Toshio OHORI (Ph.D. in Linguistics, 1992, UC Berkeley)

Associate Professor
Department of Language and Information Sciences
University of Tokyo
3-8-1 Komaba, Meguro-ku
Tokyo, 153-8902, Japan

Courses at the University of Tokyo

Graduate Courses (post 2001 only)

• Proseminar in cognitive linguistics (Fall 2008)
• Cognitive semantics (Spring 2008)
• Cognitive semantics (Spring 2007)
• Seminar in syntax and semantics (Fall 2006)
• Seminar in syntax and semantics (Fall 2005)
• Cognitive semantics (Spring 2005)
• Functional-typological syntax (Fall 2004)
• Functional-typological syntax (Fall 2003)
• Cognitive semantics (Spring 2003)
• Cognitive narratology (Spring 2002)
• Language and conceptual development (Fall 2001)
• Seminar in syntax and semantics (Spring 2001)

Details...

Undergraduate Courses

• Poetics of everyday language (lower division)
• Introduction to typology (lower division)
• Introduction to linguistics (lower division)
• History of linguistics (lower division)
• Cognitive semantics (upper division)
• English (listening, intensive reading, composition)
• Japanese (discussion class for foreign students)

*** Workshop on How to Study Cognitive Linguistics 6 (May 9, 2009) ***

*** Cognitive Linguistics Info Page (last modified: March 15, 2009) ***

*** Linguistics Colloquia at the University of Tokyo ***

*** Workshop on Typological Perspectives on Constructions (Sep. 4, 2006) ***

*** The 4th International Conference on Construction Grammar (Sep. 1-3, 2006) ***

*** Workshop on Construction Grammar (Mar. 18, 2002) ***

For students' comments from "General Linguistics", Spring '01 (in Japanese), click HERE...

For students' comments from "Cognitive Linguistics", Fall '98 (in Japanese), click HERE...

For students' comments from "General Linguistics", Spring '98 (in Japanese), click HERE...

Research Interests

• Semantics, functional-typological syntax (esp. typology and diachrony of clause linkage), Japanese, English, East Asian languages.
• Member of the COE (=Center of Excellence) Project "Center for Evolutionary Cognitive Sciences at the University of Tokyo" (PI: Toshikazu Hasegawa). For details, click HERE...
• Member of the Japanese FrameNet Project (PI: Kyoko H. Ohara, Keio Univ.). For details, click HERE...
• Presently conducting the MEAD (=Motion Events and Discourse) project with colleagues in the graduate school. For details (in Japanese), click HERE...

Some Recent Works

• (2007) "What linguistic diversity tells about the human mind: universal grammar from the bottom up", Yoshiko Matsumoto et al. (eds.) Diversity in Language: Perspectives & Implications. Stanford: CSLI. 35-69.
• (2005) "Construction Grammar as a conceptual framework for linguistic typology: a case from reference tracking" In: Mirjam Fried & Hans C. Boas (eds.) Grammatical Constructions: Back to the Roots. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. 215-237.
• (2002; 3rd printing in 2007) Ninchi Gengogaku (Cognitive linguistics: an introduction to the science of language and mind). Tokyo: University of Tokyo Press. [For the table of contents, click HERE (Eng) or HERE (Jpn).]

And more...

Invited Lectures (post 2001, overseas invitations only)

• (2008) Workshop on Cognitive and Functional Linguistics, Bangkok.
• (2008) Workshop on East Asian Linguistics, Santa Barbara.
• (2005) The 2nd Symposium on Cognitive Linguistics and Japanese Linguistics, Taipei.
• (2005) The 4th International Typological School. Yerevan.
• (2005) The 2005 International Course and Conference on Role and Reference Grammar. Taipei.
• (2004) The Symposium on Functional Approaches to Grammar. Alberta.
• (2004) The Symposium on Diversity and Universals in Language. Stanford.
• (2002) The 3rd International Typological School. Moscow.

