where > relativizer?

[Yaron Matras]

oh yes !!

Greek /pu/, Romani /kaj/, and southern dialectal German /wo/ are just  
a couple of examples out of many.

Quoting peterarkadiev <peterarkadiev at YANDEX.RU>:

> Dear colleagues,
>
> According to the dictionary of Lithuanian language  
> (http://www.lkz.lt/startas.htm), the wh-word *kur*, whose basic  
> meaning is 'where', can in some dialects be used as a general  
> relativizer similar to English *that*. Cf. a nice example where this  
> word is used both to form a question about location, and to  
> relativize the subject:
>
> Kur tas piemuo, kur gano šitas kiaules?
> where that(NOM.SG) shepherd(NOM.SG) who pasture(PRS.3) pig(ACC.PL)
> 'Where is that shepherd, who (lit. where) pastures pigs?'
>
> I wonder whether this or similar kinds of polysemy are attested  
> cross-linguistically.
>
> Thanks a lot!
>
> With best wishes,
>
> Peter Arkadiev
> Institute of Slavic Studies
> Moscow
>



-- 
Yaron Matras
Professor in Linguistics
School of Languages, Linguistics & Cultures
University of Manchester
Manchester M13 9PL, UK

Phone (direct): (00)44 (0)161 275 3975
Romani project: (00)44 (0)161 275 5999
http://romani.humanities.manchester.ac.uk
http://romani.languagecontact.manchester.ac.uk