The Position and Semantics of a and bir in the Nominal Phrase A comparative Investigation

Abstract

In this paper, we have tried to compare the German word ein to the Turkish word bir. Positionally, the German word ein is placed before a noun (a dress) or a phrase (an old dress) and means a number or an indefiniteness depending on the situation. In contrast, the position of the Turkish word bir is not fixed but may vary in context. As a numerical adjective, the Turkish word bir stands at the beginning of the phrase and it usually means a number: bir eski elbise one old dress. As indefinite adjective, however, it is placed between the adjective and the noun, and it expresses an indefiniteness eski bir elbise an old dress.