Advances in Biolinguistics - The Human Language Faculty and Its Biological Basis

subsequently allows multiple specifi ers of a functional head. On the basis of the
relativized X-bar theory, Fukui (1986, 1988) claims that functional categories
in languages like English close off their projection by inducing agreement.
However, they do not induce agreement in Japanese, thus enabling any element
to adjoin freely to their projections in that language. Given that Japanese permits
multiple specifi ers on general grounds, it naturally follows that more than one
nominal in the specifi er positions receives an identical case under the contextual
case assignment view. Fukui (2011) advances the development of this idea on
the basis of Chomsky’s (1995) claim that Merge applies freely without any
driving force. He proposes that Japanese allows unbounded Merge to be applied
at the edge of phase heads, provided that the elements merged at the edge
satisfy such a licensing condition as predication to receive an appropriate inter-
pretation. Since these approaches to the phenomenon potentially have a greater
explanatory force than the Agree-based case account in grasping parametric
differences between the two types of languages, we develop their basic idea.
Let us agree with Fukui (2011) that unbounded Merge (M 0 ◦ S 0 to use Kato
et al.’s terms) applies to the edge of a phase head in Japanese. We then show
how the proposed case system that embodies the idea of contextual case assign-
ment accounts for the phenomenon. First, consider multiple nominatives in
stative sentences like (6a), in which both the experiencer “subject” and the
theme “object” are marked nominative.

(6) a. Taroo-ga okane-ga hosii/hituyoo-da/aru.
Taro-NOM money-NOM want/need-COP/have
‘Taro {wants/needs/has} some money’
b.
Taro v

okane v

AP/NP v

hosi/hituyoo

Unbounded Merge is applied to the edge of vP, allowing both experiencer
and theme arguments to be merged with v, as illustrated in (6b). The question
of why the theme (an apparent “object” of the verb) is merged outside VP will
be discussed later.
Application of unbounded Merge at the edge of vP makes it possible to
establish a covariance relation between okane ‘money’ and v, since neither
of them has φ-features. A covariance relation also holds between Taro and v
for the same reason. Notice that since no φ-feature agreement is involved
here, the property of v without φ-features remains intact even once case
valuation is carried out. This allows the v to enter into a covariance relation
with Taro. Therefore, the case features of both experiencer and theme are
valued as nominative.

54 Mihoko Zushi