Turkish object marking

This file defines the differential marking of the Turkish direct object as Göksel and Kerslake describe it. The accusative suffix -(y)I is obligatory on a definite direct object and on a specific indefinite one, partitives and possessive-marked objects among them, and absent on a non-specific indefinite, which must then stand immediately before the verb; an indefinite object elsewhere in the clause takes the suffix. Which kind of specificity the suffix tracks is debated: Enç takes it to be partitivity, while von Heusinger, Kornfilt and Kizilkaya find the marking orthogonal to partitivity and tied to scopal specificity. The pattern is the continuum of definiteness cut at the specific indefinites, with no animacy dimension.

Main definitions

• Turkish.ObjectMarking.accusative: the marked objects, the degrees of definiteness from the specific indefinites up
• Turkish.ObjectMarking.MustBePreverbal: the degrees of definiteness whose objects, being unmarked, stand immediately before the verb

Main results

• Turkish.ObjectMarking.mustBePreverbal_iff: only a non-specific indefinite is confined to the preverbal position

References

• A. Göksel and C. Kerslake, Turkish: A Comprehensive Grammar (2005)
• J. Aissen, Differential Object Marking: Iconicity vs. Economy (2003)
• K. von Heusinger, J. Kornfilt and S. Kizilkaya, Differential Object Marking, Partitivity and Specificity in Turkish (2019)

def Turkish.ObjectMarking.accusative : Set Reference.DefinitenessDegree

The accusative marks a direct object that is definite or a specific indefinite, whatever its animacy.

Equations

• Turkish.ObjectMarking.accusative = Set.Ici Reference.DefinitenessDegree.specific

@[instance_reducible]

instance Turkish.ObjectMarking.instDecidablePredDefinitenessDegreeMemSetAccusative : DecidablePred fun (x : Reference.DefinitenessDegree) => x ∈ accusative

Equations

• Turkish.ObjectMarking.instDecidablePredDefinitenessDegreeMemSetAccusative d = { decide := Reference.DefinitenessDegree.specific.rank.ble d.rank, reflects_decide := ⋯ }

def Turkish.ObjectMarking.MustBePreverbal (d : Reference.DefinitenessDegree) : Prop

An object must stand immediately before the verb when it is unmarked.

Equations

• Turkish.ObjectMarking.MustBePreverbal d = (d ∉ Turkish.ObjectMarking.accusative)

@[instance_reducible]

instance Turkish.ObjectMarking.instDecidablePredDefinitenessDegreeMustBePreverbal : DecidablePred MustBePreverbal

Equations

• Turkish.ObjectMarking.instDecidablePredDefinitenessDegreeMustBePreverbal d = { decide := !decide (d ∈ Turkish.ObjectMarking.accusative), reflects_decide := ⋯ }

theorem Turkish.ObjectMarking.mustBePreverbal_iff (d : Reference.DefinitenessDegree) : MustBePreverbal d ↔ d = Reference.DefinitenessDegree.nonSpecific

Only a non-specific indefinite is confined to the preverbal position.