Syllabi etc. (post 2001 only, for more info, please e-mail me)

• Proseminar in cognitive linguistics (Fall 2008)
  Readings include: Part I (metaphor): Grady on primary metaphors; Clausner & Croft on productivity and schemativity in metaphors; Gentner on structure mapping; Tsukimoto on embodiment and brain imaging; Kuroda on conceptual metaphor theory; Part II (acquisition): Mitchell on TOM; Masataka on the acquisition of deictic verbs; Diessel on the acquisition of relative clauses; Shirai et al. on the acquisition of causative morphology; Bunger & Litz on the acquisition of causative verbs; Matsuda on the acquisition of Japanese complex verbs; Imai and Haryu on the acquisition of nouns and verbs.
• Cognitive semantics (Spring 2008)
  Textbook: Toshio Ohori: Ninchi Gengogaku. Univ. of Tokyo Press. Additional readings include selections from Shigeru Sakahara ed. Nichigengogaku no Hatten. Hituzi Syobo, plus Talmy on closed/open classes, Holyoak and Thagard on analogical reasoning, and Van Valin on lexical semantics and semantic roles.
• Cognitive semantics (Spring 2007)
  Textbook: Toshio Ohori: Ninchi Gengogaku. Univ. of Tokyo Press. Additional readings include selections from Shigeru Sakahara ed. Nichigengogaku no Hatten. Hituzi Syobo, plus Wierzbicka on cultural vocabulary.
• Seminar in syntax and semantics (Fall 2006)
  Readings include: Noonan on the typology of complementation; Hornstein on the movement analysis of control; Culicover and Jackendoff against the movement analysis of control; Kiparsky and Kiparsky on factives; Bolinger on THAT; Dixon on the semantics of CTP; Thompson and Mulac on the discourse function of THAT; Green on main clause phenomena; Masuoka on Japanese complementizers, etc.
• Seminar in syntax and semantics (Fall 2005)
  Readings include: Ohori on the typology of clause linkage; Diessel on the acquisition of complement construction; de Villers on language and cognitive development; Guenthner on discourse-pragmatic uses of OBWOHL; Comrie on relative clauses in Eurasia, etc.
• Cognitive semantics (Spring 2005)
  Textbook: Toshio Ohori: Ninchi Gengogaku. Univ. of Tokyo Press. Additional readings include: Newmeyer on prototype category, Kay on folk knowledge, Holyoak and Thagard on analogical reasoning, Van Valin on verb semantics, etc.
• Functional-typological syntax (Spring 2004)
  Textbook: Robert D. Van Valin: The Syntax-Semantics-Pragmatics Interface. ms. Additional readings include: Rothstein on verb semantics, Durie on Achenese grammatical relations, Kimenyi on Kinyarwanda applicatives, Ohori on switch reference, etc.
• Functional-typological syntax (Fall 2003)
  Textbook: Robert D. Van Valin: The Syntax-Semantics-Pragmatics Interface. ms. Additional readings include: Nichols on head- vs. dependent-marking, Lambrecht on information structure, Shimojo on quantifier placement, etc.
• Cognitive semantics (Spring 2003)
  Textbook: Toshio Ohori: Ninchi Gengogaku. Univ. of Tokyo Press. Additional readings are taken from: Shigeru Sakahara (ed.) Ninchi Gengogaku no Hatten. Hituzi Syobo, Yoshiki Nishimura (ed.) Ninchi Gengogaku I: Jishoo Koozoo. Univ. of Tokyo Press, Toshio Ohori (ed.) Ninchi Gengogaku II: Category-ka. Univ. of Tokyo Press.
• Cognitive narratology (Spring 2002)
  Readings include: Ochs, Culler, Talmy, and Kanbayashi (introductory essays); Labov & Waletzky, Mandler & Johnson, and Ikegami (macro-structure); Halliday (cohesion) and Givon (topic continuity); Hopper & Thompson, Reinhart, and Ohori (transitivity and grounding); Ochs & Capps (social interaction); Slobin & Berman, Rollins & Snow, and Nicolopoulou (acquisition/development).
• Language and conceptual development (Fall 2001)
  Textbook: Melissa Bowerman and Stephen Levinson (eds.) Language Acquisition and Conceptual Development. Cambridge UP.
  
• I have also prepared "Basic reading list in linguistics" (in Japanese). Its use is admittedly limited, and shall be hopefully revised in the future.

