THE SYNTAX OF RESTRICTIVE AND NONRESTRICTIVE RELATIVE CLAUSES IN JAPANESE

Nanako Kameshima

Ph.D. Dissertation, 1989

Abstract

This dissertation proposes a syntactic analysis of Japanese relative clauses based on Higginbotham's theory of theta discharge (1985, 1986) and Speas' projection system (1986). Restrictive relatives are analyzed to involve the movement of the null operator and non-restrictive relatives are treated as base generated adjunction licensed by 'aboutness conditions.' Chapter One examines so called gapless relatives. It is pointed out that the semantic relations between the head and the relative clause is best captured if we assume a gap in a relative clause. After the detailed examination of the various noun modification structures it is hypothesized that only restrictive relative clauses require a gap. Chapter Two proposes a null operator analysis of restrictive relative clauses. Following Browning (1987), it is proposed that restrictive relative clauses involve movement of the null operator which licenses a subject-predication relation. The movement analysis for restrictive relatives is also supported by the distribution of gaps. the resumptive pronouns, the unboundedness, the constraints on movement, and the reconstruction effects. Chapter Three investigates some counter examples to movement analysis. The detailed examination of the data along with Huang's (1984) GCR, and our assumption that only restrictive relative clauses involve movement account for the problems. It is also suggested the extraction from adverbial clauses is mediated by a matrix A$/sp/prime$-chain. In Chapter Four the structures of restrictive and nonrestrictive relative clauses in Japanese are proposed based on the D-structure we assume. Noun phrases in Japanese are treated as KPs (Kase Phrases), which has significant advantages on our analysis. Some other empirical and theoretical consequences are discussed.