WORD CLASSES

Following are the prototypical features of coordinated elements: • Reducibility to one element is a prototypical feature of coordination. Ali ve Ayşe öğretmen can be reduced to Ali öğretmen. • Change in order without distorting the semantic content: Ayşe genç ve güzel vs. Ayşe güzel ve genç. • Likeness of class and function: *Ali ve çocukça ağladı is ungrammatical since a noun and an adverb are coordinated. • Open endedness is the ability to allow infinite number of elements to coordinate. Ve and veya are the most prototypical in that sense: Ankara, İstanbul, İzmir, Aydın ve/veya Eskişehir.

Nouns in Turkish can be bare, derived, and compound. Bare nouns have a root standing without any derivational morphemes attached to them as in kuzu, lale, baba. Derived nouns are formed by affixation as in oyuncak, bozgun. Compound nouns are made up of two words merged in one as in hanımeli.

Adjectives are not marked inflectionally in Turkish. In terms of derivational morphology, however, the category is marked by a number of derivational morphemes such as -lI (sakallı), -CIl (insancıl), -(I)msI (acımsı), -(I)mtrak (sarımtırak), -sAl (bilimsel). These are some examples deriving adjectives from nouns. There are also morphemes that derive adjectives from verbs such as -Gan (alıngan), -GIn (pişkin). Another special case about adjectives is the derivation called reduplication. The first syllable of an adjective can be doubled and then one of the consonants p, m, s, or r is either added to it or is used to replace the last consonant of it. This is done to intensify the meaning of the adjective: apaçık, bembeyaz, upuzun, yusyuvarlak, etc.

Turkish allows overlaps between word classes, so adjectives, adverbs, postpositions, and verbs can be used as nouns: a. [Büyükler] geldi. b. [İleriye] git biraz! c. Senin [gibilere] güven olmaz. d. [Onun birinci olduğ]unu herkes biliyor. e. [Onun birinci olması] sürpriz olmadı. f. [Birinci olmak] bir hayaldi.

• Interjections can be used sentence initially, medially or finally. • They can take case markers and be used as nouns: ahımı alma, ne ahlar çektim, vahlar kar etmedi, etc. • By changing intonation, the same interjection may be used to express different feelings. For example, aman may express fear in Aman Allahım, request in Aman öyle demeyin, warning in Aman dikkatli sürün, and surprise in aman ne pahalı. • To intensify the meaning expressed, they can be juxtaposed one after the other: tüh tüh, vah vah, of of, ah ah.

Words are are classified by using two criteria: • (1) the semantic criteria and • (2) the grammatical criteria.

In terms of their semantics, nouns are classified as countable vs. uncountable (or mass). Kalem, kitap, masa are countable nouns since they can be individuated and counted one by one. Nouns such as süt, yoğurt, su are uncountable (mass) nouns because they cannot be individuated, thus cannot be counted. However, uncountable nouns may have count and mass interpretations depending on the context in which they are used.

Based on the semantic criteria, the most central members of nouns denote persons or concrete objects. They function as the head of noun phrases which are characteristically the subject or the object in a sentence.

The open classes (also known as content words) include nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs; the closed classes include the rest: pronouns, postpositions, conjunctions, and interjections (also known as function words). Open classes have unlimited membership and they are open to new membership. The closed classes, however, have relatively few members. Members of open classes undergo various grammatical inflections, so they have variable forms: uyu, uyur, uyuyor, uyuyacak, uyumalı. Closed classes, except for the pronouns, have invarient forms since they do not take up any grammatical inflections.

Following the semantic criteria, words are classified by considering their meaning.

