Valency Classes in Japanese II: Dialects. Kan Sasaki Sapporo Gakuin University

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1 A paper to be read at Conference on Valency Classes in the World s Languages (Leipzig, April 14-17, 2011) Valency Classes in Japanese II: Dialects Kan Sasaki Sapporo Gakuin University 1. Introduction [Slide 2] Japanese dialects exhibit two types of grammatical variation relating to valency classes, the variation with respect to case system and the variation with respect to voice system. The variation of case marking has been well known at least from the early modern period. The Grammatical Atlas of Japanese Dialects shows variations on the case marking of goal [Slide 3], recipient [Slide 4], passive agent [Slide 5] and so on. Variation is also found in the direct case elements. Case marking of core arguments in most Japanese dialects is of the accusative type. [Slide 6] But the Kikaijima dialect (Matsumoto 1982) is argued to be active/inactive type. Dialectal variation of the voice system is seen in both coded and uncoded valency alternations. Standard Japanese has three productive voice morphologies, causative, passive and potential. [Slide 7] The dialects spoken in the northern part of the main island (Honshu) and Hokkaido have an additional suffixal auxiliary: spontaneous /-rasar/, which has anticausative usage (Sasaki and Yamazaki 2006 and the literature cited therein). Concerning the uncoded valency alternation, some dialects exhibit types of possessor ascension construction not found in Standard Japanese. [Slide 8] Thanks to the existence of Suffixaufname (multiple case marking), the Hachijojima dialect exhibits a wide range of possessor ascension constructions (Kaneda 1993). [Slide 9] The wide range of possessor ascension constructions is also found in the Mitsukaido dialect, which has two accusative case forms (Sasaki 2002). The fact that the lexical case frame of a given verb differs from dialect to dialect can be regarded as relevant for the study of valency classes. [Slide 10] For example, in the Nakaniida dialect spoken in the northern part of Miyagi prefecture, the dative objects sometimes correspond to the accusative case marked objects in Standard Japanese (Kobayashi 2004). All of these phenomena are relevant for the theme of the present conference. However, because of the time limitation, it is difficult to introduce all of them. So, in this presentation, I would like to make a brief illustration of the two types of grammatical variation, using the data from the Mitsukaido dialect and the Hokkaido dialect, gathered through my own research. My presentation is neither comprehensive nor representative. Despite of this defect, I hope my presentation clarifies the potential contribution of Japanese dialects to the study of valency class and valency alternation. 2. Different case inventory induces different case alternations [Slide 11] First, I would like to present the Mitsukaido dialect data. This dialect has case inventory different from Standard Japanese. Due to the different case inventory, this dialect exhibits the constructions not found in Standard Japanese, i.e., types of double accusative construction and oblique subject construction without nominative element. Existence of these constructions requires reconsideration on the relation between case and grammatical relations. Elaborated oblique case particles of this dialect shed light on the semantic and syntactic diversity of the Standard Japanese dative case ni. The Mitsukaido dialect is spoken in the southwestern part of Ibaraki prefecture, the area around the

2 ex-mitsukaido city (now incorporated into Joso city). This area is 50km north to Tokyo, capital of Japan. Despite its close location to the economic and political center of Japan, the Mitsukaido dialect exhibits grammatical difference from Standard Japanese. Concerning the morphology relating to valency alternation, both affinity and difference are found between the Mitsukaido dialect and Standard Japanese. [Slide 12] The voice system of the Mitsukaido dialect is almost same as that of Standard Japanese, i.e., both the Mitsukaido dialect and Standard Japanese have productive passive, causative and potential formation, but lack productive anticausativization, though the phonological shape of the morphemes