ΤΟ ΦΑΙΝΟΜΕΝΟ ΤΗΣ ΧΑΣΜΩΔΙΑΣ ΣΤΗ ΔΙΑΛΕΚΤΟ ΤΩΝ ΜΕΓΑΡΩΝ: ΣΥΓΧΡΟΝΙΚΗ ΚΑΙ ΔΙΑΧΡΟΝΙΚΗ ΠΡΟΣΕΓΓΙΣΗ

Abstract

The term vowel hiatus usually refers to sequences of adjacent vowels, which in phonological theory are commonly assumed to be unstable (Kenstowicz, 1994). Many languages do not tolerate vowel hiatus in a variety of contexts; where hiatus would arise in such languages through syntactic or morphological processes, it is typically eliminated (Casali, 1997; 2011). The present paper examines two contrastive perspectives on hiatus phenomena in a particular dialectal variety of Modern Greek, namely the dialect of Megara, in which vowel hiatus is permitted quite freely, contrary to what happens in other dialectal varieties of Modern Greek or cross-linguistically. On a synchronic perspective, a comprehensive survey of hiatus patterns in Megarian is offered, together with data exemplifying parallel cross-linguistic patterns. Part of the interest is that the synchronic perspective reveals the important role of Morphology in influencing hiatus resolution. The synchronic perspective is complemented by a diachronic account which provides an exhaustive presentation of the evolution of hiatus phenomena in Greek, and discusses the differences between different dialectal varieties of Modern Greek with respect to hiatus patterns. Both perspectives reveal the important role of Megarian for the investigation of hiatus phenomena not only in Greek varieties, but also cross-linguistically.