The Roles of Semantic Selection, Morphological Selection and Speech Act Compatibility in the Formation and Interpretation of Phrase Structure

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 25370445
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Linguistics
• Research Institution: Nanzan University
• Principal Investigator: SAITO Mamoru 南山大学, 人文学部, 教授 (70186964)
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: 極小主義アプローチ / 比較統語論 / パラメター / ラベリング / 意味的選択 / 文法格 / 削除現象 / スクランブリング

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In the minimalist approach to syntax, Merge, which takes two elements and forms a constituent, is assumed to be the sole mechanism for phrase structure building. Hence, grammatical phenomena must be explained in terms of selection, morphological and semantic, and the applicability of Merge. This project has successfully derived the hierarchical relations among modals, complementizers and speech act particles in Japanese from selectional restrictions. Then, it proposed that suffixal Case markers and predicate inflections make the application of Merge possible in Japanese, playing the role equivalent to agreement in Indo-European languages. This makes it possible to explain the typological properties of the language such as multiple occurrences of Case markers, free word order, argument ellipsis and extensive use of complex predicates. Overall, the achieved results indicate that the minimalist approach leads to significant insights in both Japanese grammar and comparative syntax.

Free Research Field

日本語を中心とした比較統語論に基づく統語理論研究