Q u e s t i o n w o r d s as i n d e f i n i t e p r o n o u n s i n T u r k i s h
Nigâr Oturakçi*
Introduction
In many languages, there is a typological affinity b e t w e e n question w o r d s and indefinite
pronouns. Thus, s o m e indefinite p r o n o u n s are formally identical to question w o r d s or are
derived from them. In s o m e languages bare interrogatives - interrogatives w i t h o u t a n y
marker - are used as indefinite pronouns (Haspelmath 1997: 170).
For example in Chinese shui can m e a n both 'who?' and 'someone', and shén me both
m e a n s ' w h a t ? ' a n d ' s o m e t h i n g , anything' (Haspelmath 1997: 170). See the f o l l o w i n g e x a m ples.
Shui
Iái
le?
Yöu
shui
zái
qiáo
mén.
who
come
PAST
existing w h o
be
knock
door
' W h o came?'
' S o m e o n e is knocking the door.'
Ni
shén me shíjián
dáo?
Ni
shén me döu
bié
shuö.
you
what
come
you
what
not
say
time
' W h e n will y o u come?'
all
'You do not say anything.'
1
In Classical Greek, fis is used in the m e a n i n g s o f ' w h o ? ' a n d ' s o m e o n e ' . Pod has t w o
senses such a s ' w h e r e ? ' a n d ' s o m e w h e r e ' (Haspelmath 1997: 170).
Tís érchetai?
Érchetai tis.
'Who is coming?'
'Someone is coming.'
Poú oikei?
'Where d o e s he live?'
Oikeipou.
'He lives somewhere.'
Turkish is one of the languages that use question w o r d s as indefinite pronouns mostly
in combination w i t h the hypothetical marker. In the following, I give examples of this
w i d e l y used pattern.
Question words in hypothetical clauses
Hypothetical clauses are based on the hypothetical (also called conditional) form of a lexical verb or a copula. The hypothetical form of primary verbal stems is formed w i t h the
suffix - s A The hypothetical form o f the copula ise is attached to extended verbal stems.
* Uppsala University.
1 When the Greek pronouns are used as indefinite pronouns they are cliticized and become
unaccented, i.e. tis and pou.
382
Nigar Oturak<;i
gel-
>
gel-se
come-HYP3SG
geliyor
>
gel-iyor
+ ise
=
gel-iyor-sa
COme-PROG-COP.HYP3SG
Clauses based o n a hypothetical marker may be u s e d either as dependent or independent clauses. W h e n a hypothetical clause is used as an i n d e p e n d e n t clause, it expresses
a w i s h . A c c o r d i n g to Brockelmann (1954: 378), -sA is t h e oldest Turkic modal f o r m to e x press a w i s h . -sA w a s previously used as a voluntative marker. The desiderative u s e is tod a y infrequent (Johanson 2009: 491).
Sentences expressing a w i s h
Bu
sabah
giizel
bir
kahvalti
this
morning
good
a
breakfast
yap-sa-k.
do-LV-HYP-IPL
'It w o u l d be nice to have a g o o d breakfast this morning.'
Ke$ke
zengin
if o n l y
rich
ol-sa-m!
be-HYP-lSG
'If only I w e r e rich.'
Clauses based o n a hypothetical marker can be u s e d as questions. In this case, t h e y
express a deliberation about a possible action (Goksel & Kerslake 2005: 362). Such interrogative clauses are u s e d w h e n the speaker is uncertain concerning the choice. Thus, I
prefer to call t h e m consultative clauses. Acaba 'I w o n d e r ' m a y optionally be u s e d in such
clauses.
Consultative clauses
Bu
ak$am
iqin
ne
this
evening
for
what
pi$ir-se-k?
cook-HYP-IPL
'I w o n d e r w h a t to cook tonight.'
Kim-e
sor-sa-m
who-DAT
ask-HYP-lSG
acaba?
I wonder
'I w o n d e r w h o m I should ask.'
Consultative clauses can also be used as dependent conditional clauses.
Dogumgunuparti-n-e
kim
gel-se
mutlu
birthday
who
come-HYP3SG
happy
party-POSS2SG-DAT
ol-ur-sun?
be-AOR-2SG
' W h o should c o m e to your birthday party so that y o u will be happy?'
