Turkish: A Comprehensive Grammar

22
DEFINITENESS, SPECIFICITY AND
GENERIC REFERENCE
This chapter deals with the referential function of noun phrases. Speakers can use noun
phrases with specific or non-specific reference, and if they are referring to specific
entities they can use various means to indicate whether or not they expect their hearers to
be able to identify the person(s) or thing(s) they are talking about. In Turkish the
referential status of a noun phrase depends on one or more of the following factors:
(i) what kind of determiners, if any, are present (15.6)
(ii) the use or non-use of accusative marking on direct objects (14.3.3.2)
(iii) word order (22.5)
(iv) sentence stress (22.6)
(v) the tense, aspect and modality of the predicate (22.7)
Four referential statuses can be identified in Turkish, and these are explained in detail in
the successive sections of this chapter. Both definite (22.1) and indefinite (22.2) noun
phrases are always marked for number:
(1) {Çocuk-lar} {araba}-yı yıkadılar.
child-PL car-ACC
DEF.PL DEF.SG
‘{The children} washed {the car}.’
(2) {Bir oda}-da {birtakım kutu-lar} vardı.
a room-LOC some box-PL
INDEF.SG INDEF.PL
‘There were {some boxes} in a room.’
This is in contrast to the second non-definite status that exists in Turkish, namely
categorial (22.3), in which the distinction between singular and plural is neutralized and
the noun phrase indicates merely the ‘kind’ to which reference is being made:
(3) Sen daha {çocuk}sun.
‘You’re still {a child}.’
The fourth referential status, generic reference (22.4), involves the use of a noun phrase
in a generalizing function, to refer to an entire class of entities, or to a(ny) typical
member of that class:
(4) Eskiden {çocuk}, büyüklerine s aygı gösterirdi.
‘In the past, {a child} showed respect to his/her elders.’