ABSTRACT
There are no bound affixes which express syntactic or semantic functions of noun phrases.
There are no morphophonemic alternations which express syntactic or semantic functions of noun phrases.
Postpositions are used to express syntactic or semantic functions of noun phrases. Most studies of Japanese syntax [see Shibatani 1977, 1978b, Kuno 1973, Tonoike 1978 for representative views) have attempted to explain the lack of fit between surface postpositional particles and underlying syntactic and semantic relations. The unexpressed position that these researchers have taken is that by and large, syntactic and semantic relationships are expressed through the use of postpositional particles.
