A semantic and pragmatic investigation of possessive constructions

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 24720222
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: English linguistics
• Research Institution: Kumamoto Gakuen University (2014); Takasaki University of Health and Welfare (2012-2013)
• Principal Investigator: KOBUKATA Yuko 熊本学園大学, 商学部, 講師 (50466653)
• Project Period (FY): 2012-04-01 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: 所有構文 / 存在構文 / 定性効果 / 譲渡不可能所有 / コピュラ文

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The aim of this study is to provide an accurate characterization of the two phenomena (the passivizability of verbs of possession and the definiteness effect) in possessive constructions and related constructions. We made the following claims: (1) The passivizability of verbs of possession can be accounted for by the notion of process. (2) The definiteness effect in possessive constructions and constructions with verbs of acquisition is predicted precisely from the interpretation of the construction as a whole. (3) Unlike English possessive constructions, the Japanese verbs iru (‘be’) and aru (‘be’) cannot license the old or presupposed object. (4) The definiteness effect in possessive constructions is different from that in there-constructions in terms of information structure.

Free Research Field

英語学