Relative clauses and nominalizations in Yaqui
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Albert Álvarez González
Abstract
This paper focuses on the different types of relative clauses (RCls) in Yaqui, a Uto-Aztecan language spoken in northwestern Mexico, demonstrating, on the basis of the nominalization properties exhibited by these types of construction, that they are in fact better analyzed as noun phrases headed by a nominalized verb. After reviewing the main features used in the literature to define RCls and presenting the major relativization types identified cross-linguistically, the different constructions that exist in Yaqui to relativize subject, object, indirect object, oblique and locative complements, are described. As these constructions show different nominalization properties, the nominal (non-finite) and verbal (finite) characteristics associated with the Yaqui RCls are explored in greater detail in the next section. Based on this survey of finiteness in Yaqui RCls, relativization in Yaqui is then considered as a nominalization process in which a finite verbal clause is adjusted to a noun phrase in order to be used as a modifier of the head noun. The last section provides a discussion about the connection between relativization and nominalization, and the characteristics of two different types of nominalization: lexical and clausal. Finally, the notion of referentialization, the act of referring to an entity, is proposed to refer to the nominalization function and to explain how clausal nominalization can be the basis of relativization in a large number of languages around the world, as is the case in Yaqui. Keywords: Relativization; nominalization; finiteness; referentialization
Abstract
This paper focuses on the different types of relative clauses (RCls) in Yaqui, a Uto-Aztecan language spoken in northwestern Mexico, demonstrating, on the basis of the nominalization properties exhibited by these types of construction, that they are in fact better analyzed as noun phrases headed by a nominalized verb. After reviewing the main features used in the literature to define RCls and presenting the major relativization types identified cross-linguistically, the different constructions that exist in Yaqui to relativize subject, object, indirect object, oblique and locative complements, are described. As these constructions show different nominalization properties, the nominal (non-finite) and verbal (finite) characteristics associated with the Yaqui RCls are explored in greater detail in the next section. Based on this survey of finiteness in Yaqui RCls, relativization in Yaqui is then considered as a nominalization process in which a finite verbal clause is adjusted to a noun phrase in order to be used as a modifier of the head noun. The last section provides a discussion about the connection between relativization and nominalization, and the characteristics of two different types of nominalization: lexical and clausal. Finally, the notion of referentialization, the act of referring to an entity, is proposed to refer to the nominalization function and to explain how clausal nominalization can be the basis of relativization in a large number of languages around the world, as is the case in Yaqui. Keywords: Relativization; nominalization; finiteness; referentialization
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- map vii
- Introduction ix
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Part I. Diachrony, typology, and theory
- Toward a diachronic typology of relative clause 3
- The evolution of language and elaborateness of grammar 27
- Some issues in the linking between syntax and semantics in relative clauses 47
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Part II. Uto-Aztecan
- Relative clauses and nominalizations in Yaqui 67
- On relative clauses and related constructions in Yaqui 97
- From demonstrative to relative marker to clause linker 127
- Functional underpinnings of diachrony in relative clause formation 147
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Part III. Elsewhere in the Americas
- Clauses as noun modifiers in Toba (Guaycuruan) 173
- Between headed and headless relative clauses 191
- Relative clauses in Seri 213
- Relative clauses in Gavião of Rondônia 243
- Relative clauses in Yucatec Maya 253
- Questionable relatives 269
- Language and language family index 301
- Name index 303
- Subject index 305
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- map vii
- Introduction ix
-
Part I. Diachrony, typology, and theory
- Toward a diachronic typology of relative clause 3
- The evolution of language and elaborateness of grammar 27
- Some issues in the linking between syntax and semantics in relative clauses 47
-
Part II. Uto-Aztecan
- Relative clauses and nominalizations in Yaqui 67
- On relative clauses and related constructions in Yaqui 97
- From demonstrative to relative marker to clause linker 127
- Functional underpinnings of diachrony in relative clause formation 147
-
Part III. Elsewhere in the Americas
- Clauses as noun modifiers in Toba (Guaycuruan) 173
- Between headed and headless relative clauses 191
- Relative clauses in Seri 213
- Relative clauses in Gavião of Rondônia 243
- Relative clauses in Yucatec Maya 253
- Questionable relatives 269
- Language and language family index 301
- Name index 303
- Subject index 305
