Morpho-syntactic and semantic properties of finiteness in Telugu relative clauses

Abstract

One of the most challenging and interesting notions in descriptive and theoretical linguistics is finiteness. In Telugu, it doesn’t contribute towards direct analysis and is a complicated phenomenon. This paper explores how different grammatical theories represent the finiteness; the nature of the finiteness in relation to Telugu relative clauses; and how morpho-syntactic and semantic properties decide whether a clause is finite or non-finite. It also investigates the notion of finiteness and formulates criteria to decide it in Telugu. It further explains two types of relative clauses namely Dravidian (Dr) type and Indo-Aryan (IA) type and takes up the Indigenous Dr type first and sees to what extent it meets the criteria for finiteness. Second, the IA type that Telugu and Dr Languages borrowed from Sanskrit is in some ways different from the original IA correlative although it is modelled on that pattern. Dr correlative is always pre-nominal and it uses an interrogative pronoun unlike the correlatives in Hindi and other IA languages which use relative pronouns. However, based on theoretical and empirical evidence, this paper provides a description of both these Telugu relative clauses and explores how finiteness is realized in terms of formal and functional perspectives.