Selected Papers from the Fourteenth International ... - STIBA Malang

Syntactic dialectal variation in Middle English 147
− Wh-relatives (illustrating the pronominal relativization strategy), introduced
by a form of the paradigm of the pronominal relativizers, as in:
(1) The person [ RC with whom I usually go to exotic countries] is a box of surprises.
− That relatives (illustrating the invariable relativization strategy), introduced
by an invariable complementizer:
(2) The class [ RC that I have enjoyed most] was about relative clauses in early
English.
− Zero or unintroduced relatives (illustrating the gap relativization strategy):
(3) The song [ RC Ø I was thinking about] suddenly started to play in my favourite
station.
The same three relativization strategies were present in Old English (Traugott
1992: 224–228 and Fischer et al. 2000: 58–61). These are:
• Pronominal relativization strategy, represented by se (4) and seþe (5) relative
clauses:
(4) Eower Fæder [ RC se on heofenum is], wat hwæs eow
Your Father Rel in heaven is knew what your
þearf biþ
necessity is
“Your Father who is in heaven knows what is necessary for you’.”
[Q O2/3 IR HOM BLICK 6: 103]
(5) Ða fif bec [ RC on ðam ðe is Godes æ]
the five books in Rel is God’s law
“the five books in which God´s law is found’.” [Q O3 IR RELT LWSTAN 1: 10]
The relative pronoun is moved to the front of the relative clause irrespective of the
syntactic function it plays (subject in (4) or complement of a pied-piped preposition
in (5)). It agrees in gender and number with the antecedent it resumes, and its case
depends on the syntactic function it realizes in the relative clause.
• Invariable relativization strategy, represented by þe and þat relative clauses, as
the following examples illustrate:
(6) Forþon þære burge nama [ RC þe is nemmed
Because the city name Rel is called
Gerusalem] is gereht sibbe gesyhþ
Jesuralem means of-peace sight
“For the name of the city which is called Jerusalem signifies ‘sight of peace.’’’
[Q O2/3 IR HOM BLICK 6: 25]