Íslenskt mál og almenn málfræði - 01.01.1980, Síða 98

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Höskuldur Þráinsson
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SUMMARY
This paper deals with Icelandic relative clause introducers. Chapter 1 contains a
brief overview of the characteristics of word classes (parts of speech) in general
and it is shown that some of the best known Icelandic textbooks classify sem and
er as relative pronouns when they introduce relative clauses. Chapter 2 is an over-
view of types of relative clause introducers in various languages. This chapter also
reports on the relative clause introducers that occur in Icelandic texts from various
periods. It is shown that among these there are some relative pronouns but also
several particles, or indeclinable words, that look more like conjunctions (or com-
plementizers) than pronouns, although some linguists have classified these as rela-
tive pronouns too. In Chapter 3 it is then argued that particles (sem and er in
particular) do in fact have various properties that are characteristic of comple-
mentizers but no pronominal properties. In many of these cases, parallel arguments
have been made previously in connection with the English relative that, the Nor-
wegian relative som etc., but some are new. These arguments include the follow-
ing: 1. sem and er are indeclinable whereas most pronouns are declinable; 2. sem
and er cannot be preceded by prepositions whereas all pronouns can; 3. sem and
er cannot be used attributively (as possessives e.g.) whereas pronouns can; 4. sem
and er can only occur clause-initially but pronouns are generally not so restricted;
5. sem is frequently followed by að, like many conjunctions are, in colloquial Ice-
landic but this að does not go together with pronouns. (The (formal) relative er
cannot be followed by this að but neither can the (formal) temporal conjunction
er.); 6. There is no indication that sem and er do in fact „refer to“ or „stand for“
other words as pronouns are normally said to do.