Breakdown of Protokolde, bu ittifakın gizli olduğuna ilişkin bir kural yok.
bu
this
bir
a / an
yok
there is not / non-existent
olmak
to be
kural
rule
gizli
hidden / secret (adjective)
ilişkin
concerning / regarding
protokol
protocol
ittifak
alliance
Questions & Answers about Protokolde, bu ittifakın gizli olduğuna ilişkin bir kural yok.
How does olduğuna ilişkin translate to "stating that... is"?
Literally, it translates to "relating to the fact that it is." We take the verb olmak (to be) and add the factive suffix -dık (which becomes -duğ- here), the 3rd person possessive -u, and the dative case -a. The postposition ilişkin (regarding/relating to) requires this dative case. While English says "a rule stating that", Turkish frames it as "a rule regarding the fact that".
Why is ittifak in the genitive case (ittifakın)?
Because it is the subject of the subordinate clause. When you turn a full sentence like "the alliance is secret" into a "that" clause using -dık, the subject of that inner clause takes the genitive case, and the verb takes a possessive suffix. It literally behaves like "this alliance's being secret".
Could I use dair or hakkında instead of ilişkin in this sentence?
Yes! The postposition dair also takes the dative case and is completely interchangeable here: olduğuna dair. If you want to use hakkında (about), the grammatical structure shifts slightly because hakkında doesn't take the dative case. You would use the bare possessive form of the noun clause: gizli olduğu hakkında.
Can I translate "stating that" more literally using a verb like belirtmek (to state)?
You can. Using the active participle of belirtmek, you could say gizli olduğunu belirten bir kural (a rule stating that it is secret). However, in formal contexts like a protokol, using ilişkin or dair (a rule regarding/concerning...) is a very natural and idiomatic way to connect a rule to its contents.
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