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Passive and impersonal reflexives

in the Italian dialects
Synchronic and diachronic aspects*

M I C H EL A C EN N A M O

4.1 Introduction
This chapter investigates the morphosyntax of passive and impersonal reflexives in
contemporary Italian dialects and in some 11th–15th-century northern (Venetian,
Lombard), central (Florentine), southern (Neapolitan), and Sardinian (Logudorese)
vernaculars, considering the distribution of morphosyntactic, semantic, and prag-
matic characteristics which set several northern varieties apart from central and
southern dialects and from Sardinian.
It is shown that variational and diachronic data from early Italo-Romance throw
light on the diachronic processes leading to the rise of impersonal reflexives in
Romance, contributing to a better understanding of some highly debated issues of
Italian morphosyntax, such as the nature and function(s) of the reflexive morpheme
si ‘self-’, and the function of the clitic ci ‘us; there’ in the impersonal of reflexives.
The discussion is organized as follows. Section 4.2 illustrates the use of the reflexive
morpheme as a voice marker in Italian and some current theoretical assumptions on
its (varying) distribution and functions. Sections 4.3 and 4.4 describe the range of
variation in the use of the reflexive morpheme si/se in passive and impersonal
patterns in the Italian dialects and the early vernaculars, respectively. Section 4.5

* To Mair, a rigorous and critical mind, a ‘native speaker’ of early northern Italian vernaculars, and a
very generous and inspiring scholar and friend.
I wish to thank Paola Benincà, Adam Ledgeway, and Nigel Vincent for commenting on an earlier draft
of this chapter. I am also grateful to Diego Pescarini and Davide Ricca for discussions on Paduan and
Torinese, respectively, and to Ignazio Putzu and Maurizio Virdis for their help with old Logudorese. The
usual disclaimers apply.
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72 Michela Cennamo

builds on the insights gained from the analysis of the synchronic and diachronic
variation, and addresses the theoretical debate concerning the status of the reflexive
morpheme in impersonal patterns and the existence of either two types of si (a
passive and an impersonal one) or of only one si with different uses.

4.2 Passive and impersonal reflexives in Standard Italian

The reflexive pattern in Italian is widely used as a passive and impersonal strategy,
marking different types and degrees of argument defocusing (either suppressed or
entirely lacking at argument structure), with the reflexive morpheme si signalling a
logically implied indefinite, human participant, either A, S or O—following a well-
established terminology referring to the clause-nuclear arguments (see e.g. Dixon
1994; Haspelmath 2011)—and the occurrence of an event, depending on the verb and
the type of construction (}}42.1 and 4.2.2), with variable interpretation (}4.2.3) and
function (}4.2.4).

4.2.1 Passive(/impersonal) and impersonal si

With passive/impersonal si formed from bivalent verbs, A is suppressed, causing
O to occur as subject, and the construction receives various interpretations in
accordance with the context, as in (1). It can be either O-oriented, as in its passive
function, with focus on the O argument (‘the results can be seen’), or A-oriented, as
in its impersonal reading, with focus on an indefinite, non-referential participant
(‘one, someone sees/they see the results’) (cf. e.g. Cennamo 1995; Bentley 2006;
D’Alessandro 2007):
(1) i risultati si vedono /si vedono i risultati (It.)
the results self= see / self= see the results
‘the results are apparent/one sees the results’
Although both the S si V/si V S orders are possible when the subject is [
an.] (with
S preverbal if [þgiven] [þ def.], and postverbal if [þnew] [ def.]), the order S si
V generally favours the passive interpretation (2a), whereas the si V S order most
readily licenses the impersonal reading (2b) and tends to occur with [þan.], [þnew]
[def.] S (3a; see Cennamo 1995 for a corpus-based investigation):
(2) a. molte battaglie si sono combattute inutilmente (It., Lepschy 1986: 143)
several battles self= are fought.fpl unnecessarily
‘several battles have been fought unnecessarily’
b. si sono combattute molte battaglie inutilmente (It.)
self=are fought.fpl several battles unnecessarily
‘one/they/we fought several battles unnecessarily’
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(3) a. quando il sistema è in pericolo si scelgono persone collaudate / le

when the system is in danger self= choose people expert the
persone migliori (It.)
people best
‘when the system is in danger one chooses people of well-attested compe-
tence/people of well-attested competence are chosen’
The S si V order, however, is impossible if S is [þan.] [–def.], as illustrated by the
contrast between (3b and 3c; cf. Cennamo 1995: 100; 2010; 2011a; 2011b):
(3) b. quando il sistema è in pericolo *persone collaudate si scelgono / ?le
when the system is in danger people expert self= choose the
Persone collaudate si scelgono (It.)
people expert self= choose
‘when the system is in danger one chooses people of well-attested compe-
tence/people of well-attested competence are chosen’
c. le persone collaudate si scelgono sempre quando il sistema è in
the people expert self= choose always when the system is in
pericolo (It.)
danger
‘competent people are always chosen when the system is in danger’
If the subject is pronominalized, as in (4), the pattern becomes impersonal: the
finite verb occurs in the non-agreeing, 3sg form and in compound tenses the past
participle agrees in number and gender with the pronoun li ‘them’ in (4b):
(4) a. li si vede (< ex. (1) above, It.)
them.m= self= sees
‘one sees them’
b. li si è visti (It.)
them.m= self= is seen.mpl
‘one has seen them’
In compound tenses, past participle agreement differentiates passive si from imper-
sonal si:
(5) a. si è pagati poco dall’ azienda per quel tipo di lavoro (It.)
self= is paid.mpl little by.the firm for that type of work
‘one is not paid much by the firm for that type of work’
b. si è pagato molto in quel ristorante (It.)
self= is paid.msg much in that restaurant
‘they/we paid a lot in that restaurant’
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In the passive pattern (5a) the past participle is in the masculine plural, agreeing
with an underlying unexpressed O—reflecting the more general rule whereby in the
impersonal pattern the nominal part of the predicate is in the plural (Salvi 1988: 98;
Cennamo 1993a: 36; 2010)—and the agent optionally surfaces as a prepositional
phrase introduced by the preposition da ‘by’. In the impersonal (active) construction
(5b), by contrast, the past participle occurs in the non-agreeing msg form.
This pattern of agreement is shared with divalent verbs with an unexpressed/
omissible object (e.g. pagare, ‘pay’, bere ‘drink’, leggere ‘read’), divalent verbs with an
‘oblique’ O (e.g. discutere di ‘talk about’, pensare a ‘think about’), and unergative
verbs (e.g. camminare ‘walk’, passeggiare ‘stroll’).
On the other hand, unaccusatives, equative patterns, and impersonal passives show
split agreement in compound tenses, with the finite verb displaying 3sg agreement and
the nominal part of the predicate mpl (or more rarely fpl) agreement:
(6) si è contenti/-e/insegnanti/ascoltati/partitI all’ alba (It.)
self= is happy.mpl/fpl/teachers/listened.to.mpl/left.mpl at.the dawn
‘one is/they/we are happy/teachers/ listened to/left at dawn’
Si can also mark the taking place of an event with no implied participant, in
conjunction with the verb fare ‘do’, e.g. far(si) tardi ‘become late’, with the past
participle occurring in the default msg in compound tenses (see e.g. Cennamo 1995):
(7) si fa tardi / si è fatto tardi (It.)
self= makes late / self= is made.msg late
‘it is getting late/it got late’