Other works (post 1995 only. Translations, reviews, and informal talks are not included. Conference papers that were later published are also omitted. For downloading, click here. Papers in Japanese are marked by * [listed separately here]. )

• (to appear)* "Poetics of everyday language", Hirofumi Saito (ed.) Language and Literature. Asakura Series on the Frontiers of Language 10. Asakura Shoten.
• (2008) "Metaphors for interpersonal relationship: a contrastive study between English and Japanese", paper read at the Workshop on Cognitive and Functional Linguistics, Chulalongkorn University. Bangkok, Thailand.
• (2008) "The implication of linguistic diversity for universal semantics", paper read at the Workshop on Cognitive and Functional Linguistics, Chulalongkorn University. Bangkok, Thailand.
• (2008)* "Re-examining grammar in the context of communication", paper read at Human Linguistics Circle, Rikkyo University.
• (2008) "Pragmatic factors in the development of a switch-adjective language: A case study of the Miyako-Hirara dialect of Ryukyuan", Studies in Language 32-3. Special Issue on Parts of Speech: Descriptive tools, theoretical constructs. 610-636. (with Julia Koloskova)
• (2008) "Reintroducing inverse constructions in Japanese", Robert D. Van Valin, Jr. (ed.) Investigations of the Syntax-Semantics-Pragmatics Interface. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. 37-57. (with Hiroaki Koga)
• (2008)* "The implication of the diversity of the world's languages for cognitive studies", paper read at the University of Kitakyushu.
• (2008)* "The distribution of NP in Japanese discourse", paper read at Linguistics Colloquia at the University of Tokyo, the University of Tokyo.
• (2008) "On toka in Japanese Discourse: A Squib", paper read at Workshop on Discourse and Grammar, University of California at Santa Barbara.
• (2008) "Suspended clauses in Japanese: their functions and acquisition", paper read at Linguistics Department Colloquium, University of California at Santa Barbara.
• (2008)* "Functional linguistics and ognitive linguistics", paper read at the 5th Workshop on How to Study Cognitive Linguistics. Univ. of Tokyo
• (2008) "The (non-)contribution of Japanese to linguistic tyupology", paper read at the Workshop on East Asian Linguistics. Univ. of California, Santa Barbara.
• (2008) (with Christine Lamarre and Takahiro Morita) (eds.) Typological Studies of the Linguistic Expression of Motion Events. Vol. II: A Contrastive Study of Japanese, French, English, Russian, German and Chinese. Tokyo: 21st Century COE Program, Center for Evolutionary Cognitive Science at the Univ. of Tokyo.
• (2007) (with Ruetaivan Kessakul) "Grammaticalization of deverbal markers: toward a cross-linguistic study in semantic extension of motion verbs". SEALS VIII: papers from the 8th annual meeting of the Southeast Asian Linguistics Society. 93-108. Pacific Linguistics Books Online.
• (2007)* (with Makiko Mizuno, Satoru Uchida, and Anita Nagy) "A typology schemas in the metaphors of interpersonal relations. Nihon Ninchi Gengogakkai Ronbunshuu. 7. 120-130.
• (2007) (with Makiko Mizuno, Satoru Uchida, and Anita Nagy) "Metaphors of human relationshiop: a case from Japanese. The 10th International Cognitive Linguistics Conference. University of Krakow.
• (2007)* "Interrogatives from a typological perspective", paper read at Bunpoogaku Kenkyuukai, the Univ. of Tokyo.
• (2007)* (with Irene Kimbara, Ruetaivan Kessakul, and Kozue Takubo) "Toward a re-definition of event-framing typology: some preliminary considerations from East Asian languages", Christine Lamarre & Toshio Ohori (eds.) Typological Studies of the Linguistic Expression of Motion Events. Vol. I: Perspectives from East and Southeast Asia. Tokyo: 21st Century COE Program, Center for Evolutionary Cognitive Science at the Univ. of Tokyo. 95-120.
