Relative clauses in Gavião of Rondônia

The language of the Gavião of Rondônia, a Tupian language spoken in western Brazil, constructs relative clauses by syntactic nominalization, using either of two particles, mát ‘concrete nominalization’ or méne ‘abstract nominalization’, which are derived diachronically from discourse pronouns. The resulting nominalized clause may or may not have an internal head, which, if it occurs, is not marked, leading to a certain degree of ambiguity. The nominalized clause can modify a following noun stem, which serves as an external head. Relative clauses and complement clauses are not distinct constructions in this language. The typological significance of these constructions is discussed. Keywords: relative clauses; Gavião of Rondônia; nominalization; complement clauses