4.2.2 Impersonal of reflexive patterns

A characteristic feature of reflexive constructions is the use of the 1pl clitic ci in the
sequence ci si for the corresponding impersonal form of reflexive/middle and inher-
ent reflexives, also referred to as ‘lexicalized’ uses of the reflexive (Salvi and Vanelli
2004: 206):
(8) ci si lava / ci si è lavati/-e (direct reflexive; It.)
ci= self= washes ci= self= is washed.mpl/fpl
‘one washes/has washed oneself/we wash/have washed ourselves’
The nature and function of ci in these patterns has been widely debated. Bentley
(2006: 167) regards the sequence ci si as a marker of double argument suppression, with
the clitic ci an allomorph of reflexive si, due to the rule banning two occurrences of si.
The same view is shared by Salvi (2008a; 2010b), who regards the 1pl clitic ci as replacing
the 3rd person reflexive si and si as a marker of an unexpressed indefinite participant.
Here we argue that ci is an impersonal marker, signalling an unexpressed A/S, and
realising the 1pl referent (speakerþhearer) that in the course of time has become part
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Passive and impersonal reflexives in the Italian dialects 75

of the referential domain of si in its impersonal reinterpretation (Cennamo 1993b;

2000). On this view, ci may be regarded as an indefinite pronoun with a variable
referential status like si. Unlike si, however, it can only have an existential (inclusive/
non-inclusive) interpretation, signalling an underlying A or S, depending on the
syntactic valency of the verb (cf. }4.3.4).
As we shall see (}4.4), our claim is confirmed by synchronic dialectal variation
showing ci in impersonal function, replacing si, in several central and southern varieties,
as well as by the use of si followed by the finite verb in the 3sg in Tuscan and some
Umbrian varieties where it replaces the canonical 1pl form (Cennamo 1997: 82; 2011).

4.2.3 Impersonal reflexive: interpretation of the morpheme si

The unexpressed participant (A, S, O) signalled by si in impersonal constructions has
either a generic or an indeterminate/existential reference, according to the type of
event described (Salvi 1988: 98; D’Alessandro 2007). Generic si denotes a group of
people to whom a property applies. It can comprise the speaker (1pl inclusive
interpretation), as in (9):
(9) in questa casa si beve molto vino (It.)
in this house self= drinks much wine
‘in this house they/we drink a lot of wine’
Indeterminate/existential si refers to one or more people in the universe of
discourse, whose existence is implied, but whose identity is unknown/non-relevant.
It may refer to the speaker (inclusive interpretation):
(10) ieri si è bevuto molto a casa di Mario (It.)
yesterday self= is drunk.msg much at home of Mario
‘yesterday they/we drank a lot at Mario’s house’
The generic or indeterminate/existential interpretation of si reflects, in turn, the
temporal reference of the clause and the aspectual nature of the predicate, namely the
boundedness of the event (D’Alessandro 2007: 156). Specific time reference and
perfective aspect seem to trigger the existential/inclusive interpretation of si with
all verbs (transitives, unergatives, and unaccusatives; cf. Salvi 1988: 98; Cinque 1988a;
D’Alessandro 2007: 141ff ):
(11) a. ieri si è lavorato fino a tardi (It.)
yesterday self= is worked.msg till at late
‘yesterday we (*one, they . . . ) worked till late’
b. ieri si è partiti alle cinque (It.)
yesterday self= is left.mpl at.the five
‘yesterday we (*they . . . ) left at 5 p.m.’
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The inclusive interpretation of impersonal si can be ‘suspended’ in case of specific time

reference, if the predicate is not temporally ‘bounded’, as in hypothetical clauses, where the
event extends without reaching a final point (Cinque 1988a: 150; D’Alessandro 2007: 160).
(12) ieri, se si fosse arrivati tardi all’ appuntamento, si sarebbe
yesterday if self= were arrived.mpl late at.the appointment self= would.be
persa una riunione importante (It.)
missed.fsg a meeting important
‘yesterday, if they had arrived late at the appointment’ (also ‘if we had
arrived . . . ’)

4.2.4 Some controversial issues

It has been widely debated in the literature, since the late 1970s (Castelfranchi and
Parisi 1976; Napoli 1976), whether a unifiying analysis of the various uses of si is
possible, together with the related question concerning the existence of only one si
with different functions or of two types of si belonging to different domains of the
grammar: reflexive si, whereby the reflexive is an accusative/dative object clitic, and
passive and impersonal si, where si is treated as a subject (Burzio 1986) or as an
argument (Cinque 1988a; Cennamo 1993a; Bentley 2006: 173; D’Alessandro 2007; Man-
zini and Savoia 2005: ii.13). We argue for the latter view, although with a different
grouping of patterns marked by si, singling out reflexive and passive si versus imper-
sonal si (see also Cennamo 1993a; 2000). As for the impersonal of reflexives, in
traditional descriptions (Rohlfs 1968; Lepschy and Lepschy 1988) taken up in some
theoretical analyses (e.g. Burzio 1986: 55, 81, n. 47), ci is regarded as a case of dissimi-
lation, the morphological variant of impersonal si in the reflexive/middle/inherent si
patterns, whereas in the theoretical literature ci is viewed instead as the reflexive form,
followed by impersonal si (Cinque 1995: 193–8; Salvi 1988; Bentley 2006: 173–4).
The following sections show that synchronic and diachronic dialectal data appear
to support the hypothesis of the existence of two types of si, a reflexive ~ passive si
and an impersonal si, resulting from two different diachronic paths (Cennamo 1993a;
2000). At the same time, these data throw new light on the nature and function of the
clitic ci in the corresponding impersonal form of reflexives.

4.3 Passive and impersonal reflexives in the Italian dialects

In the Italian dialects the 3sg/pl reflexive morpheme se/si and its variants are well
attested in passive and impersonal function alongside the 1pl reflexive morpheme ci
(and its variants) in some central and southern varieties (for an overview, see
Cennamo 1997; 1998; Manzini and Savoia 2005: ii.135–7).
Six main parameters of variation can be identified in the dialects in the use of these
morphemes as voice markers: (i) the morphological and/or syntactic distinction
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between passive and impersonal si (}4.3.1), (ii) their grammatical domains (}4.3.2),
(iii) the nature of the subject (}4.3.3), (iv) tense/aspect restrictions (}4.3.4), (v) the
cooccurrence of the impersonal reflexive with a pronominal object (}4.3.5), and (vi)
the interpretation of the reflexive morpheme (}4.3.6; see also Cennamo 1997: 161).

