Grammatical number from an ecological perspective, focused on the “Here-Now-I-Real”

Abstract

This article shows, using the example of number agreement, that an ecological perspective with a focus on the situation of the utterance (i.e. here-now-I-real) is an effective way to understand differences in grammar among individual languages and to identify commonalities above and beyond such differences. On the surface, English and Chinese would appear to be exact opposites in terms of whether or not they conform to the rule of number agreement, while the position of Japanese would appear to be ambivalent on this question. But in fact this is not the case. Numerous languages around the world are consistent in the way number distinction is more likely to arise the higher the subject’s position on the animacy hierarchy. Chinese and Japanese are no exceptions. Leaving aside differences in individual circumstances, languages differ only in the boundary lines on the animacy hierarchy where number distinction becomes obligatory. In order to reach the above understanding, it is essential to see animacy from an ecological perspective. Furthermore, an ecological perspective is essential as a principle for explaining levels of not only animacy but also self-expressiveness, esteem, and transitivity. The prevailing view of language as separate from the situation of the utterance requires considerable revision on the subject of grammar.