European relative clauses and the uniqueness of the relative pronoun type

Abstract

European resumptive-introductory relative pronouns and the correspondent type of relative clause are one of the core properties of the Standard Average European. (Indo)-European languages are typologically isolated in having developed a clause-initial case-marked pronoun that introduces a relative clause. Taking into account not only the standard, but also the non-standard, language’s usages, especially considering differences between speech and writing, the paper argues in favour of a more complex view about European relative clauses. European relative pronouns come from two different evolutionary lines. Continental West Germanic languages (Dutch, German) maintain and still use an inflected (Indo-European) relative pronoun while Romance languages, Greek, and English adopt a mixed system where an inflected relative pronoun alternates with an invariant marker introducing relative clauses and it is the last form that better continues the IE form. In fact, in these same languages the ‘new’ relative pronoun (from *ille qualis) is a Medieval (at least XII century) innovation originated in a common written (literary) tradition, influenced by Latin language. So, the diffusion in Europe of the relative pronoun strategy reflects the ‘sharing’ of a common (written) cultural tradition. Its written origins explain the relative uniqueness of the relative pronoun strategy if cross-linguistically considered. *

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