Problems of Turkic morphology: Classification of suffixes, case, tense and aspect

The traditional description of the morphological system of Turkic languages has left a number of questions unanswered. This study attempts to analyze some major problems in the description of the Turkic morphology.; One of the main questions is the description and classification of suffixes. In the traditional description suffixes have been classified into two categories, DERIVATIONAL and INFLECTIONAL (called FORMATIVE in this study) suffixes. However, there exist a number of suffixes illustrating features which fit into neither of these two groups. In Chapter One the grammatical features of these suffixes are examined and it is concluded to classify them into two additional groups: TRANSFORMATIVE and TRANSMUTATIVE suffixes.; Proceeding from this analysis of suffixes, the following chapters re-evaluate some selected grammatical forms of both nominal and verbal grammar.; Chapter Two deals with the definition of the category of case in the Turkic languages. It is maintained that the genitive form is not a case form, but a complement of the genitive-possessive formation. This deduction re-defines the function of oblique case forms in the Turkic languages. The functions of some postpositional forms of the noun are compared with the function of synthetic case forms and some analytic case forms are introduced. In this regard the necessity of distinguishing true postpositions from those “postpositions” which are, in fact, nouns is also discussed.; Chapter Three is dedicated to the analysis of verbal forms in regard to the time and aspect of the action. A number of verbal formations have been misinterpreted as tense forms in the traditional description of Turkic morphology. Based on the discussions of the morpho-syntactic function of the suffixes these verbal forms, particularly the non-finite forms of the verb, are analyzed and a new approach to the description of the aspect category and its relation with the category of tense is being proposed.