The Function Of Antecedents In Japanese Relative Clauses

Abstract

This research focuses on a type of clause known as a relative clause. In Japanese, relative clauses are called?????( meishi shuushoku setsu ). In this study, the function of antecedents in Japanese relative clauses is presented. the function of antecedents in Japanese relative clauses using a theoretical approach from Dixon (2010). The result of this research is Japanese relative clauses cannot be separated from their antecedent function. The antecedent in Japanese relative clauses is always located after the verb or verb phrase. The types of verbs that can precede an antecedent in Japanese relative clauses in this study include state verbs (????/Jyoutai doushi ) and activity verbs (????/Dousha doushi ). In this study, four types of antecedent functions were found in Japanese relative clauses, including topic, subject, object and oblique functions. One way to differentiate the function of the four antecedent functions is to look at the particle that follows the antecedent in the relative clause. Antecedents in Japanese relative clauses can be nouns and pronouns.