Relativization in Sisaalɩ: A descriptive account

Abstract

This paper examines relativization in Sɩsaalɩ, a Mabia language spoken in Ghana, with particular attention to the structural properties and strategies of relative clause formation. Drawing on elicited and natural speech data, the study shows that Sɩsaalɩ employs postnominal, externally headed, and obligatorily finite relative clauses. The language uses two relativizer forms (àà/άά), which do not inflect for person, number, or gender, followed by a definite determiner (hʋ) to introduce relative clauses. The analysis shows that subject and object relativization employ a gap strategy, while possessive and locative contexts typically involve resumptive pronouns. Sɩsaalɩ further permits relativization across a wide range of syntactic roles, consistent with the NP Accessibility Hierarchy. These findings contribute to the typological understanding of relativization in Mabia and related languages.