A Grammar of Turkish Sign Language (TİD)

2.1.2.1. Overt noun phrases

One can express the arguments of a transitive or intransitive predicate overtly. Below, the signer overtly expresses the single argument ‘baby’ of the unergative predicate crawl.

 

baby                                   CL(>):'crawl'

‘The baby is crawling.’

(Sevgi 2019:13)

 

In the following sentence, the signer overtly expresses the single argument ‘plate’ of the unaccusative predicate fall.

 

 

                    table                           plate                         wrong                      fallCL(l):'fall_of_the_plate'

‘A plate falls off a table accidentally.’

(Gökgöz in progress)

 

In the following transitive clause, the signer expresses both arguments of a transitive predicate overtly (‘girl’ and ‘flower’).

 

girl                                child                                 flower                            CL(0):'collect'

‘A girl is collecting flowers.’

(Gökgöz in progress)

 

Signers tend to omit the agent argument of a transitive clause if it has been mentioned previously. Below, after introducing the agent in the first transitive clause, the signer leaves it unexpressed in the second transitive clause.

 

man                                woman                               manCL(B):‘approaching’

‘The man approaches the woman.’

(Gökgöz in progress)

 

back                            stick                         CL(O):‘extend                      hitCL(3):‘hit_with_a_stick  

‘(He) hits her on the back with a stick.’

(Gökgöz in progress)

 

Signers also tend to leave the agent of an unergative clause unexpressed after they introduce it in a preceding clause. In the following example, the agent of the second, unergative clause with crawl is left unexpressed after it has been introduced in the preceding transitive clause.

 

baby                       CL(a):'walk'                                       know^not                           CL(>):'crawl'

‘The baby does not know how to walk. (She) is crawling.’

(Sevgi 2019:13)

List of editors

Meltem Kelepir

Copyright info

© 2020 Kadir Gökgöz, Aslı Göksel, Demet Kayabaşı, Meltem Kelepir, Onur Keleş, Okan Kubus, Aslı Özkul, A. Sumru Özsoy, Burcu Saral, Hande Sevgi, Süleyman S. Taşçı

Bibliographical reference for citation

The entire grammar:
Kelepir, Meltem (ed.). 2020. A Grammar of Turkish Sign Language (TİD). 1st ed. (SIGN-HUB Sign Language Grammar Series). (https://thesignhub.eu/grammar/tid) (Accessed 31-10-2021)

A Chapter:
LastName, FirstName. 2020. Syntax: 3. Coordination and Subordination. In Kelepir, Meltem (ed.). 2020. A Grammar of Turkish Sign Language (TİD). 1st ed. (SIGN-HUB Sign Language Grammar Series), 230-237. (https://thesignhub.eu/grammar/tid) (Accessed 31-10-2021)

A Section:
LastName, FirstName. 2020. Phonology: 1.1.1.2. Finger configuration. In Kelepir, Meltem (ed.). 2020. A Grammar of Turkish Sign Language (TİD). 1st ed. (SIGN-HUB Sign Language Grammar Series), 230-237. (https://thesignhub.eu/grammar/tid) (Accessed 31-10-2021)

LastName, FirstName. 2020. Syntax: 3.1.2.1.3. Manual markers in disjunctive coordination. In Kelepir, Meltem (ed.). 2020. A Grammar of Turkish Sign Language (TİD). 1st ed. (SIGN-HUB Sign Language Grammar Series), 230-237. (https://thesignhub.eu/grammar/tid) (Accessed 31-10-2021)