Edebiyat: literature, cases and literary traditions

The idea

As a field, edebiyat normally stays singular. The plural edebiyatlar can distinguish literary traditions, rather than count individual books. The final t stays before a vowel: edebiyatı, edebiyata, edebiyatımız. In edebiyatta and edebiyattan, the stem’s t meets the suffix’s t, so write both. Possessive forms identify whose literature is meant; their use depends on the context.

Examples

• Ben edebiyata meraklıyım.I am interested in literature.
• Bugün edebiyattan konuşalım.Let’s talk about literature today.
• Edebiyatta yeni sesler arıyoruz.We are looking for new voices in literature.
• Türk edebiyatında köy yaşamını anlatan romanlar arıyorum.I am looking for novels in Turkish literature that depict village life.
• Farklı edebiyatlar arasında beklenmedik benzerlikler bulduk.We found unexpected similarities between different literary traditions.
• Bu seçkide edebiyatımızdan üç kısa öykü var.This anthology contains three short stories from our literature.
• Çevirinin edebiyatı nasıl dönüştürdüğünü tartıştık.We discussed how translation transforms literature.

Watch out

The same edebiyatı can be an accusative object or the final noun of a compound, as in Türk edebiyatı. To say “in Turkish literature”, keep that compound ending and insert n before the case ending: Türk edebiyatında. Simply adding the locative to the bare noun loses part of the compound.

Try it yourself

1. Eleştirmen ___ yalnızca romanlarla sınırlamıyor. (edebiyat) Complete with the accusative: the critic does not limit literature to novels.

   Show answer or example answer

   edebiyatı

   edebiyatı: literature is what the critic limits. This object takes the accusative -ı; the noun keeps its final t even though the ending begins with a vowel.

2. Türk ___ köy yaşamını anlatan romanlar arıyorum. (edebiyat) Complete “in Turkish literature”. Keep the compound ending before adding the locative.

   Show answer or example answer

   edebiyatında

   edebiyatında: the search takes place within Turkish literature. Start with Türk edebiyatı, then attach -n- and -da. The resulting locative belongs to the whole compound.

3. Farklı ___ arasında benzerlikler bulduk. (edebiyat) Use the plural to refer to different literary traditions.

   Show answer or example answer

   edebiyatlar

   edebiyatlar: the comparison concerns several literary traditions, so a plural is meaningful here. The last vowel a selects -lar. This does not mean several books.

4. Bu seçkide ___ üç öykü var. (bizim edebiyatımız) Complete “from our literature”: add the ablative to the possessive form.

   Show answer or example answer

   edebiyatımızdan

   edebiyatımızdan: the stories are selected from our literature. The form combines “our”, -ımız, with “from”, -dan. The latter follows z, so it begins with d.

Use it today

Write a short paragraph about a literary tradition you want to explore. Use edebiyata, edebiyattan and one possessive form from the table. Then add a sentence comparing two traditions, and explain what your plural refers to.