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Free Relative Clauses in Two Mixtec Languages

2013; University of Chicago Press; Volume: 79; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1086/668608

1545-7001

Ivano Caponigro, Harold Torrence, Carlos Javier Cisneros,

Linguistic Variation and Morphology

Two previously unstudied Mixtec languages—Nieves Mixtec and Melchor Ocampo Mixtec—are investigated, with special emphasis on free relative clauses and two related wh-constructions: interrogative wh-clauses and headed relative clauses. It is shown that both Mixtec languages make use of most wh-words found in interrogatives to form free relatives, i.e., non-interrogative wh-clauses like the bracketed one in Luca tasted [what Adam cooked]. Both languages exhibit the three kinds of free relatives that are attested cross-linguistically: definite free relatives (with the distribution and interpretation of defnite descriptions like in the example above), existential free relatives (occurring in the complement position of existential constructions), and -ever free relatives (occurring as arguments like I'll do [whatever you say] or as clausal adjuncts like [Whatever you say], I won't change my mind). Similarities and diferences are discussed between free relative clauses and headed relative clauses in both languages and between Mixtec wh-constructions and cross-linguistic patterns.[KEYWORDS: Nieves Mixtec, Melchor Ocampo Mixtec, wh-words, wh-constructions, free relative clauses]