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PHONOLOGY 
PART III

PARAGOGICAL FORMS

PARAGOGE IN -JE OF THE MONOSYLLABLES 

Almost all the monosyllabic words (nouns, adjectives, adverbs, verbs and generally all the oxyton words) involve an epithesis typical of the sanmartinese dialect adding the suffix -je. They belong to this category the personal pronouns subject (î, tu, nu, vu) and the possessive adjectives (mi, to, so).

The adverbs scî and nò can add the paragogical group -ne (besides the normal epithesis in scije and noje) and they become scîne and nône.

PARAGOGE OF THE POLYSYLLABLES IN -JE

They also have the same behavior the names ending in -î. Ex.. 
- fantasî and fantasîje
- carestî and carestîje
- uelî and uelîje
- etc...

Generally the oxyton words (not obligatorily) tend to affix the termination -je. Ex.: 
- velà and velâje
- magnà and magnâje
- cantà and cantâje
- vedé and vedéje
- etc...

Then all the infinitive forms (oxyton words) of the verbs of all conjugations can add -je, except those of the second conjugation the atonic -e (that are paroxyton words).

REINFORCEMENT AND CONSONATIC ASSIMILATION 

1) - mmasciate derives from embassy [it. ambasciata, provenz. ambaissada] where the mm constitutes the assimilation of the group mb and, therefore, the word must be written and pronounced with two ms [mm]

2) - nen te [pr. nen de] and ne' tté mean in Italian both non ti. In the first case the phenomenon of the consonantal voicing happens (of t before to n); in the second case the brief form ne' (instead of nen = not) cause a consonantal strengthening due to the intervocalic t.

3) - The words mmonde and bballe (as a lot of others) they can be considered the abbreviation of a mmonde and a bballe. Also here the m and the b in intervocalic position double. The preposition a when it is not pronounced it stays implied and, therefore, the reduplication remains however; after all the same consonants would always be found in intervocalic position.

- va (a) bballe
- puortu (a) bballe

THE MORPHOSYNTACTIC ASSIMILATION 

The consonatic assimilation also happen between word and word.

- quillu sfottò che fà ne mme piace pruòpeje [nen me > ne mme]

Also it happens that the preposition 'n founds itself with the initial consonant of the word that follows (at times changing itself in m) and voicing its initial consonant [orthography already used by D. Sassi].

- 'n facce > 'mbacce [n + f = mb]
- 'n fronde > 'mbronde [n + f = mb]
- 'n mènde > 'mmènde [n + m = mm]
- 'n còlle > 'ngòlle  [n + c = ng]
- 'n tande > 'ndande  [n + t = nd]
- 'n questa > 'nguesta [n + qu = ngu]
- n' sacce > nzacce [n + s = nz]
- 'n sîne > 'nzîne [n + s = nz]
- 'n sònne > 'nzònne [n + s = nz]

The fusion consonatica is provoked by 'n (prep. = in) and n' (avv. = not).

DISPLACEMENT OF THE ACCENT

The displacement of the accent produces in the altered nouns some vowel changes; generally when a syllable loses the accent its vowel (if it is not a) it always contracts it in the schwa.

- case, casétte, casettélle, casettellùcce.
- mane, manùcce.
- votte, vettecélle, vettarellùcce.
- cocce, queccétte, queccetèlle.
- uòcchie, uecchiùcce, uecchietejèlle

The a (contracted or not contracted) it always stays identical to herself that is a or â.

