Processing Difference in Object Orders of Ditransitive Structures in Turkish

Authors : Buse Şen Erdoğan, Emine Yarar

Pages : 1-14

Doi:10.51726/jlr.1676651

View : 166 | Download : 258

Publication Date : 2025-12-29

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :This study examines the processing of Turkish ditransitive sentences using the data obtained from a self-paced reading experiment. A total of 156 native speakers of Turkish participated in the experiment. They were presented with 48 sentences, of which 24 were filler sentences. The test sentences contained the orders ACC>DAT and DAT>ACC which were accompanied by a relevant context. Both objects in the ditransitive sentences were constructed across two variables: animacy and givenness. The findings indicate that neither the object order (ACC>DAT vs. DAT>ACC) nor the animacy or givenness status of the objects lead to any processing cost. Therefore, there is no significant difference in the reading times of ditransitive sentences with different object orders. These findings are consistent with the incremental processing approach in that the participants use the case marker information that the objects bear. This reliance on the case markers makes it possible for them to avoid extra processing load in both object order options. It is also found that the first objects, regardless of their case, their animacy, and givenness status, are read faster, suggesting that both accusative and dative cases in these sentences present an equal cue to the readers, signaling the position of the objects. In conclusion, the findings clearly illustrate that Turkish ditransitive sentences with different orders of objects have a similar processing pattern and a syntactic structure.
Keywords : çift nesneli tümceler, canlılık, belirtme durumu nesnesi, yönelme durumu nesnesi, nesne sıralaması

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