Japanese Linguistics: An Introduction » (1st Edition)

This introduction to Japanese linguistics is designed to familiarize students with all of the main areas of the subject. What makes this book distinct from other textbooks on Japanese linguistics is that linguistic is introduced by means of authentic texts which students might encounter in contemporary Japan. The book covers: Speech sounds and sounds structures, Japanese vocabulary, Writing in Kanji, Hiragana, Katakana, and Roman letters, Words structures, ideograms, morphemes and compounding, Sentence structure, Word meaning. Each chapter contains an explanation of the key concept of Japanese linguistics, followed by activities, which are designed to promote the students active understanding of the forms and functions of the language in authentic texts. This textbooks will be an essential introduction to Japanese linguistics for advanced undergraduates and postgraduates, studying either Japanese language or linguistics.

About the Author:
Dr. Toshiko Yamaguchi, visiting lecturer at the National University of Singapore

Preface     ix
Acknowledgements     xi
How to use this book     xiii
Speech sounds     1
What are speech sounds?     1
Vocal tract     2
Structure of vocal tract     2
Oral cavity versus nasal cavity     2
Articulators     3
Phonetic transcription     4
Classifications of speech sounds     5
Voiced versus voiceless     5
Consonants versus vowels     5
Place of articulation     6
Manner of articulation     7
Rounded versus unrounded     8
Front/back     8
High/mid/low     9
Sound structure     15
Phonemes     15
Assimilations     17
Allophones     17
Vowel devoicing     19
Vowel gemination     20
Sequential voicing     20
Alterations     26
Sandhi     26
Other alterations     27
Mora     30
Pitch accent     33
Vocabulary     40
Native-Japanese words     40
General     40
Expressionsfor body parts     42
Weather expressions     44
Sino-Japanese words     45
General     45
Multiple readings     48
Foreign loanwords     50
General     50
Patterns of adoption     52
Hybrids     57
Vocabulary and text     59
Old and new newspaper articles     61
Vocabulary and mimetic words     63
The writing system     72
Kanji and Hiragana     73
Katakana     15
Expressing foreign loanwords     75
Insufficiency of traditional katakana scripts     75
Providing the pronunciation of words     79
Accentuating words     80
Euphemisms     84
Roman letters     85
Numerals and symbols     87
Numerals     87
Symbols     90
Changes in the writing system     96
Word structure     98
Meaningful units     98
Ideograms     99
Free and bound morphemes     100
Inside the compound     101
Nominal compounds     103
E1 opposes E2      104
E1 parallels E2     104
E1 is repeated     105
E1 modifies E2     105
E2 is part of E1     106
E1 acts on E2     107
E2 acts on E1     107
Affixation     110
Prefixation     112
Suffixation     113
Verbal compounds     119
[Characters not reproducible] as V2     123
[Characters not reproducible] as V2     123
[Characters not reproducible] as V2     124
[Characters not reproducible] as V2     125
[Characters not reproducible] as V2     126
[Characters not reproducible] as V2     126
[Characters not reproducible] as V2     127
[Characters not reproducible] as V2     128
Manner + V2 (change verb)     129
V1 (action verb) + manner     130
Two similar events     131
Fused compounds     131
Word meaning     133
Relations between words     134
Homonymy     134
Synonymy     138
Polysemy     144
Antonymy     146
Hypernyms and hyponyms     148
Meronymy     150
Meaning components     152
Sentence structure     157
Subject and predicate     157
Topic and comment     158
Topics other than [Characters not reproducible]     161
Types of verbs     162
Change of state verbs     163
Passive verbs     165
Indirect passive     166
Causative-passive     168
Donative verbs     171
States and actions with [Characters not reproducible]-forms     175
States     175
Actions     175
Case particles     188
Receiving an action     188
Direction     189
Location     190
Instrument     191
Participation     192
Reciprocity     192
Experiencer     193
Basic sentence patterns and spoken language     195
Noun modifications     201
References     208
English index     213
Japanese index     219