Editing Relative clause (section)

====Serbo-Croatian====
[[Serbo-Croatian]] uses exactly the same principle as Latin does.<ref>{{cite book|last=Gallis |first=Arne |year=1956 |title=The syntax of relative clauses in Serbo-Croatian: Viewed on a historical basis |location=Oslo |publisher=I Kommisjon Hos H. Aschehoug |page=186 |oclc=601586}}</ref> The following sentences are the Latin examples translated to Serbo-Croatian (the same sentences apply to the Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian, and Montenegrin standard variants of the [[pluricentric language]]):

{{interlinear|indent=3
| Gradovi, '''koji''' su veliki, vide se.
| {the cities:NOM.M.PL} which:NOM.M.PL are:PR.3.PL large:NOM.M.PL see:PR.3.PL itself:REFL
| "The cities, which are large, are being seen."}}

{{interlinear|indent=3
| Gradovi, '''koje''' sam vidio, bili su veliki.
| {the cities:NOM.M.PL} which:ACC.M.PL {I am:AUX.1.SG} saw:AP.M.SG were:AP.M.PL are:AUX.3.PL large:NOM.M.PL
| "The cities, which I saw, were large."}}

[[File:Frequency of relativizers.jpg|thumb|290px|right|[[Frequency (statistics)|Frequency]] of [[relativizer]]s in [[Serbo-Croatian]]]]In the first sentence, ''koji'' is in the [[nominative]], and in the second ''koje'' is in the [[accusative]]. Both words are two case forms of the same [[relative pronoun]], that is inflicted for [[Grammatical gender|gender]] (here: masculine), [[Grammatical number|number]] (here: plural), and [[Grammatical case|case]].

An alternative relativizing strategy is the use of the non-declinable word ''što'' 'that' to introduce a relative clause.<ref name=KordiGerm>{{cite book|last=Kordić |first=Snježana| author-link=Snježana Kordić |year=1999 |language=de |title=Der Relativsatz im Serbokroatischen|trans-title=Relative Clauses in Serbo-Croatian |series=Studies in Slavic Linguistics; vol. 10 |location=Munich |publisher=Lincom Europa |page=330 |isbn=3-89586-573-7 |oclc=42422661 |ol=2863535W |id={{CROSBI|426502}}}} [http://d-nb.info/956417647/04 Contents]. [https://web.archive.org/web/20240506233419/http://www.snjezana-kordic.de/Summary_Der_Relativ.pdf Summary].</ref> This word is used together with a [[resumptive pronoun]], i.e. a [[personal pronoun]] that agrees in gender and number with the [[antecedent (grammar)|antecedent]], while its case form depends on its function in the relative clause.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Auwera, Johan van der |author2= Kučanda, Dubravko |title=Pronoun or conjunction - the Serbo-Croatian invariant relativizer ''što'' |journal=Linguistics |volume=23 |issue=6 |pages=917–962 |year=1985 |issn=0024-3949}}</ref> The resumptive pronoun never appears in subject function.

{{interlinear|indent=3
| Onaj poznanik '''što''' si '''ga''' pozdravio...
| that:NOM.M.SG acquaintance:NOM.M.SG that be:AUX.2.SG him:ACC greet:AP.M.SG
| "That acquaintance that (whom) you have said 'hello' to..."}}

Relative clauses are relatively frequent in modern Serbo-Croatian<ref name=KordiGerm/> since they have expanded as attributes at the expense of the [[participle]]s performing that function.<ref>{{cite book|last=Kordić |first=Snježana| author-link=Snježana Kordić |year=1997 |title=Serbo-Croatian |series=Languages of the World/Materials; vol. 148 |location=Munich & Newcastle |publisher=Lincom Europa | pages=57–60 |isbn=3-89586-161-8 |oclc=37959860 |ol=2863538W |id={{CROSBI|426503}}}} [http://bvbr.bib-bvb.de:8991/exlibris/aleph/a21_1/apache_media/I2FGYMHULBDSMDXPPEFDGV9ELUGDN2.pdf Contents]</ref> The most frequently used relative pronoun is ''koji''.<ref>{{cite book|last=Maček |first=Dora|year=1986|title=Relativization in English and Serbo-Croatian |series=The Yugoslav Serbo-Croatian - English contrastive project, New studies; vol. 3 |location=Zagreb | publisher=Institute of Linguistics, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Zagreb |page=91 |oclc=14710495}}</ref> There are several ongoing changes concerning ''koji''. One of them is the spread of the genitive-accusative [[Syncretism (linguistics)|syncretism]] to the masculine inanimate of the pronoun.<ref>{{cite book|last=Browne |first=Wayles| author-link=Wayles Browne |year=1986 |title=Relative clauses in Serbo-Croatian in comparison with English |series=The Yugoslav Serbo-Croatian - English contrastive project, New studies; vol. 4 |location=Zagreb | publisher=Institute of Linguistics, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Zagreb |page=165 |oclc=14368553}}</ref> The cause lies in the necessity to disambiguate the [[Subject (grammar)|subject]] and the [[Object (grammar)|object]] by [[Grammatical case|morphological]] means. The nominative-accusative syncretism of the form ''koji'' is inadequate, so the genitive form ''kojeg'' is preferred:<ref>{{cite book |last=Kordić |first=Snježana |author-link=Snježana Kordić |year=1995 |language=sh |title=Relativna rečenica |trans-title=Relative Clauses |url=http://bib.irb.hr/datoteka/426507.Kordic_Relativna_recenica.pdf |url-status=live |series=Znanstvena biblioteka Hrvatskog filološkog društva; vol. 25 |location=Zagreb |publisher=Matica hrvatska & Hrvatsko filološko društvo |pages=113–128 |doi=10.2139/ssrn.3460911 |isbn=953-6050-04-8 |oclc=37606491 |lccn=97154457 |ol=2863536W |id={{CROSBI|426507}} |archive-date=4 June 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120604231658/http://bib.irb.hr/datoteka/426507.Kordic_Relativna_recenica.pdf |access-date=1 August 2019 }}</ref>

{{interlinear|indent=3
|top= '''Nominative-accusative syncretism:'''
| Auto '''koji''' je udario autobus
| car:NOM/ACC.M.SG which:NOM/ACC.M.SG be:AUX.3.SG hit:AP.M.SG bus:NOM/ACC.M.SG
|}}

{{interlinear|indent=3
|top= '''Genitive-accusative syncretism:'''
| Auto '''kojeg''' je udario autobus
| car:NOM/ACC.M.SG which:ACC/GEN.M.SG be:AUX.3.SG hit:AP.M.SG bus:NOM/ACC.M.SG
| "Car hit by bus"}}