Genitive relative constructions and agent incorporation in Tongan
- Author(s): Yuko Otsuka 1
-
View Affiliations Hide AffiliationsAffiliations:1 University of Hawai‘i at Manoa
- Source: Austronesian and Theoretical Linguistics , pp 117-140
- Publication Date December 2010
Polynesian languages commonly use the genitive relative construction (GRC) for non-subject relatives, in which the thematic subject of the relative clause is realized as a genitive that seemingly modifies the head noun. In Tongan, the GRC shows additional idiosyncratic properties: (a) The relative clause must contain a transitive verb; (b) the thematic subject of a relative clause must be pronominal; and (c) the genitive must be preposed. This study argues that these facts can be accounted for by assuming that (a) the relative clause of a GRC is an agentless transitive construction; (b) the genitive is base generated; and (c) the genitive is interpreted as the thematic subject of the relative clause through pragmatic rather than syntactic means.
- Affiliations: 1: University of Hawai‘i at Manoa
-
From This Site
/content/books/9789027287755-la.167.09otsdcterms_subject,pub_keyword-contentType:Journal105