4.3.1 Passive vs impersonal reflexives

Most northern dialects distinguish morphologically and/or syntactically anticausa-
tive (characterized by A suppression and O subjectivization)/passive si from imper-
sonal si (Cennamo 1997; Manzini and Savoia 2005: vol. ii, ch. 4). The former occurs in
the sequence S si V, with a preverbal S, most typically [–an.], [þdef.], and conveying
[þgiven] information:
(13) la porta la se verze / i libri de aventura i se vende
the door scl= self= open.3 the books of adventure scl= self= sell.3
ben (Vnz.)
well
‘the door opens/adventure books sell well’
In these varieties the sequence si V S is banned if the ([def.]) subject conveys
[þnew] information (14a). The order si V S, in fact, is only possible if the subject is
clause-external, conveying [þgiven] information (14b):
(14) a. *la se verze la porta/ *i se vende i libri (Vnz.)
scl= self= open.3 the door scl= self= sell.3 the books
b. la se verze, la porta / i se vende, i libri (Vnz.)
scl= self= open.3 the door scl= self= sell.3 the books
‘the door opens/the books sell’
The verb instead occurs in the 3sg with an optional non-agreeing ‘impersonal’
subject clitic (in the dialects which have a subject clitic also for the 3rd person),
identical in several varieties with the 3msg subject clitic, as in Florentine (15a; for a
general overview, see Cennamo 1997: 153; Manzini and Savoia 2005: ii.19–74). In
dialects where 3rd singular and plural are not morphologically distinct, the imper-
sonal pattern becomes overt in compound tenses, where the past participle occurs in
the unmarked msg form, as in Paduan (15b) where, depending on the context, the
pattern can also have an anticausative interpretation (Cennamo and Sorace 2007: 88):
(15) a. (e) s’ apre la porta (Flo.)
scl.imprs= self= opens the door
‘one opens the door/we open the door’
b. se ga verto la porta (Pad.)
self= have.3 opened.msg the door
‘one has opened/the/we have opened the door’
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In some dialects (Torinese, Cairese, Genoese) (Battye 1990; Parry 1998a; 2005), the
patterns with and without verb agreement with the postverbal nominal (si V S/si
V N) alternate in passive and impersonal function. The pattern with agreement is
regarded, however, as less dialectal, reflecting Italian influence, as in (16a) from
Torinese (Cennamo 1997: 154):
(16) a. a s katu le turte (Tor.)
scl= self= buy the cakes
‘the cakes are bought’
b. a s kata le turte (Tor.)
scl= self= buys the cakes
‘one buys the cakes’
Interestingly, in some northern varieties (e.g.Cairese and generally in Piedmontese
and Ligurian) the morphological/syntactic impersonality of the pattern does not
entail its impersonal interpretation (Parry 1998a; 2005) (17):
R
(17) a. i s bøtu i pjat au so po t (Cairo Montenotte (SV), Liguria)
scl= self= put the plates at.the their place
‘the plates are put away’
b. u s bøt i pjat au so
scl.imprs= self= puts the plates at.the their
R
po t (Cairo Montenotte (SV), Liguria)
place
‘the plates are put away/one puts the plates away’
In some Piedmontese varieties (e.g. Borgomanero) impersonal si occurs preverb-
ally on a par with subject clitics (18a), whereas anticausative and passive si occur
postverbally (18b,c) (Manzini and Savoia 2005: ii.70–71):
(18) a. ki a z droma bei (Borgomanero (NO), Piedmont)
here scl= self= sleeps well
‘here one sleeps well’
b. i 'rumpusi I pjati (Borgomanero (NO), Piedmont)
scl= break=self The plates
‘the plates break’
c. lø i vøŋgusi sempri pasøndu (Borgomanero (NO), Piedmont)
they scl= see=self always going
‘they are always seen going . . . ’
Other northern dialects such as Bussoleno (Piedmontese) (19) and Friulan show
free variation of pre-/postverbal subjects, although the S si V/si V S order generally
conveys a pragmatic distinction, the distribution of given-new information
(Cennamo 1997: 157; 1998):
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(19) i liber d aventura a z vendu / a z vendu i liber d

the books of adventure scl= self= sell scl= self= sell the books of
aventura (Bussoleno (TO), Piedmont)
adventure
‘adventure books sell/are sold; one sells/they sell adventure books’
Free alternation of either order, S si V/si V S, in both the anticausative and passive/
impersonal interpretation, instead characterizes central-southern dialects, with
the different word order reflecting the distribution of given/new information, as in
(20a,b):
R
(20) a. e libbrә ddʒallә sә 'vennenә fat ilmentә (Nap., S = [+ given])
the books thriller self= sell easily
‘thrillers sell/are sold easily/one, they sell thrillers easily’
R
b. sә 'vennenә fat ilmåntә e libbrә d’dʒallә (Nap., S = [+new])
self= sell easily the books thriller
‘one/they sell(s) thrillers easily’

4.3.2 Grammatical domains

The dialects also differ in the grammatical domains covered by the reflexive in its
function as a voice marker (Cennamo 1997: 153–9; Manzini and Savoia 2005: vol. ii,
ch. 4). Some northern dialects (e.g. Paduan, Venetian) show maximal exploitation of
this strategy, as illustrated in (21), from Paduan, where the reflexive occurs in all
grammatical domains. It is used, in fact, in equative structures (21a), in impersonal
passive patterns (21b), and in the impersonal of reflexive patterns (21c). It also occurs
in the corresponding impersonal form of passive/impersonal patterns with the
original subject pronominalized (21d; examples from Cennamo 1997: 155):
(21) a. se ze pu'tei / se ze 'zovani / se ze stai 'zovani] (Pad.)
self= be.3 children self= be.3 young.pl self= be.3 stayed.mpl young.pl
‘one is a child/one is young/one has been young’
b. se ze par’tii / se ze pa'ga(i) / se ze sta pa’ga(i) /
self= be.3 left.mpl self= be.3 paid.sg(pl) self= be.3 stayed.sg paid.sg(pl)
se se pentise / se se ga pen'tio (Pad.)
self= self= repented self= self= have.3 repented.msg
‘one has left/one is paid/one has been paid/one repented/has repented’
c. se se ga kom'pra na kaza / se ga konda'na i
self= self= have.3 bought a house self= have.3 sentenced.sg the
kol’pevoli (Pad.)
guilty
‘one has bought oneself a house/one, they (indef.) have sentenced the guilty
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80 Michela Cennamo

d. se la ga kom'pra / se li ga konda'na (Pad.)

self= it= have.3 bought.sg self= them= have.3 sentenced.sg
‘one has bought it/one has sentenced them’
e. se ga ven'duo i libri / se li ga ven'dui (Pad.)
self= have.3 sold.msg the books self= them have.3 sold.mpl
‘one has sold the books/one has sold them’
In contrast, in some southern dialects (e.g. Neapolitan, Cosentino, Sicilian) the
reflexive only covers some grammatical domains: it does not occur in equative
patterns, the impersonal of reflexives, and impersonal-passive structures (22). Alter-
native strategies are employed for these grammatical domains, including the indef-
inite uno/una ‘one’, the collective noun gente ‘people’, the 3pl (indefinite exclusive
interpretation), the 1pl (Cennamo 1997: 156):
R
(22) a. kwann unә å kkrjaturә / unә sә påntә / t ә pәn’timmә (Nap.)
when one is young one self= repents ourselves= repent.1pl
‘When one is a child/one repents /we repent’
R
b. 'pavәnә pOkookә pә kkillu lavorә / t annә pavatә pOkә (Nap.)
they.pay little for that work us= they.have paid little
‘They do not pay much for that work/They have not paid us much for that
work’
Some varieties show instead variable uses, depending on the pattern. For instance,
for the impersonal of the reflexive pattern (i.e. ‘lexicalized’ uses of the reflexive) in
Milanese, although the type se se V is possible (23), the pattern with only one se is
preferred (Nicoli 1983: 168; Manzini and Savoia 2005: vol. ii, ch. 4):
(23) se se lava / se se se de'mentega de pa'ga (Mil.)
self= self= washes self= self= self forgets of pay.inf
‘one washes oneself/if one forgets to pay’

