The Structure of the Japanese Language

The Structure of the Japanese Language

Author: Susumu Kuno

Publisher: MIT Press (MA)

Published: 1973-01

Total Pages: 410

ISBN-13: 9780262110495

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"Conventional grammars tell us when we can use given grammatical patterns. However, they almost invariably fail to tell us when we cannot use them. Many of the chapters of this book are concerned with the latter problem. They attempt to explain why some sentences that should be grammatical according to the explanations given in conventional grammars are in fact ungrammatical. In this sense, the book can be called a grammar of ungrammatical sentences.... It deals only with those problems of Japanese—and only a handful of them—that are either completely ignored or erroneously treated in conventional grammars. For these features I hope that the book will give the reader a revealing account of a kind seldom found in other Japanese grammars or in grammars of any other languages." —from the author's Preface Some features of Japanese are peculiarities of the language, while others are shared by English and various other languages of the world. At times two features, one in Japanese and one, for example, in English, that may look totally unrelated on casual inspection turn out to be a manifestation of the same principle, either syntactic or semantic, which governs the two languages. Whenever possible each feature of Japanese that the book discusses is contrasted with the features in English that are overtly or covertly related to it, and the similarities and differences that exist between the two languages with respect to this feature are examined. Thus the book can also be called a contrastive grammar of Japanese and English. The book reveals a wide variety of semantic and syntactic factors (some of them not very well known to linguists working on English) that control the usage of certain grammatical patterns. It also shows what kinds of sentences the linguist working on a nonnative language should check with native speakers of the language to prove or disprove his initial hypothesis. So in a third sense, Professor Kuno's study might be called a textbook of field methods in linguistic analysis. Because The Structure of the Japanese Language is both descriptive and analytical (the generalizations given in the book have been developed within the framework of the theory of transformational grammar but are presented without recourse to the complex formalisms of the theory), it will prove useful both as a basic handbook of supplementary reading for second-year or more advanced courses in Japanese and as a source of material for students and researchers doing work in Japanese or non-Indo-European linguistics. This is volume three in the series, Current Studies in Linguistics.


Book Synopsis The Structure of the Japanese Language by : Susumu Kuno

Download or read book The Structure of the Japanese Language written by Susumu Kuno and published by MIT Press (MA). This book was released on 1973-01 with total page 410 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Conventional grammars tell us when we can use given grammatical patterns. However, they almost invariably fail to tell us when we cannot use them. Many of the chapters of this book are concerned with the latter problem. They attempt to explain why some sentences that should be grammatical according to the explanations given in conventional grammars are in fact ungrammatical. In this sense, the book can be called a grammar of ungrammatical sentences.... It deals only with those problems of Japanese—and only a handful of them—that are either completely ignored or erroneously treated in conventional grammars. For these features I hope that the book will give the reader a revealing account of a kind seldom found in other Japanese grammars or in grammars of any other languages." —from the author's Preface Some features of Japanese are peculiarities of the language, while others are shared by English and various other languages of the world. At times two features, one in Japanese and one, for example, in English, that may look totally unrelated on casual inspection turn out to be a manifestation of the same principle, either syntactic or semantic, which governs the two languages. Whenever possible each feature of Japanese that the book discusses is contrasted with the features in English that are overtly or covertly related to it, and the similarities and differences that exist between the two languages with respect to this feature are examined. Thus the book can also be called a contrastive grammar of Japanese and English. The book reveals a wide variety of semantic and syntactic factors (some of them not very well known to linguists working on English) that control the usage of certain grammatical patterns. It also shows what kinds of sentences the linguist working on a nonnative language should check with native speakers of the language to prove or disprove his initial hypothesis. So in a third sense, Professor Kuno's study might be called a textbook of field methods in linguistic analysis. Because The Structure of the Japanese Language is both descriptive and analytical (the generalizations given in the book have been developed within the framework of the theory of transformational grammar but are presented without recourse to the complex formalisms of the theory), it will prove useful both as a basic handbook of supplementary reading for second-year or more advanced courses in Japanese and as a source of material for students and researchers doing work in Japanese or non-Indo-European linguistics. This is volume three in the series, Current Studies in Linguistics.


A History of the Japanese Language

A History of the Japanese Language

Author: Bjarke Frellesvig

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2010-07-29

Total Pages:

ISBN-13: 1139488805

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Bjarke Frellesvig describes the development of the Japanese language from its recorded beginnings until the present day as reflected by the written sources and historical record. Beginning with a description of the oldest attested stage of the language, Old Japanese (approximately the eighth century AD), and then tracing the changes which occurred through the Early Middle Japanese (800–1200), Late Middle Japanese (1200–1600) and the Modern Japanese (1600–onwards) periods, a complete internal history of the language is examined and discussed. This account provides a comprehensive study of how the Japanese language has developed and adapted, providing a much needed resource for scholars. A History of the Japanese Language is invaluable to all those interested in the Japanese language and also students of language change generally.


