The typology of relative clause formation in Zaza

 

 

Contents

Abbreviations

Introduction

1. Simplex Sentences

2. Relative Clauses

Conclusion

Bibliography

 

Abbreviations

Abl.	Ablative	Iz.	izafet
Abs.	absolutive	Masc.	masculine
Comp.	comparative	Obl..	oblique
Det.	determinative	pl.	plural
DO	direct object	Po.	postposition
fem.	feminine	Rel.	relative
Intr.	instrumental	Sg.	singular
IO	indirect object	SU	subject

 

Introduction

 

The first part of this paper will describe the syntax of simplex sentences in Zaza; attention will be focused on such functions as subject, direct object, indirect object, genitive, complements of place (locative, allative) and comparative. The second part will analyse the same functions in relative clauses and pay attention to the question of pronoun retention as defined by the hierarchy constraint set out by Keenan and Comrie 1977.

 

1. Simplex Sentences

 

The unmarked word order in Zaza is SOV :

 

(1)

Rɛmzɑn	mɛrdɨmi	kɨʃɛnno
	man	kills
'Remzan kills the man'

 

But OSV is also possible:

 

(2)

mɛrdɨmi	Rɛmzɑn	kɨʃɛnno
man		kills
'Remzan kills the man'

 

in the latter case, the subject is emphasized.

 

As can be seen from the preceding example, in the present, the masculine subject has no case-marking and the direct object is marked by -i  the subject is in the absolutive and the direct object is in the oblique case.

 

The feminine subject in the present is also without case-marking :

(3)

Meriɛm	ʤɨnekɛr	kɨʃɛnnɑ
	woman	kills-Fem.
'Mary kills the woman'

 

As can be seen from the preceding sentence, gender is also found in certain verbal forms, cf. also :

 

(4)

o	dɛrg-o
he	tall is
'he is tall'

 

(5)

ɑ	dɛrgɑ
she	tall-is
'she is tall'

 

 In the past, Zaza is ergative and the verb agrees with the direct object; the subject is in the oblique case and the direct object is in the absolutive :

 (6)

Rɛmzɑni	mɛrdɨm	kɨʃt
Obl.	Abs.	killed
'Remzan killed the man'

 

The verb does not change if the subject is plural :

(7)

mɛrdɨmɑn	Rɛmzɑn	kɨʃt
Obl. pl.	Abs.	killed
'The men killed Remzan'

 

but only if the direct object is plural:

(8)

Rɛmzɑni	mɛrdɨmi	kɨʃti
Obl.	Abs. pl.	killed
'Remzan killed the men'

 

compare the following sentence with (1), where in the present the verb agrees with its subject :

(9)

mɛrdɨmi	Rɛmzɑni	kɨʃenne
Abs. pl.	Obl.	kill
'The men kill Remzan'

 

In the past, when the object is feminine and singular, verb agreement is facultative : compare the following sentences, where in one case both subject and object are feminine and in the second case the subject is masculine but the object feminine:

(10)

Meriɛmɨ	ʤɨnɛk	kɨʃt(ɨ)
Obl.	Abs.	killed
'Mary killed the woman'

(11)

Rɛmzɑni	kɛrg	tɨrɑwt(ɨ)
Obl.	Abs.	stole
'Remzan stole the chicken'

 

In the plural, however, verb agreement is compulsory :

(12)

Meriɛmɨ	ʤɨnɛki	kɨʃti
Obl.	Abs.fem.pl.	killed-fem.pl.
'Mary killed the women'

 

When there is no direct object (objectless transitive verbs), the verb remains invariable in the past; on the other hand, when the verb is intransitive, it agrees with its subject in the absolutive case :

(13)

Rɛmzɑni	kɨʃt
Obl.	killed
'Remzan killed'

(14)

mɛrdɨmɑn	kɨʃt
men-Obl.	killed
'The men killed'

(15)

Rɛmzɑn	ɑmɛ
Abs.	came
'Remzan came'

 (16)

mɛrdɨmi	ɑme
Abs.pl.	came
'The men came'

 

The indirect object is in the oblique case and stands next after the verb :

(17)

Rɛmzɑn	pɑtɑtɑ	dɑno	Mahmudi
Abs.	potato	gives	IO-Obl.
'Remzan gives the potato to Mahmud'

 

(18)

Rɛmzɑni	pɑtɑi	dɑj	Meriɛmɨ
Obl.	potatoes	gave	IO-Obl.
'Remzan gave the potatoes to Mary'

 

Instrumental and accompaniment are marked by the postposition -jɑ, following the oblique case :

 

(19)

