Locative Postpositions and Conceptual Structure in Japanese

This paper proposes two syntax-semantics correspondence rules which consistently ac-count for the distribution of Japanese loca-tive postpositions ni and de. We demon-strate how to adapt the machinery of the oc-currence of the postpositions based on the assumption of Conceptual Semantics (Jack-endoff, 1983; 1990; 1991) to fit the organi-zation of Japanese grammar. The correspon-dence rules correlate with semantic distinc-tion of verb classes: the semantic field dis-tinction between Spatial and Temporal with respect to the BE-function encoded in the lexical conceptual structure of several verbs. As a result, this paper elucidates the mech-anism of locative alternation of the verb aru ‘be’, which has not been fully explicated.