You notice as the u of ugne (pl. of ogne) produces in its altered nouns the diphtongation in ue.
Ugne:  
- uegnetejèlle, uegnucce, uegnetellucce.  
- accr. uegnûne 
- dispr. uegnacce

The same happens for the singular form.
Ogne: 
- uegnetelle, uegnucce, uegnetellucce.  
- accr. uegnône 
- dispr. uegnacce

PRINCIPLE OF INDETERMINATENESS

VOWEL INDETERMINATENESS

Here are the examples of vowel indeterminateness (obviously there is no relation with the morphological functionality).

a) - fatt 'i fatta toje - la a (of fatta) it doesn't have any relation with the gende5r and the number, it is a pure euphonization. One be said regularly fatt 'i fatti toje [o fatt 'i fatte toje], but the spoken version is easier (the first one), against any regularity of the grammar... It always needs to prefer the spoken that prefers the facility, the fluidity, etc...

b) - pover' e mmé!, pover' e tté!, pover' e nnu!, etc... - There is here also an euphonization and the e corresponds to the preposition a. One should be said' a mme! [influence from sp. - in it. we say povero me!] Really this vowel indeterminateness happens very often oscillating between é and â. For euphonization we intend a smaller waste of energy, of breath and therefore of vowel opening.

c) - C'è fatte nera nere. - la -a of nera it can be reported both to the masculine that to the feminine one, creating here also an indeterminateness of the singular gender.
      - C'è fatte nere nere - It is the same previous sentence, only that here, instead of -a we have -e (schwa) creating again the indeterminateness of singular gender.

     - Pera spadône (sing.) and pera spadûne (pl.) Here the -a instead doesn't mirror the number but only the gender.

    - anemala vaccine can signify both the plural than singular and the finale -a of anemala (euphonization of -e), as in the preceding example, doesn't distinguish the number.

d) - Sta come Ggeveddì mmezz' a settemâne. - The e (contracted or schwa) of come becomes closed é.

INDETERMINATENESS OF THE VOWEL DURATION AND
OF THE GRAMMATICAL FUNCTION

e) - a 'rret' a porte 

- la to (in boldfaced) it is an articulated preposition (a + 'a = a) or only the article 'a? Really we say:
- v(a) a 'mmonde (you go on), 
- v(a) a bballe (you go down), 
- st(a) a 'ngoppe (it is above), 
etc...
The problem is crated from the vowel fusion of the two adjoining a of different words. The vowel a (resulting from this fusion) it is indefinite in its duration that it oscillates between a brief â and a long â [as it happens in English].

f) - We take the following sentence:

- Che m'éa anderrà? 
- Che m'éa 'nderrà? 
- Che m'anderrà? 

The grammatical function of m'éa (I have to me) reduces it in the third sentence to m'a...

PARALINGUISTIC INDETERMINATENESS 
OF THE REVEALED FUNCTION

We have already seen, about the hidden and revealed function of the gender and number, the indeterminateness of the final vowel that always has the tendency to stay schwa, if it is not accompanied by another word.

[*] - Really the change of the final vowels is due to involving and emotional phenomenons, in first person (paralinguistic therefore) so using a distant tone everything would return to the inertial shwa.

- 'i câse belle, 'u barône mî, 'i barûne mî.

Generally only the feminine singular haven't got this tendency and the revealed gender stays so, both when the tone is involving, both when it is detached.

- acque > acqua fresche
- stalle > stalla grosse

The words, that have in the accented syllable the vowel a (accented therefore), when they alter them (moving the accent), the atonic syllable that previously was tonic always stays a (normal or contracted).

- câse > câsétte, câsettélle
- mâne > mânétte, mânìjje.
- ca'sce > ca'scettélle. [*]
- câsce > câscélle [*]

[*] - We notice that the vowel a followed by a double consonant ['sc = double sc] it is similar to the Italian a.

SCHWA

All the other atonic vowels (except the a) generally are always schwa.
The vowel u, i, o and e (open or closed or contracted), in the altered nouns, losing the accent, they are transform in e (schwa)

- tónne, tennetèlle
- vuòve, vevarejèlle
- pìzze, pezzarèlle
- pèzze, pezzelélle
- pejèzze, pezzetejèlle

- uleme, uelemelle [*]
- uelîve, uelevelle [*]
- puzze, pezzétte
- lûpe, lepétte
- lûne, lenétte

[*] - it needs to do some distinctions about the u.

     a) - if the u is in atonic syllable, in the altered noun it is always u

     b) - if the u is tonic and at the beginning of word it diphthongize in ue.

