Nominal compounding in the Teramano area1* 25 DOI 10.24053/ VOX-2025-002 Vox Romanica 84 (2025): 25-49 Nominal compounding in the Teramano area* Graziana Ferretti (Sapienza Università di Roma) https: / / orcid.org/ 0009-0007-2810-7554 Abstract: Questo articolo si incentra sulla composizione nominale nella cosiddetta area teramana. Si propone la classificazione di oltre cinquecento composti sulla base della teoria avanzata in Bisetto/ Scalise (2005) e si offre una panoramica sulla tipologia del composto, sul tipo di referente, sui cambiamenti fonetici in atto e sulla semantica del lessema. Keywords: Compounds, Italian-Romance dialects, Nouns, Southern Italy, Teramano area 1. Introduction 1 The present article aims to describe the various types of nominal compounding patterns attested in the Teramano area, within the Abruzzo region of Italy. Although geographically located in Central Italy, the varieties under examination belong to the Upper Southern dialect group, as evidenced by the neutralization of final unstressed vowels into schwa. To date, no comprehensive studies have been conducted on word formation processes in the Teramano area or, more broadly, in Abruzzo. However, the region has benefited from the contributions of Rohlfs (1966-1969: §991-1000), Giammarco (1979), and more recently, Passino (2017), whose work specifically focuses on compounding. Notably, Passino’s study has the merit of addressing, in a broad and systematic manner and on the basis of both lexicographic sources and original field data, several issues that had received only briefly attention in the previous scientific literature (such as the occurrence of the vowel -/ a/ between the first and second element of a nominal compound, prosodic pattern, and the current productivity of specific compounding strategies) 2 . Nonetheless, her analysis is confined to N+A and * I am grateful to the anonymous reviewers for their insightful suggestions and detailed remarks on various aspects of the present work. Any remaining errors or inaccuracies are my sole responsibility. 1 The following abbreviations will be used throughout the article: A (adjective), Adv (adverb), IC (inflectional class), N (noun), Num (numeral adjective), P (preposition), PP (past participle), V (verb). 2 Passino (2017) distinguishes between etymological / a/ and non-etymological (linking) / a/ . The analysis shows that in endocentric compounds, / a/ is exclusively etymological, whereas in exocentric V+N compounds, non-etymological / a/ also occurs. According to the author, this suggests that linking vowels may signal morphosyntactic boundaries. The findings support a dual-process view of / a/ -insertion, involving both phonological resistance to reduction and morphologically DOI 10.24053/ VOX-2025-002 Vox Romanica 84 (2025): 25-49 26 Graziana Ferretti V+N compounds in the dialects of Teramo and San Valentino in Abruzzo Citeriore (the latter falling outside the area considered here) and does not provide a comprehensive typological or areal perspective. The aim of this article is thus to provide a systematic and exhaustive overview of nominal compounding strategies in the Teramano area, based on a corpus of approximately five hundred lexemes. Specifically, in contrast to Passino’s study, which focuses exclusively on the dialect of the provincial capital of Teramo, the present analysis takes into account a broader range of dialects spoken throughout the Teramano area. Furthermore, it aims to provide both an analysis and exemplification of all nominal compounding strategies attested in the corpus. Special attention is devoted to several linguistic factors, including: (a) the presence or absence of unstressed final -/ a/ in the first constituent; (b) the phonological autonomy of the compound members; (c) the referent of the compound, which may be specified as [± human] or [± animate]; and (d) the semantic classification of the compounds. The present article is arranged as follow: §2 discusses the main definitions and classifications of the term compound proposed in the literature; §3 outlines the geographical area under examination; §4 offers an overview of the limited existing research on compounding in Italo-Romance varieties; §5 reviews the state of the art for the Abruzzo region, with a specific focus on the Teramo area; §6 introduces the corpus on which this analysis is based; §7, along with its subsections, presents a detailed examination of the various types of compounds attested; finally, §8 draws the main conclusions. 2. Definition and classification of compounds 3 As claimed by Guevara/ Scalise (2009: 106) and Kavka (2009: 26), providing a clear and shared definition of the term compound is not an easy task. Several scholars, in fact, have complained both about the lack of coherence in the definitions and classifications proposed and about their being language-specific (cf. Bisetto/ Scalise 2005, Lieber/ Štekauer 2009: 2-17; Scalise/ Bisetto 2009). In this paper, in the wake of Bisetto (2004), Bisetto/ Scalise (2005: 326), Guevara/ Scalise (2009: 107-08), taken up by Forza/ Scalise (2016: 524), Radimský (2015) and Micheli (2020), the term compound is used driven epenthesis. Furthermore, Passino (2014) notes the current productivity of the V+N compound type, at least in San Valentino in Abruzzo Citeriore, where speakers spontaneously use it to create new lexical items. The same study also provides evidence supporting the phonetic autonomy of the two constituents. 3 The relationships between compoundhood and derivation or syntagms will not be discussed here: the reader is referred to Bisetto (2004: 34-36), Voghera (2004: 56-69) and Masini/ Scalise (2012: 67- 75). For compoundhood involving Greek or Latin elements, cf. Iacobini (2004: 69-95). We adhere to the idea of Kavka (2009), who argues that there is a «scale of compositionality» and that compounding is a «scalar, gradient phenomenon» (Kavka 2009: 44). This perspective makes it possible to include, under the label of compound , structures that are not recognized as such in more restrictive or lexicalist approaches (cf. also Van Goethem/ Amiot 2019: 131-35). 27 DOI 10.24053/ VOX-2025-002 Vox Romanica 84 (2025): 25-49 Nominal compounding in the Teramano area to denote a lexeme formed by two or more independent words that are held by an underlying syntactic relationship, commonly not spelled out by any lexical item. The reference to an unexpressed syntactic component makes this definition more specific than that proposed by Bauer (2001: 695), who simply claims that a compound is: A lexical unit made up of two or more elements, each of which can function as a lexeme independent of the other(s) in other context, and which shows some phonological and/ or grammatical isolation from normal syntactic usage. As noted by Van Goethem/ Amiot (2019), the Romance linguistics literature on the topic of compounding generally adopts a broader definition of the process than that found in the Germanic tradition. The prevailing perspective, referred to as a nonrestrictive approach (Van Goethem/ Amiot 2019: 129-30), encompasses all types of complex lexical units, including both multi-word expressions and compounds, by foregrounding the features they share (cf. also Hüning/ Schlücker 2015: 450-67). Adopting this perspective, the present study includes a range of compound types, schematically illustrated in (1) and (2) in §7. Moreover, in line with this approach, it is considered both possible and useful to discuss N+P+N structures, which are not traditionally classified as true compounds in a lexicalist framework, yet display several properties common to compounding processes. Numerous proposals have been put forward to classify compounds, each employing substantially different criteria. Bisetto/ Scalise (2005: 320-26) and Scalise/ Bisetto (2009: 50-71) schematize and analyse these classifications, in turn presenting a new proposal which is based, at the first level, on the grammatical relation between the constituents of the compound and, at the second level, on the presence or absence of the head 4 . Therefore, the elements of the compound are related by an unexpressed syntactic component, through which three categories of compounds are distinguished: attributive, coordinative and subordinative 5 . The first group is made up of compounds the members of which are a noun-head and an element with an attrib- 4 As brought to light by Guevara/ Scalise (2009: 107), a hint of the importance of the grammatic relationship between the first and the second member of the compound is also found in Bloomfield (1933) and Marchand (1969). 