is not completely the same. (1) The voice suffixal auxiliaries in the Mitsukaido dialect and Standard Japanese Mitsukaido dialect Standard Japanese Passive /rare/ /rare/ Causative /rase/ /sase/ Potential /e, rare/ /e, rare/ The difference between the Mitsukaido dialect and Standard Japanese is most prominent with respect to the case system. [Slide 13] Please look at the Table 1. Table 1. Case system in the Mitsukaido Dialect and in Standard Japanese (Sasaki 2001) Mitsukaido dialect Standard Japanese Animate NP Inanimate NP Nominative NP-Ø NP-ga Nominative Accusative NP-godo NP-Ø NP-o Accusative Experiencer case NP-ngani Dative NP-nge NP-sa, e NP-ni Dative Locative NP-ni Ablative NP-gara NP-kara Ablative Instrumental NP-de NP-de Instrumental Comitative NP-do NP-to Comitative Genitive NP-no Possessive NP-nga NP-no Genitive Adnominal locative NP-na [Slide 14] The animacy of the host nominal is irrelevant for the case marking in Standard Japanese. On the other hand, the animacy plays an important role in the case marking in the Mitsukaido dialect. In Standard Japanese, the case marking of core arguments is consistent nominative-accusative pattern. In the Mitsukaido dialect, the core arguments are case-marked in a split accusative pattern (in the sense of Rumsey 1987). Subjects are zero-marked irrespective of their animacy but direct objects are case marked differently depending on their animacy: inanimate direct objects are zero-marked while animate direct objects are case marked with the particle -godo. [Slide 15] Due to having two types of accusative case marking, the Mitsukaido dialect has an uncoded valency alternation which is not found in Standard Japanese, namely double accusative possessor ascension and (unproductive) double accusative type dative alternation. These constructions are important for considering the relation between case and grammatical relation. 2

3 (2) Double accusative possessor ascension a. jaro-nga adama bukkurasj-te jak-ka (non-ascension) man-poss head-acc hit-comp give-q (Someone) hit the man s head. b. jaro-godo adama bukkurasj-te jak-ka (possessor ascension) man-acc head-acc hit-comp give-q (Someone) hit the man on the head. (3) Dative alternation (the data is from Tsuchi the earch ) a. warra-nge mizime mise-te:-kota:...(data from Tsuchi 1 ) 2PL-DAT misery-acc show-want-comp (I don t) want to make you miserable. b. uhe:-godo mizime miseten-nonga (data from Tsuchi) Uhei-ACC misery-acc show.prog-comp (He) is making Uhei miserable. Version 0.7 (7 th April, 2011) [Slide 16] The double nominative possessor ascension is possible in both Standard Japanese and the Mitsukaido dialect as illustrated in (4). But double accusative possessor ascension constructions are ruled out in Standard Japanese, as illustrated in (5), due to the Double-o constraint (Harada 1973, Shibatani 1973), a constraint banning the multiple occurrence of accusative NPs within a single clause. (4) Double nominative possessor ascension a. Standard Japanese kare-wa te-ga o:ki: 3sg.masc-TOP hand-nom big He has big hands. b. Mitsukaido dialect are-wa te: egae 3sg-TOP hand-nom big S/he has big hands. (5) Double accusative possessor ascension (Standard Japanese) a. otoko-no atama-o but-ta man-poss head-acc hit-pst (Someone) hit the man s head. b. *otoko-o atama-o but-ta man-acc head-acc hit-pst [Slide 17] Even in the Mitsukaido dialect, the double accusative possessor ascension is ruled out when the two accusative NPs employ the same case form as shown in (6). (6) Ungrammatical double accusative possessor ascension a. *sense: are-godo kodomo-godo home-da teacher-nom 3SG-ACC child-acc praise-pst b. *nezumi kono tskue asi kazit-ta mouse-nom this desk-acc foot-acc bite-pst This grammatical restriction indicates that the constraint banning the multiple occurrence of the same accusative case form is active also in the Mitsukaido dialect. The grammatical double accusative constructions in (2) and (3) do not incur the duplication of the NPs with the same case ending. The grammaticality of the double accusative constructions in (2) and in (3) is considered to be sanctioned by the morphological difference of two accusative 1 Tsuchi (The Earth) is a novel written by Takashi Nagatsuka, published in The conversation in this novel is considered to reflect the dialect of this area in those days. 3

