Voce in Dizionario o Enciclopedia]
Guardiano, Cristina; Bozzone, Chiara
abstract

2014 - Greek and Romance in Southern Italy: history and contact in nominal structures. [Articolo su rivista]
Guardiano, Cristina; Stavrou, Melita
abstract

This work investigates aspects of nominal structures in the two Greek varieties spoken in Southern Italy, i.e. Grico (Salento, GR) and Bovese (Southern Calabria, BO), which we compare to three Romance dialects spoken in the same area, viz. Sicilian (SI), Salentino (SA) and Northern Ca- labrese (NC), along with (standard) Modern Greek (MG) and (standard) Italian (IT). In particular, patterns of adjectival modification will be explored. It will be shown that the behavior of adjectives in the varieties under analysis de- rives from the interaction of genealogical transmission and contact-induced variation.

2014 - Pontic Greek [Voce in Dizionario o Enciclopedia]
Guardiano, Cristina; Michelioudakis, Dimitris
abstract

Pontic Greek

2014 - Towards exploring the pre-babel world - [Research project] [Altro]
Guardiano, Cristina
abstract

(i) helping with the recruitment of linguistic experts for a specific list of languages (both existing and extinct) which will be important to both enrich and complement the database and allow the application of phylogenetic algorithms with better certitude and precision (required to move toward gaining some understanding of the pre- babel world), and (ii) develop a new set of “property definitions” to seed the database, that allow us to generate controlled data of great precision.

2013 - Advances in phylogenetic linguistics - Workshop [Organizzazione] [Altro]
Guardiano, Cristina
abstract

The workshop was organised by the project Meeting Darwin’s last challenge: toward a global tree of human languages and genes (ERC Advanced Grant n. 295733 LANGELIN (LANguages-GEnes LINeages), PI Giuseppe Longobardi, University of York, and was held in Ragusa (Sicily) on July 15th-17th 2013. The topic was "Advances in Phylogenetic Linguistics". Along with presentations by the LANGELIN team, a restricted number of invited speakers gave plenary addresses and discussed the most recent methodological discoveries and procedures in the field of phylogenetic reconstruction of languages and formal syntax. Invited speakers: Robert Berwick (MIT), Theresa Biberauer (Cambridge), Cedric Boeckx (Barcelona), Tecumseh Fitch (Vienna), Peter Forster (Cambridge), Russel Gray (Auckland), Hilda Koopman (UCLA), David Lightfoot (Georgetown), Ian Roberts (Cambridge), Robin Ryder (Paris), Dominique Sportiche (UCLA), Charles Yang (UPenn). A poster session open to young scholars who presented their current research on the topic of the workshop was also organised.

2013 - From N3 01_Dem A N (https://www.terraling.com/groups/7/properties/398) to N3 12_Num N Dem (https://www.terraling.com/groups/7/properties/432): 12 properties. [Voce in Dizionario o Enciclopedia]
Guardiano, Cristina; Hilda, Koopman
abstract

2013 - Greek (Ancient): Language expert for the TerraLing group SSWL (http://test.terraling.com/groups/7); Group Admin. [Voce in Dizionario o Enciclopedia]
Guardiano, Cristina
abstract

2013 - Incontro di Grammatica Generativa 39 - [Organizzazione] [Altro]
Guardiano, Cristina
abstract

L'Incontro di Grammatica Generativa (IGG) è un congresso internazionale che si svolge su base annuale in una sede universitaria italiana e che riunisce gli studiosi che si occupano di grammatica formale in Italia e in Europa. Prevede un gruppo di relazioni selezionate da un comitato anonimo di revisori, e alcune relazioni su invito. I relatori invitati all'incontro di Modena-Reggio Emilia sono: Melita Stavrou (Thessaloniki), Theresa Biberauer (Cambridge), Hilda Koopman (UCLA), Maria Rita Manzini (Firenze), Guido Barbujani (Ferrara), Giuseppe Longobardi (Trieste). Durante l'incontro si sono inoltre svolti 3 workshop tematici su sintassi dialettale, acquisizione del linguaggio, cambiamento linguistico.

2013 - Italy (Siciliano): Language expert for for the TerraLing group SSWL (http://test.terraling.com/groups/7); Group Admin. [Voce in Dizionario o Enciclopedia]
Guardiano, Cristina
abstract

2013 - The Greek definite article across time [Capitolo/Saggio]
Guardiano, Cristina
abstract

This paper discusses the development of the article-system in Greek: an overview of its main syntactic functions is proposed, with a particular emphasis on the properties of the so-called definite article, which will be observed from a diachronic perspective. Various typologies of nominal structures are considered and commented, with the support of data coming from three ancient varieties – Homeric Greek, Classical Attic, New Testament koinè – and Standard Modern Greek. The analysis grounds on theoretical tools provided by formal theories of syntactic variation.

2013 - The historical reality of biolinguistic diversity [Abstract in Atti di Convegno]
Guardiano, Cristina
abstract

Goals. Arguing that the historical application of the biolinguistic model can complement molecular antrhopology to model out a ‘grammatical anthropology’ as a new discipline at the crossroads of cognitive, biological and historical sciences.

2013 - Toward a syntactic phylogeny of modern Indo-European languages [Articolo su rivista]
Giuseppe, Longobardi; Guardiano, Cristina; Giuseppina, Silvestri; Alessio, Boattini; Andrea, Ceolin
abstract

The Parametric Comparison Method (PCM, Guardiano & Longobardi 2005, Longobardi & Guardiano 2009) is grounded on the assumption that syntactic parameters are more appropriate than other traits for use as comparanda for his- torical reconstruction, because they are able to provide unambiguous correspon- dences and objective measurements, thus guaranteeing wide-range applicability and quantitative exactness. This article discusses a set of experiments explicitly designed to evaluate the impact of parametric syntax in representing historical relatedness, and performed on a selection of 26 contemporary Indo-European varieties. The results show that PCM is in fact able to correctly identify genea- logical relations even from modern languages only, performing as accurately as lexical methods, and that its effectiveness is not limited by interference effects such as ‘horizontal’ transmission. PCM is thus validated as a powerful tool for the analysis of historical relationships not only on a long-range perspective (as suggested by Longobardi & Guardiano 2009), but even on more focused, though independently well-known domains.

2012 - Demonstratives, word order and the DP between syntax and semantics: crosslinguistic remarks [Capitolo/Saggio]
Guardiano, Cristina
abstract

The contribution discusses instances of word order variation within nominal structures (DPs), with specific focus on the position of demonstrative elements, and proposes an attempt of a crosslinguistic analysis in a parametric perspective. After the inspection of relevant data collected on purpose, the hypothesis that both cross- and intra- linguistic differences depend on a cluster of features associated to the representation of definiteness in the DP will be explored. Demonstratives are described as merging in a “low” portion of the DP and thereafter attracted to the D-area by virtue of their (gradable) semantic properties related to the definiteness sphere, with variable effects on the surface string. When attracted to the D-area, they manifest D-properties (across different degrees, according to the features they share with the D-area itself) while they exhibit a more “adjectival” behavior when surfacing lower.

