On the "Clausal-Connective" and "Nominal-Connective" ka 'or'in Japanese

This paper focuses on the two possible forms of constructions involving disjunction: clausal disjunctive in which ka 'or'takes clauses and nominal disjunctive in which ka 'or'takes nominal elements. I first claim that Japanese clausal disjunctive and nominal disjunctive should not be analyzed as coming from the same source (i.e. nominal disjunctive is not derived from clausal disjunctive through ellipsis). After presenting the difference between clausal disjunctive and nominal disjunctive, I give two possible analyses of the two types of ka ‘or’: the focus analysis and the wh analysis. The main proposal of this paper is that while both analyses have problems and require amendment, the wh analysis better explains the data and goes well with the claim that nominal disjunctive does not involve ellipsis