4.3.3 Nature of the subject

The animacy of the subject too appears to affect the occurrence of the reflexive vis-à-
vis other strategies. For instance, varieties such as Trentino and Bussoleno do not
allow passive/impersonal si with an animate subject in compound tenses (24a),
and the corresponding active with an indefinite 3pl subject occurs instead (24b)
(Cennamo 1997: 79). The same restriction is at work in some central-southern
varieties (Castelpetroso, Agnone (Molise), Naples; Cennamo 1997: 156):
(24) a. *se a konda'na i kol'pevoli a tsiŋkwe ani (Trento, Trentino)
self= has sentenced the guilty to five years
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b. i a konda'na i kol'pevoli a tsiŋkwe ani (Trento, Trentino)

scl= have sentenced the guilty to five years
‘they (indef.) have sentenced the guilty to five years’
In several varieties from Abruzzo (province of l’Aquila) and Molise (e.g. Castelpe-
troso; cf. Giammarco 1968: 479–80), northern Puglia (the Gargano peninsula;
cf. Melillo 1973: 120–21), Salento (cf. Rohlfs 1956–9: 128), Tuscany (Isle of Giglio;
cf. Rohlfs 1968: 186), and Calabria (the province of Reggio Calabria; cf. Rohlfs 1977:
455), in reflexive, anticausative, passive/impersonal, and impersonal functions we
find the 1pl reflexive morpheme ci, nci (see also Cennamo 1997: 158–9; Manzini and
Savoia 2005: ii.135–8):
R R
(25) t ә 'vinnәnә rә libbrә / t annә vennutә ri libbrә (Castelpetroso
self.1pl= sell the books self.1pl have sold the books
(IS), Molise)
‘the books are sold/one sells the books’

4.3.4 Tense/aspect constraints

Tense/aspect restrictions play a role in determining the occurrence of the reflexive as
a voice strategy. In several varieties the reflexive in impersonal/passive constructions
does not occur in perfective contexts, even with inanimate subjects, the restriction
applying either to all verbs or only to unaccusatives, as in Palmanova Friulan (data
from Laura Vanelli). The corresponding active pattern is employed instead, with
either an indefinite 3pl or a 1pl subject. This constraint might reflect the diachronic
spread of si in impersonal/passive and impersonal function, attested initially in
simplex tenses and later in compound tenses, and might also be related to the
differential behaviour of transitives/unergatives vs unaccusatives in clauses with
specific time reference and/or (ir)realis modality, i.e. the boundedness of the event
(Cennamo 1997: 156–7):
(26) a. se sa'ria par’tii ale siŋkwe ma no ge dʒera posto (Pad.)
self= would.be left a.the five but not there= was place
‘we would have left at 5 p.m., but there were no seats’
b. ??se ze / dʒera partii ale siŋ’kwe (Pad.)
self= is was left.mpl at the five
‘one has/we have left at 5 p.m.’
c. si a finut di lavo'ra as sis e la sera o sin las
self= has finished of work.inf at.the six and the evening we are gone
al bar (Palmanova (UD), Friuli-Venezia-Giulia)
to.the bar
‘we finished work at 6 and in the evening we went to the bar’
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Thus, whereas in Paduan with unaccusatives the impersonal reflexive is only

possible in irrealis contexts (26a) and hardly acceptable in realis ones (26b), in
Palmanova Friulan with unaccusatives in realis contexts the reflexive is banned;
instead we find the 1pl instead (26c).

4.3.5 Impersonal si/se with a pronominal object

The co-occurrence of the impersonal reflexive with a pronominal object appears to
have different degrees of acceptability across the dialects. It is possible in some
dialects, with the reflexive preceding the object clitic (27a). In other dialects, instead,
either we find the reflexive pattern without the pronominal object, as in Neapolitan
(27b), or a different strategy is employed, either the 1pl or the 3pl according to the
context, as in Esperia (southern Lazio) (27c; Cennamo 1997: 157–8):
(27) a. se li vende / se li ga ven'dui (Pad.)
self= them= sell.3 self= them= have.3 sold.mpl
‘one sells them/one has sold them’
b. se 'vennәnә/ s annә vennutә (Nap.)
self= sell self= have sold
‘they are sold/they have been sold’
c. li 'vinnәnә lestә (Esperia (FR), Lazio)
them= sell quickly
‘they sell them easily’

4.3.6 Interpretation of impersonal si

Another parameter of variation concerns the interpretation of the reflexive mor-
pheme in impersonal patterns. In some varieties (e.g. Neapolitan) the impersonal
reflexive has a generic or indeterminate/existential, non-inclusive interpretation. In
other dialects (e.g. Florentine) the impersonal reflexive always has an inclusive
reading. In Florentine and other Tuscan varieties (e.g. Sienese, Viareggino) as well
as in some Umbrian (e.g. Città di Castello, Amelia) and Marchigiano (e.g. Arsoli)
dialects, the impersonal reflexiveþ3sg active has replaced the traditional 1pl syn-
thetic verbal form (Cennamo 1997: 158; 1998: 82; Manzini and Savoia 2005: vol. ii, ch.
4; also AIS map 1278):
(28) si va (Flo.)
self= goes
‘we go’
Interestingly, if the speaker is excluded from the universe of discourse, Florentine
uses 3pl rather than impersonal siþactive (Stefanini 1983: 111)
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4.3.7 Interim summary

Unlike the (anticausative/)passive reflexive (but see Manzini and Savoia 2005: vol. ii,
ch. 4), the impersonal reflexive is not equally attested across the dialects. In
some dialects impersonal si is not found in perfective contexts and with specific time
reference, where the implied participant comprises the speaker (inclusive interpret-
ation); therefore si only has either generic or an indeterminate/existential, non-inclusive
reference. In other varieties, instead, si has an existential-inclusive interpretation, and
the sequence siþ3sg has replaced the 1pl ending of verbs. The data thus show the
existence of a correlation between the use of the reflexive strategy in impersonal
function and its (inclusive/non-inclusive) interpretation. It might be argued, therefore,
that the spread of the reflexive morpheme in impersonal patterns in the dialects depends
on the extent to which in the various varieties the 3rd person reflexive has come to
include the 1st and 2nd person participants (i.e. the speech act participants) in its
referential domain, and on the extent to which the new referents are grammaticalized.

