Connectives as discourse landmarks Paris 7 26-28 May 2005

ARE YOU A GOOD WHICH OR A BAD WHICH?: THE RELATIVE PRONOUN AS A PLAIN CONNECTIVE Rudy LOOCK Universit de Lille III U.F.R. Angellier U.M.R. 8528 SILEX rudyloock@yahoo.fr
1. Introduction (1) The people of Oz, who were scared of the Witch of the East, were relieved when Dorothys porch crushed her to death. (ARC) (2) The people of Oz who were scared of the Witch of the East were relieved when Dorothys porch crushed her to death. (DRC) 2. The data 2.1. Typical and atypical ARCs :

(I)

WITH A RESUMPTIVE/SHADOW PRONOUN

(5) (BNC50) My nickname is Pan whichi I dont like iti so much. (6) (BNC26) Well I' like, Dave Girt, Leeds City, I' like s some recognition of d d West Yorkshire' problems to be evident in er the deliberations, whichi er at the s moment iti's iti's absent, it may it may have been taken into account but it' s absent in the exposition. (7) (MK4) My foot is narrow in the arch area, whichi I wouldve expected iti to widen. (8) If you do wash your hair then youre washing away some of the goodness out of you. And whichi you dont want to do thati because youre carrying a child inside you. (9) (RAD15_ARC2) They were just towed across the Midway onto the bridle path, wherei they were just sitting therei peacefully. (10) (CONV) Thats a suggestion of yours which I followed, whichi I didnt even want to do thati. (11) (MK_ARC15) ...and I got a new change of clothes, which I wanted you to know that.

TYPICAL

Due to syntactic constraints? (12) *This man, who I wonder whether Mary saw ti last week, is a liar. (12a) ?This man, who I wonder whether Mary saw him last week, is a liar. (island constraint) (13) *These symptoms, whichi the doctors dont know what ti are, should not be ignored. (13a) ?These symptoms, which the doctors dont know what they are, should not be ignored. (ECP violation) Structures with a resumptive pronoun (I) (14) What mention there has been in the literature of English resumptive pronouns has generally taken the approach that they are ungrammatical but are ways of salvaging a sentence that a speaker has started without realizing that it is impossible or at least difficult to finish it grammatically, making the best of a bad job. . . (Prince 1990:2) Not only: cf. Prince (1990): resumptives more frequent in ARCs and DRCs not involved in the reference of the NP, e.g. indefinite article with a specific interpretation: (15) He bought a house which hell move into it in June. (Prince 1990:14)

(3) This law, whichi some lawyers would regard ti as tendentious, prohibits employers from HIV testing. (4) Dennis, whoi we were talking about ti last night, says youre absolutely mental.

ATYPICAL

:
GAP-FILLED
STRUCTURES

NON-STANDARD ARCS
GAPLESS STRUCTURES (III)

Presence of the NP/PP itself (resumtpive phrase) (II)

 Connectives as discourse landmarks Paris 7 26-28 May 2005

(5a) (mBNC50) My nickname is Pan which I dont like so much. (6a) (mBNC26) Well I' like, Dave Girt, Leeds City, I' like s some recognition of d d West Yorkshire' problems to be evident in the deliberations, which at the moment s is absent, it may it may have been taken into account but it' absent in the s exposition. . . (7a) (mMK_ARC4) My foot is narrow in the arch area, which I wouldve expected to widen. (8a) (m_RAD15_ARC2) If you do wash your hair then youre washing away some of the goodness out of you. And which you dont want to do because youre carrying a child inside you (9a) (mRAD15_ARC2) They were just towed across the Midway onto the bridle path, where they were just sitting peacefully. (10a) (mCONV) Thats a suggestion of yours which I followed, which I didnt even want to do. (11a) (mMK_ARC15) ...and I got a new change of clothes, which I wanted you to know. (II)
WITH A RESUMPTIVE PHRASE

