The universal quantifier 'All’ in Turkish sign language

Abstract

This thesis aims at investigating the universal quantification in Turkish Sign Language (TİD). Four signs have been investigated. Contrary to the initial hypotheses of this study, not all of the four signs have been identified as expressing universal quantification. Based on the findings, these four signs are glossed as ALL, ALL_OF_THOSE, THOSE and ALL_OF_THOSE^SAME. Based on the findings of grammaticality judgment and picture description tasks with native and non-native signers, I argue in this thesis that three of the signs I investigated express universal quantification: ALL is a universal quantificational determiner. ALL_OF_THOSE is a complex sign having a universal quantificational determiner component, which is expressed by the mouthing of the Turkish word hepsi 'all' and a demonstrative determiner/pronoun, and has a partitive meaning. ALL_OF_THOSE^SAME is an incorporated sign having the handshape of SAME and the movement of ALL_OF_THOSE. The fourth sign, THOSE, which differs from ALL_OF_THOSE only in the absence of mouthing is a plural demonstrative pronoun.