Japanese focus particles at the syntax-semantics interface

This dissertation centers around the syntax and semantics of the so-called focus-sensitive particles (FSP) in Japanese, such as -dake 'only'. The first part deals with the scope interaction between -dake and modals, which is affected by the order between P(ostposition) and -dake. I argue that -dake's scope is determined by -dake's morphological ambiguity between a noun and a particle. The particle -dake appears after P and must move at LF to the Spec of Particle Phrase above the modal; this results in the fixed wide-scope of -dake. The noun -dake is not subjected to this movement; its scope ambiguity results from the optional V-to-I raising, which, when it takes place, semantically lowers the modal into the scope of -dake. This proposal differs from the previous accounts, which attributed such scope ambiguity to Quantifier Raising or other similar mechanisms.; The second part deals with the semantics/pragmatics of the Japanese FSP. First, the (in)compatibility between FSP and the topic-marker -wa is discussed. I propose a semantic/pragmatic account which uniformly explains the incompatibility between sae/mo/shika 'even/also/except' and -wa, and the compatibility between -dake and -wa. Then, the scalar implicatures of -dake and -wa are discussed. It is shown that the contribution made by the scalar implicature of each is independent from that of the other. A scalar semantics of -dake is suggested.; The dissertation ends with a discussion of two related issues: the interaction between -dake and adverbs of quantification, and the difference among modals w.r.t. scope interaction with -dake.; The issues explored in this dissertation raise interesting questions about the nature of scopal relations in so-called "rigid-scope" languages such as Japanese. The scope ambiguity between -dake and the modal defies this conventional categorization, and calls into question the notion of the "rigidity of scope". They also contribute to our understanding of cross-linguistic variation in natural language by investigating the semantics and pragmatics of Japanese FSP which have uses that do not directly correspond to the English only, even, etc., as well as ones that do. A closer look into such variations will help to better understand the nature of the universal grammar.