MARKED USES OF NON-GRADABLE ADJECTIVES IN JAPANESE: TOWARDS A SYSTEMATIC DESCRIPTION OF GRADABILITY.

The present paper focuses on the frequently set-aside class of non-gradable adjectives in Japanese, aiming to illustrate their properties through the analysis of examples produced by native speakers. The paper explains the mechanisms which motivate the selection of non-gradable adjectives in speech, with unmarked contexts, in which gradability markers are not accepted, as a starting point. The mechanisms behind marked contexts, in which the co-occurrence of non-gradable adjectives and gradability markers such as the comparative or degree adverbs is accepted, are also explained by taking into consideration the type of information that the speaker chooses to focus on in a particular communication context. The analysis proves that the behavior of non-gradable adjectives in Japanese can be accounted for in both unmarked and marked contexts. At the same time, the parallel with the behavior of gradable adjectives confirms that it is possible to draw a systematic classification of Japanese adjectives from the point of view of gradability. The paper also explores the relationship between gradability and subjectivity, proving that they are closely connected in Japanese. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]