Differential Object Marking in Turkic and Persian as a Contact Phenomenon

Abstract

Despite the absence of genetic affiliation, Turkish (SW Turkic) and Persian (SW Iranian) have nearly identical differential object marking patterns. Herein it is proposed that this is due in part to contact between Persian and Azerbaijanian, which is closely related to Turkish, and that Iranian Azerbaijan is an isogloss for this feature. The tableau of evidence is a large puzzle only a few pieces of which have been filled in. In this work, I present several of those pieces. Part 1 contains synchronic evidence of object marking patterns in various languages both inside and outside the proposed isogloss, while Part 2 contains the result of a study comparing object marking in Old Anatolian Turkish and Classical Persian manuscripts.