Relativsätze in den Dialekten des Deutschen: Vergleich und Typologie

Abstract

This paper establishes a cross-dialectal typology of relative clauses in various German dialects and Yiddish according to their form and function. A great variety of different types of relativizers and relative clauses can be observed, including various pronouns, particles, and zero relatives. Combinations of these types occur, one of the most typical involving a resumptive element in a clause introduced by a particle. The Accessibility Hierarchy, a concept developed in typology, is used with great profit for this study. It turns out that for the German relativization system, a basic opposition between subject and direct object as opposed to oblique holds in virtually every variety, whereas the indirect object is much less stable. In the varieties observed, significantly more relative particles and resumptive elements occur as compared to Standard German, which turns out to be quite atypical.