The Internal Structure of Causal Subordinators and the Attachment Site of Causal Clauses in the History of Italian
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 19487461 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Jacopo Garzonio (0000-0001-6632-4129, University of Padua, corresponding author), Emanuela Sanfelici (0000-0003-2592-4528, University of Padua, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 11 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 37 |
| Publication date | 2026-02-26 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Languages (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2226-471X • E-ISSN: 2226-471X |
| Publisher | MDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT) |
| DOI | 10.3390/languages11030037 |
| OpenAlex | W7131674722 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 14 |
This paper investigates the syntax and diachrony of Italian causal clauses introduced by perché, siccome, and poiché. Although often treated as near-synonyms in Contemporary Italian, these subordinators differ systematically in their syntactic distribution, interpretive properties, and diachronic development. We show that perché introduces central adverbial clauses, merged within the vP/TP domain, whereas siccome and poiché introduce peripheral adverbial clauses, merged in the left periphery. This structural split correlates with a cluster of diagnostics: only perché-clauses can occur within the scope of matrix focus, negation, or epistemic operators, and only they can function as fragment answers. Conversely, siccome- and poiché-clauses consistently outscope matrix operators and encode non-at-issue content. A diachronic study reveals that the internal and external syntax of causal clauses introduced by each subordinator has remained stable from Old Italian to the present. However, siccome- and poiché-clauses display different semantics, as they derive from non-causal constructions (they originate from comparative and temporal clauses, respectively). We argue that the contrasting behaviors follow from the structural composition of the subordinators
Adverbial · Argument (complex analysis) · Dependent clause · Function (biology) · Matrix (chemical analysis) · Scope (computer science) · Subordination (linguistics) · Subordinator · Syntax · Linguistic Studies and Language Acquisition · Neurobiology of Language and Bilingualism · Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic Variation
| Highly cited | No |
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