Fenomeni areali e tracce di parlato semi-spontaneo nelle scritture processuali della “Regia Dogana della mena delle pecore” di fine ’700 in Capitanata
Areal Phenomena and Semi-Spontaneous Speech Traces in the Trial Files of the “Regia Dogana della mena delle pecore” of the Late 1700s in the Capitanata Area

Summary/Abstract: This paper analyses the language of 25 trial files currently collected in the “series IX” of the “Dogana delle pecore” fonds belonging to the State Archive in Foggia. The files deal with the crimes committed in the small and large towns of the Capitanata area between 1770 and 1806, and they provide evidence of the activity of the centuries-old court of “Regia Dogana della mena delle pecore”, whose office was at the State Archive of Foggia between the 15th and 19th centuries. Through the use of the most relevant phonetic, morphological, and syntactic examples, the analysis highlights how and to what extent oral varieties influenced the writings of the Dogana officers. The paper shows, in fact, that these official writings belong to an intermediate language variety in which the specific characteristics of colloquial Italian, regional Italian, and local idioms overlap with the characteristics of bureaucratic language.

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