The position of the particles in verb plus particle structures: a study on Cimbrian peculiarities

In this work I examine the syntactic properties of verb plus particle structures in Luserna Cimbrian, an endangered language spoken in small communities in North Italy, and show what positions these particles occupy. The verb plus particle structure determines various constructions in different languages (eg: English phrasal verbs, German separable verbs, Italian syntagmatic verbs), in this study I analyze the phenomenon of so-called preverbs in Cimbrian, taking into account the previous studies and providing new data collected in the field. The main consideration is that these particles, that are considered fixed elements in the deep structure, may instead occupy different positions. This study aims to determine the projections that these particles take considering their aspectual features and functions. I cross their possible orders with the aspectual adverbs hierarchy by G. Cinque and I report the speakers’ judgements presenting a possible syntactic representation of the phenomenon.