Uyghur Clause-Linking Morphemes and the Say-Complex

[Maj24] [Maj21]

This file records the morphemes implicated in Uyghur (Southeastern Turkic) clausal embedding per [Maj24]: the verb root de 'say', the converbial suffix -(I)p, and the complementizer -lik of the nominalized (participial) embedding strategy. The apparent complementizer dep is deliberately not an entry: [Maj24] (his 2–3) decomposes it as de + -(I)p; the decomposition and its consequences (adjunction at VP or TP, the argument-position ban) live in Studies/Major2024.lean.

Main definitions

• Uyghur.de, Uyghur.ip, Uyghur.lik — the say-root, the converb, and the nominalized-clause typer, as root Complementizer entries; the inventory is Uyghur.complementizers
• Uyghur.deVerb, Uyghur.oyla, Uyghur.warqira — 'say', 'think', 'scream': the main verbs whose frames drive [Maj24]'s §3 argumentation

Implementation notes

Bare his (N) references are to [Maj24]'s example numbers; the bare -(I)p data of his §2 build on [Sug19] and [Maj21]. Forms use the paper's standard-Uyghur Latin transcription; capital I in -(I)p marks the harmonizing high vowel. Verb entries are keyed by bare stem and their form fields carry the stem with a final hyphen (de surfaces as dé before the past-tense suffix, his 1).

def Uyghur.de : Complementizer

de — the verb root 'say'. A verb root, not an affix: it never surfaces bare — inflected as a main verb (dé-d-i 'say-PST-3', his 1) or converb-suffixed as a clause-linker (de-p, his 2) — so no attachment of its own is recorded. Main-verb argument structure: Uyghur.deVerb.

Equations

• Uyghur.de = { form := "de" }

def Uyghur.ip : Complementizer

-(I)p — the general-purpose converbial suffix (glossed CNV), deriving converb clauses that adjoin at VP or TP (his 4; [Sug19], [Maj21]). Not a clause-typing complementizer under [Maj24]: the same suffix links ordinary serial events ('jump', 'fall', his 3) and the say-complex de-p.

Equations

• Uyghur.ip = { form := "-(I)p", position := some Morphology.FormativePosition.postfixed, verbForm := some UD.VerbForm.Conv }

def Uyghur.lik : Complementizer

-lik — complementizer of the nominalized embedding strategy, V-PTPL-lik-POSS-CASE (his 40a): case-marked, possessive agreement, genitive subject — Noonan-nominalized. Participial clauses are Uyghur's genuine clausal arguments ([Maj24] §3.2): grammatical subjects (his 49a) and factive complements (his 61a).

Equations

• Uyghur.lik = { form := "-lik", position := some Morphology.FormativePosition.postfixed, noonanType := some NoonanCompType.nominalized }

def Uyghur.complementizers : List Complementizer

The clause-linking morphemes at issue in [Maj24]: the two pieces of the say-complex plus the rival argument strategy's typer. Not an exhaustive inventory of Uyghur subordination.

Equations

• Uyghur.complementizers = [Uyghur.de, Uyghur.ip, Uyghur.lik]

Main verbs

Vendler class stays unset (Verb.Aspect.vendlerClass convention for clause-embedding verbs); voiceType stays unset on de- because the paper argues 'say' alternates between an agentive activity and a subjectless stative description (his §3.3, 66–72).

def Uyghur.deVerb : Verb

de- 'say' as a main verb: transitive with an obligatory internal argument — bare finite CP (his 1), DP (his 39a: (birnémi-ler-ni) dé-d-i), or participial clause (his 40a). The bare-CP complement must stay adjacent to the verb, like a bare object, so it merges as complement to V (his 73). Under [Maj24] this same entry, converb-suffixed, heads dep clauses (Studies/Major2024.lean).

Equations

• Uyghur.deVerb = { frames := [Frame.finiteClause, Frame.np], form := "de-", speechActVerb := true }

def Uyghur.oyla : Verb

oyla- 'think' (his 58–59): takes DP objects (u xewer-ni 'that news-ACC', his 59b) and participial complements (his 59a). No finite frame is recorded: the apparent finite-CP frame (his 37a) is [Maj24]'s re-analysis target — the dep clause is a VP adjunct answering qandaq 'how' (his 58b, 60), not a complement.

Equations

• Uyghur.oyla = { frames := [Frame.np, Frame.gerund], attitude := some (Features.Attitude.doxastic Features.Veridicality.nonVeridical), form := "oyla-" }

def Uyghur.warqira : Verb

warqira- 'scream': unergative, no complement frame — neither DP (his 39b) nor participial clause (his 40b). With a dep adjunct it is coerced into a verb of speech (his 38; §3.1).

Equations

• Uyghur.warqira = { frames := [], voiceType := some VoiceType.agentive, form := "warqira-" }