Locative Existential Sentences in Kyrgyz and Turkish Languages

This study compares locative existential sentences in Kyrgyz and Turkish languages focusing on the definiteness effect (DE) and their information structure (IS). The DE is tested looking at the eligibility of various types of Noun Phrases (NPs), including proper nouns, pronouns and NPs with demonstrative pronouns, as pivots in these sentences. The IS roles are analysed through the scrambling of the pivot NPs. The findings indicate that neither Kyrgyz nor Turkish language is subject to the DE. It is also observed that the pivot NPs function as the focus, whereas the locative phrases are the topic of the sentences in both languages. The study concludes that Kyrgyz and Turkish existential sentences are nearly similar in terms of the DE and IS. The findings hint that the DE is uncommon among those languages which employ no definite articles.