Italy holds special treasures for linguists. There is probably no other area of Europe in which such a profusion of variation, at all levels of linguistic structure, is concentrated into so limited a geographical area.

The principal aim of The Dialects of Italy is to make accessible--both to Romance specialists and to general linguists--the major structural features of the dialects of Italy, and to emphasize the importance of a detailed understanding of the dialects for issues in general linguistic theory. Selected topics include: phonology, morphology, syntax, lexis, the dialect areas and the sociolinguistics of dialects. The contributors, drawn from among the world's foremost experts in Italian dialectology, provide a stimulating range of perspectives and carefully examine the results of recent original research.