The phenomenon of neg1 omission/retention — A regional analysis using the Atlas linguistique de la France —

In this study, we analyzed the tendencies in the omission and retention of pre-verbal negative adverb (neg1) using the Atlas linguistique de la France. The analysis focused on 631 points and 11 maps, conducting statistical analyses from two perspectives: regionality (five linguistic regions) and map type (=morphosyntactic perspective). In the French-speaking regions, neg1 tended to be retained in peripheral areas, while variability in the omission/retention of neg1 was observed around Paris. In the Occitan-speaking regions, except for Gascony, there was a strong tendency for neg1 to be omitted. In the Francoprovençal-speaking regions, neg1 tended to be omitted in Aosta, Italy, and Valais, Switzerland, but it was generally retained in other areas. In the Catalan-speaking regions, neg1 was typically omitted, while in the Ligurian-speaking region, neg1 was retained. However, no statistically significant differences were found between linguistic regions and the omission/retention of neg1. On the other hand, statistically significant differences were observed regarding map type. It was found that neg1 was more likely to be retained when the subject was a determiner phrase (DP) or a proper noun, and more likely to be omitted in constructions like moi je [disjunctive form + subject pronoun]. Moreover, in modern spoken French, ne tends to be retained when the subject is nous or vous, whereas this tendency was not observed in negative sentences where the map names included nous or vous. This discrepancy can be attributed to the fact that the personal pronouns used in the responses obtained from the dialect surveys do not necessarily match those used in the map names. These findings suggest that the morphosyntax of negative sentences has a greater influence on the omission/retention of neg1 than regionality.