Relatively different: Italian Sign Language relative clauses in a typological perspective

Italian Sign Language displays a dedicated structure expressing relativization: a biclausal construction consisting of an embedded clause containing an antecedent, followed by a main clause containing a gap or a pronoun coreferential with the antecedent. This paper compares two possible analyses for this type of construction: as a correlative structure, as recently proposed by Cecchetto et al. 2006, or as a non-correlative internally headed relative clause. Evidence for the nominal status of the clause, for its extraposed nature, and for the trace-like nature of the gap in the main clause is provided and discussed. This leads to the conclusion that the non-correlative analysis is more suitable. As for their interpretative status, we argue that these clauses are restrictive relative clauses in the light of a battery of diagnostics.