Based on the morphological criteria, the most prototypical nouns enter into inflectional contrasts of number, singular vs plural; and case nominative vs accusative, dative, locative, ablative, and genitive. In terms of derivational morphology nouns are most productively derived by morphemes such as -CAğIz and -CI from nouns, -lIk from nouns and adjectives; and -(y)AcAK, -ç, -DIK, - gA, -gAn, -GI, -(y)IcI, -(y)Ifl, -mA, -mAcA, -mAk, -mIfl, - (I/A)r, from verbs. Some examples include çocukcağız, simitçi, eşitlik, yiyecek, gönenç, tanıdık, bilge, ergen, saygı, sürücü, çıkış, sarma, gülmece, yüzmek, dolmuş, yazar.

Following the grammatical criteria, class membership is determied based on the morphological and distributional properties of a word. Morphological properties are concerned with the morphological structure of words, i.e. inflectional and derivational. By this criterion, words that take the same derivational and/or inflectional morphemes are classified as belonging to the same word class. Distributional properties are concerned with the syntactic positions of words and the syntactic functions associated with them. By this criterion, words that appear in the same position are classiefied as members of the same word class.

In terms of their form, Turkish verbs are classified into three groups: bare verbs, derived verbs, and compound verbs. Bare verbs are predominantly mono sylabic with no derivational suffixes attached to them. Some examples are aç-, ürk-, üre-, tut-, kork-, uyar. Derived verbs are composed of a stem, either nominal or verbal, and a derivational morpheme as in artır-, çoğalt, kirala-, tepele. Compound verbs consist of a noun followed by an auxilary as in yardım et-, mümkün kıl-, yok ol-, naz yap-.

The most typical adjectives denote properties that can be possessed in varying degrees. The most salient properties are known as size, shape, color, age, taste, smell, texture, evaluation: büyük oda, kare oda, mavi oda, eski oda, acı biber, burcu koku, kalın kumaş, güzel oda.

Nouns can also be classified as abstract vs concrete. Concrete nouns denote the physical entities that can be perceived through our senses. They may refer to common members of a category such as kadın, erkek, kedi, masa, sandalye, known as common nouns; or to a particular person, place, or thing such as Hakan, Otel Anadolu, Kaşıkçı Elması, known as proper nouns. Abstract nouns, on the other hand, refer to a quality, state or action as in iyilik, açlık, yalan.

This kind of categorization focuses on the internal structure of the lexical meaning of a verb. Vendler (1967: 97-121) suggested four categories: a. Activity verbs denote long lasting actions without a terminal point: koşmak, yürümek, yemek yemek, araba kullanmak, etc. b. Accomplishment verbs denote long lasting actions with a terminal point: deney yapmak, 100m. koşmak, büyümek, etc. c. Achievement verbs denote instantaneous actions with a terminal point: bulmak, durmak, bafllamak, doğmak, ölmek, farketmek, etc. d. Stative verbs indicate persistent situations lasting a period of time. They are non-agentive and nondynamic as they do not involve actions performed deliberately. Some examples are istemek, sevmek, nefret etmek, bilmek, inanmak.

There are two classes of adjectives. Gradable adjectives have gradable opposites: iyi:kötü, eski:yeni, güzel:çirkin, güçlü:zayıf. Non-gradable adjectives cannot designate more or less of the value that they denote: evli:bekar, ölü:sağ, kadın:erkek. Since they cannot be graded, they cannot combine with degree adverbs: *daha evli:*daha bekar, *biraz ölü:*biraz sağ, *oldukça erkek:*oldukça kadın.

a. Nouns can be used as non-prototypical adjectives with certain restrictions: • No noun can be used with a degree adverb: çok büyük kapı is grammatical but *çok demir kapı is not. • Adjectives can combine with other adjectives as in büyük kalın kapı, but nouns cannot as in *demir kalın kapı. • Nouns cannot be coordinated with other adjectives. Büyük ama dik kapı is acceptable, but *demir ama dik kapı is not. b. Verbs, can be used as non-prototypical adjectives as a result of the process called adjectivalization: [ağlayan] bebek, [sevdiğimiz] ev, [kırılmış] vazo, [katlanılmaz] dert, [gömülü] hazine, [akacak] kan. Adjectivalized verbs can be used attributively, but not predicatively.

