La reduplicazione nella codifica della maniera

Reduplication displays a number of functions ranging from the expression of plurality to the encoding of progressive aspect and of intensity. In Italian, it can also convey manner, specifying the way a given process is carried out or how a state manifests itself. Through the strategy at stake, complex expressions are created with the purpose of conveying the meaning of manner based on the duplication of the main parts of speech. The paper consists of two parts. Firstly, we aim to outline a semantic taxonomy of the main and frequent manner reduplications as observed in some specific diaphasic and diatopic varieties of Italian. In the second part of the paper, we will focus on Sicilian, where reduplication acquires values connected with the semantic fields of effort/difficulty, slowness, or intensity through metonymic and metaphorical shifts of originally locative and quantificative meanings. We will adopt a usage-based approach, i.e., corpus data, spoken language data, along with consulting lexicographic sources as far as the variety of Sicilian is concerned.