PHASEHOOD OF DPs IN TURKISH: AN IMPLICATION FOR NON-SIMULTANEITY

Relevant literature on the phasehood of phrases puts forwards a number of diagnostic tests which can reveal the interface properties of such phrases. Common phasal phrases are known to be v*P (Chomsky 2000 and subsequent studies), CP (Chomsky 2000 and subsequent studies), DP/nP (Chomsky 2006, Hiraiwa 2005, Marantz 2007, Ott 2008, and Svenious 2004), and pP (Abels 2003, Raposo 2002, Svenonius 2003, and van Riemsdijk 1978). Given that phases have natural interface correlates, we might state the following PF & LF correlates: extraposition & isolation, clefting, nuclear/sentential stress rule, ellipsis, extraction, propositionality, reconstruction, quantifier raising, binding, negative polarity item licensing. In this study, I aim to explore the phasehood of DPs in Turkish since these phrases are still on debate within the literature. I will show that the phasehood diagnostics applied on DPs in Turkish yield contradictory results in that DPs are convergent at PF, whereas they are not phases in terms of LF diagnostics. This problem suggests a dichotomy between simultaneous spell-out (Chomsky 2008), and non-simultaneous spell-out (Felsàer 2004, Marusàicà 2008) phenomena