2012 - I dimostrativi e il dominio nominale. Note per una lettura parametrica [Capitolo/Saggio]
Guardiano, Cristina
abstract

Questo lavoro proporrà una rassegna di alcune caratteristiche del comportamento sintattico degli elementi dimostrativi nel dominio nominale, in una prospettiva interlinguistica. Si tratta della fase preliminare di una ricerca il cui obiettivo è individuare criteri ‘universali’ per l’interpretazione della sintassi dei dimostrativi esuggerirne un’analisi nell’ambito delle teorie parametriche.La ricerca fa parte di un progetto di grammatica comparata della sintassi interna del dominio nominale, i cui risultati più aggiornati (con proposte di ricostruzione genealogica) sono presentati e discussi in Longobardi e Guardiano (2009).Nella prima parte (Par. 2) si discuteranno alcune delle proposte suggerite in letteratura per la definizione della categoria dimostrativi. Successivamente, dopo una breve descrizione degli orientamenti teorici di riferimento (Par. 3), saranno esaminati alcuni dati relativi alla sintassi del dominio nominale in alcune lingue (Par. 4) e sidelineeranno alcune proposte per la descrizione dei fenomeni osservati nella prospettiva parametrica (Par. 5).

2012 - Italian: Language expert for the TerraLing group SSWL (http://test.terraling.com/groups/7); Group Admin. [Voce in Dizionario o Enciclopedia]
Guardiano, Cristina
abstract

2012 - Lo sguardo e la parola di una comunità linguistica di confine [Capitolo/Saggio]
Carli, Augusto; Guardiano, Cristina
abstract

Questo lavoro proporrà alcune riflessioni emerse da una revisione, a poco meno di dieci anni dal suo completamento, di una ricerca che faceva capo al progetto EU border discourse: changing identities, changing nations, changing stories in EU border communities. Il filo conduttore era dato dall’osservazione e analisi dei processi di costruzione, ricostruzione e trasformazione dell’identità individuale e comunitaria, e più in generale dei mutamenti identitari individuabili in alcune comunità che fino alla caduta del ‘muro di Berlino’ si trovavano al di qua e al di là della cosiddetta ‘cortina di ferro’. I dati raccolti hanno disegnato realtà linguistiche ampiamente interpretabili come risultato di tendenze nazionalistico-nazioniste, sedimentatesi nel corso degli ultimi due secoli. Oggi questa spinta nazionalistica continua ad essere sorretta, e anzi incrementata, dai processi di globalizzazione che, a loro volta, esercitano una pesante pressione nella direzione di una identità monolingue e monoculturale. Il bisogno generalizzato di apprendimento dell’inglese rafforza questa visione monolingue della modernizzazione e dell’internazionalizzazione, come già affermato in letteratura (Hornberger 2002; Schiffman 2006). Del resto, l’Europa costituisce oggi un continente multilingue in cui è però evidente la tensione fra pluralismo linguistico e assimilazione delle ‘piccole’ lingue da parte di quelle dominanti. In tempi recenti serpeggiano preoccupanti fenomeni di localizzazione e di scismogenesi che tendono a difendere delle artificiose ‘piccole patrie’ con la funzione di baluardo contro la globalizzazione. È un pensiero perfettamente rientrante nella ideologia nazionalista. Nelle zone in cui le spinte nazionalistiche hanno condotto all’assenza di politiche linguistiche specifiche per il multilinguismo, i gruppi di minoranza e le comunità di confine sembrano aver patito le conseguenze più gravi, come del resto evidenziato non solo dal materiale del corpus italofono ma anche dai dati relativi alle condizioni sociolinguistiche di tutte le altre comunità considerate dal progetto (Meinhof 2002, JEMS 2003). Fenomeni di forte erosione linguistica sono presenti nel primo caso, mentre chiusura e fenomeni di scismogenesi sono evidenti nel secondo.

2012 - Parametric Changes in the History of the Greek Article [Capitolo/Saggio]
Guardiano, Cristina
abstract

In this paper I argue that meaningful explanations of syntactic change may be in fact attained by assuming both a solid theory of synchronic description and a strong hypothesis on diachronic variation, able to lead different and apparently unrelated phenomena back to a unique evolutionary development.The theoretical framework is based on the recent proposals on the potential historical impact of the generative theory of syntactic parameters, i.e. the assumption that formal syntactic analysis may be in principle used as a source of diachronic and evolutionary explanation (Longobardi & Guardiano 2008).The empirical analysis is focused on the development of the Greek article-system; more specifically, a comparative parametric description of data belonging to the Classical period, to New-Testament varieties, and to standard Modern Greek is proposed, and two specific events, i.e. the rise of the so-called indefinite article and the necessity for the (expletive) definite one to occur with proper names (in Modern Greek), are investigated and explained as the diachronic consequence of a single parameter resetting.

2011 - Genitives in the Greek nominal domain: parametric considerations [Capitolo/Saggio]
Guardiano, Cristina
abstract

Abstract: This paper proposes an interpretation of certain syntactic patterns of the nominal domain in Greek, focusing on the distribution of at-tributive adjectives and genitive phrases, in a formal perspective essentially related to the Principles&Parameters framework. According to the recent proposals on the potential historical impact of the theory of syntactic parameters, I propose a description of a specific diachronic change in terms of parameter resetting, i.e. by means of a few, discrete operations involving reanalysis processes, independent of morphological change, and presumably related to external variation. The empirical analysis focuses on a minimal comparison between Classical Greek (the Attic variety of the 4th century BC, here represented by a sample of Plato’s works) and New Testament Greek (that displays almost the same patterns of genitival syntax as Modern Greek).

2011 - How many possible languages are there? [Abstract in Atti di Convegno]
Guardiano, Cristina; G., Longobardi; L., Bortolussi; A., Sgarro
abstract

We consider a description of languages in terms of strings of syntactic features (parameters) complying with a specified “universal grammar”, in the light of phylogenetic reconstruction. More specifically, we deal with two problems: assessing the statistical significance of distances used in [14] to build phylogenetic trees and counting the number of possible languages, i.e. of strings satisfying the implicational rules which describe dependencies between parameters of the specified universal grammar. In order to accomplish these tasks, we had to develop a sampling algorithm capable of dealing correctly with such rules. The linguistical significance of the results is briefly discussed.

2011 - How many possible languages are there? [Capitolo/Saggio]
Bortolussi, Luca; Sgarro, Andrea; Longobardi, Giuseppe; Guardiano, Cristina
abstract

We adopt a description of natural languages in terms of strings of crosslinguistically variable syntactic features (parameters), complying with a spec- ified hypothesis of "universal grammar", and we deal with two problems: first, as- sessing the statistical significance of language distances calculated on the basis of such features and recently used to reconstruct phylogenetic trees; second, counting the minimal overall number of possible human languages, i.e. of strings satisfy- ing the implicational rules which describe dependencies between parameters of the specified universal grammar. In order to accomplish these tasks, we had to develop a sampling algorithm capable of dealing correctly with such rules. The potential significance of these results for historical and theoretical linguistics is then briefly highlighted.