5 As can be easily observed, these grammatical relations are the same as those found in syntactic constructions. This simple observation implies that the constituents of compounds are governed by the same syntactic restrictions as the lexical categories to which they belong. For example, in Italian there are not complex words composed of a noun (N) followed by a preposition (P), nor compounds such as A+V or V+A (adjective + verb and vice versa), since these syntactic orders are not permitted (cf. Bisetto 2004: 33). Scalise/ Bisetto (2009) introduce a new category compared to the proposal in Bisetto/ Scalise (2005). Alongside the coordinative and subordinative types there is the so-called ATAP class, which comprises two subtypes: attributive and appositive compounds. According to Bisetto/ Scalise (2009), attributive and appositive compounds differ in the way their components interact. In the former, the non-head element, namely an adjective or a verb, functions as a modifier of the head, while in the latter the non-head element expresses a property of the head (cf. also Masini/ Scalise 2012: 76). In Italian, the N+A compounds are attributive, whereas N+N formations are appositive (cf. Micheli 2020: 20). 28 Graziana Ferretti DOI 10.24053/ VOX-2025-002 Vox Romanica 84 (2025): 25-49 utive role, often an adjective or a noun, but even verbs are not excluded; the second group comprises those complex lexemes whose constituents are united by a coordination relationship, and thus permitting both the insertion of the conjunction and between them and the creation of recursive compounds; the last group contains compounds whose constituents have an implicit subordinate relation or «head-complement» relation (cf. Bisetto/ Scalise 2005). The compounds belonging to each of these categories can also be endocentric (i.e. complex lexemes with a head) or exocentric (i.e. complex lexemes without a head) 6 . The concept of head is crucial, as the semantic and syntactic properties of the compound depend on it. The present study adopts the classification proposed by Bisetto/ Scalise (2005) as its theoretical framework for the categorization of nominal compounds in the Teramano area. 3. Area of interest The area of interest is named by Pellegrini (1977) in his Carta dei dialetti d’Italia as Ib (cf. the Fig. 1 below). The Teramano area falls within the intermediate southern dialects and includes the varieties south of the Tronto river, north to the current province of Pescara, east of isogloss 18, which distinguishes the southern Italian dialects from the median ones based on the final unstressed vocalism, which is reduced to schwa in the dialects under examination. Fig. 1: The Teramano area in the Carta dei dialetti d’Italia by Pellegrini (1977). 6 For a detailed definition of the six types of compounds described in Bisetto/ Scalise (2005) and for their application to the Italian language, cf. Masini/ Scalise (2012) and Micheli (2020). 29 DOI 10.24053/ VOX-2025-002 Vox Romanica 84 (2025): 25-49 Nominal compounding in the Teramano area 4. Compoundhood in dialect varieties Research on nominal compounding within the standard Romance languages has attracted substantial scholarly attention. Conversely, the Italo-Romance dialectal domain has remained underexplored. Comprehensive accounts of compounding mechanisms are available for a few dialects, including the insular varieties (cf. Emmi 2011 for Sicilian, Pinto 2011, 2016 for Sardinian), Gardenese (cf. Siller-Runggaldier 1989, 2016), Friulian (cf. Benincà/ Vanelli 2016) and Airolese (cf. Genasci 2011). Additional information regarding the Roman dialect may also be found in Giovanardi (2005). A concise overview of compounding patterns in these varieties is provided below. The exhaustive analyses conducted by Emmi (2011), Genasci (2011), and Pinto (2011, 2016: 2697-700), focusing respectively on Sicilian, Swiss Airolese dialect, and Sardinian, provide evidence that the most frequent combinations used to form nominal compounds are N+A, N+(conjunction/ preposition)+N, and V+N. For Gardenese, a variety of Ladin spoken in Val Gardena and examined by Siller- Runggaldier (1989, 2016), the situation appears to be slightly different: the N+N type is rare and has likely entered the system through contact with Italian or German. The predominant pattern is A+N, followed by V+N. Giovanardi’s study (2005) of the Roman theatrical lexicon in the 19 th and 20 th centuries, on the other hand, demonstrates the high productivity of endogenous nominal compounds involving the structures V+N, A+N or N+A, and N+N, occasionally featuring the insertion of prepositions, especially a (with definite article), de , and da . In Friulian, the productivity of nominal exocentric compounds of the V+N type, typically formed by a transitive verb and its direct object or, less frequently, by an intransitive verb and its subject, is reported by Benincà/ Vanelli (2016: 149). N+N formations with the left-hand constituent functioning as the semantic head are also attested. Rohlfs (1966-1969: §1000) and Telmon/ Maiden (1997: 118) consider the V+V type to be common. However, this claim does not appear to be fully substantiated. Genasci (2011: 12), for instance, states that «in Airolese non sembrano esserci composti del tipo V+V», and no nominal compound composed of two verbs is reported in Siller-Runggaldier’s (2016) study of Ladin. Similarly, Pinto (2011: 51) considers the V+V type to be one of the least frequent in Sardinian: her corpus contains only two examples, one nominal and one adverbial. The same is reported by Giovanardi (2005: 260-61) and Emmi (2011: 354) for theatrical lexicon in Roman dialect and Sicilian, respectively. As will be shown in §7 and the corresponding subparagraphs, this pattern is likewise uncommon in the Teramano area. As pointed out by Bisetto (2004: 33) for Italian, in dialects as well compounding is primarily employed to obtain new nouns rather than new verbs or adjectives. For instance, Siller-Runggaldier (1989: 148-49, 2016: 2686) claims that in Gardenese, which is representative of all Ladin varieties, verbal compounds are nonexistent, and 30 Graziana Ferretti DOI 10.24053/ VOX-2025-002 Vox Romanica 84 (2025): 25-49 adjectival compounds are restricted to «syndetic determinative compounds with mél ‘ bad’ as the determining first element and an adjective in second position. Some of them are probably the result of borrowings from Italian […]. The few existing asyndetic coordinative compounds are loan translations of Italian and/ or German formations» (Siller Runggaldier 2016: 2686). Tekavčić (1968) reports a similar situation for the variety of Dignano, in Northern Italy. In Dignanese, there are very few examples of adjectival compounds, and some of them are Italianisms. In his corpus, Tekavčić (1968: 155-56) identifies only one compound verb, even though there are numerous verbal locutions. In addition, Genasci (2011: 56-60) demonstrates that in Airolese, only the combination of an adverb (Adv) followed by a past participle (PP) is productive for forming adjectival outputs, namely compounds in which the first member is ['mal] ‘bad’ or ['beɲ] ‘good’. Conversely, Airolo dialect exhibits a notable number of verbal compounds, especially those of V+Adv and V+determinative+N type 7 . 