Glossary · provisional
Working terms for morphography, readings, packaging, and neighbors — plus an anti-glossary of rejected framings.
Morphography REAL
Orthographic units primarily represent morphemes, arranged to match morphological structure (Joyce 2011). “One graph ≈ one morpheme” is a good default, not a universal law.
Morphophonic REAL
Graphs primarily represent sound, only secondarily morphemes (DeFrancis–Matsunaga line via Honda). Honda’s unified model routes graphs through phonological exponents of morphemes, covering both sides.
Ideography (myth) REJECTED
The claim that characters encode meanings without language. Mainstream linguistics rejects this (DeFrancis–Unger Critique; Lurie 2006; Honda 2019). Do not treat kanji as a parallel semantic system that bypasses syntax.
On / kun REAL
On (音): historically Chinese-derived (Sino-Japanese) readings. Kun (訓): native Japanese words mapped by meaning. Same graph can package different lexical strata. Readings are spell-out routes — not argument slots.
Jukujikun REAL
Idiomatic kun over a multi-graph string (e.g. 田舎 ‘countryside’) that is not the sum of regular readings of each graph.
SP / xíngshēng compound REAL
Historical formation class: semantic radical + phonetic element. In modern Japanese, phonetic elements cue on imperfectly and do not cue kun (Honda).
Okurigana REAL
Kana suffix spelling inflection after a kanji stem. Productive tense/aspect/politeness lives in kana — evidence that kanji ≠ Infl.
Ateji / on’yaku REAL
Phonetic or irregular character uses (e.g. 葡萄 ‘grapes’) where graphs do not contribute live morpheme composition.
Lexical arity REAL
How many arguments a predicate’s lexical entry licenses.
Surface arity REAL (project)
How many distinguished participant phrases appear in the clause. Can diverge from lexical arity and from deep event geometry.
Event geometry REAL (project)
Underlying participant structure (e.g. Agent–Theme–Goal). Project slogan: a four-place sentence is still one geometry plus one packaging.
Packaging REAL (project)
How Case, Appl, MeasureP, light verbs, movement, and related devices realize the same geometry with different surface arities. Morphology is one of the places packaging freezes.
MeasureP / Cl / Nume REAL
Extended-nominal functional structure for numeral + classifier. Amount ≠ Denomination. Counters are inert for verbal valency (Watanabe 2006; Oho 2019; project MeasureP notes).
Light vs heavy suru REAL
Light suru assigns Acc and inflection but no θ-roles; process nominals (VNs) supply the θ-grid. Heavy suru ≈ agentive main do with θ-opaque objects (Grimshaw & Mester 1988).
Argument Transfer REAL
θ-role redistribution from the Noun’s list into light suru’s argument structure. Surface clause arity ≠ arity on VN alone ≠ arity on suru alone.
Fossil vs live packaging SPECULATIVE as Givón lean
Live: productive Appl, light-verb transfer, floating Num+Cl. Fossil: opaque compounds, bleached historical morphology. Givón’s “today’s morphology is yesterday’s syntax” frames fossils — labeled lean, not theorem.