Resumen de On the non-canonical double nominative construction in Japanese: The particle ga as an object marker

Yuki Johnson, Susumu Kuno

• Japanese has two types of double nominative constructions ¿ the first exemplified by sentences such as Taroo ga otoosan ga sinda ¿Taro ¿ (his) father has died,¿ and the second by sentences such as Taroo ga eigo ga yoku dekiru ¿Taro can (speak) English well.¿ Kuno (1973a,?b) claimed that the first is a double-subject construction, while the second is a subject¿object construction. This analysis has recently been challenged by Shibatani (2001a,?b,?c), who claims that these double-nominative constructions are both double-subject constructions. This paper presents arguments against Shibatani¿s double-subject analysis, and in support of the ¿Ga for Object Marking¿ analysis for the second construction.