Interrogatives and the Focus Particle "du" in Yaeyaman

• Project/Area Number: 25770152
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Linguistics
• Research Institution: University of the Ryukyus
• Principal Investigator: Davis Christopher 琉球大学, 法文学部, 准教授 (80647339)
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Project Status: Completed (Fiscal Year 2015)
• Budget Amount: ¥1,950,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,500,000、Indirect Cost: ¥450,000); Fiscal Year 2015: ¥650,000 (Direct Cost: ¥500,000、Indirect Cost: ¥150,000); Fiscal Year 2014: ¥650,000 (Direct Cost: ¥500,000、Indirect Cost: ¥150,000); Fiscal Year 2013: ¥650,000 (Direct Cost: ¥500,000、Indirect Cost: ¥150,000)
• Keywords: 琉球諸語 / 八重山語 / 焦点助辞 / 疑問文 / Ryukyuan / Yaeyaman / Focus Particles / Interrogatives / Focus / Plurality / Reduplication / Plurals / 焦点辞 / Particles

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The focus particle "du" is found throughout Ryukyuan, and plays an especially prominent role in the grammar of Yaeyaman. This project looked into the syntactic and semantic properties this particle plays in Yaeyaman interrogatives, with the following results: (1) I collected new data on the relationship between the syntactic position of "du" and the part of the sentence that it serves to focus. (2) Yaeyaman does not have a Japanese-style question particle, but instead uses "du" in many interrogatives. On the basis of original fieldwork data, I proposed a theory connecting the semantics of "du" with that of interrogatives. (3) I collected data on plural wh-words, and developed theory of their semantics. (4) I created a large archive of Yaeyaman fieldwork sessions and natural speech.

Research Products

• [Journal Article] Plurality and Distributivity in Yaeyaman Wh-questions (2016)
  • Author(s): Christopher Davis
  • Journal Title: Proceedings of Semantics and Linguistic Theory 25 Volume: 1
  • Peer Reviewed / Open Access / Int'l Joint Research / Acknowledgement Compliant
• [Journal Article] Plurality and Distributivity in Yaeyaman Wh-Questions (2015)
  • Author(s): Christopher Davis
  • Journal Title: Proceedings of the 25th Semantics and Linguistic Theory Conference Volume: --
  • Peer Reviewed / Open Access
• [Journal Article] The Role of Focus Particles in Wh-Interrogatives: Evidence from a Southern Ryukyuan Language (2014)
  • Author(s): Christopher Davis
  • Journal Title: Proceedings of the West Coast Conference on Formal Linguistics Volume: -- Pages: 124-133
  • Peer Reviewed / Open Access / Acknowledgement Compliant
• [Journal Article] Surface Position and Focus Domain of the Ryukyuan Focus Particle du: Evidence from Miyara Yaeyaman (2014)
  • Author(s): Christopher Davis
  • Journal Title: International Journal of Okinawan Studies Volume: 4 Pages: 29-50
  • Peer Reviewed
• [Journal Article] The Role of Focus Particles in Wh-Interrogatives: Evidence from a Southern Ryukyuan Language (2014)
  • Author(s): Christopher Davis
  • Journal Title: Proceedings of the 31st West Coast Conference on Formal Linguistics Volume: 1
  • Peer Reviewed
• [Presentation] Interrogatives in Yaeyama Ryukyuan (仮) (2016)
  • Author(s): Christopher Davis
  • Organizer: The Semantics of African, Asian, and Austronesian Languages (AAA)
  • Place of Presentation: Tuebingen, Germany
  • Year and Date: 2016-07-06
  • Int'l Joint Research / Invited
• [Presentation] Expressives and Alternatives (2016)
  • Author(s): Christopher Davis, Eric McCready
  • Organizer: Semantics and Linguistic Theory
  • Place of Presentation: University of Texas at Austin
  • Year and Date: 2016-05-23
  • Int'l Joint Research
• [Presentation] Tense, Aspect, and Evidentiality in Okinawan (2016)
  • Author(s): Christopher Davis
  • Organizer: English Language Society of Japan 9th International Spring Forum
  • Place of Presentation: Kobe City University of Foreign Studies
  • Year and Date: 2016-04-23
  • Int'l Joint Research / Invited
• [Presentation] 大学における琉球諸語の継承に向けた教育 (2016)
  • Author(s): Christopher Davis
  • Organizer: 第８回琉球継承言語シンポジウム
  • Place of Presentation: 琉球大学
  • Year and Date: 2016-03-19
• [Presentation] (Anti)honorifics and Questions in Japanese (2016)
  • Author(s): Christopher Davis, Eric McCready
  • Organizer: Formal Semantics in IEd
  • Place of Presentation: The Hong Kong Institute of Education
  • Year and Date: 2016-03-02
  • Invited
• [Presentation] Reduplication and Plurality in Yaeyama Ryukyuan Wh-questions (2015)
  • Author(s): Christopher Davis
  • Organizer: UH Manoa Tuesday Seminar
  • Place of Presentation: University of Hawaii Manoa
  • Year and Date: 2015-09-15
  • Invited
• [Presentation] Plurality and Distributivity in Yaeyaman Wh-questions (2015)
  • Author(s): Christopher Davis
  • Organizer: Semantics and Linguistic Theory 25
  • Place of Presentation: Stanford University (California USA)
  • Year and Date: 2015-05-15 – 2015-05-17
• [Presentation] Plurality and Distributivity in Yaeyaman Wh-questions (2015)
  • Author(s): Christopher Davis
  • Organizer: Semantics and Linguistic Theory 25
  • Place of Presentation: Stanford University
  • Year and Date: 2015-05-15
  • Int'l Joint Research
• [Presentation] Questions about Question Particles (2015)
  • Author(s): Christopher Davis
  • Organizer: Workshop on Discourse Particles
  • Place of Presentation: Language Institute, Thammasat University (Bangkok Thailand)
  • Year and Date: 2015-03-28 – 2015-03-29
  • Invited
• [Presentation] Focus Particles, GIVENness, and Wh-Questions in a Southern Ryukyuan Language (2013)
  • Author(s): Christopher Davis
  • Organizer: International Conference of Linguists, Session 6A
  • Place of Presentation: Geneva (スイス)
• [Presentation] Focus Particles and Mood in Ryukyuan: Evidence from Miyara Yaeyaman (2013)
  • Author(s): Christopher Davis
  • Organizer: UH Manoa Linguistics Tuesday Seminar
  • Place of Presentation: University of Hawaii, Manoa (ハワイ大学)
  • Invited