Rɛmzɑni	kɛrg	kɑrdi-jɑ	kɨʃt
Obl.	Abs.	Obl.-Po	killed
'Remzan killed the chicken with the knife'

 

(20)

Rɛmzɑni	Mahmudi-jɑ	kɛrg	tɨrɑwt
Obl.	Obl.-Po	Abs.	stole
'Remzan stole the chicken with Mahmud'

 

The benefactive is expressed by means of the postposition –re preceded by the oblique case :

(21)

Meriɛm(ɨ)	Rɛmzɑni-re	tʃɨʃnɑ	ʃɨt
Obl.	Obl.-Po	cloth	washed
'Mary washed the clothes for Remzan'

 

The genitive is in the oblique case and follows the head-noun to which is added an izafet marker; an izafet is a gender particle which appears between the head-noun (with which it agrees) and its attribute (adjective or genitive) :

(22)

Rɛmzɑni	kɛrg-ɑ	ʤɨnekɛr	tɨrɑwt(ɨ)
	chicken-Iz.	Obl.
'Remzan stole the woman's chicken'

(23)

Meriɛm	mɑj-ɑ	Rɛmzɑni	jɑ
	mother-Iz.	Obl.	is
'Mary is Remzan's mother'

(24)

no	xɛnzir-e	Rɛmzɑni	jo
this	pig-masc.Iz.	Obl.	is
'This is Remzan's pig'

n.b.: judging by other examples, j in jɑ and jo is a connecting glide

 

Complements of place are of different types according to whether there is a movement towards a place or if simply the subject of the verb stays in the same place .

(25)

Rɛmzɑn	ʃɨ	New York
	went
'Remzan went to New York'

(26)

o	ʃɨ	vɨʒɑ
he	went	there
'He went there'

 

As can be seen from these two examples, there is no special case marking but the complement stands after the verb. When there is a locative, the subject is also in the absolutive case (as in (25) and (26)) :

(27)

o (not *e)	Sørɛk	bɨ
he	(in) Siverek
'He was in Siverek'

 

The subject is in the absolutive since the verb is intransitive; this also applies when the 'ablative' postposition –rɑ (see below for its use in comparatives) is used to indicate a place out of which one goes :

(28)

Rɛmzɑn	New York-rɑ	ʃɨ
	-from	went
'Remzan left New York'

 

The following is also another example of a complement of place, this time introduced by the postposition sero preceded by the oblique case of the noun :

(29)

Rɛmzɑni	nɑn	mɑsi – sero	ronɑ
Obl.	bread-Abs.	table-on	put
'Remzan put the bread on the table'

 

The comparative can be expressed in two ways : a) by the use of the suffix -er, added to the adjective :

(30)

Rɛmzɑn	Meriɛmɨ	gɨrd-er-i-o
	Obl.	big-Comp-Det-is
'Remzan is bigger than Mary'

(The -i- in gɨrderio is a determinative suffix.)

 

b) by the use of the postposition -rɑ (described by Hadank 1932:58 as an ablative suffix, but without any mention of its use in comparative complements) added to the noun in the oblique case, the adjective keeping its suffix -er-:

(31)

Rɛmzɑn	Meriɛm-rɑ	gɨrd-er-i-o
	-Abl.
'Remzan is bigger than Mary'

 

This second possibility is considered better.

 

Moreover, comparative of inferiority does not exist in Zaza; instead, a semantically equivalent 'positive' adjective is used. For example, there is no way of translating literally 'less big' : in the stead, one uses 'smaller' :

(32)

Rɛmzɑn	Meriɛmɨ	wɛrd-er-i-jo
		small-Comp-Det-is
'Remzan is smaller than Mary'

 

Other adjectives, such as 'less cold', 'less good', 'less warm' have been tried and in no case was a strict equivalent possible in Zaza.

 

 2. Relative Clauses

Relative clauses are introduced by an invariable pronoun kɨ preceded by the demonstrative o, fern. ɑ, and stand to the right of the head noun (postnominal strategy). If the subject is relativised, the word order is : SU Rel Cl DO V, e.g.

(33)

mɛrdɨm-e	dɛrgi	kɛrg	kɨʃt
man-Iz.	tall	chicken	killed
'The tall man killed the chicken'

(n.b.: the -i in dɛrgi marks the oblique case).

