Some verbs in TİD have the same morphological form (see conversion, [Morphology – 2.1.2.1]) whether they are transitive or intransitive. Such verbs are known as labile verbs. break is such a verb in TİD. It indicates both the event in which someone breaks something or the event in which something breaks on its own.
h1: persona ıxa pen break
h2: break
“A person broke that pen.”
(Kayabaşı in progress)
h1: wood extend self break
h2: extend break
“The wood(en) stick broke by itself.”
(Kayabaşı in progress)
be_born and give_birth_to also show an intransitive-transitive labile alternation, i.e., without a morphological handshape change. In the sentence below, ‘a baby was born’. So, the sentence is intransitive.
elder_sister pregnant. baby born. worlda comea. ix1 aunt become.
‘My sister was pregnant. The baby was born. S/he came to this world. I became an aunt.’
(http://tidsozluk.net/en/Do%C4%9Fmak?d=0316)
The following sentence, on the other hand, is transitive, as it indicates the person giving birth to the baby.
ix1 baby give_birth_to. mother become. very happy.
‘I gave birth to a baby. I became a mother. I am very happy.’
(http://tidsozluk.net/tr/Mutlu?d=0237)
One can have an argument structure alternation with a whole & entity-handling classifier handshape pair. These handshapes provide an unaccusative and a transitive argument structure, respectively. Below, the first instance of open is unaccusative since it is used with a whole entity classifier. The second instance of open is transitive since it is used with a grabbing handling classifier handshape.
h1: door openCL(w):'open_the_door'
h2: door openCL(w):'open_the_door'
“The door opened.”
(Kayabaşı in progress)
h1: woman door openCL(6):'open_the_door' closeCL(6):'close_the_door'
h2: door look
“The woman opened the door, looked inside and closed the door."
(Kayabaşı in progress)
One can also use a whole entity classifier and a contact handling classifier pair to sign a transitive-intransitive alternation. A contact handling classifier is a subtype of handling classifiers where an object is touched without grabbing.
h1: boy ball bounceCL(>):'bounce_the_ball'
h2: ball
“The boy is bouncing the ball.”
(Kayabaşı in progress)
h1: floor ball red bounceCL(?):'bouncing_ball'
h2: floor
“The red ball is bouncing on the floor.”
(Kayabaşı in progress)