4.4 Some diachronic data1

The analysis of some early Italian vernaculars of the eleventh to fifteenth centuries
from different areas (Venice, Lombardy, Florence, Naples, and Logudoro)2 shows a

1
The bibliographical details of the textual sources and their abbreviations cited in the examples below are
as follows: Bonvesin, Disputatio = Disputatio musce cum formica, in Contini (1937: 27–40); Bonvesin,
Miraculis = De quindecin miraculis que debent apparere ante diem iudicij, in Contini (1937: 41–44); Capitolare
= Princivalli and Ortalli (1993); Capitoli = ‘Capitoli della Compagnia di San Gilio’, in Schiaffini (1926: 34–54);
Cedola di Marco Granello = ‘Cedola di Marco Granello’, in Stussi (1965: 36–40); Cedola di Marco Michel =
‘Cedola di Marco Michel’, in Stussi (1965: 111–22); Cedola di Pangrati Barbo = ‘Cedola di Pangrati Barbo
(Prima)’, in Stussi (1965: 63–4); Cronica = ‘Cronica degli Imperadori’, in Ceruti (1878); Cronica fior. = ‘Cronica
Fiorentina’, in Schiaffini (1926: 82–150); CSNT = Il Condaghe di San Nicola di Trullas, Merci (1992); CSPS = Il
Condaghe di San Pietro di Silki, Delogu (1997); RSPS = Il Registro di S. Pietro di Sorres, Piras and Dessì (2003);
Dante, Inferno = Petrocchi (1966); Grisostomo = ‘Neminem laedi nisi a se ipso’, Forster (1880–83); LDT =
Libro de la Destructione de Troya, De Blasi (1986); Libro = ‘Libro degli ordinamenti della Compagnia di Santa
Maria del Carmine’, in Schiaffini (1926: 55–72); Milione = Il Milione di Marco Polo, Bertolucci Pizzorusso
(1975); Milione veneto = Marco Polo. Il Milione Veneto, Barbieri and Andreose (1999); Passione = ‘La Passione
e altre antiche scritture Lombarde’, Salvioni (1886); Rettorica = Brunetto Latini, La Rettorica, Maggini (1968);
Ricordi= ‘Ricordi di compere e cambi di terre in Val di Streda e dintorni’, Castellani (1982: 215–54); SRS = ‘Gli
Statuti della Repubblica sassarese’, Guarnerio (1892–4).
2
The corpus investigated consists of non-literary texts from the 11th to 15th centuries, from different
areas, namely Old Venetian, Old Lombard, Old Neapolitan, and Old Logudoreses Sardinian, partly
available at http://www.ovi.cnr.it/. The choice follows the approach by Vincent, Parry, and Hastings
(2004). For Old Neapolitan we have benefited also from data from Adam Ledgeway. Abbreviations are
as follows: This chapter uses the following abbreviations for texts cited: Cronica = A. Ceruti (ed.), ‘Cronica
degli Imperadori’, Archivio glottologico italiano 3 (1878): 177–243. CSNT = P. Merci (ed.), Il Condaghe di San
Nicola di Trullas (Sassari: Delfino, 1992). CSPS = I. Delogu (ed.), Il Condaghe di San Pietro di Silki: testo
logudorese inedito dei secoli XI–XIII (Sassari: Dessì, 1997). Grisostomo = W. Forster (ed.), Antica parafrasi
lombarda del “Neminem laedi nisi a se ipso” di S. Giovanni Grisostomo’, Archivio glottologico italiano 7
(1880–83): 1–120. LDT = N. De Blasi (ed.), Libro de la Destructione de Troya: volgarizzamento napoletano
trecentesco da Guido delle Colonne (Rome: Bulzoni, 1986). Milione = A. Barbieri and A. Andreose (eds),
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84 Michela Cennamo

highly varied picture as regards the use of the reflexive morpheme in passive and
impersonal function, and appears to confirm the existence of a correlation between
the spread of this strategy in impersonal function and the referential domain of si/se.
In our discussion we do not consider ‘impersonal’ se/si in fixed phrases with
avalent/monovalent verbs like old Venetian convenire ‘be advisable’, contenere ‘con-
tain, state’, deser ‘become’, and their equivalents in the other vernaculars, well
attested in the early varieties investigated, sometimes preceded (according to the
verb) by expletive el ‘it’ and its variants in Old Venetian, Old Lombard, and
Old Florentine, alternating with non-reflexive forms (e.g. OVnz. (el) se convien(e)
‘(it) self= is.advisable’ ~ conven ‘is.advisable’).

4.4.1 Old Venetian

In old Venetian the reflexive mainly occurs in passive(/impersonal) function, most
frequently with inanimate subjects and with the order S se V, the only one attested in
some texts (e.g. the Testi Veneziani) (29a), with very few examples of animate
subjects (29b) (Cennamo 2000: 93–7):
(29) a. voio que le dite chase se
I.want that the afore.mentioned houses self=
afita tute (OVnz., Cedola di Marco Granello, 39.21)
rent.3 all
‘I want all the aforementioned houses to be let’
b. L’ Imperador . . . per nessuna arte de medesina se
the emperor by no type of drug self=
podeva aidare (OVnz., Cronica 221.50a)
could help.inf
‘the emperor could not be helped in any way’

The S–se–V order usually favours a passive interpretation, whilst the se–V–S
sequence favours an impersonal reading. The distinction between passive and imper-
sonal reflexive, however, is not yet fully grammaticalized, as shown in (30), where
either order is possible, although the subject conveys given information:
(30) a. tanto que questi dr. se paga (OVnz., Cedola di Marco Granello,
such that these denarii self= pay.3
39.24–5)
‘so that this money is paid’

Marco Polo: Il Milione veneto (Venice: Marsilio, 1999). Panfilo = A. Tobler (ed.), ‘Il Panfilo in antico
veneziano’, Archivio glottologico italiano 10 (1886): 179-243. Passione = C. Salvioni (ed.), ‘La Passione e altre
antiche scritture lombarde’, Archivio glottologico italiano 9 (1886): 1-22. Testi Ven. = A. Stussi (ed.), Testi
veneziani del Duecento e del Trecento (Pisa: Nistri Lischi, 1965).
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b. avanti che se paga sta dota (OVnz., Cedola di Marco Michel, 112.22)
before that self= pay.3 this dowry
‘before this dowry is paid/one pays/they pay this dowry’
The reflexive in impersonal function is confined to bivalent verbs with an implicit
latent object, sometimes preceded by expletive el ‘it’ (and its variants elo/eli) (31):
(31) sì co’ elo se trova (OVnz., Cedola di Pangrati Barbo, 63.8)
so as scl.imprs= self= find.3
‘as one finds it’
In addition, passive/impersonal and impersonal se only occur in simple tenses
and in imperfective verb forms, occasionally with the expletive el and a postverbal
subject (32):
(32) quando el se leze Henrico Primo (OVnz., Cronica, 226.18)
when it= self= read.3 Henry first
‘when one reads Henry the First’
In 13th-century texts impersonal se never occurs with monovalent verbs and
always refers to an indefinite human participant who does not include the speaker.
Thus se has either a generic or an indeterminate/existential reference, but never an
inclusive one. There are no examples of overt expression of the agent.
Impersonal se with monovalent verbs is attested from the mid- to late 14th
century and during the 15th century in imperfective tenses only, with non-
inclusive (33a) and inclusive indeterminate/existential reference (33b) (cf. also
Wehr 1995: 106):
(33) a. la calle che se va in Riolto Novo (OVnz., Capitolare 124, 58.18–19)
the street that self= go.3 to Riolto new
‘the path through which one goes/people go to Riolto Novo
b. torneremo ala provinzia [ . . . ], perché da altra via non
we.will.return to.the province since from other way not
se pò andar (OVnz., Milione veneto, 35.10)
self= can.3 go.inf
‘we will go back to the province [ . . . ] since we cannot go another way’

