turkish phonology and morphology (türkçe ses ve b‹ç‹mb‹lg‹s‹)

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Turkish Phonology and Morphology (Türkçe Ses ve Biçim Bilgisi)
opposites. For example, the height of a door can come in different sizes; therefore
a 200cm-door is taller than a 150 cm-door. What this means is that it is possible to
denote different degrees of size in different contexts. Such adjectives are called
gradable adjectives and they have gradable opposites. On the scale of size bigger
or smaller sizes are possible raging from very big to very small. Some antonymous
pairs include iyi:kötü, eski:yeni, güzel:çirkin, güçlü:zay›f. Gradations are possible
through degree adverbs or comparatives: çok iyi:çok kötü; oldukça eski:oldukça
yeni, daha güzel:daha çirkin, biraz güçlü:biraz zay›f. In these pairs the negative
of an adjective does not imply absence of the property designated. So, to say that
something is not ugly does not necessarily mean that it is beautiful. In addition,
some adjectives, however, go beyond binary antonyms and form scales of more
values such as s›cak:so¤uk, a pair which allows the intermediate qualities of ›l›k,
kaynar, and serin.
It is important to note that the positive counterpart in an antonymous pair is
considered more basic. That is, the positive value is considered to be the default
or given value. But how do we know this? Let’s look at the way we form qustions
using these adjectives.
(13)
a. Ne kadar uzun? b. *Ne kadar k›sa?
Ne kadar büyük? *Ne kadar küçük?
Büyüklü¤ü ne kadar? *Küçüklü¤ü ne kadar?
Uzunlu¤u ne kadar? *K›sal›¤› ne kadar?
A¤›rl›¤› ne kadar? *Hafifli¤i ne kadar?
The (a) examples in (13) show that when we want to question a gradable
property, we always use the value of the positive end of the scale. The (b) examples
cannot be used as a neutral, answer seeking question, but rather a more specific
marked question. The implication in them is that the negative value was mentioned
previously in the conversation, and the question is asked to test the size of this
negative value. Therefore, a possible answer for the (b) questions always involve
the negative value; whereas, both are possible with the (a) questions.
(14)
a. Ne kadar uzun? b. Ne kadar k›sa?
Çok uzun. Çok k›sa.
Çok k›sa. *Çok uzun.
As an answer to (14a), both values can be used since it is an unmarked, neutral
question asking the lenght/height of something. However, (14b) disallows çok
uzun because the question is not asking just about the lenght/height, but about
the short lenght/height. This shows that the positive value of gradable antonym is
considered to be the basic one.
Not all adjectives are gradable, though. That is, there are adjectives that cannot
designate more or less of the value that they denote. These adjectives are labeled as
non-gradable adjectives. Some examples are evli:bekar, ölü:sa¤, kad›n:erkek. Since
they cannot be graded, they cannot combine with degree adverbs: *daha evli:*daha
bekar, *biraz ölü:*biraz sa¤, *oldukça erkek:*oldukça kad›n. These adjectives designate
only one quality and absence of it implies the antonym of that adjective. If someone
is married, he is not single, and he cannot be less or more married.