4 NPs: one is NP-godo but the other is NP-f. In the coded valency alternation, we also find the situation where the double accusative construction is ungrammatical in Standard Japanese while its counterpart is grammatical in the Mitsukaido dialect. [Slide 18] In Standard Japanese, the causative construction of motion verb with accusative path does not take two accusative NPs. On the other hand, the Mitsukaido dialect counterpart takes two accusative NPs. (7) Standard Japanese causative based on motion verb a. motion verb (plain) kodomo-ga miti-o arui-te i-ru child-nom road-acc walk-prog-pres The child is walking on the road. b. Double accusative causative *kodomo-o miti-o aruk-ase-ta child-acc road-acc walk-caus-pst c. Single accusative causative kodomo-o aruk-ase-ta child-acc walk-caus-pst (Someone) made the child walk. (8) Mitsukaido dialect causative based on motion verb a. motion verb (plain) kodomo mizi arue-de-ru. child-nom road-acc walk-prog-pres The child is walking on the road. b. Double accusative causative kodomo-godo mizi arug-ase-ru child-acc road-acc walk-caus-pres (Someone) makes the child walk on the road. [Slide 19] However, the double accusative causative construction from the transitive verb is ruled out even when the case forms of the two accusative NP are different. (9) a. sengare e:ngo nara: son-nom English-ACC learn.pres My son learns English. b. sengare-nge e:ngo nara-ase-da son-dat English-ACC learn-caus-pst (Someone) made the son learn English. c. *sengare-godo e:ngo nara-ase-da. son-acc English-ACC learn-caus-pst Causative is a morphological operation converting an underived subject into a direct or indirect object. The ungrammatical sentence (9c) contains two direct objects, i.e., an accusative NP sengare-godo son-acc is a causee, a derived direct object and the other accusative NP e:ngo English-ACC is a direct object of the embedded verb. In the Mitsukaido dialect, the clause including two direct objects is prohibited even though the structure with two accusative NPs itself is not ruled out. This situation indicates that the different status of doubling of case and grammatical relation. Doubling of grammatical relation, i.e., direct object, is strongly prohibited, while doubling of case, i.e., accusative, is not banned when the phonological shape of the case morpheme is different. The different status of doubling of case and grammatical relation in the Mitsukaido dialect attracts interest in the formal theory. Hiraiwa (2010) cites the Mitsukaido dialect data above as a supporting 4

5 evidence for his analysis of case doubling exclusion with a PF-Interface constraint. [Slide 20] Another difference between the Mitsukaido dialect and Standard Japanese case systems illustrated in Table 1 is the degree of elaboratedness of the oblique case particles. The Mitsukaido dialect is more elaborated than Standard Japanese. The semantic sphere of the Standard Japanese -ni is divided with the three case particles in the Mitsukaido dialect, i.e., locative -ni, dative -nge/-sa, and experiencer case -ngani. Concerning the oblique cases in this dialect, the most important thing is the existence of an experiencer-specific case particle -ngani. The oblique case specific to experiencer is considered to be typologically rare. The similar type of oblique case specific for experiencer is found in Andi (Comrie 1981), Bhojpuri (Verma 1990) and Godoberi (Kibrik 1996). [Slide 21] In some languages, including Standard Japanese, the oblique experiencer and indirect object are case-marked in the same way, i.e., in dative. On the other hand, in the Mitsukaido dialect, the oblique experiencer and indirect object are case-marked differently, as illustrated in the examples (10) and (11). The ungrammatical structure in the parenthesis indicates that the dative and the experiencer case are not interchangeable. The oblique (experiencer) subject is case-marked with experiencer case, as illustrated in (10). 