Q u e s t i o n w o r d s in dependent hypothetical clauses do not a l w a y s c o n v e y an interrogative meaning. They can be used as indefinite p r o n o u n s m e a n i n g , e.g. 'whatever', ' w h o ever', 'whenever'. This usage is called a universal conditional clause by Goksel & Kerslake
(2005: 505). This implies that there is no limit to the range of conditions. I prefer to call
t h e m hypothetical conditional clauses.
Question words as indefinite pronouns in Turkish
383
Hypothetical conditional clauses
Nere-ye
git-se-m
where-DAT
go-HYP-lSG
pe$-im-den
gel-ir.
back-POSSlSG-ABL
come-AOR3SG
'Wherever I go, (s)he f o l l o w s me.'
Ne
iste-r-se
what
want-AOR-COP.HYP3SG
yap-ar-im.
do-AOR-lSG
'I do w h a t e v e r (s)he wants.'
Ne zaman
o-nu
hatirla-sa-m
mutlu
ol-ur-um.
when
(s)he-ACC
remember-HYP-lSG
happy
be-AOR-lSG
'Whenever I remember her/him, I will be happy.'
Q u e s t i o n w o r d s m a y be used in idiomaticalized phrases such as ne-yse
COP.HYP w h a t ] 'whatever, I do not mind', kim-se
not mind', kaq-sa
ne [what-
kim [who-COP.HYP w h o ] 'whoever, I do
kaq [ h o w many-COP.HYP h o w m a n y ] ' h o w many, I do not mind',
nasil-
sa nasil [how-COP.HYP h o w ] 'however, I do not mind'.
Idiomatic usage
Dalgalarin
getirdigi
bu i$ik yatak
odamizin
i$igi
Ne-yse
ne,
de-di-m
kendi
what-COP.HYP
what
say-PAST-lSG
own
mi?
kendi-m-e.
self-POSSlSG-DAT
'Is this light, w h i c h the w a v e s bring, the light of our bedroom? "Whatever it is,
I do not mind", I said to myself.' (Edgii 1996: 32)
"Buyurun, siz yaziverin
liitfen, bir yanli$lik
Bu
adam
kim-se
this
man
who-COP.HYP
olmasin"-
dedi. Mü^teri
velinimetti...
kim-di.
who-COP.PAST3SG
'"Here y o u are, please write yourself, I do not w a n t there to be any mistake" - he
said. The customer w a s the benefactor. Whoever he might be.' (Eray 1991: 34)
Question w o r d s also m a y be used in other kind of idiomaticalized phrases, for in-stance,
hangi-si
ol-ur-sa
ol-ur-sa
ol-sun [ w h o be-AOR-COP.HYP3SG be-VOL] 'whoever', nasil ol-ur-sa
ol-sun [which-POSS3SG be-AOR-COP.HYP3SG be-VOL] 'no matter which', kim
AOR-COP.HYP3SG be-VOL] 'however', ne ol-ur-sa
'whatever happens', nere ol-ur-sa
nere-de ol-ur-sa
ol-sun
ol-sun
ol-sun [ h o w be-
[what be-AOR-COP.HYP3SG be-VOL]
[where be-AOR-COP.HYP3SG be-VOL] 'anywhere',
ol-sun [where-LOC be-AOR-COP.HYP3SG be-VOL] 'anywhere', nere-ye
ol-ur-sa
ol-sun [where-DAT be-AOR-COP.HYP3SG be-VOL] 'anywhere'.
Biri
ol-sun
da
kim
ol-ur-sa
someone
be-VOL
also
who
be-AOR-COP.HYP3SG
ol-sun.
be-VOL
There should be one, w h o e v e r (s)he is.'