5. State of the art Research on compoundhood in the Abruzzese area is scant. The contributions of Savini (1881: 77-78) are not considered relevant, as the paragraph dedicated to compounding presents only examples of the outcomes of extrā and infrā , which should be categorized as prefixes rather than components of compound. Moreover, in the section of Finamore’s Vocabolario dell’uso abruzzese (1893: 19-21) focusing on the description of morphological aspects, a concise overview is provided of certain processes of nominal and adjectival alteration, some reduplicated forms, and the outputs of - AtA . Compoundhood itself is not addressed. In Rohlfs (1966-1969: §991-1000), only four examples from the Abruzzi are provided, and the specific dialects of origin are not specified. A preliminary brief analysis is advanced in Giammarco (1979: 238-40), outlining the following: 1. a general restoration of final unstressed vowels -/ a/ and -/ u/ in the first member of the compound. The -/ a/ may be either etymological or not: in the former case, it serves as a marker of the feminine singular or the neuter plural; 2. the preservation of stress in both elements; 3. the validity of morphological rules for both elements. Regarding nominal compounding, Giammarco (1979: 239) identifies five possible combinations: N+N (with the variant N+P+N), N+A, N+V, and V+V. The V+N type is not included in this list, though both Passino’s study (2017) and the corpus pre- 7 Genasci (2011: 61) reports, among other examples, [ˈnɛ ˈfɔ] ‘to go out’ (lit. ‘to go’ + ‘out’) and [baˈɲɛ l ˈbɛk] ‘to drink’ (lit. ‘to wet’ + ‘the’ + ‘beak’). 31 DOI 10.24053/ VOX-2025-002 Vox Romanica 84 (2025): 25-49 Nominal compounding in the Teramano area sented herein demonstrate that this is one of the most currently productive patterns, alongside the N+A combination. Passino (2014: 67-76, 2017) reaffirms the phonological autonomy of both compound constituents. Due to its pretonic position, the etymological unstressed -/ a/ at the end of the first element re-emerges (cf. infra for a detailed analysis). Rohlfs (1966-1969: §141) had previously noted this phenomenon in syntactic constructions such as [na bèlla fèmmənə] ‘a beautiful woman’. This unstressed vowel, however, can also be found in contexts where no etymological motivation exists, as in [la carna freskə] ‘fresh meat’. It is worth mentioning that the -/ a/ appears only in the first member, while it is reduced to -/ ə/ in the second one. At the current stage of research, the most detailed study on nominal compounding in the area under consideration is Passino (2017). This work offers a comprehensive account of compounding in the Abruzzese dialect, with particular attention to V+N and N+A compounds. It examines their productivity and phonological properties, showing that Abruzzese compounds bear lexical stress on both constituents. Each member of the compound is treated as a phonologically independent word (cf. also Passino 2014: 67-76). The etymological final / a/ reappears at the end of the first constituent, and linking vowels are commonly found in V+N compounds. 6. Corpus Overall, approximately five hundred compound lexemes were gathered through the examination of various lexicographic sources, including Savini’s La grammatica ed il lessico del dialetto teramano (1881), Giammarco’s Dizionario Abruzzese e Molisano ( DAM , 1968-1979) and three amateur vocabularies: Lu languazàzze by Sardella (2001), Il dialetto di Mosciano Sant’Angelo by Shu (2012) and Dizionario del dialetto neretese by Ciafrè (2022). Whenever feasible, the data were integrated by consulting the Atlante Italo-Svizzero ( AIS , 1928-1940) and Pirone/ Leone/ Jannascoli (1992) for dialectal phytonyms. The following Table 1 summarizes the total number of examples drawn from each source, categorized according to the combination of compound elements 8 : 8 Table 1 reports the total number of tokens, which does not correspond to the total number of types. Indeed, while certain lexemes are recorded across all the sources considered, others occur in only one or in a limited number of them. For instance, in the case of A+A compounds, there are 7 occurrences distributed across 5 sources, yet they represent only 2 distinct compound lexemes ([ˌmiddzəkjaˈrettə] and [ˌverdaˈsɛkkə], cf. §7.1). Thus, in this case the token count is 7, whereas the type count is 2. As noted at the beginning of this section, the overall number of types (namely, distinct compound lexemes) slightly exceeds five hundred, while the total number of tokens amounts to approximately nine hundred. 32 Graziana Ferretti DOI 10.24053/ VOX-2025-002 Vox Romanica 84 (2025): 25-49 Savini (1881) DAM Sardella (2001) Shu (2012) Ciafrè (2022) AIS Pirone/ Leone/ Jannascoli (1992) A+A 1 2 1 1 2 0 0 A+N 4 10 10 0 7 0 1 A+PP 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 Adv+PP 1 3 1 0 0 0 0 Adv+V 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 N+A 11 60 20 14 18 0 8 N+N 10 71 18 5 39 1 0 N+P+N 1 8 8 2 4 0 10 N+PP 1 8 3 1 0 0 0 N+V 0 4 1 0 1 0 0 Num+N 4 26 8 4 7 0 0 P+N 5 21 2 0 3 0 0 V+Adv 3 5 2 0 1 0 0 V+N 39 164 89 39 80 5 3 V+P+N 0 3 3 2 3 0 0 V+V 2 9 5 3 4 0 0 Total 82 396 171 71 169 6 22 Table 1: Number of examples per source. A noteworthy issue concerns the orthographic representation of compound lexemes. In the DAM , spelling conventions exhibit a degree of inconsistency. For instance, in compounds of the N+N type, [ˌpɔʃʃəˈraɲɲə] ‘weever fish’ (lit. ‘fish’ + ‘spider’) is written as a single word, whereas [ˌjerva ˈfjammə] ‘broomrape’ (lit. ‘grass’ + ‘flame’) is spaced off even if it is structurally equivalent. Moreover, no consistent orthographic rule applies to ternary compounds, and one find [ˌkambraˈdarjə] ‘inner tube of bicycles’ (lit. ‘room’ + ‘of ’ + ‘air’) in Roseto degli Abruzzi but [ˌkambra d’ˈarjə] ‘tyre’ (lit. ‘room’ + ‘of ’ + ‘air’) in Bellante. Such variability is unsurprising, as these dialects lack a standardized orthographic tradition: in fact, similar discrepancies are also noted by Genasci (2011: 7-8). So, «spelling […] cannot be taken as a plausible criterion for determining compound- 33 DOI 10.24053/ VOX-2025-002 Vox Romanica 84 (2025): 25-49 Nominal compounding in the Teramano area hood» because «it only secondarily reflects the situation in the spoken language» (Lieber/ Štekauer 2009: 7) 9 . 7. Nominal compounds In the Teramano area, nominal compounds may be constructed through the combination of adjectives (both qualitative and numeral), adverbs, nouns, prepositions, and verbs, also in their past participle forms. These lexical categories combine according to the following patterns: (1) Type Example 10 Meaning a. A+N [ˌfaldzəˈplanə] ‘slope’ (lit. ‘false’ + ‘plane’) b. N+A [ˌkapiˈnerə] ‘blackcap’ (lit. ‘head’ + ‘black’) c. N+N [ˌakkwaˈnavə] ‘sleet’ (lit. ‘water’ + ‘snow’) d. N+P+N [ˌmaləŋˈgɔrə] ‘heartache’ (lit. ‘pain’ + ‘in’ + ‘heart’) e. N+PP [ˌpanəˈkɔttə] ‘bread boiled and seasoned’ (lit. ‘bread’ + ‘cooked’) f. Num+N [dˌdubˈbɔttə] ‘Abruzzese accordion’ (lit. ‘two’ + ‘blows’) g. P+N [ˌsuprəpˈpurtə] ‘doorframe’ (lit. ‘above’ + ‘door’) h. V+N [ˌskwajapaˈtɛnə] ‘potato-masher’ (lit. ‘to melt’ + ‘potato’) i. V+V [ˌkurraˈkurrə] ‘stampede’ (lit. ‘to run’ + ‘to run’) A further set of seven compound types occurs only sporadically, each represented by a rare or unique instance within the corpus: (2) Type Example Meaning a. A+A [ˌverdaˈsɛkkə] ‘short summer rain’ (lit. ‘green’ + ‘dry’) b. A+PP [bˌbombərˈnɛtə] ‘meal after hard work’ (lit. ‘good’ + ‘finished’) c. Adv+PP [daˌpumaɲˈɲatə] ‘afternoon’ (lit. ‘after’ + ‘eaten’) d. Adv+V [ˌsambrəˈvivə] ‘Italian Helichrysum’ (lit. ‘always’ + ‘alive’) e. N+V [ˌnɔʧəˈpuzzə] ‘wild walnut’ (lit. ‘walnut’ + ‘to stink’) 9 Bauer (1998: 68-69) asserts the same for English: «It is, of course, extremely dangerous to assume that orthography has any linguistic value, since the spoken language is, in theory at least, independent of any orthography […]. Norms do not even operate on single collocations, so that girl friend , girl-friend and girlfriend are all found in different English dictionaries». The case of Italian is particularly interesting. Based on the analysis of Radimský (2013, 2015: 73-83), N+N «mirror» compounds reveal a high correlation between head position and orthographic form: right-headed N+N compounds tend to be written as a single word, whereas left-headed ones are typically spelled as two separate words. 