Quantifying folk perceptions of dialect boundaries. A case study from Tuscany (Italy)

Abstract This paper aims to understand the contribution of geographical information in perception linguistic variation. A total 813 mental maps collected among young speakers from different cities Tuscany have been analyzed via an open-access web dialectometric tool (Gabmap). In particular, study seeks verify role geographic distance and place residence respondents modeling perceived The relationship between dialect grouping as made by linguists taxonomies sublinguistic areas is also investigated. Results show that proximity mapped significantly predicts similarity. Our participants their decisions looking at (1) a keen sense spatial contiguity, (2) synchronic presence differences Tuscan subregions. Moreover, classification uncertainty grows when are very close to, or distant from, participants’ places residence. Methodological perspectives folk linguistics finally discussed.