A complexity hierarchy-based solution to the clausal subject puzzle in Turkish

Authors

  • Duygu Göksu University of Massachusetts Amherst
  • Balkız Öztürk Başaran Boğaziçi University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3765/plsa.v6i1.5146

Keywords:

complementation, embedded clause, external argument, nominalization, subject, Turkish

Abstract

This paper presents a novel analysis of subordinate clause structure in Turkish, focusing on subordinations formed by the following three suffixes: the infinitival -mA(K) with tenseless and (ir)realis usages, and -DIK/ -(y)ACAK with a (non)future temporal specification. We present a classification aligning each form on the Implicational Complementation Hierarchy (ICH) proposed in Wurmbrand and Lohninger (2020), which provides a solution for the subject puzzle observed with these clauses: only infinitival -mA(K) clauses with their (ir)realis use are compatible with being the subject of a transitive verb. We propose that (ir)realis infinitival clauses belong to the situation class in the ICH, and that this middle class is of the ideal semantic complexity and syntactic size for a clausal subject in Turkish.

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Published

2021-12-02

Issue

Vol. 6 No. 1 (2021): Proceedings of the Linguistic Society of America

Section

Articles

License

Published by the LSA with permission of the author(s) under a CC BY 4.0 license.

How to Cite

Göksu, Duygu, and Balkız Öztürk Başaran. 2021. “A Complexity Hierarchy-Based Solution to the Clausal Subject Puzzle in Turkish”. Proceedings of the Linguistic Society of America 6 (1): 1039–1049. https://doi.org/10.3765/plsa.v6i1.5146.