10 The examples reported here and in (2) are not intended to be exhaustive, but merely illustrative. For a classification based on the Bisetto/ Scalise (2005) model, cf. infra. In addition, the examples are drawn from different dialects, such as Bisenti, Campli, Castelli, Mosciano Sant’Angelo, Roseto degli Abruzzi, Sant’Omero, Silvi, Teramo, among others. This applies also to the remainder of paper, and accounts for observable phonological differences. 34 Graziana Ferretti DOI 10.24053/ VOX-2025-002 Vox Romanica 84 (2025): 25-49 f. V+Adv [ˌkakaˈlɛʃtə] ‘reckless speaker’ (lit. ‘to defecate’ + ‘quickly’) g. V+P+N [ˌpekkanˈdɛrrə] ‘hen’ (lit. ‘to peck’ + ‘in’ + ‘ground’) The following paragraphs provide an overview of these formations (excluding hapax legomena , i.e. combinations attested only once). The analysis focuses on nominal compounds, as the number of adjectives or verbs formed through compounding is minimal across the same set of sources. Specifically, fewer than ten adjectival occurrences and only two verbal ones have been recorded. The compound types discussed in the following subsections are presented in alphabetical order. However, before turning to the detailed analysis, a few preliminary observations are in order. The V+N combination predominates, followed at a considerable distance by the N+A and N+N patterns. The A+N type (including numerals) is likewise well-attested. Fewer examples occur of the N+PP, V+V, and N+P+N patterns. It is worth noting that the latter is the only three-element compound pattern to exceed ten occurrences. 7.1 A+A A+A type is unusual in the Teramo area, not only for the nominal compounding but also for the adjectival output 11 . The two lexemes recorded are both coordinative and exocentric and the referent is always inanimate, but one noun is masculine (in 3a) and the other is feminine (in 3b): (3) a. [ˌmiddzəkjaˈrettə] ‘noon’ (lit. ‘half ’ + ‘claret’) [Pietracamela] b. [ˌverdaˈsɛkkə] ‘summer drizzle’ (lit. ‘green’ + ‘dry’) [Torano Nuovo] The first example is registered solely in Pietracamela, while the second one is attested also in Sant’Omero ([ˌvardaˈsakkə]) and in other Teramano dialects but without the unstressed vowel -/ a/ at the end of the first member, with the same meaning: (4) a. [ˌvɛrdəˈsɔkkə] [Arsita] b. [ˌverdəˈsækkə] [Montorio al Vomano] c. [ˌvardəˈsakkə] [Mosciano Sant’Angelo] In the occurrences of Sant’Omero and Torano Nuovo, the -/ a/ is not etymological. 11 This is in line with other dialects: Pinto (2011: 51) and Genasci (2011: 55) each find only one nominal example; Emmi (2011: 354-55) records two A+A Sicilian nouns, one of which is certainly an Italianism; Giovanardi (2005: 260-62) reports only three occurrences for Roman dialect in dramatic works; the shortest analyses in Tekavčić (1968: 152) and Siller-Runggaldier (2016: 2684-86) deal only with N+(P)+N, N+A or A+N, N+Adv and N+V or V+N patterns. The lexicographic works consulted for the present study present few A+A adjectives: [ˌlindeeˈpinde] ‘very clean’ (lit. ‘neat’ + ‘and’ + ‘tidy’) Sardella (2001); [ˌsakruˈsandə] ‘sacrosanct’ (lit. ‘sacred’ + ‘holy’) Savini (1881); [ˌverderaˈkete] ‘angry’ (lit. ‘green’ + ‘hoarse’) Shu (2012); [ˌverdəˈverdə] ‘unripe’ (lit. ‘green’ + ‘green’) Savini (1881). 35 DOI 10.24053/ VOX-2025-002 Vox Romanica 84 (2025): 25-49 Nominal compounding in the Teramano area 7.2 Adv+PP The three examples in the corpus are exocentric: [daˌpumaɲˈɲatə] ‘afternoon’ (lit. ‘after’ + ‘eaten’), attested also in AIS 339 ‘the afternoon’ for Castelli (point 618), [ˌmaləjətˈtatə] and [ˌmaləˈmassə] ‘vine cutting’ (lit. ‘bad’ + ‘thrown/ put’). The first one is masculine; the last two are feminine. The -/ a/ at the end of the first member is not attested and the referents are [-animate]. 7.3 A+N or N+A Nominal compounds formed by a noun and an adjective are very common in the Teramano area, although the number of lexemes varies considerably according to the order of the constituents. The most extensively attested order is N+A. Nevertheless, these two classes share one important property: in both types of compounds, the adjective restricts the semantics of the noun, which serves as head (cf. Bisetto 2004: 43-44). Accordingly, these compounds are attributive. Furthermore, if the referent is [+animate], both A+N and N+A patterns express one of its distinctive features. A difference, however, concerns headedness: A+N compounds are exocentric 12 , while N+A ones may be either endocentric or exocentric, without prevalence of one type or the other. Finally, the presence of a single N+A adjective, recorded for the Giulianova dialect, is noted: [(ˈpapərə) bˌbəkkapənˈditə] ‘merganser’ (lit. (duck) ‘beak’ + ‘pointed’). Below some occurrences of the attributive exocentric A+N nouns are transcribed. In 5a-b the referent is [+human], in 5c-d it is [-animate]; the -/ a/ at the end of the first element is always etymologically justified: (5) Attributive exocentric A+N compounds: a. [bˌbassaˈmanə] 13 ‘pleb’ (lit. ‘low’ + ‘hand’) [Mosciano Sant’Angelo] b. [bˌbonaˈpɛttsə] ‘crook’ (lit. ‘good’ + ‘rag’) [Cortino; Padula] c. [bˌbassaˈhòlə] ‘hoarseness’ (lit. ‘low’ + ‘throat’) [Sardella 2001] d. [ˌraŋˈgaʃʃə] ‘bass drum’ (lit. ‘big’ + ‘case’) [Castelli] When the referent is [+human], the exocentric N+A compounds tend to have derogatory connotation, normally expressed through metaphor or metonymy: [ˌʧeppəˈsikkə] ‘skinny man’ (lit. ‘log’ + ‘dry’), [ˌkotʧa gluˈrjosə] ‘unpredictable person’ (lit. ‘head’ + ‘glorious’), [ˌlaŋgwaˈzattsə] ‘gossiper’ (lit. ‘tongue’ + ‘dirty’), [ˌvɔkkamˈmɔllə] ‘stupid person’ (lit. ‘mouth’ + ‘flabby’), [ˌvɔkkaˈpɛrtə] ‘chatterer’ (lit. ‘mouth’ + ‘open’), and so forth. Giammarco’s DAM , Sardella’s vocabulary and 12 For the A+N sequence there are only two cases of endocentric compounds: [ɣaˌlanˈdɔmə] ‘gentleman’ (lit. ‘gentle’ + ‘man’) from Sant’Omero and [bˌbonaˈsortə] ‘good luck’ (lit. ‘good’ + ‘luck’) from Sardella (2001). The head is on the right and the -/ a/ at the end of the first element in [bˌbonaˈsortə] is etymological. 13 The first element of this compound, as well as that of (5c), could also be interpreted as a verb. 36 Graziana Ferretti DOI 10.24053/ VOX-2025-002 Vox Romanica 84 (2025): 25-49 Passino (2017) report numerous N+A formations with metonymic value; in quite a number of these occurrences, the noun remains the same but the adjective changes, slightly modifying the semantics of the compound: see, among other examples, [ˌfatʧadˈʤallə] ‘infamous person’ (lit. ‘face’ + ‘yellow’), [ˌfatʧaˈtɔʃtə] ‘shameless person’ (lit. ‘face’ + ‘tough’), and [ˌfatʧaraˈmatə] or [ˌfatʧatarˈmatə] with almost the same meaning. There are also endocentric N+A compounds. The head is on the left and the adjective has got an attributive role. The referent is, by and large, always [-animate]: [ˌakkwabbənˈdattə] ‘holy water’ is a specific type of [ˈakkwə] ‘water’, [ˌkambəˈsandə] ‘graveyard’ is a precise type of [ˈkambə] ‘field’, [ˌmassaˈrænnə] ‘noon Mass’ is a specific type of [ ˈ massə] ‘Mass’, [ˌskwadraˈʧɔppə] ‘bevel ° square’ is a particular type of [ˈskwadrə] ‘square’, [ˌvejaˈnɔvə] ‘paved road’ is a precise type of [ˈvejə] ‘road’ and so on. Some examples offer the opportunity to observe that, from a phonological point of view, the two members of the compound function as autonomous words, as already noted by Passino (2017: 233-34) and Giammarco (1979: 238-40) 14 . In fact, if this were not the case, the first vowel in [ˌvɔkkaˈpɛrtə] ‘chatterer’, [ˌcotaˈlɔŋgə] ‘wagtail’ (lit. ‘tail’ + ‘long’) and similar compounds would have undergone vowel reduction, with the mid-back vowel expected to surface as / u/ in pretonic position. The same applies to [ˌvejaˈnɔvə] ‘paved road’, because the first -/ e/ did not become / ə/ . This pattern is also found in other compound types and supports the observations made by Passino (2017) for the dialects of Teramo and San Valentino in Abruzzo Citeriore 15 . The validity of her analysis regarding the stress pattern of compounds in these two varieties extends to all the dialects considered in the present study: no reduction of the tonic vowel in the first element of the compound lexeme is observed, which confirms the phonological autonomy of the compound members. A second factor to consider is the presence of -/ a/ at the end of the first constituent of the above-mentioned compounds. Here too, the analysis follows