L2 Acquisition of the Specificity of Japanese Numeral Quantifiers (original) (raw)
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As pointed out by Nakanishi (2007) and others, Japanese numeral quantifiers are subject to a semantic restriction: when they are separated from their host nouns (i.e., the numeral quantifiers are floating), they are not interpreted as collective. By contrast, when they are adjacent to their host nouns, they have either collective or distributive interpretation. This paper reports the results of an empirical study that investigated the following: (i) whether the semantic restriction on floating numeral quantifiers holds true in the grammar of native Japanese non-linguists; and (ii) whether L1 English speakers of L2 Japanese can acquire the semantic restriction on floating numeral quantifiers. This paper is structured as follows: Section 2 explains the interpretations of floating and non-floating numeral quantifiers in Japanese; Section 3 introduces a previous L2 study on distinct word-order and sentence interpretation; Section 4 presents research questions; Section 5 explains the exp...
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This study investigates the second language (L2) acquisition of a constraint on definiteness in Japanese floating numeral quantifiers (NQs) by native English and Korean speakers. The constraint arises because of the specific structural relation between a floating NQ and its associated noun, resulting in an obligatorily indefinite interpretation. The indirect-or, covert-encoding of definiteness in this structure allows investigation of predictions based on the cline of difficulty proposed by Cho and Slabakova (2014), whereby L2 acquisition of a covert property may be facilitated if the first language (L1) expresses the relevant feature overtly. English is such a language, having overt morphology to express definiteness, whereas Korean has floating NQs that are obligatorily, and covertly, indefinite, as in Japanese. Sensitivity to definiteness in Japanese floating NQs was measured using an acceptability judgement task. Although
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Floating numeral classifiers in Korean: A thematic-structure perspective
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The syntactic and semantic complexity of the so-called numeral classifier (NUM-CL) constructions in languages like Korean (Japanese and Chinese as well) has much challenged theoretical as well as computational approaches. Among several types of the NUM-CL constructions, the most complicated type includes the so-called FQ (floated numeral classifier/quantifier) construction where the NUM-CL ˋfloats' away from its antecedent. This paper, couched upon the non-derivational VP-modifier view, shows that in addition to the grammatical function of the host NP and types of the main predicate, properties of the intervening expression between the FQ and its host NP also play an important role in licensing the FQ's distribution. In particular, we show that the FQ introduces new information in discourse and as default sets off rheme in the thematic structure. This functional analysis can provide an answer to several puzzling contrasts we observe in the distribution of the FQ.
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This examination of numeral classifiers in standard Japanese (hyoojungo) focuses on their interaction with nouns and their referents in terms of both meaning and function. By unitizing their referents, Japanese numeral classifiers not only facilitate enumeration but also play an important discourse pragmatic role in the understanding of referentiality. While Japanese numeral classifiers have been discussed in much previous research, this chapter offers further insights into a range of issues that are of typological interest in relation to noun categorization systems. These issues include the extent to which a distinction can be made between classifiers and quantifiers in this language, as well as between classifiers whose referents are represented by nouns or verbs. The chapter also extends the understanding of the discourse pragmatic functions of Japanese numeral classifiers and opens a new area of investigation into their idiosyncratic, metaphorical uses by speakers to express the...