Settentrionalismi di epoca medievale del lessico siciliano e lavoro sommerso delle donne

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to reconstruct the lexical change resulting from interlinguistic contact in a good many varieties of Sicilian, through the analysis of seven lexemes of Northern Italian origin, dating back to the period of the Gallo-Italic immigration to Sicily encouraged by the Normans (XII-XIII centuries). The lexemes in question are related to the semantic field of traditional indoor and outdoor female activities (spinning and weaving, kitchen and tool management and laundry care, to name just a few). These lexemes thus shed new light not only on how women used to speak, but also on their history and everyday life.