Passino’s (2017) proposal to distinguish between etymological and non-etymological vowels, as well as between endocentric and exocentric compounds. As can be easily seen, in attributive endocentric N+A compounds, the final vowel -/ a/ is always etymological. This is also the case in the following examples: [kamuˌmilla ˈmattə] ‘Adonis flower’ (lit. ‘camomile’ + ‘crazy’), [ˌpreta ˈkwatrə] ‘square stone in the centre of the church’ (lit. ‘stone’ + ‘square’), [ˌvɛʃtaˈluŋgə] ‘cassock’ (lit. ‘dress’ + ‘long’). Conversely, in compounds such as [ˌfərrəˈfɛsə] ‘molten iron’ (lit. ‘iron’ + ‘molten’) or [ˌpettsəˈfɔrtə] ‘piece of leather to strengthen the back of a shoe’ (lit. ‘piece’ + ‘strong’), the vowel 14 It is worth noting that Giammarco (1979) does not provide evidence in support of this claim, unlike Passino (2017), who does. 15 The pretonic vowel system in Abruzzi is generally trivocalic, with the palatal series reduced to schwa, the velar series to / u/ and the conservation of / a/ (cf. Maiden 1997 for a general overview on the pretonic and posttonic domains, Rohlfs 1966-1969: §128-37, Giammarco 1979: 103, Loporcaro 2013: 151, Ledgeway 2016: 250-25). In some varieties it is possible that even the velar axis in the same contest is reduced to / ə/ , as in the Santomesere dialect. 37 DOI 10.24053/ VOX-2025-002 Vox Romanica 84 (2025): 25-49 Nominal compounding in the Teramano area -/ a/ does not appear, as it is not etymologically motivated. The situation is much more uneven for exocentric compounds: for some of them the presence of -/ a/ is justifiable in the etymology, as in [ˌkɔppaˈsandə] ‘scallop’ (lit. ‘cup’ + ‘holy’) or [ˌspinabˈbjaŋgə] ‘milk thistle’ (lit. ‘thorn’ + ‘white’). However, there are few exceptions: [ˌkɔllaˈlɔŋgə] ‘gadwall’ (lit. ‘neck’ + ‘long’), [ˌkollaˈʃturtə] ‘stiff neck’ (lit. ‘neck’ + ‘crooked’), [ˌluʧabˈbassə] ‘firefly’ (lit. ‘light’ + ‘low’), [ˌpəttarˈraʃʃə] ‘robin’ (lit. ‘chest’ + ‘red’). 7.4 N+N The N+N pattern includes both subordinative and coordinative compounds, as well as endocentric or exocentric formations, with different degrees of productivity. Coordinative N+N compounds may be either exocentric (e.g., [ˌakkwaˈnɔvə] ‘sleet’ [lit. ‘water’ + ‘snow’], [ˌpaʧəsˈsɔnnə] ‘greeting uttered to a yawning child’ [lit. ‘peace’ + ‘and’ + ‘sleeping’]) or endocentric (e.g., [ˌkaʃʃabˈbaŋgə] ‘settlement’ [lit. ‘case’ + ‘bench’]). However, both types are highly unusual. The -/ a/ at the end of [ˈakkwə] and [ˈkaʃʃə] as first members of a compound is etymological. The referent is always inanimate. For subordinative exocentric compounds, which are more numerous, it should be noted that the referents are usually [-human] or [-animate]: (6) Subordinative exocentric N+N compounds: a. [ˌkapəˈfɔukə] ‘andiron’ (lit. ‘head’ + ‘fire’) [Chiarino] b. [ˌlaŋgwaˈvuvə] ‘Italian arum’ (lit. ‘tongue’ + ‘ox’) [Mutignano] c. [ˌmaʃtrəˈpietrə] ‘house’ (lit. ‘teacher’ + ‘stone’) [Pietracamela] d. [paˈtakkjaˌgrænə] ‘mower rake’ (lit. ‘amount of something that can be picked up with a fork’ + ‘wheat’) [Campli] e. [ˌtaskaˈpænə] ‘haversack’ (lit. ‘pocket’ + ‘bread’) [Castilenti] The formations with a name of saint in exocentric N+N compounds with [-animate] referents are recurrent: (7) Exocentric ‘Saint’+N compounds a. [ˌsandamaˈrijə] ‘costmary’ (lit. ‘Saint’ + ‘Mary’) [Castilenti] b. [ˌsandanˈdɔnjə] ‘folksong’ (lit. ‘Saint’ + ‘Antonio’) [Teramo] c. [ˌsandapəlˈlunjə] ‘teeth’ (lit. ‘Saint’ + ‘Apollonia’) [Cerqueto] d. [ˌsandaˈskanjə] ‘intelligence’ (lit. ‘Saint’ + ‘Ascanio’) [Ornano Grande] e. [ˌsandəˈladdzarə] ‘man with dirty clothes’ (lit. ‘Saint’ + ‘Lazzaro’) [Teramo] f. [ˌsaɱfraŋˈgɛskə] ‘red fig’ (lit. ‘Saint’ + ‘Francesco’) [Cermignano] g. [ˌsaŋˈgarlə] ‘nose’ (lit. ‘Saint’ + ‘Carlo’) [Cerqueto] h. [ˌsanʤuˈvannə] ‘apple variety’ (lit. ‘Saint’ + ‘John’) [Teramo] Compounds with [zə] ‘uncle’ as first element are also widely used: [ˌzəduˈnatə] ‘cheese’ (lit. ‘uncle’ + ‘Donato’), [ˌzəfraŋˈgiskə] ‘polenta’ (lit. ‘uncle’ + ‘Francesco’), 38 Graziana Ferretti DOI 10.24053/ VOX-2025-002 Vox Romanica 84 (2025): 25-49 [ˌzəˈpretə] ‘device for heating the bed’ (lit. ‘uncle’ + ‘priest’), [ˌzəˈpitrə] ‘robin’ (lit. ‘uncle’ + ‘Peter’) 16 . If the subordinative N+N compound is endocentric, the head could be to the right (8) or to the left (9). As can be easily seen from the following examples, almost all have the head in the left position: (8) Subordinative right-head N+N compounds 17 : a. [ˌfərruˈvejə] ‘railway’ (lit. ‘iron’ + ‘street’) [Bellante] (9) Subordinative left-head N+N compounds: a. [ˌkapibˈbærkə] ‘skipper’ (lit. ‘boss’ + ‘boat’) [Silvi] b. [ˌjɛrva ˈfjammə] ‘broomrape’ (lit. ‘grass’ + ‘flame’) [Mosciano Sant’Angelo] c. [ˌpɔʃʃəˈmɔnəkə] ‘monkfish’ (lit. ‘fish’ + ‘monk’) [Pineto] d. [ˌpɔʃʃəˈpɔrkə] ‘pug-like fish’ (lit. ‘fish’ + ‘pug’) [Pineto] 7.5 N+P+N It is possible to find a preposition between the first and the second member: [ˌkambradˈarjə] ‘inner tube of bicycles’ (lit. ‘room’ + ‘of ’ + ‘air’), [ˌvɔkkaŋˈgæpə] ‘sea raven’ (lit. ‘mouth’ + ‘on’ + ‘head’). In this cases, traces of the original subordinate relationship between the two constituents are preserved, and in fact these compounds are less opaque compared to actual ones. Subordinative N+P+N compounds could be endocentric (in 10) or exocentric (in 11): (10) Subordinative endocentric N+P+N compounds 18 : a. [ˌkapədˈannə] ‘New Year’s Day’ (lit. ‘head’ + ‘of ’ + ‘year’) [Teramo] b. [ˌmaləŋˈgɔrə] ‘heartache’ (lit. ‘ache’ + ‘in’ + ‘heart’) [Roseto degli Abruzzi] c. [ˌsekafˈfilə] ‘ wire saw’ (‘lit. ‘saw’ + ‘to’ + ‘wire’) [Castiglione] d. [ˌsekadˈʤirə] ‘circular saw’ (‘lit. ‘saw’ + ‘to’ + ‘turn’) [Castiglione] (11) Subordinative exocentric N+P+N compounds: a. [ˌpetəŋˈgulə] ‘kick in the back’ (lit. ‘foot’ + ‘in’ + ‘ass’) [Sardella 2001] b. [ˌrakkjədeleˈfandə] ‘chilblain’ (lit. ‘ear’ + ‘of ’ + ‘elephant’) [Sardella 2001] c. [ˌrakkjədəˈpekurə] ‘plant lantern’ (lit. ‘ear’ + ‘of ’ + ‘sheep’) [Sardella 2001] d. [ˌrakkjədəˈpriddə] ‘orecchiette’ (lit. ‘ear’ + ‘of ’ + ‘priest’) [Sardella 2001] 16 It is also possible to have a [zə]+A combination, like [ˌzəkunˈdɛndə] ‘soup’ (lit. ‘uncle’ + ‘happy’). The [zə]+N type appears to be particularly common in Cerqueto. 17 Also, [ˌkruʧəˈʃtratə] ‘crossroads’ (lit. ‘cross’ + ‘road’) could be considered a right-headed word if it is paraphrased as ‘road resembling a cross’. However, the genitive reading ‘cross of roads, cross formed by intersecting roads’ is also possible and it seems to fit better since it is consistent with the paraphrases of the lexemes in (11), which have their head on the left. 18 In [ˌsekafˈfilə] and [ˌsekadˈʤirə] the preposition a < Ad causes the disappearance of the dental consonant, resulting in the phonosyntactic doubling of the following consonant. Thus, its presence is indicated by the ensuing geminate consonant. 39 DOI 10.24053/ VOX-2025-002 Vox Romanica 84 (2025): 25-49 Nominal compounding in the Teramano area In Sardella’s (2001) vocabulary there is a compound with a N+P+article+N sequence: [ˌkoppədelˈluccə] ‘eyelids’ (lit. ‘cups’ + ‘of ’ + ‘the’ +’eyes’). The fifteen examples in the corpus are referred to animal or common tools; only [ˌʧillaŋˈgulə] ‘boy’ in a depreciative way (lit. ‘penis’ + ‘in’ + ‘ass’) has a [+human] referent. Passing to the presence or absence of final -/ a/ in the first element, for N+N nouns it is always etymological 19 . 