Features

Yellow: variational pattern attested
Blue: variational pattern non-attested

(2) Obaba, zein(a) Atxagak idatzi baitu, ederra da
(3) Landibarren badira lau kartier, horiek baitira Behaune, Dona Martine, Donostia eta Azkonbegi

Generalized pattern. Appositive relative clauses can be formed by a pronoun of the zein ‘which’-type and a complementizer -(e)n following the finite verb.

(1)	Obaba,	zein(a)	Atxagak	idatzi	duen,	ederra	da
	Obaba.ABS	which.ABS	Atxaga.ERG	write	(3ABS).have.3ERG.EN	great	is
	‘Obaba, which has been written  by Atxaga, is great.’

Variational pattern 1. Alterntively, it can be formed in the same fashion combining the pronoun with the complementizer bait- preceding the finite verb.

(2)	Obaba,	zein(a)	Atxagak	idatzi	baitu,	ederra	da
	Obaba.ABS	which	Atxaga.ERG	write	BAIT.(3ABS).have.3ERG	great	is
	‘Obaba, which has been written  by Atxaga, is great.’

Variational pattern 2. Some appositive relatives, the so-called bait-relatives, are formed with no pronoun and with the complementizer bait-.

(3)

Landibarren

badira

lau kartier,

horiek

baitira

Behaune,

Dona

Martine,

Donostia

eta

Azkonbegi

(Oihartzabal 2003: 816)

Landibar.INE

are

four neighborhood

those

BAIT.are

Behaune,

Dona

Martine,

Donostia

and

Azkonbegi

‘There are four neighbourhoods in Landibar, which are Behaune, Dona Martine, Donostia and Azkonbegi’

Reported in: eastern varieties Oihartzabal (2003)

Chapter: Complementizer

Keywords: bait-relatives, appositive relatives, complementizer, embedding, relatives, relativizer

Notes:

«(...)modern eastern dialects developed another kind of relative (which also exists in earlier texts, however), which we refer to as as ‘bait-relative’. Contrary to relatives with relative pronouns, bait-relatives are very common in present day spoken Basque in eastern dialects. Bait-relatives are appositive or extraposed relatives, in which no relative pronoun is used, but where resumptive pronoun can be employed. The only complementizer which can be used in these relatives is bait- (-(e)n is excluded).» (Oihartzabal 2003:816).