open access

https://hdl.handle.net/2115/55117

Object Case-marking in Sakha, Turkish, and Tyvan

日本語

2014

Graduate School of Letters, Hokkaido University

Northern Language Studies

4

33-42

This paper investigates how the object case-marking is determined in three Turkic languages ― Sakha, Turkish, and Tyvan. In Sakha, the object NP is marked by either the accusative, the partitive, or the nominative. Accusative marking can be regarded as the default case-marking for objects. Partitive objects are conditioned by clausal modality and pragmatic property: the partitive is used in positive imperative or necessive clauses when the object is indefinite. Nominative objects are primarily restricted by morphological factor and NP-type: the nominative is never used when the object contains a plural or a possessive suffix, or when the object is a pronoun. Nominative objects are further restricted by pragmatic factor. Nominative marking is possible only when the object is indefinite-specific. Each Turkic language has different criteria for the choice of accusative/nominative marking. In Turkish, a syntactic criterion (immediately preverbal) is the most preferential and then definiteness also works. In Tyvan, neither morphological, syntactic, nor pragmatic factor is the crucial one for the marking. A global factor may also be relevant, since nominative marking for an object with a possessive suffix is possible only when the object is a possessee of the subject.

紀要論文

Version of Record

2185-7121

AA12516968