70017 A Turkish - Morphology and Syntax
Sofia Prokou
Specialised Teaching and Research Staff (EEDIP/EEP)
3 hours per week
Course Objectives
This course aims mainly to consolidate the students' knowledge on complex structures of the Turkish grammar. More specifically, the focus is on grammatical ‘subordination’ (e.g. nominalisation and the various forms of noun and adverbial clauses) in written and oral registers of standard Turkish. Morphology and syntax are studied in detail as well as their possible semantic implications. Based on the principal forms that words can take in Turkish (basic morphology), emphasis is given on the ways words combine into phrases, clauses and sentences. Discussing the structural hierarchy of the Turkish Grammar, our attempt is to present its complex structures. We proceed to a more complete presentation of how noun phrases, for instance, can occur as complements within the verb phrase, and/or how they combine with verb phrases to form clauses or sentences.
Course Structure
After an introductory course to the general principles of ‘subordination’, we examine the noun clause, the adverbial clause and the conditional sentences morphologically, syntactically and semantically. In so doing, we attempt a brief contrastive analysis between similar forms of modern Greek in order to serve didactic purposes.
We dedicate four to five lectures (three hours per week) to the discussion of the noun clauses where we examine the finite (bare finite and finite clauses with a subordinator – ki, diye, gibi -) and the non-finite noun clauses with subordinating suffixes –mAk, -mA, -DIk, or –(y)Iş). Another four weeks' period is dedicated to the adverbial clause, the finite and the various non-finite forms of this type of subordinate clauses. Following a semantic classification of non-finite adverbial clauses, special attention is given to those expressing time, manner, purpose, reason, concession, addition, etc.
We conclude with three to four weeks dedicated to conditional clauses since they constitute a sub-type of adverbial clauses. We mainly discuss three functional types of conditional sentence: predictive conditionals, knowable conditions and universal conditional clauses.
Assessment
Mid term examination (20% - 5 being the threshold), final examination (80% - 5 being the threshold).
Bibliography
Göksel Aslı – Kerslake Celia, Turkish: A Comprehensive Grammar, Routledge, London, 2004
Kornfilt Jaklin, Turkish, Routledge, London, 1997,
Underhill Robert, Turkish Grammar, MIT Press, 1976
Lewis Geoffrey, Turkish Grammar, Oxford U.P., Oxford , 2001
Banguoğlu Tahsin, Türkçenin Grameri, Türk Dil Kurumu, Ankara 1998
Korkmaz Zeynep, Türkiye Türkçesi Grameri (Şekil Bilgisi), Türk Dil Kurumu Yayınları: 827, Ankara 2003
Text book:
Özsoy Sumru, Türkçe-Turkish, Boğaziçi Üniversitesi Yayınları, İstanbul, 1999
A syllabus prepared by the lecturer is distributed at class and accessible in e-class in a more concise form.