The Processual Passive with the Auxiliary Verb to COME in Language Contact with Italian: The Evidence of Old Albanian (Old Gheg)

Abstract

This contribution deals with the contact-induced influence of Italian on (Old) Albanian in the domain of morphology. The focus is on the construction of the processual passive with the auxiliary verb to COME plus the participle, which, as is well known, has also been integrated into the grammatical systems of other contact languages of Italian. Less known is the fact that this construction is also well documented in the Old Gheg documents of Gjon Buzuku and Pjetër Bogdani, both authors with close ties to Italy. This construction is also known in the Italo-Albanian varieties. In this contribution, the evidence of Old Albanian is presented and analysed in detail for the first time. It is also pointed out that further field research is required regarding the situation in the Italo-Albanian varieties.