4.4.2 Old Lombard

Old Lombard shows a different distribution of the reflexive pattern according to
different texts/areas. Passive/impersonal and impersonal se are well attested in
Bonvesin de La Riva (13th-c. Milanese) (34a,b) and Grisostomo (14th-c. Pavese),
with few examples in the Passione (15th-c. Comasco), where impersonal se is only
found with bivalent verbs (35):
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(34) a. Senza quest [ . . . ] no ’s pò haver salvamento (OMil.,

without this not self= can.3sg have.inf salvation
Bonvesin, Miraculis, 32.105)
‘without which one cannot find salvation’
b. Azò k’ il temp [ . . . ] ke no ‘s pò lavorar (OMil., Bonvesin,
So that the time that not self= can.3sg work.inf
Disputatio, 39.247)
‘so that during the time when one cannot work’
In the various varieties both S–se–V and se–V–S orders are attested, although only
in simplex tenses. S se V with a [–an.] S is the most frequent pattern (36a), in all the
texts investigated. There are instead few examples of this pattern with [þan.] S and
the se V S order (35b):
(35) a. questo comandamento se rompe in cinque modi (OCms.,
this commandment self= infringes in five ways
Passione 19.30)
‘and this commandment may be infringed in five ways’
b. qui no se po fa oltro seno pianze con la
here not self= can.3 do.inf other if.not cry.inf with the
madre (OCms., Passione 13.18)
mother
‘here one cannot do anything else but cry with his mother’

As for the referential domain of se, in old Comasco it signals an indefinite

participant which may include the speaker, as in (36):
(36) (quando nu voloma provar una vigna [ . . . ]) Per lo semegliante se
when we want assess.inf a vineyard for the resembling self=
contempla e guarda l’ oliva e gl’ altri
contemplates and sees the olive.tree and the other
arbori fruteveli (OCms., Passione, 5.37)
trees fruit.bearing
‘(when we want to assess a vineyard [ . . . ]) similarly we look at the olive trees
and the other fruit trees’
Impersonal se also occurs with pleonastic el and bivalent verbs (38) and in fixed
phrases with monovalent vebs, in pleonastic function (e.g. se convene ‘self= be.advisable’):
(37) la qual (leçe) comandava ch’ el no se mangiasse
the which law commanded that it= not self= ate.sbjv.3
carne de porcho (OPav., Grisostomo, 49.20)
meat of pork
‘according to which (law) pork was not to be eaten’
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In Grisostomo (Old Pavese) there are few occurrences of impersonal reflexive with
monovalent verbs in simple (imperfective) tenses only:
(38) a. ma per le citae se çeva pur peçorando (OPav., Grisostomo, 40.30)
but through the city self= went also worsening
‘but in the town things were getting worse’
b. onde se çoga soto a la roçça (OPav., Grisostomo, 15.22)
so.that self= plays under to the rock
‘so that one plays/they play under the rock’

4.4.3 Old Florentine

In Old Florentine the reflexive pattern is very frequent in passive/impersonal
function with both S–si–V and si–V–S orders, with [an.] S (39a,b), but with a
preference for the order si–V–S with [þan.] S, and optional expression of the agent
through a prepositional phrase (39c) (see also Giacalone Ramat and Sansò 2011:
197–8):
(39) a. lo die che’ capitani si chiameranno (OFlo., Capitoli, 44.30–31)
the day that.the capitans self= will.call
‘they day when the captains are called’
b. Quando si rachomanda alcuno infermo (OFlo., Capitoli, 40.33–7)
when self= recommends some invalid
‘when one recommends an invalid’
c. venne al porto [ . . . ] lo quale si tenea per
came to.the port the which self= kept by
lo re Carlo (OFlo., Cronica fior., 146.10–11)
the king Charles
‘he arrived at the harbour that had been conquered by King Charles’
Impersonal si is mainly attested with bivalent verbs, displaying in some cases a
non-agreeing 3sg verb (40), also occurring with avalent/monovalent verbs in pleon-
astic function (e.g. convenire ‘be advisable’):
(40) si dea soldi XL a’ poveri (OFLo., Libro, 65.32)
self= give soldi forty to.the poor
‘one/they (indef.) should give forty coins to the poor’
Passive/impersonal (41a) and impersonal si (41b) with bivalent verbs in compound
tenses are rare and do not occur with animate nominals in 13th-century texts, unlike
in the 14th century (41c; see also Wehr 1995: 155–6):
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(41) a. le grandissime cose non s’ arebbono potute mettere in

the very.great things not self= would.have been.able put.inf in
compimento (OFlo., Rettorica, 26.21–2)
action
‘those very important things could not have been done’
b. un dì che s’ era bandito una corte
a day that self= was prepared a court
di nozze (OFlo., Novellino, 862.12)
of wedding
‘one day when a wedding banquet had been prepared’
c. si sono uccisi degli uomini (OFlo., Dec., Introduzione, 17.29)
self= are killed some men
‘one/they (indef.) have killed some men/some men have been killed’
Impersonal si with monovalent verbs instead is not attested in early 13th-century
texts; this pattern is found only (with both unaccusatives and unergatives) by the end
of the 13th century (42a), also with overt expression of the agent (42b; cf. Wehr 1995:
106; Salvi 2008a; 2010b):
(42) a. Iddio, al cui conoscimento non si viene se non
God to.the whose knowledge not self= comes if not
per fede (OFlo., Bono Giamboni, Orosio, 359.23)
by faith
‘God, who one comes to know only through faith’
b. non vuol che ’n sua città per me si
not wants that in his town by me self=
vegna (OFlo., Dante, Inf. I, A19.126)
came.sbjv.3sg
‘he does not want people to come to his city led by me’

In fourteenth-entury Tuscan texts impersonal si with monovalent verbs also

occurs in compound tenses, alternating with l’uomo lit. ‘the man’ (Wehr 1995: 156):
(43) a. quando se’ ito uno die e una notte, si
when self=is gone.msg one day and one night self=
truova acqua (OFlo., Milione, 74.9–10)
finds water
‘when one has travelled for one day and night, one finds water’
b. e quando l’ uomo è ito XX giornate (OFlo., Milione, 173.16)
and when the man is gone 20 days
‘and when one has travelled for twenty days’
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As for its interpretation, impersonal si can have both a generic and indeterminate/
existential (both exclusive and inclusive) reading. It may refer, in fact, to both
speaker and hearer/interlocutor, as shown by the alternation of si with the 1st person
plural (44):
(44) Demoli [ . . . ] a Iacopo Lanberti, ke gli si scontò
we.gave=them to Iacopo Lamberti that to.him= self= deducted
de’ denari ke Ci dee dare (OFlo., Ricordi, 224.13–14)
of.the denarii that us= must give.inf
‘he gave them (= the money) to Iacopo Lamberti, money that was deducted
from the denarii that he owes us’

