The genesis and typology of correlatives

Abstract

This article argues for a new theory of the origin of wh-correlatives from indefinite uses of wh-words in paratactic or asyndetic conditionals. We show that this theory predicts a generalization that has so far gone unnoticed: wh-based correlatives always have a universal reading; they may also have a definite reading, which may be morphologically marked. This is in contrast to correlatives where the relativizer originates from a demonstrative element: these always have a definite reading and may also have a universal reading. We demonstrate the validity of this generalization on a data set containing thirty-eight correlative structures from thirty-two languages, that is, all of the correlative structures that are sufficiently well described in the literature.