appositive relative clauses

Paul Hopper hopper at CMU.EDU
Wed Jul 18 15:28:40 UTC 2007


I wonder if by "appositive" Lutz is referring to appositional or nonrestrictive relative clauses? As in "These buildings, which were constructed in the 1920s, are vulnerable to earthquakes"? If so, Wolfgang's Arabic examples wouldn't qualify, would they?

Paul

(PS Apologies if this is a duplicate--my previous message seems not to have been sent out.)



> Dear Lutz,
> 
>> Does anyone know of languages having *appositve* relative clauses that
>> do not make use of relative pronouns or particles?
>> 
> Sure. just recall relative clauses in Arabic the head of which is 
> indefinite (the Arabic term is s.ifatun), e.g. (Classical Arabic):
> 
> dimashqu madi:natun fi:ha: `adzha:'ibu kathi:ratun Damascus [is] a=city
> in=it [ar] marvels many 'Damascus is a city in which are many marvels.'
> 
> WALS 122-123 lists further strategies. However, as far as I can see, WALS
> does not discuss in more details appositive relative clauses (that is,
> following their head) without relative pronouns etc. (called gapping in
> WALS). Note that contrary e.g. to English, gapping appositive relative
> clauses can - in Classical Arabic - also mark a referent (Head) in
> 'subject' function (with the relative clause), e.g.
> 
> ra'aitu waladan qad taraka 'aba:hu(:) I=saw a=boy [who] just he=left
> his=father 'I saw a boy who has left his father.
> 
> Best wishes, Wolfgang
> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
> 
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-- 
Paul J. Hopper
Paul Mellon Distinguished Professor of Humanities
Department of English
College of Humanities and Social Sciences
Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, PA 15232, USA
Tel. 412-683-1109
Fax 412-268-7989



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