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The Word Order Flexibility in Japanese Novels: A Dynamic Syntax Perspective

The Word Order Flexibility in Japanese Novels: A Dynamic Syntax Perspective
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Author(s): Tohru Seraku (Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, Korea)and Akira Ohtani (Osaka Gakuin University, Japan)
Copyright: 2016
Pages: 32
Source title: Computational and Cognitive Approaches to Narratology
Source Author(s)/Editor(s): Takashi Ogata (Iwate Prefectural University, Japan)and Taisuke Akimoto (The University of Electoro-Communications, Japan)
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-5225-0432-0.ch008

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Abstract

In Japanese, whose basic word-order is S(ubject)-O(bject)-V(erb), non-verbal elements may be permuted with the restriction that such elements cannot occur post-verbally. This restriction, however, does not apply to narrative discourse, especially conversations in novels. This discourse phenomenon with post-verbal elements is called “postposing.” This chapter reveals several grammatical properties of postposing based on Japanese novels, and present an explicit account in an integrated theory of grammar. More precisely, the narrative data indicate that the syntactic type of postposed element is quite diverse and that, contrary to the prevalent, opposing view, Japanese postposing is not restricted to a matrix clause. These issues are addressed within Dynamic Syntax, a cognitively realistic grammar formalism which specifies a set of constraints on building up a structure online. This architectural design formalises the incremental process of how the reader gradually updates an interpretation by parsing a postposing sentence in narrative discourse.

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