Transcript On the Distribution of the Japanese wa and ga

University College Utrecht Fall 2002 Linguistics
On the Distribution of the
Japanese wa and ga
Floris van Vugt
Images from the John Raylands Library http://rylibweb.man.ac.uk
Scrambling
Today Yuka(nom) Ginza at sushi(-Acc) ate.
•Kyo Yuka-ga Ginza-de sushi-o tabeta.
•Yuka-ga kyo Ginza-de sushi-o tabeta.
•Kyo sushi-o Yuka-ga Ginza-de tabeta.
But:
• verb-final
headedness
• postpositions & case particles
parameter
The Problem
Particle
Case
-ga / -wa
Nominative
-no
Genitive
-o
Accusative
-ni
Dative
John Austin Speech Act Theory
• That bird is a sparrow
item
predicate
• The direction of fit
–“distinguishes that which is given from that
which is produced” (Fiengo 9)
What do you call that bird?
Show me an example of a sparrow.
Examples
Question
Answer
Are wa nan to iu hana desu ka?
What is that flower called?
Are wa sakura
desu yo.
That is a cherry
blossom.
Sakura o misete kurenai?
Could you show me a cherry?
Are ga sakura
desu yo.
That is a cherry
blossom.
Conclusion
• Japanese more context-dependent.
– One possible sentence in English, but
Several possible sentence in Japanese.
• More to be said.
Thank you for your attention.
The End
This presentation and the paper are
available for downloading at
http://vanvugt.cjb.net