Nasil
ol-ur-sa
how
be-AOR-COP.HYP3SG
' H o w e v e r it is, (s)he can handle it.'
ol-sun
be-VOL
iistesinden
gel-ecek-tir.
handle-FUT-COP.PRES3SG
384
Nigar Oturak<;i
S o m e a n a l o g u e f o r m s in o t h e r T u r k i c l a n g u a g e s
In Eastern Old Turkic, interrogative pronouns can be used as indefinite pronouns m e a n i n g
'anyone', 'anything', 'anywhere', a n d ' a n y ' (Erdal 2004: 210). They can also be used together
w i t h hypothetical markers. Erdal also mentions that question w o r d s in hypothetical conditional clauses have an indefinite meaning. See Erdal's example, in w h i c h kayuda
'where'
and kacan 'when' are used in the senses'anywhere' a n d ' a n y time' respectively (Erdal 2004:
218).
birdk kayuda
kacan yalaijok
azun'inta
tugmakibolsar
yma,...
'even if, however, he should a n y w h e r e at a n y t i m e be born in a h u m a n birth
f o r m ... (U II 29, 11-12).' (Erdal 2004: 218)
Bulut also observes that hypothetical markers are u s e d in generalizing clauses, a borderline structure in Old Eastern Turkic that displays features o f both relativization a n d
conditional construction.
Old Eastern Turkic
Kim
qorq-sar
who
afraid-HYP3SG
yori-nglar!
Ieave-IMP3PL
"Those of y o u w h o are afraid m a y leave. / If s o m e of y o u are afraid, t h e y shall
leave.' (Bulut 2009: 36)
A s in m a n y other Turkic languages, in Karaim a n d Kazakh, q u e s t i o n w o r d s can be
u s e d as indefinite pronouns.
Karaim
Kim
men-i
silb-sa
da
qutchar-ir-min
who
I-ACC
love-HYP3SG
and
rescue-AOR-lSG
da
kipla-r-min
a-ni
kim
and
strengthen-AOR-lSG
(s)he-ACC
who
a-ni
(s)he-ACC
bil-sa
know-HYP3SG
sem-im-ni.
name-POSSlSG-ACC
' W h o e v e r loves me, I will rescue her/him a n d w h o e v e r k n o w s m y name, I w i l l
strengthen her/him.' (Csato 2011: 175)
Kazakh
Ol
qasan
kel-se
de
bol-a
(s)he
when
come-HYP3SG
also
be-CONV
ber-e-di.
AUX-PRES-3SG
' W h e n e v e r (s)he comes, it is possible.' ( Z h a n g 2004: 230)
In Kashkay, however, question w o r d s are not u s e d as indefinite pronouns. Instead, the
form Лег+noun expresses the m e a n i n g 'whatever, w h o e v e r , etc'.
Har yer-a
ged-ir-am
qulunj-um-nan
all
go-PRES-lSG
shoulder-POSSlSG-ABL
place-DAT
'Wherever I go, (s)he f o l l o w s me.'
gal-ir.
come-PRES3SG
Question words as indefinite pronouns in Turkish
385
Lexicalized forms
Kimse
The indefinite pronoun kimse 'someone, somebody, anyone, anybody, no one, n o b o d y ' is
based on the question w o r d kim 'who' and the hypothetical form of the copula ise.
kim ise
>
kimse
who-COP.HYP
INDEF.PRON
Kimse is a pronoun, that can take n o m i n a l suffixes.
Kimse-yi
gor-du-n
anyone-ACC
see-PAST-2SG
mii?
QP
'Have y o u seen anybody?'
With negation, kimse
is interpreted as 'no one'. The negation can be marked by
mA,
degil or yok.
Kimse-yi
gor-me-di-m.
Kimse
hasta
anyone-ACC
see-NEG-PAST-lSG
anyone
sick
'I did not see anyone.'
Burada
kimse
here
anyone
degil.
not
'No one is sick.'
yok.
not
' N o one is here.'
The negation of kimse m a y be reinforced w i t h hiq or hiqbir
Hiq(bir)kimse
ben-i
ziyaret-e
no a n y o n e
I-ACC
visit-DAT
kimse.
gel-me-di.
come-NEG-PAST3SG
'Absolutely no one visited me.'
Adverbs based on question words
Some question w o r d s c o m b i n e d w i t h the copula particle ise are lexicalized as adverbs, for
instance, nasil-sa
neden-se
[how-COP.HYP] 'in any case, w h e t h e r y o u w a n t it or not, like it or not',
[why-COP.HYP] 'for s o m e reason or other', nere-de-yse
most, nearly, pretty soon, a n y moment', and ne-yse
[where-LOC-COP.HYP] 'al-
[what-COP.HYP] 'in a n y case, at a n y
rate, a n y w a y / n e v e r mind!'. See the f o l l o w i n g examples.
