「日本語から生成文法理論へ : 統語理論と言語獲得」研究発表会 (平成30年8月25日～26日)

“Argument Structure Alternations under N'-Deletion”
瀧田健介 (明海大学准教授)

Takita (2007, 2008) argues that N'-deletion applied to the kata-nominals, which consist of the nominal suffix -kata “way” and its clausal complement, provides a useful way of examining active-passive mismatches under ellipsis in languages like Japanese. In this talk, I extend the data set so as to include other instances of argument structure alternations such as locative alternation, exploring the nature of the identity conditions imposed on ellipsis.
“Notes on the Syntax of Nonsententials in Japanese”
林晋太郎 (南山大学講師)

This talk addresses the syntax of nonsententials (a.k.a. fragments and subsentences). The central issue surrounding the syntax of nonsententials is whether they are derived from sentential structures or not. The following three approaches have been advanced in the literature. (i) The ellipsis approach, (ii) the base-generation approach, and (iii) the hybrid approach. Against this backdrop, I defend the core insight behind the base-generation approach, by investigating some novel properties of NP nonsententials in Japanese.

“Slurs and Antihonorifics in Japanese”
和泉悠 (南山大学准教授)

This paper defends the view that the pejorative content of racial and ethnic slurs is best explained in terms of conventional implicature by comparing slurs and antihonorifics in Japanese, a class of expressions that are essentially concerned with the social standings of the participants of conversations. The main focus of the current paper is on Christopher Hom's (2008, 2012) criticism of the conventional implicature view of slurs.
“A Compositional Semantic Analysis of Distributivity Constructions”
OH Sei-Rang (Gyeongsang National University 教授)

This talk investigates the semantic properties of distributivity marker constructions and presents a compositional semantic account. There are various distributivity markers in Korean, including ssik, kakkak, mata, maypen. We will first discuss the basic semantic properties of each of these elements and show how their semantic behavior is different. This talk further examines the semantic properties of the multiple distributivity marker constructions, where more than one distributivity marker occurs, and discusses how the available interpretations of the constructions can be derived compositionally.

“Korean Light Verb Stranding VP Ellipsis and Labeling Theory”
PARK Dongwoo (Sogang University 研究員)

In Park (2016), I argue that the elision of VP is allowed in Korean, when VP is selected by the light verb –ha, generated in v. In this presentation, I propose that such VP ellipsis is the elimination of phonological feature matrices of lexical items inside the ellipsis site, which occurs during the derivation, by comparing complex predicate ellipsis in Farsi. This talk sheds new light on how labeling theory (Chomsky 2013, 2015; Saito 2016 among others) interacts not only with VP ellipsis, but also with other types of ellipsis.
“External Pair-Merge of Heads: Evidence from Japanese”
野村昌司 (中京大学教授)

Epstein, Kitahara, and Seely (2016) propose that like set-Merge, pair-Merge applies freely. In this talk, I will show that free application of pair-Merge gives us a unified account of various Japanese constructions such as unaccusatives/unergatives, direct/indirect passives, and ni-/o-causatives.

“Elidable Wh-phrases in Japanese: Its Theoretical Implications for Wh-in-situ” (a joint work with Hiroaki Saito)
坂本祐太 (中京大学講師)

Although it has been claimed since Sugisaki (2012) and Ikawa (2013) that wh-phrases in Japanese cannot undergo Oku's (1998) argument ellipsis, we show several contexts where they can. Specifically, we demonstrate that non-lowest wh-phrases in multiple wh-questions can be elided via argument ellipsis, considering its theoretical implications for the analysis of wh-in-situ.
“Diagnostics for Classifier Constructions”
YOO Yong Suk (Korea Naval Academy 助教授)

This paper discusses few alternative derivations for classifier constructions in Korean and Japanese. It is well known that classifiers in Korean and Japanese can appear in various shapes and their distribution is rather similar in these two languages. Desptie of their superficial similarities, it will be shown that the classifier constructions in Korean and Japanese have different syntactic structures. Few diagnostics will be suggested in this paper, which show the classifier constructions in question have different derivations.

“On the Island (In)sensitivity in Right Dislocation in Korean and its Implications”
PARK Bum-Sik (Dongguk University 准教授)

It has been widely assumed that Right Dislocation (RD) in Korean exhibits island-sensitivity (cf. Choe 1987, Ko 2015, 2016). The island sensitivity in turn is taken as a crucial argument for the rightward movement approach to RD. In this talk, however, I will show that RD does not always exhibit the island-sensitivity. I will attempt to explicate when and how the exemption from the island violation takes place and discuss its theoretical implications.
“Double Sideward Movement”
高野祐二 (金城学院大学教授)

In this talk I will explore an extension of the application of Merge and propose that it makes possible what I call "double sideward movement," a new form of sideward movement. I will show that double sideward movement makes it possible to capture otherwise mysterious properties of clefts with multiple foci in Japanese. I will also consider consequences of this proposal.