Relative Clause (RC)

1. Introduction The relative clause is an attributive clause that is used to modify a noun. A relative clause always modifies a head noun by virtue of the fact that the head noun refers to some entity involved in the situation that is described by the relative clause. (1) a. The book that I bought yesterday is very interesting. b. He is not the man who came to visit you yesterday. Keenan and Comries (1977: 66) Accessibility Hierarchy (AH) and Hierarchy Constraints (HC) (2) Accessibility Hierarchy (AH): SU > DO > IO > OBL > GEN > O COMP is more accessible than subject direct object indirect object major oblique case NP (NPs that express arguments of the main predicate, as the chest in John put the money in the chest, rather than ones having a more adverbial function like that day in John left on that day) GEN = genitive (or possessor) NP (e.g. the man in John took the mans hat) O COMP = object of comparison (e.g. the man in John is taller than the man) (3) The Hierarchy Constraints (HCs) a. A language must be able to relativize subjects. b. Any RC-forming strategy must apply to a continuous segment of the AH. c. Strategies that apply at one point of the AH may in principle cease to apply any lower point. + case RC strategy: if the RC presents a nominal element in the restricting clause that unequivocally expresses which NP position is being relativized, and thus we know exactly what the restricting clause is saying about the head NP o Note that RCs in English like the chest in which John put the money are considered case-coding, since the preposition in, which indicates the role of the head NP, is present in the restricting clause. o In addition to the use of relative pronouns, case can be coded in another way in the languages covered in our study. Namely, a personal pronoun can be present in the NP position relativized, as in Hebrew: > SU DO IO OBL = = = = =

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ha- isha she- Yon natan la et ha- sefer the woman that John gave to-her DO the book the woman that John gave the book to A primary RC-forming strategy: if it can be used to relativize subjects RC formation in Chinese and English (Keenan & Comrie 1977: 76) Relative clause forming strategy Chinese (spoken Pekingese) 1. prenom, case 2. prenom, +case English 1. postnom, case 2. postnom, +case Relativizable positions Subject DObj IObj Obl Gen + + + + + +

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OComp +

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Pattern of pronoun retention in Chinese relative clauses SU DO IO OBL GEN OCOMP +/ + + + + Key: means that no pronoun is retained; +/ means that in some cases the pronoun is retained and in others it is not; + means that pronoun retention is obligatory.

2. Relative clause formation in English In English the relative clause follows its head. (7) The man who came to see you yesterday is Mr. Wang. English relative clauses have relative pronouns which stand for nouns and vary morphologically in accordance with the function of the noun which is relativizied in the relative clause and which are also sensitive to the [ HUMAN] feature of that noun. (8) a. The man that/who/*whom is wearing a hat b. The man whom/that John saw c. The book which/that John likes The relative pronoun, like adverbial connectives such as when, where, etc. hs the connective function it helps the demarcation of the main clause and the relative clause. At the same time, it serves the function of narrowing down the possible role that the relativized NP plays in the relative clause.

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Different positions that can be relativized a. I know the man who is standing over there. b. I like the book (that) he bought yesterday. c. I know the man to whom he sent two million dollars. d. This is the shelf on which he used to put his books. e. He was looking for a man whose daughter was a lawyer. f. John does not like the man who Mary is taller than. g. h. i. j. He cannot forget the day when he was arrested. This is the place where he got arrested. That was the reason why he did not go to the party. There is no method by which he can solve that problem.

(Subject) (Direct object) (Indirect object) (Oblique) (Genitive) (Obj. of comparison) (Time) (Place) (Reason) (Method)

Restrictive vs. non-restrictive (cf. Huddleston & Pullums (2005) integrated vs. supplementary): (10) a. The soldiers that/who were brave ran forward. b. The soldiers, who were brave, ran forward. Differences: o Intonationally, the non-restrictive relative clause forms an intonation unit by itself while a restrictive clause does not. o Morphologically, the relative pronoun that is in most cases avoided in the non-restrictive relative clause while it can be freely used in the restrictive relative clause. o In punctuation, a comma is used to separate a non-restrictive relative clause from its head, whereas no comma normally appears between a restrictive relative clause and its head. There is some incongruity between what can be formally established as the restrictive relative and what can be functionally identified as such.

(11) Theres something (that) keeps upsetting him. (12) I have a friend who loves anything Chinese. Here the relative clause actually has more of an assertive function than an identifying function. Sentence relative clause: which points back not to an NP but to a whole clause or sentence (or even a sequence of sentences)

(13) a. He admires Mrs. Brown, which surprises me. b. He admires Mrs. Brown, which I find strange.

3. Relative clause formation in Mandarin In Chinese the relative clause precedes its head in the surface structure. (14) a. Zutin li kn n-de ni-ge rn shi Wng Xinsheng. (S) yesterday came see you-DE that-CL person be Wang Mr. The man who came to see you yesterday is Mr. Wang. b. Zhngsn yoqng-de ni-ge rn yijing li-le. Zhangsan invite-DE that-CL person already come-PERF The person that Zhangsan invited has already arrived. (DO)

c. Zhngsn b sh w j-gi t y-fng xn-de ni-ge rn. (IO) Zhangsan not be I send-to him one-CL letter-DE that-CL person Zhangsan is not the person to whom I sent a letter. d. Zh sh t guq fng sh-de shji. this be he in.the.past put book-DE book.shelf This is the bookshelf on which he put his books. (Oblique)

e. Ynjng dd-de ni-ge rn sh t gge. (Genitive) eye big-DE that-CL person be he older.brother The person whose eyes are big is his older brother. f. ?W b xhuan Zhngsn b t go-de ni-ge rn. (Comparison) I not like Zhangsan than him taller-DE that-CL person I dont like the person that Zhangsan is taller than. g. Zh sh lin zqi de ho jji. this be practice soccer DE good season This is a good season when one practices soccer. h. Zh sh Zhngsn hu hur de fngjin. this be Zhangsan paint painting DE room This is the room where Zhangsan does his painting. i. Zh ji sh w li zhr de this exactly be I come here DE This is exactly the reason why I came here yunyn. reason (Time)

(Location)

(Reason)

j.

Zh ji sh pshu t u dngx de fngf. (Method) this exactly be pickpocket steal thing NOM method This is exactly the method by which pickpockets steal things 4

Restrictive vs. non-restrictive: not a clear distinction (15) a. N yo-de ni sn-ben sh zi w jili. you want-DE that three-CL book at my place The three books you want are at my place. b. Ni sn-ben n yo-de sh zi w jili. that three-CL you want-DE book at my place The three books you want are at my place. Chao (1968) characterizes the relative clause in (15a) as restrictive in function, and that in (15b) as descriptive in function. (16) a. Niyu, zhi-ge rnrn dou xiode-de chngsh New.York this-CL everyone all know-DE city This city, New York, which everyone knows b. *Niyu, rnrn dou xiode-de zhi-ge chngsh New.York everyone all know-de this-CL city

Reminder
Be prepared for a quiz on materials covered since the mid-term exam.