2 The indirect object is case-marked with dative, as illustrated in (11). (10) Oblique experiencer are-nganja (*-nge-wa) ome-godo wagan-me 3sg-EXP.TOP 2sg-ACC understand-may.not S/he may not be able to understand you. (11) Indirect Object sengare kono nimozu sinsegi-nge (*-ngani) ogut-ta son-nom this package-acc relative-dat send-pst My son sent this package to his relative. The example (10) is noteworthy in that it has no nominative NP. As illustrated in Prof. Kishimoto s presentation, at least one nominative NP is required in Standard Japanese. On the other hand, in MD, the case frame without nominative element is not ruled out and the nominative requirement is inert. [Slide 22] The case frame without nominative is also found in a construction with valency alternation morphology. As illustrated in Prof. Kishimoto s presentation, in Standard Japanese, in the potential construction, intransitive subjects remain nominative while transitive subjects are case-marked in dative. On the other hand, in the Mitsukaido dialect, both transitive and intransitive subjects are case-marked in the same way, i.e., in the experiencer case, as illustrated in the examples (12) and (13). (12) Intransitive-based potential are-ngani-wa tskubasan-sa nobor-e-be-na 3sg-EXP-TOP Mt. Tsukuba-DAT climb-pot-may-prt S/he may be able to climb Mt. Tsukuba. (13) Transitive-based potential ano jarokko-nganja hebi-godo buttadag-e-ru that boy-exp.top snake-acc hit-pot-pres That boy can hit a snake. The situation is schematized as follows. 2 The experiencer subject in (10) can be case-marked with nominative, too. 5

6 (14) Standard Japanese Mitsukaido dialect Active S A S A Potential NOM DAT EXP EXP [Slide 23] Final remarks concerning the oblique cases in the Mitsukaido dialect is about the formal distinction of demoted subjects. In Standard Japanese, the oblique elements demoted from subject are case-marked in the same way, i.e., in dative. On the other hand, in the Mitsukaido dialect, these elements are case-marked differently. The oblique subject in potential sentence is case-marked with the experiencer case particle -ngani, as shown in (15b). Causee in the transitive-based causative constructions is case-marked with the dative case particle -nge, as shown in (15c). Oblique agent in passive construction is case-marked with the locative case particle -ni, as shown in (15d). (15) Case differentiation of demoted subjects a. are amakko-godo taske-da (active) 3sg-NOM girl-acc help-pst S/he helped a girl. b. are-ngani-wa amakko-godo taske-rare-be: (potential) 3sg-EXP-TOP girl-acc help-pot-may S/he can help the girl. c. ore are-nge amakko-godo taske-rase-da (causative) 1sg-NOM 3sg-DAT girl-acc help-caus-pst I made her/him help the girl. d. amakko are-ni taske-rare-da (passive) girl-nom 3sg-LOC help-pass-pst The girl was helped by her/him. Case-marking of the demoted subjects are summarized in Table 2. Table 2. Case-marking of demoted subjects Standard Japanese Mitsukaido dialect Oblique subject EXP (-ngani) Causee DAT (-ni) DAT (-nge) Passive agent LOC (-ni) The formal distinction of demoted subjects in the Mitsukaido dialect makes clearer the syntactic and semantic diversity of Standard Japanese dative. The data from the Mitsukaido dialect shows that the dialect can exhibit a different valency alternation even though it has the same voice morphology. Next, I would like to show the situation where a dialect has voice morphology different from that in Standard Japanese. 3. Different voice morphology induces different range of transitivity alternations [Slide 24] The examination of the data from the Hokkaido dialect is important in two respects for the investigation of valency alternation: the relation between the range of anticausativization and its grammatical nature, and 6

7 typological characteristics of Japanese dialects. The Hokkaido dialect of Japanese was formed through the influence of the dialects of the immigrants from the other part of Japan. The massive immigration in 19 th century occurred from many parts of Japan. But the grammatical structure of the Hokkaido dialect is highly influenced by the northern Tohoku dialects, of which speakers were earliest immigrants settled in the coastal area from 16 th century and they constitute a major part of immigrant population in 19 th century. For the detail of the historical background of the Hokkaido dialect, see Ono and Okuda (1999). The existence of spontaneous suffixal auxiliary /-rasar/, used as a marker for anticausativization, is one of the grammatical features shared among the Hokkaido dialect and the northern Tohoku dialects. The data I use to illustrate the Hokkaido dialect in this presentation is gathered