Some sequences of verbs can display systematic ambiguities in meaning. Accent patterns are
among the means for disambiguating them. The study based on presentations given at the 19th
International Conference on Turkish Linguistics (ICTL) held August 17-19 2018 at Nazarbayev
University Astana Kazakhstan which was the first conference of this kind in Central Asia
presents a comprehensive analysis of ambiguous verb sequences and ways of teasing them apart
an issue that has never before been addressed in the typological literature. It consists of
seventeen contributions focusing on data from the Transeurasian languages Turkic Japanese and
Korean and a Tungusic variety. The studies demonstrate strong typological similarities between
these languages.The introductory chapter succinctly presents Lars Johanson's theoretical
framework and terminology which are applied by the authors. Alexandra Y. Aikhenvald reviews
verb sequences from a broad typological perspective. Martine Robbeets studies the coincidence
of intraterminal and postterminal readings in certain converb constructions across the
Transeurasian languages. Ten papers deal with Turkic varieties such as Turkish dialects a
Volga-Turkic variety of the 17th century Kazakh Yakut Dolgan Siberian Turkic Noghay Salar
and Uyghur. Complex predicates are analyzed in an endangered Tungusic variety Uilta (Orok).
One chapter deals with Korean and another with Fukuoka Japanese. The final contribution on
Ladakhi (a Tibetic language) demonstrates the broader areal distribution of ambiguous verb
sequences.
