Rationale and Purposive Clauses in Comanche

Abstract

The following examination brings to light the form and meaning of rationale clauses in Comanche, which had heretofore been unobserved in this endangered Uto-Aztecan language spoken primarily in Oklahoma. Rationale clauses in the language are argued to be a type of subordinate construction with an interesting protocol for gap formation. The construction is compared and contrasted with other subordinate constructions, especially nominalized clauses, which are discovered to offer a purposive clause interpretation as a potential alternative to a relative clause interpretation. The contrasts explored between them serve to show that the rationale clause occupies its own distinct construction in Comanche, in spite of an amalgamation of characteristics it has in common with nominalized purposive clauses and other subordinate constructions. The contrasts also serve to illuminate the distinctive meaning and function of the clause type in Comanche specifically and for rationale clauses more generally.