What is it about?
This paper explains how person markers which are originally demonstrative pronouns (except ware 'I') evolved and ceased to be used in the history of Japanese. Because Japanese person markers belong to open-class, the paper utilises the idea of communication, that is, linguistic signs, instead of grammaticalization theory.
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Why is it important?
Personal pronouns are generally considered to be closed-class items and therefore equipped with grammatical charactersistics. This study provides a new perspectives. In addition, it makes use of the theory of communication to quaify the openness of person markers in Japanese.
Perspectives
It is a unique approach to personal pronouns to use the theory of linguistic signs.
Dr Toshiko Yamaguchi
University of Malaya
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: The historical development of person markers in Japanese: the roles of linguistic signs, Language Sciences, January 2015, Elsevier,
DOI: 10.1016/j.langsci.2014.09.004.
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