Relative clauses in languages of the Americas : a typological overview / edited by Bernard Comrie, Zarina Estrada-Fernández.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Comrie, Bernard, 1947-

Estrada Fernández, Zarina.

Series:

Typological Studies in Language

Typological studies in language ; v. 102

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Grammar, Comparative and general--Relative clauses.

Grammar, Comparative and general.

Complexity (Linguistics).

America--Languages--Research--History.

America.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (321 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Amsterdam ; Philadelphia : John Benjamins, 2012.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Patterns of relative clause formation tend to vary according to the typological properties of a language. Highly polysynthetic languages tend to have fully nominalized relative clauses and no relative pronouns, while other typologically diverse languages tend to have relative clauses which are similar to main or independent clauses. Languages of the Americas, with their rich genetic diversity, have all been under the influence of European languages, whether Spanish, English or Portuguese, a situation that may be expected to have influenced their grammatical patterns. The present volume focuses on two tasks: The first deals with the discussion of functional principles related to relative clause formation: diachrony and paths of grammaticalization, simplicity vs. complexity, and formalization of rules to capture semantic-syntactic correlations. The second provides a typological overview of relative clauses in nine different languages going from north to south in the Americas.

Contents:

Relative Clauses in Languages of the Americas; Editorial page; Title page; LCC data; Table of Contents; Map of Languages Mentioned; Introduction; Toward a diachronic typology of relative clause; 1. Introduction; 1.1 Background; 1.2 Reconstruction methods; 2. From clause-chaining ('conjunction') to embedding; 3. From parenthetical to non-restrictive to embedded REL-clauses; 4. Making sense of nominalized REL-clauses; 5. A note on word-order; 6. Cleft and WH-questions: From parataxis to syntaxis; 7. Some tentative conclusions; Abbreviations; References

The evolution of language and elaborateness of grammar1. Introduction; 2. Encoding the relative clause construction in the languages of the world; 3. How do creoles mark relativization?; 4. Simplification/complexification and language contact; 5. Discussion; Abbreviations; Appendix 1; Appendix 2; References; Some issues in the linking between syntax and semantics in relative clauses; 1. Introduction; 2. The RRG analysis of clause structure and the linking algorithm; 3. Externally-headed relative clauses; 4. Internally-headed relative clauses; 5. Conclusion; References; Part ii Uto-Aztecan

Relative clauses and nominalizations in Yaqui1. Introduction; 2. Relative clauses; 2.1 Definition; 2.2 Relativization types; 3. Relative clauses in Yaqui; 3.1 Subject relativization; 3.2 Direct object relativization; 3.3 Indirect object relativization; 3.4 Oblique relativization; 3.5 Locative oblique relativization; 4. Nominalization properties of Yaqui RCls; 4.1 Nominal characteristics; 4.1.1 Subject-RCl marker: suffix -me; 4.1.2 Non-subject-RCl marker: suffix -'u; 4.1.3 Locative oblique-RCl marker-: suffix -'Vpo; 4.2 Verbal characteristics; 5. Relativization vs. nominalization

5.1 Relativization5.2 Nominalization; 6. Final remarks; References; On relative clauses and related constructions in Yaqui; 1. Introduction; 2. Characterizing Yaqui Rel-clauses; 2.1 Basic morpho-syntactic properties of Yaqui; 2.2 The internal syntax of Rel-clauses; 2.3 Other functions of the suffix -me; 3. The nature and function of Yaqui Rel-clauses; 4. Distinguishing relatives from complements; 5. Discussion; 6. Final remarks; References; From demonstrative to relative marker to clause linker; 1. Introduction; 2. Basic facts of the language

3. Subject and object relative clauses in Pima Bajo4. The comparative scenario and the origin of the relativizer -kig; 5. Oblique constructions: -kig as a path to a clause linker; 6. Final remarks: Typological properties and linguistic change; References; Functional underpinnings of diachrony in relative clause formation; 1. Introduction; 1.1 Relevant basic clause properties/Typological profile; 1.2 Possession in Northern paiute; 1.3 Nominalizers in Northern paiute; 2. Relative clauses in Northern Paiute: A typological profile; 2.1 Subject relative clauses: Basic properties

2.2 Object relative clauses: Basic properties

Notes:

Selected papers from Seminar on Linguistic Complexity held at the University of Sonora, Hermosillo, Mexico.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9786613906793

9781283594349

128359434X

9789027273390

9027273391

OCLC:

811502659