Language contact and morphological competition: Plurals in central Sicily

This paper explores the effects of language contact in nominal morphology central Sicilian dialects. In particular, this study is concerned with contact-induced changes related to distribution three plural formatives that give rise competition between different inflectional classes respect a number lexemes. It shown sociolinguistic factors such as speaker age account for competing forms and high degree variation. As consequence, slow gradual change leading disappearance form has no equivalent language, is, Italian.