Abstract

The paper deals with the use of the particle tanto and its semantic structure in spoken Italian from an interactional perspective. The analysis shows that there are at least three different uses of tanto as a particle. All three uses are characterized by a particular sequential and syntactic position, a specific prosodic realization, different contextual restrictions, and a specific semantic structure. The second part of the paper takes a diachronic perspective and analyzes the question of how the particle tanto could have developed out of the original use of tanto as a quantifier. It discusses the hypothesis that the development of tanto was triggered by a rhetorical use at earlier stages and can be related to processes of subjectification.