Abstract
The Interrogative Particle “-mI/-mU” in Turkish
Derivational affixes and endings in Turkish come to the either verb or noun stems. In other words, an ending does not come to both noun and verb bases. Yet, the only ending that comes to both is the interrogative particle. İt stands out with this feature. This study seeks to examine the history of the “mu” preposition and its use and ending processes in modern Turkish written languages. To do this, first of all information has been given related to the history and usage of the relevant “-mI/-mU” particle in Gokturk Turkish, Old Uighur Turkish, Karakhanid Turkish, Khorezm Turkish, Kipczak Turkish, Chagatay Turkish and Old Anatolian Turkish. Afterwards, through a comparison of similar and different aspects of the particle between forms in historical and modern written languages, we have made some inferences related to whether the particle is a preposition or an ending. Thus, information has been given related to the historical development of the interrogative preposition/ending, its qualities, its usage in historical and modern written languages, its categorical position and syntactic position.
Keywords
Turkish, prepositions, endings, interrogative, interrogative particle