Turkish indefinites : scope and specificity

Abstract

Turkish indefinites in object position are expressed in two ways: one is marked with the accusative case, and the other one is non-marked. Interestingly, there is a sharp contrast between these two indefinites. Accusative marked indefinites in the object position show ambiguity between specific and non- specific interpretations whereas non-marked indefinites have only a non-specific interpretation. This thesis aims to develop a critical perspective on the semantic and syntactic differences between these two types of indefinites in Turkish. Although Enç (1991), Kelepir (2001), Öztürk (2005) and Özge (2010) present their proposals on the behavior of accusative marked and non-marked indefinites, these proposals are insufficient to fully account for the indefinites behavior. This thesis aims to give a unified and semantic oriented investigation on Turkish indefinites by delving into the missing points in earlier works. Firstly, this thesis will look at the behavior of indefinites in extensional contexts and clarify the contrast between accusative marked and non-marked indefinites in these contexts. Secondly, the thesis will analyze the interaction of indefinites with intensional operators. Fodor (1970) claims that a specific and a non- specific reading that indefinites receive are derived separately from a de re and a de dicto reading. Therefore, an indefinite receives four different readings when it scopes below an intentional operator in the surface structure. In conclusion, this thesis will go over the proposals on indefinites and provide a critical perspective on them by looking at Turkish examples.