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Is there a preposed complementizer for complements of verbs of thinking and/or knowing?

Summary

Complementizers are markers (free or bound) which are able to turn a clause into the subject or object of a sentence. In some of the literature these are also known as ‘conjunctions’. The complementizer in the sentence I knew that Ashley was a genius is that and it is preposed to the complement clause (Ashley was a genius). The complementizer does not have to be phonologically free, the position in relation to the complement clause is what is relevant. This feature concerns whether the complementizer precedes the complement or not.

This feature specifically targets sentences with verbs of thinking and knowing, where the complement clause is an object (I know that he is truthful or I think that this is a bad idea). This is done so that we get more comparable data across the sample.

Procedure

  1. In the sections or chapters that deal with complex syntax, investigate where the complementizer is positioned in relation to complements of verbs of knowing and thinking and code accordingly.
  2. If this is not described but several examples exist which consistently show the complementizer as preposed, code 1.

Examples

Swedish (ISO 639-3: swe, Glottolog: swed1254)

In Swedish, the complementizer is preposed to the complement clause. For example, in the sentence: jag visste att Ashley var ett geni ‘I knew that Ashely was a genius’, the complementizer att is preposed to the complement clause (Ashley var ett geni). Swedish is coded 1 (see Holmes & Hinchliffe 2013: 343).

Further reading

Bashir, Elena. 1996. Mosaic of tongues: Quotatives and complementizers in Northwest Indo-Aryan, Burushaski, and Balti. In William L. Hanaway & Wilma Heston (eds), Studies in Pakistani popular culture, 187–286. Lahore: Sang-e-Meel.

Noonan, Michael. 2007. Complementation. In Timothy Shopen (ed.), Language typology and syntactic description, 52–150. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

References

Holmes, Philip & Ian Hinchliffe. 2013. Swedish: a comprehensive grammar. London: Routledge.

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