Abstract

The origin of the Northern Italian first person plural ending -om, and its cognates in Lad. -un and Fr. -ons, represents one of the unsolved problems of Romance historical linguistics. In this article we draw the boundaries of the phenomenon, in space, time and system. The different etiological hypotheses are then reviewed, pointing out their aporias. Finally, a new explanation is proposed that calls into question the relationship between first person singular and plural, and locates the innovation as originating among those spreading from Gallia Lugdunensis in the late imperial period.