ABSTRACT
This chapter re-examines the complex question of the sociolinguistic composition of Italy in the period delimitable as 1000–1300 from a new perspective, that of comparative syntax. It suggests that when viewed through this lens what has traditionally been taken to be a situation of extreme linguistic heterogeneity assumes a considerably more uniform character. The chapter also suggests some classic questions can and should be refocused if an attempt is made to marry syntax and sociolmguistics within a historical context. If syntax serves to articulate meaning, it is natural to see it not as part of the structural system of a natural language, but rather as the means by which a writer or speaker conveys their message. In the sense the traditional and ongoing debate about koineization in medieval Italy has been misstated, because linguists, philologists and literary and cultural historians have chosen to concentrate on only a subset of the available data.
