Edited by Tsuyoshi Ono and Sandra A. Thompson
[Typological Studies in Language 128] 2020
► pp. 11–42
This paper concerns the grammatical category of Finnish expressions initiated with se että (lit. ‘it that’). In earlier studies based on written data, they have been considered clausal NPs functioning as subjects, objects and complements. In our spoken data, both present-day and older, se että initiated expressions have a wider range of functions. We show that some se että expressions have characteristics of NPs, but others are unlike NPs in certain ways, concluding that the category of NP is not binary, but rather a continuum with fuzzy boundaries. We also show that se että has been grammaticized into a projector phrase which does not initiate complement clauses but rather functions as a sedimented formula in the service of interactional practices.