FROM CONVERB TO CLAUSAL SUBJECT? A MINIMALIST APPROACH TO THE STATUS OF {-(y)AlI} ELEMENTS IN TURKISH

Abstract

{-(y)AlI} is a suffix widely attested in both historical and modern Turkish and exhibits a range of functions. In grammars of modern Turkish, it is generally analyzed only as a converb suffix. However, it may be considered that the suffix also exhibits event-denoting clausal subject uses in contemporary Turkish novels. In these cases, the forms to which the suffix is attached function not as adverbial clauses but as event clauses serving as subjects. This appears to be a syntactic process rather than a morphological one. The Minimalist Program is a theoretical framework that aims to explain the functioning of language in an economical and simplified way, based on principles and theories such as representational and derivational economy, Bare Phrase Structure Theory, and Relativized Minimality. This paper focuses on the functions in question, particularly in modern Turkish, and proposes a syntax-based approach grounded in the Minimalist Program. It also relates these quasi verbal-noun uses to another common narrative pattern in Turkish. The study adopts a partially diachronic perspective, since tracing the suffix through historical texts helps clarify its functional development. Although grammars of historical Turkish (or Turkic) tend to examine this suffix within a broader functional framework than modern grammars, both modern and historical Turkish grammars are limited by their insufficient attention to syntax and linguistic theories. Yet when a suffix appears in subordinate clauses, its function can only be accurately identified through syntactic analysis. Therefore, this paper places emphasis on syntax and the principles and theories of the Minimalist Program.