Noun-Modifying Constructions in Japanese: A Frame-Semantic Approach (Studies in Language Companion Series) [Hardcover]

Yoshiko Matsumoto (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1997 | ISBN-10: 1556198469 | ISBN-13: 978-1556198465

This monograph covers topics in the field of Japanese grammatical structure such as: syntactic and descriptive approaches to noun modification; "relative clause" constructions; noun-host type constructions; and the applications of frame semantics.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Language Notes

Text: English, Japanese --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 211 pages
• Publisher: John Benjamins Pub Co (November 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1556198469
• ISBN-13: 978-1556198465
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,293,444 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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5.0 out of 5 stars Noun-modifying clauses in Japanese, June 26, 2009

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Seino van Breugel "Seino" (Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Noun-Modifying Constructions in Japanese: A Frame-Semantic Approach (Studies in Language Companion Series) (Hardcover)

This book presents a new way of looking at relative clause-like structures in Japanese, called noun-modifying clauses. Matsumoto convincingly analyse a gap in Japanese noun-modifying clauses, since Japanese makes extensive use argues that, contrary to relative clauses in European languages, there is no need to of zero anaphora. In Japanese, a clause can still be grammatical, even if no noun phrase at all is expressed in it.

Also contrary to relative clauses in European languages, is the fact that the interpretation of Japanese noun-modifying clauses is not restricted by syntactic constraints. The same noun-modifying clause constructions can be interpreted differently according to different contexts in which they are uttered. Sometimes a noun-modifying clause can only be interpreted successfully by a hearer, if the hearer shares the same knowledge about the world as the speaker.

In this book, Matsumoto presents a framework that explains very clearly how listeners are able to interpret utterances containing noun-modifying constructions in Japanese. Matsumoto divides Japanese noun-modifying clause constructions into three types, depending on which part of the construction plays the role of host in its construal. In The first type the modifying clause construction the clause is the host, i.e. it provides the key semantic information to interpret the construction. In the second type, the modified noun is the host, and in the third type, the clause and the noun are both the host.