• (2007) (with Christine Lamarre) (eds.) Typological Studies of the Linguistic Expression of Motion Events. Vol. I: Perspectives from East and Southeast Asia. Tokyo: 21st Century COE Program, Center for Evolutionary Cognitive Science at the Univ. of Tokyo.
• (2006) (with Yoichi Masuzawa) "A connectionist simulation of language acquisition of the complex sentences for Management Information Systems Analysis and Design", Proceedings of the 11th Annual International Conference on Industrial Engineering: Theory, Application and Practice 2006. 847-852.
• (2006) (with Kyoko H. Ohara et al. ) "Frame-based contrastive lexical semantics and Japanese FrameNet", paper read at the Fourth International Conference on Construction Grammar, University of Tokyo.
• (2006)* "Re-examining the prototype theory of subject", paper read at the 132nd annual meeting of the Linguistic Society of Japan, Univ. of Tokyo.
• (2006)* (with Yoshiki Nishimura) "Language and mind from the perspective of evolutionary anthropology", translators' postface to the Japanese translation of Michael Tomasello, The Cultural Origins of Human Cognition. Tokyo: Keiso Shobo. pp. 291-306.
• (2005)* "The implication of typological diversity for cognitive science", paper read at the 2nd Symposium on Cognitive Linguistics and Japanese Linguistics, Taiwan National University.
• (2005)* "Narratology and cognitive studies: literature as an applied science", The Rising Generation, December Issue. Tokyo: Kenkyusha. 2-5.
• (2005) "Some asymmetries between AND and OR in Japanese and across languages", paper read at the 4th International Typological School, Yerevan State Linguistic University.
• (2005) (with Yoichi Masuzawa) "A connectionist simulation of the acquisition of semantic relation for Natural/Computer Language Conversion Theory: form/meaning relationship in Japanese complex sentence (Business Manuals) in terms of Management Information Systems Analysis and Design", Proceedings of the 10th Annual International Conference on Industrial Engineering - Theory, Application and Practice 2005. 699-704.
• (2005)* "Frame semantics in lexical description", Nihon Ninchi Gengogakkai Ronbunshuu. 3. 617-620.
• (2005)* "The basic characteristics of narrative", paper read at the symposium on Narrative: where literature, history, medicine, and linguistics meet, Eebungaku Wakate no Kai, Univ. of Tokyo.
• (2005) "Cognitive science meets linguistic typology: what linguistic diversity tells about the human mind", paper read at the symposium on Philosophical foundations of cognitive linguistics, Univ. of Tokyo
• (2005)* (with Misako Nanbu and Etsuko Harada) "The cognitive cost and linguistic communication under distributed attention: an analysis of the verbal description of video stimulus", paper read at the 22th annual meeting of Japanese Cognitive Science Society, Kyoto Univ.
• (2005)* "Perspectives on grammaticalization in Japanese: survey and theoretical issues", Nihongo no Kenkyuu 1-3. 1-17.
• (2005) "More thoughts on the semantic representation in RRG: event types and the semantics of clause linkage", paper read at the RRG conference, Academia Sinica.
• (2005)* "From subject to pivot: a RRG approach", paper read at Bunpoogaku Kenkyuukai, the Univ. of Tokyo.
• (2005)* "The world as dynamically constructed by language". Bookguide: "Kokoro no Kagaku" o Yomu (A reading guide to the science of mind). Iwanami. 89-99.
• (2005)* (with Kyoko H. Ohara et al.) "Japanese FrameNet: A project on the corpus with semantic tags", Proceedings of the 11th annual meeting of the Assocation for Natural Language Processing,1225-1229
• (2004) "Coordination in Mentalese" In: Martin Haspelmath (ed.) Coordinating Constructions. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. 41-66.
• (2004) "Linguistic typology and language acquisition: Where are we now?", paper read at the workshop on Linguistic typology and language acquisition, the 22nd annual meeting of the Japan English Linguistics Society, Dokkyo Univ.
