Cleft constructions in Japanese syntax

Cleft constructions occur across languages and are much analyzed in relation to syntax, semantics and pragmatics.

Mika Kizu, working in a Principles and Parameters framework, with some consideration of the Minimalist Program, provides the first coherent account of cleft constructions in Japanese.

She claims that the construction is analyzed on a par with topic constructions and some types of relative clause.

One of the most interesting properties, the syntactic phenomenon of 'connectivity' is closely examined.