(4a) Dennis says youre absolutely mental. We were talking about him last night. (5b) (mBNC50) My nickname is Pan. I dont like it so much. (6b) (mBNC26) Well I' like, Dave Girt, Leeds City, I' like s some recognition of d d West Yorkshire' problems to be evident in er the deliberations. At the moment s it' absent, it may it may have been taken into account but it' absent in the s s exposition. . . (7b) (mMK4) My foot is narrow in the arch area. I wouldve expected it to widen (8b) If you do wash your hair then youre washing away some of the goodness out of you.(And) you dont want to do that because youre carrying a child inside you (9b) They were just towed across the Midway onto the bridle path. They were just sitting there peacefully.

2.2.

Performance error or innovative syntax? (23) These characteristics are associated with the difficulties of online production, sometimes resulting in constructions that might be considered nonstandard or even a disfluency. (Biber et al. 1999: 622) (24) Pronouns used in place of a gap in relative clauses are known as resumptive pronouns. In some languages they represent a regular feature of relative clause formation, but in English they are ungrammatical. . . (Huddleston Pullum 2002: 1091n). But: frequency of occurrence written examples in fiction:

(15) Id also recommend er er our website er the Environmental Resources Trust wherei theres information about my solar home and how to build one on the websitei its www.ert.net. (III)
WITHOUT ANY GAP AND APPARENTLY NO ANTECEDENT FOR THE RELATIVE PRONOUN

(16) (MK_ARC12) She gained a half pound which they were predicting shed gain five pounds. (17) (MK_ARC7) She wont do it on the carpet, which I dont blame her. (18) (MK_ARC1) Those are warm jammies, which its been real warm lately anyway. m t (19) (MK_ARC21) I' gonna have someone there, just so books aren' stolen, which I think one was taken last year. (20) (CONV_ARC2) And I had a side dish with it which you had a gratin dauphinois. (21) (MK_ARC5) And she decided to move out which I think shes crazy. (22) (TEL03_ARC10) So there' really actually nothing to be said except what John s Bunyan said at the beginning of Paradise Lost - Part II which when he' sending s his book out into the world and the book' complaining because it feels frightened s John Bunyan gives it a pep talk and tells it to pull itself together.

(2a) The people of Oz were relieved when Dorothys porch crushed the Witch of the East to death. They were scared of her. (3a) This law prohibits employers from HIV testing. Some lawyers would regard it as tendentious.

(25) At the funeral we barely talked. So you avoided me a little, which I understand it, believe me, and can sympathize. (The Body Artist, Don Delillo. 2001. Picador: 58-59). (26) Oh, I dreamed of a true class reunion of our family. Just imagine their faces, if they saw this place. Which, I might add, none of them came. (The Poisonwood Bible, B. Kingslover. 1999. Harper Perennial: 463). (27) She and her friends raised the money and bought a good Land Rover with a rebuilt engine in Atlanta. Which, by the way, Mothers group has never raised one red cent for me, to help put in upstairs plumbing at the Equatorial, for example. (The Poisonwood Bible: 475). (28) Yes, Joe; but what I wanted to say, was, that as we are rather slack just now, if you would give me a half-holiday to-morrow, I think I would go up-town and make a call on Miss Est Havisham. Which her name, said Joe, gravely, ain' Estavisham, Pip, unless she t have been rechris' ened. (Great Expectations, C.Dickens. 1861) (29) For, Joe had actually laid his head down on the pillow at my side and put his arm round my neck, in his joy that I knew him.