Adverbs function as modifiers of verbs as in akıllıca konuştu, adjectives as in çok akıllı, and adverbs as in çok akıllıca konuştu. They are also used as connectors between clauses and as modifiers of the entire clause: böylece, sonuç olarak, bundan dolayı, açıkçası, ne yazık ki, maalesef, şüphesiz. The distributional tests for all these positions are shown in the following in this given order: a. ___V b. ___ Adj. c. ___ Adv. d. S _____ S e. _____ S

Based on the distributional criteria, the most typical tensed verbs function as the head of predicates/clauses. The following are used as distributional tests for diffrent types of verbs: a. Transitive verbs: Direct Object Noun ___ b. Intransitive verbs: ___ c. Copular verbs: Adjective/Noun/Postposition ___

Based on the distributional criteria, the most prototypical nouns in Turkish appear in positions with a preceding: a. determiner: Determiner _____ b. adjective: Adjective _____ c. adjective and dterminer: Adjective+Determiner _____ If a word can be used in these blank slots in a sentence, it has more noun features than others that cannot.

Considering the morphological structure of a word, the most natural signal for verbhood is the infinitive morpheme –mAk which can be attached to all verbs: gelmek, uyumak, olmak, bilmek, oturadurmak, etc. Inflectional contrasts such as tense, aspect, mood, voice, agreement, and negation signal verbhood as well. Prototypical verbs are tensed and all verbs have tensed forms. In terms of their derivational structure, verbs from nouns and adjectives are derived with the morphemes such as -Al, (azal-), -dA (ışılda-), -lA (avla), -sA (susa-) as well as deverbal verbal stems with morphemes such as -mA (görüşme), -Ar (kopar-), -n (dişlen), -(y)Iş (giriş), -t (titret). The very productive suffix -(y)IcI is also attached to verbs to form nouns as in sürücü, azmettirici, bağlayıcı, besleyici, betimleyici, binici, arabulucu, büyüleyici, candandırıcı, ferahtatıcı, caydırıcı.

Adjectives are modifiers of nouns and they restrict the possible referents of the head noun in the real world. They can be used either attributively as in [çalışkan] çocuk or predicatively as in çocuk [çalışkan]. Some adjectives may denote properties that can have varying degrees.

Morphological and distributional tests for objecthood may not be realiable enough because they can be used test adverbs as well.

Adverbs can be bare or derived. Bare adverbs consist of a single word. Majority of them denote manner and time: asla, artık, daha. Derived adverbs are formed with derivational morphemes from nouns and verbs. Morphemes such as -lEyIn (geceleyin), -In (ilkin), -CA (bence, delice, insanca), - DAn (akflamdan), -lA (hayretle), -cAk (çabucak), -cAcIk (çabucacık), -sIzIn (ansızın) derive adverbs from nouns and adjectives. Morphemes such as -(y)A, -(y)Ip, -(y)ArAk, -(y)IncA, - (y)AlI derive adverbs from verbs as in abarta abarta, kapıyı çarpıp, kapıyı çarparak, kapıyı çarpınca, buraya geleli. There are also morphemes that can attach to nominalized and adjectivalized verbs to form adverbs. Some examples are bakmaksızın (-mAksIzIn), dönmesiyle (-mAsIylA), ağladıkça (-DIkçA). Reduplication is another way of marking adverbial meanings in Turkish: ağır ağır, derin derin, mavi mavi, buram buram, damla damla, etc.

Considering the semantics of a word, prototypical verbs denote rapid changes in the universe. They are characteristically events and actions.