2011 - Scimmie parlanti. Linguistiche e altre scienze naturali. [Altro]
Guardiano, Cristina; A., Carli; Favilla, Mariaelena
abstract

Lo studio del linguaggio verbale umano ha sviluppato negli ultimi anni tecniche, metodi e orientamenti teorici sempre più pesantemente condizionati dal contatto con altre discipline scientifiche: è innegabile infatti che lo studio della distribuzione, dell’evoluzione, della struttura interna del linguaggio verbale umano sia inscindibilmente legato alla comprensione della ‘natura umana’ nella sua interezza. L’iniziativa mira a fornire l’opportunità di un’interazione tra le varie discipline su due temi specifici.Il paradigma biolinguistico, orientato su due prospettive, la prospettiva evolutiva e la prospettiva storico-genealogica, trae le ragioni stesse della propria esistenza dalla collaborazione e interazione con le scienze biologiche, prime fra tutte la genetica evolutiva e l’antropologia delle popolazioni (Di Sciullo 2009). D’altra parte, la linguistica storica negli ultimi anni ha applicato tecniche di analisi matematico-computazionale dei dati, elaborate proprio a partire dai metodi costruiti dai biologi, per la ricostruzione delle relazioni storico-genealogiche fra le lingue e cioè per la tassonomia storico-comparativa (Bowern 2010, Fortunato/Jordan 2010, Grenhill et al 2010, Kitchen et al 2009, Gray et al2009, Novembre et al 2008, Hunley et al 2008, Pagel et al 2007, Gray e Atkinson 2003, Russell e Gray 2003, Mc Mahon e Mc Mahon 2005). La prospettiva storica sullo studio del linguaggio verbale umano ha beneficiato inoltre, negli ultimi anni, dei recenti sviluppi teorici prodotti nell’ambito degli orientamenti formali (Roberts e Roussou 2003). L’interazione, pertanto, fra l’applicazione dei metodi tassonomici computazionali elaborati nell’ambito delle scienze biologiche e l’adozione dei metodi formali per lo studio della variazione sintattica (teorie parametriche), promette di rinnovare una relazione, quella fra biologia evoluzionistica e linguistica storica, che almeno dalla metà del 19mo secolo ha seguito percorsi e obiettivi paralleli nella ricostruzione delle relazioni storiche fra popolazioni e lingue umane (Longobardi e Guardiano 2009). Fin dalla predizione di Darwin (1859, ch. 14) infatti, e soprattutto con i lavori di Cavalli Sforza e Sokal (Cavalli-Sforza et al.,1988, 1994, Sokal 1988, Barbujani e Sokal 1990, etc.), si è tentato di mostrare il parallelismo fra l’evoluzione biologica delle popolazioni umane e la trasmissione culturale delle loro lingue, mettendo a confronto le classificazioni delle popolazioni basate prima sui caratteri antropometrici e poi sui polimorfismi genetici con una serie di classificazioni linguistiche basate su caratteri lessicali, e in alcuni casi, peraltro, altamente discutibili. Una serie di ambiziosi progetti di ricerca attualmente in corso propongono adesso una nuova prospettiva su questa relazione, suggerendo un confronto sistematico fra i risultati della genetica e quelli della linguistica basato sull’individuazione di caratteri tassonomici originali.In un contesto così in evoluzione la costante interazione fra studiosi e la condivisione di metodi e risultati sono essenziali per l’avanzamento stesso della ricerca: questa iniziativa si propone proprio come occasione per la discussione informale e per lo scambio di risultati, progetti, obiettivi.Al congresso hanno partecipato studiosi di fama internazionale provenienti da atenei e organizzazioni prestigiose in Italia e in Europa (Ian Roberts, Cambridge; Giuseppe Longobardi, Trieste; Gianni Romeo, EGF Bologna; Davide Pettener, Bologna; Guido Barbujani, Ferrara; Andrea Sgarro, Trieste; Luca Bortolussi, Trieste; Alessio Boattini, Bologna)

2011 - The Biolinguistic Program and Historical Reconstruction [Capitolo/Saggio]
Longobardi, Giuseppe; Guardiano, Cristina
abstract

In addition to its theoretical impact, the development of molecular biology has brought about the possibility of extraordinary historical progress in the study of phylogenetic classification of different species and human populations (especially cf. Cavalli Sforza et al., 1994, among others). We argue that parametric analyses of grammatical diversity in theoretical linguistics, stemming from Chomsky (1981), can prompt analogous progress in the historical classification of language families, by showing that abstract syntactic properties are reliable indicators of phylogenetic relations. The pursuit of this approach radically questions the traditional belief in the orthogonality of grammatical typology and language genealogy, broadly supporting Nichols’ (1992) program, and ultimately contributes to establishing formal grammar as a population science and historical linguistics as an important part of cognitive inquiry.

2011 - Typological comparison in the nominal domain. Articles and bare nouns across Ancient Greek [Poster]
Guardiano, Cristina
abstract

The purpose of this paper is twofold: 1. Description of syntactic patterns in ‘an- cient’ varieties. By means of the implementation of the theoretical tools provided by formal syn- tax, I will investigate a number of syntactic properties of nominal structures in Ancient Greek, showing that they fall within well-known crosslinguistic patterns, and that they obey the same constraints which act on ‘modern’ languages. 2. Analysis of diachronic change. Focusing on a number of (long-studied) phenomena, I will prompt minimal comparisons between successive diachronic stages, describing the development of the article-system as consisting of a series of successive micro-changes (formally ‘parameter resettings’) affecting the representation of par- ticular features in the main functional category of nominal structures: D.

2010 - Long-range comparison between genes and languages based on syntactic distances [Articolo su rivista]
Colonna, Vincenza; Boattini, Alessio; Guardiano, Cristina; Dall'Ara, Irene; Pettener, Davide; Longobardi, Giuseppe; Barbujani, Guido
abstract

Objective: To propose a new approach for genetic/linguistic comparison of populations belonging to distantly-related groups. Background: Lexical comparison among languages has been used to approximately reconstruct demographic history in many genetic studies. The models tested assume that linguistic similarities between populations reflect either descent from common ancestors, or the balance between isolation and gene flow. However, precise measures of linguistic divergence based on lexical comparisons are difficult and procedures to neutralize chance similarity are reliable only for closely related languages; hence, analyses of genetic and linguistic diversity at the worldwide scale appeared so far impossible or unreliable. Methods: Syntax is more measurable, universally comparable, and stable than the lexicon (Longobardi and Guardiano 2009), hence certain syntactic similarities might reflect deeper linguistic relationships, such as those between more distant languages and families. In this study, for the first time we compared genetic data to a matrix of linguistic differences between selected populations of three continents inferred from syntactic comparisons. Results: Using a database of 835 microsatellite (STR) markers and 4140 Single Nucleotides Polymorphisms (SNPs), compared to the values of 62 grammatical parameters, we show that there is indeed a correlation of syntactic and genetic distances, we identify a few outliers and we suggest a possible interpretation of the overall pattern. Conclusions: These results strongly support the possibility of better investigating population history by combining genetic data with linguistic information of a new type, building upon a theoretically more sophisticated assessment of the relationships between distantly-related languages and language families.

