Cleft constructions are observed across languages and have been extensively examined within syntax as well as semantics and pragmatics. This is the first book-length coherent account of cleft constructions in Japanese. Working within a Principles and Parameters framework, with some reference to the Minimalist Program, Mika Kizu argues that these constructions should be analaysed on a par with with topicalization and head-internal relative clauses. Furthermore, based on one of the most interesting properties of the cleft construction, the syntactic phenomenon of 'connectivity', she proposes that long-distance cleft constructions in Japanese have peculair structures.; an analysis supported by empirical facts such as binding relations, weak crossover effects, interactions with another A'-dependency and clefting adjunct PPs. In raising the question of why languages such as Japanese observe particular structures whereas some other languages, such as English, do not, this treatment of cleft constructions has intriguing implications for current syntactic theories

Acknowledgements
List of Abbreviations
Foreword
PART 1: INTRODUCTION
Preliminaries
Background: English Cleft Constructions
Phenomenon of Interest: Japanese Cleft Constructions
Outline of the Book
PART 2: TOPICALIZATION AND CLEFT CONSTRUCTIONS
Introduction
Topicalization in Japanese: A Brief Overview
Our Assumptions about Topicalization
Parallelisms
Scrambling and Clefting
Summary
PART 3: NOMINALIZATIONS IN CLEFT CONSTRUCTIONS
Introduction
Properties of No
No in Presuppositional Clauses Versus Prenominal No
Relative Clauses and No-clauses of Clefts
The No-clauses as a CP
Summary
PART 4: RESUMPTIVE A-DEPENDENCIES
Introduction
Basic Facts and Proposal
Reconstruction in Long-distance Clefts
Properties of A-movement
Resumption
Residual Issues
Some Implications: Highest Clause Sensitivity
Summary
PART 5: ELLIPSIS IN CLEFT CONSTRUCTIONS
Introduction
Background and a Proposal
Basic Facts about Japanses Sluicing
Sluicing as a Cleft Construction
Other Issues in Japanese Sluicing
Some Consequences
Summary
PART 6: CONCLUSIONS
References
Index

MIKA KIZU studied at the University of California, Santa Cruz and completed her doctorate at McGill University. She is a Lecturer in the Department of East Asian Studies, University of Durham, UK.