From a spatial to a subjective framework

Abstract

The current study examines pre-modern and modern Japanese texts from the seventh ~ twentieth century, and documents the semantic and pragmatic change of ni-marked NPs, which include “dative subjects” and NPs which appear to refer to human referents. The data demonstrates that what are called “dative subjects” in modern Japanese are diachronically and synchronically related to the most prototypical meaning/usage of ni-marked NPs as a spatial framework. The original function underwent changes from more propositional to more subjective usages — from its most basic usage, indicating stative locations, to its metonymic usage, marking locations where individuals worthy of respect reside so as to avoid their explicit mention, and finally to its extended usage, indicating human referents. This extended usage further developed into a subjective framework for propositions in contemporary Japanese novels written in the first person perspective. This shift from propositional to expressive/subjective usages is not binary, but rather continual, and the transition from one usage to another involves each new usage coexisting with the prior ones.