Information structure in syntactic derivation

The paper investigates information structure of Russian relative clauses. It shows that the constituent order in relative clauses is not free but constrained by the obligatory topical position of the relative pronoun, and enumerates basic and derived information structures allowing relativization. The assumption that relative pronoun movement is preceded by linear-accentual transformations rearranging the information structure of the relative clause allows to explain restrictions on pied piping as a constraint on subextraction. In this way, the paper contributes to the broader problem of the architecture of grammar and provides arguments in favor of syntax-internal approaches to scrambling.