Complementizer

In linguistics (especially generative grammar), a complementizer or complementiser (glossing abbreviation: ) is a functional category (part of speech) that includes those words that can be used to turn a clause into the subject or object of a sentence. For example, the word that may be called a complementizer in English sentences like Mary believes that it is raining. The concept of complementizers is specific to certain modern grammatical theories. In traditional grammar, such words are normally considered conjunctions. The standard abbreviation for complementizer is C.

In linguistics (especially generative grammar), a complementizer or complementiser (glossing abbreviation: ) is a functional category (part of speech) that includes those words that can be used to turn a clause into the subject or object of a sentence. For example, the word that may be called a complementizer in English sentences like Mary believes that it is raining. The concept of complementizers is specific to certain modern grammatical theories. In traditional grammar, such words are normally considered conjunctions. The standard abbreviation for complementizer is C. ==Category of C== ===C as head of CP=== The complementizer is often held to be the syntactic head of a full clause, which is therefore often represented by the abbreviation CP (for complementizer phrase). Evidence of the complementizer functioning as the head of its clause includes that it is commonly the last element in a clause in head-final languages like Korean or Japanese in which other heads follow their complements, but it appears at the start of a clause in head-initial languages such as English in which heads normally precede their complements. The trees below illustrate the phrase "Taro said that he married Hanako" in Japanese and English; syntactic heads are marked in red and demonstrate that C falls in head-final position in Japanese, and in head-initial position in English. ==Empty complementizers== Some analyses allow for the possibility of invisible or "empty" complementizers. That is considered to be present if there is no word even though the rules of grammar expect one. The complementizer (for example, "that") is usually said to be understood. An English-speaker knows that it is there and so it does not need to be said. Its existence in English has been proposed based on the following type of alternation: He hopes you go ahead with the speech He hopes that you go ahead with the speech Because that can be inserted between the verb and the embedded clause without changing the meaning, the original sentence without a visible complementizer would be reanalyzed as He hopes ∅ C you go ahead with the speech Where the symbol ∅ C represents the empty (or "null") complementizer, that suggests another interpretation of the earlier "how" sentence: I read in the paper <how> ∅ C [it's going to be cold today] where "how" serves as a specifier to the empty complementizer, which allows for a consistent analysis of another troublesome alternation: The man <whom> ∅ C [I saw yesterday] ate my lunch! The man <OP> ∅ C [I saw yesterday] ate my lunch! The man <OP> that [I saw yesterday] ate my lunch! where "OP" represents an invisible interrogative known as an operator. In a more general sense, the proposed empty complementizer parallels the suggestion of near-universal empty determiners. Various analyses have been proposed to explain when the empty complementizer ∅ can substitute for a phonologically overt complementizer. One explanation is that complementizers are eligible for omission when they are epistemically neutral or redundant. For example, in many environments, English's epistemically neutral that and Danish's can be omitted. In addition, if a complementizer expresses a semantic meaning that is also expressed by another marker in the phrase, the complementizer that carries the redundant meaning may be omitted. Consider the complementizer in Mbula, which expresses uncertainty, in the following example: Here, the marker also expresses epistemic uncertainty, so can be replaced by the phonologically null complementizer without affecting meaning or grammaticality. Complementizers are present in a wide range of environments. In some, C is obligatorily overt and cannot be replaced by the empty complementizer. For example, in English, CPs selected for by manner-of-speaking verbs (whisper, mutter, groan, etc.) resist C-drop: Barney whispered *(that) Wilma was dating Fred. Barney said (that) Wilma was dating Fred. In other environments, the complementizer can be omitted without loss of grammaticality but may result in semantic ambiguity. For example, consider the English sentence "The newspaper reported that a new mayor was elected and (that) there was a riot." Listeners can infer a causal relationship between the two events reported by the newspaper. A new mayor was elected, and as a result, there was a riot. Alternatively, the events may be interpreted as independent of each other. The non-causal interpretation is more likely when the second complementizer that is present, but the causal interpretation is more likely when an empty complementizer is present. The ambiguity here arises because the sentence in which the second complementizer is empty may also be interpreted as simply having no second complementizer. In the former case, the sentence involves co-ordination of CPs, which lends itself more easily to a non-causal interpretation, but the latter case involves co-ordination of TPs, which is the necessary structure for a causal interpretation. Partial syntax trees for the possible structures are given below. ==Selectional restrictions imposed by C== As a syntactic head, C always selects for a complement tense phrase (TP) whose syntax and semantics are dictated by the choice of C. The choice of C can determine whether the associated TP is finite or non-finite, whether it carries the semantic meaning of certainty or uncertainty, whether it expresses a question or an assertion, etc. ==In various languages== ===Assyrian Neo-Aramaic=== In Assyrian Neo-Aramaic, a modern Aramaic language, (or , depending on the dialect) is used as a complementizer and is related to the relativizer. It is less common in casual speech but more so in formal conversation. === Hebrew=== In Hebrew (both Modern and Ancient), four complementizers co-exist: 1. . It is related to the formal relativizer asher (Akkadian ashru 'place' and/or to the pronominal Proto-Semitic dhu 'this') 2. אשר [asher] after a noun 3. הַ [ha] (which is also used as the definite article) after a noun and before a present tense verb 4. כִּי [ki] (which is also used as a conjunction meaning 'because, when') after a verb In modern usage, only ש [ʃe] is used in everyday speech, while all other forms are reserved for more formal writing. ==See also== X-bar theory#Structure of S' Dependent clause ECM verb That-clause ==References== ==External links== COMP:complementizer A:set A person marker ITS:incompletive transitive status CTS:completive transitive status COMPL:completive aspect ABST:abstract ABIL:abilitive INDIR:indirect (object)

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