Complementizers for reported speech

[Kilu von Prince]

Thank you for the information and for the offer, on which we're glad
to take you up!


On Thu, Feb 28, 2013 at 3:01 PM, Wiemer, Bjoern <wiemerb at uni-mainz.de> wrote:
> Dear colleagues,
> I would like to correct the claim that Pol. "jakoby" as a complementizer is
> restricted to verbs of saying. It still occurs after SEEM-verbs as well;
> compare e.g. an example from Łojasiewicz (1992: 105):
>
> (1)   Zdaje                 mi             się,         jakoby-m
> słyszał           jakieś wołanie.
>         seem.prs.2sg    me.dat     refl                    -1.sg
> hear.pst.m    some shouting
>          'I t seems to me that / as if there is some shouting = that sb. is
> shouting.'
>
> This usage has been on its retreat (probably for a couple of centuries
> already). But "jakoby" is well attested still as an adnominal modifier
> (close in function to a complementizer) after nouns denoting mental acts;
> compare [note that the finite verb of the complement introduced by "jakoby"
> is always in the form of the past, although it may refer to the present or
> future, as well]:
>
> (2)   By-ł-o-by                     błędem         sądzić, jakoby
> młodzież (...)                     nie     kocha-ł-a
> swego             miasta.
>         cop-pst-3sg-subj        mistake.ins  think.inf
> young_people.nom.f       neg    love.pst.3sg.subj.f poss.refl.gen  town.gen
>         'It would be a mistake to think that/as if the young people don't
> like their town.'
>
> (3)    Nie     znajduje         potwierdzenia         domysł,         jakoby
> aktywiści             rekrutowa-l-i       się     w większości spośród
> ludzi .
>          neg    find.prs.3sg    confirmation.gen    opinion.nom
> activists.nom      recrute.pst.3pl   refl    in majority     from.among
> people.gen
>          pokrzywdzonych         przez los (...).
>          handicapped.gen.pl    through fate
>          'One cannot find cofirnmed the opinion according to which [= as
> if/that] activists [from a given political group] in their majority come
> from people who have experienced bad
>         things from fate.'
>
> Sorry for the somewhat clumsy ad hoc-translations into English (meant as
> rendering the sene of the original as closely as possible to its wording).
> In any case, one the topic has been raised I find it sensible to add the
> following question:
>     If you happen to find such complementizers, due you find it also (and,
> maybe, even predominantly) as an adnominal modifier (= head of a relative
> clause) for nouns denoting thoughts, opinions and other mental states?
>     Moreover, do you know anything about their diachronic development and
> whether in this development the respective marker (at an initial stage) was
> associated with irreal comparisons (thence its meaning "as if")?
>
> I haven't asked Kilu von Prince  beforehand (neither the colleague who asked
> her to send the request and whose identify seems to be clear to me :-) --
> pozdrowienia!), but I suggest that you can send answers to my additional
> questions to me, too, and that then we compose a digest/summary together
> with Kilu. Okay?
>
> Best,
> Björn Wiemer.
>
>
>
>
>> Dear LINGTYP members,
>>
>> a colleague of mine has alerted me to the existence of a
>> complementizer in Polish, "jakoby" which is restricted exclusively to
>> verbs of saying. Two examples are given below. We would like to know
>> if you are aware of any other languages that have a complementizer
>> with similar restrictions. I will post a summary of your responses.
>>
>> Best,
>> Kilu
>>
>> Autor twierdzi, [jakoby pisarz dobrowolnie wstąpił do Waffen-SS]
>> author.NOM claims jakoby writer.NOM voluntarily join.3SG.M.l-PTCP to
>> Waffen-SS
>> 'The author claims that the writer (supposedly) joined the Waffen-SS
>> voluntarily.'
>>
>> Firma zaprzeczyła, [jakoby były zgłoszenia o wadliwych kartach]
>> company.NOM deny.3SG.F.l-PTCP.PERF jakoby be.PL.N-VIR.l-PTCP
>> reports.NOM about faulty cards.LOC
>> 'The company denied that there (supposedly) were any reports about
>> faulty prepaid cards.'
>>
>>
>
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-- 
Kilu von Prince
Zentrum für Allgemeine Sprachwissenschaft (Center for General Linguistics)
Schützenstr. 18
10117 Berlin
Phone: +49 30 20192 422
Email: prince at zas.gwz-berlin.de