 Connectives as discourse landmarks Paris 7 26-28 May 2005

Which dear old Pip, old chap, said Joe, you and me was ever friends. And when you' well enough to go out for a ride what larks! (Great Expectations, re C.Dickens. 1861) (30) At last, one day, I took courage, and said, Is it Joe? And the dear old home-voice answered, Which it air, old chap. (Great Expectations, C.Dickens. 1861) - common in dialectal English, here Scottish English: (31) You can leave at Christmas if your birthdays in December to February which I think is wrong like my birthdays March and I have to stay on to May which when Im 16 in March I could be looking for a job. (Miller 1988) (32) It seems that users include men and women, high school graduates and university professors, natives of California, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio; their ages range from 20 to 50. ; [t]he use of this construction is not necessarily limited to informal situations () [but] is found more frequently in speech than writing. (Kuha 1994: 1).

Dialectal English (Chevillet 1991: 135, Milroy & Milroy 1993: 111-3): (35) (36) the girl that her eighteenth birthday was on that day the girl whose eighteenth birthday was on that day thats the man that his house was burnt thats the man whose house was burnt

3.2.

The role of a non standard relative pronoun cause, consequence, concession (cf adverbial clauses: Quirk et al. 1985, Cornilescu 1981):

SEMANTIC LINK:

(37) John, who failed his exam, is unhappy. (37a) John, as he failed his exam, is unhappy. (38) John, who passed his exam, is unhappy. (38a) John, although he passed his exam, is unhappy.

3.

The role of the relative pronoun 3.1. The double role of a standard relative pronoun ANAPHORIC: stands for a nominal antecedent and, in the case of ARCs, a PP, AdjP, AdvP, predicate, S, even whole paragraph relates two clauses, one of which is subordinate to the other. Gap-filled: (5c) (mBNC50) My nickname is Pan but/although I dont like it so much. . (6c) (mBNC26) Well I' like, Dave Girt, Leeds City, I' like s some recognition of d d West Yorkshire' problems to be evident in er the deliberations, for/as at the s moment it' absent, it may it may have been taken into account but it' absent in the s s exposition. . . (7c) (mMK_ARC4) My foot is narrow in the arch area, but/yet/while I wouldve expected it to widen. (8c) (mRAD15_ARC2) If you do wash your hair then youre washing away some of the goodness out of you. But you dont want to do that because youre carrying a child inside you. (9c) They were just towed across the Midway onto the bridle path, and they were just sitting there peacefully. (10b) Thats a suggestion of yours which I followed, but I didnt even want to do that. (11b) (mMK_ARC15) ...and I got a new change of clothes, and I wanted you to know that. (15a) Id also recommend er er our website er the Environmental Resources Trust as/since theres information about my solar home and how to build one on the website its www.ert.net.

CONNECTIVE :

Diachronic English: (33) & ic and I his of-it gehwam wille whomever shall lyst would-please rto thereto ma more tcan direct to to e hiene (ACC) Rel him witanne know

and I shall direct anyone to it who would like to know more about it. (34) Swa bi So is also gecynde natural eac to-those bi is am trees up up treowum Rel to to e him (DAT) to-them standanne stand

heah high

So it is also with trees to which it is natural to stand up straight. (CHELVol. 1: 229)

 Connectives as discourse landmarks Paris 7 26-28 May 2005

Gapless: (16a) (mMK_ARC12) She gained a half pound, although/while they were predicting shed gain five pounds. (17a) (mMK_ARC7) She wont do it on the carpet, so/and I dont blame her. (18a) (mMK_ARC1) Those are warm jammies, and its been real warm lately anyway. (19a) (MK_ARC21) I' gonna have someone there, just so books aren' stolen, m t because/as/for I think one was taken last year. (20a) (mCONV_ARC2) Shes decided to move out, and/but I think shes crazy because (21a) (mCONV_ARC5) And you got a side dish with it, and I had a gratin dauphinois (22a) (mTEL03_ARC10) So there' really actually nothing to be said except what s John Bunyan said at the beginning of Paradise Lost - Part II and when he' sending s his book out into the world and the book' complaining because it feels frightened s John Bunyan gives it a pep talk and tells it to pull itself together. (39) CLAUSE 1

WHICH
CLAUSE 2 4.