Yarin
nasil-sa
okul-a
tomorrow
how-COP.HYP
school-DAT
git-me-yeceg-im.
go-NEG-FUT-lSG
'Whatever happens/in any case, I will not go to school tomorrow.'
Neden-se
kapi-yi
hiz-la
qarp-ip
why-COP.HYP
door-ACC
quick-WITH
slam-CONV
'For s o m e reason (s)he s l a m m e d the door and left.'
qik-ti.
leave-PAST3SG
386
Nigar Oturak<;i
Ku$
nerede-yse
bird
where-COP.HYP
don-uyor-du.
freeze-PROG-COP.PAST3SG
'The bird w a s almost frozen.'
Ne-yse,
bu
if
de
what-COP.HYP
this
job
also
bit-ti.
end-PAST3SG
' A n y w a y , this job is done.'
Kimi
Some Turkish indefinite pronouns such as çog-u [many-POSS3SG] 'most o f and bir-i
[one-
POSS3SG] 'somebody, s o m e o n e ' are formed w i t h the third-person possessive suffix (s)I.
Kim-i
[who-POSS3SG] 'some' is a n e o l o g i s m formed by a n a l o g y w i t h these pronouns. It
w a s created as a subsitute for bazi 'some'. Kimi is u s e d attributively in the s e n s e ' s o m e ' .
Kimi
insan-lar
dedikodu
yap-ma-yi
some
person-PL
gossip
do-INF-ACC
sev-er.
like-AOR3SG
'Some people like to gossip.'
Kimi
çarki-lar
some
song-PL
unut-ul-maz.
forget-PASS-NEG.AOR3SG
'Some s o n g s are unforgettable.'
The doubled f o r m kimi...
kimi...
is used in the contrastive m e a n i n g ' s o m e ... (where-
as) others ...'.
Kimi
kitap
oku-yor,
kimi
miizik
some
book
read-PRES3SG
some
music
dinli-yor.
listen-PRES3SG
'Some are reading books, s o m e are listening to music.'
Kimi...
kimi...
can also be u s e d in the m e a n i n g 'sometimes'.
Sabir
bir
ba§ari-ysa,
kimi
patience
a
success-COP.HYP3SG
sometimes
kimi
sometimes
ba$ar-iyor-um,
success-PRES-lSG
ba§ar-a-mi-yor-um.
success-PSB.NEG-PRES- 1SG
'If patience is a f o r m o f success, s o m e t i m e s
I succeed, s o m e t i m e s I do
not.' ( U y g u r 1999: 148)
The forms based on kimi
and a possessive marker, for instance, kimi-si
POSS3SG] ' s o m e of them' and kimi-miz
[some-
[some-POSSIPL] ' s o m e of us' are used as n o n -
attributive pronouns.
Kimi-miz
çay
iç-me-yi
some-POSSIPL
tea
drink-INF-ACC
'Some of us do not like to drink tea.'
sev-mez.
like-NEG.AOR3SG
Question words as indefinite pronouns in Turkish
387
Other indefinite pronouns based on question words
The question w o r d kag c o m b i n e d w i t h bir functions as an indefinite pronoun: birkag 'few,
some, several'. W i t h the third-person possessive marker, birkag-i
[some-POSS3SG], it
m e a n s 'a f e w of, s o m e of, several of'.
Birkag yd
once
bu
kitab-i
some
ago
this
book-ACC
year
oku-du-m.
read-PAST-LSG
'Some years ago, I read this book.'
Ogretmen
ogrenci-ler-in
birkag-i-m
teacher
student-PL-GEN
some-POSS3SG-ACC
gagir-di.
call-PAST3SG
'The teacher called s o m e of students.'
A n o t h e r lexicalized question word, herhangi,
ever' attributively. The form herhangi
herhangi
carries the m e a n i n g 'whichever, w h a t -
can not be used w i t h o u t bir or biri. The n e w forms
bir, w h i c h m e a n s 'any', and herhangi
bir-i [any-POSS3SG], w h i c h means 'any of,
anyone', express indefiniteness.
