Introduction

Background

Data

AnalysisConclusion

References

Phrasal Restrictions on Noncontrastive Topic:
The Case of JapaneseRoss Kirsling
Department of Linguistics
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Prelim 1 Defense
December 6, 2012

Introduction

Background

Data

AnalysisConclusion

References

Introduction
Japanese wa
Marker for topic constituents
Able to attach to a variety of phrase types
All types permit a contrastive reading
Noncontrastive reading most common with subjects and‘scene-setting’ adjuncts (Heycock 2008:57)

Noncontrastive wa: categorically prohibited from attaching
to certain phrase types, or merely dispreferred?
NP, PP, CP not prohibited, regardless of thematic relation(even if pragmatically disfavored)
VP, AP prohibited, since these constituents do not denoteentities

Introduction

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DataAnalysis

Conclusion

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Topic Constituents vs. Discourse Topics
What do we mean by ‘topic’? Roberts (2010) helps us out:
Topic Constituent
Syntactic notion: topic by virtue of structural position, occupies
TopP within CP domain (Rizzi 1997, Kishimoto 2009).
(Japanese wa)
Discourse Topic
Pragmatic notion: ‘theme’ of theme/rheme dichotomy, the ‘oldinformation’ anaphoric to a question under discussion (QUD).
(1)

a.
b.

(Where did James eat lunch?)[James]Topic ate lunch [at a café on State St.]Rheme

Introduction

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Conclusion

Japanese wa: Thematic vs. Contrastive
Since Kuno (1973), wa is typically dichotomized as follows:
Thematic (Noncontrastive) wa(2)

Minegishi-sensei-wa kono daigaku-no
kyooju da.
Minegishi-HON-TOP this university-GEN professor COP‘Dr. Minegishi is a professor at this university.’(3)

Ano hon-wa Yamada-san-ga
kinookatta.
that book-TOP Yamada-HON-NOM yesterday bought‘That book, Ms. Yamada bought yesterday.’Contrastive wa(4)

Watashi-ga ringo-wa taberu ga, banana-wa tabenai.
I-NOM
apple-TOP eat
but banana-TOP eat.NEG‘I eat apples, but not bananas.’

References

Introduction

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AnalysisConclusion

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Kuroda (1972, 2005, inter alia):
wa as a Marker of Categorical Judgment
The effect of wa is a matter of felicity, not truth conditions.
(5)a.

Inu-ganeko-o oikakete-iru.
dog-NOM cat-ACC chase-be‘A/The dog is chasing a cat.’b.

Inu-wa neko-o oikakete-iru.
dog-TOP cat-ACC chase-be‘A/The dog is chasing a cat.’(Kuroda 1972:161, example 8)

Sentence with wa-phrase: categorical judgment
makes an assertion about a prominent constituent(the wa-marked constituent)Sentence without wa-phrase: thetic judgment
simply affirms an eventuality – the eventuality is prominentIntroduction

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Identifying Noncontrastive wa-phrases (1)Which wa-phrase types permit noncontrastive readings?
Examine by category as well as by thematic relation(already saw AGENT and THEME NPs)
Need only find examples where wa is clearly innoncontrastive reading
sentence-initial examples
sentences without negation
where possible, use Reinhart’s (1981) test: ‘Tell me about
x’ creates context for x to become noncontrastive topic(6)

x-ni-tsuite oshiete kudasai.
x-about tell
IMP . POL
‘Tell me about x.’

NB: The set of thematic relations chosen is not essential for the claims at hand.

Introduction

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Identifying Noncontrastive wa-phrases (2)TIME NPs as noncontrastive wa-phrases:

(7)

a.
b.

(‘Tell me about today.’)
Kyoo-wa Pari-de fushigi-na jiken-ga
okita.
today-TOP Paris-LOC strange incident-NOM occurred‘Today, a strange incident occurred in Paris.’

(8)

a.
b.

(‘Tell me about the 26th of this month.’)Kongetsu-26-nichi-wa senmonka-ni-yoru
this.month-26-day-TOP expert-by
genchi-choosa-ga
okonawareru.
field-investigation-NOM be.conducted‘On the 26th of this month, a field investigation led by experts
will be conducted.’

References

Introduction

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DataAnalysis

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References

Identifying Noncontrastive wa-phrases (3)LOCATION PPs as noncontrastive wa-phrases(de marks location of event, ni marks location of state):

(9)

a.
b.

(‘Tell me about Sapporo.’)Sapporo-de-wa yuki-matsuri-ga
5-ka-ni kaimaku-shita.
Sapporo-LOC-TOP snow-festival-NOM 5-day-on opened‘In Sapporo, the Snow Festival began on the 5th.’

(10)

a.
b.

