Linguistik Online (Sep 2021)
Relativsätze im Deutschen und im Italienischen
Abstract
This contribution focuses on relative constructions in German and Italian. After sketching the theoretical background, the relativization strategies attested in standard and non-standard varieties of both languages will be presented and analysed from a typological perspective. Then, an attempt will be made to understand why some of these constructions were excluded from the standard variety when both languages were codified; this can only be done by adopting a sociolinguistic perspective. Finally, the rise of a new standard variety, the so-called neo-standard, will be discussed and the relative constructions attested in it will be examined.