| This study examines the notion of speaker's viewpoint and argues correlation between the viewpoint and the transitivity. I use the notion of viewpoint discussed within the framework of Mental Space Theory (Fauconnier 1994, 1997).;The phenomena, which this study examines, are mainly Japanese constructions, with their English counterparts, which overtly show a speaker's viewpoint in an utterance. The speaker's viewpoint is realized morphologically and lexically in Japanese. Such constructions take predicates expressing the subject's internal state. Thoughts, emotions, and feelings,---and the speaker's social stance toward a specific participant the empathy-marked participant.;The central claim I propose is that when the speaker does/can not take the viewpoint of the empathy-marked participant, two distinct viewpoints are blended. Blending is a conceptual integration process defined within the framework of Mental Space Theory.;The most interesting case the notion of blending can account for are certain exceptional uses of donatory verbs, yaru 'give1', kureru 'give2', and morau 'receive'. Although the empathy-marked participant is lexically predetermined with these verbs, the speaker can, in these exceptional cases, mark a non-designated participant with his/her empathy. When this occurs, viewpoints of the speaker and the exceptionally empathy-marked participant are blended.;However, these exceptions are not equally acceptable. In some contexts, only those constructions with morau are legitimate. The notion of transitivity plays a major role in this phenomenon. If a predicate presents higher transitivity, i.e., those with yaru, the exceptional construction is unlikely; when the predicate has lower transitivity, i.e., morau, such a construction is more likely.;The scope of this study covers diverse elements of language---syntax, pragmatics, and social factors. Mental Space Theory allows a useful integration of these elements and enables us to account for otherwise puzzling constructions. |
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