Light verb Constructions in Azeri-Turkish/Persian Code-switching based on the Matrix Language Frame Model

The present paper was an attempt to inquire into the morpho-syntactic features of light verb construction in Azeri-Turkish/Persian intra-sentential code-switching, employing the matrix language frame model. The analysis of data obtained from the interactions between bilingual teachers (n = 4) and students (n = 100) and from the conversation of 8 other bilingual teachers in a primary school revealed that Persian finite verbs do not participate in Azeri-Turkish morpho-syntactic frame simply because such verbs are [+ thematic role assigner] and carry more syntactic baggage. Persian preverbal elements, however, appeared to combine with Turkish light verbs showing more resistance to the syntactic frame of Azeri-Turkish in causative structures. Activation of embedded language preverbal element at predicate-argument level not only indicates the matrix language being far from the sole source for the grammatical shaping but also falsifies the independence of syntax from lexicon.