(‘Tell me about Nara Park.’)Nara-kooen-(ni)-wa shika-ga takusan iru.
Nara-park-LOC-TOP deer-NOM many be‘At Nara Park, there are many deer.’

(11)

a.
b.

(‘Tell me about Mr. Kuwata.’)Kuwata-san-(ni)-wa
musume-ga
futari iru.
Kuwata-HON-LOC-TOP daughter-NOM two.CL be‘Mr. Kuwata has two daughters.’

Introduction

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AnalysisConclusion

Identifying Noncontrastive wa-phrases (4)EXPERIENCER , passivized AGENT , and RECIPIENT PPs
as noncontrastive wa-phrases:

(12)

a.
b.

(‘What do you think?’)
Watashi-(ni)-wa anata-no kimochi-ga yoku wakaru.
I-DAT-TOP
you-GEN feeling-NOM well understand‘I know just how you feel.’

(13)

a.
b.

(‘Tell me more about Yuri.’)Yuri-chan-ni-wa sakki tondemonai koto-oiwareta.
Yuri-HON-by-TOP earlier outrageous thing-ACC was.said‘By Yuri, I was told an outrageous thing earlier.’

(14)

a.
b.

(‘It’s almost Mamoru’s birthday.’)
Soo da. Mamoru-ni-wa
kotoshi ooki-na purezento-o
so COP Mamoru-DAT-TOP this.year big
present-ACCageyoo.
let’s.give‘That’s right. To Mamoru, let’s give a big present this year.’

References

Introduction

BackgroundData

AnalysisConclusion

References

Identifying Noncontrastive wa-phrases (5)GOAL and SOURCE PPs as noncontrastive wa-phrases:

(15)

a.
b.

(‘Tell me about San Francisco.’)San-Furanshisuko-e/ni-wa hobo mainen shucchoo-deSan-Francisco-to-TOP
almost every.year business.trip-byitte-iru.
be.going‘To San Francisco, I go almost every year on business.’

(16)

a.
b.

(‘Tell me about Minatomirai.’)
Minatomirai-made-wa densha-de itta hoo-ga ii.
Minatomirai-until-TOP train-by went be.better‘As far as Minatomirai, you should go by train.’

(17)

a.
b.

(‘Tell me more about Keio University’s Mita campus.’)
Mita-kyanpasu-kara-wa Tookyoo-Tawaa-ga mieru.
Mita-campus-from-TOP Tokyo-Tower-NOM be.visible‘From Mita campus, you can see Tokyo Tower.’Introduction

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Identifying Noncontrastive wa-phrases (6)COMITATIVE and INSTRUMENT PPs as noncontrastive

wa-phrases:
(18)

a.
b.

(‘Tell me about your girlfriend.’)
Kanojo-to-wa
daigaku-no koro-ni shiriatta.
girlfriend-with-TOP college-GEN time-in got.to.know‘My girlfriend, I got to know in college.’

(19)

a.
b.

(‘Tell me about the Internet.’)Intaanetto-de-wa kaigai-ni
iru tomodachi-to-mo raku-ni
Internet-by-TOP overseas-LOC be friend-with-even easily
renraku-ga toriaeru.
contact-NOM can.take‘By means of the Internet, you can easily keep in touch evenwith friends who are overseas.’

Introduction

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DataAnalysis

Conclusion

Identifying Noncontrastive wa-phrases (7)CPs as noncontrastive wa-phrases:
(20)

a.
b.

(‘Did you know she was born in Korea?’)
Ano yuumeijin-ga Kankoku-de umareta-koto-wa
yoku
that celebrity-NOM Korea-LOC was.born-COMP-TOP wellshirarete-iru.
be.known‘That that celebrity was born in Korea is well known.’

(21)

a.
b.

(‘Tell me more about you guys.’)
Bokura-ga deatta-no-wa 2-nen-mae-no
koto da.
we-NOM met-COMP-TOP 2-year-before-GEN thing COP‘It was two years ago that we met.’

(22)

a.
b.

(‘Which one should I choose?’)Dochira-o erabu-ka-wa anata-shidai
da.
which-ACC choose-Q-TOP you-dependent COP‘Which to choose is up to you.’

References

Introduction

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Data

AnalysisConclusion

Identifying Noncontrastive wa-phrases (8)However, VP and AP wa-phrases cannot be noncontrastive:
(23)

a.
b.

(‘Have you thought more about the proposal?’)Kangaete-wa iru. (Demo kimete-wa inai.)
think-TOPbe (but decide-TOP be.NEG)‘I’ve thought about it. (But I haven’t decided.)’

(24)

a.
b.

