The historical development of imperfect indicative and conditional inflection in Pyrenean Romance

Even historical developments which appear opaque due to limited empirical data may prove tractable when sources of diverse types are combined. For systems of three‐way inflectional contrast among imperfect indicative forms in a geographically coherent cluster of Catalan, Aragonese and Gascon varieties (e.g. first‐conjugation [kanˈtaβam] ‘we sang’; third‐conjugation [peɾˈðeβam] ‘we lost’; fourth‐conjugation [paˈtiβam] ‘we suffered’ in the Catalan variety of Castigaleu), two principal accounts have been proposed: an ‘etymological’ hypothesis in which three‐way imperfect contrasts represent a conservative feature continuing Latin forms, and an ‘analogical’ hypothesis in which thematic labials in non‐first‐conjugation imperfects are ascribed to analogical innovation. By examining historical texts, modern dialect data and areal patterns in order to develop a unified analysis of the Pyrenean systems, this study demonstrates that the modern systems result from analogical innovation, and further establishes the directionality and relative chronology of the analogical changes involved. Per fosca que pòsque paréisser una evolucion diacronica sus la basa de donadas empiricas limitadas, l’associacion de sorgas de tipes divèrses aufrís un mejan de la rendre pus solubla. Maitis parlars catalans, aragoneses e gascons, localisats dins un airal geografic coërent, presentan de sistèmas flexionals amb un contraste entre tres serias de fòrmas d’imperfèit indicatiu (ex. primèra conjugason [kanˈtaβam] ‘cantàvam’; tresena conjugason [peɾˈðeβam] ‘perdiám’; quatrena conjugason [paˈtiβam] ‘patissiám’, en catalan de Castigaleu). Per aquelis sistèmas, doas possibilitats d’analisi diacronica son avançadas dins la literatura: una ipotèsi ‘etimologica’ que considèra las tres serias coma un trait conservatiu en continuitat ambe le sistèma latin, e una ipotèsi ‘analogica’ qu’atribuís la presença de consonantas labialas en defòra del primèr grop a‐n una inovacion analogica. Aquí seràn examinats de tèxtes istorics, de donadas dialectalas recentas e de distribucions geolingüisticas, per tal de desvolopar una reconstruccion globala dels sistèmas pirenencs. La reconstruccion mòstra que les sistèmas contemporanèus provenen d’inovacions analogicas, amai establís la direccionalitat e la cronologia relativa de las analogias implicadas dins l’evolucion. [OCCITAN]