The mirative values of Italian altro che

The Italian linguistic construction [altro che X] (lit. 'other than X', also manifested as altroche) is attested in contemporary Italian with two mirative functions, "mirative rejection" and "mirative confirmation", respectively. Based on the CODIT corpus of Italian, this study aims to delineate the evolutionary trajectory of [altro che X] from its original meaning 'other than/different from' to its current mirative values of rejection and confirmation. Furthermore, it seeks to demonstrate that the mirative functions of [altro che X] are the culmination of a single diachronic pathway, prominently influenced by dialogic, corrective and exclamatory contexts. Finally, drawing from the diachronic evolution of [altro che X], this paper proposes an expanded interpretation of mirativity, encompassing not only surprise triggered by a specific entity or event (first-level mirativity), but also surprise triggered by some expectation regarding the validity or invalidity of an entity or event (second-level).