Book Synopsis A History of the Japanese Language by : Bjarke Frellesvig

Download or read book A History of the Japanese Language written by Bjarke Frellesvig and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2010-07-29 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Bjarke Frellesvig describes the development of the Japanese language from its recorded beginnings until the present day as reflected by the written sources and historical record. Beginning with a description of the oldest attested stage of the language, Old Japanese (approximately the eighth century AD), and then tracing the changes which occurred through the Early Middle Japanese (800–1200), Late Middle Japanese (1200–1600) and the Modern Japanese (1600–onwards) periods, a complete internal history of the language is examined and discussed. This account provides a comprehensive study of how the Japanese language has developed and adapted, providing a much needed resource for scholars. A History of the Japanese Language is invaluable to all those interested in the Japanese language and also students of language change generally.


The Structure of the Japanese language

The Structure of the Japanese language

Author: Susumu Kuno

Publisher:

Published: 1976

Total Pages: 410

ISBN-13:

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Book Synopsis The Structure of the Japanese language by : Susumu Kuno

Download or read book The Structure of the Japanese language written by Susumu Kuno and published by . This book was released on 1976 with total page 410 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:


The Languages of Japan

The Languages of Japan

Author: Masayoshi Shibatani

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 1990-05-03

Total Pages: 432

ISBN-13: 9780521369183

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A survey of the two main indigenous languages of Japan includes the most comprehensive study of the polysynthetic Ainu language yet to appear in English as well as a comprehensive analysis of Japanese linguistics.


Book Synopsis The Languages of Japan by : Masayoshi Shibatani

Download or read book The Languages of Japan written by Masayoshi Shibatani and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 1990-05-03 with total page 432 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A survey of the two main indigenous languages of Japan includes the most comprehensive study of the polysynthetic Ainu language yet to appear in English as well as a comprehensive analysis of Japanese linguistics.


Handbook of the Ryukyuan Languages

Handbook of the Ryukyuan Languages

Author: Patrick Heinrich

Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG

Published: 2015-02-17

Total Pages: 792

ISBN-13: 1614511152

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The UNESCO atlas on endangered languages recognizes the Ryukyuan languages as constituting languages in their own right. This represents a dramatic shift in the ontology of Japan’s linguistic make-up. Ryukyuan linguistics needs to be established as an independent field of study with its own research agenda and objects. This handbook delineates that the UNESCO classification is now well established and adequate. Linguists working on the Ryukyuan languages are well advised to refute the ontological status of the Ryukyuan languages as dialects. The Ryukyuan languages constitute a branch of the Japonic language family, which consists of five unroofed Abstand (language by distance) languages.The Handbook of Ryukyuan Languages provides for the most appropriate and up-to-date answers pertaining to Ryukyuan language structures and use, and the ways in which these languages relate to Ryukyuan society and history. It comprises 33 chapters, written by the leading experts of Ryukyuan languages. Each chapter delineates the boundaries and the research history of the field it addresses, comprises the most important and representative information.


Book Synopsis Handbook of the Ryukyuan Languages by : Patrick Heinrich

Download or read book Handbook of the Ryukyuan Languages written by Patrick Heinrich and published by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. This book was released on 2015-02-17 with total page 792 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The UNESCO atlas on endangered languages recognizes the Ryukyuan languages as constituting languages in their own right. This represents a dramatic shift in the ontology of Japan’s linguistic make-up. Ryukyuan linguistics needs to be established as an independent field of study with its own research agenda and objects. This handbook delineates that the UNESCO classification is now well established and adequate. Linguists working on the Ryukyuan languages are well advised to refute the ontological status of the Ryukyuan languages as dialects. The Ryukyuan languages constitute a branch of the Japonic language family, which consists of five unroofed Abstand (language by distance) languages.The Handbook of Ryukyuan Languages provides for the most appropriate and up-to-date answers pertaining to Ryukyuan language structures and use, and the ways in which these languages relate to Ryukyuan society and history. It comprises 33 chapters, written by the leading experts of Ryukyuan languages. Each chapter delineates the boundaries and the research history of the field it addresses, comprises the most important and representative information.


