Edited by Bernard Comrie and Zarina Estrada-Fernández
[Typological Studies in Language 102] 2012
► pp. 97–126
This paper examines the form and function of relative clauses in Yaqui. Two major types of relative clauses are identified, subject relatives marked by -me and non-subject relatives marked by -’u. Additionally, there are three structure types which closely resemble relative units: ‘non-restrictive’ relative clauses, the nominalized complement of certain matrix predicates, and the complement of a seem-like verb. Based on the assumption that nominalization is a gradient phenomenon (Comrie & Thompson 2007; Koptjevskaja-Tamm 1993), it is proposed that Yaqui relative clauses establish different points inside the continuum, i.e. from clauses genuinely modifying a referential element to different degrees of clausal nominalization governed by a main predicate. Functionally, it is shown that true relatives introduce or further establish new information into discourse, whereas non-modifying nominal clauses serve as either appositive units (Keenan 1985; Carlson 1977), or as a core argument. Keywords: relative clauses; nominalization; complementation; Yaqui; UtoAztecan
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