Durational Aspect and -Iyor ‘-Ing’ Morpheme Usage in Turkish Cypriot Children’s Language

Abstract

The aim of the study is to classify the verbs aspectually and investigate the durational aspect and the -Iyor '-Ing' morpheme in the verbal language sample of Turkish Cypriot children in their day-care setting by using Radden and Dirven's (2007) time schemas and 13 designated classes of aspect. The study is important in identifying the scarcity in -Iyor '-Ing' morpheme usage in Turkish Cypriot children. Moreover, the study proposes a new situation type: 'Bounded iterative activity'. According to aspectual verb classification studies on Turkey Turkish, iterative activity verbs were marked with -Iyor '-Ing' morpheme. However, they were not used with -Iyor '-Ing' morpheme, but with -Ir '-do/does' in Turkish Cypriot child language data. In order to accommodate these verbs, a new situation type category was formed, defined and a new time schema was drawn. Some situation types were encountered as having the same aspectual features but different time schemas in Radden and Dirven's (2007) approach. Three additional aspectual features for these situation types were written in order to promote verb classification process. Three aspectual features were formed as [±repetitive], [±revocable], [±endpoint oriented]. The rate of incidence of aspectual class in descending order were like the following: Achievements 40.7%, accomplishment 24.6%, indefinitely lasting state 16.0% (marked with -DI); bounded activity 8.1% (marked with -Ir); Accomplishing activity, unbounded activity, culminating activity, temporary states, and temporary habitual states 5.3% (marked with -Iyor). These findings and comparisons with research on Turkey Turkish points out to less usage of -Iyor '-Ing' morpheme in Turkish Cypriot children language data.