(34)

mɛrdɨm-o	kɨ	dɛrg	bɨ,	kɛrg	kɨʃt
man-Dem	Rel.	tall	was	chicken	killed
'The man that was tall killed the chicken'

 

When the head noun of the relative clause is the direct object, the word order can be SU DO Rel Cl V, but the direct object can also be shifted after the verb (SU V DO Rel Cl) with the result that there is no interruption of clauses :

(35)

Rɛmzɑn	ʤɨnɛk-ɑ	kɨ	rɑkunɑ	hɑskɨno
	woman-Dem	Rel.	sleeps-Fem.	likes-Masc.
'Remzan likes the woman that is sleeping'

(36)

Rɛmzɑn	hɑskɨno	ɑ ʤɨnɛk-ɑ	kɨ	rɑkunɑ
	likes-Masc	Dem. Dem.	Rel.	sleeps-Fem.
'Remzan likes the woman that is sleeping'

 

The second possibility is more usual. This is the strategy used when the relative pronoun is the direct object of the embedded verb :

(37)

Rɛmzɑn	sɨlɑsneno	mɛrdim-o	kɨ	ʤɨnekɛr	dɑ pɨ-ro
	knows-Masc.	man-Dem.	Rel.	woman-Obl.	hit
'Remzan knows the man whom the woman hit'

 

But the verb, even with its subject, can also be placed at the end of the sentence; compare the following three sentences :

(38)

Rɛmzɑni	di	tʃɨʃnɑ o	kɨ	Meriɛmɨ	ne-ʃɨt
Obl.	saw	cloth Dem.	Rel.	Obl.	not-washed
'Remzan saw the clothes that Mary didn't wash'

(39) Rɛmzɑni tʃɨʃnɑ o kɨ Meriɛmɨ ne-ʃɨt di

(40) tʃiʃnɑ o kɨ Meriɛmɨ ne-ʃɨt Rɛmzɑni di

 

However, when the relative clause standing between the direct object and the verb is too long or too complex, an anaphoric pronoun is introduced in the main clause; this anaphoric pronoun is obligatory in the present tense, compare :

(41)

Rɛmzɑni	mɛrdim-o	kɨ	ʤɨnekɛr	kɨʃt,	(e)	sɨlɑsnenɑ
Obl.	-Dem.	Rel.	Obl.	killed	(Obl.)	knew
'Remzan knew the man whom the woman killed'

(42)

Rɛmzɑn	mɛrdim-o	kɨ	ʤɨnekɛr	kɨʃt,	e	sɨlɑsneno
Obl.	-Dem.	Rel.	Obl.	killed	Obl.	knows
'Remzan knows the man whom the woman killed'

 

If there is an indirect object in the embedded clause, it follows the verb, as in simplex sentences :

(43)

mɨ	wɛrd	pɑtɑtɑ	jɑ	kɨ	Rɛmzɑni	de	Meriɛmɨ
I-Obl.	ate	potato	Dem.	Rel.	Obl.	gave-sg.	Obl.
'I ate the potato that Remzan gave to Mary'

 

However, if the relative pronoun is not subject nor direct object of the embedded verb, an invariable pronoun ʤɨ is introduced; this pronoun stands after the embedded verb when the relative pronoun is indirect object :

(44)

ɛz	sɨlɑsnenɑ	ʤɨnɛk-ɑ	kɨ	Rɛmzɑni	pɑtɑti	dɑj	ʤɨ
I	know	woman-Dem.	Rel.	Obl.	potatoes	gave-pl.	pronoun
'I know the woman to whom Remzan gave the potatoes'

 

This ʤɨ is used to encode the grammatical function of the relative pronoun kɨ; if it stands after the embedded verb, this means that kɨ is to be understood as an indirect object. If ʤɨ is followed by the postposition -re, the relative pronoun kɨ is to be understood as being in the benefactive case :

(45)

mɛrdim-o	kɨ	Meriɛmɨ	ʤɨ-re	tʃɨʃnɑ	ʃɨt,	Rɛmzɑn	e	sɨlɑsneno
man-Dem.	Rel.	Obl.	Pron.-for	cloth	washed		him	knows
'Remzan knows the man for whom Mary washed the clothes'

 

It is worth noting that an anaphoric pronoun is also introduced in the main clause, even when the noun relativised into is subject of the main verb :

(46)

mɛrdim-o	kɨ	Meriɛmɨ	ʤɨ-re	tʃɨʃnɑ	ʃɨt,	ojo	gɨrvejeno
man-Dem.	Rel.	Obl.	Pron.-for	cloth	washed	he is	working
'The man for whom Mary washed the clothes is working'

 

In simplex sentences, both instrumental and comitative are expressed by means of the postposition -jɑ; in relative clauses, a difference is made : an anaphoric pɑ is introduced in the relative clause to encode instrumental :

(47)

Rɛmzɑni	kɑrdijɑ	kɨ	mɛrdɨmi	pɑ	kɛrg	kɨʃt	di
Obl.	knife-Dem.	Rel.	man-Obl.	Intr.	chicken	killed	saw
'Remzan saw the knife with which the man killed the chicken'

