A Diachronic Study of Grammatical Subject in Japanese (Discourse, Topic Marker, "The Tale of Genji", Language Change)

Description

Using a series of translated versions (into successive forms of Japanese) of The Tale of Genji as main texts, this dissertation analyses and describes diachronic changes in the structure of the Japanese language with respect to the grammatical subject. Partic- ularly, it examines: (1) whether or not there was any change in the representation of grammatical subject, and (2) if so, whether such changes were due to the external influence of Western languages.Chapter I presents the background of the study. Past studies concerning changes in the grammatical subject are reviewed, and problem areas are pointed out. Chapter II discusses theoretical problems that revolve around the term "subject", and assumptions made in this study in dealing with "subject" are explained. Chapter III discusses the data and theoretical concepts used in this study. In Chapter IV it is demonstrated that the increase in explicit manifes- tation of subjects in modern versions of Genji texts cannot be explained by the external influence of Western languages alone. Changes in discourse factors such as the use of honorifics, the length of sentences and switch reference are also closely related to changes in the manifestation of subjects. In chapter V, it is shown that the occurrence of inanimate subjects in transitive, passive and causative constructions is due to the influence of Western languages. Both Chapters IV and V suggest that the influence of Western languages was most strongly felt at the beginning of the twentieth century. Chapter VI discusses changes in the use and functions of the particles, (SLASHCIRC), ga, no, wa and ha. The analyses include a reanalysis of ga from an associative to nominative and the development of ha to wa.Claims made in this study are supported by quantitative analyses. This study demonstrates: (1) the complexity of the process of language change, (2) the importance of studying language from a discourse perspective, and (3) the importance of effective use of quantitative analyses as a support for observation.