where > relativizer?

[Thomas Blecke]

Hello,
Bambara (Mande) /mín/ is a case in point:
í bá táará mín?   'your mother went where?'
n yé fàlí mín sàn,...   'the donkey which I bought, ...' (I PERFV donkey 
which buy)

Best,
Thomas Blecke

peterarkadiev wrote:
> 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 s(itas 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
>
>   
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