Hiroyuki Maeda
Word Order of Japanese Honorific Predicate Constituents - Explanation by Unification-Based Phrase Structure Grammar-
Abstract:This paper discusses syntactic regulation of possible word orders of
Japanese predicate constituents based on a version of recent phrase structure
grammar formalism. First, it is shown that possible word orders of non-"te"-form
honorific auxiliary verbs (like "o... ni naru", "o ... suru" and "...masu")can be
automatically derived from their subcategorization information. Then, by
syntactically distinguishing the two usages (i.e. indirect and direct) of the "te"-
form benefactive auxiliary verb" ... te morau" in accordance with the non-uniform
theory of Japanese passives, it is explained how the possibility of its post-
positioning to a respect-word is restricted. The subcategorization description of
two other classes of benefactive auxiliary verbs(" ... te yaru" and " ... te kureru") is
also given. This reflects the syntactic similarities of, and differences between,"...
te yaru" & "te kureru", and non-"te"-form condescending-word auxiliary verbs.
Finally, it is briefly shown that our approach also explains possible word orders of
Japanese propositional-level auxiliary verbs in general.