where > relativizer?

[Midori Osumi]

This is not exactly what has been discussed, but I thought that it would be
interesting for you to know that in Japanese there is no relative pronoun,
but when an English relative clause is translated into Japanese, we often
use a term 'tokoro-no' (tokoro means 'place', and no is a possessive marker;
thus 'of the place). This 'tokoro-no' is rather a device to indicate that
there is a relative clase there, so that it is used frequently in English
classes, but in ordinary speech you can omit:

(watashi  ga)     kinoo        atta   tokoro-no         hito
 1sg      S      yesterday     met   place-POSS   person
  'The  person who I met yesterday'

anata   ga     kureta             tokoro-no         hanataba
  2sg    S      gave (to me)   place-POSS   bouquet
  'Flow ers you gave (to me)'

anata   ga    hon   wo    katta    tokoro-no          mise
 2sg    S      book  O     bought   place-POSS   shop
 'The shop where  you bought the book'


Midori Osumi
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