An Introduction to Japanese Linguistics - Blackwell Textbooks in Linguistics

This textbook on the structure of Japanese is written in the framework of generative linguistics. It serves both as an introduction to Japanese linguistics for those who have no prior knowledge of linguistics, and as a reference book on Japanese for linguists in general.;The book gives a comprehensive account of Japanese linguistics covering phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, language change, dialect variation and gender differences. The author introduces linguistic notions and terminology, and discusses theoretical analyses for linguistic phenomena in the language. A major focus is on phonology and syntax, where the formal approach of generative grammar is adopted. To aid the student's learning, chapters are supported by exercises exploring descriptive and theoretical issues, and by reading lists introducing them to the research literature.;Besides its usefulness to students taking courses in Japanese linguistics and as a reference on the structure of the language, the book should also be of interest to instructors of Japanese who want to enhance their linguistic knowledge of the language.