 

by the way, the following word order is also possible :

(48) kɑrdi-jɑ kɨ mɛrdɨmi pɑ kɛrg kɨʃt, Rɛmzɑni di

 

The comitative is expressed in the relative clause by means of pijɑ :

(49)

mɛrdɨm-o	kɨ	Rɛmzɑni	pijɑ	kɛrg	tɨrɑwt(ɨ)	ojo
man-Dem.	Rel.	Obl.	Com.	chicken	stole	that is
'There is the man with whom Remzan stole the chicken'

 

Preceded by the izafet marker, the pronoun ʤɨ is used to encode genitive in relative clauses :

(50)

ʤɨnɛk-ɑ	kɨ	kɛrg-ɑ	ʤɨ	Rɛmzɑni	tɨrɑwt,	ɛzɑ	vinɛnnɑ
woman-Dem.	Rel.	-Iz.	Pron.	Obl.	stole	I	see
'I see the woman whose chicken Remzan stole'

(n.b. :the -ɑ in ɛzɑ is a marker for continuous aspect, compare ɛz vinɛnnɑ ''I see' and ɛzɑ vinɛennɑ 'I am seeing').

 

As already noted, the pronoun ʤɨ is invariable : in the following sentence its antecedent is masculine :

(51)

lɑʤek-o	kɨ	mɑj-ɑ-ʤɨ	Meriɛm-ɑ,	ɛzɑ	vinɛnnɑ
boy-Dem.	Rel.	mother-Iz.-Pron.	Is	I	see
'I see the boy whose mother is Mary'

 

In relative clauses, complements of place behave much like in simplex sentences. For example, given a sentence in the past, the subject will be in the absolutive in those instances where it was also in the absolutive in simplex sentences (past intransitive verbs) :

(52)

suk-ɑ	kɨ	Rɛmzɑn	ʃɨ,	nɑjɑ
city-Dem.	Rel.	Abs.	went	this is-Fem.
'This is the city to which Remzan went'

(53)

bɑn-o	kɨ	Rɛmzɑn	mijɑndo,	nojo
house-Dem.	Rel.	Abs.	is inside	this is-Masc.
'This is the house that Remzan is in'

 

On the other hand, a transitive verb having an object constructed with the preposition sero will show the expected subject in the oblique :

(54)

mɑsɛ	o	kɨ	Rɛmzɑni	nɑn	sero	ronɑ,	nojo
table	Det.	Rel.	Obl.	bread	on	put	this is
'This is the table on which Remzan put the bread'

 

In a relative clause, the complement of a comparative is expressed by ʤɨ followed by the post-position -rɑ; compare the following two sentences :

(55)

ʤɨnɛk-ɑ	kɨ	Rɛmzɑni	gɨrd - er - i -j ɑ	jɛnnɑ
woman-Det.	Rel.	Obl.	big-Comp.-Det.-is	comes-Fem.
'Here comes the woman who is bigger than Remzan'

(56)

mɛrdɨm-o	kɨ	Meriɛm	ʤɨ-rɑ	gɨrd - er - i -j ɑ	o	jenno
man-Det.	Rel.		Pron.Po.	big-Comp.-Det.-is	he	comes-Masc.
'Here comes the man whom Mary is bigger than'

 

Conclusion

Though the unmarked word order in Zaza is SOV, the pattern for relative clauses is N Rel; the same pattern applies to genitive constructions : the genitive follows its head noun; and, similarly, adjectives follow nouns. However, as should be expected from a SOV language, Zaza uses more postpositions than prepositions. If one admits the validity of such a classification, on the whole Zaza will seem more SVO than SOV.

Pronouns are not retained in relative clauses on subjects and direct objects; on the other hand, a pronoun or preposition is introduced to disambiguate the function of the relative pronoun when it is indirect object, oblique, genitive or object of comparison. Then, Zaza has clearly no gap, as far as pronoun retention is concerned, in the hierarchy constraint set up by Keenan and Comrie 1977:66 :

SU > DO > IO > OBL > GEN > OComp

From IO onwards, a pronoun or postposition is used in the relative clause to encode the function of the invariable relative pronoun kɨ.

 

Bibliography

Bibliography of the Publications of Professor V. Minorsky, Reprinted from the Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, vol. XIV, Part 3.

Hadank, K., 1932. Mundarten der Zâzâ hauptsächlich aus Siwerek und Kor, Berlin, Verlag der Preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaften in Kommission bei Walter de Gruyter & Co.

Keenan, E.L. and B. Comrie, 1977. 'Noun Phrase Accessibility and Universal Grammar', Linguistic Inquiry 8, 63-99.