A focus-based analysis of Nominative objects in Japanese
- Autores: Nozomi Moritake
- Localización: Lingua: International review of general linguistics, ISSN 0024-3841, Nº 278, 2022
- Idioma: inglés
- Enlaces
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Resumen
This paper explores the derivation of the sentence with Nominative objects in Japanese. The empirical data from standard and Kumamoto Japanese (a dialect spoken in the Kyushu region) reveal that Nominative objects can remain within the verb phrase. In the light of the scope interpretation observed in the previous studies, there should also be a case in which Nominative objects move out of the verb phrase. This paper proposes that Nominative objects may undergo movement to the TP domain to satisfy focus, which makes them take wide scope with respect to the potential suffix and negation. The scope interpretation of Nominative objects is thus attributed to their focus-related movement, in contrast to the previous approaches. This paper also investigates how Case assignment takes place in Japanese, and proposes that an unvalued Case-feature in Japanese enters upwardly into an agreement relation with heads that have a valued Case-feature, as a result of which DPs obtain Case in Japanese. This proposal allows objects within the verb phrase to receive Nominative Case without moving to the TP domain, insofar as a v*P phase is canceled. Finally, the proposed analysis is extended to the derivation of Dative subject constructions in Japanese.