from the young speaker in his 30 s. The sentences here are fairly standardized and can be regarded as a type of neo-dialect in the sense of Sanada (1990). Although it is standardized, the dialect has some dialectal features. [Slide 25] Among them, the most important feature for the present discussion is the existence of one additional voice suffixal auxiliary, spontaneous /-rasar/. The spontaneous suffixal auxiliary /-rasar/ has three usages: unintentionality, potential (middle), and anticausative. Among three usages, the most important usage for the present discussion is anticausative. The anticausative usage is illustrated in (16). (16) (*dareka-nijotte) ko:te:-ni o:kina maru-ga kak-asat-te-ru. someone-by ground-dat big circle-nom draw-sp-prog-pres A big circle has been/was drawn. The example (16) illustrates two important grammatical traits. The asterisk in the parenthesis shows that the manifestation of agent is ruled out even in the oblique form. The English translation shows that it is interpreted not as progressive but as resultative even though the predicate is in the progressive form. The sentence in (16) is intransitive not only in syntax but also in semantics because the transitive subject is completely removed. The resultative interpretation of progressive form is typical for the achievement predicate. The corresponding active transitive predicate /kak-/ draw has accomplishment aspectual property. Accomplishment -- Achievement correspondence is characterized with the presence and lack of causing event. These properties indicate that the sentence in (16) can be regarded as an anticausative version of the corresponding transitive sentence. The anticausativization itself is not a property unique to the Hokkaido dialect. Standard Japanese and the other dialects have an anticausative type intransitivization with the lexical suffix -e, as mentioned in Prof. Kishimoto s presentation. The difference between Standard Japanese and the Hokkaido dialect is found in the range of anticausativization. [Slide 26] As argued by Hayatsu (1989) and Sato (2005), lexical transitivity alternation is possible only when the transitive counterpart indicates the change of state of the referent of object and the manner of activity of the agent is not specified. Thus, transitive verb nur-u paint, which implies the iterative motion parallel to the surface, has no intransitive counterpart. This restriction is almost equivalent to the following crosslinguistic generalization on anticausative alternation argued by Haspelmath (1993). 7

8 (17) A verb meaning that refers to a change of state or going-on may appear in an inchoative/causative alternation unless the verb contains agent-oriented meaning components or other highly specific meaning components that make the spontaneous occurrence of the event extremely unlikely. (Haspelmath 1993: 94) [Slide 27] In the Hokkaido dialect, the range of lexical transitivity alternation is the same as that in Standard Japanese. However, the range of anticausativization with /-rasar/ is wider than that of lexical anticausativization. The verbs specifying the manner of activity such as nur-u paint function as a base of anticausativization with /-rasar/. See Table 3. The transitive verb roots in Table 3 are gathered through the internet research using Yahoo! API. The verbs in the shaded cells specify manner of activity. Table 3. Sources of anticausativization Verbs Number mak- roll, wind 223 tum- load 181 okur- send 131 dak- hold 104 har- stick 99 kak- write 88 tutum- wrap 61 musub- tie 50 tak- boil 43 hos- dry 41 ok- put 40 nur- paint 37 sik- lay 37 tor- take (a 35 photo/video) kum- cross, 34 program har- stretch 30 nuw- sew 29 tak- kindle 20 kak- draw 19 mor- fill, pile 14 hum- step on 11 sas- stab 11 jak- burn, grill 10 kir- cut 9 hor- dig 8 hor- carve 8 kitae- train 8 migak- polish 8 tatam- fold 7 or- break, bend 7 hak- put on, wear 7 tozi- close 6 sibor- squeeze 6 hurikom- transfer 6 (money) am- knit 6 kaw- buy 5 etc. 83 Total 1,542 The wider range of anticausativization is also apparent from the Max Plank Valency database. Table 4 is the list of verbs exhibiting lexical and/or productive causative/inchoative (O=S) alternation. Forms without parenthesis in lexical AC column stand for the lexical anticausatives. Forms without parenthesis in lexical C