2010 - L’oggetto diretto preposizionale in siciliano. Una breve rassegna e qualche domanda [Articolo su rivista]
Guardiano, Cristina
abstract

Questo contributo intende suggerire una breve rassegna di studi recenti sull’oggetto diretto preposizionale, con particolare riferimento ad alcuni dati dal siciliano. Il fenomeno, ben noto e documentato nei principali testi di riferimento che descrivono le varietà romanze dell’Italia meridionale (a partire da Rohlfs 1966), è stato prevalentemente trattato dalla letteratura di orientamento descrittivo-funzionale, e normalmente presentato nel contesto dei fenomeni di marcatura differenziale dell’oggetto e collegato alla marcatura di tratti semantici come animatezza e/o definitezza/specificità.Dopo una breve descrizione del fenomeno e una rapida rassegna sugli orientamenti generali adottati per descriverlo, il contributo prenderà in considerazione alcuni lavori recenti sul siciliano e alcune proposte per l’analisi del costrutto nella prospettiva della sintassi formale.

2010 - Review of: Sabrina Rasom, “Una particolarità del plurale femminile nel ladino dolomitico. Considerazioni morfosintattiche”. In: G. Marcato (ed) I dialetti e la montagna, Atti del convegno di Sappada/Plodn (Belluno), 2-6 luglio 2003; Quaderni di dialettologia – 8. Padova, Unipress: 239 – 246 [Recensione in Rivista]
Guardiano, Cristina
abstract

Il lavoro di Sabrina Rasom prende in considerazione il fenomeno noto in letteratura come “Ladin lazy agreement rule”, tipico di tre varietà di ladino dolomitico: fassano, gardenese e ampezzano. La peculiarità della costruzione consiste nell’assenza di concordanza – apparentemente arbitraria - in genere e numero fra costituente nominale e costituenti aggettivali all’interno di alcune strutture nominali, limitatamente al femminile plurale. Sabrina Rasom analizza tale fenomeno facendo riferimento a “motivazioni semantiche” (239), in particolare alla distinzione fra funzione restrittiva/denotativa e funzione appositiva/connotativa degli aggettivi adnominali.

2010 - review of: Barbara Patruno e Laura Sgarioto, Osservzioni sull’imperativo negativo di alcune varietà del ladino centrale. In: G. Marcato (ed) I dialetti e la montagna, Atti del convegno di Sappada/Plodn (Belluno), 2-6 luglio 2003; Quaderni di dialettologia 8. Padova, Unipress: 247-253 [Recensione in Rivista]
Guardiano, Cristina
abstract

Il contributo di Barbara Patruno e Laura Sgarioto descrive e discute alcune caratteristiche sintattiche e semantico-pragmatiche delle costruzioni con imperativo negativo in tre varietà del ladino dolomitico: il badiotto di S. Leonardo di Badia, il gardenese di Ortisei e il fassano di Campitello di Fassa. In particolare, le autrici si concentrano sulla differenza fra costruzioni con negazione discontinua e costruzioni con negazione postverbale (no). Il contributo è introdotto da una rassegna delle caratteristiche della negazione e delle costruzioni con imperativo in ladino centrale, che si sofferma in particolare sulla descrizione che delle seconde suggeriscono Poletto e Zanuttini (2003). La parte centrale è dedicata a una rassegna sistematica delle diverse strategie impiegate dalle varietà in esame per la realizzazione dell’imperativo negativo: le autrici presentano e commentano una serie di dati raccolti a seguito di indagini sul campo attraverso questionari somministrati ad hoc a parlanti nativi, e si soffermano in particolare sulla relazione fra le costruzioni selezionate dai parlanti e una serie di contesti pragmaticamente differenziati (minaccia, consiglio, esortazione, etc), oltre che sulle differenze fra le tre varietà. Ne emerge un quadro articolato, che si manifesta in una “molteplicità di strategie nelle costruzioni di imperativi negativi a seconda dei contesti semantico- pragmatici” (253): all’interno di questa ragnatela di possibilità le autrici identificano un filo conduttore comune, dato dall’espressione del point of view, realizzata mediante l’uso di particelle rafforzative in badiotto e mediante un uso alternato degli elementi della negazione discontinua in gardenese.

2009 - Evidence for syntax as a signal of historical relatedness [Articolo su rivista]
Longobardi, Giuseppe; Guardiano, Cristina
abstract

In addition to its theoretical impact, the development of molecular biology has brought about the possibility of extraordinaryhistorical progress in the study of phylogenetic classification of different species and human populations (especially cf. CavalliSforza et al., 1994, among others).We argue that parametric analyses of grammatical diversity in theoretical linguistics, stemming from Chomsky (1981), can prompt analogous progress in the historical classification of language families, by showing that abstract syntactic properties are reliable indicators of phylogenetic relations. The pursuit of this approach radically questions the traditional belief in the orthogonality of grammatical typology and language genealogy, broadly supporting Nichols’ (1992) program, and ultimately contributes to establishing formal grammar as a population science and historical linguistics as animportant part of cognitive inquiry.

2009 - La sintassi come segnale di relazione storica [Capitolo/Saggio]
Longobardi, Giuseppe; Guardiano, Cristina
abstract

Al di là del suo impatto teorico, lo sviluppo della biologia molecolare ha determinato la possibilità di un progresso storico straordinario nello studio della classificazione filogenetica di specie e popolazioni umane (si veda soprattutto Cavalli Sforza et al. 1994, fra gli altri). In questo lavoro sosterremo che le analisi parametriche della diversità grammaticale, elaborate nell’ambito della linguistica teorica a partire da Chomsky (1981), possono indurre un progresso analogo nella classificazione storica di famiglie linguistiche, e mostreremo che le proprietà sintattiche astratte sono indicatori attendibili di relazioni filogenetiche. Questo orientamento di indagine mette in discussione il convincimento tradizionale che la tipologia grammaticale e la genealogia linguistica siano ortogonali, fornendo sostegno, in generale, al programma di Nichols (1992), e contribuisce in ultima analisi a costituire la grammatica formale come una scienza delle popolazioni, e la linguistica storica come un settore importante della ricerca cognitiva.

2009 - The Greek demonstratives: history and syntax [Abstract in Atti di Convegno]
Guardiano, Cristina
abstract

The syntactic behavior of demonstrative elements within the nominal domain in a number of an-cient and contemporary Greek varieties will be described.The syntax of demonstratives has not changed throughout the history of homeland Greek (Guardiano 2003), that is, the significant changes in the form-meaning relations diachronically attested (see Manolessou 2001) have not affected syntax. The picture is different in other contemporary varieties. For instance, evidence from Greek dialects of Southern Italy (i.e. Grico) shows that the settings of the four parameters are today identical to those of the local Romance varieties, and significantly different from those of homeland Greek. This is a consequence of pervasive contact relations, but it is not an isolated phenomenon: a more extensive analysis of other DP-elements shows that a distinct cluster of properties changed in the same direction (i.e. as a consequence of contact), while other properties have evolved in the same direction as in homeland Greek: this could be tentatively interpreted as a first sign that certain parameters are more sensible to areal admixture, while others are ‘historically rooted’.

