Labeling and Argument Doubling in Japanese

詞組標籤理論和日語論元重複現象

10.6503/THJCS.2017.47(2).07

齋藤衛(Saito Mamoru)

argument doubling ； free Merge ； labeling ； the θ-criterion ； focus ； set of alternatives ； 論元重複 ； 自由合併 ； 詞組標籤 ； 論旨準則 ； 焦點 ； 另類選項集合

清華學報

47卷2期（2017 / 06 / 01）

383 - 405

英文

Chomsky's (2013) labeling algorithm plays a fundamental role in the pursuit of minimalist syntax, restricting the structures that free Merge generates. I suggest that it also explains the effects of the θ-criterion to the extent that they are correct. This leads to the conclusion that the θ-criterion, as it is currently formulated, should be dispensed with. I first note that the θ-criterion and the labeling algorithm overlap in their effects in English. Then, I introduce the labeling mechanism for Japanese that I argued for in Saito (2014). It assumes that the language lacks φ-feature agreement altogether and claims that suffixal Case serves to aid labeling. With this background, I discuss examples of argument doubling from Kuroda (1988), where a verb assigns a single θ-role to two distinct arguments. I show that these and other similar examples are successful with labeling but violate the θ-criterion. Their grammaticality demonstrates then that the θ-criterion should be eliminated in favor of labeling. At the end, I examine the conditions on argument doubling and suggest that one of the doubled arguments must be construed as a focus and the other must serve to specify the set of alternatives for the focus in the sense of Rooth (1992). Based on this, I speculate that though the θ-criterion is untenable, Full Interpretation requires that each constituent play a unique role in the semantics.

本文以Chomsky (2013) 的詞組標籤運算 (labeling algorithm) 為基準，探討論旨準則(θ-criterion) 在當代句法理論中的必要性。本文從英語出發，指出句法理論中詞組標記系統與論旨準則的功能有所重疊：經由討論日語論元重複 (argument doubling) 結構，我們發現論旨準則在語料實證上確有不足。這顯示論旨準則應從當代句法理論中剔除，由標籤運算取代其功能。

1. Cardinaletti, Anna(ed.),Cinque, Guglielmo(ed.),Endo, Yoshio(ed.)(2014).On Peripheries: Exploring Clause Initial and Clause Final Positions.Tokyo:Hituzi Syobo Publishing.
2. Chomsky, Noam(2013).Problems of Projection.Lingua,130,33-49.
3. Harada, Shin-ichi(1973).Counter Equi NP Deletion.Annual Bulletin of Research Laboratory of Logopedics and Phoniatrics,7,113-147.
4. Hinds, John(ed.),Howard, Irwin(ed.)(1978).Problems in Japanese Syntax and Semantics.Tokyo:Kaitakusha.
5. Kuno, Susumu(1973).The Structure of the Japanese Language.Cambridge, Mass.:MIT Press.
6. Kuroda, S.-Y.(1988).Whether We Agree or Not: A Comparative Syntax of English and Japanese.Linguisticae Investigationes,12,1-47.
7. Miyagawa, Shigeru(ed.),Saito, Mamoru(ed.)(2008).The Oxford Handbook of Japanese Linguistics.New York:Oxford University Press.
8. Rooth, Mats(1992).A Theory of Focus Interpretation.Natural Language Semantics,1,75-116.
9. Saito, Mamoru(2003).A Derivational Approach to the Interpretation of Scrambling Chains.Lingua,113,481-518.
10. Saito, Mamoru(1989).Scrambling as Semantically Vacuous A'-movement.Alternative Conceptions of Phrase Structure,Chicago:
11. Webelhuth, Gert(1989).Amherst,University of Massachusetts.