Organized by : Languages, Dialects and Isoglosses of Anatolia, the Caucasus and Iran (Labex EFL - INALCO)

Discussant : Michèle Sigler, London

Abstract : 

Armenian is generally described as a language having finite RCs introduced by a relative pronoun as its primary strategy. However, it also possesses an invariant clause linker derived from a relative pronoun, and data from a corpus of colloquial spoken language show that this, like its Georgian equivalent rom, is frequently used to introduce RCs, as well as other types of subordinate clauses. The Armenian and Georgian constructions in question share the property, typologically unusual for RCs introduced by an invariant clause-linker, that they allow the relativized element to appear as a full NP in RC case. A common configuration has the relativized NP of a left-adjoined RC preposed (topicalized) ahead of the clause-linker, a position that is paralleled by topical elements in other types of…