Yol-dan
geg-en
herhangi
way-ABL
pass-PART
anyone-DAT
biri-ne
sor-abil-ir-sin.
ask-PSB-AOR-2SG
'You can ask a n y o n e w h o passes through the street.'
It is also used with the third-person singular possessive marker such as herhangi
bir-i-
si [any-POSS3SG-POSS3SG] 'anybody else'.
O
artik
ben-im
igin
herhangi
(s)he
any more
I-GEN
for
anyone-POSS3SG
biri-si.
'(S)he is, to me, n o w like a n y b o d y else.'
Conclusion
In Turkish, like in m a n y other languages, s o m e items based on question w o r d s are used as
indefinite pronouns. In Turkish, most of these indefinites are related to their use in
hypothetical constructions. Q u e s t i o n w o r d s in independent so-called consultative clauses
based o n hypothetical markers have question meanings. Question w o r d s in dependent
hypothetical conditional clauses can either have question m e a n i n g s or be used as indefinite pronouns. Some question w o r d s are lexicalized as indefinite pronouns such as
kimi, herhangi
kimse,
and birkagi. Other question w o r d s w i t h a hypothetical marker are used in
idiomatic phrases such as kimse
kim, neyse ne, kagsa
kag.
388
Nigar Oturak<;i
Abbreviations
ABL
Ablative case
LOC
Locative case
ACC
Accusative case
LV
Light v e r b
AOR
Aorist
NEG
Negation
AUX
A u x i l i a r y verb
PART
Participle
CONV
C o n v e r b marker
PASS
Passive
COP.HYP
Hypothetical of the copula
PAST
Past
COP.PAST
C o p u l a past
PL
Plural
COP.PRES
Copula present
POSS
Possessive
DAT
Dative case
PRES
Present
FUT
Future
PROG
Progressive
GEN
Genitive case
PSB
Possibility
HYP
Hypothetical
QP
Question particle
IMP
Imperative
SG
Singular
INF
Infinitive
VOL
Voluntative
INDEF.PRON
Indefinite pronoun
References
Brockelmann,
Mittelasiens.
С.
1954.
Osttürkische
Grammatik
der
islamischen
Literatursprachen
Leiden: Brill.
B u l u t , C. 2009. C o n d i t i o n a l c l a u s e s in Iran-Turkic. In: Csatö, Ё. Ä . et al. (eds.)
Letters
to Bernt
Brendemoen.
Turcological
Oslo: N o v u s . 3 5 - 6 9 .
C s a t ö , Ё. Ä . 2011. A T y p o l o g i c a l C o i n c i d e n c e : W o r d O r d e r P r o p e r t i e s in Trakai K a r a i m
Biblical Translations. In: E r g u v a n l i - T a y l a n , E. & Rona, B. (eds.) Puzzles
Essays
in honour
of Karl Zimmer.
Erdal, M. 2004. A Grammar
of
language.
Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. 169-186.
of Old Turkic.
G ö k s e l , A . & Kerslake, C. 2005. Turkish:
L e i d e n , B o s t o n : Brill.
A Comprehensive
Grammar.
L o n d o n , N e w York:
Routledge.
H a s p e l m a t h , M. 1997. Indefinite
Pronouns.
Oxford: Clarendon.
J o h a n s o n , L. 2009. M o d a l s in Turkic. In: H a n s e n , B. & d e H a a n , F. (eds.) Modals
Languages
of Europe.
Z h a n g , D. 2004. Xiandai
A Reference
Hasakeyu
Shiyong
Yufa
( A Practical G r a m m a r o f
Kazakh). Beijing: C e n t r a l U n i v e r s i t y o f N a t i o n a l i t i e s Press.
Literary s o u r c e s
Edgii, F. 1996. Av. Istanbul: Yapi Kredi Yayinlari.
Eray, N . 1991. Geceyi
U y g u r , N . 1999. Dipten
Tamdim.
Gelen,
in
the
Work. Berlin: M o u t o n d e Gruyter. 4 8 7 - 5 1 0 .
Istanbul: C a n Yayinlari.
istanbul: Yapi Kredi Yayinlari.
Modern