column stand for the lexical causatives. The predicates with (C) in equivalent in target language column are lexical causatives. The predicates with (E) are intransitive counterparts of lexical equipollent alternation. Table 4. Lexical Anticausativization and Anticausativization with /-rasar/ Meaning_label equivalent in target language lexical AC lexical C AC with /rasar/ WASH ara(w)-u FALSE N/A araw-asar-u CARRY hakob-u FALSE N/A hakob-asar-u TEAR hikitigir-u FALSE N/A hikitigir-asar-u DIG hor-u FALSE N/A hor-asar-u WIPE huk-u FALSE N/A huk-asar-u HUNT kar-u FALSE N/A kar-asar-u BE DRY kawak-u N/A kawakas-u kawak-asar-u CUT kir-u kire-ru N/A kir-asar-u DRESS kise-ru (C) ki-ru N/A kise-rasar-u ROLL korogas-u korogar-u (E) N/A korogas-ar-u SHOW mise-ru (C) mi-ru N/A mise-rasar-u FILL mitas-u miti-ru (E) N/A mitas-ar-u TAKE mog-u moge-ru N/A mog-asar-u PEEL = SKIN muk-u muke-ru N/A muk-asar-u STEAL nusum-u FALSE N/A nusum-asar-u (?) PUT = PLACE ok-u FALSE N/A ok-asar-u 8

9 SEND okur-u FALSE N/A okur-asar-u PUSH os-u FALSE N/A os-asar-u SINK sizum-u N/A sizume-ru sizum-asar-u SHAVE sor-u FALSE N/A sor-asar-u GRIND sur-u FALSE N/A sur-asar-u HIT tatak-u FALSE N/A tatak-asar-u build tate-ru (C) tat-u N/A tat-asar-u POUR tug-u FALSE N/A tug-asar-u LOAD tum-u FALSE N/A tum-asar-u TIE tunag-u tunagar-u N/A tunag-asar-u BOIL wakas-u (C) wak-u N/A wakas-ar-u BREAK war-u ware-ru N/A war-asar-u BURN yak-u yake-ru N/A yak-asar-u COVER kake-ru kakar-u (E) N/A FALSE FRIGHTEN kowagarase-ru (C) kowagar-u N/A FALSE HELP tasuke-ru tasukar-u (E) N/A FALSE KNOW sir-u FALSE sirase-ru FALSE BURN moe-ru (E) N/A moyas-u N/A Version 0.7 (7 th April, 2011) The verbs having lexical anticausatives are subclass of the verbs having anticausatives with /-rasar/. 20.9% of transitive verbs with anticausativization with /-rasar/ have lexical anticausatives. [Slide 28] The wider range of anticausativization with /rasar/ is considered to be related to the grammatical status of this voice morphology. The anticausativization with the verb os-u push is important for understanding the grammatical status of the suffixation of /-rasar/. The verb os-u push does not always imply change of state. The change of state interpretation is determined at the level of verb phrase. When the verb phrase does not imply the change of state, the anticausativization with /-rasar/ fails to apply, as in (18). On the other hand, when the verb phrase indicates the change of state as in (19), the anticausativization applies. (18) *senaka-ga os-asat-te-ru back-nom push-sp-prog-pres <== senaka-o osback-acc push to push someone s back (19) saise:botan-ga os-asat-te-ru replay button-nom push-sp-prog-pres The replay button is on. <== saise:botan-o osreplay button-acc push to push the replay button The aspectual condition of lexical anticausativization is determined by the lexical meaning of verb roots. On the other hand, the aspectual condition of anticausativization with /-rasar/ is determined by the syntactic entity, i.e., verb phrase. The anticausativization with /-rasar/ can be regarded as a syntactic process, while that with /-e/ and /-ar/ is lexical process. Syntactic process tends to be more productive than lexical process. The productivity of anticausativization with /rasar/ is considered to reflect its syntactic status. [Slide 29] Although the range of anticausativization with /-rasar/ is wide, it is not unlimited. I can point out at least one restriction. The verbs of giving, i.e., yar-u and kure-ru, cannot be a base for anticausativization with /-rasar/. 9

10 (20) Ungrammaticality of anticausatives derived from the verbs of giving a. kure-ru give (to me) *kure-rasar-u give-sp-pres b. yar-u (I) give *yar-asar-u give-sp-pres Version 0.7 (7 th April, 2011) Anticausativization is a valency alternation process suppressing the causing event. This process obscures the lexical information contained in the causing event. The crosslinguistic tendency of avoiding anticausativization to the verbs containing agent-oriented semantic component can be regarded as a consequence of the faithful projection of lexical information. The manner of activity is a sort of agent-oriented semantic information belonging to the causing event. The anticausativization with /-rasar/ overrides the faithful projection of the manner of activity but does not