4.4.4 Old Neapolitan

Old Neapolitan shows a high frequency of the reflexive pattern in passive/impersonal
function. Both S–se–V and se–V–S orders are possible, with S [ an.] (45a,b). S–se–V
has higher frequency. The pattern also occurs with the overt expression of the agent
introduced by da/per ‘by’ (46; Cennamo 2000: 97–8; Ledgeway 2009a: 670–76):
(45) a. la festa in quillo tiemplo se celebrava (ONap., LDT 97.25)
the feast in that temple self= celebrated
‘the feast was celebrated in that temple’
b. Che de vui se non perda memoria (ONap., LDT 64.18)
that of you self= not lose memory
‘may you not be forgotten’
(46) azò che da tuti li Troyani (li cuorpi) se
so.that that by all the Trojans the bodies self=
potessero resguardare (ONap., LDT 230.2)
could watch.inf
‘so that their bodies could be seen by all the Trojans’
The texts show the prevalence of simple tenses and imperfective verb forms, with
only few examples of the simple past. In the rare examples of compound tenses, only
the S–se–V order (with [an.] S) is attested:
(47) quisto nuostro exercito non se avesse ben
this our army not self= had.sbjv well
potuto guidare (ONap., LDT 202.14)
can.ptp lead.inf
‘this army of ours could not have been led’
Impersonal se is very frequent with verbs which can be construed as bivalent but
with an unexpressed object (48), and well attested with monovalent verbs, especially
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90 Michela Cennamo

unaccusatives denoting telic change of location (49), although never in compound

tenses with the latter:
(48) secundo che se cunta de quilli che [ . . . ] (ONap., LDT 205.4)
according that self= tells of those who
‘according to what they (indef.)/people say about those who [ . . . ]’
(49) a quista insula non se nce poteva gire se
to this island not self= there= could go.inf if
non per mare (ONap., LDT 51.2)
not for sea
‘one could only reach this island by sea’

With monovalent verbs, impersonal se only occurs in imperfective tenses. It never

occurs with specific time reference, which would trigger the 1pl interpretation of the
unexpresssed agent with unaccusatives. This interpretation is excluded from the texts
investigated (Cennamo 2000: 99).
In terms of the interpretation of se, it refers to an unspecified human participant,
which does not include the speaker/narrator. This is shown by the fact that se never
alternates with the 1pl, but only with the 3pl, and at times the 2sg (Cennamo 2000: 99)

4.4.5 Old Logudorese Sardinian

In 11th–13th-century Old Logudorese texts the passive/impersonal reflexive occurs
both in the S–se–V and se–V–S order, whilst there are no examples of impersonal
reflexives with monovalent verbs. The postverbal position of S in these patterns either
reflects either its pragmatic status or is due to syntactic factors such as the presence of
an adverb (50b) or the heaviness of the subject (50c):
(50) a. sa fura [ . . . ] se iudicait (OLog., CSNT 140.5)
the theft self= judged
‘the theft was debated in court’
b. uue se fekit tottu suki est iscrittu
where self= did all the.that is written
daue susu (OLog., CSPS 383.13)
from above
‘where all this was done is written above’
c. nareuos progitteu se condennait custu tramutu ki
I.tell.sbjv=you why self= condemned this exchange that
feki s’ apatissa Tedora cun Petru de Thori (OLog., CSPS 388.1)
made the abbess Teodora with Petre of Thori
‘let me tell you why this exchange was disapproved that I, Abbess Teodora,
made with Petru de Thori’
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The expression of the agent is attested later, in 14th- to 15th-century texts (51a),
where passive/impersonal si also occurs with animate subjects (51b), occasionally in
perfective tenses (51c), albeit only with bivalent verbs, never with monovalent ones.
With the latter, impersonal si occurs mainly with unaccusatives like andare ‘go’ (51d),
always with a non-referential, exclusive interpretation:
(51) a. sas quales se deuen dare daue chalunque
the which self= must give.inf by whatever
persone (OLog., SRS XXVIII.8)
person
‘which must be given by everybody’
b. qui non si podiat hobligare sensa licentia
who not self= can force.inf without permission
desu p[re]ladu (OLog., RSPS (18r.) 82.16-17)
of.the priest
‘who one cannot force without his priest’s permission’
c. qui pius non si li siat dadu
who ever not self= to.him= be.sbjv given
termen (OLog., RSPS (64r.), 290.19-20)
limit
‘that one has never given him a temporal limit’
d. fina assa uia per issa quale se uaet
until to.the path through it which self= goes
ad OSilo (OLog., SRS XXXIII.7)
to Osilo
‘as far as the path by which one goes to Osilo’

4.4.6 Interim summary

The early vernaculars investigated reveal an uneven attestation of the impersonal
reflexive, unlike the passive/impersonal one, which occurs in all varieties, most
typically with [–an.] subjects—pre-/postverbal, depending on their given/new
status—and more rarely and at subsequent stages with [þan.] ones.
With monovalent verbs, in fact, impersonal si/se is not found in early Venetian
and Logudorese Sardinian texts, where it is attested from the 14th century, and in Old
Neapolitan and Old Logudorese Sardinian it never has an inclusive interpretation.

4.5 Converging constraints on impersonal si/se

The analysis of synchronic and diachronic data shows a different distribution and
incidence of the reflexive pattern in impersonal function, but also some converging
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parameters: (i) animacy, (ii) tense/aspect characteristics, (iii) the interpretation/

referential domain of the reflexive morpheme, (iv) the grammaticalization of the
distribution of the pragmatic notions given/new. More specifically, in passive and
passive/impersonal patterns some varieties do not allow these structures with ani-
mate subjects, and in the early vernaculars investigated these constructions occur
only/mainly with inanimate subjects; there is also a prevalence of imperfective
contexts, both synchronically and diachronically. In some contemporary varieties
the reflexive cannot occur in perfective tenses and with specific time reference, i.e. in
bounded contexts. Indeed, the boundedness of the event might play a role in the
absence of the reflexive with unaccusatives in perfective tenses and with specific time
reference in some contemporary dialects.
The interpretation/referential domain of the reflexive morpheme might have
played a role, instead, in the extension/non-extension of the reflexive morpheme in
impersonal function, to mark initially A, subsequently and optionally S. In the
dialects where the reflexive can only have either a generic or an indeterminate/
existential non-inclusive interpretation (e.g. Neapolitan), it occurs in a narrower
range of impersonal patterns (for instance, it does not occur in equative impersonal
patterns and in impersonal passives, for which other strategies are employed). In the
varieties where the reflexive occurs also with an existential-inclusive interpretation, it
occurs in all the syntactic domains in which it is attested in Standard Italian and in
perfective contexts as well (e.g. Paduan). Finally, in Old Venetian the grammatical-
ization of the distribution of the pragmatic notions given/new, characteristic of
several northern varieties, is already in evidence.

