Translation‐Induced Interrogative Relativizers and Stability in Icelandic

Throughout the history of Icelandic, invariant particles, which do not inflect for semantic or syntactic features antecedent, are typical markers relative clauses (Þráinsson 2007). Another, putatively foreign strategy—relativization with interrogative–relative pronouns—is archaic in Modern but is frequent between sixteenth and eighteenth centuries, a period featuring high degree literary translation from languages themselves possessed interrogative–relativization strategies. In this paper, I examine both internal processes grammaticalization effects contact on development strategy Old-to-Early Icelandic by comparing morphosyntatic structures among involved scenario: German, Latin. Using Parsed Historical Corpus (Wallenberg et al. 2011), conduct diachronic corpus study that quantifies relativization strategy. argue proliferation phenomenon stimulated pattern borrowing (primarily) Latin, contextualized made possible state systemic variability instability paradigm Early Icelandic.