On Japanese Verbs of Giving and Receiving

Japanese verbs yaru 'give', morau 'receive', kureru 'give', (sashi-)ageru 'give', itadaku 'receive', and kudasaru 'give' describe a physical event of giving and receiving, including actual movement of an object or transfer of possession. These verbs have auxiliary uses which describe how an event or action is perceived by participants. The image of physical transfer of a gift described by the lexical verbs produces the abstract meaning described by the auxiliary uses. This paper examines cognitive structures of these lexical verbs and auxiliary uses and their relation to investigate the process of abstraction from lexical meaning to auxiliary meaning.

公開日:2010年1月24日で登録したコンテンツは、国立情報学研究所において電子化したものです。