Abstract

This paper presents a discussion on the origin of aspiration in the southern Italian dialects of Calabria, Apulia and Sicily. After an up-to-date literature review on these phenomena, I compare the available data to similar realisations found in certain Modern Greek dialects, especially in Cypriot Greek. Finally, a new working hypothesis is advanced, based on both documentary and experimental arguments: aspiration, as a reinforcing feature, could have contributed to counter a drift towards degemination in these varieties.