Adjectives function as the head of an adjective phrase such as güzel in oldukça güzel. Adjective phrases can be used as pre-head modifiers (sağlıklı çocuk), as predicative complements (çocuk sağlıklı, sağlıklı oldu, onu sağlıklı buluyorum, etc.), and rarely as post-head modifiers (Kanal D, Kat 1, Radyo A, etc.) The prototypical adjective occur in all of these positions, but peripheral members are restricted to only one or two of them, and excluded from the rest. The distributional tests for the core members of different types of adjectives are the following: a. Attributive adjectives: ___ (bir) Noun b. Predicative adjectives: ___Vcopular c. All adjectives: Degree Adverb ___

These tests may not be reliable in that they may work for other word classes as well. Another problem with the distributional criteria is that most adverbs retain considerable word order flexibility. This means that they do not have a fixed position within the sentence so they can satisfy a distributional test. Since adverbs are a very flexible class allowing many overlaps between other word classes, and since this flexibility makes it harder to develop an objective test for them, a larger class called particles are proposed. They include some adverbs, some conjunctions, and postpositions.

Adverbs lack inflectional morphology. Like adjectives they enter into comparative and superlative contrasts, but they do so not by inflectional morphology, but by juxtaposition of degree adverbs such as daha and en. Derivational morphology deriving adverbs is more productively applied. Many adverbs, particulary manner adverbs, are derived from adjectives or nouns by the derivational suffix -CA: hızlıca, güzelce, askerce, çocukça. But it is neither a necessary nor a sufficient condition for adverb status. For example, reduplicated adjectives do not include -CA, but they function as adverbs as in: çabuk çabuk, kısık kısık, uzun uzun. Similarly, güzelce and canice include - CA, but they can be used as adjectives as well: güzelce bir kız, canice bir plan. But certain derivational morphemes derive adverbs and only adverbs such as -A added to reduplicated verbs as in seve seve, koşa koşa. The morpheme -lA added to nouns derives adverbs as well: hevesle, iştahla, merakla.

There are two types of logical relation in coordination: conjunction and disjunction. (Tarski, 1994). The former is marked by ve the latter by veya in Turkish: (a) Ayağa kalktı ve soru bombardımanına başladı. (b) Evde yoklar veya duymadılar. In conjunction, the meaning of the sentence is true only if the components of it are true. Ayağa kalktı ve soru bombardımanına başladı is true only if s/he actually stood up and s/he actually started asking questions. In disjunction, the meaning is true only one of its components is true. Evde yoklar veya duymadılar is true if either one of evde yoklar and duymadılar is true, but false if both are false.

This category includes words expressing a range of different emotional reactions: sadness (of), surprise (ya), happiness (yaşa), excitement (oley), regret (tüh, tövbe), longing (ah), fear (hi), praise (aferin), disappointment (aşk olsun) etc. They are also used as attention gatherers: hey, şşşt, huu, etc.

Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives and other adverbs.

Conjunctions are of two types: coordinating and subordinating. In this section, the focus will be on coordination as subordination will be dealt with in the Syntax units of the course. Coordinating conjunctions are the words that are used to mark coordination between words, phrases, and clauses. There are three major coordinators: ve, veya, ancak. More recently, though, the noun artı has been added to this list. It has, in informal Turkish, taken on a coordinative function to the extent that it can now freely replace ve. Ve, as well as its new alternate artı, has an additive function which can also be expressed by ile and de: çocuk ve annesi, çocuk ile annesi, annesi de, çocuk artı annesi, artı annesi. Ve also marks the order of events when used to combine predicates: kalktı ve lambayı söndürdü means s/he first got up and then turned off the light. Sometimes, relations other than coordination may be implied by ve as in cüzdanı çalındı ve tepesi attı. The implication is that tepesi attı is the consequence of cüzdanı çalındı. Veya offers alternatives, and ancak marks contrastive relations. Turkish allows simple juxtaposition of words, phrases and clauses to signal coordination: (a) Elma, portakal aldık, (b) Bodrum’da bir yazlık, Ankara’da bir kışlık aldık, (c) Neşe odaya girdi, elektrikler söndü.