(‘Is the assignment difficult?’)
Muzukashiku-wa aru. (Demo muri-de-wanai.)difficult-TOPbe (but impossible-TOP be.NEG)‘It is difficult. (But it isn’t impossible.)’References

Introduction

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AnalysisConclusion

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Topics as Entities
Results should not be surprising!
Follows common view of ‘topics as entities’ shared bydynamic / information-structural accounts such as Portnerand Yabushita (1998, 2001)
Noncontrastive reading available for a wa-phrase just when
the wa-marked constituent denotes an entity of some kind(event argument included)Lends itself to the following neo-Davidsonian analysis(Davidson 1967, Kratzer 1996):
(25)

a.
b.

‘In Sapporo, the Snow Festival began on the 5th.’(λP. ∃e. P (e) ∧ LOCATION(e, sapporo))(λe. began(e) ∧ TIME(e, 5th) ∧ PATIENT(e, snow_festival))

Introduction

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AnalysisConclusion

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Preservation of Truth Conditions
Sentences with and without noncontrastive wa are semantically
identical at their topmost level:
TopP∃e. began(e) ∧ TIME(e, 5th) ∧ PATIENT(e, snow_festival) ∧ LOCATION(e, sapporo)

PPλP. ∃e. P (e) ∧ LOCATION(e, sapporo)
Sapporo-de-wa‘in Sapporo’...

IP
λe. began(e) ∧ TIME(e, 5th) ∧ PATIENT(e, snow_festival)

yuki-matsuri-ga 5-ka-ni kaimaku-shita‘the Snow Festival began on the 5th’This is consistent with (and a formalization of) the claim thatthese sentences are truth-conditionally equivalent.

Introduction

Background

Data

AnalysisConclusion

References

Preservation of Truth Conditions
Sentences with and without noncontrastive wa are semantically
identical at their topmost level:

IP∃e. began(e) ∧ TIME(e, 5th) ∧ PATIENT(e, snow_festival) ∧ LOCATION(e, sapporo)

Sapporo-de yuki-matsuri-ga 5-ka-ni kaimaku-shita‘the Snow Festival began on the 5th in Sapporo’

This is consistent with (and a formalization of) the claim thatthese sentences are truth-conditionally equivalent.

Introduction

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Data

AnalysisConclusion

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Conclusion

Noncontrastive topics in Japanese restricted toentity-denoting constituents
VP, AP noncontrastive wa-phrases: ungrammatical, marked
constituent not an entity
NP, PP, CP noncontrastive wa-phrases: grammatical ingeneralAvenues for future research:
Provide thorough pragmatic analysis and isolate factors
influencing felicity of noncontrastive topic phrase types
Incorporate data from other languages with various
systems of topic-marking

Introduction

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AnalysisConclusion

References

References (1)Davidson, Donald. 1967. The logical form of action sentences. In Nicholas
Rescher (ed.), The Logic of Decision and Action, 81–95. Pittsburgh:
University of Pittsburgh Press.
Heycock, Caroline. 2008. Japanese -wa, -ga, and information structure. In
Mamoru Saito and Shigeru Miyagawa (eds.), The Oxford Handbook ofJapanese Linguistics, 54–83. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Kishimoto, Hideki. 2009. Topic prominency in Japanese. The Linguistic
Review 26(4):465–513.
Kratzer, Angelika. 1996. Severing the external argument from its verb. In
Johan Rooryck and Laurie Zaring (eds.), Phrase Structure and theLexicon, 109–137. Dordrecht: Kluwer.
Kuno, Susumu. 1973. The structure of the Japanese language. Cambridge,
MA: MIT Press.
Kuroda, S.-Y. 1972. The categorical and the thetic judgment: Evidence fromJapanese syntax. Foundations of Language 9(2):153–185.

Introduction

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References

References (2)Kuroda, S.-Y. 2005. Focusing on the matter of topic: A study of wa and ga inJapanese. Journal of East Asian Linguistics 14:1–58.
Portner, Paul and Katsuhiko Yabushita. 1998. The semantics and pragmatics
of topic phrases. Linguistics and Philosophy 21:117–157.
Portner, Paul and Katsuhiko Yabushita. 2001. Specific indefinites and theinformation structure theory of topics. Journal of Semantics
18:271–297.
Reinhart, Tanya. 1981. Pragmatics and linguistics: An analysis of sentence
topics. Philosophica 27:53–94.
Rizzi, Luigi. 1997. The fine structure of the left periphery. In LilianeHaegeman (ed.), Elements of Grammar: Handbook of GenerativeSyntax, 281–337. Dordrecht: Kluwer.
Roberts, Craige. 2010. Topics. In Claudia Maienborn, Klaus von Heusinger,
and Paul Portner (eds.), Semantics: An International Handbook ofNatural Language Meaning, 1908–1934. Mouton de Gruyter.