The ‘relative’ illusion and the origin of non-subject nominalizers in Cahita (Uto-Aztecan)

This paper proposes to analyze non-subject relative clauses in Cahita languages (†Tehueco, Yaqui, and Mayo, from the Uto-Aztecan family) as non-subject grammatical nominalizations used as appositives in restrictive appositions. This analysis is based on a diachronic perspective which considers the origin of the markers involved in these constructions as well as the evolutionary paths that lead to the relativization function. The study shows that the different origins proposed for non-subject nominalizers in Cahita (a possessed nominal classifier, a subject nominalizer, a directional postposition, and a locative postposition) are all different types of nominal markers indicating that the base clause/verb is treated as a nominal constituent; that is, that the construction has been nominalized. As for the evolution to the relativization function, the first nominalization uses of these markers are always associated with a referential function and the modifying function corresponds to a secondary development made via apposition, indicating that non-subject relativization in Cahita corresponds in fact to a specialized function of the non-subject nominalization: the modifying function of a possessed non-subject nominalization used as an appositive in a restrictive apposition.