Questions & Answers about Hangi duayı okuduğunu sordum.
How does the indirect question 'which prayer he recited' work here?
Instead of a separate clause, Turkish treats indirect questions as objects. You keep the question word (hangi) and turn the verb into a noun clause using the factive suffix -dık (which mutates to -duğ- here). Literally, it translates to 'I asked his reciting which prayer.'
Why are there two accusative endings in this sentence (duayı and okuduğunu)?
Because each verb has its own direct object! The prayer takes the accusative (duayı) because it is the specific object of okumak (to recite). Then, the entire noun clause hangi duayı okuduğu (which prayer he recited) becomes the direct object of the main verb sordum (I asked). So, you add an -n- buffer and the accusative -u to the end of the clause.
Could okuduğunu also mean 'that you recited'?
Yes! Out of context, okuduğunu is famously ambiguous. It can be built from okuduğu (his/her reciting) plus an -n- buffer and the accusative -u, OR from okuduğun (your reciting) plus the accusative -u. Without more context, this sentence could equally mean 'I asked which prayer you recited.'
Since 'dua' is the object, why can't we just say 'hangi dua okuduğunu sordum'?
The question word hangi (which) always points to a specific, distinct item. Because the object is specific rather than a general category, Turkish requires it to take the accusative case. Since dua ends in a vowel, it takes the buffer -y- followed by the accusative -ı.
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