Syntactic underspecification and light-verb phenomena in Japanese.

This paper explores the consequences of unspecified syntactic features for an analysis of Japanese light-verb constructions. In Japanese, θ-assigning nouns (verbal nouns or VNs) combine with the light verb suru `do' to form hundreds of clausal predicates. A VN can appear adjacent to suru and caseless, or be marked with accusative case. In the second instance, the VN may or may not form a constituent with one of its complements. Prior research into the syntax of these constructions has focused on (V whether tile relationship between the VN and tile Jig/it verb is derived in the lexicon or is established in the syntax, and (ii,) if the latter, whether the several construct ions involving VNs are syntactically related. The position adopted here is that VN-plus-suru combinations are syntacticc and further that the extraordinary syntactic behavior of VNs, as well as their ability to generate three superficial structures from a single underlying form, is attributable to their categorial features [N] or [V] remaining unspecified in the lexicon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]