What Formosan prenominal relativization can tell us about word order

Arthur Holmer holder foredrag i Lingvistkredsen om ledstillingstypologi og prænominale relativsætninger i formosanske sprog.

Arthur Holmer er typolog og docent i almen sprogvidenskab ved Lunds Universitet. Han har bl.a. forsket i ledstillingstypologi og informationsstruktur og ergative og ergativlignende sprogs morfosyntaks. Han har bl.a. arbejdet med mandarinkinesisk, baskisk, kammu (mon-khmer) og en række formosanske sprog (austronesiske sprog på Taiwan), heriblandt seediq. I sin forskning i formosanske sprog har han bl.a. beskæftiget sig med adverbielle verber og rækkefølgeprincipper for adverbier. Han er desuden medforfatter til lærebogen Språket, människan och världen (Studentlitteratur, 2014).

Abstract

The Formosan languages (aboriginal Austronesian languages of Taiwan) display fairly head-initial structure, e.g. most have either VOS or VSO word order. In the light of this, it is quite unexpected that several of them have prenominal relative clauses, either as a possibility or as the unmarked ordering. After reviewing various alternative accounts, it will be argued that Rel-N ordering in Formosan is the reflection of head-internal relativization combined with obligatorily subject-oriented relativization and underlying VOS order. In some cases, a Rel-N NP is linearly indistinguishable from the corresponding matrix clause. Under this account, Rel-N order can straightforwardly be derived, and it is rather N-Rel order which is unexpected. It will be shown, based on data from three Formosan languages, that N-Rel is found more frequently in contexts where matrix clauses more typically display VOS order. This would imply that N-Rel order serves to disambiguate a relative clause from the matrix clause it corresponds to, suggesting that structural disambiguation is one factor affecting word order. Other evidence for this view will be shown, and possible consequences outlined.

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