The Japanese passive voice is quite different from that of English. This thesis is an attempt to investigate the nature of the passive form in Japanese in contrast to the English passive voice and to examine the reasons for the differences. An examination is made of the English passive voice, followed by a contrastive analysis of Japanese transitive-intransitive verbs. Results of the investigation show that to some extent, the usage of Japanese intransitive verbs resembles the passive voice in English. There are three chapters in this thesis. The first chapter deals with an historical discussion of the European passive voice, from the notions of the Greek grammarians to the theories of the transformationalists. Japanese traditional grammar is the subject of the second chapter. The gradual development of the discussion of verbs by Japanese grammarians is outlined. Also, the nature of transitive-intransitive verbs is dealt with and an extensive, though not exhaustive, list of root-related transitive-intransitive verbs is presented. In the final chapter, discussions of the passive forms, by various grammarians are presented. Thereafter, the passive forms are examined by dividing them into two major groups: the ordinary form and the adverse passive form. Each form is syntactically examined and illustrations from literary sources are included. Conclusions show that, semantically, the ordinary passive form is similar to the English passive voice, whereas, the adverse passive form indicates a strong emotional feeling. The romanization of Japanese examples is represented by using Kunrei-Shiki¹ except for the following: /shi/...si, /sha/...sya, /shu/...syu, /sho/...syo, /chi/…ti, /tsu/...tu, /cha/…tya, /chu/…tyu, /cho/...tyo, /ji/...zi These latter symbols represent the verbal and adjectival conjugations much easier than the ordinary Kunrei-Shiki. Syllabic /n/ is represented as N to avoid confusion between such morphemes /tani/ (valley) and /tan'i/ (credit), which are shown as tani and taNi, respectively. These symbols are only used for the examples in the text; Kunrei-Shiki is used for references. English translations of Japanese quotations are mine. Romanization approved by the Japanese Ministry of Education. / Arts, Faculty of / Linguistics, Department of / Graduate

The question of how to represent prosodic structure is of current theoretical interest in three dimensional phonology. Two current theories/models of representation are the onset/rime model (Kaye and Lowenstamm 1982, Kaye Lowenstamm and Vergnaud 1987 and Levin 1985) and the mora model (Hyman 1985, McCarthy and Prince 1986 and Hayes 1988). This thesis consists of a detailed investigation of the descriptive adequacy of these two theories for the Japanese language. Japanese can be considered an archetypal mora language since in the indigenous linguistic tradition it is analysed into moras. The version of each model which I am adopting is explicitly stated in a set of universal syllabification rules. This syllabification algorithm is compatible with the following assumptions: (1) a. No predictable prosodic structure is present in the underlying representation. The distribution of glides in most cases is predictable. b. Prosodic structure is built by rule and is erected around a syllabic peak which is determined by the relative sonority of segments and not by a feature [syllabic]. Furthermore, the version of the onset/rime model I propose is a paramaterized model where the unmarked setting does not include a nucleus constituent. This onset/rime model is designed to account for weight distinctions as well as the mora theory. Sample structures from both theories are given below. (2) [Diagram Omitted] A syllabification algorithm for Japanese is adapted from the general algorithm and fitted into a model of the lexical phonology of Japanese. It is shown that Japanese prosodic structure can be generated by rule, in either model, with no underlying distinctions between glides and high vowels, and with no feature [syllabic]. Therefore, it is concluded that both the onset/rime model and the mora model are adequate for describing the Japanese language. This conclusion crucially depends on the parameterization within the onset/rime model. Because Japanese is not the only language which employs the weight distinctions a Type I model represents, the parameterization is necessary for the onset/rime model to remain equal in descriptive power with the mora model. / Arts, Faculty of / Linguistics, Department of / Graduate

This thesis attempts to explain the functions of the preposing of the direct object in Japanese. Japanese is generally a verb-final language and the basic word order is Subject (S) -> Object (O) -> Verb (V). However, it also has relatively free word order, and a direct object can be preposed to the sentence-initial position forming OSV word order. Although clauses expressed in SOV and OSV word orders are semantically identical, OSV is used much less frequently in comparison to SOV. This thesis examines the motivations behind the preposing of direct objects. As a first step toward understanding the possible functions of OSV word order, this thesis analyzes characteristics of preposed direct objects in its data collected from written materials. The results show that both structural characteristics and the information status of direct objects play roles in preposing. Structural characteristics found in preposed direct objects are that they tend to be lengthy, tend to contain demonstratives, or tend not be a direct object component of idiomatic expressions formed with a direct object and a verb. Preposed direct objects tend to convey information that is either linked to the preceding discourse, is linked to the hearer's knowledge, or is emphasized. The findings also show that the preposing of direct objects is motivated by various reasons depending on what is required to enhance communication in the context. Direct objects that have structurally different characteristics, namely those that contain demonstratives or long direct object phrases, are preposed for easier sentence processing or reference. In order to avoid ambiguity, preposing does not occur when the process would split an idiomatic expression comprised of a direct object and a verb. Preposing of direct objects conveying information linked to either the preceding discourse or the hearer's knowledge creates relevance between the preceding discourse and the present proposition. Preposing direct objects structurally indicates what information is emphasized. In other words, the preposing of direct objects facilitates effective communication. / Arts, Faculty of / Asian Studies, Department of / Graduate

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Call number: LD2668 .T4 1978 S27 / Master of Arts

published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Linguistics / Master / Master of Arts