Right dislocation in Turkish

This paper investigates a scrambling operation called Right Dislocation (RD) in Turkish. Despite the limited understanding of RD in Turkish, previous studies have converged on the conclusion that (i) RD in Turkish involves rightward movement (Kural 1997, Kornfilt 2005), and (ii) post-verbal constituents (PVCs) consistently undergo reconstruction (with the exception of scope, as suggested by Kural (1997)), indicating that PVCs occupy an A’-position. This paper presents instances where PVCs are interpreted in their surface position, casting doubt on the presumed A’-properties. Additionally, it demonstrates that RD of higher arguments (e.g., subjects or indirect objects) seems to create new binding and scope relations with respect to lower arguments (e.g., direct and indirect objects). To address these issues, this paper proposes a structure that is governed by the interaction between discourse, pragmatics, and syntax. It argues that RD is a by-product of focus movement which is found in cleft-like constructions, and RD is preceded by the scrambling of lower arguments to discourse-functional projections such as FocusP and TopicP. Similarly, the RD of lower arguments is preceded by their short scrambling to the specifier of vP, driven by the Phase Impenetrability Condition (PIC). By aligning syntax with dis- course through a one-to-one mapping, in conjunction with independently motivated principles like the Scope principle, LF-approach to Condition C, and the Anywhere Condition of Condition A and pronominal binding, the proposed framework provides a consistent explanation for RD in Turkish, attributing all A-properties to the short scrambling of arguments

Turkey’s academic petition affair: how Erdoğan’s attacks on critical academics are likely to bolster his support

A recent petition by Turkish academics criticising military operations in Kurdish-dominated areas of the country has generated substantial criticism from President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and other Turkish political figures. Sezin Öney argues that the affair, which has raised questions about the nature of academic freedom in Turkey, represents an attempt by Erdoğan to bolster his support among nationalist voters as part of his ongoing attempts to move the country toward a presidential political system

Anadolu'da Selçuk Geleneğinde Kuşlu, Çift Başlı Kartallı, Şahinli ve Arslanlı Mezar Taşları

[No Abstract Available

Turkey’s repeat elections in November are unlikely to ease the country’s political tensions

Turkey will hold elections on 1 November, with the campaign being marred by a bomb attack during a political rally in Ankara on 10 October which killed almost 100 people. Sezin Öney writes that the election, which follows an earlier election in June that failed to produce a majority for any one party, is unlikely to ease growing political tensions in the country. She argues that Turkish society is now increasingly polarised over the influence of Turkey’s President, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, as well as the issue of the country’s Kurdish population, following a resumption of hostilities between Turkey’s security forces and the Kurdish PKK group since July

Artuklu Devrinden Bir Hayat Ağacı Kabartması Hakkında

[No Abstract Available

Turkey’s 2015 general election: a final look at the parties and the campaign

Turkey will hold a general election on 7 June. Sezin Öney and Emre Erdoğan take a final look at the campaign before the country heads to the polls. They write that politics in Turkey has taken a notable populist turn in recent years, with the 2015 election campaign becoming dominated by a personalised style of politics, particularly in relation to the current Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and the leader of the pro-Kurdish HDP, Selahattin Demirtaş

Milet/İlyas Bey Camii-Sorunlar-Acil Tedirler

[No Abstract Available

Today’s referendum is the most critical vote in modern Turkish history

Today, Turkey is holding a referendum on whether to approve constitutional amendments that would substantially increase the power of the country’s President. Soli Özel and Sezin Öney write that the result is bound to transform the country in one way or another, and that a Yes vote would effectively consign Turkey’s century old parliamentary system to history

Instrumentalization of religious nationalist security discourse in the case of the Afrin operation: perspectives of Muslim conscientious objectors and anti-war activists

This thesis analyzes the Afrin cross-border military operation, also known as Operation Olive-Branch, which was launched by the Turkish Armed Forces in Syria on 20 January 2018 as a case study. Through discourse analysis method, this thesis first examines the role of religious nationalist rhetoric of the governing elites in securitizing both the Afrin operation and compulsory military service. The study interrogates the ways in which security discourses are sanctified and instrumentalized by the political elites in light of the scholarship on the Critical Security Studies. This study secondly investigates the alternative discourses put forward by non-state actors, in this thesis, the Muslim conscientious objectors and anti-war activists, on the securitization of the Afrin operation and conscription. In the fieldwork conducted with the participants, focus group analysis method was used. As a result of the central findings obtained from the case study, this thesis argues that the religious nationalist rhetoric, which have shaped the Afrin operation discursively, aims to legitimize the operation in the eyes of the general public and to restrain the generation of any other critical discourse. On the contrary, the Muslim conscientious objectors and anti-war activists have opposed to the instrumentalization of religion on matters such as security, militarism, and nationalism at political and discursive levels by putting forward an alternative dissident discours