Abstract

The article focuses on a well-known phonetic phenomenon typical of the vernaculars of Pisa and Lucca in the Middle Ages, the loss of the plosive element in dental affricates (piassa, Fiorensa). The reconstruction of the chronology of the phenomenon allows to highlight some new features on a Tuscan text of the Origini, the Testimonianze di Travale (1158). In its central part, the essay examines the thesis, commonly accepted in studies, according to which the Pisan-Lucca phenomenon derives from the dialects of northern Italy. On the basis of data obtained from a survey on medieval and modern northern Italo-Romance texts, the fact is highlighted, already noted by Giovanni Battista Borgogno, that the thesis of the northern origin of deaffrication is not supported by documentary evidence.