The Italian finire-type verbs: a case of morphomic attraction

Abstract

This study investigates the origin of the Italian finire-type verbs, a large subclass of third conjugation verbs characterized by the presence of a segment -ìsc- between the root and the inflectional ending in some word-forms of the paradigm. Taking Early Latin as a starting point, it focuses on the diachronic development of the segment -ìsc-, which characterizes this inflectional type. In its development from Latin to Italian, the segment undergoes a significant paradigmatic redistribution, as it is restricted to the singular and third person plural of the present tenses. Following Maiden (2004b, 2011b), the contribution suggests that this paradigmatic redistribution should be an instance of the attractive force of the abstract paradigmatic template traditionally known as ‘N-pattern’.