Journal of Linguistics Research

Abstract

The main aim of this paper is to describe as well as explain the different participial morphology found on the modifier clauses in Turkish relative clauses. This is a topic which has been widely discussed and debated in the field of studies in Turkish linguistics. However, while the debate has centered around questions of facts and the "correct" generalizalion(s), there has hardly been an attempt to actually explain the generalizations found, i.e. to tie the facts of morphology choice to more general principles of syntax at work in the language elsewhere, outside the realm of relative clauses. It is the latter enterprise which this paper attempts to address. In doing this, I will concentrate on facts of the "standard" dialect and will describe the facts at issue. While an account of the larger varieties of facts would be interesting and challenging, it would be too ambitious to attempt such an account here.