Abstract

This paper examines scope interactions between quantificational NPs (QPs) in simple transitive sentences in English and Japanese, and provides an account of well-known English/ Japanese scope asymmetries: unlike the case in English, Japanese sentences (in unmarked word order) are always scopally unambiguous, systematically disallowing wide scope of object over subject. I argue that this difference is not due to a radical structural difference between the two languages, but is due to a lexical variation of a particular functional head, which I label 'Dst'. The two languages differ in the selectional properties of Dst. Dist in Japanese is overtly expressed by mo and selects only NPs and PPs whereas Dst in English is covert and English speakers equate the selectional prosperities of Dst with those of conjunction.