dildeki

Dildeki is a Turkish adjective formed from the noun dil (language, tongue) combined with the locative suffix -de and the suffix -ki, which attaches to nouns to form a relative or determiner meaning. The resulting expression roughly corresponds to “in the language” or “the one in the language,” and it is used to indicate that the modified noun is found within a particular language.

In usage, dildeki functions as a postpositive modifier before a noun, similar to other -ki constructs in Turkish. It is common in linguistic, lexicographic, and comparative contexts to talk about elements that exist, appear, or are characteristic in a language. For example, dildeki kelimeler means “the words in the language” or “the dictionary items found in the language,” while dildeki farklılıklar refers to “differences in the language.” The form can describe vocabulary, grammar, expressions, or phenomena that are specific to a language rather than to others or to general discourse.

Etymologically, dildeki illustrates how Turkish builds descriptive phrases by layering affixes onto a root noun: dil + de (in) + ki (the one in). This pattern is parallel to other locative + relative constructions such as İngilizcedeki or Fransızkedeki, which denote items found within English or French, respectively.

See also: Turkish morphological suffixes, -ki constructions, comparative linguistics in Turkish.