2009 - The syntax of demonstratives. A parametric analysis [Abstract in Atti di Convegno]
Guardiano, Cristina
abstract

The contribution proposes an interpretation of the crosslinguistic syntactic behavior of the demonstrative elements within the nominal domain, in a parametric perspective. On the basis of the empirical evidence coming from a sample of Indo-European and non Indo-European languages (Longobardi&Guardiano 2008), I will show that the different configurations available are predictable on the basis of the setting of four syntactic parameters (and their interaction with other properties) that determine: the positions of demonstratives in the DP, their interpretation according to such positions, their co-occurrence with the (definite) article. The universal DP structure that I assume has been sketched and defined within the general framework of the ‘DP hypothesis’ (see for instance Bernstein 2001, Longobardi 2001, Longobardi&Guardiano 2008).

2008 - Counting the languages we could speak [Relazione in Atti di Convegno]
La Rocca, Luca; Guardiano, Cristina
abstract

The Principles and Parameters (P&P) approach to the study of the human language faculty, stemming from Chomsky’s investigations in the 1980s, is based on the idea that syntactic knowledge is determined by the interaction of at least two sets of abstract entities: a) Principles, i.e., unvarying linguistic universals; b) Parameters, i.e., open choices between binary values innately predefined by Universal Grammar (UG), that must be closed (set) by language learners on the basis of environmental evidence. Parameters are supposed to be finite in number and to form a list of universal options that define the whole space of variation of biologically acquirable human grammars; thus, the apparently enormous amount of language variation seems reducible to the possible combinations of parameter values. This reduction represents one of the major contributions of P&P theories to the biolinguistic framework, in order to explain cultural variation and to provide a reliable model of language acquisition. Furthermore, recent developments suggest that parametric analyses have the potential to renovate the evolutionary and historical study of cognitive domains.Discovering the whole list of UG parameters is a challenging task which is far from completion. A feasible strategy to systematically analyse parameter variation is to adopt heuristic models which reduce the magnitude of grammatical diversity, though preserving its complexity. The analysis of the (ideally) whole list of parameters concerning a single, independent and internally coherent module of the grammar (the nominal domain) proposed by Longobardi and coauthors is a first contribution in this direction that hints at interesting theoretical and historical results. In particular, partial interactions between parameters and their impact on the downsizing of grammatical variation have been explored; a partial interaction occurs when the setting of a certain (set of) parameter(s) induces the setting of a specific value of another parameter. Focusing on a list of 50 parameters, Longobardi and coauthors show that the phenomenon is quite pervasive: 38 out of 50 parameters undergo the effect of at least one other parameter; 28 out of 50 parameters induce an effect on at least one other parameter. As a consequence, the total number of possible languages comes to be considerably reduced. Assessing the amount of this reduction is the goal of this work.

2008 - La costruzione dello straniero nell'informazione giornalistica italiana [Capitolo/Saggio]
Calaresu, Emilia Maria; Guardiano, Cristina; Sorrentino, Alessandra
abstract

Il lavoro presenta i primi risultati di un’indagine più ampia, e tuttora in fase di svolgimento, effettuata su diversi quotidiani italiani. L’indagine è su due fronti: quello del lessico e quello della prospettiva pragmatico-testuale. L’analisi lessicale e statistica, proposta nella prima parte del lavoro e basata su un ampio corpus di articoli del primo semestre 2007, ha come obiettivo più ampio individuare i domini concettuali e i campi metaforici maggiormente sfruttati sulla stampa per parlare dello “straniero”. L’analisi pragmatico-testuale della seconda parte indaga soprattutto: a) il trattamento della “voce” dello straniero rispetto a quella del “nativo”, e gli aspetti polifonici in genere in articoli di cronaca nera che riguardano stranieri; b) alcuni meccanismi della comunicazione implicita, ovvero i “non detti” che vengono comunque trasmessi e comunicati attraverso particolari strategie retoriche e testuali. Nel lavoro viene dato particolare rilievo alla tematica della “paura” e della “insicurezza” sociale collegata alla presenza di stranieri. Emerge che la presenza di termini come paura, allarme ecc. non è quantitativamente così alta come di solito si ritiene, ma che la loro rilevanza è effettiva confermata: a) dalla posizione saliente che tali termini hanno in luoghi del testo, come i titoli, e, b) dal particolare effetto discorsivo ottenuto, ad esempio, accostando selezioni di “voci” che testimoniano direttamente, senza l’intervento apparente del giornalista, sentimenti di paura, allarme e inquietudine nei confronti della presenza straniera in Italia.

2008 - The syntax of demonstratives. A parametric approach [Abstract in Atti di Convegno]
Guardiano, Cristina
abstract

The contribution will propose an interpretation of the syntactic behavior of demonstrative elements crosslinguistically, in a parametric perspective. On the basis of empirical evidence coming from a sample of Indoeuropean and non Indoeuropean languages, it will be shown that the different configurations available are all predictable on the basis of the setting of four syntactic parameters (and on their interaction with other properties), that determine: the positions of demonstratives in the DP, their interpretation according to such positions, and their co-occurrence with the (definite) article.

2008 - Three fundamental issues in parametric linguistics [Capitolo/Saggio]
Gianollo, Chiara; Guardiano, Cristina; Longobardi, Giuseppe
abstract

In this paper we discuss three compelling questions which impinge on parameter theory:a.What are the actual parameters of UG?b.What is the form of a possible parameter?c.How do parameter values distribute in space and time? With respect to the first question, we present the guidelines of a heuristic methodology to discover the parameters of UG, Modularized Global Parametrization, first proposed by Longobardi (2003). Building on the potential of such an approach, we pursue a Minimalist critique of the general form of parameters and sketch the programmatic lines of a Principles&Schemata model of UG. To address the third problem, we begin to investigate the implications of a parametric approach for the study of phylogenetic relationships among languages and, more broadly, of cognitive approaches to the study of history.

2007 - Aspetti dell'Italiano Parlato. Klaus Hölker, Christiane Maass, Eds., LIT, Münster, 2005, 288 pp. [Recensione in Rivista]
Guardiano, Cristina
abstract

The volume collects the contributions presented at the International Conference ‘‘Aspects of spoken Italian: Between national language and regional variety’’,1 held in Hanover in May, 2003. The Conference aimed to stimulate a critical discussion on the current perspectives on the research on spoken Italian (henceforth sI), with special attention paid to its relationships with standard and neo-standard varieties on one hand, and with the dialects on the other. The contributions do not provide the reader with any unique or common definition of sI, presenting a multi-focal perspective; the heterogeneity of fields of investigation, theoretical approaches and methodologies paints an interesting and realistic picture of the multiformity that intrinsically qualifies the empirical manifestations of the spoken varieties.

2007 - Greek, Italian and their Dialects: a Quantitative Taxonomy [Abstract in Atti di Convegno]
G., Longobardi; Guardiano, Cristina
abstract

In this paper we argue that parametric theoriesof the generative biolinguistic frameworkmay contribute to measuring and reconstruction ofgenetic and areal factors in historical linguistics

2007 - Modularized Global Parametrization and the Form of Parametric Variation [Abstract in Atti di Convegno]
Guardiano, Cristina; G., Longobardi; C., Gianollo
abstract

We suggest that MGP is a crucial tool to execute the parametric program (Chomsky 1995: 7: “The P&P model is in part a bold speculation rather than a specific hypothesis”…) and so provide a realistic nativist model of language acquisition/variation.

