Prosthesis in sC clusters: diatopic variation in Medieval Sardinian documents

Abstract

Prosthesis before s- + consonant (sC) clusters has been attested in Sardinia since the 5^th century Latin inscriptions. The modern language, however, displays a sharp split between Campidanese and Logudorese varieties. The Central-Northern area is characterized by unconditioned prosthesis, whereas in the Southern area, prosthesis is context-dependent. The origins of the phenomenon, however, are unclear: since Wagner (1941), it has been hypothesized an original unconditioned prosthesis in Medieval Sardinian, that would have then been eliminated in Campidanese under the influence of Tuscan varieties. In order to shed light on this debated issue, we examined the context for the application of the prosthesis in Medieval Sardinian documents. The results seem to hint at an unconditioned prosthesis in the Logudorese area; in Campidanese, the phenomenon seems to have been context-dependent, with a significantly higher incidence of prosthesis in strong positions.