• (2004) (with Kyoko H. Ohara et al.) "The Japanese FrameNet Project: An introduction." LREC 2004. Fourth international conference on Language Resources and Evaluation. Proceedings of the Satellite Workshop "Building Lexical Resources from Semantically Annotated Corpora". 9-11.
• (2004) "'Natural syntax' revisited: iconicity and the nature of typological explanation", paper rad at the Symposium on Functional Approaches to Grammar, University of Alberta.
• (2004)* "Typology and mental logic: a reconsideration of logical connectives", in Shigeru Sato, Kaoru Horie, and Wataru Nakamura (eds.) Taishoo-gengogaku no Shintenkai. (Advances in contrastive linguistics). Tokyo: Hituzi. 349-370.
• (2004)* "Grammaticalization: its perspective and problems". Gengo April issue. Tokyo: Taishukan. 26-33.
• (2004)* (ed.) Ninchi Communication-ron. (Cognitive study of communication). Introductory Cognitive Linguistics Series vol. 6. Tokyo: Taishukan.243-278.
• (2004)* "Cognition and communication", in Toshio Ohori (ed.) Ninchi Communication-ron (Cognitive study of communication). Introductory Cognitive Linguistics Series vol. 6. Tokyo: Taishukan. 3-24.
• (2004)* "The structure and development of narratives", in Toshio Ohori (ed.) Ninchi Communication-ron (Cognitive study of communication). Introductory Cognitive Linguistics Series vol. 6. Tokyo: Taishukan.
• (2004)* "Constructions as cradles of meaning", STEP Eego Joohoo Jan.-Feb. issue. Tokyo: STEP. 34-36.
• (2003) "Mapping problem, typological bootstrapping, and mental logic", paper read at the symposium on Cognitive Typology, the 4th annual meeting of the Japan Cognitive Linguistics Association, Meiji Gakuin Univ.
• (2003) (with Kyoko H. Ohara et al.) "The Japanese FrameNet Project: A preliminary report." In Proceedings of Pacific Association for Computational Linguistics (PACLING '03), 249-254.
• (2003)* "Touching on the creativity of tropes", The Rising Generation, July Issue. Tokyo: Kenkyusha. 12-14.
• (2003) "Coordination in mentalese: some preliminary notes", Proceedings of the Sophia University Linguistic Society 17. 117-133.
• (2002)* "Constructions and contextual information: the pre-/post-posing of adverbial clauses", paper read at the Symposium on Constructions in English: Subtypes and Variations, the 20th annual meeting of the Japan English Linguistics Society, Aoyama Gakuin Univ.
• (2002)* (ed.) Ninchi Gengogaku 2: Categorization. (Cognitive linguistics 2: categorization). Language and Information Sciences Series vol. 3. Tokyo: University of Tokyo Press.
• (2002)* "Diachrony of switch reference construtions: syntactic change and categorization", in Toshio Ohori (ed.) Ninchi Gengogaku 2: Categorization. (Cognitive linguistics 2: categorization) Language and Information Sciences Series vol. 3. Tokyo: University of Tokyo Press. 297-321.
• (2002)* "Perspectives on the study of categorization", in Toshio Ohori (ed.) Ninchi Gengogaku 2: Categorization. (Cognitive linguistics 2: categorization) Language and Information Sciences Series vol. 3. Tokyo: University of Tokyo Press. 1-8.
• (2002) "Mental logic meets linguistic typology: coordination reconsidered", paper read at the Workshop on Typology and Linguistic Theory: Approaches to Asian Languages, International Conference on Linguistics and Phonetics 2002, Meikai Univ.
• (2002) "Construction grammar: its background and perspective", paper read at the Construction Grammar Workshop, Keio Univ.
• (2002) "On the typological implications of Japanese clause linkage", paper read at the Third Winter Typological School, Moscow.
• (2001)* "Construction theory: its background and perspectives", The Rising Generation, December Issue. Tokyo: Kenkyusha. 2-6.
• (2001) "Clause integration as grammaticalization: a case from Japanese TOKORO-complements" In: Kaoru Horie and Shigeru Sato (eds.) Cognitive-Functional Linguistics in an East Asian Context. Tokyo: Kurosio. 279-301.
• (2001) "Some thoughts on a new systematization of interclausal semantic relations", paper read at the RRG Workshop, University of California, Santa Barbara.
