Word order variability in Japanese conversation: Motivations and grammaticization

is widely accepted that Japanese is a strict verb-final language. However, r examination of conversational data reveals cases where elements are pressed after the predicate. These exceptions can be divided into two oes. The first type involves a break in Intonation between the predicate id the following element or elements. In this type, after the predicate is pressed, a certain element (or elements) is expressedfor such purposes für t her specification and repair. In the second type, the predicate and the llowing element or elements are expressed within one Intonation contour. his type isfurther divided into Iwo subtypes: the discourse-pragmatic type id the emotive type. In the discourse-pragmatic type, the element or eleents after the predicate serve a certain discourse-pragmatic function. These ements include adverbials, conjunctions and pronouns, and either indicate e Speaker's stance loward the proposition or referent or create discourse )hesiveness. In the emotive type, an adjectival or nominal predicate which ^^presscs such fcclings äs surprise and disgust is followed by a demonstrative. It is accompanied by an emotional Intonation pattern. In this subtype, non-canonical order seems to be preferred over canonical order. The intonational and distributional characteristics of the two subtypes thus suggest that the non-canonical word order is becoming grammaticized.