Adverb is the grammatically distinct word class members of which are used only as modifiers of verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. Adverbials, on the other hand, are words that function as adverbs. Adverbials include adverbs as well as other words. In çabucak ayrıldı, çabucak is an adverb, but in dün ayrıldı, dün is an adverbial because it is in fact a noun functioning as time adverbial.

Adverbs characteristically modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs in terms of time, place, direction, quality, manner, and degree. Core members express manner or degree, less central members express time and place.

• Personal pronouns: ben, sen, o, biz, siz, onlar. • Reflexive pronouns: Kendim, kendin, kendisi, kendimiz, kendiniz, kendileri. • Reciprocal pronouns: Birbiri, birbirimiz, birbiriniz, birbirleri. • Demonstrative pronouns: Bu, şu, o, bura-, şura-and ora-. • Indefinite pronouns: Kimse, herkes, falan, filan, şey, (genric) sen, başkası, bazısı, bazıları, biri, birisi, biriniz, çoğu, gerisi, hepsi, kimi, öbürü, öteki, tümü, etc. • Possessive pronouns: Benim-ki, senin-ki, onunki, bizim-ki, sizin-ki, onların-ki. • Interrogative pronouns: Kim, ne, hangi; • Relative pronoun: İstanbul ki, yedi tepe üstünde kurulu, bayır bacadan geçilmiyor.

There are two types of disjunction: exclusive and inclusive (Levinson, 1983: 138). If it is exclusive, it forces a choice on the part of the hearer between the alternatives. In kahve veya çay ikram edebilirim, the speaker does not expect the hearer to have them both. In evde yoklar veya duymadılar, there is no such exclusive interpretation. Both alternatives are possible, so it is an example of inclusive disjunction. Double coordination is not a allowed in Turkish: *Ne Ayşe’yi tanıyorlar ama ne de biliyorlar.

Postpositions are words that form phrasal constituents with nouns or noun phrases. They are not used on their own. They always follow their noun complements as the head of a postpositional phrase: anneme göre, annem için, kardeşim ile, etc.

Postpositions are invarient in their form with no inflectional contrasts, but they enter into different inflectional case relations with their noun complements. Some postpositions assign nominative case to their objects as in Osman gibi, Salih için, kedi kadar; whereas some assign dative and ablative case as in ona göre, akşama kadar, buna rağmen, sana dair, öğretmene karşı, dünden beri, senden yana, yarından itibaren, akşamdan önce, dersten sonra. Sometimes they behave differently with nouns and pronouns. For example, gibi, as well as kadar and için, assigns nominative case to its noun complements, genitive to its pronoun complements in all persons except third person plural: Ali gibi, Ali kadar, Ali için, onlar gibi, onlar kadar, onlar için, but onun gibi, onun kadar, onun için, etc.

Most of the postpositions can be used adverbially but their postpositional function appears when they are used with noun complements (Huddleston, 1988: 125, Lewis, 1967: 90). For example, aşağıda is an adverbial in aşağıda kaldım, but a postposition in derenin aşağısında kaldım. Limited number of postpositions can be modified by degree adverbs such as tam, pek, çok, pek çok, biraz. Some examples are okulun tam önünde, akşamdan çok sonra, dersten biraz önce, toplantının tam ortasında, tam anneme göre, tam kardeşim için, but not *tam annem sayesinde, *tam vali tarafından, *tam olaya rağmen. Post positions can take subordinate clauses as their complements as well: gitmek için, gelmesine rağmen, istedikleri gibi, söyledikleri üzere, kalmalarına ilişkin, etc.

• Nouns are used referentially; whereas, pronouns are used anaphorically. • Only few derivations are possible with pronouns: benlik, senlik, senli benli, bensiz, sensiz, buncacık (Korkmaz, 2003: 399).

Pronouns are used to replace nouns. They can be inflected for case like all nouns. They appear in positions where nouns appear in a sentence: Coşkun geldi, Coşkunu gördüm, Coşkuna baktım vs. O geldi, Onu gördüm, Ona baktım.