CLIC - South Slavic CLItics in language Contact contexts

In the intricate web of languages, the impact of contact on linguistic structures remains a fascinating puzzle. Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) programme, the CLIC project explores the structural dynamics of clitics in three South Slavic contact varieties: Molise Croatian, Burgenland Croatian, and Torlak. While mainstream Slavic languages have received ample scrutiny, these marginalised and endangered variants have been overlooked. By blending sociolinguistic surveys, elicitation tasks, and corpus analysis, CLIC aims to unveil the complex interplay shaping clitic usage. From the rich clitic system of Molise Croatian to the sparse phenomena in Burgenland Croatian, this project promises not only to document languages, but also to unravel fundamental questions about human language evolution.