Turkish Possessive Constructions by Upward Agree

Abstract

This paper explores possessive constructions in Turkish through the lens of the Upward Agree (UA) framework proposed in Bjorkman and Zeijlstra (2019). It addresses the technical challenge of how in possessive DPs, the possessee NP is able to control verbal agreement and anaphor binding, but not the possessor. While possessive DPs reflect the features of the possessee, these features appear to be projected upwards for verbal agreement and anaphor binding purposes despite the possessor being positioned higher in the structure. We argue that UA effectively captures two essential facts: (i) the possessor's features' appearing on the Poss head, and (ii) the features of the possessee being accessible in the maximal projection DP. The paper details a step-by-step derivation of a typical possessive construction, illustrating how the possessor interacts with the D head and allows feature checking and valuation. We argue that UA offers a cohesive explanation for both the projection of features from the possessee and the agreement seen with the possessor, providing a comprehensive account of complex agreement phenomena in Turkish.