• (2001) "More on the implications of framing typology: a view from East Asia", paper read at the International Cognitive Linguistics Conference, University of California, Santa Barbara.
• (2001) (with Ryoko Uno Watanabe) "Knowledge structure in conditionals: towards a semantic typology of clause linkage", review article of Barbara Dancygier, Conditionals and Prediction, English Linguistics 17. 224-249.
• (2000) "Framing effect in Japanese non-final clauses: toward an optimal grammar-pragmatics interface", BLS 23. 471-480.
• (2000) "Some RRG predictions on the diachrony of clause linkage", paper read at Conference on New Theoretical Perspectives on Syntax and Semantics in Cognitive Perspective, Dubrovnik, Croatia.
• (2000)* (with Irene Kimbara, Kozue Takubo, and Ruetaivan Kessakul) "Typology of motion events and discourse frame: ways to travel in East Asia", Kansai Linguistic Society 20. 186-195.
• (2000)* "Constructions as linguistic knowledge: toward a typology of complex sentences", in Shigeru Sakahara (ed.) Ninchi Gengogaku no Hatten. (Advancing in cognitive linguistics) Tokyo: Hituzi. 281-315.
• (2000) (with Ruetaivan Kessakul, Irene Kimbara, Kozue Takubo) "Discourse Framing of Motion Events: Some Typological Implications" paper read at the International Conference on Cognitive Typology, Antwerp.
• (2000) "Some implications of event framing typology: with particular reference to the realization of goal-orientedness", paper read at OST-WEST Kolloquium zur Sprachwissenschaft, Teil II: Sprachtypen in Ost und West, Freier Universitat, Berlin.
• (2000)* (with Yoshiki Nishimura) "A perspective from cognitive linguistics", Nihongogaku April special issue on introduction to new concepts in grammar. Tokyo: Meijishoin. 184-191.
• (1999)* "Layered structure of sentence from a typological perspective: Minami's model and clause linkage theory in RRG", Gengo, November issue. Tokyo: Taishukan. 103-109.
• (1999) "Beyond mental logic: thoughts on schemas for coordination", paper given at the 6th Internation Cognitive Linguistics Conference, Stockholm.
• (1998)* "Mental logic and typology", Gengo, November issue. Tokyo: Taishukan. 64-70.
• (1998) (ed.) Studies in Japanese Grammaticalization: Cognitive and Discourse Perspectives. Tokyo: Kurosio.
• (1998) "Polysemy and paradigmatic change in the Japanese conditional marker BA", in Toshio Ohori (ed.) Studies in Japanese Grammaticalization: Cognitive and Discourse Perspectives. Tokyo: Kurosio. 135-162.
• (1997)* "Scalar implicature and the rise of conditionals: unless and but", The Rising Generation, March Issue. Tokyo: Kenkyusha. 16-18.
• (1997) (ed.with Keiichi Yamanaka) The Locus of Meaning: Papers in Honor of Yoshihiko Ikegami. Tokyo: Kurosio.
• (1997) "Transitivity in grammar and rhetoric: a case from English and Japanese", in Keiichi Yamanaka and Toshio Ohori (eds.) The Locus of Meaning: Papers in Honor of Yoshihiko Ikegami. Tokyo: Kuroshio. 389-406.
• (1996)* "Constructions as linguistic knowledge: parameters of clause linkage", Ninchi Kagaku 3-3. 7-13.
• (1996)* "Meaning and context", in Yoshihiko Ikegami (ed.) Eego no Imi. (Semantics of English) Tokyo: Taishukan. 95-111.
• (1995) "Case markers and clause linkage: toward a semantic typology", in Eugene Casad (ed.) Cognitive Linguistics in the Redwoods. Berlin: Mouton. 693-712.
• (1995) "Remarks on suspended clauses: a contribution to Japanese phraseology", in Masayoshi Shibatani and Sandra A. Thompson (eds.) Essays in Semantics and Pragmatics. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. 201-218.
• (1995) "Problems of Japanese IHRCs: argument linking and reference tracking", in Language, Information, Text 2. Bulletin of University of Tokyo at Komaba. 89-108.
• (1995) "Typology of clause linkage: a RRG perspective", paper given at the RRG workshop, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque.

[Earlier works]

E-mail: tohori#boz.c.u-tokyo.ac.jp (replace # with @)

Last modified: March 15, 2009