Connectives and cyclicity

Abstract

This paper focuses on the formal and functional development of Italian allora (< Latin ad illa(m) hora(m) [‘in that hour’]) ‘at that time, then, well’ considering its polyfunctionality and its relationship with the functional space of dunque (‘then, therefore’). The developments of both forms revolve around their functional domains as connectives and as discourse markers which over the centuries have shown different degrees of functional overlap. Even though the two forms show a fairly stable functional overlap, since the twentieth century allora has begun to replace dunque with increasing frequency in many discourse marker functions. This substitution can be described in terms of a semantic–pragmatic cycle, while the formal development of allora from Latin ad illa(m) hora(m) is an instance of a morphological cycle.