Turkish: A Comprehensive Grammar

23
WORD ORDER
In Turkish word order is variable. Changing the order of the constituents in a sentence is
used as a means of distinguishing new information from background information and of
making a certain constituent prominent in the discourse. Shifting the position of sentence
stress also serves a similar purpose. Hence variations in word order, together with the
position of sentence stress, affect the meaning of a sentence. Although there are many
possible arrangements for the stressed and unstressed constituents in a sentence, here we
discuss only the most common patterns of word order variation.
Which particular syllable receives stress within a constituent that requires to be
stressed is determined by the rules of word stress explained in Chapter 4.
23.1 gives an overview of the unmarked order of sentence constituents, and 23.2
explores this topic in more detail. Variations in word order are discussed in 23.3. Section
23.4 looks at constituents that are dislocated from phrases and from subordinate clauses.
23.1 UNMARKED SENTENCES: WORD ORDER AND STRESS
Major constituents can occur in any order in Turkish, but the unmarked order is subject
(—object)—predicate (SOV) in verbal sentences and subject—predicate in nominal
sentences. The term unmarked order refers to the ordering of constituents in the
opening sentence of a dialogue or discourse, where no information is presupposed.
(1) Terzi elbise-m-i bitir-miş.
SUBJECT OBJECT PREDICATE
dressmaker dress-1SG.POSS-ACC finish-EV/PF
‘Apparently the dressmaker has finished my dress.’
(2) Hava çok soğuk.
SUBJECT PREDICATE
weather verycold
‘The weather is very cold.’
Utterances in the unmarked order have no particular part which is more prominent than
the others. The main properties of an unmarked sentence are given below:
(i) The predicate is at the end.
(ii) The subject is at the beginning.
(iii) A non-case-marked direct object, or any indefinite constituent with the
occasional exception of an animate subject, occurs immediately before the verb.
(iv) An oblique object is placed immediately before the verb.