When three become two

This article reconsiders the evidence for an original ternary complementizer system in the Italo-Greek dialects of southern Italy and how such a system was replicated in the neighbouring Romance dialects under contact. Although the evidence is in many cases fragmentary, given the often recessive nature of the ternary system today, it is demonstrated how an original ternary system was often reanalyzed as a binary system in the modern dialects and how such developments gave rise to different formal outcomes across various Greek and Romance dialects.This article reconsiders the evidence for an original ternary complementizer system in the Italo-Greek dialects of southern Italy and how such a system was replicated in the neighbouring Romance dialects under contact. Although the evidence is in many cases fragmentary, given the often recessive nature of the ternary system today, it is demonstrated how an original ternary system was often reanalyzed as a binary system in the modern dialects and how such developments gave rise to different formal outcomes across various Greek and Romance dialects.