2006 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
Semantic and Pragmatic Studies on Existential Sentences
| Project/Area Number |
16520257
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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 |
Linguistics
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| Research Institution | Meikai University (2006)
Keio University (2004-2005) |
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Principal Investigator |
NISHIYAMA Yuji Meikai University, Faculty of Language and Cultures, Professor, 外国語学部, 教授 (90051747)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
KOYA Itsuki Keio University, Faculty of Law, Professor, 法学部, 教授 (80234904)
KUMAMOTO Chiaki Saga University, Faculty of Culture and Education, Professor, 文化教育学部, 教授 (10153355)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2004 – 2006
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| Keywords | existential sentences / possessive sentences / copular sentences / referential noun phrases / predicate nominals / NP involving a variable / definite noun phrases / quantifier |
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| Research Abstract |
Existential sentences, as well copular sentences, are the most basic constructions in natural languages. Research on Japanese existential sentences, up to now, has treated mainly existential sentences with locative expressions, namely locational existential sentences with the form of "L ni NP ga iru / aru", and the discussion has centered on the distinction between urn and int. Previous research on English existential sentences, on the other hand, has often taken up the constructions "There is NP PP (Loc)" and "NP is PP (Loc)" and discussed the relationship between these two constructions, syntactic properties of there, the definiteness restriction on the NP, and so on.
This research, in contrast to that conducted so far, emphasizes the importance of taking the referentiality of NPs into consideration and explicates the rich semantic structure of existential sentences in terms of the referential/non-referential function of the subject NP. Specifically, the research reveals that the examination of the following aspects is essential for the proper analysis of existential sentences: whether the subject NP is a referential NP or an NP involving a variable (NPIV), whether an NPIV is hidden or not in position other than the subject position, and whether the subject NP is compatible with strong quantifiers or not. Inquiries into these topics have disclosed that several types of existential sentences (ESs) should be distinguished according to the specific functions they fulfill, namely, locational ESs, ontological ESs, possessive sentences, list sentences, relational ESs and trans-spatial ESs. The findings have indicated that some types of existential sentences are closely connected with copular sentences (especially specificational sentences) on a deeper level of semantic structure.
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Research Products
(12 results)
