Processing of Subject and Object Case Markers in Turkish
Processing of Subject and Object Case Markers in Turkish

Summary/Abstract: There is no consensus in terms of processing subject-object case markers (Bornkessel, et al., 2004; Schlesewsky & Frisch, 2005; Mueller, et al., 2005; Chow, et al., 2018). The purpose of this study is to determine how [±DEF] objects affect the processing cost and to reveal whether there is a processing difference in subject-object case markers. In the first analysis, it is observed that [+DEF] objects are processed easier than [- DEF] objects. Possible reasons are different definiteness and specificity of [±DEF] objects and [-DEF] objects creating pseudo incorporation with the verb, which causes additional processing cost. In the second analysis, it is observed that subject case creates more processing cost than object case. It is thought that the subject case assignment taking place in TP and object case in VP, linear distance between the subject and the verb, and involvement of extra features in subject case assignment may cause this difference.

• Details
• Contents