Japanese Language

Japanese Language

Author: Haruhiko Kindaichi

Publisher: Tuttle Publishing

Published: 2011-12-20

Total Pages: 256

ISBN-13: 1462902669

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This is a book about the structure, history and evolution of the Japanese language. The Japanese Language is a classic study of one of the world's most widely used but least understood languages. Emphasizing the richness and complexity of Japanese as well as its limitations, this fine book provides a lively discussion about the uniqueness of the Japanese language. The relationship of Japanese to other languages is not well understood even by native speakers, and Professor Kindaichi sets out to define it. He concludes that Japanese is indeed only remotely related to other world languages although it shares many features in common with the languages of mainland Asia. Japanese shares with those languages a rich and detailed vocabulary for natural phenomena and an unusually complex and accurate way of expressing social relationships. Moreover, its capability to absorb innovations from abroad easily matches or exceeds that of English or German. The author, after briefly discussing the unique isolation of the Japanese language, moves on to consider the varieties of ordinary speech—dialects, jargon, sex—and role-based distinctions, and the difference between informal, formal, and literary language. He then examines the structure of Japanese pronunciations, its rhythm, and accent. The longest section of the book is devoted to the variety of the vocabulary, what can and cannot be said in Japanese. Readers who are just beginning their own study of Japanese will find this section especially fascinating, for each point is backed by examples from literature and everyday speech. Kindaichi also investigates the so-called vagueness of Japanese and traces it to its source–the unusual sentence order. This book includes: The highly debated origins of the Japanese language. Dialects, jargon, sex and role-based distinctions. Differences between informal, formal, and literary language. Structure, rhythm, and accent of pronunciation. What can and cannot be said in Japanese.


Book Synopsis Japanese Language by : Haruhiko Kindaichi

Download or read book Japanese Language written by Haruhiko Kindaichi and published by Tuttle Publishing. This book was released on 2011-12-20 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is a book about the structure, history and evolution of the Japanese language. The Japanese Language is a classic study of one of the world's most widely used but least understood languages. Emphasizing the richness and complexity of Japanese as well as its limitations, this fine book provides a lively discussion about the uniqueness of the Japanese language. The relationship of Japanese to other languages is not well understood even by native speakers, and Professor Kindaichi sets out to define it. He concludes that Japanese is indeed only remotely related to other world languages although it shares many features in common with the languages of mainland Asia. Japanese shares with those languages a rich and detailed vocabulary for natural phenomena and an unusually complex and accurate way of expressing social relationships. Moreover, its capability to absorb innovations from abroad easily matches or exceeds that of English or German. The author, after briefly discussing the unique isolation of the Japanese language, moves on to consider the varieties of ordinary speech—dialects, jargon, sex—and role-based distinctions, and the difference between informal, formal, and literary language. He then examines the structure of Japanese pronunciations, its rhythm, and accent. The longest section of the book is devoted to the variety of the vocabulary, what can and cannot be said in Japanese. Readers who are just beginning their own study of Japanese will find this section especially fascinating, for each point is backed by examples from literature and everyday speech. Kindaichi also investigates the so-called vagueness of Japanese and traces it to its source–the unusual sentence order. This book includes: The highly debated origins of the Japanese language. Dialects, jargon, sex and role-based distinctions. Differences between informal, formal, and literary language. Structure, rhythm, and accent of pronunciation. What can and cannot be said in Japanese.


Japanese

Japanese

Author: Yoko Hasegawa

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2015-01-08

Total Pages: 415

ISBN-13: 1107032776

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A succinct overview of the Japanese language, looking at grammar, vocabulary, meaning and sound structure, as well as sociolinguistics and history.


Book Synopsis Japanese by : Yoko Hasegawa

Download or read book Japanese written by Yoko Hasegawa and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2015-01-08 with total page 415 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A succinct overview of the Japanese language, looking at grammar, vocabulary, meaning and sound structure, as well as sociolinguistics and history.


Handbook of Japanese Lexicon and Word Formation

Handbook of Japanese Lexicon and Word Formation

Author: Taro Kageyama

Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG

Published: 2016-01-29

Total Pages: 747

ISBN-13: 1501500813

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This volume presents a comprehensive survey of the lexicon and word formation processes in contemporary Japanese, with particular emphasis on their typologically characteristic features and their interactions with syntax and semantics. Through contacts with a variety of languages over more than two thousand years of history, Japanese has developed a complex vocabulary system that is composed of four lexical strata: (i) native Japanese, (ii) mimetic, (iii) Sino-Japanese, and (iv) foreign (especially English). This hybrid composition of the lexicon, coupled with the agglutinative character of the language by which morphology is closely associated with syntax, gives rise to theoretically intriguing interactions with word formation processes that are not easily found with inflectional, isolate, or polysynthetic types of languages.


