advcl:relcl: double pronoun construction or free relative acting as oblique argument
This syntactic subrelation (also implemented for csubj, ccomp and xcomp) is used to distinguish a so-called free relative clause from other occurrences of clauses acting as arguments in another matrix clause, according to its function.
This is a kind of relative clause that might be interpreted as having an internal head which, in Latin, is always represented by a relative pronoun (typically, but not limited to, qui). Such pronoun is sometimes said to be “double”, because it apparently has a twofold function: one as argument inside the free relative clause, and one as argument inside the matrix clause, the latter being the same function carried out by the whole clause itself (which is thus subordinate). There appear to be strong constraints for a similar construction, in that the relative pronoun often assumes the same identical forms in both functions, even when these differ inside and outside of the free relative clause: e.g., a quod (neuter singular nominative/accusative) can act indifferently in any combination of (passive) subject or object in the relative and in the matrix clause; conversely, the occurrence of quibus (any gender plural dative/ablative) might be ruled out to occur e.g. as oblique argument in the relative clause and at the same time as object in the matrix clause. In data, however, we do observe similar asymmetries. In any case, the “double” pronoun is annotated morphosyntactically according to its function inside the free relative clause. We also observe that this pronoun extremely regularly appears at the beginning of the free relative clause: this behaviour seems to be typical for relative(/interrogative) pronouns in general, also for “prototypical” relative clauses (i.e. with an external head).
This subtyped relation currently appears also in Armenian, Western Armenian and Polish but, at least in the former two languages, it is used for cases which are treated by means of advcl:pred in the Latin treebanks, i.e. subordinate adverbial clauses which refer through a neuter relative pronoun to their matrix clause as a whole. It is not clear if we are i npresence of the same phenomenon here.
Cui ergo maxime recta dilectio inesse potest potissimum locum in illo potest habere iustitia ; huiusmodi est Monarcha : ergo eo existente iustitia potissima est vel esse potest
obl:arg(inesse, Cui)
xcomp(potest-7, inesse)
advcl:relcl(potest-12, potest-7)
‘So the man in whom rightly ordered love can be strongest is the one in whom justice can have its principal abode; the monarch is such a man; therefore justice is or can be at its strongest when he exists.’ (UDante Mon-107, De Monarchia I xi 13, Dante Alighieri)
- The translation needs to develop the double pronoun cui (any gender singular dative form of qui ‘that, who, which’) in two elements: an explicit external head the man and the relative nexus in whom. It is literally: ‘to whom righteous love can belong at the maximum, justice can have the mightiest place in that one’. We notice that the relative pronoun appears embedded two levels below the head of the free relative clause: Latin has no restrictions whatsoever to what can be relativised.
Unde ipse probat soli Deo competere miracula operari quod autoritate Moysi roboratur ubi cum ventum est ad sciniphes magi Pharaonis naturalibus principiis artificiose utentes et ibi deficientes dixerunt « Digitus Dei est hic »
advmod:lmod(dixerunt, ubi)
advcl:relcl(roboratur, dixerunt)
‘And thus he proves that only God has the power to perform miracles; and this is corroborated by the authority of Moses, where he tells how, when confronted with the gnats, Pharoah’s magicians, using natural principles in the service of their arts and failing, said: “This is the finger of God.”’ (UDante Mon-243, De Monarchia II iv 2, Dante Alighieri)
- The double relative pronoun here is ubi ‘where’, traditionally labelled as a locative adverb, acting as an oblique argument of location, as the whole clause is in the matrix clause.
Note on the former annotation style
In previous (pre v2.11) versions of some treebanks, especially UDante, the annotation of this construction followed a different logic. Noticing the apparent constraints on the combination of internal and external functions of the relative pronoun, its position and making a parallelism with other relative constructions with explicite double pronouns (i.e. quod ‘what’ = id quod ‘that which’), the double pronoun was promoted as head, marked for its function in the matrix clause, and the rest of the clause made dependent as a relative clause where the relativised position is empty. So, the example above appeared as:
Cui ergo maxime recta dilectio inesse potest potissimum locum in illo potest habere iustitia ; huiusmodi est Monarcha : ergo eo existente iustitia potissima est vel esse potest
obl:arg(potest-12, Cui)
acl:relcl(Cui,potest-7)
xcomp(potest-7, inesse)
advcl:relcl in other languages: [de] [en] [gu] [hy] [hyw] [it] [la] [pl] [sv] [u] [yrl]