2007 - Modularized Global Parametrization and the form of parametric variation [Abstract in Rivista]
Guardiano, Cristina; G., Longobardi; C., Gianollo
abstract

The paper suggests that Modularized Global Parametrization is a crucial tool to execute the parametric program, and so providing a realistic nativist model of language acquisition/variation.

2007 - Stereotypes about English as the language of science [Articolo su rivista]
Guardiano, Cristina; Favilla, Mariaelena; Calaresu, Emilia Maria
abstract

The progressive spread of English as the main language of the international scientific communication has been interpreted and justified in many different ways by several scholars. The paper suggests a brief review of the scientific debate on such topics, focusing on the main stereotypes which have been created in order to provide explanations for the development of English as the language of science, and on the perception of non-Anglophone scholars concerning the reasons for the predominance of English in scientific literature and their disadvantages with respect to native speakers.Frequently used stereotypes on English as the language of science are analyzed and discussed in reference to the motivations asserted by linguists and non-linguists. A double ideological evidence can be registered: 1. arguments essentially consist in a-posteriori justifications, 2. English – far away from representing a free choice for non-native scholars – is perceived as the repository of the linguistic power that is desired and worshipped. The overview closes with the results of a pilot investigation on the languages of scientific publications, conducted on a sample of Italian scholars belonging to various scientific fields.

2007 - Usi non deittici e sintassi dei pronomi dimostrativi nelle varietà dell'italiano. Considerazioni teoriche e applicate [Abstract in Atti di Convegno]
Guardiano, Cristina
abstract

Il contributo propone alcune considerazioni sulla distribuzione diacronica delle proprietà sintattiche e delle funzioni dei determinanti dimostrativi questo e quello dell'italiano, con particolare riferimento agli usi documentati nel parlato e ai cosiddetti 'valori non deittici'.

2006 - DIGS 9. The 9th Diachronic Generative Syntax conference [CONFERENZA] [Altro]
Giuseppe, Longobardi; Paola, Crisma; Guardiano, Cristina; Chiara, Gianollo
abstract

DiGS is an international conference, meeting every second year in Europe or America since 1990 and bringing together scholars from many countries interested in the new and rapidly growing field of formal historical syntax. Some of the main topics usually dealt with include the theory of morphosyntactic change, parameter setting and resetting, the use of syntax to reconstruct the history and prehistory of languages. Conference website: http://www2.units.it/~digs9/ (Responsabile: Paola Crisma)

2006 - Fenomeni di mediazione interlinguistica e interculturale. Atti del V Congresso di Studi dell’Associazione Italiana di Linguistica Applicata [Curatela]
Banfi, E.; Gavioli, Laura; Guardiano, Cristina; Vedovelli, M.
abstract

Il volume raccoglie gli Atti del Quinto Congresso dell’Associazione Italiana di Linguistica Applicata (AitLA) svoltosi a Bari il 17 e il 18 febbraio 2005, grazie alla gentile accoglienza della Facoltà di Lingue e Letterature Straniere e del Dipartimento di Studi Anglo-Germanici e dell’Europa Orientale, e all’ospitalità della Facoltà di Giurisprudenza presso la quale si sono tenuti i lavori.Tema del congresso è stata la discussione intorno a problemi e fenomeni di mediazione interlinguistica e interculturale. Come ormai tradizionalmente avviene negli incontri scientifici dell’AitLA, anche a Bari si sono riuniti studiosi con diversi ambiti di interesse e che hanno proposto varie prospettive di analisi. Il congresso barese, tuttavia, discostandosi leggermente dai precedenti, ha visto una presentazione di contributi più omogenea e, conseguentemente, la discussione si è soprattutto concentrata sul tema principale del congresso, in una prospettiva ovviamente – ma non esclusivamente – linguistico-applicata.I contributi presentati in sede congressuale vertevano su problemi di mediazione in vari ambiti: mediazione nel quadro di interazioni bilingui con la partecipazione di un interprete, fenomeni di commutazione di codice, problemi di traducibilità, questioni legate al plurilinguismo, all’assorbimento di minoranze linguistiche e alla comunicazione fra culture diverse su uno stesso territorio.

2006 - Is a ‘History and Geography of Human Syntax’ meaningful? [Abstract in Atti di Convegno]
Guardiano, Cristina; G., Longobardi; C., Gianollo
abstract

In addition to its theoretical impact, the development of molecular biology has brought about the possibility of extraordinary scientific progress in the historical study of classification and geographicaldistribution of different species and different human populations (cf. Cavalli Sforza et al., 1994).We want to suggest that parametric theories of linguistic variation in generative grammar can prompt analogous progress in the study of the history and geographical distribution of different language families.Thus, this work aims at unifying two traditionally unrelated lines of investigation:- the formal study of syntactic variation in generative grammar - the reconstruction of historical relations among languages (phylogenetic taxonomy)

2006 - Italienisch und Deutsch als Wissenschaftssprachen. Bestandsaufnahmen, Analysen, Perspektiven // Italiano e tedesco come lingue della comunicazione scientifica. Ricognizioni, analisi, prospettive [Curatela]
Calaresu, Emilia Maria; Guardiano, Cristina; K., Hoelker
abstract

Gli obiettivi generali della ricerca possono essere riassunti in due nu- clei tematici principali: 1. la discussione delle condizioni cui l’italiano e il tedesco sottostanno in quanto lingue impiegate dalle diverse discipline per la trasmissione del sa- pere nell’ambito delle cosiddette “scienze naturali” e “umane”, soprattutto in relazione alla potente diffusione in atto dell’inglese; 2. l’analisi linguistica, basata su corpora opportunamente selezionati, delle caratteristiche lessicali, grammaticali, testuali e discorsive (sia nell’italiano sia nel tedesco) tipiche dei testi scientifici; fra gli obiettivi contemplati all’interno di questo secondo nucleo tematico c’è anche l’individuazione di ipotesi di intervento nell’ambito dell’insegnamento universitario per la co- struzione di una competenza specifica nella lingua scritta. Il volume è strutturato in due parti: la prima, introdotta dal testo di Ulrich Ammon, contiene quattro saggi collegati al primo nucleo tematico. La seconda parte, introdotta dall’intervento di Alberto A. Sobrero, contiene sette saggi che affrontano questioni rilevanti per il secondo nucleo tematico.