4.6 Some unsolved issues: the status of the reflexive

morphemes si and ci
4.6.1 One or two si’s?
Synchronic dialectal data give contrasting evidence as to the existence of just one si—
with variable function (reflexive, passive, impersonal), interpretable as a variable
whose value is fixed either through coreference (as with the reflexive and passive
pattern) or through the binding of a generic operator (as with the impersonal
structure) (Manzini and Savoia 2005: ii.70)—or of two si’s, either a reflexive and
passive si vs an impersonal one or a reflexive vs a passive and impersonal si, with
some varieties allowing only either passive or impersonal si (Manzini and Savoia
2005: ii.57).
In point of fact, several northern varieties do not differentiate among reflexive,
passive, and impersonal si, which occur in the same position as object clitics (cf. }4.4;
Manzini and Savoia 2005: ii.64), whilst in other northern, central, and southern
dialects (including northern Sardinian dialects), impersonal si occurs in initial
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position, preceding all types of object clitic, unlike reflexive and passive si
(cf. Manzini and Savoia 2005: ii.19–62).
Diachronic data, on the other hand, appear to support the claim concerning the
existence of two different homophonous si’s: a reflexive ~ passive/impersonal si and
an impersonal si. In point of fact, whereas passive/impersonal si is attested in all the
early vernaculars investigated, impersonal si is hardly found in Old Logudorese
(where it is not attested in the early texts), and in both Old Logudorese and Old
Venetian it is found in later texts than passive/impersonal si. Indeed, synchronic and
diachronic variation support the findings in Cennamo (1993a; 1993b; 2000) whereby
passive and impersonal reflexives are two different structures, reflecting two different
diachronic paths which at some point merge. While the passive reflexive is a Late
Latin development, related to changes in the encoding of voice in the transition from
Latin to Romance, the impersonal function of the reflexive with one-argument verbs
is a Romance phenomenon, not equally attested in the Romance languages and in
the Italian dialects. More specifically, the rise of impersonal si in Italo-Romance may
be related to a stage where the reflexive pronoun acquires a non-anaphoric pronom-
inal value, whereby Latin se becomes equivalent to is ‘he’ (52)—a pattern that is well
attested in Italo-Romance, both diachronically and synchronically (Rohlfs 1968: }480,
458, n. 1; Manzini and Savoia 2005: ii.121–4)—also referring to 1st and 2nd person
participants in its reflexive/middle use in late texts, as illustrated in (53a,b), where se
is equivalent to nos ‘we’ and even me ‘I’ (Cennamo 1991: 17; 1993a: 81):
(52) ipsi [ . . . ] sibi crediderunt (Lat., Trad. Frising. 553; Cennamo 1991: 8)
they self.dat= believed
‘they trusted him’
(53) a. inter se singuli dissimiles
between themselves each different
invenimur (Lat., Min. Fel., 18.15; II AD)
we.find.pass
‘we find ourselves different from each other’
b. Ego [ . . . ] Adhalhardus [ . . . ] recogitans
I Adhalhardus thinking
se (Lat., Tardif: N: R 59; Cennamo 1993b: 58)
self=
‘I Adhalhardus, [ . . . ] thinking [ . . . ]’
Indeed, a possible starting point for the acquisition of the impersonal function of
the continuators of Latin se might have been the non-anaphoric pronominal function
and the gradual widening of the referential domain of si/se in the course of time,
whereby se/si comes to include the 1st and 2nd person participants, due to the 1pl
interpretation that the reflexive morpheme acquires in the course of time in its
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impersonal function. This parallels a change that had already occurred in Latin in its
reflexive/middle use, whereby Latin se = nos and even me in late texts alongside the
non-reflexive, anaphoric pronominal use of se, whereby se = is, as illustrated in (52)
and (53).
As a result of the above-mentioned factors—(i) its use in non-anaphoric pronom-
inal function, (ii) the gradual widening of its referential function, and (ii), the gradual
grammaticalization of its ‘new’ referents, speaker and hearer, as in its 1pl interpret-
ation—se/si becomes an indefinite pronoun, and gradually ousts the homo ‘man’ type
in the early Italian vernaculars, which could only occur with a generic interpretation,
never an existential one (Egerland 2003; Manzini and Savoia 2005: ii.132). Thus the
impersonal use of the reflexive morpheme with one-argument verbs and various
types of impersonal pattern appears to be related to a series of changes where the
Person Hierarchy is one of the features involved (Cennamo 1993a: 81; 1993b: 60).

4.6.2 Impersonal ci
The analysis of the synchronic distribution of the 1pl reflexive clitic ci in impersonal
function in some Italian dialects points to the use of ci as an indefinite pronoun in
some varieties on a par with si. In some varieties ci is equivalent to si in reflexive,
anticausative, passive, and impersonal function. We can hypothesize a stage where se
and ci become functionally equivalent, competing in some areas, with ci replacing si
as a marker of agent defocusing/argument suppression. Thus in the ci–si–V patterns
as in ci si lava - ci= self= washes (‘one washes oneself ’), ci si pente – ci= self= repents
(‘one repents’), ci may be regared as an impersonal pronoun and si as the reflexive
pronoun, following the traditional description.
The alternative view, put forward in Cinque (1988a), Salvi (2008a; 2010b), and
Bentley (2006), regards ci as the 1pl pronoun and si as the impersonal pronoun.
According to Salvi (2008b; 2010a) the ci si lava pattern originates in Tuscan (noi) si
lava lit. ‘(we) self= washes’/ci si lava lit. ‘ci= self= washes’ = laviamo lit. ‘we.wash’/ci
laviamo lit. ‘us= we.wash’. It is attested in 19th-century northern writers such as
Rovani and Nievo (Salvi 2008a: 17; 2010b) and might have developed as a result of the
interference between the native language of these northern writers, where the
impersonal reflexive only had a generic/indeterminate, exclusive interpretation,
and the higher-prestige Tuscan variety on which the literary language is based
(Florentine), where the impersonal reflexive pattern could occur also with an inclu-
sive interpretation. Therefore northern writers/speakers chose the system of rules of
the higher-prestige variety that had a wider range of functions than their native
varieties. This might have led to the innovations introduced by northern writers/
speakers (one of which is the ci–si–V pattern), which then became consolidated in
literary and spoken Italian (Salvi 2010b: 7).
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Synchronic variational data, however, show the occurrence of ci as an impersonal

marker in several Italian dialects from various geographical areas. It is therefore more
plausible to think of a stage of alternations/competition between si and ci in imper-
sonal function, namely as voice markers (e.g. in Tuscan, where both impersonal ci
and si are attested), with ci prevailing in some areas.

4.7 Conclusions
The synchronic and diachronic data investigated show that the spread of the mor-
pheme si (and its variants) to impersonal function might be related to the gradual
extension of its referential domain and its degree of grammaticalization.
There appears to be a correlation between the syntactic contexts in which the
impersonal reflexive occurs and its generic or indeterminate/existential inclusive
interpretation. Dialects where the reflexive never acquires an indefinite/existential
inclusive interpretation show a limited use of this strategy in impersonal patterns.
More specifically, the data point to the existence of two different si’s, reflecting
diffferent diachronic paths converging into an apparently unitary pattern. While
the passive reflexive is a Late Latin development, related to changes in the encoding
of transitivity in the transition from Latin to Romance, the impersonal function of
the reflexive with monovalent verbs is a Romance phenomenon, not equally attested
in the Romance languages and in the Italian dialects, related to a stage where the
reflexive pronoun acquires a non-anaphoric pronominal value, whereby Latin se = is,
occurring also to refer to 1st and 2nd person participants (se = nos).
As for ci in the ci–si–V patterns in Standard Italian, it can be regarded as an
indefinite pronoun, having an indeterminate/existential interpretation, either inclu-
sive or non-inclusive, rather than the phonologically conditioned allomorph of si.