An image with multiple ways of saying "hello" and "welcome" in a variety of conlangs

Day 252: September 8, 2024


Decorative image of a mouse drinking espresso while walking past a gallery of paintings with the daily prompt
Conlang Year, Day 252 prompt

Goal: Explore options for headless relative clause forms

Note: These include structures like “I’ll go wherever you go” or “Love what you do.”

Tip: These may be similar to your non-embedded clause forms or to your relative clause strategies.

Work focus: Learn/Brainstorm/Try


Take some time to explore options for handling headless relative clause situations in your language. Some languages (like English) have the ability to effectively use a clause structure that looks a lot like a relative clause in a role that is nominal or adverbial. 

For instance, in “I’ll go wherever you go,” the structure “wherever you go” is headed by a wh-word (like a relative clause structure can be) and functions as an adverbial element to indicate where the speaker will go. Another way of saying the same information could involve a standard relative clause structure, as in “I’ll go to any place that you go.”

In the sentence “Love what you do,” the structure “what you do” is the object of the verb “love” and, again, is the structure of a relative clause structure without a head noun. Another way of saying that sentence is “Love the things that you do,” which incorporates a head noun and a modifying relative clause.

Spend some time researching languages that have these kinds of structures, how they use them, and what forms they take to determine if they are a good inclusion for your language. If they are, brainstorm ideas for how they might look and function.