2006 - Mutamento e contatto linguistico: considerazioni sulle varietà della comunicazione scientifica [Capitolo/Saggio]
Guardiano, Cristina
abstract

Il contributo presenta un confronto fra le dinamiche di mutamento linguisticindividuabili nelle varietà impiegate nella comunicazione scientifica e i fenomeni di diffusione, sviluppo, obsolescenza, decadenza e morte che colpiscono le lingue naturali, e che sono particolarmente evidenti nei casi di contatto e conflitto fra lingue, in certe fasi dell'apprendimento, e nei casi di perdita (individuale) della lingua. Questi fenomeni sono stati tradizionalmente studiati in due prospettive (quasi mai complementari): la cosiddetta prospettiva sociolinguistica, prevalentemente attenta alle condizioni extralinguistiche che determinano lo squilibrio fra lingue piu' o meno potenti nel caso di contatto, e la cosiddetta 'prospettiva linguistica', che esamina prevalentemente singole proprietà strutturali. Il contributo sugerisce che le due prospettive insieme possono contribuire a una piu' precisa definizione dei tratti lingusitici ed extralinguistici che intervengono nei processi di perdita e obsolescenza e, in ultima analisi, a fare luce sulle ancora oscure dinamiche del mutamento linguistico.

2006 - Presentazione [Atti del 5° Congresso internazionale dell'Associazione italiana di linguistica applicata] [Prefazione o Postfazione]
Guardiano, Cristina; E., Banfi; Gavioli, Laura; M., Vedovelli
abstract

Presentazione dei contenuti dei contributi presenti nel volume

2006 - The diachronic evolution of the Greek article: parametric hypotheses [Relazione in Atti di Convegno]
Guardiano, Cristina
abstract

This paper proposes an interpretation of the diachronic evolution of the Greek article-system according to a theoretical framework essentially based on the recent parametric descriptions of the DP-structure. It particularly focuses on the relation between the rise of the so-called indefinite article and the necessity for the definite (expletive) one to occur along with proper names, in argument position. More specifically, the distribution of the definite article, the necessity of a phonetically visible expletive with proper names in Modern Greek, and its apparent optionality in Ancient Greek, are explained as the empirical consequences of the interaction among a number of parametric properties, namely Null Article, Strong Reference and the availability of the Noun-raising to high positions in the DP. Such an explanation also accounts for the diachronic development of the article-system throughout the history of Greek in terms of parameter resetting.

2006 - The underlying unity of Reference and Quantification [Abstract in Atti di Convegno]
Guardiano, Cristina; G., Longobardi
abstract

The mapping of nominal arguments to semantic interpretation exhibits a certain amount ofintriguing empirical variation across languages; it has become increasingly clear, at least sinceLongobardi (1994), that a good deal of such polymorphy depends on a major parametricdivide, separating two types of languages: certain languages (e.g. Romance, but also Classicaland Modern Greek, Bulgarian, Arabic (Fassi-Fehri 2003)…; henceforth 'strong D' languages)exhibit overt association of nouns functioning as referential constants (proper names andreferential generics) with D (either by overt N-to-D raising, e.g. of proper names, or by anarguably expletive article), others do not (e.g. English, but also probably the rest of Germanic,Celtic…; 'weak D' languages).

2006 - Un linguaggio in comune. Giornata di studio su neurolinguistica e disturbi del linguaggio [WORKSHOP] [Altro]
Guardiano, Cristina; Favilla, Mariaelena
abstract

La giornata di studi ha visto partecipanti da vari amibiti dello studio del linguaggio, dalla logopedia, alla pragmatica, alla neurolinguistica alla sintassi. L'obiettivo era quello di proporre un confronto fra i diversi orientamenti sullo studio del linguaggio, con particolare attenzione ai disturbi del linguaggio e alla rappresentazione neurologica del linguaggio steso, e di individuare punti di contatto e lavoro comune. Fra gli ospiti Andrea Moro (San Raffaele, Milano), Cristina Cacciari (Modena), Paolo Nichelli (Modena).

2006 - Vorwort der Herausgeber / Prefazione dei curatori [Prefazione o Postfazione]
Guardiano, Cristina; Calaresu, Emilia Maria; K., Hoelker
abstract

Presentazione dei contenuti del volume

2005 - 'Diciamo' come mitigatore [Traduzione in Volume]
Klaus, Hölker; Guardiano, Cristina
abstract

L'articolo prende in considerazione i diversi usi della particella mitigatrice italiana 'diciamo', soffermandosi in particolare sulla sua presunta funzione di "cortesia".

2005 - Lingua percepita e costruzione identitaria [Capitolo/Saggio]
Guardiano, Cristina; A., Carli
abstract

Il contributo commenta estratti da interviste condotte da una dei due autori nella comunità italofona di Gorizia, nell'ambito di un progetto europeo sulla cstruzione della percezione identitaria nelle comunità di confine in Europa. Il contributo si sofferma sull'analisi della costruzione dell'identità attraverso la percezione della propria lingua e della lingua dell'altro, in una prospettiva intergenerazionale

2005 - Lingue, istituzioni, territori : riflessioni teoriche, proposte metodologiche ed esperienze di politica linguistica [Curatela]
Guardiano, Cristina; Calaresu, Emilia Maria; Robustelli, Cecilia; Carli, Augusto
abstract

Presentazione delle principali tematiche affrontate nel volume (ecologia linguistica e politica linguistica).

2005 - Parametric Comparison and Language Taxonomy [Capitolo/Saggio]
Guardiano, Cristina; G., Longobardi
abstract

It is still a widely held opinion that the contribution of formal syntactic theories to modern linguistics is essentially focused on synchronic generalizations and that it does not extend to the most classical problems of the historical paradigm. Such a belief is beginning to fade away as a consequence of increased work in diachronic syntax (e.g.: Roberts 1993a, the contributions contained in Kemenade and Vincent 1997, Lightfoot 1999, Longobardi 2001b among others). In this work we will argue that the generative theory of syntactic parameters might interestingly renovate another stronghold of the historical study of language, phylogenetic taxonomy, and undermine the Humboldtian received distinction between the latter and grammatical typology.

2005 - Presentazione [Lingue, Istituzioni, Territori. Riflessioni teoriche, proposte metodologiche ed esperienze di poliitca linguistica] [Breve Introduzione]
Guardiano, Cristina; Calaresu, Emilia Maria; Robustelli, Cecilia; Carli, Augusto
abstract

Introduzione ai contenuti del volume

2005 - Presentazione [Lingue, istituzioni, territori] [Prefazione o Postfazione]
Guardiano, Cristina; Calaresu, Emilia Maria; Robustelli, Cecilia; Carli, Augusto
abstract

Presentazione delle principali tematiche affrontate nel volume (ecologia linguistica e politica linguistica).

2005 - Reference and Definiteness [Abstract in Atti di Convegno]
Guardiano, Cristina; G., Longobardi
abstract

It has become increasingly clear since Longobardi (1994, 2003) that certain languages (e.g.Romance, but also Classical and Modern Greek, Bulgarian, Arabic (Fassi-Fehri 2003)…;henceforth 'strong D' languages) exhibit overt association of the referential content of nouns(proper names and referential generics) with D (either by overt N-to-D raising, e.g. of propernames, or by an arguably expletive article), others do not (e.g. English, but also probably therest of Germanic, Celtic…; 'weak D' languages). From a number of scattered observation itcan be suspected that a roughly analogous phenomenon arises with respect to anothersemantic property of DPs, namely definiteness: in certain constructions of some languages,but crucially not in the closely comparable constructions of others, the definite reading ofnominal arguments seems to depend on the overt association of some morphosyntacticmaterial with D (fronting to D° or SpecD).

