Perché i colori chiassosi non fanno chiasso?. Vincoli semantici e sintattici sulle associazioni sinestetiche

The literature on synaesthesia has often remarked the occurrence of the phenome- non within the Noun Phrase. The typical syntactic configuration is normally composed of a Noun [perception x] and an Adjective [perception y], whereas the Verbal Phrase appears to be unavailable for synaesthetic associations. In the paper, the syntactic configurations involving a perceptive verb are dealt with reference to the Italian language, by taking into account relevant semantic and functional constraints. Despite the number of possible surface syntactic combinations, all verbs used in the synaesthetic domain express an attributive function more than a predicative one. On the other hand, the ungrammaticality of the syntactic pattern Verb [perception x] + Noun Object [perception y] is due to the selection preferences of the Verb, whereas the lack of a combination like Noun Subject [perception x] + Verb [perception y] is due to the positive marking of the features of animacy, agentivity and intentionality required by a prototypical Subject. Verbs derived by nouns and adjectives belonging to the semantic area of perception are also discussed and considered as a special kind of the same attribu- tive function occurring in the corresponding Noun Phrases.