Chapter 6. Learning to produce Quechua relative clauses

Speakers of distinct varieties of Quechua (Conchucos and Cusco) performed a task designed to elicit relative clauses of different types with respect to the constituent relativized, e.g., subject-gap and object-gap. Relative clauses in both varieties are nominalized structures with heads occurring internally, externally, or not at all (free relatives). Cusco Quechua also allows finite relative clauses. Conchucos Quechua speakers (20 adults; 47 children, 2;8–4;0) produced different types of relatives with equal ease; Cusco Quechua speakers (11 adults; 16 children, 5–7 years) produced subject-gap relatives more successfully than object-gap, with children producing more finite structures than adults. In both varieties, children produced comparatively more free relatives. The analysis considers several proposals, notably Diessel & Tomasello (2000, 2005) and O’Grady (this volume).