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Is there a postposed 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 if the complementizer follows the complement or not (e.g. I knew Ashley was a genius that).
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
- 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.
- If this is not described but several examples exists which consistently show the complementizer as postposed, code 1.
Examples
Japanese (ISO 6393-3: jpn, Glottolog: nucl1643)
Japanese has a postposed complementizer to and is therefore coded 1.
Boku-wa [[Bill-ga tensai-da] to] omotta.
I-TOP Bill-NOM genius-is COMP thought
‘I thought that Bill was a genius.’ (Namai 1997: 158)
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
Namai, Kenichi. 1997. The multiple subject construction in Japanese. Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University. (Doctoral dissertation.)
Related Features
GB421 Is there a preposed complementizer for complements of verbs of thinking and/or knowing?
Patron
Hedvig Skirgård