2004 - LINGUE, ISTITUZIONI, TERRITORI. Riflessioni teoriche, proposte metodologiche, ed esperienze di politica linguistica. XXXVIII Congresso Internazionale di Studi della Società di Linguistica Italiana, Modena 23-25 settembre 2004 [CONGRESSO] [Altro]
Guardiano, Cristina
abstract

La politica linguistica, attenta alla interrelazione fra linguaggio e comportamento sociale, si trova al momento confrontata con molteplici istanze che richiedono puntuali riflessioni teoriche e metodologiche. Gli ambiti prioritari sono dati da almeno due diversi ordini: quello relativo allo studio di situazioni in cui i diversi problemi/fenomeni e le eventuali decisioni/proposte sono di natura squisitamente linguistica – ma vengono de facto assunte da istanze non linguistiche come politici, giuristi, pedagogisti ecc. – e quello, uguale e contrario, relativo alla mancata o carente diffusione della cultura linguistica nel contesto sociale.Queste problematiche hanno assunto di recente una innegabile visibilità in relazione alle forti tendenze verso la globalizzazione e la conseguente drastica riduzione della diversità linguistica accanto alle rivendicazioni/reviviscenze di nuove etnicità, di minoranze storiche e nuove minoranze, le conflittualità nei rapporti lingua e dialetto, l'ondata normativa e quasi protezionistica che investe alcune lingue nazionali proprio per reazione alla globalizzazione, e così via. Di tutto ciò rendono testimonianza le numerose pubblicazioni che si sono accumulate al riguardo nel corso degli ultimi anni.Il temario vuole sollecitare la discussione – preferibilmente sul piano teorico e metodologico – dei diversi aspetti legati alla nozione di politica linguistica che va intesa nel senso più ampio possibile, non limitata pertanto alla tradizionale e pur importantissima pianificazione linguistica (Language Planning), bensì invece comprensiva di tutti gli ambiti di incontro, sovrapposizione e contiguità fra pratiche linguistiche e pratiche sociali a forte rilevanza politica. In questo senso il termine di politica linguistica designa le attività e i concetti che la ricerca scientifica tedescofona indica con Sprach(en)politik, Sprachplannung e Sprachplanungswissenschaft, così come quella anglofona con i concetti di Language Policy e di Language Politics.Nella prospettiva del temario, che pur favorisce approcci interdisciplinari, è esclusa la trattazione di aspetti di esclusiva pertinenza di discipline affini (come la sociologia, la psicologia o la antropologia) così come quelli di stretta rilevanza linguistica per ambiti acquisizionali o glottodidattici, dialettologici o sociolinguistico-variazionisti, ferma restando la possibilità di trattare molti punti del temario, che vi si prestano, sia in chiave sincronica che diacronica.SITO WEB: www.sli.unimore.it (responsabile: Cristina Guardiano)

2004 - V Congresso di studi dell'Associazione Italiana di Linguistica Applicata, La ricerca in linguistica applicata: nuove riflessioni sul contatto e conflitto linguistico, Modena, 19-20 Febbraio 2004 [CONGRESSO] [Altro]
Guardiano, Cristina
abstract

Come negli altri Congressi AItLA, anche per questo incontro si è scelta una formula che consentisse la presentazione di contributi sulle molteplici dimensioni della Linguistica Applicata, oltre a quelli più vicini al tema di riferimento principale (contatto e conflitto linguistico), per il quale sono state presentate quattro relazioni su invito (Pieter Muysken, Alberto M. Mioni, Ulrich Ammon e Wolfgang Wölck) che hanno affrontato l’argomento da quattro diversi punti di vista.Sito web: http://www.aitla.unimo.it/Congressi_convegni_AItLA.html (Responsabile: Cristina Guardiano)

2003 - Asserting ethnic identity and power through language [Articolo su rivista]
Carli, Augusto; Guardiano, Cristina; M., Kaucic Basa; E., Sussi; M., Tessarolo; M., Ussai
abstract

This paper examines excerpts from interviews in which informants from six European border communities formulate explicit or implicit reflections on the 'linguistic universe' - including language use, linguistic diversity and language variation. Our results show that not only is linguistic diversity considered a fundamental element Of ethnic and cultural identity, but that the very concept of diversity is used to assert, confirm or defend power interests. Evaluation of the individual languages is legitimated through apparently rational arguments incorporating marks of prestige or stigma which emerge from language attitudes based on linguistic prejudice and stereotyping. The linguistic ideology at work here is founded both on the concept of the 'mother tongue' (informants on both the east and west sides of the border claim that the unique 'character' or 'mentality' of each 'people' is created by their mother tongue), as well as on the 'one nation, one language' principle. This linguistic ideology gives rise to three key issues of linguistic ecology: the restriction of societal bilingualism to minority groups; the risk of minority language endangerment or obsolescence; and the close ties between the prestige or stigma of the language and resulting social power. In general, communities on the western side of the border are not interested in learning the language of their eastern neighbours. Eastern communities, on the other hand, are strongly motivated to learn western languages. The importance attributed to English as the 'language of globalisation' is common to both sides.

2003 - Gorizia-Nova Gorica et le dèfi de l'intègration europèenne [Articolo su rivista]
Guardiano, Cristina; Carli, Augusto; E., Sussi; M., Kaucic Basa; M., Tessarolo; M., Ussai
abstract

Il contributo commenta alcuni dei risultati di un progetto di ricerca interdisciplinare sulla costruzione dell'identita' comunitaria e individuale in alcune aree di confine sulla ex 'cortina di ferro' in Europa.

2002 - La lingua in una città di confine [Articolo su rivista]
Guardiano, Cristina; M., Tessarolo
abstract

Il contributo propone una analisi della percezione dell'identita' individuale e comunitaria all'interno della comunita' italofona della citta' di Gorizia, caratterizzata dalla presenza di due comunita' linguistico-culturali radicate storicamente: la comunita' italofona e la comunita' sovenofona. La citta', collocata sul confine fra Italia e Slovenia, ha attraversato vicende storico-politiche che hanno pesantemente segnato i rapporti fra le due comunita'. Vengono commentati alcuni dati di una indagine sul campo che sperimentava una metodologia di raccolta basata sul commento di manufatti fotografici relativi alla storia recente della citta'. Si fa riferimento, in particolare, alla definizione dell'identita' linguistico-culturale che emerge dai discorsi degli informanti, tutti appartenenti alla comunita' italofona, e selezionati in base all'appartenenza generazionale (cinque famiglie, tre generazioni per famiglia).

2000 - Note sull'oggetto diretto preposizionale in siciliano [Articolo su rivista]
Guardiano, Cristina
abstract

Il contributo propone una descrizione del fenomeno sintattico noto come 'oggetto diretto preposizionale' con particolare riferimento all'analisi delle sue manifestazoni in una varieta' romanza: il siciliano. L'analisi si basa sui risultati prodotti da una ricerca sul campo e sulla disamina critica della letteratura sul tema, con particolare riferimento alle teorie sulla marcatura differenziale dell'oggetto.

Università degli studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia

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