Multiple Foci in Japanese Clefts and the Growth of Semantic Representation

摘要

There are two types of Japanese clefts, depending on the presence of a case particle attached to a focus; multiple foci are possible only in clefts with particles. This paper proposes that this distinct behavior with respect to multiple foci emerges as an outcome of the incremental growth of semantic structure in Dynamic Syntax. The analysis enables a uniform treatment of the two types of clefts, and handles a set of new data concerning partially case-specified foci, which poses a puzzle for previous works in Principles and Parameters Theory.