Abstract
The paper examines two types of non-canonical restrictive relative sentences in contemporary colloquial Russian: preposed relative clauses with the pronoun kotoryj ʻwhichʼ and relative clauses with internal head. The first type fulfils a clear discursive function since the relative clause serves here to mark a neutral or contrastive theme. This explains the exclusive use of the nominative case of the pronoun. The main clause often contains an anaphoric support of the relative clause by means of a personal or demonstrative pronoun; such a support is however not mandatory. The construction with internal head mainly functions in pre- or interposed relative clauses. Two examples with postposition and repetition of the antecedent had non-restrictive reference; their acceptability is however questionable since they may be due to an accidental uncontrolled deviation from the norm. On the other hand, it should be pointed out that in historical official or bureaucratic sources this subtype was quite widespread (the following quotation might illustrate the case: “And which peasant brews bear illegally, this peasant shall pay a fine”) and may even today be used as an intended playful archaism: this device is notably used in L. Petrushevskaya’s work. The last section of the paper discusses the use of preposed relative clauses in the speech of the narrator and the main characters in M. Zoshchenko’s tales. Here, this device is not meant to imitate the authentic usage as faithfully as possible, but merely as an artistic stylization of oral speech. This may be seen from the lack of other non-canonical patterns of relative clauses known from authentic speech and above all from the frequent repetitions of certain relative clauses intended as a leitmotiv for the characterization of the given character. All examples are taken from the basic and oral subcorpora of the Russian national corpus, the collection of texts Zhivaya rech’ ural’skogo goroda and the available descriptions of Russian colloquial speech. The empirical findings are complemented by typological notes.
Weiss, Daniel