Interrogatives as relativization markers in Indo-European
The use of interrogative pronouns as relative clause markers is often mentioned as a typical feature of European
languages. This study presents an empirical approach to the distribution of interrogative pronouns as relative clause markers in time and
space in the Indo-European language family. Based on a comprehensive sample of ancient and modern Indo-European languages, it is shown that
interrogative-marked relative clauses are present in all stages of Indo-European within and outside of Europe. An analysis by branch
suggests that this constitutes a case of parallel innovations subsequently spreading via language contact. The study also shows that
interrogatives are used as relative clause markers independently of whether they are inflected pronouns or invariable markers.
Keywords: diachronic typology, interrogatives, relative clauses, Indo-European languages, areal features, morphosyntactic change
Available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC) 4.0 license.
For any use beyond this license, please contact the publisher at rights@benjamins.nl.
Published online: 27 October 2020
https://doi.org/10.1075/dia.19030.aud
https://doi.org/10.1075/dia.19030.aud
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