On the Prosodic Exponence of Universal Quantification in Turkish Relative Clauses

Abstract

We identify a tonal contour in Turkish that expresses universal quantification. We show that the distribution of this contour is restricted to noun phrases modified by relative clauses and that it expresses universal quantification over situations rather than over individuals. We describe the prosodic structure of the contour, unexpected from the perspective of the phonology of Turkish intonation, and identify it as a tonal morpheme. We define it, and provide a compositional analysis of the sentences that contain it.

Keywords

• prosody
• universal quantification
• situations
• relative clauses
• Turkish