Japanese Generative Grammar

Syntax and Semantics, Volume 5: Japanese Generative Grammar focuses on the systematic application of the theory of generative grammar to the Japanese language. The phenomenon of reflexivization and its relationship to grammatical constructions, and how various grammatical constructions are systematically related to each other, are examined. The theoretical aspects of various grammatical structures of the Japanese language are also discussed. Comprised of 12 chapters, this volume begins with an introduction to the concept of subject in grammar, followed by an analysis of subject raising as a syntactic device in Japanese and other subject–object–verb (SOV) languages. Subsequent chapters explore the syntax and semantics of Japanese reflexivization, passivization, and causativization, along with relativization, complementation, and negation. Tense, aspect, and modality are also considered, along with the semantics of nominal compounds. The book concludes with an assessment of honorification as a salient feature of the Japanese language and the grammatical system of honorifics. This monograph will be of interest to grammarians and linguists.