Agenda

The Center of Studies for Multilingualism of the Department of Linguistics and Comparative Cultural Studies proudly presents the seminar by

Norma Schifano (University of Cambridge)
Parameter Hierarchies and Language Contact: the Present Perfect in Ecuadorian Spanish

This talk explores the hypothesis that the ‘fine-grained’ grammatical differences that adult grammars under contact are said to be sensitive to (e.g., Hicks et al. 2023) amount
to micro/nanoparametric distinctions, in the sense of Roberts (2019). To test this proposal, the study examines two properties of the present perfect in Ecuadorian Spanish
as spoken in the United Kingdom: (i) the expression of evidential/mirative values and (ii) a specific pattern of adverb placement. Data from 28 speakers (18 first-generation
migrants, 10 monolinguals in Ecuador) and four tasks provide preliminary support for the hypothesis. With respect to evidentiality, exposure to peninsular Spanish reduced the
acceptability and use of the expected forms, whereas exposure to English showed no significant effects. Conversely, exposure to English affected the acceptability and ratings
of the adverb placements examined. By modeling both phenomena through parameter hierarchies, it is shown that the ‘size’ of the parametric distinction between the varieties
involved correctly predicts the presence/absence of cross-linguistic influence. In formalizing the size of grammatical differences affected by short-term contact, this approach offers a framework for future research on syntactic vulnerability in language contact. The study also contributes to the documentation of language contact in under-researched Latin American communities in the United Kingdom.

Norma Schifano holds a BA in Languages ​​and Language Sciences (2009) and an MA in Language Sciences (2011) from Ca’ Foscari University of Venice. In 2015, she obtained a PhD in Italian Studies from Clare College, University of Cambridge, where she subsequently worked as a Research Associate on a Leverhulme Trust-funded project concerning Italo-Greek (2016–2019). Prior to her current appointment, she worked at the Universities of Oxford, Manchester, and Birmingham.
Norma Schifano is an Assistant Professor of Italian and Comparative Romance Linguistics in the Faculty of Modern and Medieval Languages ​​at the University of Cambridge, and a Fellow in Modern Languages ​​and Linguistics at Churchill College. Her research focuses on the documentation and theorization of morphosyntactic change and variation in Romance languages, with a particular emphasis on language contact from both diachronic and synchronic perspectives. She is also a co-founder of the Linguistics@InMFL project, an inter-institutional collaboration that aims to promote the inclusion of linguistics in modern language teaching within the UK school curriculum.

Scientific coordinator for the organisation of the event:
Giuliana Giusti

Event open to: researchers, students and the general public