A Reexamination of the Cross-linguistic Parameterization of Causative Predicates: Japanese perspectives

1. Introduction In this paper, I will examine the syntax and semantics of one subtype of Japanese morphological causative in comparison to other kinds of morphological causatives in Japanese and similar causatives in other languages. I will point out that this subtype does not exhibit biclausal properties typical of more familiar Japanese causative predicates. The observations are discussed in relation to Alsina's (1992, 1996) theory of crosslinguistic parameterization of causative predicates. I will argue that the Japanese facts and related observations in other languages suggest the need to consider one additional parameter of variation in causative predicates, namely the argument and functional structure complexity. I will also discuss how this factor interacts with the parameter Alsina has proposed.