2004 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
An Empirical and Theoretical Study of Variations of the Double Object Construction in English-Speaking Countries
| Project/Area Number |
14510516
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
英語・英米文学
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| Research Institution | Nagoya University |
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Principal Investigator |
AMANO Masachiyo Nagoya University, Graduate School of Letters, Professor, 文学研究科, 教授 (80116524)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2002 – 2004
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| Keywords | dative verb / double object / indirect passive / direct passive / indirect object / direct object / argument / adjunct |
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| Research Abstract |
I have conducted two sorts of surveys on the double object construction in New Zealand, Canada, Singapore, Australia and the United States. One is concerned with passivization of the indirect and direct object, and the other with the possibility of placing an adverbial between the two objects. The results of the surveys show the following points. First, the indirect object invariably has properties as arguments, whereas the direct object has properties as adjuncts rather than arguments in all the countries. Second, the indirect passive is highly evaluated, but the direct passive is judged anomalous or ungrammatical in all the countries, though there are variations depending on choice of dative verbs involved. Third, adverbials are more favored when they appear in the position between the indirect object and the direct object, strongly suggesting that the direct object is adjunct. Although there are no noticeable differences among the five countries regarding the three points made here, Singapore deserves special attention. About 90% of Singaporean speakers, a very high percentage compared with the other countries, prefer adverbials to be in the position between the indirect object and direct object, a result that should be analyzed in a future study.
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