“Yoku Taberu Constructions” and “Yoku Taberu Effect”: Examination of Ga/O Alternation in Regular Transitive Verb Sentences
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Date
2024-08
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Ohio State University. Libraries
Abstract
The ga/o alternation is a well-known phenomenon in Japanese linguistics, traditionally associated with stative predicates such as potential, desiderative, hosii ‘want,’ suki ‘fond,’ and wakaru ‘understand.’ This paper goes beyond the established understanding by demonstrating the feasibility of the ga/o alternation in regular transitive verb constructions, which we term "yoku taberu constructions." We coin the term "yoku taberu effect" to describe the process enabling this alternation. It is claimed that the yoku taberu effect can be attained by enhancing the stativity of the sentence, such as imbuing a habitual nature. This enhancement is facilitated through adverbial phrases or additional elements, such as those pertaining to frequency, quantity, or comparison. Moreover, we demonstrate that there are cases where the alternation with ga (the exhaustive listing ga) is possible even for particles other than the accusative o when the yoku taberu effect is attained.
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Keywords
ga/o alternation, yoku taberu constructions, yoku taberu effect, stativity, regular transitive verbs
Citation
Hirata, Yu. "“Yoku Taberu Constructions” and “Yoku Taberu Effect”: Examination of Ga/O Alternation in Regular Transitive Verb Sentences." Buckeye East Asian Linguistics, vol. 8 (August 2024), p. 106-120.