Semantic and Pragmatic Studies on Existential Sentences

存在句与流行句一样，是自然语言中最基本的结构。迄今为止，对日语存在句的研究主要是处理带有位置表达的存在句，即“L ni NP ga iru / aru”形式的位置存在句，讨论的重点是urn和int的区别。另一方面，以往对英语存在句的研究往往采用“There is NP PP （Loc）”和“NP is PP （Loc）”两种结构，并讨论了这两种结构之间的关系、There的句法性质、对NP的定度限制等问题。与以往的研究相比，本研究强调了考虑NP的指称性的重要性，并从主语NP的指称/非指称功能来解释存在句丰富的语义结构。具体而言，研究表明，对存在句的正确分析必须考察以下几个方面：主语NP是指称NP还是涉及变量的NP (NPIV)， NPIV是否隐藏在主语位置以外的位置，主语NP是否与强量词兼容。通过对这些问题的探讨，我们发现存在句应该根据其具体功能进行区分，即位置句、本体论句、所有格句、列表句、关系句和跨空间句。研究结果表明，某些类型的存在句在更深层次的语义结构上与流行句（特别是具体句）有着密切的联系。

Existential sentences, as well copular sentences, are the most basic constructions in natural languages. Research on Japanese existential sentences, up to now, has treated mainly existential sentences with locative expressions, namely locational existential sentences with the form of "L ni NP ga iru / aru", and the discussion has centered on the distinction between urn and int. Previous research on English existential sentences, on the other hand, has often taken up the constructions "There is NP PP (Loc)" and "NP is PP (Loc)" and discussed the relationship between these two constructions, syntactic properties of there, the definiteness restriction on the NP, and so on.This research, in contrast to that conducted so far, emphasizes the importance of taking the referentiality of NPs into consideration and explicates the rich semantic structure of existential sentences in terms of the referential/non-referential function of the subject NP. Specifically, the research reveals that the examination of the following aspects is essential for the proper analysis of existential sentences: whether the subject NP is a referential NP or an NP involving a variable (NPIV), whether an NPIV is hidden or not in position other than the subject position, and whether the subject NP is compatible with strong quantifiers or not. Inquiries into these topics have disclosed that several types of existential sentences (ESs) should be distinguished according to the specific functions they fulfill, namely, locational ESs, ontological ESs, possessive sentences, list sentences, relational ESs and trans-spatial ESs. The findings have indicated that some types of existential sentences are closely connected with copular sentences (especially specificational sentences) on a deeper level of semantic structure.