Mersin University Journal of Linguistics and Literature (Mersin Üniversitesi Dil ve Edebiyat Dergisi

Number 2, 2018

1-22
Possibility and Necessity in Grammatical Modality in Turkish

Authors: Eser Erguvanlı Taylan

Abstract

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Number of views: 380

This study focuses on the semantics of -Abil, -(A/I)r, -mAlI and -DIr as grammatical markers of modality assocated with multiple functions/ meanings. After a brief survey of the different classifications proposed for the modal field, these four morphemes are analyzed in terms of the epistemic and non-epistemic split. Furthermore, following Kratzer, A. (1981, 1991) it is argued that the modal distinctions have the underyling modal forces of either possility or necessity. Investigating the different modal senses of the four grammatical modality markers in Turkish from the point of view of possibility and necessity, it is argued that -Abil underlyingly has the modal force of possibility while -mAlI has that of necessity. Furthermore, as -(A/I)r may be neutral in terms of its modal sense it is claimed to have a weak modal specification, and -DIr is analyzed as a sentence level speech act operator. The different modal senses associated with these forms, in fact, spring from the grammatical and/or discourse context, as claimed by Kratzer. This illustrates the role of context in form-function relations in grammatical formatives of Turkish.

23-43
Hayır and Yok as Pragmatic Markers in Turkish: Findings from Spoken Turkish Corpus

Authors: Serap Altunay & Yeşim Aksan

Abstract

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Number of views: 400

Pragmatic markers (PM) are linguistic items in “talk-in-interaction” performing not only functions peculiar to that grammatical category but also various pragmatic functions such as topic shift, coherence, turn taking strategy, repair and etc. within the context of communication. Even though pragmatic markers in Turkish have also been the focus of some recent studies, negation markers on the propositional level hayır and its correspondent yok have not been investigated in spoken Turkish discourse within the framework of pragmatics and conversation analysis yet. The present study draws on hayır and yok as pragmatic markers in Turkish which have, thus far, been examined by paying attention to the only negation function without considering the notions of context of situation and pragmatic interpretation. In this sense, this study aims at identifying qualitative and quantitative aspects of hayır and yok as pragmatic markers in Turkish spoken conversational discourse through a representative corpus-database, the Spoken Turkish Corpus (STC) within the analytic framework of conversation analysis and functional-pragmatic approach. Hereby, detailed analysis on these PMs from the STC showed that hayır and yok as pragmatic markers carry a complex conversational workload, and namely appear to have both textual and interactional uses, most of the time simultaneously.

45-62
Laughter in Turkish: A Preliminary Study on Corpus Occurrences and Patterns

Authors: Aygül Uçar

Abstract

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Number of views: 322

Laughter is one of the important components of human interaction and usually expressed acoustically and visually (Hempelmann, 2017; Trouvain & Truong, 2017). People laugh with various emotions, such as joy, affection, amusement, cheerfulness, surprise, nervousness, sadness, fear, shame, aggression, triumph, taunt, or schadenfreude (pleasure in another’s misfortune) (Askenasy, 1987; Chapman, 1996; Mowrer, LaPointe, & Case, 1987; Provine, 1996; Ruch & Ekman, 2001; Szameitat et al., 2009). Laughter plays an important role in the creation and maintenance of interpersonal relationship by displaying affiliation, friendliness and even intimacy. Besides, when it is the laughter of cruelty and triumph, it also has functions for mocking, deriding and belittling others (Glenn, 2003). Partington (2006) studied laughter with a corpus-based perspective. In this study, different concordances of the word kahkaha ‘laughter’ taken from Turkish National Corpus (TNC)v2 (Aksan, Özel, Yılmazer ve Demirhan, 2016) are analyzed and its collocation patterns with various adjectives are determined. In the context of these patterns, different types of laughter are defined in a corpus-based approach based on the laughter classification by McKeown et al. (2012) and analyzed according to adjective types determined by Dixon (2004; 2005).

63-82
Sociolinguistic Implications of Addressing Terms Used in The Web Language

Authors: Züleyha Hande Akata

Abstract

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Number of views: 393

Sociolinguistics came into being as a common field of study of sociology and linguistics via the relation between language and society. The social aspect of language and its comprehensive structure including cultural elements have necessitated to take the mutual relations between social and cultural phenomena into consideration in cultural studies. Every change in social structure also has found its match in the language uses. One of the areas where intense impacts of social developments is seen is the use of WEB languages. The WEB is the source of this study with its deviant new language use and massive users. In this study, addressing terms used in the WEB are analysed and evaluated in terms of phonology, morphology, semantics, etymology, and sociolinguistic implications. The main aim of the study is to determine the social reasons leading to such uses of addressing terms in the WEB and carry out a linguistic evaluation by analysing them.