ùseme > uesemejatôre
ùleme > uelemelle

     c) - if u is part of an initial diphthong it stays always u. [?]

uajjône > uajjengelle
uelive > uelevelle
uòcchie > uecchietielle
uòjje > uejjetelle 

    d) - if u is part of a not initial diphthong it returns to the schwa [3]

vuòve > vevarejèlle
nuòve > nevellîne 

[?] - Really the u (semiconsonant) of inicial diphthong involve it as a consonant. 

Also the initial and accented o at times diphthong in ue when it loses the accent.

ogne > uegnetelle
orte > uertecelle

We say that the words beginning for vowel (excluded a) they are little in comparison to those beginning for consonant.

DYNAMIC VOWEL SUBTRACTION 

The apostrophe, besides to be congenital in the word ('n, 'u, 'i, 'a, pe', mo', Pasqua' from Pasquale, 'ngoppe, etc...), it can indicate the initial or final fall of vowel of word, during the dynamic succession of the words. The dialect tends to avoid the hiatus, and so, in the spoken language (spontaneous), it often eliminates one of the two vowels that  meet them (belonging to different words).

- uocchi' a ssole < uocchi(e) a ssole.
- l'a date 'ngopp 'i recchie < l'a date 'ngopp(e) 'i recchie. [*]

[*] - There can be no two consecutive apostrophes and, therefore, when the vowel subtraction happens, if there is already a congenital apostrophe (due to apheresis) it doesn't add another.

When we speak about of dynamic effect, we refered us to the rhythm of the spoken language; it is obvious that if there is hesitancy, a break, a hesitation, etc... the vowel subtraction doesn't happen.

- uocchie... a ssole.
- l'a date 'ngoppe... 'i recchie.

A same sentence can suffer different vowel subtractions that is: in the meeting between two vowels, belonging to different words, it can happen the subtraction of the preceding vowel or of that following it.

- 'U vraccie andenate me fa male [normal sentence]
- 'U vraccie 'ndenate me fa male [following subtraction]
- 'U vracci' andenate me fa male [preceding subtraction]

Consonantal change caused for displacement
of syllabic tonicity

It happens, as for the vowels, that certain consonants (or consonantic groups) changes according to the syllabic tonicity.

SOUND INDETERMINATENESS OF SOME
CONSONANTAL GROUP 

NGHJ < --- > NGN

The group ghj when is preceded by n spontaneously it tends to the sound ngn (by itself unpronounceable) and the result of this is an alternative between ghj and ngn. The sound ghj of ghianghe is slightly different from that of 'nghianà. It happens that (spontaneously) the sounding n transforms the timbre of the sound ghj and rende it similar to gn (but not equal however). Therefore both ghj than gn (preceded by n) should not be considered as the exact graphic representation of the correspondent sound.
   I would dissuade however the transcription with ngn for nghj being this most connected to its native derivation unvoiced-velar.

Ex.: 'nghiappà da n + cchiappà

W (u semivocale) <---> GU (digramma)

Here we have also an alternative between the sounds u (semiconsonant) and gu (digram)

J (i semivocal) <---> ngn (trigram)

The same tendency happens even if less evident. I would dissuade the transcription with ngn.

H < --- > G

The same. The g is aspirated.

In conclusion we can affirm that the hevy g has in the dialect an extraordinary mobility having five timbre variations  (three in more in comparison to Italian):

1) - h
2) - gh (as in it.) - ex.: paga
3) - ghj (as in it.) - ex.: ghiera 
4) - nghj
5) - w < > gu (intermediary sound)
6) - j < > ngn (intermediary sound) [*]

[*] - ngn can be considered a variation of the hevy g even if really it is much palatized.

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