The verbal system in the Arbëresh dialect of Contessa Entellina

Abstract

This work is an attempt to present a description of the verbal system of Arbëresh dialect spoken in Contessa Entellina, in Sicily. It focuses on the various ways in which person, tense, mood and aspect are encoded, on the salient features of the verbal derivation and verbal inflection. Through a description of the various forms, the author shows how a large number of verbs alternate between several stem. This study, that documents an endangered language, may constitute a starting point for further researche into the Arbëresh varieties.