A Grammar of Italian Sign Language (LIS)

In LIS full relative clauses, the relative clause (including the head noun) precedes the main clause regardless of the syntactic role of the head noun in the main clause. In the examples below, the head noun child is the subject of the main clause predicate fall_down in (a); and the indirect object of the main clause predicate give in (b). In both sentences, the relative clause precedes the main clause.

                                                                       rel

         a.            [child_a fotball play pe_a] yesterday tree CL(V): ‘fall_down’

         ‘The child who plays football yesterday fell off a tree.’          

                                                                          rel

         b.            [child_a football play pe_a] yesterday a-n-n-a_b ball new _bCL(unspread curved open 5): ‘give_ball’_a done

         ‘Yesterday Anna gave a new ball to the child who plays football.’

In LIS free relatives, the relative clause always precedes the main clause, regardless of the syntactic role of the wh-sign in the main clause. In the example (a) below, the wh-sign who is the subject of the main clause predicate exit, while in (b) the wh-sign which is the object of the main clause predicate see. In both sentences, the relative clause precedes the main clause.

                                                        rel

         a.            [exam done who] go_away be_able

         ‘Who has taken the exam can go out.’ (Branchini, 2009: 104)

                                                                 rel

         b.            [p-a-o-l-o like which] ix₁ see done

         ‘I saw which Paolo likes.’ (Branchini, 2009: 105)