Postverbal constituents in Turkish and the linear correspondence axiom

Abstract

Kayne (1994) argues that specifier-head-complement is the universal order and that the traditional SOV languages are derived by the leftward movement of various constituents in a head-initial structure. The universality of this claim is called into question by the fact that postverbal quantifiers take scope over preverbal quantifiers in Turkish. This article shows that head-final structures derive the correct scope readings in scrambled clauses in a straightforward and consistent manner, whereas head-initial structures require more complicated and sometimes contradictory assumptions. This suggests that although some SOV languages may be derived as Kayne suggests, others, like Turkish, must truly be head-final

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