To Link or Not to Link: Clause Chaining in Japanese Narratives.

ABSTRACT: Japanese is a clause chaining language, in which a sentence is formed by linking two or more clauses in a series (chain), using different forms of the verb in "non-final" clauses within the chain from the "final" clauses that end the chain. Since the verb comes at the end of a clause in Japanese, speakers must decide by the time they reach the verb at end of one clause whether or not to connect it to the following clause. This study analyzes the narratives of Japanese children and adults with the dual goal of discovering why narrators decide either to link the clause they are producing to the following clause or not to link, i.e., to end the clause chain. Stories were elicited from 60 3- to 7-year-old children and 10 adults, who performed two tasks: (1) telling the story depicted in a hand

SUBMITTER: Clancy PM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7019389 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature