A semantic account of partial reduplication in Turkish

Abstract

This study analyzes the factors governing the scope of partial reduplication in Turkish, with particular emphasis on why certain forms are unattested. We propose that whether a given adjective participates in partial reduplication can be determined based on its semantic class: scalar adjectives can, non-scalars cannot. We further demonstrate that, among scalar adjectives, partial reduplication is also sensitive to maximal/non-maximal contrast; the former yields completely semantics while the latter yields very semantics. The model we propose captures both the class of adjectives that can undergo partial reduplication as well as the resulting interpretation when they do so. As such, our proposal contrasts with earlier ones in providing principled reasons for the class of partially reduplicated adjectives.