7.6 N+PP Almost all compounds of this type are attributive. N+PP compounds, in fact, are closely related to N+A compounds, and it is not always possible to clearly determine when a past participle has lost its verbal properties and fully grammaticalized as an adjective. Some of this type of compounds are exocentric, like [ˌkarrarˈmatə] ‘childish game’ (lit. ‘wagon, tank’ + ‘armed’), [ˌkaddzəkaˈlatə] ‘sloppy person’ (lit. ‘trousers’ + ‘down’), [ˌfukə vəˈlætə] ‘shingles’ (lit. ‘fire’ + ‘veiled’), [ˌskarpaʃˈʃuddə] ‘naive person’ (lit. ‘shoes’ + ‘untied’). Others, including [ˌferrəfəˈlatə] ‘wire’ (lit. ‘iron’ + ‘spin’), [ˌpanəˈkɔttə] ‘boiled and flavoured bread’ (lit. ‘bread’ + ‘cooked’) and [ˌvinəˈkɔttə] ‘mulled wine’ (lit. ‘wine’ + ‘cooked’) are endocentric left-head compounds. The unstressed -/ a/ at the end of the first element in [ˌskarpaʃˈʃuddə] is etymological. The [-human] referents sharply outnumber [+human] ones. 7.7 N+V 20 The four instances in the corpus are subordinative exocentric compounds: (12) Subordinative exocentric N+V compounds: a. [ˌʧellaurˈle] ‘very small bird’, but also ‘lively boy’ (lit. ‘bird’ + ‘to scream’) [Sant’Omero] b. [ˌʧɛlləˈvɔlə] ‘ladybird’ (lit. ‘bird’ + ‘to fly’) [Cellino Attanasio] c. [ˌɣattaˈpuzzə] ‘skunk’ (lit. ‘cat’ + ‘to stink’) [Bisenti] d. [ˌnɔʧəˈpuzzə] ‘wild walnut’ (lit. ‘walnut’ + ‘to stink’) [Castiglione Messer Raimondo] e. [ˌnoʧaˈpuzzə] ‘wild walnut’ (lit. ‘walnut’ + ‘to stink’) [Cermignano] 19 In (6b, e) and (9b), the first component of the compound derives from the Latin linguām ‘language’, the Italian tasca ‘pocket’ and the Latin herbām ‘herb’, respectively. In (7a), the first element is the dialectal evolution of sāncta ‘saint’, while in (7d) the vowel refers to the following element, ‘Ascanio’ (namely the proper name of the saint). 20 One verbal output also occurs in the corpus: [ˌkapəvədˈdassə] ‘to flip’ (lit. ‘head’ + ‘to turn’). Giammarco (1979: 238-39) points out the possibility of restoring the original final unstressed -/ u/ of căput ‘head’ as first element of a compound, such as in [ˌkapuˈvɛrdə] ‘European Greenfinch’ (lit. ‘head’ + ‘green’). In the corpus here presented, the occurrences of -/ u/ restoration are reduced to the examples in note 7 and (8b). While the V+N compounds are very numerous (cf. §7.11), the N+V nouns are scarce. Emmi (2011: 352-53), Genasci (2011: 49) and Pinto (2011: 51) report the same situation for the varieties they examined, with only one nominal example each. The N+V combination seems non-existent in Gardanese based on the study by Siller-Runggaldier (2016). 40 Graziana Ferretti DOI 10.24053/ VOX-2025-002 Vox Romanica 84 (2025): 25-49 (12a) could also have a figurative interpretation like ‘lively boy’; in other cases, the referent is always an animal or a plant. The noun always has the role of subject of the verb that follows it. The final -/ a/ of the first substantive can be etymological ([ˌɣattaˈpuzzə]) or not ([ˌʧellaurˈle]), but for this last example the influence of [ˈʧɛllə] ‘penis’, for which the lexically full final -/ a/ would be restored, cannot be overlooked precisely because of the semantics of the compound. For the lexeme that indicates ‘wild nut’ there is oscillation. 7.8 Num+N This pattern presents attributive and exocentric compounds with inanimate referents except [ˌmeddzaˈlɛŋgwə] ‘stutterer’ (lit. ‘half ’ + ‘tongue’) and [ˌmeddzahukˈkirə] ‘incompetent bricklayer’ (lit. ‘half ’ + ‘spoon’) 21 . Most of them are used to indicate animals (or parts thereof), plants or objects linked to rural world: [ˌʧəndəˈhammə] ‘centipede’ (lit. ‘one hundred’ + ‘legs’), [ˌʧəndəˈpillə] ‘omasus’ (lit. ‘one hundred’ + ‘skin’), [ˌtrifuˈjɔnə] ‘cinquefoil’ (lit. ‘three’ + ‘leaf ’), [kwaˌrandaˈdində] ‘harrow’ (lit. ‘forty’ + ‘teeth’). Only one lexeme does not fit perfectly into this semantic scheme: [ˌvenduˈnɔrə] ‘three hours before sunset, end of the working day’ (lit. ‘twenty-one’ + ‘hour’). However, his meaning is closely tied with the farming word 22 . The numeral [ˈmeddzə] ‘half ’ is largely used, also to indicate something smaller than the noun that follows it: [ˌmeddzələˈvandə] ‘drizzle’ (lit. ‘half ’ + ‘mist’), [ˌmeddzaˈlunə] ‘half-moon’ or ‘semi-circular piece of wood used for ironing’ (lit. ‘half ’ + ‘moon’), [ˌmeddzamənˈdzanə] ‘sail smaller in respect to the mizzen one’ (lit. ‘half ’ + ‘mizzen sail’), [ˌmeddzaˈrenə] ‘ship’s hull’ (lit. ‘half ’ + ‘sand’), [ˌmedˈdzɔvə] ‘brick for the convex part of the frames’ (lit. ‘half ’ + ‘egg’). If present, the -/ a/ is etymologically justified. 7.9 P+N The formations with [ˈsoprə] ‘above’ (cf. 13a-c) or [ˈsɔttə] ‘under’ (cf. 13d-i) as first element of the P+N compounds are well attested: (13) Subordinative exocentric P+N compounds: a. [ˌsaprəmmaˈtænə] ‘wall as thick as a brick’ (lit. ‘above’ + ‘brick’) [Montegualtieri] b. [ˌsopramˈmænə] ‘planer’ (lit. ‘above’ + ‘hand’) [Silvi] c. [ˌsuˈbrabbətə] ‘coat’ (lit. ‘above’ + ‘cloth’) [Savini 1881] d. [ˌsattəˈpruə] ‘room below the bow’ (lit. ‘under’ + ‘bow’) [Roseto] 21 As seen for N+A compounds, [ˌmeddzaˈlɛŋgwə] and [ˌmeddzahukˈkirə] have a derogatory meaning, too. 22 To confirm this, the definition of DAM is «l’ora ventesima, tre ore prima del tramonto, annunciata con trentatré tocchi della campana più grande, sia in memoria della morte di Cristo, sia per avvisare i contadini che sono in campagna che mancano tre ore al tramonto, perchè provvedano per il ritorno in paese». It should be noted that, in this context, midnight coincided with the sunset. 41 DOI 10.24053/ VOX-2025-002 Vox Romanica 84 (2025): 25-49 Nominal compounding in the Teramano area e. [ˌsattəˈpuppə] ‘room below the stern’ (lit. ‘under’ + ‘stern’) [Roseto] f. [ˌsɔttaˈʧatə] ‘what is pickled’ (lit. ‘under’ + ‘vinegar’) [Cellino Attanasio] g. [ˌsɔttəˈpandzə] ‘belt’ (lit. ‘under’ + ‘belly’) [Bisenti] h. [ˌsɔttapaˈra] ‘commander of the vessel dependent on the main one’ (lit. ‘under’ + ‘vessel’) [Giulianova] i. [ˌsɔttəˈsakkə] ‘inside jacket pocket’ (lit. ‘under’ + ‘pocket’) [Castelli] Generally, the referents are [-human], [-animate]: in addition to those mentioned above there are [ˌmaləˈkrjændzə] ‘bad manners’ (lit. ‘bad’ + ‘behaviour’), [ˌsuprasˈsujə] ‘pair of shaped wooden planks superimposed on the [ˈsujə] for the sledge’ (lit. ‘above’ + ‘wooden planks’), [ˌsuprəpˈpurtə] ‘frame that holds the door’ (lit. ‘above’ + ‘door’). Only (13h) and [ˌsoprapˈpɔnʤə] (or [ˌsovrapˈpanʤə]) ‘bat’ (lit. ‘above’ + ‘tile’) have got an animate referent. It is possible to observe that there is a significant percentage of fluctuating forms: for ‘above’, both [ˈsoprə] and [ ˈ suprə] are attested, and the etymological final vowel may or may not occur. Similarly, [ˈsɔttə] and [ˈsuttə] are attested for ‘below’. This situation can be attributed to the role of these prepositions within word formation processes. As highlighted by Bisetto (2004: 34), it is not always possible to definitively establish the function of these prepositions in contexts similar to those presented in (13), and their status remains ambiguous, as it cannot be determined whether one is faced with compounds or derivatives. However, in the case of the Teramano area, analyzing the accentual pattern may provide clarification. In fact, compound words retain the word accent in both members (cf. Giammarco 1979: 238-40, Passino 2017: 233), while the prefixed lexemes maintain the base accent. From a phonetic point of view, this suggests that in compounds, the tonic vowel of the first member remains intact, whereas in the prefixed terms it undergoes weakening. This being the case, one could conclude that the forms such as [ˈsoprə] or [ˈsɔttə], with the preserved tonic vowel, are obtained by composition, while [ˈsuprə] or [ˈsuttə], with the weakened tonic vowel, function as prefixes. Nonetheless, the situation is not entirely clear and deserves further investigation. 7.10 V+Adv The instances in the corpus are exocentric. The referent can be [+human] (cf. the first two examples below) or [-human], [-animate] (cf. (14c-e)): (14) Subordinative exocentric V+Adv compounds: a. [ˌkakaˈlɛʃtə] ‘person who speaks recklessly’ (lit. ‘to shit’ + ‘quickly’) [Teramo] b. [ˌkakaˈsottə] ‘fearful person’ (lit. ‘to shit’ + ‘below’) [Sardella 2001] c. [ˌkarəkabˈbassə] ‘rope with pulley to lower the sail’ (lit. ‘to load’ + ‘down’) [Giulianova] d. [ˌmbaraˈsɔlə] ‘baby walker’ (lit. ‘to learn’ + ‘alone’) [Silvi] e. [ˌpærˈnændzə] ‘apron’ (lit. ‘to parry’ + ‘front’) [Canzano] In the previous examples, the -/ a/ between the first and the second members is always etymologically justified, as the verbs belong to the first inflectional class. However, 42 Graziana Ferretti DOI 10.24053/ VOX-2025-002 Vox Romanica 84 (2025): 25-49 the subsequent instances in §7.11 demonstrate that compounds with a verb as first element can present an unstressed -/ a/ which has no justification in the etymology. 