override all kinds of faithful projection of the agent-oriented semantic information. The data in (20) indicates that the causing event suppression is blocked when the person of the argument is specified for the lexical meaning of the verb. The verbs yar-u and kure-ru are distinguished by the deixis (Hidaka 2007) or directionality (Newman 1996) of giving. For the verb yar-u, the direction of the donation is from speaker to non-speaker. For the verb kure-ru, it is from non-speaker to speaker. The directionality of giving is a matter of person specification of agent and recipient. The person specification cannot be overridden even by the anticausativization with /-rasar/. The difference of the range of anticausativization can be schematized as follows. (21) The range of anticausativization Verbs unspecified for Verbs specified for Verbs with manner of activity manner of activity person specification of arguments Lexical AC (SJ, HD) > AC with /rasar/ > [Slide 30] The existence of additional voice suffix /-rasar/ has another typological importance. According to Nichols, Peterson and Barnes (2004), the north-eastern Eurasia, along with North America, is an area where transitivizing morphology is dominant. Japanese dialects are consistent with Nichols et al s observation. Nichols et al s study is based on a limited number of transitive-intransitive pair of verbs. When we look at the productive transitivity alternation morphology, dialectal variation emerges. For most of the Japanese dialects, the sole productive transitivity alternation morphology is causativization, a transitivization. On the other hand, the dialects spoken in the northern main island and Hokkaido do not conform to this characterization. They are bidirectional with respect to productive transitivity alternation, having both causativization and anticausativization. Concerning the transitivity alternation, the northern dialects, including the Hokkaido dialect, resemble the languages spoken in the neighboring area, namely, Ainu (Bugaeva 2004) and Nivkh (Nedjalkov, Otaina and Xolodovic 1995), both of which employ reflexive morphemes as an expression of anticausativization. Ainu, Nivkh, and Northern Japanese dialects are genetically unrelated. Despite of this fact, these languages shows grammatical affinity in that productive transitivity alternation is bidirectional. This situation suggests that the areal linguistic consideration other than comparative method is required. 4. Future perspective of the research on valency classes in Japanese dialects In this presentation, I talked about the two types of grammatical variation relating to valency classes in Japanese dialects, the variation with respect to case system and the variation with respect to voice system, and argued that 10

11 the different types of case frames and the different range of transitivity alternations in the dialects can be regarded as a reflection of these morphological variations. My presentation is based on the data from two dialects, the Mitsukaido dialect and the Hokkaido dialect. More examples from a wider variety of dialects would enable us to make more valuable observations on the study of valency classes and valency alternation. The inventory of case particles and voice morphologies is already described in most of the dialects but their syntactic manifestation has tended to be ignored and the data relevant to the study of valency classes are not always accessible. However, the situation is improving. The progress in the systematic description will reveal the grammatical nature of Japanese dialects and their contribution to the topics of general linguistics, including valency classes. References Bugaeva, Anna Grammar and Folklore Texts of the Chitose Dialect of Ainu (Idiolect of Ito Oda). Suita, Osaka: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Priority Areas, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Endangered Languages of the Pacific Rim, Faculty of Informatics, Osaka Gakuin University. Comrie, Bernard Definite and animate direct objects: a natural class. Linguistica Silesiana Harada, Shin ichi Counter Equi-NP Deletion. Annual Bullet of the Research Institute of Logopedics and Phoniatrics University of Tokyo. (reprinted in Papers in Japanese Linguistics 11.(1986) ) Comrie, Bernard The Languages of the Soviet Union. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Haspelmath, Martin More on the typology of inchoative/causative alternations. In: Bernard Comrie and Maria Polinsky (eds.), Causatives and Transitivity Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company. Hayatsu, Emiko Yutai-tadoshi to Mutai-tadoshi no chigai ni tsuite [On the semantic difference between paired and unpaired transitive verbs in Japanese]. Gengo Kenkyu Hidaka, Mizuho Juyo-dooshi no taishoo-hoogengaku-teki kenkyuu. [Cross-dialectal Study on the Verb of Giving]. Tokyo: Hituzi Shobo. Hiraiwa, Ken Spelling out the Double-o Constraint. Natural Language and Linguistic Theory Kaneda, Akihiro Nijuu -hyooji genshoo o megutte: Hachijoojima Mitsune hoogen o rei ni. [On double case marking phenomena: Case study of the Mitsune dialect of Hachijojima Island]. In: Yoshio Nitta (ed.) Nihongo no Kaku o megutte [On Japanese Case Marking] Tokyo: Kurosio Publishers. Kibrik, Alexandr Godoberi. München: Lincom Europa. Kobayashi, Takashi Hoogengaku-teki Kokugo-shi no Hoohoo [The History of Japanese from Dialectological Perspective]. Tokyo: Hituzi Shobo. Matsumoto, Hirotake Ryuukyuu hoogen no shukaku-hyoogen no mondaiten: Ichikura Shiro Kikaijima Hoogenshuu no kachi. [Problems on nominative expressions in Ryukyu dialects: Importance of Ichikura Shiro s Kikaijima Dialect Lexicon]. Kokubungaku Kaishaku to Kanshoo 47(8) Miyara, Shinsho Minami-Ryuukyuu Yaeyama Ishigaki Hoogen no Bunpoo [A Grammar of Yaeyama Ishigaki Dialect in Southern Ryukyu]. Tokyo: Kurosio Publishers. Nedjalkov, V.P and Otaina, G.A. and Xolodovic, A.A Morphological and lexical causatives in Nivkh. In: Theodora Bynon, David C. Bennett, and B. George Hewitt (eds.), Subject, Voice, and Ergativity: Selected Essays School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. Newman, John Give: A Cognitive Linguistic Study. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. Nichols, Johanna, David Peterson and Jonathan Barnes (2004) Transitivizing and detransitivizing languages. Linguistic Typology Ono, Yoneichi and Osami Okuda Hokkaido no Kotoba [Languages of Hokkaido]. Sapporo: Hokkaido Shinbunsha. Pellard, Thomas Ōgami: Éléments de description d un parler du sud de Ryūkyū. PhD dissertation. École des hautes etudes en sciences socials. Perlmutter, David and Paul Postal The Relational Succession Law. In: David Perlmutter (ed.) Studies in Relational Grammar Chicago: Chicago University Press. Rumsey, Alan The Chimera of Proto-Indo-European ergativity: Lessons for historical syntax. Lingua Sanada, Shinji Chiikigengo no Shakaigengogaku-teki Kenkyuu [Sociolinguistic Study of Areal Languages]. Tokyo: Izumi Shoin. 11

12 Sasaki, Kan The grammatical function of oblique elements in the Mitsukaido dialect of Japanese. In: Shigeru Sato & Kaoru Horie (eds.), Cognitive-Functional Linguistics in an East Asian Context Tokyo: Kurosio Publishers. Sasaki, Kan The double accusative possessor ascension construction in the Mitsukaido dialect of Japanese. In: Tasaku Tsunoda (ed.), Basic Materials in Minority Languages (ELPR Publications Series B003) Suita, Osaka: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Priority Areas, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Endangered Languages of the Pacific Rim, Faculty of Informatics, Osaka Gakuin University. Sasaki, Kan Intaanetto-joo no jihatsu-jutsugo ni okeru sa-nuki genshoo [Sa-deletion in spontaneous predicates on the internet]. Gengogaku Ronso: Joo Hakutaroo-sensei taikan kinen ronshuu Sasaki, Kan and Akie Yamazaki Two types of detransitive constructions in the Hokkaido dialect of Japanese. In: Werner Abraham and Larisa Leisio (eds.), Passivization and Typology: Form and Function Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Sato, Takuzo Jidooshibun to Tadooshibun no Imiron [Semantics of Intransitive and Transitive Sentences]. Tokyo: Kasama Shoin. Shibatani, Masayoshi Semantics of Japanese causativization. Foundations of Language Shibatani, Masayoshi Grammatical relations and surface cases. Language Shimoji, Michinori A Grammar of Irabu: A Southern Ryukyuan Language. PhD dissertation. Australian National University. Verma, Manindra Experiencer subjects in Bhojpuri and Magahi. In: Manindra Verma & K.P. Mohanan (eds.), Experiencer Subjects in South Asian Languages Stanford: CSLI Publications. 12