Book Synopsis Handbook of Japanese Lexicon and Word Formation by : Taro Kageyama

Download or read book Handbook of Japanese Lexicon and Word Formation written by Taro Kageyama and published by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. This book was released on 2016-01-29 with total page 747 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume presents a comprehensive survey of the lexicon and word formation processes in contemporary Japanese, with particular emphasis on their typologically characteristic features and their interactions with syntax and semantics. Through contacts with a variety of languages over more than two thousand years of history, Japanese has developed a complex vocabulary system that is composed of four lexical strata: (i) native Japanese, (ii) mimetic, (iii) Sino-Japanese, and (iv) foreign (especially English). This hybrid composition of the lexicon, coupled with the agglutinative character of the language by which morphology is closely associated with syntax, gives rise to theoretically intriguing interactions with word formation processes that are not easily found with inflectional, isolate, or polysynthetic types of languages.


Learn Japanese: Must-Know Japanese Slang Words & Phrases

Learn Japanese: Must-Know Japanese Slang Words & Phrases

Author: Innovative Language Learning

Publisher: Innovative Language Learning

Published:

Total Pages: 115

ISBN-13:

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Do you want to learn Japanese the fast, fun and easy way? And do you want to master daily conversations and speak like a native? Then this is the book for you. Learn Japanese: Must-Know Japanese Slang Words & Phrases by JapanesePod101 is designed for Beginner-level learners. You learn the top 100 must-know slang words and phrases that are used in everyday speech. All were hand-picked by our team of Japanese teachers and experts. Here’s how the lessons work: • Every Lesson is Based on a Theme • You Learn Slang Words or Phrases Related to That Theme • Check the Translation & Explanation on How to Use Each One And by the end, you will have mastered 100+ Japanese Slang Words & phrases!


Book Synopsis Learn Japanese: Must-Know Japanese Slang Words & Phrases by : Innovative Language Learning

Download or read book Learn Japanese: Must-Know Japanese Slang Words & Phrases written by Innovative Language Learning and published by Innovative Language Learning. This book was released on with total page 115 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Do you want to learn Japanese the fast, fun and easy way? And do you want to master daily conversations and speak like a native? Then this is the book for you. Learn Japanese: Must-Know Japanese Slang Words & Phrases by JapanesePod101 is designed for Beginner-level learners. You learn the top 100 must-know slang words and phrases that are used in everyday speech. All were hand-picked by our team of Japanese teachers and experts. Here’s how the lessons work: • Every Lesson is Based on a Theme • You Learn Slang Words or Phrases Related to That Theme • Check the Translation & Explanation on How to Use Each One And by the end, you will have mastered 100+ Japanese Slang Words & phrases!


Japanese Phrase Structure Grammar

Japanese Phrase Structure Grammar

Author: Takao Gunji

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 1987-07-31

Total Pages: 256

ISBN-13: 9781556080203

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This book is a considerable revision and extension of my thesis for The Ohio State University completed in 1981: A Phrase Structural Analysis of the Japanese Language (Gunji 1981a). The book discusses some of the major grammatical constructions of Japanese in a version of phrase structure grammar called Japanese Phrase Structure Grammar (JPSG), which is loosely based on such frameworks for phrase structure grammar as Generalized Phrase Structure Grammar (GPSG) and Head-driven Phrase Structure Grammar (HPSG). Particular emphasis is placed on the binding and control of pronouns (both implicit - "zero" - and explicit ones, including reflexives) in complementation structures (chapter 4) and adjunction structures (chapter 5). Even though this book started as a revision of my 1981 thesis, the resultant book has few traces of my thinking then. The 1981 thesis was closely related to an early version of GPSG, which was then at a very preliminary stage, and I had only a few preprints of papers by Gerald Gazdar and others to read. GPSG itself has evolved during the past. several years, culminating in a book published last year (Gazdar, Klein, Pullum, and Sag 1985), which differs from the early theory in many ways.


Book Synopsis Japanese Phrase Structure Grammar by : Takao Gunji

Download or read book Japanese Phrase Structure Grammar written by Takao Gunji and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 1987-07-31 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is a considerable revision and extension of my thesis for The Ohio State University completed in 1981: A Phrase Structural Analysis of the Japanese Language (Gunji 1981a). The book discusses some of the major grammatical constructions of Japanese in a version of phrase structure grammar called Japanese Phrase Structure Grammar (JPSG), which is loosely based on such frameworks for phrase structure grammar as Generalized Phrase Structure Grammar (GPSG) and Head-driven Phrase Structure Grammar (HPSG). Particular emphasis is placed on the binding and control of pronouns (both implicit - "zero" - and explicit ones, including reflexives) in complementation structures (chapter 4) and adjunction structures (chapter 5). Even though this book started as a revision of my 1981 thesis, the resultant book has few traces of my thinking then. The 1981 thesis was closely related to an early version of GPSG, which was then at a very preliminary stage, and I had only a few preprints of papers by Gerald Gazdar and others to read. GPSG itself has evolved during the past. several years, culminating in a book published last year (Gazdar, Klein, Pullum, and Sag 1985), which differs from the early theory in many ways.