7.11 V+N 23 One of the most interesting types in Teramano compoundhood is V+N. In the corpus all instances are nominal, except for [ˌʧəkaˈlupə] ‘cross-eyed’ (lit. ‘to blind’ + ‘wolf ’), attested for Montepagano. The lexemes of this kind are exocentric; nonetheless, there is a subordinative relation between the verb and the noun because this latter assumes a specific role like direct or indirect object, depending on the verb (cf., among others, Scalise/ Bisetto 2009: 64-65, but also Ricca 2015: 689-90 for a brief discussion on this topic). As can be easily seen is (15), the second member of the compound is always a direct object in the Teramano area: (15) Subordinative exocentric V+N (direct object) compounds: a. [apˌpənnavəˈʃtitə] ‘coat rack’ (lit. ‘to hang’ + ‘clothes’) [Teramo] b. [bˌbrəʃkjakaˈfe] ‘coffee roaster’ (lit. ‘to scorch’ + ‘coffee’) [Sant’Omero] c. [ˌkatʧamakkaˈrunə] ‘skimmer’ (lit. ‘to remove’ + ‘macaroni’) [Tre Ciminiere] d. [ˌfrijaˈovə] ‘pan for frying eggs’ (lit. ‘to fry’ + ‘egg’) [Sardella 2001] e. [ˌgrattaˈkɔʃʃə] ‘grater’ (lit. ‘to scratch’ + ‘cheese’) [Atri] f. [ˌmaɲɲaˈcɔttsə] ‘slug’ (lit. ‘to eat’ + ‘mussel’) [Cortino; Padula] g. [ˌportaˈtjɛllə] ‘pot and pan rack’ (lit. ‘to take’ + ‘pots’) [Castelli] h. [ˌskatʧaˈʧillə] ‘scarecrow’ (lit. ‘to drive away’ + ‘birds’) [Silvi] i. [ˌskandzafaˈtejə] ‘slaker’ (lit. ‘to avoid’ + ‘labours’) [Bellante] j. [ˌspattsakaˈminə] ‘chimney sweep’ (lit. ‘to sweep’ + ‘chimney’) [Teramo] k. [ˌʃtrakkaɣaˈnæssə] ‘dried and peeled chestnut’ (lit. ‘to tire’ + ‘jaw’) [Atri] l. [ˌzbuʧaˈrɛccə] ‘earrings’ (lit. ‘to pierce’ + ‘ear’) [Torano Nuovo] m.[ˌzmɔrzakanˈnalə] ‘candle snuffer’ (lit. ‘to muffle’ + ‘candle’) [Sant’Omero] The examples in (15) and in the following show that the V+N type can form lexemes with both [±human] or [±animate] referents: basically, when it is [+human] the compound specifies the occupation of the referent or one of its characteristics, such as in [ˌkonʤakalˈlarə] ‘coppersmith’ (lit. ‘to tan’ + ‘pot’), [ˌmbajaˈsidʤə] ‘chair-maker’ (lit. ‘to stuff’ + ‘chairs’), [ˌnʤambaˈʃtradə] ‘clumsy man’ (lit. ‘to stumble’ + ‘road’) or [ˌʃambakaˈtinə] ‘good-for-nothing person’ (lit. ‘to empty’ + ‘basin’). 23 The problem of what is the nature of the verbal constituent in the V+N compounds has been widely investigated and discussed in more or less recent studies (cf. Bisetto 2004 for a synopsis of the main proposals). Masini/ Scalise (2012: 63) argue that the verbal element is homophonous to the II singular person of the imperative mood. Some scholars, instead, claim that the verb in the V+N compound is a specific morphomic stem (cf., among others, Thornton 2005). The present study does not address this issue in detail; interested readers are referred to Passino (2017) for further discussion. 43 DOI 10.24053/ VOX-2025-002 Vox Romanica 84 (2025): 25-49 Nominal compounding in the Teramano area It must be observed that V+N compounds with [+human] referents that express character qualities emphasise negative aspects of the person: in addition to the examples given, in the corpus there are also [bˌbottapalˈlunə] ‘liar’ (lit. ‘to inflate’ + ‘balls’), [ˌkakamənˈnattsə] ‘despicable person’ (lit. ‘to shit’ + ‘garbage’), [ˌnʤambaˈkasə] ‘clumsy man’ (lit. ‘to stumble’ + ‘house’), [ˌpappaˈfikə] ‘very fat person’ (lit. ‘to gobble’ + ‘fig’), [ˌpuzzaˈpitə] ‘who has smelly feet’ (lit. ‘to stink’ + ‘feet’), [ˌrattaˈkulə] ‘flatterer’ (lit. ‘to scratch’ + ‘ass’), [ˌrumbaˈʧiʃtə] ‘annoying person’ (lit. ‘to break’ + ‘baskets’), [ˌruʃʃekaˈcjuvə] ‘stingy’ (lit. ‘to rummage’ + ‘spikes’), [ˌspakkaˈlɔffə] ‘braggart’ (lit. ‘to split’ + ‘fart’), [ˌsparaˈkazzə] ‘braggart’ (lit. ‘to split’ + ‘trousers’), [ˌʃtrakkaˈpjattsə] ‘lazy person’ (lit. ‘to annoy’ + ‘square’), [tˌtakkaˈlitʧə] ‘brawler’ (lit. ‘to attack’ + ‘fight’). The only exception seems to be [ˌparaˈgwajə] ‘person who fixes other people’s troubles’ (lit. ‘to parry’ + ‘trouble’). The same goes for professional nouns 24 such as [cˌcappahalˈle] ‘petty thief ’ (lit. ‘to catch’ + ‘chicken’), [ˌkraʃtapurˈʧillə] ‘pig castrator’ or, figuratively, ‘bad surgeon’ (lit. ‘to castrate’ + ‘pig’), [ʃtraʃˌʃinafatˈʧɛnnə] ‘lawyer without clients’ (lit. ‘to drag’ + ‘affair’), [ˌsukaɲˈɲɔʃtrə] ‘low-value employee’ (lit. ‘to suck’ + ‘ink’). V+Ns with [-human], [+animate] referents are very frequent, and it is possible that for the same referent there are various combinations. The case of ‘bat’ is given as an example: the DAM records [ˌkatʧaˈukkjə] (lit. ‘to chase out’ + ‘eyes’), [ˌkavaˈukkjə] (lit. ‘to put out’ + ‘eyes’), [ˌʧəkaˈukkjə] (lit. ‘to blind’ + ‘eyes’) and [ˌtajaˈfatʧə] (lit. ‘to cut’ + ‘face’), with some variants 25 . In general, if the referent is an animal, the compound expresses one of its principal characteristics: [ˌmaɲɲaˈpænə] is ‘cockroach’ because it eats ([ˈmaɲɲə]) bread ([ˈpænə]), [ˌpəʃtaˈkuppə] is a ‘pigeon’ because it steps ([ˈpəʃtə]) on shingles ([ˈkuppə]), [ˌʃenʤaˈpajə] is a ‘free-range rooster’ because it throws away ([ˈʃenʤə]) the straw ([ˈpajə]) and so on. Finally, there are two types of V+N lexemes with [-animate] referents: on one hand there are certain compounds referred to everyday utensils (cf. (16) below), on the other hand there are a lot of phytonyms (cf. the examples in (17)) 26 : 24 A small number of them refer to humble or pre-industrial professions like [ˌsfaʃʃakarˈrɔttsə] ‘who trades old cars’ (lit. ‘to smash’ + ‘carriages’). 25 The first one is attested in Ancarano, Bellante (cf. AIS 448 ‘the bat’, point 608), Chiarino, Pineto, Sant’Egidio alla Vibrata and Tossicia, the second one in many dialects in the central area of the Teramano province, on the coast (in Giulianova, Roseto degli Abruzzi, Silvi and Montepagano) and along the border with L’Aquila (Cortino, Padula), the latter two are recorded for Roseto degli Abruzzi and Silvi respectively. Moreover, for Arsita there is a Adv+N combination like [ˌsovrapˈpɔnʤə] and in Castelli (cf. also AIS 448 ‘the bat’, point 618) the bat is called [ˌmaʃtrəˈpɔunʤə] (N+N). 26 There are very few exceptions: [ˌkrepaˈsurʤə] ‘game for children in which they push against each other while sitting’ (lit. ‘to die’ + ‘mice’), [dˌʤəraˈmɔnnə] ‘dizziness’ (lit. ‘go around’ + ‘world’), [ˌhabbavəlˈlanə] ‘fine rain’ (lit. ‘to trick’ + ‘villain’), [ˌlekkaˈmusə] ‘slap with the backhand’ (lit. ‘to lick’ + ‘muzzle’), [ˌpassapaˈrɔlə] ‘the act of warning each other’ (lit. ‘to pass’ + ‘word’), [ˌskuccapiɲˈɲatə] ‘Sunday after Carnival’ (lit. ‘to break’ + ‘pot’), [ˌturʧaviˈdellə] ‘appendicitis’ (lit. ‘to twist’ + ‘guts’). A few other occurrences are presented in Passino (2017: 235) for food or playing cards nouns. As observed by Ricca (2015) for Western Romance languages, V+N compounds 44 Graziana Ferretti DOI 10.24053/ VOX-2025-002 Vox Romanica 84 (2025): 25-49 (16) Subordinative exocentric V+N compounds: a. [ˌkolaˈʃtrattə] ‘square tool with a perforated tin bottom to allow the tomato sauce to drip’ (lit. ‘to pour’ + ‘tomato extract’) [Arsita] b. [ˌlavaˈmɛnə] ‘wash basin’ (lit. ‘to wash’ + ‘hands’) [Cortino; Padula] c. [ˌpassafaˈre] ‘wooden tool over which the sieve slides’ (lit. ‘to pass’ + ‘flour’) [Sant’Omero] d. [ˌpəkkaˈlardə] ‘chopping board to cut lard’ (lit. ‘to chop’ + ‘lard’) [Atri] e. [pˌpennaˈramə] ‘hooks for hanging pans’ (lit ‘to hang’ + ‘copper’) [Sardella 2001] f. [ˌrattaˈkɛjʃʃa] ‘grater’ (lit. ‘to grate’ + ‘cheese’) [Pietracamela] g. [ˌsalvaˈvi] ‘funnel’ (lit. ‘to save’ + ‘wine’) [Martinsicuro] h. [ˌskolaˈpjattə] ‘plate rack’ (lit. ‘to drain’ + ‘plate’) [Teramo] i. [ˌskretaˈdɛndə] ‘toothpick’ (lit. ‘to clean’ + ‘tooth’) [Teramo] j. [ˌʃtruʃʃaˈfɔrnə] ‘sweeper for the oven’ (lit. ‘to rub’ + ‘oven’) [Teramo] (17) Subordinative exocentric V+N compounds: a. [ˌkatʧaˈlɛbbrə] ‘ground elder’ (lit. ‘to remove’ + ‘hare’) [Atri] b. [ˌʧeka galˈlinə] ‘spindle tree’ (lit. ‘to blind’ + ‘chick’) [Pirone et al. 1992] c. [ˌfermaˈvuvə] ‘spiny restharrow’ (lit. ‘to stop’ + ‘oxen’) [Sardella 2001] d. [ʃbruˌvugna ˈfæmmənə] ‘grass crawling on the ground, with small leaves and no flower’ (lit. ‘to shame’ + ‘female’) [Campli] e. [ˌskannakaˈvallə] ‘barley’ (lit. ‘to slaughter’ + ‘horse’) [Bellante] f. [ˌskɔcciapiɲˈɲatə] ‘purple cyclamen’ (lit. ‘to break’ + ‘pot’) [Torano Nuovo] g. [ˌskɔrtəkakaˈvællə] ‘teazle’ (lit. ‘to flay’ + ‘horse’) [Bellante] h. [ˌsparakaˈvallə] ‘barren brome’ (lit. ‘to shoot’ + ‘horse’) [Colonnella] i. [ˌskwartaˈsakkə] ‘barley’ (lit. ‘to rip apart’ + ‘sack’) [Mosciano Sant’Angelo] j. [ˌʃtrɛŋgulaˈdɔnnə] ‘rosehip’ (lit. ‘to choke’ + ‘woman’) [Campli] The previous examples confirm that the unstressed -/ a/ at the end of the verb is etymological if the verb belongs to the first inflectional classes, not etymological if it belongs to other ICs. Out of the over two hundred attestations of nouns formed by means of this compositional strategy, in less than a dozen cases (reported in (18) below) there is a non-etymological -/ a/ , while all the remaining compounds present as the first member a first IC verb with full -/ a/ : (18) III/ IV IC V+N a. [ˌkupraˈpitə] ‘foot cover’ (‘lit. ‘to cover’ + ‘feet’) [Bellante] b. [ˌfrijaˈovə] ‘pan for frying eggs’ (lit. ‘to fry’ + ‘egg’) [Sardella 2001] c. [ˌpaʃʃaˈpɛkurə] ‘black and white bird’ (lit. ‘to graze’ + ‘sheep’) [Bellante] d. [ˌpjaɲɲaˈpɛttsə] ‘cry-baby’ (lit. ‘to cry’ + ‘rag’) [Teramo] e. [pˌpennaˈramə] ‘hooks for hanging pans’ (lit ‘to hang’ + ‘copper’) [Sardella 2001] f. [ˌrumbaˈʧiʃtə] ‘annoying person’ (lit. ‘to break’ + ‘baskets’) [Savini 1881] g. [ˌturʧauˈdillə] ‘appendicitis’ (lit. ‘to twist’ + ‘guts’) [Martinsicuro] have a very broad semantic spectrum involving agent, instrument, place and event nouns (but the last two are quite rare, cf. Ricca 2015: 691-93; cf. also Grossmann 2012: 155-57 for an overview on this type of compounds and their lower degree of productivity in Romanian). 45 DOI 10.24053/ VOX-2025-002 Vox Romanica 84 (2025): 25-49 Nominal compounding in the Teramano area There is therefore a clear disparity between V+N compounds in which the first element is a verbal stem which has the vowel -/ a/ as etymological vowel and V+N compounds in which the verbal member belongs to the III or IV IC. Verbs of the first inflectional class are significantly more numerous and frequent than those of the remaining classes. Accordingly, V+N compounds featuring a verb of the second or third inflectional class amount to only seven instances, as opposed to nearly 250 compounds formed with a verb of the I IC. Almost all these compounds (which constitute approximately half of the entire corpus and almost all the exocentric compounds) have as their first element a verb of I IC, in which the vowel is lexical. It is therefore proposed that the V+N compounds with full -/ a/ acted as a driving force for the V+Ns with third or fourth inflectional class verbs, allowing the reinterpretation of the first element of the compound as a verbal stem followed by a low central vowel, so that the diffusion of an -/ a/ at the end of the initial member is possible even in contexts in which it is not motivated. 7.12 V+P+N These compounds are subordinative and exocentric. If the referent is [+human], as already seen for the examples above, the meaning is negative: [ˌkakalləmˈbitə] ‘nickname of the inhabitants of Porta Romana’, a neighbourhood of Teramo (lit. ‘to shit’ + ‘standing on’ + ‘foot’), [ˌpijaŋˈgulə] ‘scoundrel’ (lit. ‘to take’ + ‘in’ + ‘ass’), [ˌpiʃʃalˈlettə] ‘brat’ (lit. ‘to pee’ + ‘in’ + ‘bed’). Conversely, if the referent is an animal, the compound expresses its common behaviour: [ˌpekkanˈdɛrrə] or [ˌraspanˈdɛrrə] ‘hen’ (lit. ‘to peck/ to rasp’ + ‘in’ + ‘ground’), [ˌpekkanˈʤɛrkwə] ‘woodpecker’ (lit. ‘to tap’ + ‘in’ + ‘oak’). The -/ a/ is motivated by the belonging of the verb to the first inflectional class; the same applies to the recursive instances in §7.12. 7.13 V+V The occurrences are all coordinative and exocentric with inanimate referents: [ˌkatʧamˈmittə] ‘low alcohol wine’ (lit. ‘to expel’ + ‘and’ + ‘to put in’), [ˌkalaʃˈʃinnə] ‘latch’ (lit. ‘to drop’ + ‘and’ + ‘go down’), [ˌmaɲɲədˈdurmə] ‘slacker’ (lit. ‘to eat’ + ‘and’ + ‘to sleep’), [ˌmetəatˈtækkə] ‘harvester and tying machine’ (lit. ‘to harvest’ + ‘to tie), [ˌparaˈpiʎʎə] ‘chaos’ (lit. ‘to parry’ + ‘to get’). Reduplicative forms are allowed: [ˌkurraˈkurrə] ‘stampede’ (lit. ‘to run’ + ‘to run’). In this case, the -/ a/ is not etymological. Sardella’s vocabulary (2001) reports a case of V+conjunction+V: [ˌmanəeˈpijə] ‘hammer with one side serving as hoe and the other as hatchet’ (lit. ‘to beat up’ + ‘and’ + ‘to take’). 46 Graziana Ferretti DOI 10.24053/ VOX-2025-002 Vox Romanica 84 (2025): 25-49 8. Conclusion In drawing the conclusion, some common features between the various possible patterns are highlighted. From the examples above, it is possible to say that in the Teramano area the head of compounds, when present, is predominantly positioned on the left, as in all the Romance varieties. This is, in fact, «the most salient shared feature» with respect to Romance compoundhood (Forza/ Scalise 2016: 536). Exceptions to this are endocentric A+N compounds, such as [bˌbonaˈsortə], [dvandva], and endocentric right-head N+N words like [ˌfərruˈvejə], but they are infrequent and may be interpreted as loan translations from Italian. As in Italian, from a phonological point of view the members of a compound are autonomous words. This is demonstrated by the lack of convergence of the velar axis in / u/ and the palatal axis in / ə/ in the tonic vowel of the first element, as normally happens in the pretonic vocalism of these varieties (cf. also Passino 2017: 233-34). A very notable aspect, anticipated in §5, is the presence of a final vowel -/ a/ in the first member of compound. Its analysis was split on the basis of the origin of this vowel (cf. also Passino 2014, 2017). If it is etymological, then we are faced with a phenomenon of resistance to neutralization motivated by the pretonic position. This vowel is etymological in verbs of the first inflectional class, in the feminine singulars of nouns and adjectives originally coming out in -/ a/ and in some prepositions. In compounds with improper prepositions such as ‘above’, which has a lexical -/ a/ , a frequent oscillation is noted due to the ambiguity of the lexemes obtained, which can be considered both prefixed and compound. If it is not etymological, then its presence is due to morphosyntactic reasons. It appears predominantly in the compounds V+N and N+A: for the former it is hypothesized that the very high percentage of compounds in this group with a verb of first IC has allowed the reinterpretation of the first element as a sequence of verbal stem followed by / a/ and, by a sort of analogical process, this was also generalized to the other (few) V+N compounds in which the first member belongs to the third or fourth inflectional class. For the N+A type, including the compounds with a PP with adjectival function in the second position, many occurrences of the vowel are justified in the class metaplasm: [ˌkarnaˈzgrettə] ‘soreness in the legs’ (let. ‘flesh’ + ‘written’), [ˌluʧabˈbassə] ‘firefly’ (lit. ‘light’ + ‘low’), [ˌpɛllaˈnærə] ‘black skin’ (lit. ‘skin’+ ‘black’) 27 . However, in varieties in which the final unstressed vocalism is reduced to schwa, this phenomenon is conceivable but not fully demonstrable. Furthermore, not all cases in which an N+A compound presents the non-lexical -/ a/ fall within this explanation: in fact, there are [ˌkɔllaˈlɔŋgə] ‘gadwall’ (lit. ‘neck’ + ‘long’); [ˌkollaˈʃturtə] ‘stiff neck’ (lit. ‘neck’ + ‘crooked’). 27 [ˌnoʧaˈpuzzə] could also fall into the same category. DOI 10.24053/ VOX-2025-002 Vox Romanica 84 (2025): 25-49 47 Nominal compounding in the Teramano area From a semantic point of view, nominal compounding is useful to express agentive and instrumental meanings. To do that, the compounds constantly exploit metaphor or metonymy especially for the lexicon of flora and fauna (cf. the previous examples in (17)). If the referent is [+human], the use of the above-mentioned processes is frequently found for A+N, N+A and V+N types (cf. §7.3, 7.11). 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The classification of over five hundred compounds is proposed based on Bisetto/ Scalise’s (2005) theory and an overview of the type of compound, of the type of referents, of the phonetic changes taking place and of the semantics of the output is offered. Keywords: Compounds, Italian-Romance dialects, Nouns, Southern Italy, Teramano area 49 Nominal compounding in the Teramano area