Defining Interjections in Turkic Languages

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Defining Interjections in Turkic Languages

Alan Reed Libert

University of Newcastle

Alan.Libert@newcastle.edu.au

the interjection - probably the most controversial linguistic unit in the history of grammatical tradition & modern linguistics (Sauciuc 2004)

I. Neglect of InterjectionsAlthough linguistic studies carried out on other languages have attributed considerable importance to interjections, detailed analyses of these forms have remained rather peripheral to the other concerns of Turkish linguistics. In most books written on Turkish grammar, interjections are explained rather briefly and defined as emotive words or words of sudden remark. They are generally explained on the basis of their morphological and semantic properties Bykkantarcolu (2006:20)II. Definitions and Descriptions of Interjections

(1) Vardar (2002:206), a Turkish linguistics dictionary:Konuucunun duygusal bir tepkisini getiren, korku, sevin, aknlk, acma anlatan, ar, buyruk, yasaklama, vb. belirten ve tek bana tmce oluturabilen szck. rnein A!, ey!, ya!, hadi!, vay! szckleri Trkeddeki nlemler arasnda yer alr. Yansmalar, adlar, eylemler, vb. de nlem olarak kullanlabilir. nlem ieren tmcelere nlem tmcesi ad verilir.

(Word conveying an emotional reaction of the speaker, expressing fear, joy, bewilderment, pity, indicating a call, command, forbidding, etc. and able to form a sentence by itself. For example, the words A!, ey!, ya!, hadi!, vay! are among the interjections of Turkish. Onomatopoeias, nouns, verbs, etc. also can be used as interjections. The name interjection sentence is given to sentences containing an interjection.)

(2) Hengirmen (1999:378), a Turkish grammar and linguistics dictionary:

Sevinme, zlme, kzma, korku, aknlk gibi duygular belirten, doa seslerini yanstan ve bir kimseyi agrmak iin kullanlan szck. nlemler genellikle u blmlere ayrlr:

A) nlem Olan Szckler (nlem Soylu Szckler)Bu nlemler anlamlarna gre ikiye ayrlr.

a) Bir kimseye seslenmeye, onu armaya yarayan nlemler:

Oradan ekilsene be! []b) Sevin, znt, kzgnlk, korku, aknlk gibi duygular belirten nlemler:

A, ne kadar gzel bir manzara! []

Ay, bam ok aryor!B) nlem Olarak Kullanlan Szckler(Word expressing feelings such as joy, worry, anger, fear, bewilderment, echoing natural sounds and being used to call someone. Interjections are generally divided into the following types:

A) Words Which Are [originally] Interjections

These interjections are divided into two types according to their meanings.

a) Interjections serving to call out to someone, to call him:

Hey, get out of there![]

b) Interjections expressing feelings such as joy, distress, anger, fear, bewilderment:

Ah, what a beautiful view! []Ouch, my head is hurting a lot!B) Words Used as Interjections)(3) 92002:115), an Uzbek linguistics dictionary:

-, -, , , .

(Part of speech not grammatically connected with parts of a sentence, indicating meanings such as feelings, orders, driving away, summoning, and a word belonging to this part of speech.)

(4) Deny (1921:702), on Ottoman Turkish:

Nous distinguerons deux sortes de particules exclamatives ou interjections:

1 Les interjections interpellatives qui servent attirer lattention de linterlocuteur pour lappeler, linterpeller, linciter agir ou lui montrer un objet;

2 Les interjections affectives, de caractre subjectif, qui expriment les affections de lme (sensations ou sentiments).

Cette distinction nest pas absolument rigoureuse : une interjection interpellative peut se nuancer dune acception affective.

(We shall distinguish two types of exclamatory particles or interjections:

1. Interpellative interjections, which serve to attract the attention of the interlocutor, to call him, question him, incite him to act, or to show him an object;

2. Affective interjections, of a subjective character, which express the feelings (sensations or sentiments) of the soul.

This distinction is not absolutely strict: an interpellative interjection can be nuanced with an affective sense.)(5) ner (1998:263), on Kipak languages:

Cmlede iinde ekil (morfolojik) fonksionlar olmakszn, bilhassa insan duygularn ifade eden unsurlar

(Components not having morphological functions in the sentence, especially expressing personal feelings )

(6) Krueger (1961:171-2), on Chuvash:Interjections function chiefly in Chuvash as in English, to insert parenthetical material not essential to the sentence, but conveying a definite feeling of the speaker regarding the circumstances. Some of them are:

ey used in salutation and greeting

(7) Hagopian (1907:236-7), on Ottoman Turkish:

Interjections are words which are used to express a sudden or violent motion of the mind. Sometimes they are used alone, and sometimes accompanied by the word to which they refer, which in Turkish is generally put in the dative.

(8) Berta (1998:296), on Tatar/Bashkir:

Of the numerous interjections, some express joy and pleasure, others anger, or surprise

(9) Erdal (1998:149), on Old Turkic:Interjections include (y)A, following vocative noun phrases, the demonstrative mna ~ muna and ona, etc.

(10) Clark (1998:448), on Chuvash:

Interjections stand in isolation or at the head of a sentence, followed by a pause. They include A! Oh!, Ey! Hey!, Aytra! O, my God! and words of etiquette such as Salam! Hello! Kile! Please!, Tavapu! ~ Tavssi! Thanks you!, Sv pul(r)! ~ Svpul/spul! Goodbye!.III. DiscussionPinkster (1972/2006:38):

Adverbs are distinct from interjections. The latter do not only occur without a verb, but also do not need a verb (of emotion) to be understood. The expression of a particular emotion seems to be the very meaning of interjections ... In this respect the Romans differed from Greek scholars, who did not recognize interjections as a class of their own. [...] We might say that adverbs have restricted sentence valence (that is, the ability to occur in a one-word-sentence), whereas interjections have sentence valence obligatorily.

Pinkster (1972/2006:136):

Adverbs are said to be capable of occurring independently, in one-word-sentences, whereas e.g. prepositions are said not to occur in this way. On the other hand, it has been observed that interjections do not occur other than independently. I will try to show that this criterion is difficult to apply in Latin in the first place, and, secondly, intersects with the traditional class of adverbs.

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