Abstract
This paper aims to discover the structure of relative clauses in Basque. Three conflicting analyses have been proposed for Basque RCs: the Head External Analysis (Oyharçabal, 1988; Artiagoitia, 1992; Rebuschi, 2003), the Head Raising Analysis (Vicente, 2002) and the Matching Analysis (de Rijk, 1972). The results of the experimental data collection confirm that Basque follows the head raising strategy to build RCs with an ergative or absolutive gap. These data were obtained through four experiments in which 32 Basque native speakers (16 male/16 female) participated. The first test is a grammaticality judgment task to test island-sensitivity. The second one is an interpretation task to test idiom interpretation. The third and fourth are an associated pictures match task to test scope interaction and interpretation of adjectival modifiers respectively. Additionally, native speaker introspection and grammaticality judgment under direct elicitation show that Basque also uses the head raising strategy to construct RCs with a dative or inessive gap.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
