Adverbial clauses as tropics in Turkish

This paper explores the rhetorical and grammatical functions of adverbial clauses in Turkish, proposing that they serve as “tropics”—central organizing points in discourse. Drawing on examples from natural language use, the study examines how adverbial clauses contribute to coherence, emphasis, and thematic development in spoken and written texts. The analysis highlights the dynamic role these clauses play in structuring information flow, guiding listener or reader interpretation, and framing speaker intent. By treating adverbial clauses as discourse tropics rather than mere syntactic adjuncts, the paper offers a fresh perspective on clause-level grammar and its interaction with pragmatics. The findings contribute to Turkish linguistics and broader discussions on the interface between syntax and discourse (AI generated abstract, Copilot)