Relative Clauses in Hui ’ an Dialect

Based on the definition of the relative clause from Song (2001), this paper examines the relative clause in the Hui’an dialect from four parameters: (a) the relativization marker used; (b) the position of the head noun relative to the restricting clause; (c) the role and encoding of the head noun in the restricting clause; and (d) the role and encoding of the head noun in the main clause. The Hui’an dialect, spoken in Hui’an County, Fujian province, belongs to the Quan-Zhang subgroup of the Southern Min dialect family. The data used are mainly collected from naturally occurring conversations among native speakers. Findings include: (i) the dialect allows head-initial as well as head-final relative clause structures; (ii) internally-headed relative clauses do not occur; and (iii) light-headed relatives do occur.