Referential Dependencies in Turkish: Some Novel Arguments on the Binding of Kendisi, O and Pro

Nazik Dinçtopal Deniz

doi:10.18492/dad.1142337

TR EN

Referential Dependencies in Turkish: Some Novel Arguments on the Binding of Kendisi, O and Pro

Abstract

The Turkish reflexive kendisi (self-3SG.POSS) deviates from Principle A of the Binding Theory and from the Minimalist movement approaches to referential dependencies. This paper concurs with Kornfilt (2001) and provides further support that kendi-si is preceded by a null possessor (pro) which influences its binding but argues that kendisi is not a reflexive. Kendisi’s distribution changes when its possessor is a null pronominal (pro) or an overt pronominal (o, ‘she/he/it’). It is claimed that pro and o are not the null and overt counterparts of the same pronominal. Pro and o show the same distribution only in (in)direct object positions. In possessive phrases and subject positions, their distributions differ. Following Cardinaletti and Starke (1999) and Safir (2004), it is argued that pro is a weak pronoun which only refers to an antecedent mentioned in the context. But o is a strong pronoun and can make independent reference and function as a topic shifter.

Keywords

Thanks

I am grateful to Marcel den-Dikken for consultation and his constructive criticism on an earlier version of this paper. I also would like to thank an anonymous reviewer whose insightful comments improved the discussions. All errors are mine.

References

Ariel, M. (1990). Accessing noun-phrase antecedents. London: Routledge.
Almor, A. (1999). Noun-phrase anaphora and focus: The informational load hypothesis. Psychological Review, 106(4), 748–765.
Cardinaletti, A. & Starke, M. (1999). The typology of structural deficiency. In H. van Riemsdijik (Ed.), Clitics and other functional categories in European languages (pp. 145-233). Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
Chomsky, N. (1980). On binding. Linguistic Inquiry, 11, 1-46.
Chomsky, N. (1981). Lectures on Government and Binding. Dordrecht: Foris.
Chomsky, N. (1982). Some concepts and consequences of the theory of Government and Binding. Massachusetts: MIT Press.
Chomsky, N. (1986). Knowledge of language, its nature, origin, and use. New York: Praeger.
Chomsky, N. (1995). The Minimalist Program. Cambridge: MIT Press.

Dimitriadis, A. (1996). When pro-drop languages don’t: overt pronominal subjects and pragmatic inference. Proceedings of CLS, 32.
Enç, M. (1986). Topic switching and pronominal subjects in Turkish. In D.I. Slobin & K. Zimmer (Eds.), Studies in Turkish Linguistics (pp.195-209). Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins.
Enç, M. (1989). Pronouns, licensing, and binding. Natural Language and Linguistic Theory, 7, 51-92.
Erguvanlı-Taylan, E. (1986). Pronominal versus zero representation of anaphora in Turkish. In D.I. Slobin & K. Zimmer (Eds.), Studies in Turkish Linguistics (pp. 209-231). Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins.
Göksel, A. & Kerslake, C. (2005). Turkish: a comprehensive grammar. London: Routledge
Gürel, A. (2002). Linguistic characteristics of second language acquisition and first language attritition: Turkish overt versus null pronouns. Unpublished PhD dissertatiton, McGill University.
Gürel, A. (2004). Selectivity in L2-induced L1 attrition: a psycholinguistic account. Journal of Neurolinguistics, 17, 53-78.
Holmberg, A. (2005). Is there a little pro? Evidence from Finnish. Linguistic Inquiry, 36, 533-564.
Hornstein, N. (2006). Pronouns in a Minimalist setting. In Kazanina, U., P. Minai, P. Monathan, & H. Taylor (Eds.), University of Maryland working papers in Linguistics, 14, (pp. 47-80). College Park, MD: UMWPiL.
Kornfilt, J. (1984). Case marking, agreement, and empty categories in Turkish. [Unpublished doctoral thesis]. Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Kornfilt, J. (1991). Some current issues in Turkish syntax. In Boeschoten, H. & L. Verhoeven (Eds.), Turkish Linguistics Today, (pp. 60-92). Leiden: E. J. Brill.
Kornfilt, J. (1997). Turkish. London, New York: Routledge.
Kornfilt, J. (2001). Local and long-distance reflexives in Turkish. In Cole, P., G. Hermon & C.-T. J. Huang (Eds.), Long Distance Reflexives (Syntax and Semantics,33), 197-226. San Diego: Academic Press.
Lewis, G. L. (1967). Turkish grammar. Great Britain: Oxford University Press.
Lewis, G. L. (1985). Turkish grammar. Oxford: Oxford University Press. [Corrected reprint of the 1967 original.]
Meral, H. M. (2010). Resumption, A’-chains and implications on clausal architecture. (Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation). Boğaziçi University, Istanbul, Turkey.
Meral, H. M. (2013). Binding as an A'-phenomenon? Some remarks from Turkish. Iberia, 5(1), 45-68.
Özsoy, A. S. (1990). Söylemiçi dönüşlü yapı. Dilbilim Araştırmaları-1990, 35-40. Hitit Yayınevi.
Öztürk, B. (2002). Turkish as a non-pro-drop language. In Taylan, E. E. (Ed.), The verb in Turkish (pp. 239-259). Philadelphia: John Benjamins.
Palaz, B. (2013). On the nature of anaphoric expressions kendi/kendisi and the clause structure of Turkish. (Unpublished M.A. thesis). Boğaziçi University, Istanbul, Turkey.
Reinhart, T. & Reuland, E. (1993). Reflexivity. Linguistic Inquiry, 24, 657-720.
Rudnev, P. (2011). Why Turkish kendisi is a pronominal. Ural-Altaic Studies, 4(1), 76–92.
Safir, K. (2004). The syntax of anaphora. New York: Oxford University Press.
Wexler, K. & Manzini, R. (1987). Parameters and learnability in Binding Theory. In T. Roeper & E. Williams (Eds.), Parameter setting (pp. 41-76). Dordrecht, Boston: Reidel Publishing Company.

Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Linguistics, Linguistic Structures (Incl. Phonology, Morphology and Syntax)

Journal Section

Research Article

Authors

Nazik Dinçtopal Deniz ^*
0000-0003-0673-1130
Türkiye

Publication Date

June 20, 2023

Submission Date

July 7, 2022

Acceptance Date

February 10, 2023

Published in Issue

Year 2023 Volume: 34 Number: 1

DOI

https://doi.org/10.18492/dad.1142337

IZ

https://izlik.org/JA92WK62XB

Cite

RIS / Bibtex

APA

Dinçtopal Deniz, N. (2023). Referential Dependencies in Turkish: Some Novel Arguments on the Binding of Kendisi, O and Pro. Dilbilim Araştırmaları Dergisi, 34(1), 81-107. https://doi.org/10.18492/dad.1142337

AMA

1.Dinçtopal Deniz N. Referential Dependencies in Turkish: Some Novel Arguments on the Binding of Kendisi, O and Pro. JLR. 2023;34(1):81-107. doi:10.18492/dad.1142337

Chicago

Dinçtopal Deniz, Nazik. 2023. “Referential Dependencies in Turkish: Some Novel Arguments on the Binding of Kendisi, O and Pro”. Dilbilim Araştırmaları Dergisi 34 (1): 81-107. https://doi.org/10.18492/dad.1142337.

EndNote

Dinçtopal Deniz N (June 1, 2023) Referential Dependencies in Turkish: Some Novel Arguments on the Binding of Kendisi, O and Pro. Dilbilim Araştırmaları Dergisi 34 1 81–107.

IEEE

[1]N. Dinçtopal Deniz, “Referential Dependencies in Turkish: Some Novel Arguments on the Binding of Kendisi, O and Pro”, JLR, vol. 34, no. 1, pp. 81–107, June 2023, doi: 10.18492/dad.1142337.

ISNAD

Dinçtopal Deniz, Nazik. “Referential Dependencies in Turkish: Some Novel Arguments on the Binding of Kendisi, O and Pro”. Dilbilim Araştırmaları Dergisi 34/1 (June 1, 2023): 81-107. https://doi.org/10.18492/dad.1142337.

JAMA

1.Dinçtopal Deniz N. Referential Dependencies in Turkish: Some Novel Arguments on the Binding of Kendisi, O and Pro. JLR. 2023;34:81–107.

MLA

Dinçtopal Deniz, Nazik. “Referential Dependencies in Turkish: Some Novel Arguments on the Binding of Kendisi, O and Pro”. Dilbilim Araştırmaları Dergisi, vol. 34, no. 1, June 2023, pp. 81-107, doi:10.18492/dad.1142337.

Vancouver

1.Nazik Dinçtopal Deniz. Referential Dependencies in Turkish: Some Novel Arguments on the Binding of Kendisi, O and Pro. JLR. 2023 Jun. 1;34(1):81-107. doi:10.18492/dad.1142337

Cited By

Sentence processing in Turkish: A review and future directions

Lingua

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lingua.2024.103835

KENDİ/KENDİSİ ADILLARININ TÜMCEİÇİ VE TÜMCELERARASI GÖNDERGESEL ÖZELLİKLERİ: TÜMDENGELİMLİ VE TÜMEVARIMLI BİR BAKIŞ

Dil Dergisi

https://doi.org/10.33690/dilder.1448190

Türkçede Göndergesel Bağımlılıklar: Kendisi, O ve Adıl’ın Bağlanması Üzerine Yeni Argümanlar

Abstract

Keywords

Referential Dependencies in Turkish: Some Novel Arguments on the Binding of Kendisi, O and Pro

Abstract

Keywords

Thanks

References

Details

Primary Language

Subjects

Journal Section

Authors

Publication Date

Submission Date

Acceptance Date

Published in Issue

DOI

IZ

Cite

Cited By

Sentence processing in Turkish: A review and future directions

KENDİ/KENDİSİ ADILLARININ TÜMCEİÇİ VE TÜMCELERARASI GÖNDERGESEL ÖZELLİKLERİ: TÜMDENGELİMLİ VE TÜMEVARIMLI BİR BAKIŞ