A corpus-based analysis of word order variation in Yami relative clause construction

Abstract

AbstractYami relative clauses (RCs) can either precede the head noun, for example,kanakan‘child,’ as inko ni-ma-cita o [ji yákneng] a kanakan‘I saw the child who cannot hold still’, functioning as restrictive RCs ([RC] + a + Head NP), or follow it as inko ni-ma-cita o kanakan a [ji yákneng]‘I saw that child, who cannot hold still’, functioning as nonrestrictive RCs for complementation strategy (Head NP + a + [RC]). The VARBRUL results demonstrate that head final RCs are predominant in Yami, and Yami speakers use them to connect the given referent with the previous discourse to convey given information. The study found that Subject head nouns outnumber other grammatical roles of head NPs, and that Subject head noun with Subject RC construction is produced more than any other RC constructions, which indicates that Yami RCs are used to modify the Subject for topic continuity.