Presentational relative clauses introduced byżein Polish

Abstract

SummaryIn this article, I examine relative uses of Polishże, which is normally regarded as a ‘that’-type complementizer. As is shown with corpus data,żeis in some contexts used as a non-canonical relativizer in colloquial spoken language, a use which may be seen as a relic function reflecting the historical origin of the subordinator. Crucially, I argue that contemporary relative uses ofżeare restricted to a specific functional variety, i. e. the presentational relative construction, as developed by, among others, Lambrecht (1988a, 1988b), Duffield et al. (2010), and Murelli (2011). Additional issues that will be addressed are the varying degrees of clausal integration and the rather fluid continuum of the very functions performed byże: its relative uses, general subordinator uses,żemarking elaboration/reformulation, as well as the relativization/complementation contrast.