A Study of the Event-Based Idealized Cognitive Model of Japanese Passives
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18063/cef.v3i5.1183Keywords:
Japanese passive constructions, Event-based Idealized Cognitive Model (EICM), direct affected passive, causative event view, cross-linguistic comparisonAbstract
This study investigates Japanese passive sentences within the theoretical framework of the Event-based Idealized Cognitive Model (EICM). The analysis demonstrates that the Japanese passive prototype is the direct affected passive, characterized by an obligatory agent (ni-phrase) and a processual event structure (“Patient affected + Agent performs action”), diverging from the stative focus of English/Chinese passives. The extension of Japanese passives—particularly indirect passives—relies on metaphorical expansion of the “Affectedness → Influence” gestalt, enabling subjects to include indirect patients and predicates to incorporate intransitive verbs. Unlike stative-oriented English/Chinese passives, Japanese indirect passives emphasize processual events, requiring additional clauses to express resultant states. Neutral passives, influenced by Western languages, are excluded as non-native constructions. The findings highlight that Japanese passives align with Croft’s causative event view rather than the stative view, underscoring a fundamental cross-linguistic divergence in passive conceptualization.
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