kültürlerinin

Kültürlerinin is a Turkish word used to express possession by a plural subject and to indicate the genitive relation of “of their cultures” or “their cultures’.” It is formed through a sequence of suffixes added to the noun kültür (culture): the plural suffix -ler to form kültürler (cultures), followed by the possessive/genitive chain that yields -lerinin at the end. The resulting form signals that the possessed element belongs to or originates from more than one group.

In Turkish, this kind of suffix chain is a common way to bundle information about number, possession, and relation into a single noun. The ending -lerinin combines the plural marker with possessive and genitive markers to denote ownership by alienable plural subjects and to mark a dependent noun phrase. The exact interpretation is context-dependent, but the typical English rendering is “of their cultures” or “their cultures’.”

Usage and examples illustrate its meaning in discourse about culture and identity. For example, Kültürlerinin gelenekleri çok çeşitlidir translates to “The traditions of their cultures are very diverse.” Another sentence, Kültürlerinin etkisi bu bölgedeki toplumsal yaşamı şekillendirir, means “The influence of their cultures shapes social life in this region.” Such phrases are common in ethnographic, historical, and sociological writing, where the relationship between groups and their cultural practices is analyzed.

See also: Turkish grammar, possessive suffixes, genitive case, plural marking.