Variation and change in transitivity alternations and argument realization in Italo-Romance

This paper discusses semantic and discourse-pragmatic factors determining uniformity, variation and change in some (northern and southern) Italo-Romance varieties in two (in)transitivity alternations, auxiliary selection and postverbal Subjects (and related agreement patterns) with one-argument verbs. Variation in these domains in the Italo-Romance varieties considered reveals patterns of change in progress: the introduction and cancellation of a split intransitivity system marked through auxiliary selection, and the spread of agreement with postverbal S and the retrenchment/loss of the original non-agreement structure.