Masaaki Kamiya, assistant professor of East Asian Languages and Literatures, presented his latest work at Mediterranean Syntax Meeting II, held at Bogazici University in Istanbul, Turkey. Kamiya, who collaborated on the paper with Akemi Matsuya of Takachiho University, argues that the ambiguous readings of Turkish wh-word such as universal quantifier and negative polarity item can be solved once Japanese indeterminate and negation systems are assumed.
They contend that there are two types of negative projections in Japanese just like Romance languages. Depending on how the relevant wh-words interact with two types of negations, one can get either universal quantifier reading or negative polarity reading. In this paper, Kamiya pointed out many similarities between Turkish and Japanese, both Altaic languages. Hence, it is plausible to assume that a single system can account for the relevant interpretations in two languages rather than assuming two completely different systems, which leads to the assumption of universal grammar -- our mind with respect to interpretations in natural language is identical at an abstract level.
They contend that there are two types of negative projections in Japanese just like Romance languages. Depending on how the relevant wh-words interact with two types of negations, one can get either universal quantifier reading or negative polarity reading. In this paper, Kamiya pointed out many similarities between Turkish and Japanese, both Altaic languages. Hence, it is plausible to assume that a single system can account for the relevant interpretations in two languages rather than assuming two completely different systems, which leads to the assumption of universal grammar -- our mind with respect to interpretations in natural language is identical at an abstract level.
