I connettivi perché e weil come introduttori di enunciati autonomi nei giornali di oggi. Un’analisi corpus-based

The aim of this paper is, first of all, to outline the contemporary uses of causal structures in Italian writing, focusing on some less canonical syntactic and textual manifestations. These non-prototypical constructs will be, then, compared with the corresponding ones in German. The analysis that will be presented are based on qualitative and quantitative data derived from corpora of Italian and German newspaper writing. As far as the Italian language, the paper will focus on the causal connective perché: after presenting its frequency of use compared to the other causal connectives, we will discuss some of its most common syntactic and informative-textual configurations, with particular reference to the case in which perché introduces an independent utterance, preceded by a strong punctuation mark. Right this last use will be observed also in German newspapers, thanks to a preliminary survey that will focus on the causal connective weil. For both languages we will consider the frequency of this peculiar use, as well as its possible forms and textual functions, in order to highlight analogies and differences between German and Italian.