950 ronnie ferguson
On the basis of the research-outcomes, it was possible to draw plau-
sible conclusions about the origins and early development of Venetian.
the results lent strong support to the hypothesis that Venetian arose as
a koiné forged from north-eastern and central-southern Veneto mainland
inputs. the evolution of eV from structural polymorphy to relative reg-
ularity over a period of centuries appeared as a paradigmatic example
of combined demographic and linguistic inputs generating a long-term
koineization dynamic. the data pointed to the classic koineization pro-
cesses: interaction of related dialects; initial high-level variability followed
by accommodation, leveling, and restructuring, leading to the formation
of new, stable norms; and the reallocation of discarded features. the
data also allowed the conclusion that of the two contributory streams
to the new koiné, the greater influence was exerted by the north-eastern
Veneto type.
Between 1400 and 1500, in the final phase of eV, the emerging Venetian
written norm was attracted and influenced by two prestigious external
models: the written lingua franca common in the chanceries of north-
ern italy,51 and tuscan. By the early MidV period these influences had
to some extent conditioned even spoken Venetian towards less extreme
Veneto norms and towards more italianizing ones—in line with the sug-
gestion that some of the distinctive north-eastern Veneto elements within
eV were removed “from above.” at the same time, the irresistible rise of
tuscan/italian drastically curtailed the unmarked use of Venetian in writ-
ing. at the very moment when Latin was ceasing to be hegemonic, the
codified language of the italian elites eased venexian out of its position as
the preferred written vernacular of the state of Venice.
- Venetian 1500–1797: From Language to Dialect
a watershed moment in the status history of Venetian occurred around
1500, but in an unobtrusive, matter-of-fact way that singles Venice
out in the european linguistic context. in a number of major western
european states, the early 16th century saw the affirmation of national
self-consciousness and, with it, national languages. this vernacular
51 glauco Sanga, “La lingua lombarda: dalla koinè alto-italiana delle Origini alla lin-
gua cortegiana,” in Sanga, ed., Koinè in Italia dalle Origini al Cinquecento (Bergamo, 1990),
pp. 76–163.