(41a) Tennis is possibly the least popular sport at the Olympics, and this is quite something when it is up against Greco-Roman wrestling and walking. (42) He went to Paris, which Mary never did. (42a) He went to Paris, and this Mary never did. (43) The consequences of Americas obsession with domestic television ratings is that the site for the Olympics remains at the mercy of NBC what Ebersol, to his credit, calls the quintessential example of ugly Americanism. And if youre wondering why they wanted to come to Sydney, they didnt. The only reason the Games are here is that, in the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square uprising, the IOC had to postpone their long-term plan to take the Olympics to China. That would have suited NBC and the corporate sponsors who cant wait to get their hands on the Chinese market. Sydney was considered a viable option, facilitieswise, and won the next vote in 1993 but Australia, with fewer than 20 million people, does not provide the sort of selling bonanza that China would have done. As the AFR puts it, they would love to go to Beijing to foster the spirit of Olympic marketing. Which brings us to Athens. For several weeks now, rumours have grown that the city will not be able to meet infrastructure and financial deadlines for the next Games which could be switched to Seoul, where time is on the Americans side, not to mention old business partners. (43a) And this brings us to Athens. For several weeks now, rumours have grown that the city will not be able to meet infrastructure and financial deadlines for the next Games which could be switched to Seoul, where time is on the Americans side, not to mention old business partners.

SYNTACTIC LINK: Subordination or Coordination? There is no syntactic relationship between the two clauses (e.g. Fabb 1990) An ARC is part of the NP, just like a DRC is. The RC is embedded into the main clause and a subordination link exists between the two (e.g. Jackendoff 1977). An ARC is derived from a coordinated sentence (e.g. Emonds 1979).

(40) CLAUSE 1

WHICH
CLAUSE 2

Cf. continuative relative clauses (Jespersen 1970, Cornilescu 1981, Loock 2003) (44) I gave the book to John, who gave it to Mary. (45) She was airlifted to hospital, where she died hours later. 3.3. The predominance of which (46) Ik heb het boek aan Jan gegeven, die het dan heeft doorgegeven aan Marie. I have the book to John given, which it then has given to Mary I gave the book to John, who then gave it to Mary.

Wide range of antecedents => linked to the antecedent in a less constrained way (cf it/this/that). Easily reformulated with a coordinated clause. (41) Tennis is possibly the least popular sport at the Olympics, which is quite something when it is up against Greco-Roman wrestling and walking.

 Connectives as discourse landmarks Paris 7 26-28 May 2005

5.

Role of the relative pronoun in the organization of discourse necessary for oral English sentences to be introduced rather than simply juxtaposed. (Kjellmer 1988) (47) the use of clause-opening which will be thought of as a mark of correctness generally. It is reasonable to suppose that clause-opening relatives thus come to be regarded as practically redundant elements, to be used at the speakers discretion for stylistic purposes. (Kjellmer 1988: 161). floor-keeping manuvre (Biber 1988, Wennerstrom 2001, Wichmann 2000) : Prosodic evidence? (48) (RAD03_ARC4) I think wed be looking at a different situation where | {1030ms} companies would be dropping from record profits to er to breaking even in a in a month (49) (RAD07_ARC1) You know everything its an entire roller coaster for the audience | and the audience just dont sit there and watch there | but become actually engulfed in what theyre seeing which | {480ms} is why its won you know Pulitzer Prize for drama (50) The fifth position break is in a lot of dances. Especially in a lot of Latin dances. Because this is the fifth position break. (Demonstrates). (Schleppegrell 1991) relative pronoun in mid-air to avoid interruption the speaker show his/her intention to proceed s/he then utters an independent, gapless or gap-filled clause

7.

Bibliography

6.

Conclusion The Wh- pronoun fulfils a particular role in atypical ARCs: Connective function only No anaphoric function because what follows is a gap-filled/gapless clause Role in the organization of discourse : used by speakers to keep the floor and show their intention to proceed

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