The gender system in the Gallo-Italic minority varieties in Sicily between convergence and diversity

The Gallo-Italic varieties that have been present in Sicily since the 11th century and resisted the language shift towards Sicilian (the dominant code and source language for centuries) exhibit a split behaviour in their grammars: the syntax is conspicuously Sicilianised, while the phonology and some areas of inflectional morphology have remained faithful to the heritage model. The analysis of the gender system of these dialects highlights a convergence with the Sicilian model, insofar they contemplate a binary system with a convergent marking of gender agreement in the plural, except for the San Fratello variety, which shows, especially in certain agreement patterns, characteristics that distinguish it not only from the Sicilian dialects, but also from the other Gallo-Italic varieties. In fact, in Sanfratellano a binary parallel system has been maintained in both the singular and the plural, with traces of alternating gender and other conservative features, such as the gender marking on numeral ‘two’ and a dedicated inflectional mark for the feminine. The reasons for the resistance of this diversity may lie in sociolinguistic motivations.