Proteus: Adverbial multi-word expressions in Italian and their cognate counterparts in -mente

Abstract

Abstract: This contribution focuses on Italian adverbs ending in -mente (e.g. lussuosamente ‘luxuriously’) with an analytic counterpart (a multi-word expression, MWE) which is etymologically related and it is capable of equally performing the adverbial function (e.g. di lusso). Two sentences diverging only in this regard have the same truth values and they entail each other. Morphologically, such adverbial MWEs are formed by a preposition which is followed by a noun/adjective sharing the content morpheme of the -mente adverb. However, in some contexts the cognate –mente adverb cannot replace its MWE. For instance, only adjectival MWEs can be used as predicates in copular constructions (La festa è di lusso, ‘The party is lavish’). For this research, more than a hundred pairs have been collected and classified. In this lexicographic enterprise, syntax happens to play a central role: one of the groups in the taxonomy (e.g. vigliaccamente/da vigliacco, ‘like a coward’), has a revelatory property: the noun/adjective in the adverbial MWE inflects in gender and number. This suggests that these adverbial MWEs are predicates. It is argued that, due to the above-mentioned entailment relationships, -mente adverbs, even if invariable, function as predicates as well, and with identical argument structures. This leads to a reassessment of the joint role of syntax and suffixation in the lexical and grammatical construction of some semantic properties of adverbs and adverbials, leaving in the background traditional parts-of-speech distinctions.